Chapter 116 Captain, Paul
In the 72nd minute, Arsenal finally pulled one back.
Fabregas delivered a long ball from midfield, and Adebayor, despite being double-teamed by Nesta and Kaladze, managed to control the ball with his back to goal, then swept it into the bottom right corner of the net with a side hook.
After this goal, Arsenal's morale was significantly boosted.
Adebayor even skipped the celebrations, immediately urging Milan to kick off as soon as possible. Including stoppage time, only 20 minutes remained. Time was running out for Arsenal; they were hoping to press on, score another goal, or even equalize!
However, London is not Istanbul, and Arsenal is not Liverpool.
Milan will never give them a chance to turn things around; the same lesson has been learned once.
In the 85th minute, Jankulovski made a run down the left flank, received a pass from Kaká in the middle, and crossed the ball again. This tactic of the full-back making a run down the flank and then crossing is a common attacking pattern for Milan; they've used it many times in matches and are very adept at it.
Fino won the challenge with Djourou, leaped high to control the ball with his chest, and volleyed it into the net as it bounced down a second time.
4-1, Fino extended Milan's lead once again.
"Gooooal! Cabrini has completed his second hat-trick in this season's Champions League, bringing his total to 10 goals and putting him far ahead in the Champions League top scorer list. The paths to the top for these geniuses are remarkably similar: Kaká in the 06/07 season, Cristiano Ronaldo in the 07/08 season, and Cabrini and Messi this season. Who will win the Champions League trophy this year remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: the competition for the Ballon d'Or at the end of the year will be fiercer than ever. With no major tournaments this year, whoever wins the Champions League trophy—Ronaldo, Cabrini, or Messi—will have a significant advantage in the Ballon d'Or voting at the end of the year."
After this goal, Arsenal were completely powerless to turn the tide, and Milan finished the first leg of the quarter-final with a 4-goal advantage and a 3-goal difference.
After the match, the team did not linger in London but instead chose to take a chartered plane back to Milan overnight.
The cabin was filled with laughter and cheers. The 4-1 scoreline allowed everyone in Milan to finally let out the frustration they had been holding in for a whole year.
Ancelotti was equally delighted. This scoreline had practically sealed Arsenal's fate. The second leg would be played at the San Siro, and Ancelotti didn't believe Arsenal could cause any trouble at Milan's home ground.
The Manchester United vs. Porto match, played in the same half, ended at the same time. The first leg ended in a 2-2 draw, leaving the outcome of the first leg open for the second leg.
Ancelotti silently prayed for Porto, hoping they could continue their efforts and pull off a major upset against Manchester United.
After the plane stabilized, Fino unbuckled his seatbelt, walked over to Maldini, and checked on Maldini's ankle.
"Captain, how are you feeling?"
Maldini patted the empty seat next to him, inviting him to sit down and talk.
"The cut has started to scab over. It didn't damage the bone or joints; it's a minor injury, so it's not a big problem."
"That's good." Fino breathed a sigh of relief.
Maldini patted Fino's hair gently and said, "You played exceptionally well today, not just for the hat-trick. Goals are important, of course, but I especially appreciated your actions in restraining Massimo and Rino, and encouraging your teammates. As the team leader, you must remain calm during the game, whether it's standing up for your teammates or negotiating with the referee, you must maintain a proper balance. When your teammates are frustrated, the captain needs to boost morale; when they get carried away, the captain needs to cool them down..."
Maldini gradually imparted his experience to Fino, trying to teach him as much as possible before he retired.
Two months later, the task of developing Fino will fall to Ambrosini and Gattuso. Unfortunately, both of them are heavy card recipients, so Fino may have to wear the captain's armband from time to time next season.
Fino listened attentively, nodding frequently.
After giving his instructions, Maldini patted him gently on the shoulder: "Experience is accumulated gradually. Now we still have Massimo and Rino, so don't have too much psychological burden."
Fino nodded: "Understood, Captain."
"Don't always call me captain, just call me Paulo," Maldini laughed heartily.
Fino never called Maldini by his name to his face; he always referred to him as "Captain."
When he first joined the first team, he regarded Maldini as an idol to be looked up to, and instinctively avoided the more intimate title "Paolo". Later, as he interacted with Maldini more and more, the admiration gradually turned into eye contact, but the title of "captain" still continued.
"Okay, Paul."
Having gotten used to calling the other person "Captain," Fino felt a little awkward when asked to switch to calling him "Paul."
Seeing the child's flustered expression, Maldini burst out laughing.
...
A week later, the second leg between Milan and Arsenal took place at the San Siro as scheduled. Milan built a solid defense at home, and the match ended in a 0-0 draw.
Milan defeated Arsenal 4-1 on aggregate to advance to the Champions League semi-finals.
In the match between Porto and Manchester United in the same half of the bracket, Manchester United won by one goal, eliminating Porto with an aggregate score of 3-2 over two legs, and becoming AC Milan's opponent in the semi-finals.
