Chapter 35 A 19-year-old kid can't really be...
After the Serie A Oscars, AC Milan's grueling schedule continues.
On January 30, Milan played a rescheduled match against Reggina.
In this match, Ancelotti continued to use the two-striker tactic, with Fino and Pato starting together.
During the match against Udinese in the 19th round, Ronaldo felt discomfort in his knee at halftime. After returning to Milan, he was diagnosed with a recurrence of his knee injury, and Ronaldo will need to be suspended for at least two weeks.
With Inzaghi also injured, Milan's attacking line is left with only Fino and Pato, both under 20 years old. Behind them is Kaká, the third youngest player in the team, and then all the players are from the 1970s.
As soon as the roster was released, fans on forums started making jokes. Some fans from other clubs, always eager for drama, quipped that "Milan can use moral blackmail against Reggina and accuse them of disrespecting the elderly and children."
Milan fans: Bitter...
The joke was directed at the fans; Reggina had absolutely no intention of looking down on Milan. Even though Milan is now full of old and young players, a fallen giant is still bigger than a horse. How could a team that has been languishing in the lower half of the table for years have the audacity to mock last season's Champions League winner?
In this match, Reggina focused on defense from the start, cautiously facing Milan's attacks, seemingly determined to secure a draw and a point.
Milan, of course, did not hold back. Despite Reggina's tight defense, Milan still managed to get several shots on goal in the first 15 minutes.
First, Pato's shot from the edge of the penalty area was saved by Reggina's goalkeeper Campagnolo. Then Nesta headed wide of a corner kick from Pirlo. After that, Pato's shot went over the bar.
Whether parking the bus is effective depends on the strength of the team. Reggina's ability is clearly inferior to that of Mourinho's Chelsea. In the 17th minute, Milan still seized the opportunity.
After Kaká's shot was cleared out of bounds by a Reggina defender, Milan earned a corner kick. Pirlo again took the corner, and he and Kaká combined effectively.
Pirlo took the corner kick and immediately moved away from the corner flag. Kaká received the ball and passed it back to Pirlo, who was no longer offside. After receiving Kaká's pass, Pirlo immediately crossed the ball, and Fino, who was lurking just 5 meters from the goal, made a diving header to head the ball into the near corner.
Reggina's goalkeeper Campaniolo had touched the ball, but still couldn't stop it from going into the net.
Milan take a 1-0 lead away from home.
From Pirlo's corner kick to Fino's header goal, it took less than 10 seconds.
Despite being down by one goal, Reggina did not launch an attack. Instead, they felt even more confident in the wisdom of their defensive tactics and continued to let Milan swagger in front of their goal.
For the next ten minutes or so, Campagnolo became the most featured player on the field. Milan took five shots in succession, and Campagnolo was busy directing the defenders to help block them while also making high cuts and low blocks.
Before halftime, Campaniolo's jersey was already covered in mud and grass.
Conceding one goal means zero points, conceding three goals also means zero points. If things continued like this, Reggina would inevitably concede more goals sooner or later. Reggina's coach, steeling himself, began directing a change in formation. Reggina finally became more aggressive in attack.
In the 32nd minute, Reggina finally got a chance. Serravorno and Missiroli combined to break through Nesta's blockade and shot the ball toward the near post. However, Kalac, who had been idle for several tens of minutes and almost caught a cold, was already prepared and easily saved the ball from the near post.
Reggina, who were already struggling defensively, became even more stretched on the defensive end after attacking, giving Milan even better counter-attacking opportunities.
In the 42nd minute, Milan had another excellent scoring opportunity.
After Nesta and Kaladze combined to thwart Reggina's attack, they passed the ball to Pirlo to orchestrate the play. Pirlo then launched a long pass that crossed the halfway line and landed precisely at Kaká's feet.
No matter how many times he watched it, Fino was fascinated by Pirlo's passing arc. It was as if God had used his hand to clear away the fog, making the attacking route instantly clear, simplifying the complex and making it well-organized.
Kaka dribbled the ball at high speed toward the penalty area, using a change of direction to shake off two defenders in quick succession, and took a shot the instant he entered the penalty area.
The ball was deflected in mid-air by Reggina defender Alonica's outstretched leg, changing its trajectory and bouncing to the side and upward. Fino won the aerial duel with Chirillo, and despite Lanzaro grabbing his shirt, he still managed to head the ball out his second header of the match.
The ball flew towards the left side of the goal, and Campaniolo made a quick save, pushing the ball back into the penalty area with one hand.
Before Reggina's defenders could even clear the ball, Kaka was already near where it was going to land. He met the incoming ball with a volley, and the ball obediently nestled into the bottom right corner of the goal.
At this point, Campaniolo was still lying on the ground, unable to get up, and could only watch the ball helplessly.
Milan extended their lead to 2-0.
After scoring, Kaká made his signature double-point-to-the-sky celebration, which drew loud cheers from the small group of Milan fans who had traveled with the team to the away game.
While clapping, Fino turned to Pato to discuss the positioning and teamwork of the previous play, only to be caught off guard and tackled to the ground by Kaká, who had just finished his celebration.
