Chapter 93 I want you to carry me

After the score was tied at 4-4, both sides continued their attacks. Having fought so hard, neither Milan nor Juventus were willing to accept a draw.

After battling through most of the game in the pouring winter rain, both teams were nearly exhausted. The final ten minutes or so of the match were more like a test of willpower.

In the 82nd minute, Sissoko tackled Ronaldinho and received a yellow card. Just one minute later, Ambrosini fouled Del Piero and also received a yellow card.

The players were running out of energy, their technique was starting to falter, and with the grass slippery, mistakes were becoming more frequent.

At this point, both Ancelotti and Ranieri had already anticipated the outcome of the match; it was likely to end in a draw.

Both teams now have two substitutions left, and Ancelotti and Ranieri have tacitly used them both.

Ranieri substituted Zanetti for Sissoko and Iaquinta for Amauri.

Ancelotti substituted Antonini for Ambrosini to fill Zambrotta's position, and Shevchenko for Ronaldinho—Milan had no other midfielders available on the bench, so Ancelotti had no choice but to bring on Shevchenko to fill the gap.

This resulted in Milan's formation looking like an odd 4-2-3 (ten men). But now nobody cares about that; even the commentators have completely ignored the analysis of the substitutions and started listing data, waiting for the game to end.

With only a few minutes remaining, it was virtually impossible to mount any brilliant attacks. Neither team's substitutions were tactically sound. They were either to waste time, prevent players with yellow cards from getting sent off, or allow energetic substitutes to contribute defensively.

Piero sat on the grass, panting heavily, and only struggled to get up when the referee signaled for the game to resume.

Just then, Fino happened to be standing nearby, also breathing heavily. Upon seeing this, Fino reached out and pulled him up.

Milan and Juventus are both among the three giants of the North, with almost no regional, religious, or cultural conflicts. Italian players are generally family-oriented and tend to transfer within Serie A, so they all run into each other frequently.

Therefore, the match between Milan and Juventus was just a match, without that "life or death" atmosphere. The relationship between the teams and players was still acceptable.

After standing up, Piero gave Fino a friendly high five. The two looked at each other, covered in mud, and then exchanged a wry smile.

Fino was tackled several times during the match, and Del Piero kept rolling on the ground. Jankulovski, Zambrotta, and Ambrosini all received yellow cards for fouling him. Although drawing three yellow cards was beneficial for Juventus, who wants to roll around in the mud on a rainy day?

Alas, perhaps this is the fate of their strikers!

As the match drew to a close, Milan gained possession of the ball.

After running for 90 minutes in the pouring rain, some Juventus players were already casually waiting for the game to end, when Milan suddenly launched another attack.

Pirlo launched a long diagonal pass from the center, targeting Jankulovski, who was making a run down the left flank into Juventus' half. Jankulovski dribbled forward near the left touchline, catching Juventus' defense off guard, who quickly scrambled to regain their focus.

Grygra, who was marking Jankulovski, rushed forward to block him, but Jankulovski crossed from the left wing before the two players clashed, aiming at Shevchenko outside the penalty area.

At this moment, Molinaro was marking Inzaghi one-on-one, and Mellberg also hurriedly blocked Shevchenko. Chiellini seized the opportunity to press forward from the front of the goal. Shevchenko backed Mellberg and, after receiving a pass from Jankulovski, immediately passed it back to Fino, who was making a high-speed run from midfield.

The ball was delivered a bit too high. At this moment, Zanetti and Marchisio were chasing Fino closely. If Fino hesitated even for a moment when stopping the ball, the two of them would immediately catch up with him.

The referee had his whistle in his mouth, waiting for Fino to decide how to handle the ball, whether it was a shot or a clearance by a Juventus player. Once Fino lost possession, he would immediately blow his whistle to signal the end of the game.

Fino had already seen the referee's action, and he knew perfectly well that this would be the last shot on goal in the game.

Faced with a ball that was delivered too high, his body reacted instinctively. He jumped to meet the incoming ball, using his chest to cushion it, turned his back to the goal, took a step back, stretched his body, leaned back as far as he could, and flexed his right leg to deliver a powerful kick to the falling ball. It was a beautiful bicycle kick, and the ball grazed the left post and nestled into the corner of the goal.

"As the match neared its end, AC Milan launched one last attack. Jankulovski crossed from the wing, Shevchenko backheeled the ball, and Cabrini unleashed a bicycle kick! Goooooal! Goal! A last-minute winner! Cabrini scored a bicycle kick in the final moments, completing his hat-trick, AC Milan 5-4 Juventus!" The commentator roared with excitement for the beautiful goal. "In the 12th minute of the first half, Amauri's bicycle kick went wide, the ball grazing the left post and going out of play. Before the end of the second half, Cabrini immediately responded, this time scoring! This must be the best goal of this round of the league!"