Alonso sent Fino a text message.
[Fini, I broke my promise. Keep winning with my blessings. Although Milan winning the championship will make me uncomfortable, since one team has to lift the trophy, I hope that team is you!]
After trailing Chelsea 1-3 at home in the first leg, Liverpool played a thrilling 4-4 draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the second leg, but were ultimately eliminated with a score of 5-7.
The last team to advance to the semi-finals was Barcelona. After a 4-0 victory over Bayern Munich at home, they drew 1-1 in the second leg at Bayern's home ground, winning 5-1 to eliminate Bayern and reach the Champions League semi-finals.
The results of the Champions League semi-finals have once again sparked a huge discussion online.
Among the four semi-finalists, apart from Chelsea, the other three teams are in remarkably similar situations.
Whether it's AC Milan, Manchester United, or Barcelona, they have all demonstrated strength in both the domestic league and the Champions League. Whoever wins the Champions League trophy will most likely secure a domestic double this season. In addition, Barcelona also has the Copa del Rey, and Manchester United has the Club World Cup.
Moreover, the attacking cores of these three teams are all homegrown talents. AC Milan's Fino and Barcelona's Messi both came up through the youth academy level by level. Although Ronaldo was bought by Manchester United from Sporting Lisbon, he was only 18 years old when he arrived at Old Trafford. According to the regulations of the English Football Association and UEFA, he can also be considered as a Manchester United youth academy product.
Cristiano Ronaldo, at only 24, already won the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards last year. Messi, not yet 22, has taken over the number 10 jersey from Ronaldinho and has been established by Guardiola as the team's attacking core. Fino is even younger, with six months to go before turning 21, and he's far ahead in both the Serie A and Champions League top scorer charts, practically securing the Golden Boot in both competitions.
Everyone could predict that the remaining Champions League matches this season would be a testing ground and a stage for these three young talents to make their mark. Some industry insiders have even boldly predicted that Kaka's era may have passed, and that starting this season, football will enter an era of three-way competition between Ronaldo, Messi, and Fino.
As the end of the season approaches, rumors and speculation about player transfers are increasing.
Fino has been sold off by tabloid reporters on the internet countless times. Today he's sold to Manchester United, tomorrow to Real Madrid, the day after to Chelsea. Every team with any ambition to win the title has been linked with Fino.
Fino simply laughed it off. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he will retire at Milan, and at least won't leave the club during his prime.
He has recently started researching universities and majors in Milan, and will begin preparing his application materials for the next season.
He's very interested in architecture, but his career as a sports player means he'll miss many classes, which might make his studies difficult. He's thinking of applying to an arts-related program—something simpler that he can easily get a degree in. Either way, he's determined to be a university student!
As for architecture, it's not too late to study it after I retire.
While Fino dismissed the transfer rumors with a laugh, Mendes received numerous inquiries about Fino's transfer, including from Florentino Pérez, the former president of Real Madrid who built the "Galácticos" team.
Real Madrid is in a very bad situation this season. President Calderón was forced to resign mid-season due to cheating, leaving Real Madrid in a state of leaderlessness. All the accumulated contradictions have erupted, with infighting among the top management and chaos in the locker room.
Real Madrid not only suffered an early exit from the Champions League, once again earning the nickname "Round of 16" in the competition, but they were also thoroughly outmatched by their El Clásico rivals, Barcelona, in La Liga.
This is the perfect opportunity for Florentino Pérez to make a comeback, and he has already decided to run in the Real Madrid presidential election this summer. In order to win the support of the fans, he has decided to continue his previous superstar policy, bringing new generation stars to the Bernabéu one by one.
In December 2008, before Calderón stepped down, he had already orchestrated Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer. Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Ronaldo had reached a secret agreement that Ronaldo would join Real Madrid at the end of the season for a transfer fee of £80 million (approximately €94 million). If either Real Madrid or Ronaldo breached the agreement, they would have to pay the other a €30 million release clause.
Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer this summer is a done deal. However, this transfer was orchestrated by Calderón, so it cannot be considered a achievement of Florentino Pérez.
The Catalans are unlikely to sell Messi to Real Madrid, so Florentino Pérez has turned his attention to Milan's Kaká and Fino. Kaká was the Ballon d'Or winner before Ronaldo and was once the world's best player, while Fino has unlimited potential and the ability to challenge for the Ballon d'Or.
Moreover, both of them are handsome, have good images, and have very high commercial value.
Both are high-end products; apart from being expensive, they're perfect.
Real Madrid isn't afraid of high prices! They won't buy anything that isn't expensive!
Florentino secretly contacted Kaká's father, Bosco, and Fino's agent, Mendes, to discuss the possibility of a transfer involving the two. The feedback from Bosco was positive, but Mendes did not provide the answer he wanted.
“Mr. Perez, Cabrini has no intention of leaving Milan, and Milan will not let him leave this summer.”
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