Chapter 40 Kaka: I changed the tree? ...

Maldini's contract with AC Milan expires this summer, and he revealed several months ago that he wanted to retire at the end of this season, when he will be 40 years old.

Now approaching forty, Mavericks felt it was time for him to leave the pitch.

Although his teammates were reluctant to let him go, they could only offer their silent blessings when their attempts to persuade him failed. It's not easy for someone to be 40 years old and still be running on the field with a body full of injuries.

Maldini may be able to leave the field, but the team and fans cannot do without him.

Fans flooded the club with emails, hoping to persuade Maldini to renew his contract. Galliani, seizing the opportunity, used the excuse of not wanting to disappoint the fans to continue urging Maldini to renew his contract—he didn't want Maldini to step into management and take over after retiring, and besides, Milan still needed to rely on its veteran players.

Maldini was certainly aware of Galliani's ulterior motives, but he couldn't bear to disappoint the fans, so he released a statement through the media saying that he would seriously consider renewing the contract.

Milan fans cheered, except for the extreme fan groups in the south stand who strongly objected, but Maldini ignored them completely.

A few days later, in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16, Milan played away at the Emirates Stadium and drew 0-0 with Arsenal, with the final match to be played at the San Siro.

Milan's chances of advancing are not good. According to the Champions League home and away rules, if Arsenal scores in the second leg, Milan needs to score one more goal than Arsenal to advance. A draw will also result in elimination due to fewer away goals.

What worries Milan fans even more is that Nesta was injured in the first leg. According to the club, Nesta will miss at least three league matches, and it is uncertain whether he will be fit for the second leg against Arsenal.

Fans desperately hope this is a smokescreen from the club, and that the aging defense cannot afford to lose Nesta.

The tight schedule gave Milan no time to breathe. Three days after playing Arsenal away, the 24th round of Serie A matches began again, with Milan hosting Palermo.

In recent years, Palermo has been a natural counter to Milan. In the penultimate round of the 2004/05 season, at the San Siro, Milan and Palermo drew 3-3, and Milan lost their chance to compete for the title. In the 2006/07 season, Palermo won 2-0 at the San Siro. And in the fifth round of this season, at Palermo's home ground, the home team once again took a one-goal lead and defeated Milan to win 3 points.

With their Champions League situation looking bad, Milan desperately needed a victory to boost morale, but then they ran into Palermo, and the locker room was itching to settle scores with them.

With Seedorf rested, Ancelotti fielded a 4-3-1-2 formation for this match, with Fino and Pato as the two strikers, supported by Kaká, and Gattuso, Pirlo, and Ambrosini controlling the midfield. The defense underwent significant changes, with Nesta injured and Maldini rested. Oddo, Bonera, Kaladze, and Jankulovski started together, while Kalac, who was gradually pushing Dida out of the starting lineup, was in goal.

The home fans watching the game seemed to share the players' sentiments, creating waves of cheers to encourage them and hope for a big win at the San Siro, putting Palermo's "nemesis" on the back.

There was also a lot of discussion about this match on the Milan Forum.

Do you guys think this match is a sure thing?

[It's a sure thing. Palermo's performance has been mediocre; we're currently second in the standings. It's not a contest of strength.]

However, in recent years, we seem to have lost more often than won against Palermo...

Why boost the enemy's morale while diminishing our own? Kaká and the midfield trio are both there, and Cabrini and Pato up front are reliable youngsters. What's there to worry about?

[I'm worried about the defense! Neymar is injured, Maldini isn't on the field, and without a senior figure to lead the way, this backline looks very unreliable. Jankulovski played poorly in the last league match, Bonera is inconsistent, and Kaladze and Oddo frequently make basic mistakes. Although Kalac has been performing well recently, he doesn't have that reassuring presence. I don't know if you understand what I mean.]

[Understood! There's no single best candidate; it's just that Dida's form is so poor, so it's a case of choosing the best among the worst.]

Hopefully, they can sign a reliable goalkeeper during the summer break. Karachi is a year older than Dida; two 35- or 36-year-old veterans competing for the same goalkeeper position—is it just a case of weaklings pecking at each other?

The person upstairs said some really harsh things, but I couldn't find a way to refute them.

...

Sometimes, what you fear most is what happens. Just a few minutes into the game, Milan conceded a goal.

Palermo's two midfielders, Cassani and Guana, combined to break through Gattuso's interception and penetrate Milan's attacking third.

Milan's two full-backs hadn't tracked back in time due to their coordinated attack, leaving only Bonera and Kaladze in the penalty area. Kaladze immediately pressed Guana, who had the ball, while Bonera also moved between Guana and Cassani to disrupt their passing combination.

Guana passed the ball before Kaladze could make a move, but instead of passing it to Cassani, he passed it into the penalty area. Bonera and Kaladze both thought that the other would go to challenge Bresciano, who was waiting in the penalty area, for the ball, so neither of them made a move and instead kept their eyes on their own target to prevent him from receiving the pass.

