Chapter 129 Champions League Winner
The second half began with the teams switching sides.
Barcelona did indeed start to panic under Milan's impenetrable defense.
The defensive line moved further and further forward, pressing up as a whole in accordance with Xavi's command.
The push forward was very effective, and Barcelona's attack quickly advanced to the vicinity of Milan's penalty area.
At this moment, a large number of players were clustered in front of Milan's goal. Barcelona's Puyol and Pique had already entered Milan's penalty area, passing and combining with their teammates in the midfield and attacking third. On Milan's side, Maldini and his four defenders were in position, with Gattuso and Flamini closely marking their respective players nearby.
The ball weaved through the narrow space, with the constant risk of a shot or being dispossessed, putting both sides on edge.
After receiving a pass from Puyol, Eto'o dribbled into Milan's penalty area, looking for a shooting opportunity. However, the Milan penalty area was packed with legs, and he couldn't find a shooting chance. He was also almost dispossessed by Nesta.
Left with no other option, he could only pass the ball to Henry, who was positioned slightly behind on the left wing, in an attempt to find a scoring opportunity from the side.
Before Henry could even process the ball after receiving it, Zambrotta closed in and reached out to poke the ball at Henry's feet.
Henry, the former King of Highbury, was quite skilled at ball control and naturally wouldn't be easily dispossessed by Zambrotta. However, there were too many players in the penalty area, and he couldn't find much space to cut inside.
Henry was about to pass the ball across to Messi on the other side of the penalty area, but at that moment Maldini came over and, together with Zambrotta, double-teamed Henry, leaving him no chance to pass the ball.
Maldini and Zambrotta worked together seamlessly, slowly pushing Henry towards the sideline. Just as he was about to be pushed out of bounds, Henry made a decisive move, swung his foot, and poked the ball away between Maldini and Zambrotta.
The ball deflected off teammate Pique's leg, was controlled by Nesta, and then passed it to midfield.
Milan's playmaker, Pirlo, received Nesta's pass, and Milan's counter-attack began.
With most of the players concentrated near Milan's penalty area, Barcelona's half was sparsely populated. Toure and Sylvinho were both some distance from their own penalty area, leaving only goalkeeper Valdes standing alone in Barcelona's penalty area.
Barcelona's defense was wide open, presenting a perfect opportunity for a long-range lob, but Pirlo was still beyond the halfway line and too far from the Barcelona goal. He couldn't afford to waste the chance. Unable to lob directly, he had to penetrate and break through with passes from his teammates.
Because of the offside rule, the fact that Barcelona's backfield was empty at this moment was actually advantageous to Barcelona. Milan's players cannot be closer to Barcelona's goal than the second-to-last Barcelona player, so Pirlo cannot link up with Fino and lob the ball directly into Barcelona's penalty area, as that would be offside.
Of course, Fino wasn't in Barcelona's penalty area either. He was positioned roughly the same as Toure and Sylvinho, with Kaká also roaming nearby, and Busquets standing next to him.
Pirlo passed the ball directly to Fino, who dribbled towards Barcelona's half. Kaká quickly followed and prepared to support Fino on his right.
Toure and Sylvinho immediately closed in on Fino, trying to dispossess him of the ball.
Fino dribbled forward a few meters, the ball twirling and shifting at his feet, firmly protected by him. Toure and Sylvinho tried several times but could not dispossess it.
However, the battle of wits with the two inevitably slowed Fino down. Puyol and the others were retreating at full speed, and time was precious. Fino did not intend to continue to entangle with the two.
Fino seized an opening and kicked the ball to the right front. The instant Fino kicked the ball, Kaká darted forward, caught it, and continued his sprint, leaving Busquets further and further behind.
At this moment, Kaka dribbled the ball and ran ahead of everyone else, with Fino, Toure, Sylvinho, and Busquets following behind him, and Pirlo and Xavi further away.
Valdes bent slightly, staring intently at the ball, waiting for Kaká's arrival. He was ready to save a one-on-one opportunity.
Kaka was very fast and didn't keep him waiting for long.
The moment Kaka entered the penalty area, he immediately made a shooting motion. Based on Kaka's movement, Valdes judged that the shot would be aimed at the bottom right corner of the goal, so he suddenly dived to his left to make the save.
However, Kaká did not shoot the ball in the direction of Valdes' save. He raised his foot and only lightly grazed the ball before quickly pulling it back. Only after Valdes made his save did he shoot again, calmly pushing the ball into the net from the middle.
2-0, Kaká extended Milan's lead in the 57th minute.
An excited Kaká pointed both fingers to the sky and ran towards the stands where the Milan fans were, basking in their cheers and adoration. He then turned around and hugged Fino, who had run over to celebrate with him.
"Well done, Richie!" Fino exclaimed, grabbing a handful of Kaka's hair as he did so.
Pirlo, Ambrosini, and even Maldini from the defense rushed over, and everyone excitedly hugged each other, celebrating wildly.
The substitutes on the bench huddled together, celebrating Milan's extended lead; they were getting closer and closer to the Champions League trophy.
