Chapter 7: A bombshell scoop from the *Gazzetta dello Sport*...
In the summer of 2007, Fino finally completed his high school studies and achieved good results in the college entrance examination.
He attended a classical liberal arts high school, a five-year program. It was quite tough to play football while studying, but thankfully he finally graduated.
For football players who rely on their physical abilities and talent, academic qualifications are no longer relevant to their jobs and income, and many players choose to drop out of school early to focus on playing football.
Neither Maldini nor Buffon completed high school, but that does not diminish their greatness; they will ultimately write a glorious chapter in the history of Italian football.
After all, Cofino has a Chinese chip.
The phrase "For children from ordinary families, going to university is the only way out" has long been etched into the minds of every Chinese person. Moreover, Fino's background in his previous life was even worse than that of an ordinary family, making him even more eager and devout for this path.
Even though this path is no longer needed, he continues to move forward on it step by step.
In total, Fino has spent seventeen or eighteen years in school across two lifetimes. This path has been long and tiring, and he has been sustained only by the reward of "going to university".
But when the reward was within reach, Fino decided to delay receiving it.
On the one hand, Ancelotti has promised to give him more playing time in the new season, and he needs to focus more on improving himself and then use better performances to fight for a starting position.
On the other hand, although Fino is very confident in himself, the club was able to send away Albertini, so his future may not be limited to AC Milan. There are too many variables.
It's better to wait until he's proven his worth and established a stable position in the locker room before applying to university. Fino doesn't want his studies to be interrupted by being sold to another city.
It's worth mentioning that this summer, Ancelotti only kept Fino as a youth academy player. As for those who slandered Fino in the shower last season, they have all been either loaned or sold and have been cleared out by the club.
After re-signing, Fino immediately had more money in his pocket.
After turning 18, Fino took the time to get his driver's license and, after signing a contract with Milan, bought a used car as a belated coming-of-age gift to himself.
During the winter break, he inherited his parents' fortune—a small apartment in Milan and tens of thousands of euros in savings. He then moved out of his dormitory in Milanello and took a taxi to work every day.
It's really inconvenient not having a car for transportation.
This car cost about 8,000 euros. It was Fino's first car and the most expensive thing he had ever bought in his two lifetimes.
He carefully cleaned the car body with a rag, and then excitedly drove around most of Milan.
As the spring breeze blew and the wind swept through the car window and brushed against his cheek, Fino felt as if most of the pent-up frustration in his heart had been blown away.
This summer, he finally experienced a sense of inner fulfillment and peace of happiness.
He had a small shelter from the wind and rain, and even without any family members, it was a kind of home.
His love for football has truly become his livelihood, and he's doing it quite well.
He can earn 500,000 euros a year, which is a lot of money for ordinary people, and he no longer needs to worry about making a living.
The man he admired was his teammate, and he had firsthand materials to consume every day, absolutely fresh, without any middlemen or reprocessing, and the authenticity was completely uncompromised.
He also made some good friends.
After hardship comes happiness, and everything is unbelievably wonderful.
As the summer break drew to a close, Fino was already eagerly anticipating the new season.
Fino, who never paid attention to the news, was unaware that while he was happily floating on the clouds, Gazzetta dello Sport had dropped a bombshell, sending shockwaves through European football:
Galliani turns against him, Maldini loses power – AC Milan is in turmoil, what will the new season bring?
The Gazzetta dello Sport provided a detailed account of a dispute between Maldini and Galliani during the summer break, and Fino's name also appeared in the newspaper; more accurately, Fino was the catalyst.
Oliveira, who joined Milan last season, left Milan this summer to return to La Liga. Maldini and Galliani had a heated argument over the vacant number 7 jersey. Maldini preferred youth academy player Cabrini to wear the number 7, intending to promote Milan's youth players and further expand the influence of the Italian contingent. Galliani, however, was determined to reserve the number 7 jersey for Pato, who wouldn't officially join the team for another six months, to further strengthen the Brazilian contingent's influence. It's worth noting that Pato's transfer fee was €22 million, making him Milan's most expensive signing of the 2007 summer transfer window.
