Chapter 132 The Final Battle

Maldini closed the newspaper.

It was indeed his prior arrangement to put the captain's armband on Fino.

He has been with Milan for 31 years since he entered the Milan youth academy at the age of 10, and has played for the first team for more than 24 years, even before Berlusconi acquired the club.

He has his own connections and information channels within the club, and he can guess to some extent Galliani's ulterior motives.

He regretted that he should have kept his high regard for Fino more hidden and let Ambrosini guide Fino slowly after his retirement. His high regard for Fino had only aroused Galliani's suspicion.

Galliani's Brazilian gang is still determined to suppress the Italian locals, and he might actually sell Fino, just like he sold Albertini back then.

Now that things have come to this, there's no use in regretting it. We can only try to salvage the situation, such as putting Fino on the captain's armband now to show the outside world that Fino is the future captain, and using the pressure of public opinion to make Galliani treat Fino with caution.

He has already contacted numerous Milan legends and begun promoting Fino in interviews and on social media. Galliani should probably consider public opinion before selling Milan's future captain!

On the morning of June 4, ahead of the rescheduled match between Milan and Roma, Maldini accompanied Ancelotti to the pre-match press conference.

Ancelotti briefed the media on Milan's preparations for the match, while Maldini addressed a series of questions about his retirement before solemnly announcing to the media that Fino was his chosen future captain.

"Yes, after I retire, Cabrini will be third in line for the captain's armband, succeeding Ambrosini and Gattuso as Milan's captain. Both in terms of character and ability, Cabrini deserves the Milan captain's armband; this is a decision unanimously agreed upon in the locker room..."

Upon hearing this, Galliani turned off the television, his expression unreadable.

At 3 p.m., the final match of the 2008/09 Serie A season, AC Milan's home game against Roma, officially kicked off.

Nearly 80,000 fans flocked to the San Siro, waiting for the league champion to be crowned this season and to witness the farewell of a legend.

Maldini's family, as well as his former teammates such as Baresi, Albertini, Costacurta, and Cafu, were also present in the VIP box to watch Maldini's farewell match.

Many fans wore white commemorative T-shirts from Sweet Years (the clothing brand founded by Maldini and Vieri), which featured the word "PAOLO" and the red heart logo of Sweet Years.

Fans displayed various banners in the stands to express their support and respect for Maldini.

As the Milan players lined up to enter the field, they wore their new jerseys for the upcoming season. Maldini's two sons, acting as his caddies, led him onto the field by the hand.

Led by Totti, the Roma players wore T-shirts with the words "GRRAZIE PAOLO" (Thank you Paolo) over their jerseys to pay tribute to the Italian legend.

In this match, Milan used the same 4-3-1-2 formation as in the previous game, but there were some changes in the starting lineup.

Dida remained in goal, while Flamini replaced Zambrotta at right-back due to muscle fatigue. Jankulovski started at left-back, with Nesta and Maldini playing as center-backs, marking the last time he played alongside his most compatible partners.

Gattuso, Pirlo, and Ambrosini, three old teammates, continued to control the midfield, with Kaká appearing in the attacking midfield position, and Fino and Inzaghi as the two strikers.

In this match, Maldini was the absolute protagonist. Every time he touched the ball, it was accompanied by cheers and applause from the fans, which fully demonstrated the fans' reluctance to part with Maldini.

The result of this match is not important for Roma. They are 8 points behind Genoa, who are in fifth place, in the standings. Even if they win by 3 points, their ranking will not change.

But this match was different for Milan. Only by winning 3 points could they win the league title this season. In addition, it was Maldini's farewell match. From the locker room to the fans, who wouldn't want to send off their captain in a grand way with a league title?

From the start of the match, Milan showed a strong desire to attack, but sometimes haste makes waste. Although Fino, Ambrosini, Inzaghi and others took shots, they were all saved by Roma's goalkeeper Arthur and the defense.

In the 35th minute, Roma, who didn't seem to have a strong attacking drive, took the lead and opened the scoring.

Vucinic was brought down by Pirlo while dribbling forward, giving Roma a free kick.

Pizarro took the free kick, passing the ball across to Riise, who received it 22 meters from the goal and shot, the ball nestling into the net just inside the right post.

Roma are currently in the lead.

Immediately afterwards, during Milan's attacking opportunity, Kaká received a brilliant pass from Pirlo and dribbled through the middle. Before encountering the combined defense of Cassetti and Brighi, he passed the ball to Fino, who was waiting to receive it on the left.

Fino continued dribbling forward, and after attracting the attention of Motta and Mexes, he passed the ball across to Inzaghi on the right.

Inzaghi dribbled into the right side of the penalty area, but Juan came up from the side and intercepted the ball, causing Inzaghi to fall dramatically to the ground.

Juan and Inzaghi only had a slight tug-of-war. Fino, who witnessed everything, couldn't help but cover his face and lower his head, afraid that his laughing expression would be captured on camera.

That's terrible acting, Pippo!

Referee Demarco was not fooled by Inzaghi's cringeworthy acting either, completely ignoring him and directing the Milan players to prepare for the corner kick.

