CHAPTER XXIX
It is naturally a good thing to be able to welcome Beckham with a victory, and most importantly, a victory can make Beckham more deeply realize the strength of Fiorentina.
It's true that David Beckham is an international superstar, but Fiorentina are also the strongest team in the world at the moment.
However, during the game, Digan was injured unexpectedly in the second half, which still worried fans who like Fiorentina, but fortunately, Fiorentina's official website soon announced the news that Digan's injury was not serious and was expected to heal after ten days of rest.
But in this way, Digan will not be able to participate in the next round of the league against Roma.
In the next game, the importance of Degan to Fiorentina was unmistakable, and Fiorentina lost 0:1 to Roma at the Stadio Olimpico without Digan, ending an 11-game winning streak in all competitions.
In the first half, the two teams were evenly matched, with Cavinaghi playing in the main position of Degan in front of him very positively, and his combination with Mutu also caused a lot of problems for Roma.
But when the game was played in the 60th minute of the second half, Roma still took the lead in breaking the deadlock, Tadei crossed from the right side, and Totti scored with a right-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area, 1:0.
In the next game, although Fiorentina counterattacked vigorously, because of the lack of Digan's sharp knife, although Fiorentina occupied the advantage on the field, it was never able to equalize, and the score of 1:0 was maintained until the end.
Fortunately, in this round of matches, the two teams competing with Fiorentina for the top spot in the league, Inter Milan and AC Milan, also failed to win.
The upset is not the most eye-catching, the most eye-catching thing is that before the league game with Lazio, Mourinho's list of banned people appeared in the name of another person, that is, the 18-year-old striker Mario who was pinned on by Moratti. Balotelli.
The day before the game, Mourinho announced in an interview that Balotelli would not go to Rome with Inter Milan, but would stay in Milan to play in Inter's Under-19 youth team.
When it comes to his team selection, Mourinho was also a little impatient when pressed by reporters: "You always ask me questions about players who are not on the list, never ask me about players who are on the list. In my opinion, it is easier to answer questions about the players who are on the list, I can tell you guys that Quaresma was on the list because he was training well, Adriano was not on the list because he had a problematic attitude towards his work, and for Balotelli I wanted Mario to get where he could get and in my opinion if he became a player like any other player it would not be enough because he had every chance to be a different player, And if he understands me positively, but obviously, he doesn't understand my thoughts, and often does things that people can't understand, I just want to say that what I'm doing is not punishing, but helping him to get his attitude right, which is very important! β
"Such a young player should not practice less than Figo, Zanetti, etc., I don't accept a player who is nothing, what level is not reached, just a bet to do this, I know that he is the wealth of Inter and Italian football, so I am more worried about him, if he practices to 50%, he may be the best in the world, but he only practices to 25%, there is no shortage of professional models around him, if I let him play in this game, it is really a big gift to him, but I don't want to give gifts to anyone, in my place, Everything is a new beginning, regardless of past achievements, everyone is equal. β
Captain Zanetti then supported Mourinho's decision on behalf of the team: "Balotelli should understand that the coach's words are full of emotion, the goal is to play his value as much as possible, not to try to kill him, and now football, as long as you train hard, you can only make a difference, and you should not have a famous player at the age of 18." β
Mourinho then also said that he would keep Balotelli, and Adidas, who had just signed with Balotelli, suggested that Balotelli leave to get more appearances, but was rejected by Inter Milan's top management, which shows that madmen love talent, but have their own strict way of tuning.
In the end, Inter Milan and Lazio played 0-0, while their rivals AC Milan failed to get a win, and they were held to a 2-2 draw by Torino.
The game was drawn, missing a best opportunity to catch up with Fiorentina, and what made Ancelotti even more depressed was that in this game, facing a weak team, Milan had a rare opportunity to test the substitute defense, however, the result disappointed Ancelotti, the combination of Senderos and Favali made it easy for the Red Bulls to stab two goals in a row.
Two goals conceded, clearly reflecting the substitute central defender Senderos is overwhelmed, the first goal conceded, when the two forwards of Torino were inserted into the Milan penalty area, Senderos did not keep an eye on any of them, and there was an obvious error in the judgment of the landing point of the ball, he stood in place and ran out to fight for the point, Sendros had a chance to clear, but he was empty, the Swiss who was praised as "the new Stam" by Galliani, did not show the ability of Stam to dominate the air, and the distance that Anchi ran closer, As a result, he pressed Senderos's header to score.
The second goal was conceded by Bianchi squeezing Zambrotta behind him in the Milan penalty area, but Senderos did not notice the changes, his attention was only on the Torino full-back's take, only to be swept around him with a low cross and easily swept into the net by Bianchi to score a brace.
