December 4, Meazza Stadium

As the TV camera swept over the stands at the Meazza Stadium, all banners prayed for Baggio, and even the fans of the so-called Libertadores League, who were enemies of Yang Cheng, all pulled out slogans in support of Baggio, hoping that the Italians would return to the field as soon as possible.

This is especially true for Inter fans and Knights of the Holy Spirit, which makes the stands at the Meazza Stadium very unified, almost all of which are slogans of Inter fans, while non-Inter fans are silent.

For this game, Yang Cheng can be said to be in a hurry to prepare.

Baggio's serious injury and Nedved's ban have completely overturned Inter's entire midfield, and he must be rebuilt.

To this end, he has a new line-up in the midfield, Recoba in the midfield position, the Uruguayan replaces Baggio as the tandem of the trident, and Nedved's replacement is Andrea Pirlo, the youngster who is highly valued and cultivated by Yang Cheng is determined to be the future of Inter Milan's midfield, and he naturally gets the opportunity.

Inter Milan played well in the first half, with the team dominating and taking a 1-0 lead over Juventus thanks to Batistuta's goal, and went into the break with the lead.

However, in the second half, Juventus began to focus on Inter Milan's midfield configuration.

Yang Cheng knows very well that once Recoba, because the Uruguayans don't like to participate in defense, they are more involved in the frontcourt attack, which makes the defensive pressure on the midfield very large, Van Bommel is a little better, but Pirlo can't hold it, and after Davies successfully broke the ball, he played a counterattack.

Inter Milan's goal conceded can be said to be unexpected, and it is reasonable!

Juventus's midfield led by Zidane, Davies, Conte and others is indeed overpowering Inter Milan's midfield, Pirlo's performance can only be said to be decent, Recoba is good in attack, but the defensive contribution is not much.

In the end, the two sides played to a 1:1 draw!

It was a bit of a fluke, because in the last half hour of the second half, Inter Milan was very passive, Zidane frequently created chances, but Piero was very out of shape in this game and repeatedly missed opportunities.

…………

…………

"What do I think of this game?"

At the post-match press conference, Yang Cheng smiled in the face of questions raised by reporters: "All those who think we are lucky are blind, they see our loss in the second half, but they don't see our advantage in the first half." ”

"There is no doubt that Juventus were lucky, they simply couldn't beat us, I said it earlier!"

Farage stood up and sneered: "Mr. Yang Cheng, but they ended your Inter Milan's 8-game winning streak away!" ”

"Mr. Farage, this is normal!" Yang Cheng also sneered, "Do you think that we will always win like this?" Do you think it's normal? ”

"Football is like that, it's either winning or losing, with a little brain, my team is in a period of adjustment, in other words, Juventus can only draw us when we are in great difficulty, in the stage of adjustment, what does that prove? Proves that we are stronger than them! ”

Obviously, Ancelotti is not the kind of person who is good at verbal combat, so every time he meets Yang Cheng, he can only play the role of a dragon depressedly, and he has always been so sad.

The reporters below are very depressed, they feel that Yang Cheng is really sophistry, obviously it was Inter Milan who drew Juventus, how can they say the other way around as if they were a glorious draw.

"Mr. Yang Cheng, the Pirlo you trust has performed badly again, and even started to have a lot of Inter Milan fans calling for the use of Zanetti, what do you think of the fans' opinions?" Another reporter stood up.

"Is it the fans' opinion, or your opinion?" Yang Cheng asked with a smile.

"What I'm trying to say is, if any of you know better than I know who should and who should be substituted, then, well, it's you, not me, sitting here right now, okay?" Yang Cheng pointed to his seat and said.

"Don't talk about non-nutritious topics in the future, it's just boring, isn't it?"

This last sentence can be regarded as a suggestion to these journalists, and it can even be said to be a warning.

Pirlo's performance is really difficult to say, after all, this time he is facing Zidane, Davies, Conte and other excellent midfielders, if he wants to directly defeat Juventus, he may not be able to play at an extraordinary level, and Yang Cheng is already quite satisfied. But some reporters seemed desperate to find a point of attack, so they lifted Pirlo out.

Why?

Just because Pirlo is the player Yang Cheng values the most, as long as they prove that Pirlo is a dou who can't be supported, then they can attack Yang Cheng for not knowing how to use people, which is the logic of this group of reporters.

"You mean, Andrea Pirlo will continue to be in the lineup?"

"Of course, why not?" Yang Cheng asked rhetorically.

…………

…………

3 days later, Deportivo La Coruna, Stadio Riazor

Andrea Pirlo was once again in the squad, with Nedved, who has been suspended domestically, in a midfield position. This should be regarded as Yang Cheng's attempt at the main players of Inter Milan's midfield after Baggio's absence.

Recoba came out, and the midfielder was under a lot of pressure, because he was suitable for playing against weak teams, or at home, after all, when Inter Milan was the main attacker, and Nedved played in the midfield, just to free up the two strikers and the midfielder behind him.

