Chapter 156 (Forum Style, Part 1)

Post: What exactly happened within the Italian team? [Hot]

Floor 1: As the title says. First of all, congratulations to Italy for advancing from the group stage to the knockout stage. However, the style of the third group stage match was very different from the first two matches. Can anyone discuss what exactly happened within the Italian team?

2nd floor: I don't know what happened, all I know is that Italy finally pulled off a miraculous comeback! Hooray!

Floor 3: Hooray +1! The midfield core was injured before the start of the game, and the goalkeeper was injured after the start of the game. Coupled with their terrible performance in the first two games, I really thought the defending champions were going to be eliminated in the group stage in a shameful way.

4th floor: At this point, I have to say that Cabrini is amazing. He can charge into battle and fight his way in and out, and he can also strategize and control the rhythm of the whole team. He can also intercept and defend. He's too awesome!

5th floor: Mr. Golden Globe said these things?

6th Floor: Mr. Golden Globe said this +1

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15th Floor: Mr. Golden Ball said these +10086!

16th Floor: Getting back to the point, I've seen some reports from foreign media after bypassing the Great Firewall. They say there's infighting in Italy and Lippi has lost control of the locker room. Do you think this is true or false?

17th Floor: That's fake, right? If there was internal strife, how could they possibly survive? Just look at the French team; one draw and two losses in the group stage, they're already back home in last place.

18th Floor: You can't say that. Look at the Dutch team, they're either fighting amongst themselves or on their way to fighting amongst themselves, but their results aren't bad either.

19th Floor: The starting lineup for this match was drastically different from the previous two. They had been heavily relying on Juventus players, but suddenly switched to Milan players. Except for Pirlo, who was injured and didn't play, all the other Milan players on the roster played. On the other hand, Juventus lost Iaquinta and Marchisio to the starting lineup, and even national team captain Cannavaro was relegated to the bench.

20th floor: Adding to the comment above, the captain's armband has been given to Nesta of Milan.

21st Floor: Isn't it normal for the captain's armband to be given to Nesta? Italy has a long tradition of having the defender as captain. Cannavaro isn't playing, Buffon is injured, so who else should it be given to if not Nesta? Chiellini? Lippi might dare to give it to him, but would Chiellini dare to accept it?

22nd floor: Give it to Zambrotta! Although Zambrotta transferred to Milan, he spent 7 years at Juventus and was personally promoted by Lippi, so he's a true Juventus loyalist. The fact that Zambrotta didn't get the captain's armband at least shows that the Juventus faction has lost influence in the national team.

23rd floor: Zambrotta can't even get a starting position at his club, yet he's the captain? In the first two group stage matches, Cannavaro was a terrible player, and Zambrotta wasn't much better. If it weren't for his substitute, what was his name again? Right, Bouchetti. If Bouchetti wasn't so mediocre and lacked experience in major tournaments, Zambrotta would have been substituted along with him.

24th floor: That being said, Lippi has always relied heavily on Juventus players. Cannavaro is in such poor form, yet he still starts and is still the captain. Iaquinta and Camoranesi have also declined in form, but they were still starters before, weren't they? Why can't Zambrotta be the captain? It must be that the Juventus system has lost power. Something must have happened in the locker room.

25th floor: It's unlikely to be internal strife. When the camera panned to the bench, Cannavaro was whispering to Pirlo.

26th floor: But Pirlo doesn't really pay attention to him!

27th floor: Pirlo didn't have time to pay attention to him, he was busy making heart gestures for Cabrini!

28th floor: Are you trying to make me laugh to death? Hahahaha...

29th floor: LOL +1, hahahahaha...

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42nd floor: Have you guys noticed that Pirlo's style changes when he's next to Cabrini? He usually looks sleepy all the time, but when he's with Cabrini, he suddenly becomes all flamboyant and sassy...

43rd floor: I found out... After the 2008 European Cup, the two of them went on vacation to southern Italy. Pirlo even dyed his hair blonde and dressed himself up nicely, as if he was afraid that others would not know that they had gone on their honeymoon.

