Chapter 57 Who's naive?
This dramatic, almost all-nighter-long spectacle finally came to an end when Pirlo and the other two posted on social media.
Pirlo's first post was on social media.
[A pleasant dinner, a pleasant card game, wins and losses are all about appearances. Some people can't handle losing and won't let the kids go to bed, so pitiful! [A table full of delicious food.jpg][Kaka and Nesta with faces full of turtles.jpg][Pirlo's selfie with Fino, Fino leaning on Pirlo's shoulder, covering his mouth and yawning, his eyes glistening with tears.jpg]]
Kaka retweeted Pirlo's post, adding the caption: "Enjoyable holiday! Thanks to @FinoCabrini @AndreaPirlo @AlessandroNesta for the company. It's already so late, I'm a good host and will let you stay overnight. Reporters who have been waiting, please go home!"
Nesta retweeted Pirlo's post, adding the caption: "A satisfying dinner, and I learned a new card game, it was a lot of fun. Next time, I'll try again and win back everything I lost."
Fino didn't forward it; he just wanted to sleep.
After the clarification, the online onlookers dispersed, their interest waning.
They're actually playing cards! Let's call it a day...
Is this reasonable? You four handsome guys get together, and instead of doing anything else, you just play cards?
There's still food...
[Unexpected, yet logical... I knew I shouldn't have had any expectations of these four childish brats.]
[Drawing turtles on their faces is hilarious! Nesta and Kaka's faces are practically covered in mud.]
It's understandable that Pirlo, a cunning guy, won, but I didn't expect Cabrini to be such a master.
[And Cabrini was so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open, yet he still managed to beat Kaká and Nesta so easily. It just shows how bad Kaká and Nesta are.]
...
Fino and his two companions slept at Kaka's house overnight, and didn't wake up until nearly noon before driving home. By then, there were no more reporters waiting outside.
When Fino and his three teammates arrived at Milanello for training the next day, they were ridiculed by their teammates.
Vice-captain Ambrosini fired the first shot in the mockery.
"Gathering to play cards and draw turtles in the middle of the night? I never expected you four to be from Milan. You're all so childish!"
Gattuso added insult to injury: "Is it really that fun? Playing until 3 a.m.?"
Cafu, who was about to return to Brazil after the season, laughed loudly: "Fini is young, and Ritchie is a good boy, so it's fine with those two, but Sandro and Andrea, don't you two know how to do something more mature?"
Serginho, who always loved to joke, chimed in: "Fini, don't hang out with them anymore, or you'll never grow up. Go clubbing with Pippo, or even with Pato, Pato knows how to have fun better than you."
Inzaghi said speechlessly, "Sair, what image do I have in your heart? I haven't been to a nightclub in a long time, okay?"
Pato scratched his head and chuckled.
Even though Ronaldo, the one who guided him, has returned to Brazil, these past few months have been enough for Pato to become very familiar with Milan's nightlife.
Fino twitched his lips, speechless at these old scoundrels.
Nesta's approach was rather unconventional; he grasped another key point.
“It’s really fun! It’s a new game that Finney taught us, called ‘510K.’ You have no idea how interesting it is.”
Ambrosini added insult to injury: "What's so interesting about constantly losing? Is it being painted with turtles all over your face?"
Before Nesta could even retort, Kaká, whose face was covered in turtle drawings, jumped out to provoke him: "We lost because we weren't familiar with the rules. If you're so capable, join us and see who gets their face covered in turtle drawings!"
As athletes, it's impossible for anyone to be without a competitive spirit. A group of people in the locker room responded, determined to see who would have their face covered in turtle paint.
Ambrosini immediately stated that after the season ends, he would organize a "510K" competition to continue drawing turtles.
Fino was speechless. "Big brothers, how dare you call us naive? You've already started organizing competitions. Who's naive here?"
When the Milan male model team members all look like turtles, Galliani will definitely need to take blood pressure medication.
...
On May 11th, all 10 matches of the penultimate round of Serie A kicked off simultaneously.
In this round of the league, Inter Milan drew with Siena at home, accumulating 80 points and temporarily topping the table. Roma defeated Atalanta, earning 3 points and accumulating 79 points, extending the title race to the final round.
Juventus drew with Catania, finishing with 71 points, securing third place and earning a Champions League qualifying spot.
AC Milan only managed a draw in their away game against Napoli, leaving them with 67 points and currently sitting in fourth place.
Fiorentina defeated Parma 3-1 at home, bringing their total points to 66 and reducing Milan's lead to just one point.
On May 18th, the final round of Serie A kicked off. Whether it was the title race between Inter Milan and Roma or the Champions League qualifying match between AC Milan and Fiorentina, both generated a lot of discussion. The four matches involving these four teams became the focus of this round of the league.
Milan's final match will be played at home at the San Siro, against Udinese, who are currently seventh in the league.
