Chapter 111 Are we like Romeo and Julius Dauphin in football? ...
Milan's counter-attack started from the backfield. Maldini made a long pass to Pirlo, who, under Gattuso's protection, also made a long pass. The ball flew nearly 30 meters in the air and landed precisely at the feet of Ambrosini on the left flank of the attacking third. Ambrosini did not hesitate at all and immediately passed the ball to Fino.
At this moment, Fino was already close to the penalty arc, and Milan, in just a few seconds, passed the ball to Villarreal's weak backfield with only three long passes.
Goalkeeper Lopez was on high alert. At this moment, only two center-backs, Fuentes and Godin, remained in the penalty area, marking Pato and Shevchenko respectively. The other teammates were desperately retreating from Milan's half, but it was clearly too late.
Fino would be one-on-one with Lopez as soon as he entered the penalty area, and Lopez lowered his center of gravity to prepare for a save.
Fino didn't enter the penalty area; with no defenders interfering, he was preparing to try something special.
After controlling the ball, he made slight adjustments and began to shoot, Pirlo's instructions flashing through his mind. He used the top of his right instep, aiming at the center of the ball, and lifted it upwards upon contact...
The ball flew straight up along the middle.
Lopez judged that the ball would most likely go over the crossbar, so as a precaution, he stayed in the middle, ready to tip it upwards when it came flying over.
However, the ball did not follow the path he expected. After flying a distance, it suddenly began to veer to the left, then plummeted, grazing the crossbar and into the net.
Startled, Lopez instinctively made a save, but it was all in vain.
Milan won 2-0 at home, leading 3-0 on aggregate.
After watching the ball successfully enter the net, Fino clenched his fists and let out a triumphant roar, then turned around and gave Pirlo a thumbs-up.
This was a technique that Pirlo taught him, and he would accompany him during extra training sessions after each session to practice repeatedly. He practiced hard for a long time and finally got the chance to show it off.
"That's fantastic, Finni! You've graduated!" Pirlo rushed up and hugged Finni tightly, genuinely proud of him.
"Gooooal! Cabrini unleashed Pirlo's knuckleball technique, scoring another goal for AC Milan. After scoring, Cabrini gave Pirlo a thumbs up, paying tribute to the free-kick master."
Trailing by three goals on aggregate, Villarreal's morale plummeted, while Milan continued their relentless pursuit. In the remainder of the first half, Shevchenko scored another goal for Milan, assisted by Pirlo.
With a 3-0 lead in the second leg and a 4-0 lead overall, advancing to the next round was no longer in doubt.
Ancelotti wasn't going to push for a decisive victory. Right at the start of the second half, he made three substitutions, taking off Fino, Shevchenko, and Pirlo, and using defenders to block the goal.
Not every team is Liverpool, capable of turning a 3-0 lead around. Miracles are called miracles precisely because of their rarity.
Milan held onto the score until the final whistle, defeating Villarreal 4-0 on aggregate and advancing to the Champions League quarterfinals.
Pellegrini was mentally prepared for this result; the gap in strength between the two sides was indeed significant. He walked over and shook hands with Ancelotti with great poise.
After their initial disappointment, Villarreal's players quickly recovered and began exchanging jerseys with the Milan stars they had arranged to meet before the match.
"Um, Fino, how about we exchange jerseys?" Rossi walked up to Fino and made his request somewhat awkwardly.
Fino readily agreed to join the national team, having been selected at the same time as himself, and he even chatted with Rossi for a few minutes.
After a while, Pirlo came over, nodded to Rossi, and told Fino to go back to the locker room to take a shower.
"Giuseppe, see you in the national team." Fino waved to Rossi, put his arm around Pirlo's shoulder, and left.
Two weeks later, it will be international break again, and Italy will play two World Cup qualifiers. They will meet again soon.
Liverpool's home game against Real Madrid also ended at the same time.
After taking a shower, Fino glanced at Alonso's score; Liverpool were playing even more aggressively than Milan.
Liverpool narrowly defeated Real Madrid 1-0 in the first leg, and in the second leg at home, they scored 4 goals in quick succession, leaving Real Madrid completely bewildered and sending them home with a 5-0 aggregate score.
Real Madrid's "round of 16" title remains firmly in place.
"Wow~" Fino exclaimed involuntarily.
"What's wrong?" Nesta walked over, drying his hair.
"It's nothing." Fino turned off his phone. He wasn't stupid to bring up Liverpool's big win in the locker room.
After dinner, Fino glanced at the time and then dialed Alonso's number.
Alonso answered the phone without waiting even a second.
"Harvey, good evening."
Good evening, Finney, congratulations on advancing to the Champions League quarterfinals.
Fino laughed: "You stole my lines."
“But I was just about to call and congratulate you, and your call came in as soon as I picked up my phone.” Alonso laughed too.
