Chapter 17 It seems we can't go on vacation early...
Two days later, in the 7th round of Serie A, AC Milan faced Lazio away and delivered a resounding 5-1 victory, slapping all the media outlets that had been pessimistic about Milan's chances in the face.
Ambrosini, wearing the captain's armband, was the first to open his scoring account.
In the 15th minute, Ambrosini received a pass back from Favalli on the left wing. Lazio's young goalkeeper Muslera was positioned too far forward, and the experienced Ambrosini sensed an opportunity.
Ambrosini lobbed the ball from a tight angle near the sideline, more than 35 meters from the goal, and the ball flew over Muslera's head and into the goal.
After scoring, Ambrosini roared, letting out his pent-up frustration, and then ran towards the stands where the Milan fans were. But soon he was tackled to the ground by Seedorf, and then Kaká, Favalli, Bonera and others all rushed up to him.
Seeing the Milan fans celebrating wildly in their home stadium, Lazio fans were furious and a huge chorus of boos drowned out the Milan fans' cheers.
At this point, the referee signaled that the celebration had gone on for too long and urged the Milan players to get up and wait for the Lazio players to kick off.
Ambrosini stood up and patted Favalli on the shoulder: "Looks like we can't go on vacation early."
Favalli and Bonera laughed as they retreated.
In the 23rd minute, Mauri received a pass from De Silvestri and scored with a left-footed shot from 10 meters out, leveling the score for Lazio.
Lazio fans cheered loudly, hoping their players would teach Milan a lesson.
Lazio and Milan aren't exactly bitter rivals, but they took away two of our captains in five years. Is that something a human would do?
Nesta, in particular, his transfer was nothing short of a huge scam. Milan needs to be taught a lesson.
However, Kaká then shattered Lazio fans' dreams with two goals.
In the 31st minute, Seedorf crossed from the left wing. Mauri, who came to block him, slipped and was about to fall. Unable to maintain his balance, Mauri performed several comical movements on the field, struggling against gravity.
In the rush, the ball hit Mauri's foot and bounced into the penalty area. Fino, who was lurking nearby, suddenly rushed out, jumped high, and prepared to head the ball into the goal.
Terrified by this scene, Muslera panicked and tackled Fino to the ground.
"Beep—"
The whistle blew, the referee showed Muslera a yellow card, and then pointed to the penalty spot.
Muslera offered no explanation; it was a red card offense, and the yellow card plus penalty was already a lenient decision by the referee. He rubbed his face in frustration and began preparing to save the penalty.
Kaka scored, giving Milan a 2-1 lead.
In the 52nd minute, Seedorf dribbled down the left flank. Lazio defender Zauri came up to mark him, but Seedorf used a pull-back move to trick Zauri into pressing him, then quickly got rid of him and passed the ball to the center, where Fino was already waiting.
Two Lazio defenders rushed toward Fino, but Fino turned his back to block the Lazio players' view, letting the ball pass to Pirlo, who was waiting on the right side of the penalty area.
Pirlo received the ball and made a through pass to Kaká, who was making a run forward. Kaká dribbled forward, cut past Stendardo, and fired a shot from a tight angle with his right foot.
At that moment, Kaká was only 7 meters from the goal. The distance was short and the ball was fast. Before Muslera could prepare to make a save, the ball slipped between his legs and into the near corner.
Milan lead 3-1.
Lazio fans were heartbroken, but Milan had no intention of giving up.
After falling behind by two goals, an unwilling Lazio began to press forward on the attack, which in turn gave Milan more opportunities to counterattack.
In the 70th minute, Nesta intercepted Pandev and passed the ball to Pirlo, who came to receive it. Pirlo made a precise long pass that spanned most of the field. Kaka chested the ball down and broke into the penalty area. He then used two consecutive changes of direction to dribble past Cribari. After Muslera rushed over, he gently passed the ball to Fino, who was unmarked and scored into the empty net, making it 4-1.
Having conceded four goals in a row, Muslera, who just joined Lazio this season, looked heartbroken. But in football, there is only winning and losing, no sympathy, and a few minutes later Fino struck again.
In the 76th minute, Ambrosini passed the ball from midfield, and Fino made a gesture of going to the center to receive the ball, luring Mauri away from the left wing. He then quickly turned back to receive the ball and made a run down the left wing.
Upon realizing he had been tricked, Mauri immediately gave chase, but by then Fino had already run five or six meters ahead.
Zauri left the penalty area to intercept, but Seedorf was already in the flank to receive the pass. Fino, in Zauri's blind spot, gestured to Seedorf to set up a wall, and then together with Seedorf, they got past Zauri with a one-two pass.
After moving down to the outside of the penalty area, Fino's best option was to pass to Kaká in the middle, but Kaká was being closely marked by two Lazio players.
Spurred by the 4-1 scoreline, Fino's usually calm mind became excited and he decided to take matters into his own hands, dribbling the ball inside from the wing.
Scaloni, who was standing next to the Lazio goalkeeper, came forward to meet the ball. Fino used his left foot to gently pull the ball to the left, causing Scaloni to lose his balance, and then flicked the ball back to accelerate his breakthrough.
