Chapter 26: The Champions League, the Club World Cup, and the Kaka Year...
At the Ballon d'Or ceremony, Kaká won the award with a score of 444, far surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo's 277 and Lionel Messi's 255.
Kaka's selection was not in doubt. 2007 was a year without major tournaments, and no one had any major national team honors, so the Champions League trophy became the most important point of contention.
Kaká not only delivered a god-like performance on Milan's road to victory, but also won the Champions League Golden Boot with 10 goals, a brilliant performance that set him apart from the crowd.
Two days later, on December 4, Milan played their final Champions League group stage match at home against Scottish giants Celtic.
The match was originally scheduled for a week later, but due to Milan's upcoming Club World Cup campaign, UEFA moved the final match of Group D forward by a week. Group D will be the first group to determine the qualifying teams.
In the first five Champions League group stage matches, AC Milan led with 10 points, Celtic were second with 9 points, Shakhtar Donetsk were third with 6 points, and Benfica were at the bottom of the group with 4 points.
Regardless of the outcome of the match between Milan and Celtic, Milan has already secured qualification. As long as Milan remains undefeated, they can advance as the group winner and gain the advantage of playing the second leg at home in the knockout stage.
The other qualifying spot is still uncertain, with both Celtic and Shakhtar Donetsk having a chance.
Celtic can secure another qualifying spot if they remain undefeated.
If Celtic lose and Shakhtar Donetsk beat Benfica, then Celtic and Shakhtar Donetsk will both have 9 points, but Shakhtar Donetsk will take the qualification spot from Celtic by one goal.
Benfica have completely lost their chance to qualify, but that doesn't mean they'll let Shakhtar Donetsk win. If Benfica can beat Shakhtar Donetsk, they can accumulate 7 points, overtake Shakhtar Donetsk by 1 point, and enter the UEFA Cup as the third-placed team in the group.
In the final round of Group D matches, Milan faced the least pressure, as Ancelotti rotated all of his defenders, giving second-choice goalkeeper Kalac, as well as Cafu, Bonera, Simic, and Favalli playing opportunities.
The final result was exactly as Milan had hoped: Milan easily defeated Celtic 1-0, accumulating 13 points and advancing as the group winners.
The goal was scored by Inzaghi, who broke Gerd Müller's record of 62 goals in European competitions with his 63rd goal, becoming the all-time top scorer in European competitions.
In another match, Benfica defeated Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 away from home, accumulating 7 points and advancing to the UEFA Cup. While sending Shakhtar home, they also helped Celtic, who had 9 points, advance to the Champions League round of 16.
The Club World Cup will kick off on December 7, 2007, three days after Milan's match against Celtic.
According to the Club World Cup rules, as the reigning Champions League champions, AC Milan can skip the qualifying rounds and quarterfinals and go directly to the semifinals, giving them a much-needed breather.
After a short rest, Ancelotti led his team onto a plane bound for Japan.
Even when traveling by private jet, the players still have to spend a long 13 hours on the plane, which involves eight time zones and requires adjusting to an eight-hour time difference, making it a truly tiring journey.
Fortunately, their hard work paid off. In the semi-final on December 13, Milan defeated the host team Urawa Red Diamonds from the Japanese J-League and met Boca Juniors, the Copa Libertadores champions, in the final. In the final on December 16, Milan defeated Boca Juniors 4-2 to win the Club World Cup.
After the Club World Cup, Kaká flew to Zurich, Switzerland, where he won the 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year award with a high score of 1047. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were still running for the title, but their positions were reversed.
In the world of football, 2007 was undoubtedly Kaka's year. He not only won three team titles with AC Milan—the Champions League, the European Super Cup, and the Club World Cup—but also reached new heights in individual honors, winning awards left and right.
Fino was happy for his good friend, but he had a vague feeling that it would soon be time for his friend to say goodbye to Milan.
With Kaká sweeping the awards in 2007, Kaká's father's ambitions resurfaced. He frequently contacted top clubs such as Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Barcelona, putting pressure on Milan to give Kaká a significant pay raise. This was interpreted and amplified by the media, stirring up another storm in the football world.
Does Kaka deserve a significant pay rise? In terms of ability and performance, he certainly does. It seems reasonable for the world's number one player to demand the highest salary in the football world, which is also why Kaka tacitly allowed his father to put constant pressure on Milan.
The problem is that Milan's financial deficit is getting worse and worse, and the salary system is on the verge of collapse with Kaká's repeated pay rises. Milan can hardly afford to support this big man anymore.
On December 20th, AC Milan entered the Italian Cup competition. Ancelotti fielded a completely reserve team, and the team lost the match decisively with a score of 1-2.
In order to compete for a higher league ranking and go further in the Champions League, Milan has strategically abandoned the Italian Cup.
On December 21, the draw for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 was held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
Of the teams that made it to the Round of 16 this season, four are from the English Premier League: Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Liverpool; three are from Serie A: AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Roma; and three are from La Liga: Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Sevilla.