“I checked the stats, and this is your 200th appearance for Liverpool. It’s a very memorable match. Congratulations!”
Upon hearing this, Alonso's smile gradually faded, and he fell silent.
Fino sensed something was wrong and quickly asked, "Are you alright, Harvey?"
Alonso said softly, "My time with Liverpool ends this season."
The experience of being traded around the world by the team and manager last summer left a deep rift in Alonso's heart. He realized that he had gone from being a very important player at Liverpool to a player who could be sold at any time for a transfer fee.
Alonso has a very strong sense of pride, which caused him great pain, especially since the transfer failed and he had to stay at Liverpool for another year.
This season, he has performed exceptionally well. With Gerrard and Torres sidelined due to injury, he has taken on the responsibility of being the midfield maestro, delivering an even more stunning performance than in previous years. He has proven with his actions that he is Liverpool's best tactical core.
Benitez was forced to continue using him.
It's a strange feeling. The players who are not valued by the coach are the most competitive. To outsiders, this is a classic case of a comeback that proves them wrong.
However, Alonso, as the person involved, felt no satisfaction. The broken mirror could not be mended, and the experience of being sold would forever remain in his heart. Every day he stayed in Liverpool was an execution of his heart.
Even though he was extremely reluctant, he had to leave Liverpool this summer.
Although he didn't have the same experience as Alonso, Fino could completely empathize with Alonso's feelings at that moment.
If one day Milan were to announce to the world that they wanted to sell him, even if he were heartbroken, he would still choose to leave. He loves Milan, but dignity is also important. When his love is trampled underfoot by the club, that's when it's time to leave.
Without dignity, a player's spirit will crumble, and once that spirit crumbles, their career is over.
However, he couldn't continue discussing this issue with Alonso, as it involved Alonso's privacy, and with the season entering a crucial stage, such news could undermine morale if it were to surface.
So he casually changed the subject: "Then come to Milan, we're really short of midfielders."
Alonso understood Fino's good intentions, calmed himself down, and continued the conversation along with what Fino had to say.
"Aren't you afraid Pirlo will beat you up? He's even willing to teach you his free-kick skills, and you turn around and poach a rival from Liverpool for him?"
"Don't worry, Andrea can't beat me," Fino said calmly.
"Then dare you say in the locker room that you want to poach me to join Milan?"
Fino really wouldn't dare. The aftermath of the Istanbul night was too great. In the 60th minute, it was Alonso's goal that leveled the score for Liverpool, ultimately leading to extra time and a penalty shootout.
Gattuso and his team are still in shock!
But he still stubbornly insisted, "As long as you come, there's nothing I wouldn't dare to do."
He knew Alonso wouldn't come; the Milan dressing room was still reeling from the Istanbul night, and Alonso was just as disgusted by the Athens night.
It was just the two of them arguing about something that was impossible.
Milan and Liverpool are certainly not bitter rivals, but the fateful Champions League final clashes make it difficult for the parties involved to let go of the past in the short term.
It's a miracle in itself that the people involved in Liverpool's youth academy have secretly become close friends with each other.
Alonso found it increasingly amusing, and he joked, "Don't we look like a football version of Romeo and Juliet?"
“Hmm…” Fino felt that Alonso had really been steeped in the English trend, but he still played along and joked, “Then let’s elope!”
The two of them burst into laughter.
...
After the Champions League match against Villarreal, Milan's focus returned to the domestic league.
The next match is Serie A Round 28, with Milan playing away against Siena.
Before this match, more good news came: Kaka and Ronaldinho passed their medical examinations and were able to play.
Milan's injury situation is generally improving. Apart from Borriello being out for the season and Seedorf and Bonera needing to continue recovering, the injuries of other players have been effectively controlled.
This put Ancelotti in a great mood.
With two and a half months left in the season and 11 rounds remaining in the domestic league, Milan faces the heaviest workload among the title contenders at this crucial time of the season's end.
Of the four Italian teams that made it to the Champions League knockout stage, only AC Milan reached the quarterfinals, while Inter Milan, Juventus, and Roma were all eliminated from the Champions League.
Under such circumstances, the fewer injuries the team suffers, the greater the chance of winning the championship.
Kaká and Ronaldinho appeared in the squad for the trip. To be on the safe side, Ancelotti did not start the two who had recovered from their injuries, but instead put them both on the bench.
In this match, Ancelotti continued to use the 4-3-1-2 formation, with Abbiati guarding Milan's goal, Zambrotta and Jankulovski playing as the two full-backs, and Nesta and veteran Favalli partnering as center-backs.
Gattuso was rested for this match, and Flamini took his place, partnering with Pirlo and Ambrosini to control the midfield. Fino continued as the attacking midfielder, and Pato and Inzaghi were the two strikers.
With the referee's whistle, the match officially began.
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