Chapter 83: Milan fans did not lose.
After scoring, Fino waved to the fans in celebration and then pushed Kaká, who was rushing towards him, back away. He had just changed his jersey during halftime, and although it was wet again, it was still relatively clean. He didn't want to be covered in mud or sticking close to his equally soaking wet teammates.
He high-fived Kaká, Inzaghi, and Seedorf in turn, then walked toward the center circle while adjusting his headband.
Her wet hair lay flat on her scalp, and Fino combed it back with her five fingers to create a slicked-back hairstyle, revealing her delicate features.
The cameras followed the goal scorer closely, capturing and playing back all of Fino's actions and expressions.
The commentator, who had been analyzing the fast break play, gasped, his voice becoming stammering: "My God, Cabrini's features are simply too beautiful. He must be the product of God's exquisite craftsmanship. Those dark eyes are enough to make every spectator watching this game fall for him..."
The visual impact of this image was so strong that it immediately sparked a surge in online discussion, and it was later captured as a GIF and spread across the internet.
Whether the audience is captivated or not is another matter, but I think the commentators are already captivated...
Is this commentator a legitimate commentator? How come he's gay?
Don't worry, the commentator is over 40 years old, married with children, and has a happy family.
The commentator was absolutely right, I'm hooked too...
I've fallen for it too...
...
After conceding two goals to Milan, Siena's coach was somewhat frustrated. Although Milan's midfield was shorthanded, it was still formidable, and with Kaká and Fino constantly dropping back to join the midfield penetration, Siena struggled to gain the upper hand. Pushing their defense forward into midfield made them vulnerable to Milan exploiting the space behind the defense, making the situation extremely difficult.
Finally, he decided to start the bus, play defensively for a while, and wait for a counter-attack opportunity.
As Siena tightened their defense, Milan's attack naturally faced greater resistance, but Ancelotti wasn't worried. Milan was leading by two goals and firmly held the initiative.
The game reached the 70th minute, and the score remained deadlocked, with neither side able to change the score.
Ancelotti used two substitutions simultaneously, replacing Emerson with Ambrosini and Inzaghi with Shevchenko. The two veterans were nearing exhaustion and needed rest, while also giving Shevchenko some playing time.
As the match neared its end, Siena finally had a chance to counterattack.
After goalkeeper Manita saved Shevchenko's shot, he immediately launched a long ball diagonally to Galloppa, who was near the midfield sideline. Galloppa then passed the ball to Halja, who dribbled down the left flank and broke into Milan's penalty area.
Antonini, who should have been marking him, was out of position, allowing Halja to make unimpeded runs down the left flank.
Nesta had no choice but to leave his goal to cover for Antonini, intercepting Halja outside the penalty area and gradually pressuring him toward the byline.
At this moment, Siena's two forwards were being marked by Bonera and Zambrotta respectively, and Siena's midfielder Cordrea quickly stepped forward to support Halja, who was about to be forced out of bounds by Nesta.
At this moment, Cordrea was facing the goal directly, and if he received a pass from Halja, he would pose a significant threat to Milan's goal. Zambrotta released Ghazzal from his marking and turned to mark Cordrea, while simultaneously signaling to Antonini, who had finally returned to the penalty area, to cover for him.
However, Antonini's performance caused Ancelotti to frown. Instead of following Zambrotta's instructions to mark Ghazzal, he ran towards the byline, as if declaring his determination to reclaim the lost position…
This resulted in a large gap in Milan's defense, leaving Ghazal unmarked and able to freely run and support Kharja.
The situation on the field was changing rapidly, and there was no time to remind Antonini anymore. Ancelotti could only hope that Nesta could successfully force Harja and the ball out of bounds.
Unfortunately, Harja had already spotted the opening in Ghazal's position, and despite Nesta's pressure, he managed to get the ball to Ghazal's feet.
Without hesitation, Ghazal took a shot, and Abbiati's save was a step too slow; the ball nestled into the net just past the post.
Siena pulled one back.
Ancelotti was very dissatisfied with Antonini, who was 90% responsible for the goal conceded. His two consecutive positional errors directly cost them a clean sheet.
Fortunately, this goal did not affect Milan's victory. Shortly after Siena scored, the game came to an end, and Milan won 2-1 at home, taking another 3 points.
After defeating Siena, Milan continued their campaign by facing Napoli at the San Siro.
In this match, Ancelotti rotated half of the starting players from the previous round.
Abbiati remained in goal, Favalli moved to center-back to partner with Bonera, Jankulovski played left-back, and Zambrotta returned to right-back. The midfield consisted of Gattuso, Pirlo, and Ambrosini, with Kaká and Ronaldinho playing as attacking midfielders. Borriello was given a starting opportunity as the lone striker.
Napoli has performed well in the league this season, and in this match, they were evenly matched with Milan, fighting for almost the entire game, with the score remaining 0-0.
However, near the end of the match, a mistake by striker Denis ruined Napoli's entire effort and handed Milan three points.