Ancelotti was terrified. Only these two forwards were left. If another unexpected player was eliminated, he would die. He would eat a lot of pig's head meat until he ate himself to death.
After that goal, Reggina seemed to have lost all their strength and ability, stubbornly defending their goal and refusing to come out.
The 2-0 scoreline held until the final whistle, with Milan securing 3 points away from home.
Before Milan could even catch their breath, the Serie A Round 21 match against Fiorentina kicked off just four days later.
Gilardino, who transferred to Fiorentina during the winter transfer window, was sidelined with injury and missed this match against his former club. Fino was somewhat disappointed, as he had hoped to greet Gilardino.
This is a crucial match for the rankings. At this point, Milan, with one game in hand, has 39 points and is temporarily in fourth place, while Fiorentina has 37 points and is one place behind Milan.
If Milan wins, they will widen the gap with Fiorentina to 5 points, while if Fiorentina wins, they will temporarily overtake Milan in the standings.
In order to solidify his ranking, Ancelotti abandoned the two-striker formation that he had been practicing recently and returned to his favorite Christmas tree formation in this match, determined to win 3 points.
In the lone striker position, Ancelotti placed the relatively safe Fino, with the familiar Kaká and Seedorf behind him. After more than half a year of working together, the three had already developed a strong understanding.
As Ancelotti hoped, Milan secured 3 points in this match, but the cost of those 3 points was rather high.
In the first half, after receiving a pass from Pirlo, Seedorf cut inside from the left side of the penalty area. Fiorentina defender Pasqual came forward to block him. During the confrontation, Pasqual hooked Seedorf's foot, causing Seedorf to sprain his right ankle.
Seedorf, who initially felt his condition wasn't too serious, returned to the game after receiving treatment on the sidelines. However, around the 60th minute of the second half, his right ankle began to feel increasingly uncomfortable, and he was eventually substituted by Pato.
After Pato came on, Milan quickly had a scoring opportunity.
After Fiorentina squandered a counter-attack opportunity, Milan launched a counter-attack within a counter-attack.
Maldini announced to everyone that he was still as sharp as ever with a brilliant tackle, followed by Pirlo's long diagonal pass from midfield, which landed precisely at Kaká's feet on the right flank.
Facing the Ballon d'Or winner known for his dribbling skills, Fiorentina's defenders dared not underestimate him. Ujfalusi and Kuzmanovski rushed to double-team him from the front and back, but Kaká did not intend to dribble past them. Instead, he chose to cross directly from the right flank.
Fino, who was already waiting at the ball's landing point, controlled the ball firmly with his chest, changed direction to get past the onrushing Gamberini, and then launched a high ball over Kroldrup's head.
Pato leaped high and headed the ball into the net with his forehead.
Milan lead 1-0.
Before Ancelotti could even breathe a sigh of relief, things began to develop in the direction he least wanted to see.
In the 82nd minute, Kaká was unexpectedly injured and replaced by Favalli. Ancelotti brought on a defender, hoping to drag the score to the end of the game through a tight defense. Milan used up all their substitutions.
In the 84th minute, Nesta was knocked down by Pazzini while defending. Nesta clutched his knee and didn't get up for a long time, seemingly injured. Fortunately, after examination by the team doctor, the injury was not serious, and Nesta was able to continue.
In the 88th minute, Pato twisted his left ankle while challenging Pasqual for the ball and was stretchered off the field. Milan, with no substitutions available, were forced to play with 10 men.
Fortunately, with little time remaining in the match, Milan managed to salvage their victory with five defenders and the recently outstanding Kalac.
Ancelotti was completely baffled.
Seedorf and Nesta's injuries should be minor and unlikely to affect their next match, but Kaká and Pato's injuries are more complicated and conservatively estimated to sideline them for two games.
Looking around, Fino is the only remaining player in Milan's attacking line.
Milan played a total of 7 games after the winter break. Fino played the full 90 minutes in all 4 games in which he started, and played the full 45 minutes in another game as a substitute.
You can't really use a 19-year-old kid like a donkey, can you?
He now only hopes that Ronaldo and Inzaghi recover smoothly and can be fit for the Serie A match against Siena in the 22nd round, as predicted by the team doctor.
After a grueling three weeks of seven matches following the winter break, AC Milan can finally breathe a sigh of relief. With their next match in a week, Ancelotti has given the players two days off.
Ancelotti himself has no time to rest; he's off to pick up kids from the youth teams again, and he doesn't even know if he can pick up another Fino.
Fino was also a bit busy on this day off, as his first day of vacation had already been booked by Inzaghi.
Since Inzaghi's injury, they have only met once, on the night of Oscar in Serie A, and usually only communicate by phone occasionally.
Fino is a very dedicated worker; even when caught in an emotional turmoil, he prioritizes training and matches. As for Inzaghi, when has Super Pippo ever been clingy? Fino is already used to it.
On the second day of the holiday, Fino was going to visit Kaka's house. Kaka had wanted to introduce Caroline to Fino for a long time, and now she finally had the time.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