The ball landed about seven or eight meters from the goal. Kalac, who was guarding the goal, could not leave the goal to go for the ball. So Bresciano comfortably received the rebounding ball 8 meters in front of the goal and volleyed it into the goal.

Before Guana passed the ball, Oddo had already sprinted back, but he was too late. By the time he got back to the goal, Bresciano had already taken a shot, and the ball grazed Oddo's chest and went into the far corner of the goal.

Karachi went in the wrong direction, and Palermo took a 1-0 lead at the San Siro.

Kaladze and Bonera looked at each other in surprise, while Odo and Karachi exchanged bewildered glances.

A commotion erupted at San Siro, and soon boos came from the south stand.

The commentator was also surprised by the goal: "A huge mistake. After Guana passed the ball, neither of Milan's two center-backs pressed to intercept it. Palermo scored too easily. Now there are boos coming from the south stand of the San Siro. I don't know if it's for Palermo's goal, for Milan's defense, or both."

What you fear will come to pass...

[If either Maldini or Neymar were on the field, such an outrageous thing wouldn't have happened.]

How could the people in the south stand have the nerve to boo? They're always hoping Maldini will retire, as if his presence is preventing new talent from rising. Now you see, is it Maldini who can't live without Milan, or Milan who can't live without Maldini?

[Keep emailing the club; make sure Maldini renews his contract!]

...

Karachi was hurt.

Seriously, you two? I've been benched by Dida for two and a half years, and I was finally starting to have a chance to compete for a starting spot, and this is how you guys mess with me?

He looked at Kaladze, then at Bonera, speechless with emotion.

Kaladze and Bonera wore embarrassed expressions and slunk back to wait for the kickoff.

If the defense is not performing well, the attack needs to work twice as hard to win.

After Palermo scored, Milan became somewhat impatient and wanted to equalize as soon as possible.

Milan's attacking pace quickened, with Fino and Kaká both taking shots, but unfortunately neither managed to score.

Taking advantage of the dead ball situation, Fino put his arms around Kaká and Pato, and then called over Ambrosini, who was wearing the captain's armband. The four of them discussed a tactic.

In their next attacking opportunity, Milan's forwards showed more patience.

Pirlo once again launched a long diagonal pass from midfield, Kaká dribbled past his marker, entered the penalty area from the center, and before Barzagli could make a tackle, Kaká passed the ball across to Pato on the left wing.

At this moment, Pato was being marked by Biava. Pato used his back to shield Biava, and after receiving the ball, he immediately passed it out without any hesitation, with the target being Ambrosini to Kaká's right rear.

Barzagli, who was marking Kaká, immediately turned to Ambrosini and beckoned to Casani, who had dropped back from midfield, to mark Kaká and prevent Ambrosini from combining with Kaká.

Kaka didn't stay still; instead, he slowed Barzagli down to create space for Ambrosini to shoot. Seeing this, Cassani shifted his marking focus to Ambrosini, but before he could reach him, Ambrosini had already passed the ball.

The ball flew in a straight line towards the outside of the right post. Palermo's goalkeeper, Fontana, judged that the ball would fly out of bounds beyond the post, so he only took a few symbolic steps toward the right post and relaxed his vigilance.

Some sharp-eyed fans had already begun to lament the wasted opportunity, but before they could finish, Fino appeared from the right side of the penalty area, gently tapping the ball into the near corner with the instep of his foot.

Milan equalized the score 1-1.

The sighs immediately turned into applause and cheers.

The replay showed that Ambrosini made a subtle hand gesture with his right hand before passing the ball, and then Fino started his forward run from the right side of the penalty area.

He took a step forward, blocking Zaccardo's path, then twisted and broke free from Zaccardo's grip on his jersey, sprinting towards the goal. Just as he reached the goalpost, Ambrosini passed the ball to him, and Fino volleyed it in perfectly timed shots.

"Beautiful teamwork!" the commentator exclaimed. "After Palermo scored, Milan's attack became a little hasty, missing two chances. But Milan quickly calmed down. In this attack, Milan showed unparalleled patience. The ball went from the center to the left and back to the center. Milan's forwards were waiting for a weakness in Palermo's defense, and they found it. Ambrosini faked a shot and passed the ball to Fontana, who lowered his guard. Cabrini got rid of his defender and tapped the ball into the net."

After scoring, Fino jogged over to Ambrosini. Every midfielder who is willing to assist the striker is a highly respected facilitator. After receiving someone else's assist, shouldn't you praise and flatter them?

Before he could even reach Ambrosini, Kaká and Pato had already swarmed around him, and Kaká even started pretending to climb a tree.

Fino lightly assumed a horse stance to meet Kaka's charge, and after stabilizing Kaka, he smoothly tucked him into Pato's arms.

Pato: ? ? ? Why are we suddenly carrying heavy loads?

Kaka: ? ? ? I changed the tree?