Chapter 66 Ancelotti might be in a very difficult situation in the next game…

Following the Champions League draw, the Italian Serie A season also kicked off.

On August 31, Milan played their first Serie A match at home against newly promoted Bologna.

This marks Bologna's return to Serie A after three years, with approximately 5,000 away fans traveling to the San Siro stadium to support the team.

AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi also came to the San Siro box and sat with injured players such as Kaká, Nesta, Gattuso, and Borriello to watch AC Milan's Serie A opening match.

Kaka underwent knee surgery this summer.

His left knee problem had been going on for a long time. The high-intensity matches had caused chronic strain on his knee. In the 24th round of last season, his left knee was severely injured in a home game against Palermo, and the previous knee problems were fully exposed.

After the season ended, the Milan laboratory and the Brazilian national team's medical team conducted a joint consultation on Kaká's knee and ultimately decided to treat Kaká's knee injury completely through surgery. The surgery was performed by the Brazilian national team's team doctor, Lunco, and was very successful.

Following the surgery, AC Milan officially announced that Kaká would require at least three months of recovery time. They also used the cooperation agreement to prohibit Kaká from participating in the Beijing Olympics (Milan only lends players under the age of 23 to the national team for the Olympics), and hoped that he would not participate in other national team matches during this period, so as to rest and prepare for the next season.

This has drawn strong criticism from the Brazilian Football Confederation and national team coach Dunga. Kaka himself told the media that he was saddened by the loss of the opportunity to personally lift the only missing Olympic gold medal for the national team, but he did not want to miss Brazil's World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay and Argentina, and he would return to the field in two weeks.

But reality often falls short of expectations. Kaká's knee did not heal as quickly as he had hoped. While he was playing in AC Milan's preseason friendlies, his knee injury aggravated again, causing him to miss all subsequent preseason training camps.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Kaká will return to action in the second round of the league, in the away match against Genoa.

This was also AC Milan's strategy. There was an international break between the first and second rounds of the league, and Milan didn't want Kaká to take any risks or clash with the Brazilian Football Confederation, so they simply postponed Kaká's recovery time.

Let's get back to the game.

In this match, Ancelotti fielded a 4-3-2-1 Christmas tree formation, with new signings Abbiati, Zambrotta, Flamini, Ronaldinho, and Shevchenko all included in the starting lineup.

Shevchenko played as the lone striker in the Christmas tree formation, with Seedorf and Ronaldinho supporting him. Flamini replaced Gattuso, controlling the midfield alongside Pirlo and Ambrosini. Zambrotta played at right-back, Jankulovski remained at left-back, captain Maldini and Kaladze partnered at center-back, and Abbiati guarded the goal.

Fino and Pato sat side by side on the bench, watching to see what kind of brilliant performance Milan's new signings would put on.

Among the new signings, Ronaldinho was the most outstanding. His agile footwork, exquisite technique, and realistic feints left a deep impression on Fino.

In the second minute of the game, Ronaldinho performed a brilliant feint to get past his opponent.

At that moment, Bologna's defender Moraes was blocking Ronaldinho's dribbling path. Ronaldinho used his right foot to flick the ball backwards, while simultaneously twisting his upper body dramatically, making a dribbling retreating motion, which tricked Moraes into running past Ronaldinho and behind him.

However, Ronaldinho merely flicked the ball back a short distance and immediately hooked it back with his toe. With nothing obstructing his view, he launched a through ball to Shevchenko inside the penalty area.

Unfortunately, Shevchenko was a fraction of a second too slow to receive the ball, which was intercepted by Bologna's other defender, Zenoni.

Despite failing to score at the start of the game, Ronaldinho's feint still earned applause at the San Siro. The feint was so beautiful, natural and fluid, clearing the obstacle effortlessly.

Fino clapped while nudging Pato next to him with his elbow.

"How many great Ronaldos does Brazil have? One leaves, and another comes. Their football is so beautiful!"

Pato felt honored. The Ronaldo who left was great, and this Ronaldo is just as great. They've already connected, and he's now Ronaldinho's nightclub guide.

Milan is much more fun than Barcelona, ​​and Ronaldinho is very satisfied.

The newly promoted team wasn't particularly strong, but they had a lot of fighting spirit. For the first ten minutes or so, the two sides played back and forth.

Shevchenko, Seedorf, and Ronaldinho's shots were blocked by Bologna's defenders and goalkeeper, while Amoruso and Adairton's attacks were also thwarted by Milan's defense.

Ancelotti frowned. For Milan, playing evenly with a newly promoted team was not something to be proud of; it only showed that Milan was not in good form.

In the 21st minute, Bologna's right-back Zenoni, after penetrating into Milan's half, received a pass from Volpi and passed it low to Adaldon. Adaldon, with his back to goal, avoided the onrushing Flamini and passed the ball across to Di Vaio, who had made a run down the right flank. Di Vaio opted for a first-time volley, and the ball grazed Abbiati's fingertips before nestling into the far corner.

Bologna took the lead with a goal.