Kribari sensed something was wrong and abandoned Kaká to rush over to cover, but Fino beat him with a simple and brutal cut-through, leaving only goalkeeper Muslera between him and the goal.
Fino raised his left foot, making a shooting motion aimed at the right side of the goal. Startled like a frightened bird, Muslera immediately lunged towards the lower right corner. In the instant he lost his balance, Muslera realized he had been tricked; the continuous volleys had rendered him incapable of calm thinking and judgment.
Sure enough, Fino merely flicked the ball to the right with his left foot, then gently pushed it into the empty net with his right foot, making it 5-1.
Muslera did not get up immediately after landing. After hearing the whistle to confirm the goal, he slowly rolled over, lay flat on the ground, and covered his eyes.
"A magnificent goal! From the moment Cabrini received the ball, he began his dazzling performance. First, he created space for his run, then he played a one-two with Seedorf to get past the first opponent, then cut inside from the outside of the penalty area, pulled the ball back to break past the second opponent, cut past the third opponent, and finally deceived the goalkeeper to easily slot the ball into the net. This long series of movements was fluid and efficient, without a single flashy move, completely devoid of any showy style, yet breathtakingly beautiful. This is the violent aesthetics of football, enough to send every fan's adrenaline soaring."
"Cabrini's growth has exceeded everyone's expectations. Last season he could only come on as a substitute during garbage time, but this season he has become Ancelotti's most relied-upon striker in domestic competitions. He has scored 5 goals in 4 games in which he started, averaging 1.25 goals per game, which is efficient enough to make all Serie A teams envious."
"I wonder what Pato, who is far away in Brazil, thinks. While he is still unable to join the team, a similarly young competitor has already emerged. However, Pato doesn't need to worry too much. Cabrini is still on the lowest-paid contract in the team, and his release clause is extremely low. I believe that many teams will be willing to pay his release clause, perhaps during this winter transfer window."
Milan fans watching on TV were thoroughly enjoying themselves as their team scored goal after goal, giving a resounding slap in the face to those media outlets that had been pessimistic about Milan. It was incredibly satisfying.
Then the commentator's praise of Fino made me feel great. Yes, that's right. Our players are really amazing. They have both skill and brains.
The fans were just getting excited when they were suddenly caught off guard by the commentator's announcement that Fino would be sold during the winter transfer window. What the heck?
A complaint is necessary!
The TV station's phone lines were ringing off the hook with calls from Milan fans.
After taking a 5-1 lead, Ancelotti began to waste time by making substitutions, replacing Ambrosini, Kaká, and Fino—three of the goal scorers—to give them a chance to receive cheers from the small group of away fans. The team also stopped organizing attacks and simply passed the ball around in the backfield.
Lazio's players also completely lost their will to attack, and aimlessly followed Milan's rhythm to finish the rest of the game.
Lazio's spirit has been broken.
As Fino was leaving the field, Ancelotti had already gone to the sidelines to greet him.
After giving him a tight hug, Ancelotti led him towards the bench, praising him as "genius" and "brilliant"...
Ancelotti showered Fino with endless compliments, making Fino marvel at how exaggerated the Italians were. He maintained a calm facade, but inwardly he was quite pleased; who doesn't like being praised?
Back on the bench, everyone stood up and hugged Fino. Ambrosini, who had come off the field earlier, even kissed him on the forehead and loudly praised Fino's last goal as absolutely beautiful.
Following this round of league matches comes a two-week international break, and Ancelotti has given players without national team duties a three-day break as well.
The team disbanded on the spot. Players who wanted to report to their national teams could depart directly from Rome, while players who wanted to return to Milan could either go back with the team or act independently.
Nesta had already retired from the national team after the 2006 World Cup, but he did not return to Milan with the team. His parents lived in Rome, and he wanted to go home to visit them.
Before leaving, Nesta invited Fino to stay at his parents' house for the night. He said he could show Fino around Rome the next morning, and then they would go back to Milan together in the afternoon, and have Chinese food at Fino's house that evening.
Fino refused.
It was nearly 11 p.m. after the match against Lazio, and Nesta felt it was somewhat impolite to visit his parents without their knowledge.
"Next time, Sandro, I need to prepare the ingredients earlier tomorrow."
Nesta patted him on the shoulder, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and left.
During this international break, the Brazilian national team had no matches scheduled, and Inzaghi was not called up by the Italian national team. Of the four who had agreed to have dinner at Fino's house, only Pirlo had national team duties.
The Italian national team did not require the players to report to the training center immediately after the league match, but gave them two days to rest. Therefore, Pirlo did not miss the Chinese dinner party at Fino's house.
After the plane landed in Milan, the team bus took the players home one by one. By the time Fino finished showering and went to bed, it was almost four in the morning.
Fino fell into a deep sleep and didn't wake up until almost noon.
Drawing back the curtains, Fino was surprised to find a rare sunny day during the rainy season, and her mood brightened accordingly.
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