Chapter 120 Chapter 120 Pirlo's greatest achievement in his life...

Round after round of games went by, and before we knew it, it was past midnight.

Fino yawned; he was feeling a little sleepy.

Pirlo immediately stopped the game: "Let's call it a day, it's time to rest."

The villa has six bedrooms. There are eight people in Fino's group, and four of them need two people per room.

This is not a problem; they're already used to playing away games.

Fino and Kaká, and Pirlo and Nesta formed two pairs of roommates, while Ambrosini, Shevchenko, Gattuso, and Inzaghi each had their own room.

I had a good night's sleep.

When Fino woke up the next day, Kaka was still fast asleep beside him, so Fino didn't get up and stayed in bed scrolling through his phone for a while.

You won't believe it until you see it. Pirlo has stirred up another storm on the internet.

He posted a social media update after the game ended last night, and it has now climbed to the top of the football trending list.

[It was a quiet and peaceful night, but also a thrilling and exciting game. Some were incredibly clever, some were tricked, some acted cute and charming, some blushed deeply, some made heartfelt confessions, some passionately kissed, some forgave each other with a smile, and some exclaimed, "I can't take it anymore!"... Who they are is a secret! (Shh emoji)]

Pirlo only posted one photo, taken after he forfeited first in the second round of the game. The photo shows seven people, each holding a card, face up, with different expressions. Shevchenko also has a turtle on his face.

In just one night, this social media post already had thousands of comments.

Pirlo's linguistic artistry is unparalleled; every sentence is meaningful and packed with information, yet he deliberately avoids explicitly stating it, leaving fans in the comments section scratching their heads in speculation.

The top few comments have already garnered tens of thousands of likes.

[If you don't tell me, I'll assume you guys are having an inpart. (eye roll emoji)] — 12,000 likes

[Wow, Milan really goes all out behind the scenes? (Sunglasses emoji)] — 11,000 likes

[Pirlo, you understand journalism and communication... (thumbs up emoji)] — 11,000 likes

What followed was a flurry of analysis, with fans speculating about what exactly happened, who confessed their love to whom, who passionately kissed whom, and who exclaimed "I can't take it anymore," and exactly how they "couldn't take it anymore"...

The more you analyze, the more imaginative your ideas become; the more imaginative your ideas become, the more exciting it is. Some people have even started writing "framework literature" in the comments section.

Fino was speechless.

Pirlo is truly a man of great things; he quietly accomplished such a massive feat.

At this point, Ambrosini came online.

He retweeted Pirlo's post, adding the caption: "It's just a 'Truth or Dare' game. Andrea, it's a shame you're not a tabloid reporter."

Fino logged onto his main account and liked Ambrosini's post.

It was almost 8 a.m., and Fino nudged Kaka beside her: "Rich, get up."

After receiving a reluctant response from Kaka, Fino got up, washed up, and went downstairs.

Ambrosini was making coffee while talking to Pirlo.

"Paul called and gave me a piece of his mind, telling me to clarify things right away. I thought something serious had happened, but it turns out it was just another prank. That's not fair! Why didn't Paul call and yell at you?"

“Because I turned off my computer,” Pirlo said slowly.

Fino greeted them and began helping to prepare breakfast.

Soon after, the others also finished washing up and came to the restaurant one after another. They quickly learned about the big job Pirlo had done.

Apart from Gattuso yelling, "Andrea, how could you do this? It's so shameful! My reputation is ruined!", the others didn't seem to care much, or rather, they were already used to it.

We've gotten used to Pirlo's antics, and we're used to Milan always generating buzz with these kinds of strange things. Milan seems to have an innate knack for creating unexpected pairings, and the players are already used to it.

At this moment, Pirlo had another bad idea.

"I have a good idea. If anyone asks us about what happened last night, whether it's a reporter or a friend, no one should respond. Let no one get an answer and just wait anxiously."

Gattuso shouted, "Of course we can't say it! It's too embarrassing! Everyone, just forget about it!"

"Hmm, that sounds interesting, let's do it!" Inzaghi stroked his chin and nodded in agreement.

The others burst into laughter. As expected of Pirlo, he had so many wicked ideas, but this wicked feeling was actually quite good.

Is this Pirlo's happiness?

Pirlo's social media post turned into a collective prank by the eight of them on the entire fan base. Whenever someone asked about what happened that night, they all smiled and remained silent, leaving everyone to speculate.

This prank has been going on for many years, and countless fans, when they unearthed Pirlo's social media post, eagerly sought answers. However, there were simply too many versions circulating, none of which were credible.

Many years later, Pirlo announced in his autobiography that it was the greatest prank of his life, but he did not explain it in his autobiography. The prank continued and became a famous unsolved mystery in Milan.

...

On April 29, the Champions League resumed with a clash between AC Milan and Manchester United for a place in the final.

In terms of the schedule, AC Milan will play the first leg away from home, facing defending champions Manchester United at Old Trafford.