The other six teams are Lyon, the six-time French Ligue 1 champions; Porto, the Portuguese champions; Celtic, the Scottish Premiership giants; Fenerbahce, the Turkish Super League powerhouse; Schalke 04, the sole Bundesliga representative; and Olympiacos from the Greek Super League.
Among them, only Olympiacos sounds relatively unfamiliar, but it is actually a very strong team in the Greek league. Brazilian superstar Rivaldo played for the club for 3 years and helped it win three consecutive league titles.
The 16 teams will face off in a draw, with the following pairings: AC Milan vs. Arsenal, Inter Milan vs. Liverpool, Manchester United vs. Lyon, Real Madrid vs. Roma, Barcelona vs. Celtic, Chelsea vs. Olympiacos, Porto vs. Schalke 04, and Sevilla vs. Fenerbahce.
Ancelotti and Arsenal manager Wenger exchanged a smile and greeted each other amicably, but both felt a deep sense of unease, recognizing the other as a tough nut to crack.
In Ancelotti's view, Arsenal is unleashing a youth revolution, and it's uncertain whether Milan's aging squad can withstand the impact.
In Wenger's eyes, Milan is the embodiment of championship genes, and Arsenal, who have never won a Champions League title, naturally deserves his utmost attention.
Fortunately, the Champions League knockout stage will not begin until late February 2008, so Ancelotti can focus his energy on the league, with the 17th round of Serie A about to begin.
On the afternoon of December 23, AC Milan played their last match before the winter break, an away game against Serie A leaders Inter Milan.
Since AC Milan and Inter Milan share a stadium, apart from the significant difference in the number of home and away fans, the home-away factor has little impact on the two teams in Milan.
Of the three league matches postponed in Round 12 due to the death of a fan, Inter Milan vs. Lazio and Roma vs. Cagliari were rescheduled on December 5th. Only Atalanta vs. AC Milan remains unrescheduled.
After the first 16 rounds of Serie A, Inter Milan topped the table with 40 points, an unbeaten record of 12 wins and 4 draws. Juventus came in second with 32 points, Roma with 31 points and Udinese with 28 points were in third and fourth place respectively, while AC Milan, who missed 3 league games, ranked fifth with 26 points.
This is the 267th Milan derby in history, and a clash between last season's Champions League winner and Serie A champion.
In protest against stricter anti-hooliganism laws, die-hard AC Milan fans in the South Stand and Inter Milan fans in the North Stand united and demonstrated in silence, without displaying any banners or TIFOs, making it a silent derby.
Before the match, Inter Milan players lined up on both sides of the players' tunnel exit, applauding to welcome the AC Milan players who had just won the Club World Cup, demonstrating Inter Milan's sportsmanship and the friendly relationship between the two city rivals.
In Inter Milan's squad, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who stands at 195cm, is particularly eye-catching; he is significantly taller than Inter Milan's goalkeeper, Julio Cesar.
After the "Calciopoli" scandal broke in 2006, Ibrahimovic left Juventus, who were about to be relegated to Serie B, and joined Inter Milan, the replacement champions, where he quickly became the core of the team's attack under coach Mancini.
Last season, some AC Milan fans complained in interviews: Inter Milan bought a god-like striker like Ibrahimovic for 24.8 million euros, while AC Milan bought a erratic player like Oliveira for 15 million euros. This 10 million euro difference must be the most cost-effective 10 million euro in football transfer history, right?
This season, Ibrahimovic has continued to perform exceptionally well, helping Inter Milan lead the Serie A standings with a series of goals and assists.
Ibrahimovic's imposing physique and agile, delicate technique left a deep impression on Fino.
However, Ibrahimovic's behavior during the pre-match lineup puzzled Fino. His expression looked strange, and he kept glancing at Nesta. Fino suspected that he had a problem with Nesta and that he was up to no good.
To counter Inter Milan's dominance at the top of the table, Ancelotti fielded Milan's strongest lineup for this match. Dida guarded the goal, with Oddo, Nesta, Kaladze, and Maldini forming the back four. Gattuso, Pirlo, and Ambrosini controlled the midfield, while Kaká and Seedorf led the attack, with Inzaghi, who was not currently involved in the Champions League, occupying the lone striker position.
It's worth mentioning that Gattuso has not participated in training since his injury in the Club World Cup final, and his body has not yet fully recovered to a healthy level. However, he has been included in the starting lineup by Ancelotti, which shows Ancelotti's fear of Inter Milan.
Milan need Gattuso's defensive interception ability to protect Pirlo, the deep-lying playmaker in their Christmas tree formation.
Before the kickoff, both teams observed a minute's silence to mourn the death of 19-year-old referee Moreno, who died suddenly while officiating a match the previous day.
In the solemn atmosphere of the entire arena, a major battle was about to break out.
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