Chapter 211 Milan Produces a God of War
Fino pulled up his jersey and wiped his face. After the start of the second half, it started raining again, and as time passed, the rain gradually intensified.
Barcelona fans in the Camp Nou stands sang their team anthem loudly, cheering on their trailing home team. The solemn anthem sounded somewhat somber and tragic in the heavy rain.
In the 78th minute, Barcelona finally had a good chance to equalize.
Goalkeeper Valdes threw the ball to Mascherano on the right wing, and Barcelona launched a quick attack.
Mascherano launched a long pass forward, targeting Alves, who had already penetrated into Real Madrid's half.
Marcelo and Alonso both sprinted toward Alves, who then passed the ball between them to Iniesta, who was about 20 meters from the edge of the penalty arc.
Albiol, Carvalho, and Lass Diarra lined up near the penalty arc, blocking Iniesta's path, with Pedro nearby, a little closer to him.
Iniesta delivered a low cross into the penalty area between Carvalho and Lass Diarra, while Pedro, who had also rushed into the box, controlled the ball near the penalty spot.
Casillas chose to take the initiative and rushed out from in front of the goal. Just as his glove was about to touch the ball, it disappeared from his sight – Pedro kicked the ball to Villa, who was entering the penalty area from the left.
At this moment, Casillas had already fallen to the ground, and Villa was facing an open goal. But just as he stopped the ball and lifted his foot, Fino slid in from the side and tackled the ball out of bounds.
Because of the heavy rain, the grass was soaked with water. Even wearing the most grippy spiked shoes, Fino still slid a great distance, leaving a trail of water on the grass.
"Pedro headed the ball down in the box, Villa was facing an open goal! Villa took a shot... A Real Madrid player made a beautiful sliding tackle, clearing the ball out of bounds at the critical moment! Who is that? It's Cabrini! It's Cabrini again!"
When the camera focused on Fino, he had already rolled over and was lying on the grass, no longer caring whether lying in the mud would get his jersey dirty.
He covered his eyes and nose with his right hand to shield them from the rain, while his left hand covered the upper left side of his forehead. Blood mixed with rainwater flowed from between his fingers, down his ear, and into his neck.
"Oh my god, Cabrini is injured!"
As the commentator exclaimed in surprise, the camera began to replay the moment in slow motion.
Villa took a shot, and Fino made a sliding tackle to push the ball out of bounds. However, because the grass was too slippery, Fino also slid out of bounds. At that moment, Villa's foot, which was about to shoot, hit Fino's head.
Real Madrid players were initially cheering for the tackle, but they quickly realized something was wrong: the usually clean-loving Fino was lying on the ground and hadn't gotten up for a long time.
Fino's teammates immediately surrounded her to check on her condition.
"Fini, where are you hurt?" Kaka was the first to rush over.
Upon seeing the blood on Fino's hands, Alonso immediately stood up and waved and yelled at the bench, "Team doctor, team doctor, come here quickly!"
Then he knelt beside Fino's torso, looking down to check on Fino's condition. He dared not touch Fino's head, fearing to cause further injury, and could only anxiously ask, "Fino, how are you feeling?"
"Xavi, help me up." After a while, Fino let go of his hands covering his face and tugged at Alonso's shorts.
Alonso quickly helped him sit up.
Fino held up three fingers and waved them in front of his eyes, counting one, two, three in his mind. Good, his vision was focused, there was no double vision, and no nausea.
He was relieved, thinking he probably didn't have a concussion.
He patted the anxious Alonso beside him to reassure him, and then reached out his hand to Kaká, who was bent over, to help him up.
After Fino stood up, he covered his left forehead with one hand and pushed away his teammates who were surrounding him with the other, preparing to go to the sidelines to find the team doctor for treatment.
By this time, the team doctor had already brought over a stretcher. Fino waved his hand, indicating that the stretcher was unnecessary, took the gauze from the team doctor, and walked off the field.
According to the blood rules, if a player is bleeding, or has blood on their body or clothing, they must immediately leave the field to properly treat the wound and change the blood-stained clothing before being allowed to return to the field.
Blood regulations were established to prevent the spread of bloodborne pathogens and are a set of rules that must be enforced.
The image of Fino covering his left forehead with gauze as he walked off the field appeared on television, a scene that felt incredibly familiar to countless Serie A fans.
The commentator pointed out their thoughts: "The scene before me reminds me of Nesta in his younger days. In the 2002/03 Champions League quarter-final match between AC Milan and Ajax, Nesta also left a similar mark."
The commentator nodded in agreement: "The same long black hair, the same black headband, the same striking good looks, even Cabrini's tackle just now had a Nesta feel to it. The only difference is that Cabrini wasn't wearing Milan's red and black striped home jersey, but Real Madrid's pure white home jersey."