It was a free-kick opportunity for Milan. Ronaldinho sent the free kick from a tight angle on the left to the near post, and Denis made a mistake when he headed the ball away, sending it into the far corner of his own goal.
Fino was not included in the squad for this match; he watched the game from the stands with Maldini.
The intense battle that lasted for almost the entire match left Fino feeling extremely anxious.
Milan fielded half of their reserves in defense, and despite appearing shaky under Napoli's onslaught, they held on tenaciously until the very end.
Napoli's defense was very solid. Ancelotti tried everything, bringing on Pato and Inzaghi, but still couldn't break through Napoli's defense.
Just when Fino thought the match would end in a draw, the opponent scored an own goal...
This victory was so unexpected that, amidst the cheers at San Siro, Fino gained a new understanding of the word "fate."
Maldini has played football for so many years, and such incredible developments are nothing new to him; he's seen even more unbelievable things before.
He patted Fino's hair and said with a smile, "Sometimes, luck is also a kind of strength."
Fino nodded.
Before Milan could even catch their breath, another Champions League match was about to begin, with Milan hosting Fenerbahce.
Two weeks ago, Milan's experience at Fenerbahce's home ground infuriated the Rossoneri!
What's going on? How dare they bully our AC Milan players!
Are you Turks looking down on us Italian football hooligans (scratch that) hardcore fans?
Now it's finally our turn to play at home in Milan, and we must get our revenge!
What? You're saying the police quelled the Fenerbahce fans' riot and didn't harm the Milan players?
Even if there was no physical harm, what about the mental impact? Our Pato is only 19 years old, and our Finney is only 20. They're still children! They must have been terrified!
From the moment the Fenerbahce home game ended, Milan fans began planning this retaliatory action, determined to teach the Fenerbahce fans a lesson and show them what it means to be a amateur!
In just a few days, the retaliatory action attracted tens of thousands of people. Several extreme fan groups in the South Stand immediately announced their intention to join, taking the opportunity to recruit ordinary fans into their organizations.
With the involvement of extremist fan groups, the scale and intensity of this retaliatory action have been greatly escalated. Ordinary fans, led by these extremist groups, will launch a comprehensive and multi-layered campaign of retaliation against Fenerbahce players and fans.
Several extreme fan groups in the South Stand even put aside their differences and cooperated, breaking down the task in detail and then each taking on a part to carry it out. They blocked the airport, the hotel, the bus, and even attacked opposing fans... finally converging at the San Siro to show the Turks what a truly intimidating home ground was like!
This retaliatory action was planned so openly and arrogantly that Gazzetta dello Sport even published a special feature to track and report on the planning and progress of the retaliatory action.
This high-profile retaliatory action caused a huge uproar on the internet and even alarmed UEFA.
UEFA immediately issued a statement reminding Fenerbahce fans to be cautious about traveling to Milan to watch the game, and put pressure on the Italian Football Federation and AC Milan to resolve this major problem before the match starts. Otherwise, the match will be banned from home fans, postponed, or even AC Milan's UEFA points may be deducted.
The Italian Football Federation (IFF) was in a real bind. This was a Champions League match; what did it have to do with the IFF? But with higher-ups in power, the IFF could only issue a statement urging fans to remain calm while simultaneously putting pressure on AC Milan.
AC Milan is under immense pressure. They also issued a statement urging fans to remain calm and restrained, but without a target to shift blame or exert pressure, they could only request assistance from the police.
Fortunately, the Milan police were quite effective. Within the bounds of the law, they followed the trail, raided several strongholds of Milan extremist fan groups, confiscated a large amount of dangerous goods, and arrested a number of extremist fans with prior convictions, barely managing to suppress this retaliatory action.
After Fenerbahce's plane landed, the police provided full protection, with police cars escorting the team's bus and police guarding the hotel, ensuring the team's safe arrival at San Siro. A large number of police officers were also deployed during the match.
As for Fenerbahce's fans, they didn't even travel with the team to the away game.
Hilarious! Of course they'd be the first to cause trouble at home, but away from home they're clearly at a disadvantage. Only a fool would throw their life away! They know exactly what they're doing.
After their pre-match retaliatory plans were thwarted one by one by the police, Milan fans, with no way to get revenge, poured all their "passion" into the final "battle" at the San Siro. Those in the South Stand were the police's primary targets, undergoing multiple body searches upon entry to prevent them from bringing in contraband, including flags and TIFOs.
But it doesn't matter. Now all Milan fans are united in their hatred of the enemy. Some ordinary fans are willing to help them smuggle "private goods." Metal items and items suspected of being weapons were intercepted outside the stadium, but flags and TIFOs were basically brought into the stadium by ordinary fans, as well as some cold fireworks.
When the players entered the field, looking at the thunderous cheers from the stands on all sides, Fino reached out and hooked his arm around Pato's shoulder, just like he did when he entered the field in Istanbul.
"I was wrong. The Milan derby wasn't overshadowed. At least we AC Milan fans didn't lose."
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