Chapter 59 Milan Cup - "510K" Uruguay...

Strictly speaking, Milan's season wasn't a complete failure. Although they faltered in the Champions League and the domestic league, they won the European Super Cup at the beginning of the season and the Club World Cup in December.

On the night of the final day of the Serie A season, the club still organized a team dinner to thank all the players and staff for their hard work throughout the season.

Fino believes the real reason might be to celebrate Milan securing their Champions League qualification for next season, but big clubs have pride, and this reason is too embarrassing.

The dinner was only for players and club staff; their families weren't invited either, making it a very exclusive event.

Several injured players, including Maldini, also attended the dinner.

Berlusconi only stayed for about ten minutes, clapping at the beginning before leaving, while Galliani stayed until the end of the banquet.

Since the season was over and the summer break was just around the corner, the dinner party was well-stocked with drinks, with the intention of letting everyone drink until dawn.

But the players didn't indulge; they only had a few drinks and waited with great interest for the dinner to end.

Galliani was a little surprised. He knew that some of the players were quite fond of alcohol, and yet they were so restrained without the pressure of training and matches.

"Paul, what are your plans for later? You don't seem to be having much fun!" Despite their deep-seated fear of Maldini, they maintained a friendly demeanor on the surface.

“Hmm…” Maldini stroked his chin. “Massimo said there will be a match after the banquet, but I don’t know the specifics. You can ask Massimo.”

Galliani called Ambrosini over and asked what match it was.

Ambrosini revealed the "510K" match and the turtle-drawing punishment that had been agreed upon in the locker room, which aroused Galliani's great interest.

Galliani immediately realized this was a great publicity opportunity, showcasing the unity and friendliness within the locker room and making the stars more relatable, thus bridging the gap between them and the fans.

He made a quick decision and called in the club's publicity department. The entire match would be recorded, edited, and posted on Milan's official website and social media. What great material that would be!

Since the club was going to participate, the competition naturally needed to be more refined. Galliani didn't know what "510K" was, so he called in Fino, who knew about the game, along with Maldini, Ambrosini, and the publicity staff, to set up the competition rules.

Upon learning of Galliani's plan, Fino fell silent.

Seriously? You're going this far? Aren't you worried about impacting your business and sponsorship efforts?

He hesitated for a moment, but still voiced his question: "Won't this affect Milan's international image?"

"No way," Galliani said confidently. "It's the internet age now, and we need to keep up with the times and do more marketing and promotion to attract more sponsorships."

Since that's the case, Fino has nothing to worry about.

There's not much to say about how to play "510K". It's fixed and easy to understand. With a little explanation, you can figure it out.

What they need to do is to design the rules of the competition. How can they make them more interesting?

In any competition, the lower-scoring participants are gradually eliminated, and the champion is the one who remains. However, the participants with the highest scores will inevitably have the cleanest faces, which makes it impossible to combine with such an interesting punishment system as drawing turtles.

Fino had a sudden inspiration: why not do the opposite and hold an escape race?

He described his ideas, and everyone thought they were feasible, so the competition rules were quickly improved.

A total of 25 first-team players were present today. To facilitate grouping and ensure fairness, Fino, who is familiar with the game, will not participate in the match but will only serve as a referee and technical advisor.

The remaining 24 players were divided into 6 groups for the first round of group matches, with 4 players in each group. The match ended when the player with the lowest score in each group had two turtles painted on their face, and the top two players in each group successfully escaped.

After the first round of group matches, 12 players remained, divided into two groups of six for the second round. The same rules applied, with the top two scorers escaping.

The remaining 8 people were divided into 2 groups for the third round of group matches. After 4 people escaped, the remaining 4 people entered the finals.

In the finals, the player with the lowest score had two turtles painted on their face, and the match ended immediately.

The number of turtles is cumulative during the competition. The earlier a person escapes, the fewer turtles they have on their face. The person who comes in last place will definitely have 8 turtles on their face.

After the competition, all participants had to take a group photo with the turtle on their faces and post the photo on their social media.

Fino figured that if they were going to play, they might as well go big, since he wasn't going to participate anyway.

He proposed that after determining the last to fourth-to-last place in the finals, they be awarded the titles of "Golden Turtle King," "Silver Turtle King," "Bronze Turtle King," and "Iron Turtle King," respectively.

Galliani rejected the proposal on the spot. While it might have been incredibly effective, how would his handsome men attract sponsorships with such a title? He'd have to be crazy to agree to it.

Maldini and Ambrosini also looked at Fino with horror. They were going to participate in the competition. What would happen to the captain and vice-captain's authority if they made it to the finals?

Fino shrugged, feeling a little disappointed.

After explaining the gameplay and rules of "510K" to the participating team members in detail, the "Milan Cup '510K' Turtle Battle Escape Race" officially began—yes, Galliani, the chairman of the organizing committee (there is no such position), even named the competition.

The players were eager and excited to begin the draw for the first round of group matches.

It's one thing if the other teammates haven't experienced it, but seeing Nesta and Kaka still have such enthusiasm for the game despite having had their faces painted with turtles, Fino felt it was a real shame. He wished the proposal to award the title of "X Turtle King" had been approved; it would definitely have been an unforgettable experience for these bad-at-heart teammates.

