Chapter 16 Glasgow Rainy Night

Sure enough, it rained in the middle of the night. The raindrops pattered against the window in a chaotic manner, making a crackling sound that woke Fino up.

He quietly got out of bed and walked to the window, lifted the curtains and looked outside. Rainwater stretched into thin lines on the glass, and the world was shrouded in mist.

The streetlights on the street could only be seen as a faint halo, gradually extending into the distance.

Fino felt inexplicably down, perhaps because of the rain. The pattering rain was irritating, and even her mood felt damp.

Fino mentally scolded herself for being "pretentious," but still allowed herself to be pretentious for a while, standing by the window in a daze for a long time.

He recalled his days in the children's welfare home in his previous life.

It was a rainy day like this. He must have been 5 or 6 years old at the time, or at least he had memories of it.

Fino was woken up by the sound of rain in the middle of the night. She got up to go to the toilet and passed by the duty room. She heard two aunties on duty chatting inside. They were talking about how Fino had not been successfully adopted.

“Everyone wants healthy children, but how can healthy children stay in children’s welfare homes for several years? They’ll be adopted in just a few days. Xiaoxiao only has some aftereffects, which don’t affect her normal life. If they’re still not willing to accept this, then there’s even less hope for other children with disabilities.”

Fino then realized that the middle-aged couple who had volunteered at the children's welfare home a while ago actually wanted to adopt her.

The couple brought lots of snacks and toys, and the children were very happy. The couple especially liked Fino and played with her for a long time, and Fino liked them very much too.

The couple came several more times after that, specifically to play with Fino. The last time they came, they brought Fino new clothes and some stationery. Before leaving, they patted Fino's head reluctantly and then disappeared completely from Fino's world.

Fino understood why they came and why they never came again.

It turns out he once had the opportunity to have a home.

After his rebirth, Fino was in good health and had several opportunities to be adopted, but he refused them all.

He longed for a home, but feared even more the loss of it; he felt it would be better to have never had any hope at all.

Without expectations, there is no disappointment, right?

Moreover, he met Maldini, and he now has a family member he can never lose.

Even if the family member knows nothing about him, they will never respond.

...

Kaka rolled over, interrupting Fino's increasingly distant thoughts.

Having spent so much time in the dark, Fino's eyesight had improved to the point where he could see in the dark. He glanced back at Kaka, whose body was half-exposed outside the blanket, in a rather unrestrained pose.

Fino went over and tucked his arms and legs under the covers, then tucked the blankets in properly before going back to his own bed.

He closed his eyes and urged himself to go to sleep.

The rain stopped for a while the next morning, but started again in the afternoon.

The rain wasn't heavy, but it was persistent and continued until nightfall.

Such rain certainly won't affect the normal conduct of the match. Are you kidding me? Scotland experiences this kind of rain for at least seven or eight months every year. If matches were suspended due to this kind of rain, the Scottish Premiership would be pointless.

With the temperature dropping to around 5°C, Ancelotti extended the warm-up time to activate muscles and joints and reduce the risk of injury to players during the match.

After warming up, the substitute players wrapped themselves in cotton-padded coats and returned to the bench.

In this match, Ancelotti continued to use the Christmas tree formation, with Inzaghi occupying the lone striker position, while Fino and Gilardino were both on the bench.

Perhaps due to the weather, Milan's performance was not good at the start, with Celtic dominating for the first 20 minutes.

Milan only managed one shot on target, and it was saved by Celtic goalkeeper Boruc because it was too straight.

Celtic's pressing was very aggressive. In the 15th minute, Pirlo collided with a Celtic midfielder and fell to the ground, looking like he was in great pain, which worried Fino a lot. Fortunately, Pirlo recovered after a while and was fine.

Milan then gradually found their rhythm, but they were immediately met with even fiercer pressing from Celtic.

Kaka, in particular, was the Celtics' primary target throughout the game. According to post-game statistics, Kaka was fouled a total of 23 times, falling down and getting up again and again, his jersey already covered in mud.

In the second half, Kaka was injured by a malicious foul from a Celtics player and was forced to go to the sidelines for treatment.

The Celtics scored first.

In the 62nd minute, Celtic won a corner kick. Donati received the corner kick from Hartley and passed it to McManus, who was unmarked in the penalty area. McManus volleyed the ball into the net, giving Celtic a 1-0 lead.

Milan quickly equalized when Celtic defender Naylor made a reckless challenge on Ambrosini in the penalty area, resulting in a penalty for Milan, which Kaká converted.

To avoid further injuries during tackles, Ancelotti instructed his players to tighten their formation, focus on defense, and try to drag the game to a draw until the final whistle.

There are a total of 6 group stage matches, and a draw away from home will not affect Milan's chances of advancing.

But Celtic were not content with a draw. With the advantage of home ground and favorable conditions, it would be a shame not to fight for three points, so they continued to play aggressively.

In the 90th minute, Celtic striker McDonard capitalized on a corner kick opportunity to push the ball into the empty net, giving Celtic a 2-1 victory over Milan at home.

In the bleak and rainy weather of Glasgow, Milan suffered their first defeat of the new season.

Fino sighed inwardly. The match had produced three goals: two from corner kicks and one from a penalty kick, demonstrating how difficult the game was.

But that wasn't all. In stoppage time, Milan's starting goalkeeper Dida pulled off a major blunder.