"The essence of this conflict is a power struggle between Maldini and Galliani. Galliani has been working to weaken Maldini's prestige in Milan, disband the Knights Table, and change Milan's traditional family-based power structure towards a modern corporate management model. With Costacurta's retirement, Maldini is left to fend for himself, as evidenced by this jersey number battle, where he has already fallen behind. It's foreseeable that as Maldini nears retirement, the struggle between Galliani and Maldini will intensify. What will become of AC Milan, embroiled in internal strife?"
In an instant, the whole city was in turmoil, with all sorts of characters taking turns on the stage.
The scientific gossip enthusiasts rushed to produce a 10,000-word analysis overnight, starting from when AC Milan was forcibly relegated by the Football Association in 1980 due to a series of scandals, to Berlusconi's takeover, the era of the three musketeers, the formation of the Knights Table, and continuing to the current jersey number dispute.
Adhering to the principle of "I believe you if you write a lot," onlookers clicked in and eagerly watched, nodding frequently at the seemingly reasonable and well-founded analysis, only to be shattered by the massive amount of personal opinions smuggled in.
Among them are stories of Maldini's infatuation with Van Basten, Shevchenko's attempts to seduce Maldini, and Ancelotti's anger and rejection of Albertini after his attempt to sexually harass him failed...
These melons are outrageous but delicious, and the onlookers are enjoying them immensely.
Finally, it was discovered that the author was an Inter Milan fan, and then he was bombarded with criticism from AC Milan fans, Maldini fans, and Maldini haters.
The author was indignant. It was one thing for AC Milan fans and Maldini fans to attack him, but how dare you Maldini haters attack him? Your insults were dirtier than anyone else's.
Maldini's haters continued their rant, but that's a feud between us and Maldini. If anyone's going to rant, it's us. Who do you think you are to dare to criticize our Milan captain?
Those who spread rumors confidently claimed to have inside information that Maldini's beating of Galliani was orchestrated by Ambrosini.
The gloating crowd shouted: "Good job tearing it apart! Tear it even louder!"
The worried group cried out: "Is our season really over? No, Rabbit! No, Horseman! Leopard Cat, please make up."
...
Unlike the uproar outside, things were calm inside the Milan team. Everyone acted as if they hadn't seen the news at all. After arriving at Milanello, they greeted each other, changed their clothes, and went to the training ground, showing no signs of anything unusual.
Kaka and Ronaldo complained to each other about how much overweight they were during their medical checkups, while Gattuso was chasing Pirlo all over the training ground...
Maldini, who underwent knee surgery during the summer break, also came to Milanello today to take the team photo for the new season. He is discussing defensive issues with Nesta.
The other party involved, Fino, was equally calm and composed. He didn't even have the restlessness that comes with the start of the season and had already begun his meticulous warm-up.
Veteran Emerson, who transferred from Real Madrid this season, is full of admiration for Maldini. Just look at their control over the locker room. The Gazzetta dello Sport is absolutely talking nonsense.
Locker room turmoil? Impossible. Who dares challenge Maldini's authority?
Cabrini is not to be underestimated either; he's not even 19 yet, and he's so calm. No wonder Maldini wanted to fight for the number 7 jersey for him—with that mentality, he's destined for greatness!
After training, Fino went to the equipment room and dragged out some cones, preparing to practice dribbling and changing direction a little longer.
When he finished his extra training and returned the cones to the equipment room, the training field was empty.
Fino returned to the locker room, ready to shower and go home, but when he opened the door, he found Maldini sitting alone in the locker room, waiting for him.
Fino has hardly ever spent time alone with Maldini.
He knew very well that his adoration for Maldini was a projection of his personal feelings; Maldini was the embodiment of his fantasies about his father's role models, and the Maldini he loved was not real.
The real Maldini was certainly powerful, excellent, and admirable, but he didn't perfectly match his inner imagination.
Fino was both a follower and a god-maker.
He suppressed his eagerness and tried his best not to learn about the real Maldini, as that would shatter the perfect image of the god in his mind.
He was unwilling to let the god in his heart step down from his pedestal.
Fino was a reserved and rational person. He knew, of course, that this kind of mentality was too fanatical. If it were ever exposed, he would be so embarrassed that he would have nowhere to hide.
Therefore, he never expressed his love and admiration for Maldini like other youth players; he respected Maldini but was not close to him.
