Chapter 67 Breaking a Promise

Amidst the turmoil and bloodshed outside, Fino is once again enjoying a vacation.

After the first round of league matches, there will be a two-week international break, during which the Italian national team will play two World Cup qualifiers: an away game against Cyprus and a home game against Georgia.

Donadoni, who only lasted one major tournament, was dismissed immediately after the European Championship defeat. His successor was Lippi, who led the Italian team to victory in the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Fino was still not included in the national team's squad for this World Cup qualifier, but national team head coach Lippi revealed the reason to the media.

“In the two years I’ve been away from the national team, Italy has seen the emergence of many outstanding new talents, such as Cabrini, who performed exceptionally well in Serie A last season. Yes, I know Fino Cabrini. After I took over the national team again, many players recommended him to me, including Pirlo, Ambrosini, and, well, Buffon.”

"Besides their own teammates, the people who know strikers best are the opposing goalkeepers, aren't they?" Lippi smiled at this point. "My team and I still have a lot of preparations to finish before the World Cup qualifiers arrive. We haven't had time to scout new players yet. Fortunately, neither of our two opponents in this international break is particularly strong. In the next six months, my team and I will resume scouting players at matches. Every talented Italian player will have the opportunity to play for the national team."

This reason was plausible and quickly quelled the rumors circulating in Italian football circles about the final roster.

While Fino was out, Gazzetta dello Sport intercepted him and interviewed him about his decision not to be included in the current national team squad.

Fino declined the interview, simply smiling and waving. He couldn't bring himself to express his loyalty, and saying anything else would give the media ammunition for further discussion; it was best to avoid interviews.

Mendes arranged a brand event for Fino during the holiday, with her getting her hair and makeup done in the afternoon and attending the event in the evening, taking up only half a day of Fino's time.

Fino was completely free at other times. In addition to continuing his art classes, he also dried another batch of apples before the rainy season arrived.

Some people are like apple-drying machines; no matter how much you make, it's never enough. They even look at you with those expectant, puppy-dog eyes, making it hard for Fino to refuse.

During this time, his relationship with Alonso became closer.

The incident began the night before the transfer window closed, when Fino received a text message from Alonso.

I have to break my promise; we might not have as many opportunities to meet next season.

Alonso's transfer has fallen through.

Neither Juventus nor Arsenal could meet Liverpool's demands in terms of transfer fees.

Liverpool want to sell Alonso for €18 million because Aston Villa are also asking for €18 million for Barry, and Liverpool don't want to pay extra for Barry. Juventus and Arsenal have both held lengthy negotiations with Liverpool, but Liverpool are sticking to their €18 million price tag.

In the Bari transfer, Benitez finally persuaded the club to buy Bari back first, and the club approved the transfer fee of 18 million euros. However, just as the deal was about to be completed, Aston Villa suddenly made trouble over the payment method, which angered Liverpool's management and directly terminated Bari's transfer.

Having failed to sign Barry, Liverpool refused to let Alonso leave. On transfer deadline day, Arsenal made a final offer of €15 million to Liverpool, which Liverpool rejected again.

Alonso will have to stay at Liverpool this season.

The transfer saga surrounding him this summer has left Alonso extremely disappointed.

Benitez was eager to sell him to raise money for Barry's transfer fee. Benitez demanded that he play in the Champions League qualifiers, preventing him from playing in the Champions League for his next club, which reduced their willingness to buy him. With the transfer window about to close, Benitez couldn't buy his desired Barry, but he was unwilling to let him go.

Benitez wanted everything, like a couple who had been married for four years and were tired of each other but were forced to stay together, which annoyed Alonso greatly.

Does this balding old man, who's quite old, think he has the charisma of a domineering CEO who's in complete control?

Speaking of charm, he suddenly thought of Fino.

On the terrace of a hotel in the town of Positano, he had hinted to Fino that he would soon be playing in Serie A, and Fino understood and responded to him.

How embarrassing, this feeling of being untrustworthy.

So he carefully chose his words and sent Fino that message.

Fino still grasped things immediately.

It's alright. If Liverpool and either Milan team are drawn together in the Champions League later, I will still do my best to be a good host.

It was through this text message exchange that Fino and Alonso reconnected after their encounter in the town of Positano.

They occasionally exchange text messages, and the content is not limited to football. They can talk about a certain food they ate, a favorite book they read, or a recent hot topic. They will contact each other whenever they feel like expressing themselves.

However, they all exercised restraint, carefully selecting topics and trying to avoid touching on either team or their privacy.

Fino felt great about the frequency and content of these exchanges. Alonso was like a compatible online friend, and the conversations were easy and comfortable. He didn't feel any social pressure.

...

After the holiday, Milan faced Genoa away in the second round of Serie A.

Ancelotti made a bold move, adding Shevchenko back to the starting lineup, along with Ronaldinho and Kaká.