44th floor: Honeymoon! Hilarious comment, haha...

Floor 45: Hilarious comment +1

46th floor: The key point is that the media followed them even before they left Milan. That is to say, from the moment Cabrini went to Pirlo's house to pick him up, the media followed them all the way to Amalfi and then back. The whole trip lasted almost 20 days, and there was even an official honeymoon documentary... In order not to disturb the newlyweds, they even waited until they returned to Milan before releasing it in the form of a special report.

47th Floor: LOL... Don't portray the media as so understanding. They were afraid of being discovered by Pirlo and Cabrini, and then they wouldn't be able to get any good photos. Look, after *La Gazzetta dello Sport* published one photo, they immediately stopped. If they hadn't later revealed more details, I would have really thought they only got that one photo!

48th floor: I guess I got a lecture from my colleagues. This brings us to an even funnier point. When we were in Milan, only Gazzetta dello Sport was following us. The further south we went, the more media followed us. Eventually, we almost formed a wedding car fleet... When the major media outlets released the materials, I was laughing so hard. The materials inadvertently captured the figures of many colleagues, all holding up cameras in hidden corners.

49th floor: Everyone, think about how frustrating it was for the Gazzetta dello Sport when we first started following them. At first, we just wanted to get some gossip about the stars, but how did we end up leaving the city? How did we end up in Genoa? And it just wouldn't stop? We might have told our wives in the morning that we'd be home for lunch, but it turned into a 20-day trip, crossing most of Italy.

50th floor: Sigh, if they could get an exclusive story, this wouldn't be a problem. What's more devastating for them is that there are more and more competitors following them, right?

Floor 51: However, Pirlo and Cabrini did not notice them. They traveled freely, eating, drinking, and playing as they pleased, looking relaxed and happy.

52nd floor: Cabrini probably didn't notice. He doesn't seem to be very sensitive to cameras. Pirlo definitely did notice. The media took many photos of him looking directly at the camera.

53rd floor: ? ? ?

54th floor: ? ? ?

55th floor: ? ? ? I missed class, so even though he noticed the media, he let them follow him without any attempt to hide it or even alert Cabrini, right?

56th floor: Yes, the media has produced a lot of amazing photos in the past 20 days. My favorite is the one of two people snuggling under Pirlo's coat, waiting for the sunrise. The location is near Castel Saint-Émilion in Naples, with Mount Vesuvius, the sea, and the city in the background. The two of them sat on the steps all night... Seeing this photo will remind you of things related to romance; it's so full of stories.

57th Floor: Behind every amazing photo, there's a photographer working tirelessly behind the scenes. To take this picture, the photographer might have spent the whole night perched on a tree...

58th floor: There might be a photographer perched on every tree nearby...

59th floor: LOL... Good heavens, a photographer has grown up in the tree!

Floor 60: And that photo of them feeding each other ice cream, leaked in advance by *La Gazzetta dello Sport*, is also an amazing picture. What a couple in love! Even their choice of light and shadow is incredible!

61st floor: I love that photo taken at the open-air café in Positano, where Pirlo leans forward and Cabrini reaches out to ruffle his hair. Goodness, Pirlo really looks like one of Cabrini's golden cats.

62nd floor: You can look for the GIF. It's the one where Pirlo is acting cute like a lucky cat, and then Cabrini reaches out to touch his hair.

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92nd floor: I finally understand Pirlo's purpose in letting the media follow him. Is it a free media travel photoshoot?

93rd floor: Media travel photography, hahaha...

94th floor: You know what, the media's photos are much better than Pirlo's own. At first, I thought Pirlo's social media post was pretty good, but once the media started releasing a lot of photos, the difference in quality became immediately apparent.

95th floor: To be honest, I really felt that Pirlo had gone crazy. His previous persona was not like this.