This is Fino's first visit to Old Trafford.

The atmosphere at the home stadium is completely different from that at Arsenal.

Fino stood on the pitch and looked around. Tens of thousands of Manchester United fans, wearing home jerseys, waving team flags, and singing songs to cheer on their team, were in perfect unison, creating a magnificent and awe-inspiring scene.

During warm-up, Nesta pointed to the drainage ditch behind the goal and said to Fino, "Be careful when you run to the sidelines and the goal line. There are ditches on all four sides of Old Trafford, and you can easily slip down."

Nesta has a precedent to learn from. In the 2007 Champions League semi-final, when he was defending Ronaldo at Manchester United's home ground, he made a sliding tackle, and both he and Ronaldo fell into the ditch, crashing directly into the advertising boards on the sidelines, even requiring the team doctor to come onto the field.

Cristiano Ronaldo also took the opportunity to meet AC Milan's team doctor.

Fino nodded solemnly.

In this match, Ancelotti once again used the Christmas tree formation. Due to Abbiati's season-ending injury, Dida took over as goalkeeper. The four defenders, from right to left, were Zambrotta, Nesta, Maldini, and Jankulovski. Gattuso, Pirlo, and Ambrosini controlled the midfield, Kaká and Seedorf played as the two attacking midfielders, and Fino played as the lone striker.

When Milan's starting lineup came on, Manchester United fans watching at Old Trafford felt a sense of disorientation. Milan's lineup was highly similar to the one they used when they visited Old Trafford for the Champions League semi-final two years ago. Except for Zambrotta replacing Oddo at right-back and Fino replacing Gilardino at center forward, the other nine players were exactly the same.

"Good morning, viewers. Welcome to the first leg of the Champions League semi-final, where defending champions Manchester United host AC Milan. In the 2006/07 season, AC Milan defeated Manchester United 5-3 on aggregate in the two-legged semi-final, advancing to the final. Two years later, Manchester United and Milan meet again in the Champions League semi-final. This is a fateful clash between last season's Champions League winner and the season before that. Which team will prevail? Let's wait and see!"

The match officially began amidst the commentator's high-spirited and passionate voice.

Perhaps because they were playing at home, or perhaps because they wanted to avenge their defeat in the semi-final two years ago, Manchester United played very aggressively in this match.

Just one minute into the game, Manchester United launched a fierce attack. Fletcher crossed from the right wing, Nesta failed to intercept, Rooney knocked Maldini aside and headed the ball directly at goal, but Dida tipped it over the crossbar with one hand.

Manchester United then passed the ball back to Milan's backfield. Tevez broke through Zambrotta's blockade on the left and cut inside before passing the ball across to Rooney, who then played a through ball to Ronaldo. Ronaldo aimed for the bottom left corner of the goal in the penalty area and fired a low shot, which Dida caught.

Two sharp shots roused Milan's defense. Maldini clapped his hands to attract his teammates' attention and shouted, "Cheer up!"

"Manchester United capitalized on Milan's injured first-choice goalkeeper, launching a relentless attack from the start. Veteran Dida made two crucial saves, denying United any scoring opportunities," the commentator said rapidly. "This season, Dida has been relegated to the bench by Abbiati, rarely getting playing time. It wasn't until Abbiati's season-ending injury that Dida won out over Kalac in the competition for playing time. After starting seven consecutive matches, Dida's form seems to have recovered somewhat. It remains to be seen whether he can withstand United's upcoming onslaught."

Ancelotti, watching from the sidelines, was also worried for Dida and quickly instructed Milan to tighten their defense and increase their defensive strength.

Manchester United did not stop their attack. In the 32nd minute, Ronaldo sent a through ball from the right flank into the Milan penalty area. Tevez, with his back to Nesta, received the ball and prepared to pass it to Rooney, but Maldini seized the opportunity and slid the ball out of bounds.

Manchester United were awarded a corner kick.

Anderson took a corner kick from the right, and Ferdinand won the header against Zambrotta at the far post, flicking the ball to O'Shea in the middle. O'Shea volleyed the ball with his right foot without stopping it, and Dida was a step too slow. The ball grazed Dida's fingertips and went into the net.

Manchester United are leading 1-0 at home.

This is O'Shea's second goal in his 60 Champions League appearances, a truly remarkable achievement.

After scoring, O'Shea celebrated wildly, hugging his teammates tightly.

O'Shea's name echoed at Old Trafford, and Manchester United fans, who always adore their players, immediately applauded and cheered for the goal scorer.

Maldini wiped his brow and continued to loudly encourage the defense to cheer up.

"We did well. Don't get discouraged by conceding a goal. We still have plenty of time to come back."

Fino then huddled together with Kaká, Seedorf, Pirlo, and others to discuss how to play after the kickoff.

After O'Shea finished celebrating, Milan restarted the game from the center circle.

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Author's note: Thank you everyone for your support! [cat emoji]