Udinese is only 2 points behind Sampdoria, who are in sixth place. If Udinese wins by 3 points and Sampdoria loses, then Udinese will overtake Sampdoria to become sixth.
Udinese's desire to finish in the top six is not very strong, because Roma, the Italian Cup champions this season, have already qualified for the Champions League, so even if they finish seventh in the league, they can still qualify for the UEFA Cup.
But now that the league has reached its final round, Udinese naturally wants to finish with a victory, and they have no reason to let Milan off easy.
In contrast to Udinese's passive approach, Milan needs to fight with their backs against the wall. They cannot rely on Fiorentina losing; their fate must be in their own hands.
Before the match began, Berlusconi, Galliani, and even Maldini, who was still injured, came to the locker room to give pep talks.
This match is crucial for Milan's Champions League qualification; Milan can only win, they cannot afford to lose! They have to fight tooth and nail!
Milan were not at full strength for this match, with Nesta and Gattuso both suspended. Ancelotti reverted to the 4-3-2-1 Christmas tree formation.
Kalac remains in goal, with Oddo, Bonera, Kaladze, and Favalli forming the first line of defense. Due to Nesta's suspension, Bonera has once again switched to center-back.
Brocchi replaced Gattuso, joining Pirlo and Ambrosini in midfield, while Kaká and Seedorf stood behind the lone striker Fino.
When Milan's starting lineup was announced, it was largely in line with media predictions. The only surprise was that Fino replaced Inzaghi and took the lone striker position.
"Milan's starting lineup has been announced. In this crucial match for Champions League qualification, Ancelotti has once again opted for the Christmas tree formation, the same formation that helped Milan win the Champions League trophy last season."
"The formation remains the same, but the personnel are somewhat different. Compared with the squad that won the Champions League last year, only right-back Oddo is a familiar face in defense. The goalkeeper, left-back, and both center-backs have been replaced due to injuries or suspensions. Among the three midfielders and two attacking midfielders, only Gattuso is unavailable due to suspension. In the lone striker position, the young Cabrini has replaced the injury-free Inzaghi, which is a somewhat unexpected choice."
"Cabrini has been outstanding this season, scoring 15 goals in Serie A so far, currently leading the team. Although he hasn't played much in the Italian Cup and Champions League, he has still managed to score, and he salvaged some pride for Milan in their Champions League exit. In such an important match, Ancelotti replaced Inzaghi with Cabrini, which may indicate that Milan's attack is about to undergo a complete overhaul."
The camera then cleverly panned to Inzaghi on the bench, wanting to see how he would react in such a crucial match, having been replaced by Fino.
But Inzaghi didn't give the commentators and audience a chance to over-interpret his words; his expression was calm, seemingly neither happy nor sad.
The camera turned away in disappointment, then began scanning the presidential box, focusing on Berlusconi and Galliani, as well as Maldini, Nesta, Gattuso, and others who were unable to play. Everyone wore serious expressions, quietly waiting for the match to begin.
While waiting for the kickoff, Fino silently made up his mind that he must perform well and win a Champions League qualifying spot for Milan. He would never let Milan fall into the UEFA Cup, he would never let his teammates, whose careers were getting shorter and shorter, miss the Champions League next season, and he would never let Maldini, who was injured, down.
With the referee's whistle, the match officially began.
After the start of the game, Milan's attack was very active. The ball was passed from Pirlo and Kaká to Fino in the frontcourt.
Before Fino received the ball, he noticed that Udinese's defense was not yet in position. Zapotecini and Zapata were positioned on either side of the goal, while Korda, standing in the middle, was turning his head to talk to goalkeeper Handanovic.
Fino received a pass from Kaká 26 meters in front of the goal, controlled the ball, and immediately unleashed a long-range shot.
The ball passed between Koda and Zapotocini, heading straight for the right side of the goal. By the time Handanovic reacted, the ball had already nestled into the net, just past the right post.
Fino scored Milan's first goal of the match just two minutes into the game.
After scoring, Fino ran towards Kaká, who was sprinting towards him. Just as they were about to meet, they both jumped up to climb the tree, and then both fell on their bottoms.
Fino's first attempt to climb the tree ended in failure.
Kaka: ? ? ? When did you start having the habit of climbing trees?
Fino: ??? I score a goal and I climb a tree, is that right?
Although both of them were slightly dazed from the fall, it did not diminish their joy after the goal. Kaka climbed over and pressed himself against Fino, cupping Fino's face in his hands, and the two of them burst into laughter.
"Goooooal! Just two minutes into the game, Cabrini took advantage of Udinese's unprepared defense to score the first goal for Milan. The assist came from Kaká, who had played an 'unspeakable two-person game' with him just two weeks ago. After the goal, the two of them tried to climb a tree, but they ended up falling over. It seems they don't have enough chemistry yet and need more two-person games."
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