Chapter 65 Major Reshuffle

Upon returning to Milan, Fino was immediately arrested by Mendes, who had new business opportunities awaiting him.

When he has no schedule, he spends all his time in the studio, continuing to study painting, and tries to catch up on his studies during the long summer break.

Leisurely days always pass quickly; the summer break flew by, and it was time to return to the team.

This season, there have been significant changes in the locker room.

Serginho retired, Cafu and Ronaldo returned to Brazil, Oddo was loaned to Bayern Munich, Brocchi transferred to Lazio, and Paloschi, the youth academy player who had partnered with Fino after the winter break, also transferred to Parma...

Fino felt reluctant to part with it, but she wasn't very sad.

He experienced Gilardino's departure; coming and going is a normal occurrence in any team. To ensure results, a roster overhaul is inevitable.

Many players left, and many new players joined, and a large portion of them were familiar faces.

First was Shevchenko, who left Milan in the summer of 2006. He spent two unpleasant seasons at Chelsea and returned to Milan on loan this season.

Fino never played alongside Shevchenko; he was only promoted to the first team a few months after Shevchenko's transfer. Fino didn't actually have much of a connection with this Ballon d'Or winner who was developed by Milan.

When he was a goalkeeper, he paid more attention to defensive stalwarts like Maldini and Nesta, who were the teammates he needed to work closely with in front of the goal.

After switching to striker, I focused on players like Kaká, Seedorf, and Pirlo, as they were the midfielders who provided me with the passes, even though they often stole the passes themselves.

As for Shevchenko, he was someone who would compete with him for the pie.

Fino is not optimistic about Shevchenko's future after returning to Milan. The two-year slump has had a huge impact on a 32-year-old veteran, and he will need to make a tremendous effort to regain his former self.

Moreover, before that, Shevchenko needs to repair his relationship with his teammates, since his departure from Milan two years ago was not exactly amicable.

Borriello, who finished third in the Serie A top scorer list last season, has also returned to Milan. He started his career in Milan's youth team and was given opportunities to develop elsewhere. Genoa bought half of his ownership rights last season, and this season, thanks to his outstanding performance at Genoa, he was bought back by Milan.

Milan's biggest signing this summer was Ronaldinho, who transferred from Barcelona for a fixed fee of €21 million plus €4 million in add-ons.

Ronaldo's season-ending injury last season, along with the successive injuries to Fino, Pato, and Inzaghi, cast a long shadow over the club. This summer, the club brought in three strikers in one go, fearing a repeat of last season's predicament of having no available forwards.

After losing one Ballon d'Or winner, AC Milan has now brought in two more, making them the most talked-about team in the last four Ballon d'Or winners this season.

Galliani has already started aggressively seeking sponsorships. Milan now has handsome men, superstars, and a huge following. It would be a disservice to his bald head if he didn't quickly expand his commercial empire.

In midfield, Flamini, who effectively neutralized Kaká in last season's Champions League knockout stage, has joined Arsenal on a free transfer.

Flamini was signed by Milan last summer, but Milan wanted to get him on a free transfer, so the transfer ultimately fell through. He then taught Milan a lesson in the Champions League, making Milan painfully evaluate his talent, and this summer they immediately offered him a four-year contract with a very attractive salary.

In the defense, Milan welcomed Italian international Zambrotta from Barcelona. He can play both full-back positions. Another defender who transferred in, Antonini, is also a product of Milan's youth academy.

The loan agreement for Senderos is still under negotiation, but it's practically a done deal. The only issue is the loan fee, which is still being haggled over with Arsenal. Letting Flamini go for free has been a huge blow to Arsenal, who are already short of cash, so they'll naturally have to make up for it in the Senderos contract.

In the goalkeeper position, the club recalled Abbiati, who had been on loan for three consecutive years. He performed exceptionally well for Atletico Madrid last season, helping the team qualify for the Champions League again after 11 years.

Since Abbiati's return, both Dida, who helped the team win the Champions League trophy the season before last, and Kalac, who was called up in a crisis last season and got a lot of playing time, have become substitutes this season.

As their financial situation became increasingly strained, AC Milan, following Arsenal's example, experimented with a small-scale lottery-style approach. Galliani brought in two young players, Viudez and Caldacchio, from Uruguay, hoping to win a big prize.

If last season Ancelotti was like a skilled cook without ingredients, then this season, after strengthening AC Milan in the front, midfield, and defense, Milan's strength on paper is quite good.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, Milan has only won the league title once, in the 2003/04 season. Last season, they almost fell out of the top four, which is unacceptable for the club.

After strengthening the squad across the board, the club gave Ancelotti a strict order: they must win the league title this season, or else they should start planning their vacation for next year.

Ancelotti is under a lot of pressure, not only from the club's pressure to win the title, but also from the issue of playing time arrangements within the team.

Especially in the midfield and forward areas.