"David, David! Carlo wants you to warm up, hurry up!" the assistant coach's voice came over.
Beckham was somewhat surprised. After joining Milan on loan, he received considerable playing time, but only in Serie A matches. Although the team registered him for the Champions League, Ancelotti rarely played him in those competitions. Unexpectedly, he received valuable playing time in the Champions League final.
Beckham immediately became excited.
Loaning him to Milan is such a great deal. He not only maintains excellent form in high-level competitions, but he can also personally compete for a Champions League medal.
Amidst envious glances from the substitutes, Beckham took off his jacket and began warming up under the guidance of the assistant coach.
The actions on the Milan bench were immediately noticed by the Barcelona side. With a reminder from the assistant coach, Guardiola also saw Beckham warming up.
Guardiola cursed inwardly. He immediately understood Ancelotti's next tactic—Ancelotti didn't even bother to call a few more players to warm up and provide cover for Beckham. He was simply telling Guardiola that they were going to increase long-range shots and see if he dared to push forward as a whole.
Barcelona's overall high press inevitably leaves their defense vulnerable, but due to the offside rule, Milan cannot launch quick counter-attacks through long passes and can only rely on Fino or Kaká to dribble forward, which also restricts Milan's attack.
Upon discovering the problem, Ancelotti immediately came up with a solution – to bring Beckham onto the field.
Beckham's long-range shooting is exceptional; he even scored a stunning 60-meter goal. When Beckham comes on, he will inevitably draw Barcelona's defense away from pushing too far forward, requiring at least one or two players to remain in the penalty area to coordinate with the goalkeeper and prevent Beckham from lobbing the ball directly into the net.
With a defender remaining in the penalty area, Barcelona's use of the offside rule as before becomes ineffective. Beckham and Pirlo can then utilize their long passing advantage, combining with Fino and Kaká in the attacking third to quickly send the ball into the Barcelona penalty area.
This is tricky! Guardiola bit his thumb again.
In the following time, Barcelona's players became more cautious. Even though they didn't have much time left, they only dared to pass the ball around in the midfield and backfield, and dared not easily break forward.
The closer to Milan's goal, the stronger Milan's defense becomes, and the higher the probability of being countered after conceding a goal.
The Barcelona players had the ball firmly in their control, yet they couldn't break through the defense and were constantly on edge, fearing a counter-attack. They looked frequently at Guardiola on the sidelines, hoping for some guidance.
Guardiola scratched his thinning head and substituted Keita for Henry, adding a versatile midfielder to try and use Keita to tie down Flamini and free up Iniesta.
He also signaled to Eto'o and Messi to drop back more frequently, hoping to use the two forwards' dribbling abilities to break through the opponent's defense.
However, these arrangements did not work well for Milan. Flamini stuck to Iniesta and carried out the task Ancelotti had given him to the end. Moreover, under Maldini's command, Milan's defense was like an iron cage, trapping Barcelona inside and leaving them with no way out.
In the 72nd minute, Ancelotti substituted Beckham for Ambrosini. Barcelona's defense dared not push forward easily anymore. With fewer defenders to assist them, Barcelona's attack became even more difficult to break through.
Guardiola had to admit that Barcelona's fate was sealed.
This was his rookie season, and his possession-based philosophy led Barcelona to a double in La Liga and the Copa del Rey, and they also reached the Champions League final. Everything was so wonderful.
But at the height of his pride, Ancelotti poured a bucket of ice water on him, extinguishing his arrogance.
He doesn't think Milan's strength on paper is stronger than Barcelona's. Apart from Fino, Kaká, and Flamini, all of Milan's other players are veterans over 30 years old, and Maldini is already 41. Goalkeeper Dida's level has also declined significantly, and he's just playing out of necessity.
Milan, under Barcelona's relentless pressure, could only passively defend, but managed to withstand wave after wave of Barcelona's attacks, scoring two goals on their few counter-attacks. Moreover, because they focused on defense, Milan's players spent most of the time in their own half, so their stamina was not greatly depleted, and Barcelona's age advantage could not be demonstrated.
Guardiola was somewhat frustrated, not because he was about to miss out on the Champions League title, but because it was a complete tactical collapse; his tactics were completely outmaneuvered by Ancelotti.
Barcelona's passing and possession style is not yet perfect; it still needs further improvement, both in terms of personnel and details.
In the final moments, Barcelona's rhythm clearly crumbled, with Messi and Eto'o relying on their individual skills to break through and take long-range shots, but they were still unable to change the score against Milan's strong defense.
As the match ticked down to its final seconds, the atmosphere grew increasingly heated. Milan fans sang the team anthem, and players on the bench put their arms around each other's shoulders as they walked to the sidelines. Everyone in the world who supports Milan was waiting for the moment of victory.
When the referee blew the final whistle, cheers erupted from the stadium as AC Milan won their eighth Champions League title in club history!
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Author's note: Henry: My ball control is like Li Yi's! (Just kidding [laughing and crying emoji])
Thank you everyone for your support! [cat emoji]
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