Before the game, the "Milan Sports Newspaper", which accurately predicted the starting lineup, pinched a sweat for Senderos, and sure enough, the Swiss central defender still did not change the immaturity when he was at Arsenal, the defensive awareness is still weak, and the opponent's movement is not predicted, and Favali, who played as a guest central defender, has no sense of supplemental defense, and it is not surprising that the defense line was completely broken by the recognized weak team of Torino.
Carlo Ancelotti also seems to have little hope for Senderos, and when asked about the state of the Swiss centre-back, the Milan boss blurted out: "Maybe it's not as good as Nesta, who is recovering from an injury." β
It sounds like Senderos' desire to stay at AC Milan after this season has become a luxury, and the centre-back, who was swept away by Arsene Wenger, has completely found the wrong club.
A game, a bad performance, people can even say that the current Senderos is not as reliable as Favali, the veteran Favalli although he appeared in an unfamiliar position in this game, but he stared at another striker in Torino Bonazzoli, and Sendros was given the lowest score of 4.5 in the post-match rating, and the media even used "disaster" to describe his performance.
What's the difference?
The first is the ability to dominate the air, Sendros has grown a big man, but the ability to dominate the air is not even comparable to Favali, on Favali's head, Bonazzoli, who has always been known for his header ability, did not fight for a header.
On the playing field, it can often be seen that Bianchi, who is not very fast, often uses speed to "eat raw", and can easily get rid of a position, turn slowly, and easily be completely exposed by the shortcomings of frontal breakthroughs.
AC Milan obviously didn't want this result when they brought in Senderos, and the last time AC Milan made such a badly rated and unusable reinforcement was back in 2000 when they brought in Pablo from Atletico Madrid. Garcia, fortunately, Senderos was only on loan from Arsenal for a loan fee of 2 million.
Recently, it has been reported that AC Milan will bring in a new defender in the winter, and the British media also said that due to the possibility of selling Gallas in the winter, Wenger may take back Senderos, although Galliani denied the possibility of winter reinforcements, but if Senderos leaves, Nesta cannot recover, and AC Milan cannot afford not to buy people.
Even if Senderos continues to stay at AC Milan to play this season, I am afraid it will be difficult to have a chance to stay this summer, because a few days ago Galliani has publicly said: "We will definitely have reinforcements in the defense next summer, because Maldini is difficult to replace." β
Wasn't Senderos used to succeed Maldini?
Apparently he is no longer in Galliani's eyes.
Senderos is a disaster, and the veteran Favali who was temporarily arranged by Ancelotti in the central defender position can't help but make people shine, the 36-year-old veteran due to the lack of speed, skills and average, appeared in the left-back position he was used to in the past, it was a disaster, this season he played left-back twice after poor performance, Ancelotti no longer let him play that position, but in the past it was only a cameo central defender position, now it has become his "main business", experience makes up for the lack of body, a few games down, Favalli's performance at centre-back was praised by Carlo Ancelotti, and Bonazzoli, who was "opposed" in this game, completed the task very well.
In fact, such a "counterpoint" was picked by Bonazzoli himself, because Favali, who was born with his left foot, is not used to playing on the right side, so AC Milan plays zone defense, compared with the tall Senderos, Crouch is obviously more willing to be on Favali's side, emphasizing his height advantage, Favali is indeed an obvious disadvantage, but that's it, Favali still did not give Bonazzoli any chance to perform.
Before the game, Carlo Ancelotti had specifically pointed out: "Bonazzoli is a dangerous man in the Torino attack. β
Favali was AC Milan's last choice at centre-back, but it was this unlikely candidate who successfully completed the task of marking Bonazzoli, and sometimes experience is really an invisible force.
In fact, since last season, Favali has been unable to play at left-back, AC Milan had poor results last season, and Jankulovski's long-term injury, Favalli has a certain relationship with too much left-back, this season's "transformation" has made him a useful person for the team again, in the case of Nesta's long-term injury and Maldini's inability to play frequently, a reliable substitute defender is a must, even if it is the last substitute, judging from this game, Ancelotti said" Favalli is currently more reliable than Sendros "There is nothing wrong with that, it's just that no matter how well Favalli plays in the central defender position, it should just be AC Milan's way to deal with emergencies this season, and next season, Favali will be 37 years old, who knows what kind of form Lu Dao will be?
Even as strong as Costacuta, in the last season of AC Milan, he obviously felt powerless and had to announce his decision to retire in the middle of the season.
Favali's transition would have been a good thing, but if AC Milan were to be able to make do with the change of defence, then the good thing was going to turn bad.
Favali temporarily solved the crisis of AC Milan's lack of personnel on the line, but the real hero of AC Milan in this game was indeed Inzaghi, the Italian veteran who wore the captain's armband for the first time.
