Chapter 88 - This is bizarre! Absolutely bizarre!

After playing Chievo, AC Milan has three matches remaining in November: an away game against Torino in the 13th round of the league, a home game against Dynamo Kyiv in the fifth group stage match of the Champions League, and an away game against Palermo in the 14th round of the league.

In the away game against Torino in the 13th round of the league, Ancelotti fielded a 4-3-1-2 formation, with Fino and Inzaghi as the two strikers. The game ended in a 2-2 draw, with Fino and Ronaldinho each scoring a goal.

In the subsequent Champions League group stage, with Milan virtually guaranteed to advance as group winners, Ancelotti rotated most of his key players, and the match ended in a 1-1 draw at home against Dynamo Kyiv, with Shevchenko scoring the goal.

After two consecutive draws in the league and European competition, Milan faced Palermo away from home in their last match of November.

Despite Milan's 2-1 comeback victory against Palermo at the San Siro in the second round of last season, Palermo's "cure" for Milan seems to continue.

In this match, Milan fielded their strongest lineup, but Palermo quickly equalized twice despite Milan's goals. Near the end of the match, Palermo was also awarded a penalty, which Simplicio converted.

Milan ultimately couldn't turn the tide and suffered a defeat away from home.

After two consecutive defeats at the start of the league season, Milan had gone 11 league games unbeaten, but this record was ultimately broken by Palermo.

The points gap between AC Milan and league leaders Inter Milan has widened to 4 points.

Fino and substitute Shevchenko exchanged wry smiles, put their arms around each other's shoulders, and went back to the locker room together.

In their last three matches, Milan have only managed two draws and one loss, sparking another storm of controversy online, with many attention-seeking media outlets and football figures once again hyping up the Milan collapse theory.

The extreme fan groups in the South Stand took the opportunity to organize a protest, displaying banners criticizing Berlusconi and Galliani for being incompetent, criticizing Ancelotti for poor tactical arrangements, and criticizing the players for being listless and failing to deliver performances commensurate with their salaries.

The harshest criticisms were leveled at Maldini, calling him greedy and incompetent, shamelessly collecting a salary when he should have retired, and disrupting the normal flow of Milan's finances.

Maldini's conflict with the South Stand has a long history, dating back to before the "Lions' Den" was disbanded.

At the time, several extreme fan groups in the South Stand demanded that the club provide them with a portion of their season tickets for free and hoped that the players would stand up for them.

Maldini, as captain and player representative, publicly stated that the players would not come forward to support him, which incurred the wrath of the extreme fan group in the South Stand.

After the Istanbul night in 2005, these extreme fan groups besieged the entire AC Milan team at the airport, hurling insults and demanding an apology. Once again, Maldini stood up for his teammates and argued with these people.

From then on, whenever the club's performance fluctuated, people from the south stand would come out to seek attention.

This season, excluding the two consecutive defeats at the start of the league, Milan has been undefeated in both the league and the Champions League. They not only topped their Champions League group but also reached the top of the league standings at one point.

The people in the south stand never found an opportunity to cause trouble.

After the match between San Siro and Fenerbahce, it was widely believed that the South Stand and the club had completely reconciled.

Unexpectedly, less than a month later, the South Stand finally got the chance to see Milan lose, and the conflict erupted again, with protests reigniting.

Regardless of how much the outside world stirs things up, Milan remains clear-headed and has not collapsed.

Ancelotti essentially gave up on the Champions League match, so a draw was a pleasant surprise. It's a shame that they only got one point from the two league matches, but these are just two rounds in a long 38-round league. Which team can guarantee an undefeated record?

Three days after losing to Palermo away from home, Milan faced Lazio in the Coppa Italia, starting directly in the Round of 16.

Ancelotti withstood the pressure from public opinion and continued to rotate most of his key players, even replacing Dida, who had not played for a long time, with the goalkeeper.

The match ended in a 1-1 draw in regular time. In extra time, Milan's veteran team was severely exhausted and conceded another goal to Lazio, officially eliminating Milan from the Italian Cup.

The decision to forgo the Italian Cup was made after discussions between Ancelotti and Galliani, Maldini, and others.

After a major overhaul before the season, Milan has a very good squad this season, and after a short period of adjustment, the players have gradually developed a good understanding.

The midfield lineup is somewhat thin, but Galliani has already reached an agreement with David Beckham, who will be loaned to Milan for three months from the LA Galaxy in January.

Beckham still has ambitions for the 2010 South Africa World Cup, but as a player in the MLS, he is unlikely to win the favor of England national team manager Capello, so he must return to Europe.

The exposure Beckham brought to Major League Soccer was immeasurable. The Los Angeles Galaxy were unwilling to let go of Beckham, their cash cow, so the deal was ultimately done on loan. Beckham was loaned to Milan for free, and his salary was covered by the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Galliani was ecstatic. He didn't spend a penny, not even a salary, and got a superstar idol with cross-industry fame for free. Imagine how many jerseys Milan will sell and how much exposure they'll gain!