"Is this the strength of this year's Golden Boy winner? Three goals and two assists, involved in all of Milan's goals in this match, and also had an outstanding performance on the defensive end. The 20-year-old Cabrini has unlimited potential! If Milan achieves something in the league and Champions League this season, Cabrini has the strength to challenge for next year's Ballon d'Or. Perhaps, we will soon see Milan's seventh Ballon d'Or winner!"

The commentator's words greatly displeased Inter Milan fans watching on TV. Inter Milan is currently at the top of the league standings, and this commentator is bragging about Milan's loan situation! If anyone's going to win the Ballon d'Or, it should be our Zlatan Ibrahimovic!

But Milan fans were thrilled by the hype, and the commentator's assessment was spot on!

Cristiano Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or this year by beating players from the European Championship-winning Spanish team to win the league and Champions League titles. If Milan also wins the double next year, why can't Fino? Besides, next year is a year without major tournaments, so the voting will focus more on league and European performances.

Back to the game.

After the backflip, Fino fell heavily to the ground. Before he could even turn over to see if the shot had hit, Shevchenko and Inzaghi pounced on him and pinned him down.

Fino could feel the mud and water seeping through his jersey, but he couldn't afford to complain at that moment. He knew the ball had gone in and Milan had won!

The referee blew his whistle and pointed to the center circle, indicating that the goal was valid, before blowing the final whistle.

The older players from the backcourt rushed over and joined Fino and the others who had just stood up, celebrating their hard-won victory together.

The rain, which had been falling steadily throughout the match, soaked everyone's hair and jerseys. But the cold winter rain couldn't dampen the players' fiery spirits. They huddled together, arms around each other's backs and shoulders, cheering and jumping for joy, their smiles devoid of any other thoughts, only the joy and happiness of winning.

Then, one by one, they put their arms around their teammates' shoulders, forming a line like a little train, chanting "toot toot toot..." as they headed towards the away team's stands, waving to the small group of Milan fans who had come with the team.

At this moment, the assistant coach ran over and urged the players to hurry back to the locker room to shower and change. In the early December weather, being drenched in winter rain for more than 90 minutes, what a fun thing that was.

The Milan fans in the stands burst into laughter as they watched the players scatter like sheep being herded by sheepdogs towards the locker room.

This is the team they love, these are the players they love.

"Finnie, you did a fantastic job! I'm so proud of you!"

Maldini walked at the back, put his arm around Fino, who had delivered a phenomenal performance that night, and praised him as they walked.

Fino is very happy; he's snuggling up to Maldini!

He didn't speak, but simply put his arm around Maldini's strong waist and listened to Maldini speak with a smile.

Perhaps it was the excitement of winning the game against Juventus, or perhaps it was because of the significant age difference between himself and Fino, but seeing Fino's happy yet somewhat shy expression, Maldini felt a strange sense of déjà vu, like watching Christian and Daniel. However, Fino was clearly much more well-behaved than his two sons at home.

At this moment, Fino was not only his teammate, but also his junior.

He couldn't resist teasing the child: "Good children deserve rewards. Finney, tell me, what reward do you want?"

Upon hearing this, Fino turned to look at Maldini in surprise. After seeing the gentle smile on Maldini's face, he hesitated for a second or two before truthfully expressing the small wish in his heart at that moment. Although it might seem a little strange, he just wanted to express it at that moment.

"I want you to carry me back to the locker room." He quickly added, "If you'd like."

Maldini was somewhat surprised, but he readily granted Fino's wish.

He bent down with his back to Fino and pointed to his back with his thumb.

"Come on up!"

Now it was Fino's turn to hesitate.

"Hurry up, Finni," Maldini urged. "Carlo is urging us from ahead."

Without further hesitation, Fino leaned over and climbed onto Maldini's back, wrapping his arms tightly around Maldini's neck. Maldini supported Fino's thighs with his hands, straightened up, and carried Fino slowly toward the locker room.

Although the match has ended, the live broadcast continues, with commentators analyzing and summarizing the game, and the camera still scanning back and forth on the field, trying to capture some interesting moments after the match.

The live camera followed Maldini as he put his arm around Fino's neck, and flashbulbs went off continuously in the media section to capture these exciting moments.

When Maldini carried Fino on his back, the camera flashes went absolutely wild.

Fino's eyes were a little red, and he quickly buried his head in Maldini's neck to prevent the camera from capturing his current expression.

At that moment, he was truly happy.

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Author's Note: Thank you all for your support! [Let me see...]