"Milan has produced a war god!" the commentator exclaimed.
After Fino left, Alonso remained kneeling on the ground, not getting up for a long time. He clenched his fists and rested them on the grass on either side of his body.
As a player, he was used to injuries, but when Fino lay in the rain as if he had no feeling, with blood flowing from between his fingers, he felt his heart stop for a few seconds.
At that moment, he suddenly felt a sense of fear towards the football he loved so much. Football is not just about passion, struggle and glory; it is also dangerous. It can hurt or even take away the people he loves.
Fortunately, his Finney was not seriously injured.
At that moment, Kaka patted him on the shoulder and extended his hand to him: "Xavi, get up, it's time to get back to the game!"
Alonso then took a deep breath and stood up, holding Kaká's hand.
At this point, there were less than 10 minutes left in the game, and due to Fino's injury, the stoppage time might be a little longer.
During his treatment, Fino was in constant communication with interim coach Karanka. It was time to bring on a center-back to protect the victory and substitute Ronaldo. If Ronaldo received another yellow card, he would be suspended, and Real Madrid needed to ensure his availability for the Champions League final.
Because Fino insisted on continuing to play, the team doctor could only clean and disinfect his forehead, apply a waterproof dressing, and then wrap it with a thick bandage. Soon after, Fino signaled to the referee that he was ready to play.
When Fino returned to the field, he was greeted with cheers from a small group of Real Madrid fans. The home fans were unusually quiet, without booing, and just watched silently as Fino jogged onto the field, waving to the away fans.
Fino's tough and fearless demeanor earned him the respect of all the audience members present.
A few minutes later, after a brief warm-up, center-back Garay replaced Ronaldo, and the entire Real Madrid team retreated to their own half, completely blocking the goal.
Barcelona launched a fierce counterattack with all their players pressing forward in the final minutes of the match, but the game was already lost.
The match ended with a score of 0-1, with the home team first and the away team second.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the two-legged tie in the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League semi-final between Real Madrid and Barcelona has now concluded. The first leg ended in a 0-0 draw, and Real Madrid defeated Barcelona 1-0 in the second leg. With a combined aggregate score of 1-0, Real Madrid has secured their place at Wembley Stadium in London. They will face the winner of the Manchester United vs. Schalke 04 match on the evening of May 28th for the Champions League title this season!"
"Also coming to an end is the 18-day, four-match series between Real Madrid and Barcelona. Real Madrid won three and drew one, achieving a complete victory over Barcelona. After the humiliation of a 5-0 defeat in the first half of the season, Real Madrid rallied and perfectly avenged their loss."
"Without great opponents, there can be no great victories. Here, we also applaud Barcelona. Under Guardiola's management, Barcelona reached the Champions League semi-finals for three consecutive years and made it to the Champions League final in the 2008/09 season. This is a remarkable achievement and deserves everyone's respect..."
After the game, Fino did not linger on the field, but went straight back to the locker room. Because of the injury on his forehead, he should not stay in the rain for a long time, and his injury needed more thorough treatment.
As he passed the stands, he heard the cries of Barcelona fans. Just as he had said during halftime to boost morale, Camp Nou was indeed filled with desperate weeping, but he did not feel as relieved as he had imagined.
True fans have a passionate and pure love for their team. Fino may have a different perspective, but he understands their feelings all too well. Tonight, thousands of Barcelona fans are destined to have trouble sleeping.
But that's the cruel reality of competitive sports. There can only be one champion, and the road to that championship is inevitably strewn with corpses. In a match, there is only winning and losing, no mercy. As players, they must fight with all their might for the jersey they wear. If Barcelona advances to the Champions League final tonight, then it will be Real Madrid fans who are plunged into despair.
Alonso caught up with Fino in the players' tunnel, took his hand, and they went back to the locker room together, where the team doctor was already waiting.
Fino's forehead injury wasn't particularly serious; he had been scratched by Villa's cleats, but the bone wasn't broken.
The reason why there is a visual effect of continuous bleeding is that there are dense capillaries under the skin of the forehead, and the skin of the forehead is close to the skull, so the injured area cannot be naturally compressed and closed by the surrounding tissues like other parts of the body.
After the team doctor re-examined Fino's wound, he applied gauze to the wound and maintained pressure for about 20 minutes. The bleeding had basically stopped. The team doctor then covered and bandaged the wound with sterile dressing. After that, all that was needed was to observe it.
With the team doctor present, Alonso remained restrained, only holding Fino's hand tightly, seemingly to give Fino some strength, but Fino could already sense his tension and worry through the sweat on his palms.
After the treatment ended and the team doctor left, Alonso hugged Fino tightly.
Fino hugged him back and gently comforted him, "Harvey, don't worry, it's nothing serious. It just looks a little scary, but it'll be fine in a few days."
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