Chapter 101 Ace vs. Ace 1

Kaka opened his arms, pointed his hands at the sky, and ran towards the corner flag. This was his signature celebration. Even in such a fierce final, he had to thank God for scoring the goal. He could thank God, but his teammates wanted to thank him. Milan players rushed towards him cheerfully.

In the stands, AC Milan fans set off fireworks that had been prepared for a long time, and the song "Milan! Milan!" sounded again.

Although it was just a goal, it gave people hope to equalize the score. A single riding of 50 meters long was really a boost of morale!

"Is George Wood very powerful? But he can't stop our Kaka! In the 50-meter rush, he can only run, only run!! He is Kaka's foil, a dim little star under the light of a superstar!"

Wood sat on the ground, supporting the ground with his hands, and still maintaining a tackle posture - one leg stretched out outside and one leg pressed under his butt.

Of course he couldn't hear the nonsense of the Italian commentator being excited, but he knew that he had lost to Kaka this time. He lost both in terms of speed, technology, and experience consciousness, and he lost completely.

Defensive players are not like offensive players. They do not have the right to "lose", because their "lose" may very likely mean that the entire team will "lose".

The players of the Forest team looked a little unethical. Kaka made the ball so much that they had nothing to say. Even if they wanted to refuse to lose, there was no way - George Wood, the best defensive player in the team, ran with Kaka for fifty meters and couldn't find a chance to steal. Pepe, the central defender who could rank in the top ten in the Premier League, was thrown away by Kaka's change of direction and had no room for action.

What else can I say about such a goal?

Too bad for people...

The players felt nothing to say, but Tang En had a lot to say, and he didn't admit how good Kaka made the ball. Because if he was Wood, the attack would have disappeared from the starting point.

He was furious off the court and waved his hands hard to roar on the court: "George!! You bastard, come down for me!"

Amid the huge cheers of AC Milan fans, Wood still heard the roar of Don En.

He got up and ran over honestly.

Tang En pulled him to his side, gritted his teeth and whispered: "You need to be fully responsible for this goal, do you know?!"

Wood nodded, his attitude was very good.

"I know what you are thinking. But you have to pay attention to the occasion. This is the Champions League final, not the medieval Cavaliers duel where both sides throw white gloves at each other! For victory, you have to do whatever you want and do whatever you want!" Don 'En roared in Wood's ear, while Wood buried his head and kept silent, accepting the head coach's anger.

"How do I teach you normally? Defense is not a glamorous job, it is the most tiring and dirtiest thing. Those fans..." He pointed to the stands of the AC Milan fans, "Whatever they want to see, you will destroy. You have to oppose whatever they like. You have to always go against them, go against them! Do you understand?"

"I understand, boss."

Albertini smelled a trace of danger. He turned his head to look at the carnival AC Milan players and the Milan fans in the stands.

This goal scored so beautifully that it affected the mood of his teammates. It was too dangerous to leave it alone. He is the captain, and wearing captain's armband is not for the sake of good looks. He must do something at this time.

He shouted loudly and asked his teammates to gather around him, and he had something to say.

Everyone gathered obediently. Only Wood was being called by the head coach to speak on the sidelines, looking at his head's expression and gestures, and what he spit out from his lips that were flying up and down was definitely not a good word.

Time is precious, and Albertini doesn't care about his superiors and subordinates anymore. He runs over and interrupts Donn's speech to Wood.

"Sorry, boss, don't you mind calling everyone together and saying something?" He pulled Wood away.

Of course Done doesn't mind. And he's happy to see Albertini do this. What is the captain doing? There is a saying that the captain is the team's head coach on the court, and he can help the head coach accomplish many things that cannot be done on the sideline coach's seat.

While the Milan players were still celebrating freely, Albertini, the former Milan player, is now wearing Nottingham Forest jersey and the golden forest captain's armband, gathering his teammates together.

"It's just a ball. Guys. You don't have to be so depressed. We're still one ball ahead of them." He glanced at the Milan players who were still celebrating, "This is the final of the Champions League. There is no champion that can be easily obtained without repeated obstruction from the opponent. And look..." He pointed at the Milan players.

"They only scored one goal and had not tied the score yet, so excited. They are AC Milan. They are among the best in Italy, but now they are so happy that they have won the championship. What does this mean? This shows that they are afraid of us, so they can perform like this after scoring one goal. They have a sense of security, but in fact they are still behind us. I used to be a player in AC Milan, and I know this team. They are not as strong and invincible as you think, and they also have many weaknesses. For example... they are actually not good at playing against the wind. Think about the night of Istanbul in 2005, when Liverpool scored three goals in a short time, they panic..."

Some of this is not Albertini's true words, because to be honest, any team can't be as calm as they concede three goals in ten minutes. He said this simply to restore confidence and calm down the mood of the Forest players.

"So, we still have the opportunity to continue to lead over them now. I am not the leader, but I also play football manager games. I know a little about the psychology of the head coach. If I am the leader, I will change to an offensive player at this time and strengthen the offense, instead of continuing to defend. Do you know why?" Before everyone could answer, he continued to announce the answer. "Because if we can never open the gap in the score. We will always give the opponent the hope of equalizing the score or even overtaking. This hope is their crazy motivation. They will tirelessly launch wave after wave of attacks on our goal. Our defensive pressure will only increase and will never be reduced. There is only one solution to this situation now - a goal. If we can score another goal, they will be finished!"

Albertini said clenched his fists, as if he had forgotten his identity as an AC Milan player.