Fino went over and helped Inzaghi up. Seeing the teasing look on Fino's face, Inzaghi smiled wryly. As long as I'm not embarrassed, nothing is a big deal.

In the 42nd minute, Roma had another attacking opportunity. Through several clever passes from Taddei, Pizarro, and Vucinic, Roma passed the ball into the Milan penalty area, where Totti finished the attack.

However, before Totti could adjust his angle, Maldini's signature tackle arrived, shoving the ball at his feet to Nesta.

Maldini's precise defense once again drew applause from the entire stadium.

Nesta passed the ball to Pirlo, and Milan's counter-attack began.

The instant he received the ball, Pirlo's exceptional vision allowed him to spot the best attacking route.

He launched a long diagonal pass directly from midfield, targeting Fino on the left side of Roma's penalty area.

Motta, who was positioned opposite Fino, immediately stepped forward to contest the ball's trajectory.

As a full-back, Motta's strengths and weaknesses are obvious. He has excellent attacking ability and awareness, but his defensive ability and awareness are only so-so.

Motta is two years older than Fino and is 188cm tall, much taller than Fino, but when the two tackled for the ball, Fino did not suffer a loss.

Fino skillfully positioned himself behind Motta, then immediately crossed from the left wing after receiving the ball, aiming for Kaká, who was approaching the penalty arc on the outside of the penalty area.

Surrounded by Juan and Brighi, Kaká managed to shield the ball and then found an opening to pass it to Inzaghi, who was roaming on the right side of the penalty area.

Inzaghi unleashed a first-time volley, but Arthur, who was prepared, deflected the ball towards the center.

Ambrosini pounced on the rebound before Mexes could control the ball, and the ball grazed Arthur's right leg before nestling into the net.

1-1, Milan equalized just before halftime.

The second half has begun.

Ancelotti substituted Seedorf for Inzaghi, and Milan switched to a 4-3-2-1 Christmas tree formation. The two attacking midfielders tore apart Roma's defense and provided ammunition for Fino, and Milan intensified their attack.

In the 53rd minute, Pirlo passed the ball from the middle to Ambrosini on the left, who then dribbled forward down the left flank.

When Cassetti came up to intercept, Ambrosini and Seedorf, who was on the left flank, played a one-two pass. After both players got past Cassetti, Ambrosini passed the ball forward to Jankulovski, who had already made a run down the left flank.

At this moment, Roma's defense was drawn away by Fino, Kaká, and Pirlo, all of whom were outside the penalty area, leaving Jankulovski unmarked for a time.

Jankulovski immediately dribbled inside, leaving Arthur, who was all alone in the penalty area, with no choice but to leave his goal and move forward to block him.

Upon witnessing this, Roma's defense felt a sudden cardiac arrest and quickly retreated to help.

Jankulovski and Arthur met at the corner of the penalty area. Arthur made a quick hook shot, which did not intercept the ball, but it affected Jankulovski's accuracy with the ball.

Jankulovski stumbled and kicked the ball away. The ball passed about a meter in front of the goal and was about to go out of bounds just past the right post.

Just as the fans in the stands began to lament that the attacking opportunity had been thwarted, a red and black figure rushed into the frame and hooked the ball back into the penalty area just before it went out of bounds.

Kaka, who had followed up from the middle, unleashed a powerful shot that found the back of the net.

2-1, Fino assists, Kaká shoots, Milan takes the lead.

The sighs at San Siro immediately turned into cheers, and red and black flags were waved, pushing the frenzied atmosphere to a climax.

Kaka pounced on Fino with lightning speed, leaping up to hook his legs around Fino's thighs and wrapping his arms tightly around Fino's neck, before climbing up the tree.

After being bumped and staggered, Fino immediately supported Kaka's thighs with both hands to regain his balance.

"Finnie, you're amazing!" Kaka gave Finnie a kiss on the forehead.

The commentator's voice rang out: "Gooooal! Jankulovski cuts inside, Arthur rushes out, Cabrini hooks the ball, Kaká shoots! Milan's series of passes was truly beautiful! Cabrini's speed is simply too fast; he darted past in a flash and saved the ball that was about to go out of bounds. He deserves 80% of the credit for this goal!"

In the following minutes, Roma made two substitutions, replacing Cassetti with Felipe and Juan with Diamutte, but neither could change the score.

In the 82nd minute, Roma used their last substitution, bringing on Menez for Vucinic, while Ancelotti replaced Ambrosini with Kaladze, adding a center-back to protect their victory.

No one expected that Roma's substitution would take effect near the end of the match.

In the 85th minute, Pirlo lost possession to Mexes just outside the Roma penalty area, and Roma launched a quick counter-attack.

The ball was passed through Riise, Taddei, and Totti in quick succession, and was then delivered into the Milan penalty area in just over ten seconds.

Menez, who had just come on, fired a low shot with his left foot from the left side of the penalty area, and the ball slipped under Dida's arm and into the far corner of the goal.

2-2, Roma has equalized.

As the referee blew the whistle to confirm the goal, the fans held their breath. With less than five minutes left in the game, did Milan still have any hope of scoring?

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