Chapter 430: Welcome Home, Kaka
"I'm about to face my old club, how are you feeling now?" In the locker room, Licardo clenched his fist in a microphone shape and reached in front of Kaka's chin.
Kaka smiled and opened his hand: "Don't make a fuss, save some energy, the game will start soon." ”
"Hey, you don't have any more feelings for AC Milan, right? At the press conference, Ancelotti threw you a wink, and you accepted it all? ”
"you." Kaka is succinct and to the point.
Ancelotti said in an interview, "Kaka is gone, but San Siro is his home and we welcome him back at any time." ”
'The club's finances were in trouble and we had to sell our best players. I'm sorry I can't work with Kaka anymore, he's made an outstanding contribution to the team, he's been so good at attracting other big clubs, I can understand his choice. ”
And the fans at the San Siro didn't speak ill of Kaka either. Instead, during the warm-up, signs were displayed in the stands: "Welcome home, Kaka" and "We love you forever".
This made Ricardo a little jealous, wondering if he could be so welcomed when he was hostile to Inter.
Retracting his thoughts, Ricardo listened carefully to Capello's tactics.
Today AC Milan still use the 4411 Christmas tree formation, goalkeeper Dida, defenders are Otto, Nesta, Maldini and Jankulovski, midfielders Ambrosini, Pirlo, Seedorf, Gattuso, Gourcuff, and single striker Gilardino.
The most suitable position behind the striker originally belonged to Kaka, but now only Gourcuff can be used. However, French midfielder Gourcuff has performed really well this season, although he is inferior to Kaka in terms of offensive ability, but his organizational ability is stronger than Kaka.
On the Real Madrid side, the lineup is relatively neat, the goalkeeper is still Casillas, and the defender Robert. Carlos, Cannavaro, Elguera, Ramos, midfielders Diarra, Gago, in front of them are Raul, Ricardo, Kaka, and lone striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.
If you play a data game, Real Madrid's squad can be said to be slightly stronger than AC Milan's. But the strength of the two teams and three lines is not equal.
AC Milan has a stronger midfield and more organization; Real Madrid are more offensive and slightly weaker defensively.
Since AC Milan has the home advantage, the pre-match media analysis shows that AC Milan has a slightly better win rate.
Judging from the recent results, Real Madrid is still in good shape, AC Milan is not bad, and many main players in the last round of the league also drew with Roma.
The current Milan duo are not Milan bears, they are serious contenders both in the domestic arena and in the European arena, and AC Milan should not be humiliated.
When the players from both sides walked into the tunnel, Kaka was warmly welcomed by the AC Milan players, and several people came over to hug him, or touch his head and pat him on the shoulder, showing their affection for him.
Ricardo was also familiar with the group of AC Milan players and greeted each other in a friendly manner.
This AC Milan team has not changed much from his time in Serie A, and although this represents the aging of AC Milan's squad, it also shows that the opponents are very solid and experienced.
Ricardo is not expecting an easy win at the San Siro either, and a draw and one or two away goals would be a good result.
Capello thought the same way. He asked the team to attack for a period of time in the first 15 minutes, whether it was fruitful or not, and then shrink the formation and play defensive counter-attacks.
While lining up and taking photos, Ricardo took the time to scan the stands, and to his surprise, there was a small area in the stands where hundreds of fans in blue and black jerseys appeared, holding signs that read: "Licardo, we love you forever".
At this moment, Ricardo was moved. When he left Inter Milan, he had a bad quarrel with the fans, and many fans accused him of being a traitor and a "slave to money like his brother".
After the start of the game, according to Capello's instructions, Real Madrid launched a front-court pressing and actively attacked.
Just one minute into the game, Ricardo took the ball diagonally and came to the corner of the box. Pressed by Gattuso and Maldini, he slammed the ball with his backheel and handed it to Kaka. Kaka took a step to avoid Pirlo's tackle and fired a left-footed shot that was easily picked up by Dida.
AC Milan did not rush to attack, but steadily and steadily, step by step. Under Pirlo's command, they controlled the ball steadily, gradually advancing to the edge of the penalty area, and then Pirlo moved the ball to the left.
Jankulovski picked up the ball near the touchline, took two lateral steps and crossed diagonally to the back post, but Cannavaro and Elguera could not get the ball off the line, Real Madrid's defence leaked, and Seedorf, who was outflanked at the back post, almost shoveled into the net.
Capello was so anxious that he yelled on the sidelines. He wants the team to attack for 15 minutes, but it doesn't mean that he has to give up the defense!
This detail also shows how bad Cannavaro's form is, and he would never let that kind of ball slip through him during last year's World Cup.
In the 5th minute, AC Milan won a free kick in an excellent position, Pirlo personally handled, but his shot hit the wall and popped up, he immediately chased up a pick-up pass, Gilardino inserted it against offside, but Pirlo's pass was a little bigger, Gilardino just barely touched the football, did not kick the right part, the football flew lightly towards the goal, Casillas reacted quickly and defused the danger.
Real Madrid immediately launched a counter-attack, Ricardo pulled to the left to get the ball, dribbled down the ball at high speed, broke through Odor's defence, and crossed with a shot. Raul didn't touch the ball at the front and Van Nistelrooy swooped down the middle but deflected the ball just wide, squandering a great opportunity.
AC Milan were quick to return the colours, with Gourcuff and Gilardino linking up the middle, with Gilardino picking up the ball on the edge of the box and immediately knocking it across the board, which Gourcuff followed up with a powerful shot that flew away.
Both teams have a fast pace of attack and defense, and the fans are addicted to watching.
Kaka was also certainly well received, and while a handful of fans booed him, most of the time, there was a round of applause once he got the ball.
As for Ricardo, it was a different treatment. He has previously played for AC Milan's local rivals and has long been rated as persona non grata by AC Milan fans after scoring against them.
As soon as he got the ball today, the stands would be booed and drowned out by the applause of the hundreds of Inter fans.
But how strong is Ricardo's psychological quality? This boo was the right catalyst for him to ignite his fighting spirit.