2：1！

In international practice, the home team is in front and the away team is in the back.

Inter Milan suffered their first defeat of the season!

Bellerón, De Jaminha, Doscher, well, the same Argentine who used the flying tackle tactics against Beckham in 2002, have shown great quality from Sporting Lisbon to Deportivo La Coruna this season.

Super Laco is now at the peak of the club, this set of luxury midfield, coupled with the front of Mackay, Tristan, Pandiani, the attack is very terrifying, plus there is a very good manager Irueta makes Deportivo very competitive.

Inter Milan, who were playing away, managed to get back on the scoresheet, but unfortunately, the midfield lost ground and Inter had to swallow their first defeat of the season.

But at the same time, Manchester United beat Lyon 2-0 at home.

After two rounds, Deportivo La Coruna is at the top of the table with 6 points, Manchester United is second with 4 points, Inter Milan is 3rd with 1 point, and Lyon is at the bottom with both defeats.

After the two rounds of matches, the third round of the group stage will not be rekindled until February, and Yang Cheng is also determined to take advantage of this period of time to adjust the team's midfield configuration.

…………

…………

Back in Serie A, Inter Milan travel to Fiorentina.

Barty returned to his old club and scored a goal for Inter Milan in the 57th minute, and the Argentine star did not celebrate, but silently returned to his half with tears in his eyes.

The move immediately infected Fiorentina fans in the stands, who applauded Barty's move.

But unfortunately, Inter Milan lost again in this game, 1:2!

After two consecutive rounds, Inter Milan have lost the spirit of their previous eight consecutive wins, which makes it clear to everyone that Baggio and Nedved are two players who are crucial in the current tactics of this Inter Milan team.

The midfield of a team is like a person's waist, the waist is not straight, how can you beat someone?

After a frustrating away trip, Inter Milan returned to the Meazza Stadium for the second leg of the Coppa Italia quarter-finals, and Venice arrived in Milan in a state of trepidation.

As soon as they arrived in Milan, the Inter fans chased their buses and shouted in protest, making them think that there was going to be a riot.

But when they walked into the Meazza Stadium and directly felt the anger of tens of thousands of Inter Milan fans in the stadium, the timid felt weak, especially when they saw the murderous Inter Milan players, and they were even more hopeless about this game, especially when they had lost 0:3 in the first leg.

Yang Cheng arranged some of the main players to rest in this game, substitute goalkeeper Ferron appeared in the lineup, the back line from left to right were Pasquale, Silvestre, Ferrari and Panucci, the midfielders were Pirlo, Zanetti and Perrotta, the forward was Recoba, and the double forwards were Ventola and Vanney.

From the very beginning of the game, Inter Milan launched a fierce offensive against Venice.

Ruud van Nistelrooy took the lead in the seventh minute with a cross from the left by teenager Pasquale to shoot in front of goal, and roared at the Venetian players to vent the damage they had done to their team-mates in the first leg.

Ten minutes later, Recoba scored a direct free-kick for Inter. Every pass, every pass, every possession, the Inter fans in the stands would respond with warm applause and cheers, but once the ball reached the feet of Venice, they all turned into boos.

It was a clearly asymmetrical game, as Inter's wolf-like play left Venezia struggling throughout the first half, with Ruud van Nistelrooy setting up Ventola in the 28th minute and his own second goal of the game three minutes later. In the face of Venice, Pirlo's performance is obviously better than usual, in addition to Venice's lack of restrictions on him, another important reason is his mentality, a heart that vows revenge!

With a score of 4:0 to end the first half, but in the second half, Inter Milan still did not relax the offensive, Perrotta in the 56th minute, a long shot from outside the penalty area, once again penetrated the goal of Venezia, rewriting the score to 5:0!

After that, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ventola scored a goal each as Inter Milan completed a bloody 7-0 massacre against Venezia.

The team that lost Zamparini and are currently in turmoil suffered a ruthless bloodbath from Inter Milan, but after the game, the fans in the stands of the Meazza Stadium refused to let go of the hapless guys and continued to boo them.

With an aggregate score of 10:0, Venice was bloodied, and Inter Milan successfully entered the semi-finals of the Italian Cup.

The other three teams in the semi-finals were AC Milan, Fiorentina and Parma, all of whom were top teams in Serie A, while Inter Milan drew local rivals AC Milan in the subsequent draw.

As soon as the draw results came out, the whole world immediately sympathized with Inter.

This means that, after a two-week winter break, Inter Milan will start the second half of the season with Lazio, Parma, a league and first-leg cup tie against AC Milan.

This is really worse for Inter Milan, who have not been in good form recently, after all, Nedved is still suspended at that time.

But after Yang Cheng received the lottery results, he laughed instead.

"I'm happy with the draw because AC Milan couldn't have been better!"