The formation remained a 4-3-2-1 Christmas tree, with Ronaldinho and Kaká playing as attacking midfielders and Shevchenko leading the attack. With all three Ballon d'Or winners on the field, Berlusconi's long-awaited "Ballon d'Or trident" finally came together.

Unfortunately, paper strength can never represent actual combat effectiveness. Among the attacking trio, Ronaldinho performed the best, followed by Kaká, who had just recovered from injury. Shevchenko's performance was the worst. He ran very hard and actively, but his level was no longer that of the Ukrainian nuclear warhead that fans remembered.

Genoa defeated Milan 2-0 at home, marking Milan's second consecutive defeat in the first two rounds of the league. The "Golden Ball Trident" has become a laughing stock and a hot topic in the football world for the next few days.

After losing two games in a row, Ancelotti felt no pressure. It was Berlusconi who pressured him to build the "Golden Ball Trident." Anyone with eyes can see that he can't bear the blame. Even the media has turned the finger at Berlusconi.

On September 17, AC Milan traveled to Ukraine for their first Champions League group stage match against Ukrainian Premier League champions Dynamo Kyiv, who is also Shevchenko's former club.

Ancelotti once again included Shevchenko in the starting lineup, fulfilling Shevchenko's wish to return home in glory.

However, the margin for error in the Champions League is much lower than in the league, so while he started Shevchenko, he also included Fino in the starting lineup.

Milan used a 4-3-1-2 formation for this match, with Kaká playing as the attacking midfielder, Flamini, Pirlo, and Ambrosini controlling the midfield, and Zambrotta, Bonera, Maldini, and Favalli forming the defensive line in front of goal. Abbiati started in goal.

Gattuso and Nesta are still recovering from their injuries and did not travel with the team.

This is Fino's first appearance in an official match this season.

Fino felt that AC Milan had a deep connection with Ukrainian teams. Last season they had just faced Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League, and this season they were drawn against Dynamo Kyiv. There are only two strong teams in the Ukrainian Premier League, and Milan has faced them both in two years.

Fino was somewhat excited. His last appearance was in the Champions League qualifier 20 days ago. He felt like he was going to rot on the bench and needed to stretch his muscles.

After the match started, Milan had possession of the ball. After a few passes between Milan players, Kaká dribbled the ball and sped towards Dynamo Kyiv's half.

Shevchenko and Fino flanked Kaka from both sides, providing support on the left and right flanks in front of him. The three of them advanced in an orderly manner, forming an inverted triangle.

Dynamo Kyiv's two defensive midfielders, Vukojevic and Yusuf, immediately rushed over to intercept Kaká, while the two full-backs, Betao and Nesmazini, also came over to mark Fino and Shevchenko.

Facing two aggressive defensive midfielders coming from both sides, Kaka did not hesitate and gently pushed the ball with his right foot to Fino on the right front.

Fino backed Nesmachina, lightly touched the ball with his left foot, and with a clever but elegant turn, he slipped behind Nesmachina and then dribbled the ball straight into Dynamo Kyiv's penalty area.

Shevchenko and Kaka positioned themselves at opposite ends of his left flank, maintaining a comfortable distance for easy support.

As Fino approached the penalty area, two center-backs from Dynamo Kyiv came to meet him. Diakhate blocked Shevchenko, while Mikellik lunged at Fino.

Fino did not enter the penalty area. After seeing the two defenders spread out, he immediately took a shot from outside the penalty area line, and the ball went straight into the top right corner of the goal.

Milan took the lead after just 3 minutes.

Although Fino and Shevchenko weren't very familiar with each other, he still took care of the other's feelings and didn't do anything exciting to celebrate (he wasn't much of a celebration person anyway), he just gave Kaká and Shevchenko a high five.

After being given a tough start, Dynamo Kyiv's head coach, Cantalejo, immediately shouted to his players: "Defend well, don't give them any space, keep an eye on Kaká and that black-haired kid, they're too fast, don't let them get going."

Shevchenko immediately relayed to Fino and Kaká in Italian: "The opposing coach said to keep a close eye on you two, and that their defense will become more compact from now on."

Kaka laughed and patted Shevchenko on the shoulder: "Luckily, we have someone in our team who understands Ukrainian."

Fino was somewhat surprised. He had always thought Shevchenko was the kind of arrogant genius. After returning to Milan, Shevchenko wasn't very active in the locker room, mostly silent, and his face seemed to carry the unmelting ice of Eastern Europe. Adding to this was Berlusconi's strong support—yes, everyone knew that Shevchenko's consecutive starts were Berlusconi's idea, making it difficult for him to avoid scrutinizing everyone in the locker room.

Surprisingly, he wasn't difficult to get along with, and at some point, he had already repaired his relationships with some important older men in the locker room, at least with Kaka.