Ancelotti is also optimistic about the deal, believing Beckham left Europe too early, essentially wasting his career. As the head coach, Ancelotti certainly doesn't think Beckham is just a pretty face; Beckham's ability is undeniable, but the outside world focuses too much on his star power and overlooks his equally outstanding skills.

Beckham's arrival further enhanced Milan's already strong squad.

Ancelotti, Galliani, Maldini, and others unanimously believe that Milan has the strength to compete for the league and Champions League double this season, and at least can rival Inter Milan in the league.

As a result of this decision, some less important Italian Cup matches were abandoned to reduce the density of games.

Last season was fraught with injuries, and in the upcoming matches, Milan needs to maintain a reasonable rotation of players and try to avoid injuries as much as possible in order to make a run for the double.

On December 7th, in the 15th round of Serie A, Milan hosted Catania.

The extreme fan groups in the South Stand stirred up trouble again, and banners attacking the club, the head coach, and Maldini were broadcast around the world.

"In the past four games, Milan first drew two consecutive matches, and then suffered two consecutive defeats. It seems that the home fans are very dissatisfied. Not only did they not cheer for the home team, but they also put up several protest banners. Some of the words even need to be blurred to prevent them from having a bad influence on children."

The commentator neither commented on nor commented on the actions of the south grandstand.

That's what fans are like: when you win, they praise you to the heavens, and when you lose, they immediately trample you to the ground.

This behavior cannot be considered wrong; the fans' reasonable protests are necessary.

But anyone with eyes can see that the Champions League group stage and the Italian Cup were two matches that Ancelotti had opted out of. At this point, the extreme fan groups in the South Stand still wanted to use this as an excuse to make a fuss. It's hard to say how much self-interest they had, haha.

While waiting to enter the pitch in the players' tunnel, Maldini, wearing the captain's armband, instructed his teammates one by one to ignore the protests from the South Stand and not to react aggressively if they were booed, but to wait for him to handle the situation.

Fino felt very sad. This 40-year-old man, who had suffered the most attacks from the South Stand, still held his teammates firmly in his arms.

He has never been worthy of the captain's armband on his arm.

Fino felt sorry for Maldini in this situation.

After the players entered the field, the San Siro was somewhat quieter than usual. The small area designated for Catania fans was filled with cheers for the away team, which sounded particularly jarring in the otherwise quiet stadium.

From outside the south stand, cheers for the home team gradually rose. They weren't particularly enthusiastic or well-organized, but the sheer number of people was enough to drown out the voices of the away fans.

The south stand remained silent, and whenever the camera panned over, they raised their protest banners high.

In this match, Milan once again used the 4-3-1-2 formation they had been using this season. Abbiati guarded the goal, Zambrotta, Nesta, Maldini, and Jankulovski formed the defense, Seedorf replaced Ambrosini who was suffering from some knee discomfort, and joined Gattuso and Pirlo in midfield, Kaká played as the lone attacking midfielder, and Fino and Shevchenko partnered as the two strikers.

Catania's head coach, Zenga, was suspended for one round for attacking the referee and could only watch the game from the stands. His assistant coach was forced to take over as Catania's coach temporarily.

Perhaps due to the absence of their head coach, Catania played somewhat conservatively in this match.

This is good for Milan. Milan's defense is a bit aging, and with the away team playing conservatively, their defense can withstand less pressure.

However, after the start of the match, Milan encountered a series of unexpected events.

First, in the 3rd minute, Maldini was collided with a Catania player while contesting a ball, contusing his left wrist. Fortunately, the injury was minor, and after treatment, Maldini remained on the field.

Not long after, Gattuso was also hit in the knee, which looked quite serious, but he persevered after receiving treatment.

These two unexpected events seemed to set the tone for the next period of time, with Milan launching a fierce attack on Catania's goal but failing to score for a long time.

Shevchenko's header from 10 meters out went over the crossbar; Kaká's low left-footed shot was saved by goalkeeper Bizarri; Jankulovski's shot from a tight angle on the left was blocked by a defender; Fino's volley was tipped over the post by Bizarri; Gattuso's shot from the edge of the box was saved by Bizarri...

The closest they came to scoring was halfway through the first half when Catania launched a rare counter-attack, with striker Mascara's powerful shot hitting the post before Milan launched a counter-attack themselves.

Pirlo delivered a brilliant pass, and Kaká dribbled down the middle, passing the ball directly to Fino on the left flank from the edge of the penalty area. Fino then fired the ball into the far corner with his right foot.

However, before Fino and Kaká could even hug each other, the referee signaled that the goal was disallowed for offside.

Kaka and Shevchenko simultaneously pinched their little hands together and surrounded the referee with puzzled expressions.

Fino didn't speak, but he stayed close to the referee, silently waiting for an explanation.

The referee pointed to the smiling Catania defender standing to the side, who had subtly created an offside trap before Kaká passed the ball.

Fino, Kaka, and Shevchenko exchanged glances, and all saw helplessness in each other's eyes.

Was Milan cursed in this match?

This is bizarre! Absolutely bizarre!