After the first round of group matches, 12 players, including Maldini, Pirlo, Inzaghi, Cafu, and Emerson, successfully escaped. Maldini and Pirlo even had clean faces, while Inzaghi and Cafu had only a few marks on their faces.

After the second round of group matches, Favalli, Bonera, Ambrosini, and Gourcuff successfully escaped. All four of them had one or two complete turtles on their faces, and they still looked alright.

After the third round of group matches, Jankulovski, Serginho, Kaladze, and Pato successfully escaped, and the turtles on their faces were already quite crowded.

The four players who made it to the finals were Nesta, Gattuso, Seedorf, and Kaká, and all four of them had very interesting expressions on their faces.

Fino was somewhat surprised by the result. He didn't expect Seedorf to make it to the finals. Seedorf is so smart on the court!

But then he thought about Kaká and Nesta and realized that high football IQ does not equal high intelligence.

He didn't mean to criticize his teammates for being unintelligent; really, it was probably just luck.

Yes, that must be it!

But Seedorf had a huge advantage over the other three: his dark skin made it less noticeable even though his face was covered in black turtle drawings.

Kaka, Nesta, and Gattuso are different; the turtles on their faces are crowded together, making it look quite lively.

Before the finals began, the unscrupulous Pirlo even used his fist as a microphone to interview Kaka and the other three.

The first victim was Gattuso.

"Rino, let's talk about how it feels to make it to the finals."

"What do you mean? I don't feel anything! It's just a game, I don't mind. It's just drawing turtles, there's no real loss. I don't care, as long as everyone's having fun together. Actually, this game is quite fun. You people who haven't been drawn won't understand the fun. It's more interesting if you stay on the field."

Gattuso gritted his teeth, indicating that he didn't care at all.

"Okay, I can tell you're being stubborn. Good luck with your next move." Pirlo nodded, then pointed his fist-sized microphone at Seedorf. "Clarence, how do you feel about this?"

Seedorf chuckled sheepishly: "I really don't care, anyway, it's not very noticeable on my face."

Pirlo believed Seedorf's words and then turned to Nesta and Kaká.

"Ricardo, Sandro, you two tell us how it goes. You've already had experience before, so why are you still at the bottom?"

Kaka felt he played exceptionally well, and as for why he kept losing, he attributed it to luck: "It's just a matter of luck. I feel I'm playing pretty well, but I just can't seem to get good cards."

Nesta came up with a brilliant reason: "I just couldn't bear to see my other teammates with turtles painted on their faces. Anyway, I've already been through it once, so it doesn't matter to me. That's why I let them win in the first three group matches."

Pirlo didn't expose Nesta; he had a premonition that Nesta would lose again in the final, so exposing him now was less effective than setting another trap.

"So, will you throw the game in the finals?"

"No, I'm sure I'll win this time," Nesta said confidently.

However, reality slaps you in the face: there are always stronger ones above the strong, and weaklings below the weaklings.

In the "Milan Cup '510K' Turtle Battle Escape Race", Nesta came in last place, Gattuso came in second to last, Kaká came in third to last, and Seedorf unfortunately did not make it into the bottom three.

By this time, Nesta's face was too covered with so many turtles; the last two were clinging to his neck.

The players gathered together for a group photo, with the four finalists occupying the center position. Judging from the photo, it was only possible to distinguish who was who by their hairstyles and facial features.

After the match, the players posted a group photo on their social media accounts as requested by the club, along with a uniform caption to promote AC Milan's official account.

The "Milan Cup '510K' Turtle Escape Race" has successfully concluded. For details, please follow @ACMilan.

Milan's internal team activity quickly went viral online, becoming a hot topic on major social media platforms.

[Question: What is 510K? It's such a mysterious codename.]

[Blind guessing is a card game; Ambrosini and Cafu each have a card between their fingers, while Inzaghi has one in his mouth...]

[Inzaghi's behavior is unbecoming of a man; it's just a photo, but his expression is so seductive. Even with a black circle drawn on his face, his charm is undiminished!]

[Have you forgotten the incident from two weeks ago when Kaká, Pirlo, Nesta, and Cabrini were playing cards late at night? It should be this game; Kaká and Nesta had turtles drawn all over their faces back then.]

So, the four of them weren't done playing the game, so they dragged the whole locker room into it?

How childish! Hahahaha!

Not only did they drag everyone into this, but the club also officially organized a match. Okay, Milan certainly knows how to play games.

[Hilarious! How did they even come up with this kind of competition?]

[It made my vision go black! My little Sang, my Kaka, handsome guy, please take care of your face and stop scribbling on it, okay?]

[The person upstairs is amazing; even with such a drawing, you can still recognize the person.]

[Are you kidding me? Even if I only see a silhouette from behind, I can recognize it instantly in a crowd.]

[I don't understand, Nesta and Kaká already had their faces covered in paint two weeks ago, have they really not improved at all?]

[It could also be a lack of intelligence. By the way, could we rank the Milan players' intelligence based on how clean their faces are?]

[Hahahaha, how wicked! But I like it!]

...

Through the players' personal social media accounts, AC Milan's official social media account gained millions of followers in just half a day.

The discussion surrounding this team event reached a new high after the official edited video was released the following day.

AC Milan dominated the headlines for two consecutive days, overshadowing Inter Milan's parade next door, much to Galliani's delight.

He decided to hold more of these events in the future, aiming to make Milan the king of traffic in the internet age.