With stoppage time nearing its end, an unidentified fan jumped onto the pitch, made slight contact with Dida, and then ran toward the sidelines. Dida chased after him for a few steps before suddenly clutching his face and collapsing to the ground in pain. He was eventually carried off the pitch on a stretcher by the team doctor.

Because Dida's actions and expressions were too exaggerated, the topic of "Dida faking injury" immediately began to spread, causing an uproar in Italy.

Many non-Milan fans have expressed opinions such as "Dida should go to Hollywood" and "Dida should be banned"...

After the match, Galliani only criticized Celtic's inadequate home stadium security measures and did not appeal the matter, which made Milan seem even more guilty.

The next day, the fan who jumped onto the field turned himself in to the police. He stated that he was a Celtics fan and had jumped onto the field simply because he was overly excited and wanted to celebrate the victory with his team. When he passed Dida, he merely patted Dida on the shoulder and said, "Dida, you're really unlucky," without any intention of harming Dida.

After a week-long investigation, UEFA determined that Dida had faked his injury and banned him for two Champions League matches. Celtic were also fined for failing to properly manage their fans.

Following Milan's appeal, Dida's suspension was reduced from two matches to one. He will miss AC Milan's third Champions League group stage match at home against Shakhtar Donetsk, and then return for the fourth Champions League group stage match.

Of course, that's a story for another time.

Dida's outrageous behavior has once again raised questions among fans about his ability and age.

In fact, Dida's form has been criticized by fans for the past two seasons. Even though he helped Milan avenge Liverpool and win back the Champions League trophy last season, it was still hard to hide his decline in form.

Since the start of this season, Dida has frequently made basic mistakes, prompting many to lament that the 34-year-old Dida is truly getting old.

Dida is 34 and getting old, so what about the other Milan players?

According to statistics from Gazzetta dello Sport, there are as many as 18 players over the age of 30 in AC Milan's first team. Key players such as Kaladze, Gattuso, and Pirlo are also approaching 30. Not counting youth academy players who have not had the opportunity to play, there are only five players born after the 1980s in AC Milan's first team: Bonera (1981), Kaká and Gilardino (1982), Gourcuff (1986), and Fino (1988). Even if Pato, who can only play in winter, is included, there are only six players born in the 1980s. The team is seriously aging and lacks fresh blood.

Milan already had a tough season last year, finishing only fourth in the league. This season, the key players are a year older, with 39-year-old captain Maldini still not back after undergoing knee surgery in the summer.

Many media outlets began to hype up the defeat in Glasgow as the beginning of Milan's collapse, and they even listed hidden potential problems within Milan that could explode at any time:

Maldini and Ronaldo are slow to return to the pitch; Ambrosini and Gattuso are vying for the captain's armband; Kaká and Pirlo are competing for the core role; Inzaghi and Gilardino are working together to suppress Fino; Nesta can't lead the defense; Dida is making blunders in front of goal; veteran players lack stamina; young players lack experience; the Champions League group stage is unlikely to be advanced; and the league is plunging into the relegation zone...

In short, Milan is finished!

In the Milanello locker room, Gattuso crumpled up a newspaper, threw it angrily into the trash can, and cursed under his breath.

Ambrosini patted him on the shoulder, picked up the newspaper, flattened it, and began to read it aloud, sentence by sentence.

While the players changed into their training clothes, they listened to Ambrosini read the newspaper. In fact, they didn't really care about the contents of the newspaper. That's how the media is. When you win, they praise you to the heavens, and when you lose, they immediately trample you into the mud.

Even the hot-tempered Gattuso would just vent his anger and then move on.

"Youngster Cabrini's outstanding performance has given Ancelotti more options in attack, which has not only squeezed the playing time of veteran Inzaghi, but also further marginalized the already undervalued Gilardino. The still-developing Cabrini will inevitably face joint suppression from Inzaghi and Gilardino..."

Fino had already changed into his training clothes and was sitting quietly in a chair listening to Ambrosini read the newspaper. Suddenly hearing that his part was also in the story, he subconsciously looked at his "fighting partners" Inzaghi and Gilardino.

Inzaghi smiled and winked at him, while Gilardino pinched his little chicken hand and mouthed "I'll treat you to dinner."

Gilardino certainly had no complaints about Fino; his predicament in Milan was never due to competition.

In fact, he has already made up his mind to leave. He will join a team whose tactics are compatible with his playing style, either during the winter break or at the end of the season.

He's only 25 years old and can't afford to waste any more time in Milan. He's a player who has won the "Italian Footballer of the Year" and "Serie A Player of the Year" awards; he needs to rediscover himself.

Based on Fino's performance, being selected for the national team is a natural progression. Why would he want to mess with his future national team strike partner?

Moreover, Fino is a really nice guy. During the match against Parma, he made that pass, and although Fino jokingly said it was to avoid treating people to a meal, everyone knows the real reason. He really appreciated it.

By this time, Ambrosini had finished reading the newspaper. Like Gattuso, he crumpled it into a ball and threw it into the trash.

Ambrosini chuckled and said, "Let's just go on vacation, since the season is over anyway."

“Massimo, of course you can go on vacation, after all, you’re only 30, but we old folks can’t go, we have to go to our coffins right now,” 37-year-old Cafu added with a self-deprecating remark.

Laughter erupted in the locker room.

No one discussed the news anymore, but everyone was holding their breath, looking forward to the next match.