Chapter 166
As all leagues are coming to an end, the final round of Serie A has quietly kicked off at the Olympic Stadium in Rome.
AC Milan played against Roma. The stadium, which could seat at least 100,000 people, was filled with a sea of Roma red and orange. A huge tifo was flying in the stadium, and at the other end was the red and black flag of AC Milan, which was equally impressive.
"Welcome to the 38th round of the Serie A! The two teams competing today are Roma and AC Milan! AC Milan is now only one win away from the top of the standings! It all depends on this one game!"
The starting lineups of both teams were announced two hours in advance. The injuries on AC Milan's side forced Maldini and Inzaghi to stay on the bench. The old faces in the starting lineup still included Shevchenko, Kaka, Seedorf, Gattuso, Nesta...
"The competition officially begins!"
"AC Milan's performance this season is hard for fans to accept. Maldini's calf strain caused him to miss nearly half of the season. They were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Champions League and missed the cup and trophy... At present, only by firmly grasping this last round of Serie A can the whole season not be in vain."
As the commentator was talking, Roma was patiently controlling the ball and was in no rush to attack.
The pressure of this game is not too great for Roma, as they have already secured qualification for the Champions League. Winning the game would be icing on the cake, but losing would not be too much of a problem.
But it’s different for AC Milan. If they lose, they will get nothing this season.
Roma was slow to start but had an impregnable defense. Until the second half, AC Milan was unable to find any gaps to attack.
"AC Milan will be in danger if they continue like this. They must create a decent threat to win the game." The commentator sighed, "AC Milan needs to play more proactively, counter-attack! Attack!"
The fans in the stands were also extremely disappointed. The game had already reached the 75th minute and some fans even began to leave early one after another.
"Shevchenko attacks! The ball is intercepted by Nesta and passed to Shevchenko! Shevchenko launches a quick counterattack on the spot!" When the game reached the last eighty minutes, there was a sudden turning point on the field and the commentator raised his voice involuntarily.
Roma's midfielders and full-backs immediately surrounded Shevchenko from both sides.
Seeing that it was difficult to break through, Shevchenko immediately passed the ball backwards to Kaka, who pulled Roma's defense with the ball.
"Kaka passed the ball to Seedorf. Roma's two-on-one tactics was really too difficult to play. Kaka and Shevchenko were both tightly guarded." The commentator made a "tsk" sound. For the spectators, this game was definitely not interesting. It was like being in prison.
After the ball left Kaka's feet, the defense on his side immediately relaxed. Kaka observed on the field, jogging slowly, ready to speed up when the opportunity arose.
Players from both teams almost pressed to Roma's frontcourt, and Shevchenko and Kaka had unknowingly approached the penalty area.
Kaka beckoned Seedorf for the ball.
This was the first time in this game that Kaka asked his teammates for the ball near the penalty area. The commentator immediately said: "Kaka asked Seedorf for the ball! Both Kaka and the Ukrainian are in good positions now! Don't miss this opportunity!"
Seedorf's high ball passed across the middle and reached Kaka on the left side. Kaka quickly took a look at the goal and shot immediately!
"Kaka shot without stopping the ball! The ball flew high over the crossbar! This kick was too hasty! In fact, there was still a chance to make some adjustments!" The commentator shouted and slammed the table regretfully.
Kaka lowered his head, grabbed the jersey and wiped his face heavily, saying nothing in silence, with the boos of the fans filling his ears.
Shevchenko didn't say anything, just ran over and patted Kaka on the shoulder.
There are seven minutes left in the game.
Kaka took a deep breath and looked at the time on the field.
Ancelotti stood in the coaching booth, waving his arms and yelling and gesticulating loudly. They didn't have much time left.
Wash
Seven minutes is indeed not a lot of time, but it is enough to score a goal.