But in the next 11th round of Serie A, Inter Milan was forced to 0:0 by Brescia, and Pirlo's performance was disappointing again, and even many loyal Inter fans began to think that Pirlo was not worthy of the current Inter Milan team at all.

There are also many media outlets that oppose Yang Cheng who began to criticize Yang Cheng's stubbornness, believing that Pirlo should be replaced with Zanetti, but Yang Cheng still did not waver and continued to reuse Pirlo in the 12th round of the away game against Atalanta.

Although Inter Milan's form has recovered, with Ronaldo's goal, Inter Milan defeated Atalanta 1-0 away and won a key victory, after all, this team has performed very well in Serie A this season, and has not tasted defeat at home, Inter Milan can beat their opponents away, which is commendable.

But while the team has been praised, doubts about Pirlo have continued.

…………

…………

A bus dyed in the colors of Inter Milan slowly stopped outside the Isokinetic clinic in Bologna.

Those who don't know must think that Inter Milan is coming to Bologna, but when they see Inter Milan players coming out in civilian clothes, they will dismiss this idea.

They had come to visit Baggio.

With Inter Milan overtaken by Roma and Juventus and falling to third in the league standings, Baggio's surgery was a great success, which has become the most exciting piece of news.

He underwent surgery on the second day of his trip south to Bologna, and Dr. Jani Nanni operated on his own hands, and the operation went very smoothly, because Yang Cheng was preparing for Juventus at the time, he did not have time to go south, but he still called in person to encourage Baggio.

Eight days after the operation, Baggio has already begun to recover from the surgery according to Jani Nanni's plan.

When he was in the rehabilitation room, he was pleasantly surprised when he saw Yang Cheng appear with a group of Inter Milan teammates.

"Hah, chief!" He seemed to be in a good mood.

Yang Cheng glanced around, "The environment is good, what about Andrena?" ”

"There's a nurse here, I'll let her go back and take care of the baby!" Baggio replied, smiling and greeting his teammates. "Alright, it's time, help him to sit outside in the garden!" "The nurse seemed very human. Yang Cheng and his entourage helped him out, went to the garden, and sat on a chair.

The winter in Bologna is cold, but the caring greetings of the teammates make people feel warm.

"Boy, I've been under a lot of pressure lately!" When Pirlo came to Baggio, his most respected senior grabbed him and sat him down beside him.

Yang Cheng took a group of players to look around and played in the garden.

Although the team is not in a good situation, the winter break is here and they have plenty of time to adjust, so everyone is in a good mood.

"I'm sorry, Robert!" Pirlo said timidly.

He knew very well that his performance had failed to meet Yang Cheng's trust.

"No need to say sorry, Andrea!" Baggio smiled and patted the little brother on the shoulder, Pirlo's quality must be there, this can be seen from his training, but his performance on the pitch is really bad, there is no denying it.

"By the way, Andrea, do you remember what I told you when you first learned free kicks with me?"

Baggio's free kick is also second to none in the Inter Milan team, Pirlo as a junior, Yang Cheng once recommended him to learn free kicks from Baggio, for which he practiced very diligently, and also learned Baggio's free kick skills.

"Yes, remember!" Pirlo replied.

"Tell me!" Baggio looks very big brother.

"You told me at the time that a free kick and a penalty kick are actually the same thing, and the key point is to guess the psychology of the opposing goalkeeper, and the goal of the free kick is actually how to fool the goalkeeper's technique."

"And then?" Baggio again.

"Everyone has their own strengths, and no one is exactly the same, so when I first learned from you, you told me that I learned your method in order to surpass you one day!"

Baggio couldn't stop nodding, "Did you do it?" ”

The latter did not squeak.

"Andrea, do you know why your free-kick skills have always improved so little?" Baggio asked again.

Pirlo lowered his head, not knowing how to answer.

"I told you, you are you, others are others, what you have to do is not blindly imitate other people's free kick methods, you learn Baggio today, Juninho Jr. tomorrow, Mihajlovic the day after tomorrow, what about the day after tomorrow? How big is the day after tomorrow? ”

Baggio was very serious about the lesson.

"I remember, when I decided to drop back and play in the midfield, the boss told me, Robert, let go of your arms, you are you, you are Roberto Baggio, you don't need to learn anybody, you just have to play your own football according to your own understanding of football, your wisdom about football, and that's it."

"Maybe many people will think, Baggio, that's just it!"

Speaking of this, Baggio himself sneered a little.

"A cripple who wants speed but no speed, a broken leg who wants technology but no technology, how can he become a part of Inter Milan's trident that dominates Europe? Why is he on a par with Ronaldo, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Batistuta and other top attackers in Europe? ”

Baggio stared at Andrea Pirlo, who looked up and fixed his eyes on the footballer he respected the most.

"It's not because of my skills, it's not because of my speed, it's because I'm Roberto Baggio, and only I can play Roberto Baggio-style football, no one else can do it!"

"Football is as simple as that!". ）