"Finished training?" Maldini sat down in his chair as if on a throne.
“Captain.” Fino nodded and obediently walked up to Maldini.
Maldini patted the seat next to him, gesturing for Fino to sit down and talk.
"Don't take the reports to heart. Galliani and I just had a casual discussion about jersey number allocation. The ownership of that number doesn't mean anything. You're a product of Milanello, and the club has high hopes for your future."
Then he saw confusion in Fino's eyes.
It turns out that Fino hadn't seen the news.
“It’s nothing serious.” Maldini ruffled Fino’s hair. “We originally wanted you to wear number 7 in the new season, but the club may have had an agreement with Pato, so number 7 is reserved for Pato.”
So that's all there is to it.
Fino didn't care about the number; he immediately told Maldini that he was fine and didn't mind continuing to wear number 66.
Maldini raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not, with someone this good-looking, the club needs to sell jerseys!" Maldini joked. "I picked number 14 for you, do you like it?"
Fino nodded. Maldini had chosen the number for him, so it was definitely a good one.
Maldini smiled and ruffled his hair again.
If you keep rubbing me, I'm going to yell, "I want to acknowledge you as my dad!" Fino thought to herself.
He remarked that he was quite humorous and that participating in a comedy competition wouldn't be a bad idea.
Before leaving, Maldini patted him on the shoulder and encouraged him, "Work hard, kid. I hope that one day you can become a pillar of Milan."
Even as he stood under the showerhead, Fino remained in a daze, his mind replaying the scene of his time with Maldini.
He covered his face and screamed softly.
After leaving the locker room, Maldini's face quickly turned cold.
Of course, things weren't as light and breezy as he made them out to Fino. He just didn't want Fino to know the dirty secrets behind it all. Fino was still young, and growing up quickly was the most important thing.
"Ha, Galliani couldn't resist commenting as soon as Costacurta retired." Maldini scoffed.
The report in Gazzetta dello Sport was most likely leaked by Galliani, who was eager to let the outside world know that he was now alone and that Galliani was the one in charge of Milan.
The competition over jersey numbers is just the beginning; there will be more to come.
Maldini is well aware that his authority stems from the prestige he has built up in the locker room and among the fans over the past 20 years, which makes Galliani very wary, especially since Maldini is nearing retirement and fears that Maldini will seize power once he enters the management team.
How can I allow someone else to snore beside my bed?
Therefore, Galliani both expanded the Brazilian faction in the locker room, diverting his power, and supported the extreme fan group in the South Stand, which tarnished his reputation.
No matter how high one's prestige is, power is meaningless. Once one loses the support of the locker room and the fans, power vanishes into thin air, and one is destined to lose to Galliani, who wields real power.
The wisest course of action at this point is to voluntarily relinquish power and retire peacefully to become a shining legend.
But he had to keep fighting Galliani, even if it meant ruining his reputation.
Since Chelsea's rise, football has entered the era of big-spending football. Milan, no longer receiving large investments, is in continuous decline. At this time, the stability of the dressing room is crucial, and Galliani has been trying to divide the dressing room.
This is Milan, the club I've loved for 22 years!
For Milan, any sacrifice is worthwhile!
Thinking of this, Maldini sighed, then his eyes became even more determined.
Ambrosini and Gattuso are already capable of standing on their own, and Fino in the new generation also has a promising future. The Rossoneri gene continues, and the flame of Milan will never be extinguished.
As for the Brazilian contingent, they may disappoint Galliani.
Dida, Cafu, Serginho, Ronaldo... these Brazilians are very smart; they would never get involved in the dispute between Knights Table and Galliani.
Since the veteran refused to take sides, Galliani brought in the up-and-coming Pato.
Pato should already know about the news in Gazzetta dello Sport: Galliani went against the team captain to give him the number 7 jersey.
Ah, what a touching story. Galliani was quite the schemer.
We don't know what kind of mentality this young general has yet, so let's just observe and see how things develop, and respond accordingly.
As for Kaká, he is certainly a good kid. If Kaká can stay in Milan, it wouldn't be unreasonable to hand over the captain's armband to him. Ambrosini would definitely be more than happy to do so.
Unfortunately, Kaka was destined to leave.
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