After a succession of missed goals, Inzaghi's confidence was not dampened, and finally, in the third minute of stoppage time, his moment finally came.
Zambrotta's right outside of his right foot crossed into the box, and Inzaghi unloaded the ball on the run to evade the defenders of the opposition two defenders and calmly sent the ball into the net in the face of the attacking goalkeeper.
In the last moments, AC Milan finally equalized!
After the goal, Inzaghi opened his arms and celebrated wildly, and the San Siro stadium, which had been silent for 92 minutes, suddenly erupted, and people couldn't believe that the miracle was staged by a striker over 35 years old.
However, for those who witnessed Inzaghi's goal, they were lucky.
Yes, it can be said that Inzaghi's goal was not pretty, but it was a goal that helped AC Milan get a difficult point.
Speaking after the game, Inzaghi said: "After hitting the post twice and hitting the crossbar once, I thought it was going to be an uneventful night, but until the end of the game I believed I could score because I felt good physically. Then, in the 93rd minute, the god of football gave me a chance to wear the captain's armband and my hard work finally paid off. β
Inzaghi scored and it was Ronaldinho who provided the assist, and AC Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti was asked to talk about Ronaldinho in an interview before the game against Torino.
Carlo Ancelotti thought for a moment and said: "He's the kind of player who can make a difference, he's scored a lot of goals and he's been crucial, in my opinion, he's a lot better now than when he first arrived in Milan, he's working very hard and you can really see that he wants to be the Ronaldinho that people know again. β
Carlo Ancelotti mentioned in the interview the concept of "being able to bring different players", which is the so-called star player, the player who can change the game in a very short time, and Ronaldinho's performance in this game illustrates this.
When the team was 1-0 down, Carlo Ancelotti was ready to bring on Ronaldinho, and when he was about to come on after the field preparations, the opponent scored another one.
Ronaldinho's face was grim like never before, and the smile no longer hung on his face, and he needed to lead the team to a difficult task on a cold and rainy night in Milan.
AC Milan were 2-0 down at the time, with the clock on the clock at 74 minutes and less than 20 minutes before the end of the game.
But Ronaldinho can do it, when the game is 84 minutes, Ronaldinho himself created a free kick and took it by himself, but seeing Ronaldinho aiming at the goal, kicking, the ball drew an obvious arc, almost grazing the top of the player's head on the outside of the human wall, and bent directly into the far corner of the goal!
The speed of the ball is not very fast, but the arc is obvious, the angle is very tricky, although the Torino goalkeeper Sereni has made flying saves, but they are still far from reaching the ball, and the long-lost Barcelona era "Xiao Luo style free kick" has appeared again!
Galliani described the free-kick as "incredible" after the game, as Ronaldinho's team-mate and Brazilian Pato said: "I used to only see him on TV, but now he can do incredible things every day in training. β
Ancelotti couldn't help but talk about Ronaldinho before the game: "Before the game against Torino, I used to joke with him that 'you haven't scored a free-kick in a while' and he scored one so quickly, and I've heard in Brazil that he can play wherever he wants, it's a real talent. β
It was Ronaldinho's eighth goal of the season for AC Milan, and with eight goals and two assists in 11 starts and five substitutes in the League and UEFA Cup, Ronaldo has shown great efficiency.
Ronaldinho's performance is getting better and better, however, this Jedi counterattack after falling behind 0:2 has nothing to do with Milan's core Kaka.
To say that Kaka is the weak link of AC Milan, I'm afraid no one will believe it.
But in today's game, Kaka's state is indeed not in his best condition, you must know that in AC Milan, Kaka is the hub of the team's attack, and no one can deny this status.
The team's results are also closely linked to Kaka's form, and AC Milan's form so far this season can be roughly divided into three phases.
First of all, it was a three-game losing streak in the opening season, with the team losing to three not-so-strong opponents in a row, and at the beginning of the season, Kaka was still recovering from summer surgery, and the game against Genoa was just back and not in form.
The second period was a period of standout performances for AC Milan, who rose up the rankings with 11 wins and one draw, during which he provided six assists and four goals in Serie A.
And the third stage, that is, since then to this day, Kaka has only scored one penalty in Serie A, AC Milan have only won one each in the UEFA Cup and Serie A, and the other two draws in Serie A have also happened to Lecce and Torino, and the two draws have cost them not only four points, but also a chance to reach the top of the Serie A table. Now, AC Milan are nine points behind leaders Fiorentina.
One can't deny that Kaka can be called excellent even if it's not at its best. The problem, however, is that AC Milan's opponents have since gotten stronger. In the next four league games, they will play Juventus, Udinese, Roma and Fiorentina, and in such a game, Kaka's current form is certainly not good.
But what is the reason for the bad state of Kaka?