Milan's midfield and forward line currently has eight players: Kaká, Ronaldinho, Shevchenko, Inzaghi, Seedorf, Fino, Pato, and Borriello. Whether playing a 4-3-2-1 or 4-3-1-2 formation, these eight players are vying for three positions, making the competition extremely fierce.

These eight players are either legends, product of youth academy training, or have the Ballon d'Or aura; none of them are weak. Even Fino and Pato, who lack trophy titles, made significant contributions to Milan last year, and Borriello returned as the third-highest scorer in Serie A.

Ancelotti has publicly stated that there is no stable starting lineup in the midfield and attack this season; whoever is in good form will play, and that will be the rule for the new season.

This midfield and forward lineup did not put Fino under much pressure; on the contrary, he was very satisfied with it.

In the second half of last season, especially after being eliminated from the Champions League, Fino's attitude towards the club and the game changed significantly.

Even though he prided himself on being clear-headed and rational, he inevitably fell in love with Milan gradually.

This love doesn't stem from admiration for strength, nor from Milan's past glory, but from the teammates who burned themselves to hold up the falling Milan.

When you are in a group, it is hard not to be influenced by the group’s vision.

The more you put in the action, the more you invest emotionally, and vice versa.

He began to feel a sense of belonging to Milan and started to build an emotional bond with the club. This bond transcended contractual obligations and professional ethics, driving him to burn and dedicate himself to Milan from the bottom of his heart.

At that moment, he finally understood Maldini and those legends who dedicated their lives to Milan.

His attitude towards the game is no longer to do his best and leave the rest to fate, and to have no regrets after giving it his all.

He wants to win!

He wants Milan to win!

If one team is destined to win the championship, why can't it be Milan?

Fino certainly wants the team to strengthen its roster, because the stronger the teammates, the stronger the team will be, and the more confident they will be on their way to the championship.

As for competition within the team, he is not afraid of competition at all and is confident that he will not lose in the competition.

Since the match against Arsenal last season, he has felt that his body and technique are gradually maturing; it's a very mysterious feeling. This feeling isn't blind; his goal tally last season and his medical examination data upon returning to the team this season both confirm his feeling.

Mendes' team has a dedicated data analyst who, during discussions with Fino, confirmed Fino's feeling. Due to Ronaldo's injury and Gilardino's poor form, the 19-year-old Fino unexpectedly secured a starting position, and the ample playing time allowed him to enter his rising phase earlier than expected.

The other party even said to Fino with some regret: "You must have been an obedient good boy during your youth training. The imprint of team football has had a deep influence on you. Although the coach has always emphasized team spirit, good strikers are selfish. If you could be a little more selfish, you might have won the Serie A Golden Boot last season."

Fino acknowledges this; he does indeed prioritize the team over himself. However, this habit wasn't formed during his youth training period. In his previous life, when he was in a children's welfare home, he was already accustomed to caring for those children who were disabled and even more vulnerable.

His past life experiences instilled a sense of compassion in his personality, which also influenced his behavior in this life. On the football field, this manifested as his reluctance to deprive his teammates of better scoring opportunities in order to gamble on his own chances of scoring.

He doesn't see this as a flaw, nor does he consider himself indecisive. He generally won't give up opportunities that are his, and he won't snatch opportunities that aren't his.

This selflessness, in another way, can be described as having a broad perspective. This is one of the reasons why the coaching staff values ​​him, and it also allows him to integrate more harmoniously into the team.

Moreover, in his mind, team honor is more important than personal honor.

Just follow your heart.

...

How to unite a revamped team into a cohesive unit is a huge challenge for Ancelotti.

Milan began their training camp in mid-to-late July, focusing on physical conditioning and player cohesion. Even with a training period of nearly a month and a half, Ancelotti still felt that there wasn't enough time.

The commercial department also tries to squeeze in time for the players to shoot commercials – after the poker tournament that ended last season, Galliani seems to have gradually mastered the secrets of internet traffic, with Milan's official social media accounts constantly generating buzz, and the team's sponsorships have clearly increased this season.

Before the start of the Serie A season, the first matches are two Champions League qualifiers against Slavia Prague from the Czech Republic.

Milan swept aside last season's Czech First League champions in both home and away matches, proudly advancing to the Champions League group stage.

On August 28, Ancelotti flew to Monaco to attend the draw ceremony for the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League group stage.

During the draw, AC Milan was seeded and placed in Group G, along with last season's Portuguese champions Porto, Turkish giants Fenerbahce, and Ukrainian champions Dynamo Kyiv.

They are all regulars in the Champions League, and their strength should not be underestimated.

The draw ceremony also included the awards presentation for the best teams in the Champions League last season, with Premier League teams emerging as the big winners this time.

The titles of Best Midfielder, Best Defender, and Best Goalkeeper were all won by Chelsea players: Lampard, Terry, and Cech, respectively.

Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United won both the Best Player and Best Forward awards, just like Kaká did last year.