He glanced at his opponent again and found that the people in AC Milan had finished celebrating. He clapped his hands: "Do you remember what the boss said before the game? Don't give up no matter what situation you face. It's not the worst now. Be cheer up and tell them how outrageous it is when they think they can defeat us!" Albertini had the shadow of Sitony. Done, and he worked with Done for three years, and was more or less affected.

Everyone clapped and dispersed, and Albertini grabbed Wood again. He had something to say to his midfield partner alone.

"George, are you still thinking about the goal you lost just now?"

Wood shook his head first, then nodded.

Albertini smiled and said, "Don't think about it. As a midfielder, there are many such moments. If you think about every ball, don't play the game. You heard it just now, right? Although the boss has not made any adjustments, we need to attack now. We can't win this game by relying on defense alone."

Wood continued to nod in agreement.

"But I can't run anymore." Albertini spread his hands and smiled helplessly. "Pirlo is always running, running non-stop. He is led by his nose, and his physical strength is consumed too much. If the attack requires me to rush up, I am afraid that I will not be able to come back."

Wood noticed that Albertini's gasp was even louder than before he lost the ball, and his jersey was almost soaked in sweat. He was already thirty-six years old in August, and such a high-intensity game as the Champions League final was indeed not easy for him.

"So. I need you to help me. Let's adjust the position, you are a little forward, I am behind you, and when the team needs to attack, you go up, and I am behind you to protect you. You are young, have good physical strength, fast speed, and can come back even if you go up. I can't think of a more suitable person than you."

Wood did not nod immediately. He did not shake his head immediately.

Albertini saw his inner hesitation. He smiled and said, "I know what you are thinking. There is nothing to hesitate. Are you still doubting your offensive ability? This final is the last game of my career. Then I retired and returned to my home in Italy. You can't always want someone like me around you. Many times you need to solve the problem alone. When you need to move forward, just go forward, don't worry, I'm behind you." He stopped saying anything, pushed Wood away, and ran away.

Albertini said it was completely right. After scoring a goal, AC Milan's morale was high and their fighting spirit was high. It launched a more violent attack on the heart of the Forest team than before. Only one ball-to-ground gap was left, it seemed like the smell of blood in the sea, which stimulated AC Milan's huge shark to pursue Nottingham Forest relentlessly.

Donne made the first substitution adjustment in this game after conceding the ball for three minutes. He replaced Layton Barnes with a more outstanding full-back Gareth Bale.

This is an obvious signal that cannot be more obvious - Tang En wants the team to attack.

The players of the Forest team couldn't help but look at the captain Albertini. He said it was completely correct, and the leader was indeed going to attack.

Five minutes later, Donne made a second substitution. This time, he replaced Van der Ferdy Eastwood with forward Freddy Eastwood.

Everyone understands the first time the substitution, but some people can't understand it when the second time the substitution is - they originally thought that Eastwood would replace Albertini, who is exhausted, but they did not expect that the one who was replaced was Van der Fate, who performed poorly.

This substitution made Ancelotti smile in a hidden way. He felt that Donne valued Albertini too much and chose to believe in the veteran's experience at this time. But Albertini obviously could not run anymore. What's the use of having experience? Pirlo had already gotten rid of the opponent twice in a row and sent a threatening pass. If Wood hadn't been trying hard to stick to Kaka, the score would definitely not be 1:2 now.

If Donn believed in Albertini's experience so much, then Ancelotti wouldn't mind letting Donn fall into this trust.

He walked to the sidelines and signaled that Pirlo would become the core of the team's offensive organization again. Everyone else had the ball and tried to hand it over to Pirlo as much as possible to completely defeat Albertini.

When Van der Fate came out, he thought he was not performing well and did not make any outstanding contributions to the team's offense, so he changed his head to his place. Unexpectedly, Tang En took the initiative to hug him and smiled and asked him to wait on the court to celebrate the championship.

Eastwood ran onto the field with the speed of sprinting, leaving him with little time to perform, and he had to cherish every second.

He doesn't blame the boss for letting him be a substitute in the Champions League final for two consecutive years. Because the boss must have the boss' consideration, as a player, you only need to obey the command. He will not let him play. He will observe the game carefully below and find something useful to him. Once he is allowed to play, it is the moment when these things come into play.

"Some people always say that Don Eun is a conservative coach. But when the lead is in the situation, he does not change the defensive players to strengthen the defense, but instead replaces the offensive players to continue attacking. Can this be considered conservative?" The English commentator began to complain to Don Eun after seeing these two substitutions.

Tang En doesn't care what others think of him.

He and Albertini had the same idea. At this time, strengthening defense may not necessarily rely on increasing defensive players to achieve it. Strengthening offense from another perspective can help reduce the pressure on defense. He doesn't believe in facing the Forest's offensive. AC Milan does not return to defense. Of course, if Milan really wants to continue attacking, Don En would be unable to seek it, which means that there will be many space behind them, as long as they are caught once. It will be enough to take their lives!

Pirlo saw that Albertini was exhausted, and in fact he didn't have to watch, just listening was enough - every time Albertini defended him, he felt that he had a large bellows beside him.

He suppressed his opponent and passed the football to Kaka.

Kaka had just successfully broken through Wood's defense and scored. Now he was in high spirits and in good condition. There was no reason not to pass the ball to him.

Just turned around and prepared to break through Wood's defense. This time Wood blocked Kaka outside the goal. When he broke through one-on-one, the football kicked by Kaka was touched by Wood's heel. Both of them pounced in the wrong direction, but the next second both of them kicked towards the football at the same time.

When Albertini first came to the Forest, Donn told Wood that this was his midfield partner and his teacher, and asked him to learn everything about Albertini.
Chapter completed!