Kaka clenched his fists. He knew that if Cristiano was here, his lover would wave his arms up and down excitedly, telling everyone to cheer up, pass the ball and connect the dots. They could launch at least three or five attacks and they had to try their best.
"We can do it, Shevchenko, we have to win, and this championship belongs to AC Milan." Kaka spoke suddenly. The boos from the fans on the field put a lot of pressure on the players' mentality. He grabbed Shevchenko who had just walked past him and said firmly.
Shevchenko paused after hearing this, and looked at Kaka with some surprise.
He even had the illusion that he saw the expression of another person in Kaka.
He had no doubt about Kaka's focus on the championship, but he seldom saw Kaka show such obvious stubbornness to his appearance - Kaka was recognized by them as a good-tempered man, Ancenotti sometimes joked that Kaka was good at everything, but his temper determined that he lacked a little offensive sharpness when counter-attacking in the midfield.
But at this time, Shevchenko felt that he seemed to see the sharpness that Ancelotti mentioned was missing.
"Kaka! Kaka shoots again! A straight pass from outside Gattuso's penalty area! The ball is saved by the goalkeeper again!"
The commentator couldn't help but lean forward nervously, clenching his fists: "But there's still something! The ball wasn't kicked away by the Roma player! It rolled to Seedorf's feet!"
"Seedorf fired the first shot! The ball flew over the high point and fell back in front of the goal!"
"Kaka! It's still Kaka! Kaka made a shot in front of the goal!! The ball went in!!! Finally!!! This ball finally went into Roma's goal!!"
"AC Milan got a crucial goal at the end of the game!! There are still three minutes left in the game! Can Roma equalize the score?"
The commentator slammed the table and yelled excitedly.
It would be exciting if Roma could equalize with AC Milan in the final minutes!
However, AC Milan's defense did not give the opponent this opportunity, and the inertial rhythm of the game also made it difficult for Roma to launch a more threatening sprint in the last three minutes.
"Congratulations to AC Milan! They won these precious three points at the Olympic Stadium in Rome! They successfully jumped to the top of the league! And they also won the last championship of this season!"
"Kaka scored the winning goal of the game. It was so difficult and tenacious! But finally! AC Milan scored this surprising goal!"
"This is also Kaka's 16th goal in 30 games this season! He has become Milan's top scorer this season!"
Cristiano jumped up happily in front of the TV and even immediately posted a selfie of himself watching the game on the social platform.
@cirstiano: congrats! [Trophy][Fireworks][Like][Football]
Not long after he published his blog post, he was surrounded by his national team teammates and club teammates.
Cristiano wondered if the group had already guessed what he would post.
@ruiCosta: I knew you wouldn't miss it [Rifle]
@figo: [fist] [fist]
@vanNistelrooy: …
@3gerardpique: Have you watched my game? [starry eyes]
@waynerooney: If you are not in the team, don't try to get close to me [laughs]
Cristiano bumped fists with his national team teammates and Van Nistelrooy, grinning with great satisfaction.
With the end of the league, all Serie A games this season have officially come to an end. AC Milan won the Serie A championship trophy, which made the fans feel a little relieved.
The players got a break and can finally take a breather.
"Where are you planning to go on vacation?" Gattuso asked Kaka with a smile.
Before Kaka could answer, Nesta on the side answered: "Is there any need to ask? Manchester."
Gattuso paused, then rolled his eyes and laughed, then nodded to Nesta and said, "You're right."
Kaka curled his lips, packed his changing bag, put it on his back, and looked at his teammates: "No, it's Athens, my friends."
Kaka's words took his teammates a second to react, and they immediately realized that this was the climax of the decisive battle of this season's Champions League.
Yes, how could Kaka miss Cristiano's final?
"Did Cristiano leave you a ticket?" Gattuso asked. "How many tickets does he have? Come and share some with us. I can't miss the game against Barcelona."
"Come on, Kaka is going to the family box. Do you want to sit with Cristiano's family too?" Shevchenko raised the corner of his mouth and looked at Gattuso.