Floor 96: There's another scoop, but I can't guarantee it's true. The Patek Philippe watch that Cabrini often wears was probably a gift from Pirlo. Some online sources have revealed that before Cabrini's 19th birthday in 2007, Pirlo acquired a Patek Philippe 5970 watch, and after Cabrini's birthday, a watch of the same model and material appeared on Cabrini's wrist. Only 2800 of this watch were ever produced before it was discontinued, with even fewer produced in 2007, and it came in four different materials. Therefore, the few identical watches sold in Italy are easy to trace back to their buyers. Online sources tend to believe that Cabrini's watch was indeed a gift from Pirlo.

97th floor: If it's true, then it makes sense. At the time, the watch had a list price of about 80,000 euros, while Cabrini had just signed a formal contract with the club with an annual salary of only 500,000 euros. Cabrini didn't seem to be interested in luxury goods. Later, his annual salary skyrocketed, and he still didn't use luxury goods much. Why would he suddenly buy such an expensive watch when he didn't have much money? If it was a gift from Pirlo, then it makes sense.

98th floor: At that time, Cabrini hadn't made it big yet. He was just a young talent who had only trained with the team for half a year and hadn't gotten many playing opportunities. Pirlo had already started spending a lot of money to pursue the beauty?

99th floor: Actually, it's not just Pirlo. If you dig into Milan's materials from a few years ago, you'll find that Cabrini's several well-known friends, Kaká, Nesta, and Pirlo, were already very close to him before he even became a star player.

100th floor: It's really unbelievable that several established star players have such a good relationship with a newcomer.

101st floor: Cabrini has a bit of a succubus quality, and he flirts without even realizing it. You've all seen that famous scene, when he used candy to coax Nesta and Kaká at the Champions League draw ceremony.

102nd floor: I've seen it; it's a famous dog training scene.

103rd floor: Dog training scene, hahaha, brilliant!

Floor 104: Let me tell you about a lesser-known story. At the beginning of the 2007/08 season, Gilardino was still playing. After Shevchenko left, he couldn't step up and was constantly booed by the South Stand. To support Gilardino, Cabrini gave up a hat-trick he was about to score, choosing instead to assist Gilardino. After the goal, Gilardino immediately rushed into Cabrini's arms and cried. Cabrini held Gilardino's head tightly in her arms, her face filled with pity, radiating maternal warmth. If I were Gilardino, I would be devoted to Cabrini for life.

Floor 105: I've done some research; it's the legendary Pietà statue. I recommend everyone go and review it.

Floor 106: And in the match a couple of days ago, Ambrosini kissed Cabrini so hard he couldn't open his eyes. This also has an earlier, more memorable moment. I remember it was against Roma; near the end of the game, Milan was down by one goal, Ambrosini was sent off, and they conceded a penalty. Cabrini scored the equalizer in the final moments, then patted his heart and pointed to the sent-off Ambrosini. After the match, Ambrosini pushed aside his teammates and rushed over to give Cabrini a big kiss on the head.

107th floor: Cabrini is probably quite quiet in private; several teammates have said in interviews that he's a little mute. But it's this attitude of letting his actions speak for themselves that's captivating to the Milan fans.

108th floor: It's not just Milan fans. When Cabrini and Buffon first met, Cabrini was hugged and kissed from behind by Buffon. He was being all groveling and coaxing, and even had his arm around Cabrini's neck to exchange jerseys. It was so saccharine and obsequious that it was unbearable to watch.

109th floor: Gigi is like this, he can't walk away when he sees a beautiful woman. It's not his fault, it's just that Cabrini is so good-looking that Gigi can't help himself.

110th floor: LOL, Buffon, don't you have anything to say? You've already given fans a stereotype...

111th floor: Hahahaha...

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Author's Note: A 10,000-word forum-style extra chapter, and two more chapters to come! Yes, I haven't forgotten my promise to add more chapters, even if it's at a snail's pace [crying emoji].

Thank you everyone for the nutrient solution, and thank you to the teachers for the long comments [hugs]

Thank you everyone for your support! [cat paw]