The answer is obvious: fatigue.
It would have been fine if Kaka had only played for AC Milan, but more importantly, he would have to play for the Brazilian national team, as in the most recent example of Brazil's friendly against Portugal, where Kaka still played a full 90 minutes.
Even in friendlies, Dunga, who is under pressure at the moment, is demanding results, and apparently, this comes at the cost of the physical strength of his players.
After the race, Kaka will not be able to return to Milan until Thursday evening at the earliest, and the reality of running at both ends has prevented Kaka from fully performing in the race.
But fortunately, because Kaka received a yellow card in this game, he will be suspended in the next round of games, and Kaka can finally get a rare chance to rest.
Another benefit for AC Milan is that they can experiment more, with the Christmas tree being Angelo Ancelotti's favourite, but the two strikers are no less effective.
In this game, AC Milan played 4-3-1-2, and after Kaka and Shevchenko came off at the same time, Pato and Inzaghi formed a double striker.
In fact, Pato is more suited to the two-striker tactic, and this match further proved that, strategically speaking, the richness of the style of play will bring the calmness of the personnel, which is completely beneficial for the rotation of the team.
Therefore, for AC Milan, this is a piece of good news that is more important than one more card.
In addition to physical exhaustion, it is more psychological, Kaka has expressed his disappointment with AC Milan in previous interviews, and at the same time, he has to deal with a lot of transfer scandals.
When the UEFA Cup was away to Portsmouth, the British media lost no time in throwing the topic of future fate to AC Milan and Kaka, the double core of the Brazilian national team midfield.
Before that, Kaka said nothing more than "yes, I love the Premier League very much, there are a lot of European giants and top stars, and I think the Premier League is the best league. β
Those who are familiar with the Brazilian superstar know that this answer is "very Kaka", and when Real Madrid President CalderΓ³n announced that he would spend a lot of money to bring him in, Kaka also used words similar to this Tai Chi push hand to let all the rumors slowly dissipate.
However, in the latest media interviews, Kaka has a new explanation for his future and his relationship with AC Milan, to whom he is allegiated.
"If one day I have to leave AC Milan, the reason for leaving is that the goals I have defined for myself are already the opposite of those of AC Milan."
Previously, some European media began to break the news that Manchester City was once again planning to bring Kaka to the blue moon after the failure of the previous plan to buy Kaka.
Regarding the veracity of these reports, Kaka said in an interview: "The Premier League is a very competitive league, there are a lot of high-quality players and strong teams, I think the Premier League is the best league in the world, I don't know exactly when I will play there, but it will be an exciting thing. β
In fact, this is the third time that Kaka has expressed this opinion in half a year.
After Kaka used his strength to become the world's top superstar and was crowned the world's footballer of the year, the transfer rumors about the Brazilian talented midfielder have not stopped.
As the financial crisis intensifies, it will be more difficult for Europe's "native" capital to resist the naked oil offensive from the Middle East after suffering the impact of the financial tsunami.
The current situation is that AC Milan, where Kaka plays, and the chaebol pillar behind the team, have been exhausted by the impact of the financial crisis, and at this time, Manchester City, which represents the oil of the Middle East, once again appealed to Kaka.
The 26-year-old signed a contract with AC Milan until 2013 and although he is grateful for the overtures from the Premier League, he says he will continue his professional career in Italy.
However, in fact, in the context of the financial crisis sweeping across Europe, Italian football is not immune, and in recent seasons, as one of the hegemons of Europe, AC Milan has exposed many problems such as the aging of the team, the weakness of the new generation, and many other problems, and the results in the European arena have also been affected.
And if one day they can't compete with Inter Milan in Serie A and the Anglo-Spanish giants in Europe, then that day may be the moment when Kaka calls "one day".
Degan was also asked about Kaka, to which Deegan also seemed a little tired: "I don't know where the future of Ricciardo will be, he is an adult, he will have his own decisions, you should not come to ask me at all, no matter where he plays in the future, I will wish him good luck, that's it!" β
Digan doesn't have the heart to care about Kaka now, since last year, the transfer rumors around Kaka have never stopped, maybe everything will develop like in his previous life, but Digan hopes that Kaka can change his fate at Real Madrid.
The most important thing for Deegan at the moment is the upcoming league and the upcoming World Club Cup.
This will be Fiorentina's first appearance in this nominally club-top competition, and although the level of this competition is not comparable to the Champions League, it still occupies the name of "world world", and it is also within the plan of Degan's six-time title.
As long as it is the champion, Degan wants to take it, this is Degan's "greedy" habit, and he has not forgotten the agreement with the Korean girl.
"Mr. Hazawi! Get rid of you and help me book a few tickets for the Japanese game and deliver them to a Korean girl named Park Ji-yeon. β