Gattuso: "...never mind. Who doesn't have some connections? I'm a VIP and I won't go to see the young couple."
Kaka smiled. Cristiano did reserve a family box for him. He looked at Gattuso and said, "Sorry."
This indirectly confirms what Shevchenko said. Gattuso rolled his eyes again.
…
In mid-to-late May, the UEFA Champions League final was officially held at the Athens Olympic Stadium. The operatic UEFA Champions League theme song resounded throughout the grand yet elegant stadium.
The huge transparent ceiling is like two metal arches floating above the stadium, with a blue sheen, giving an illusion of flow, giving people a light and bright atmosphere, dispelling a bit of the tense atmosphere for this upcoming highly anticipated competition.
Although it was nearly June and the temperature was already sultry, the enthusiasm in the venue did not diminish at all.
The entire stadium was almost full, and before the game started, the team songs of both teams were already resounding on the field, and the fans of both sides collided with each other as if they were competing with each other.
"Barcelona of Spain and Manchester United of England, the top clubs from La Liga and the Premier League respectively, have finally officially faced off in the Champions League!" The commentator's voice appeared early in the broadcast room.
The game hasn't started yet, but the broadcast room is already bustling.
He just said: "The media always wants to know what kind of chemical reaction will occur when the right winger from Barcelona, Leo Messi, competes with the midfielder from Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo, and today! This game will answer everyone's questions!"
His co-hosts included people from England, Spain, and Italy, and they all started discussing:
"Everyone is comparing their goal statistics in their respective leagues, but I have to say that one is a right winger and the other is a midfielder. First of all, this is a different objective comparison. Ronaldo has to organize and defend in the midfield, and then attack, while the winger - their responsibilities cannot be compared."
"My dear, I don't mean anything else. It's just that as a midfielder, Ronaldo's goal data is much higher. Isn't this enough to show that he is destroying the team's structure? His offensive desire is too strong. Rooney and Alan are the real forwards, but Ronaldo only wants to score goals himself."
"Destroy the team structure? I don't understand what you mean."
"To put it bluntly, it's not good for them to win the game. Manchester United has become a mess under Ferguson's excessive decentralization of Ronaldo, but Barcelona is a completely systematic and institutional team. You can see the strict structure of this team. Every player is in their position and plays at a rhythm that they can control. This is why Barcelona dominates La Liga."
"Ha, I agree with you. Barcelona is a completely institutionalized team. Perhaps this is also the reason why their players cannot achieve good results wherever they go after leaving Barcelona?"
“…”
"By the way, the Ronaldo you mentioned 'destroyed the team structure' and Manchester United 'was not conducive to winning the game'. Manchester United just won three consecutive Premier League titles and three Champions Leagues this season. I guess the club's top management would be happy to see Ronaldo being more aggressive and destroying the team structure?"
"I have to agree with you on one point. Ferguson doted on Ronaldo too much. Everyone in England knows this. Ferguson's love and respect for any other player cannot be compared with his treatment of Ronaldo. Other players have long been accustomed to this."
"But I guess this is also because Ferguson has not met another player like Ronaldo who has incredible talent and is willing to work harder? If there is a second player like this, I guess Ferguson will also spoil him, but it's too difficult, isn't it?"
"Well, everyone has their own unique insights! I think the answers to your questions can be revealed in tonight's game? Let's take a look at the starting lineup!" The commentator saw that the topic was becoming increasingly tense - he almost forgot how an Englishman could spray venom at others, and the English always united around their Ronaldo at times like this - the commentator immediately changed the subject.
"Oh, Ronaldo is in the starting lineup as expected." The Italian sitting at the guest round table said suddenly: "Maybe we can see Ronaldo taking off his jersey to celebrate after scoring a goal in this game? To be honest, every inch of his muscle looks like it has been kissed by Venus."
Narrator: “……?”
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