The 5,000 away fans immediately cheered and screamed. They themselves did not expect that their newly promoted team could take the lead at the San Siro. Milan even had two Ballon d'Or winners on the field.

But Milan didn't let them be triumphant for long. Before the end of the first half, Ambrosini equalized for Milan.

At that time, Milan played a well-coordinated combination play with Ronaldinho as the pivot. Pirlo passed the ball from the middle to Ronaldinho on the left wing. After receiving the ball, Ronaldinho chipped it with his right foot, aiming at Ambrosini near the far post.

The ball traced a rainbow arc, passing over the heads of Moraes and Terzi before beginning its descent. Ambrosini leaped high and headed the ball into Bologna's goal with his forehead.

The return of Shevchenko and the appearance of Ronaldinho attracted a large number of fans to watch this match, which was not particularly exciting in terms of the two sides. However, the performances of the two Ballon d'Or winners in the first half were somewhat surprising.

No one expected that the one who performed exceptionally well from the start was Ronaldinho, while Shevchenko, who had spent seven years in Milan, seemed completely unfamiliar with the San Siro, the rotten vegetable field where he had played for seven seasons.

During halftime, Ancelotti pondered for a long time. He considered having Fino warm up and replace Shevchenko, who seemed somewhat dazed on the field, but it was Berlusconi's idea to bring on Shevchenko.

Berlusconi has given him clear orders to be more patient with Shevchenko and give him enough time to readjust to the team.

This greatly displeased Ancelotti. Not only did he not have the right to buy or sell players, but now even his right to arrange the lineup was being interfered with by the club's management.

Ancelotti was angry for a moment, but he still followed Berlusconi's request and included Shevchenko in the starting lineup. However, he had other ideas in mind.

Ancelotti quickly made a decision: Shevchenko would remain in the lone striker position, Pato would replace left-back Jankulovski, Zambrotta would move from right-back to left-back, and Flamini would drop back to right-back. Milan switched to a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Seedorf, Ronaldinho, and Pato providing cover behind Shevchenko, fully supporting the Ukrainian nuclear warhead's attack.

If Shevchenko fails to score, then let him act as a target man, with the three attacking midfielders taking on the responsibility of scoring goals.

Ancelotti's tactical change was very clever. As long as Shevchenko can perform at 80% of his Milan-era abilities in poaching, ball protection, receiving the ball with his back to goal, and scoring, this match should be no problem.

As the second half began, Ronaldinho became even more excited, moving freely in Bologna's half and creating numerous scoring opportunities. He not only had several shots of his own but also provided several excellent passes to Shevchenko and Pato.

The cheers at the San Siro were enthusiastic, but gradually, the fans began to feel something was wrong. Milan's attack was impressive, but it was all bark and no bite.

The reason was that Milan's attacking quartet didn't coordinate well. Shevchenko was out of form, Seedorf made frequent mistakes, Pato's passes were somewhat aimless, and Ronaldinho gradually found himself struggling to carry the team alone. Their combined efforts weren't as effective as the earlier interactions between Pirlo, Ambrosini, and Ronaldinho.

On the other side, Bologna's goalkeeper Antonioli performed superbly, working with the defense to block Milan's shots one by one. Even though they were constantly under pressure from Milan, they never gave Milan a chance to take the lead.

Fino, watching from the bench, seemed a little anxious. He kept glancing at Ancelotti, hoping that Ancelotti could come up with a solution.

But Ancelotti seemed content with a draw, and never called up Fino to warm up the game.

Like rowing against the current, if you don't move forward, you fall behind. Milan was content with a draw, while Bologna showed more ambition. Near the end of the match, Bologna scored again, changing the score and holding onto it until the final whistle.

The San Siro erupted in uproar, with even a small chorus of boos coming from the south stand.

The commentator was also somewhat incredulous: "Milan was defeated by a newly promoted team at home in the San Siro! Even without key players like Kaká and Nesta, Milan's starting lineup still overwhelmed Bologna. This result is truly beyond expectation..."

After the match, Berlusconi went to the locker room. Even though they had lost their first league game, he did not immediately criticize them. Instead, he continued to encourage the players, praising them for playing a good game and saying that they could win as long as they worked hard.

Seeing the insincere smile on Berlusconi's face, Ancelotti sneered inwardly.

Shevchenko was completely ruined during his two years at Chelsea. Forced to play before he'd recovered his form, it's no wonder he didn't perform well. He couldn't argue with Berlusconi, so he let the results speak for themselves; after all, the league has only just begun, and Milan still has plenty of room for error.

It's a pity for Ronaldinho; such a perfect debut ended in defeat.

After a major overhaul in the summer, all the media in Europe were watching Milan's first league match, but the result was a poor start, losing to newly promoted Bologna, and Milan was met with a flood of negative reviews.

Shevchenko's poor performance and Ancelotti's blind faith in the Ballon d'Or winner and failure to make timely substitutions both drew fierce criticism from the media.

Shevchenko was in a very bad mood, but Ancelotti remained calm and seemed completely unconcerned.

It's hard not to suspect that Ancelotti might be playing a much bigger game.