On August 3, the office of Milan club Gagliari. Ancelotti sat on a brown leather sofa, the vertical air conditioner at the door was hard at work, but the air in the room was still a little stuffy.

There were only two people in the room, and Gagliari sat opposite Ancelotti. Gagliari pulled out a Cuban cigar from the metal cigarette case on the table and handed it to Ancelotti. Ancelotti waved his hand, took out a pack of "Marco Polo" from his trouser pocket, pulled out one and lit it. A cigar and a cigarette make the room smoky and everything becomes a little unreal.

"Let's talk about the plans for the new season." Gagliari broke the silence and said: "First of all, we must determine the goal of Serie A, do we need to give up in Serie A? ”

Ancelotti spat out a puff of smoke, flicked the ash on the ashtray, and said slowly: "Fifteen points is a huge gap, it's difficult!" ”

Gallari held a cigar in his right hand, touched his eyebrows with his left hand, puffed out a puff of smoke and said: "The Champions League is not so easy to defend. Since the restructuring, no team has successfully defended its title. ”

Fifteen points will be deducted in the new season, and the Serie A title is almost hopeless, is there no difficulty in the Champions League? Milan will have a tough new season, and it may even be fruitless.

There was a sense of disappointment in the room. A giant like Milan, if they don't have a title in a season, the fans won't say yes.

The two said almost at the same time: "Coppa Italia! ”

After finishing speaking, the two looked at each other and smiled, their smiles full of helplessness. Compared to Serie A and the Champions League, the Coppa Italia is much lighter. This is also the reason why Milan abandoned the Coppa Italia last season. Now they have to set their sights on the Coppa Italia in a dire situation.

"What do you need to add to the players?" Galiari asked.

Ancelotti said: "The centre-backs can be added, Cannavaro is a good candidate, the full-backs need to be added, Cafu is old, Zambrotta is a good candidate. ”

Carlo Ancelotti has set his sights on Juventus, and although the two have not said that they want to defend their Champions League title, they have actually begun to prepare for the Champions League. The huge prize money in the Champions League is the main reason for them to chase.

Towards the end of last season, the phone gate was exposed. The number of people who came to watch the game dropped sharply. It can well be imagined. How much revenue the club will lose on tickets this season. If we can do well in the Champions League, we may be able to make up for the loss.

Gagliari nodded, and then asked strangely: "Why is there no Buffon, he has already expressed it to the outside world." Possible transfers. He even mentioned Milan's name. ”

Carlo Ancelotti shook his head and said: "You are a great club operator. But when it comes to familiarity with the players, you're not as good as me. ”

Gagliari laughed: "You say come and listen! ”

Ancelotti took a heavy puff of his cigarette and said: "Buffon's loyalty to Juventus is much higher than people think. Other than that. Buffon valued the camaraderie between friends. Juventus was relegated, and not every player could find a new club. Therefore, many players will play in the Italian second division with Juventus. ”

"If the club keeps him and those friends do the same, will Buffon leave Juventus? So we don't have to waste our energy on him, it's fruitless. ”

When Ancelotti spoke, he spewed clouds and mist like a monster.

Gagliari nodded, agreeing with Ancelotti's opinion. Goalkeepers are not an issue to be solved in any case, Dida was very consistent last season, and if Buffon comes, it will cause unnecessary controversy in the dressing room. Kaka and Ronnie are Brazilians, and with the addition of a Tang Jue who has a good relationship with Ronnie, who is going to make the number one goalkeeper?

……

On 5 August, the Milan players returned to Milan from their holidays to prepare for the new season. According to the second-instance verdict, Milan finished third in the league last season and will have to qualify for the Champions League and only qualify for the Champions League by eliminating their opponents. August 10 is the first leg of the match.

Tang Jue returned to Milan on the fourth day, because Ancelotti summoned him in advance, saying that there was something to discuss. That evening, Milan's influential players in the dressing room gathered in the club's second-floor conference room.

Maldini, Kaka and others congratulated Tang Jue. Ancelotti cleared his throat after greeting each other, and said: "I know that everyone is tired, and after last season's game, you immediately participated in the World Cup. We were supposed to give you a few more days off, but we are facing a lot of difficulties in the new season, so we have to call everyone back early, so please understand. ”

"There's only one theme tonight, and that's what are our goals for the new season? What is the goal of Serie A? What are the goals of the Champions League? There is also the Coppa Italia. ”

"Okay, now let's start with Serie A. Maldini: What do you think? ”

As the captain of Milan, the spiritual leader of the dressing room, the flag of Milan, Maldini must of course be the first to speak and express his opinion.

Maldini put his right hand on the water glass, stared at the mineral water in the cup and said: "Fifteen points will be deducted for the new season, fifteen points is a deep ravine, not so easy to fill. I think the goal for the new season is to finish in the top three and qualify for next season's Champions League. This is more practical. ”

Many nodded their heads in agreement. Pirlo said: "Maldini is right, fifteen points is too much. The Italian Football League, in fact, wants to give Inter Milan the title of the new season. No matter how hard we try, it will be difficult to close the gap of 15 points. ”

Gattuso agrees that Maldini has a point: "Realistically, it's a good goal, and the pressure will be much less. You can also focus more on the Champions League. ”

Ancelotti nodded, and was about to speak, Tang Jue pouted and said: "Fifteen points is indeed a big gap, probably no one will believe that we can create a miracle and win the Serie A championship in this situation."

Season 04-05, my first professional season. When I was in my first race. Saint-Germain finished 11th in the league and no one would have believed we could win the title at the bottom. But at the end of the season, we did it, not only in the league but also in the French Cup. ”

The air in the conference room began to change, and everyone knew what Tang Jue meant. Concern appeared in Maldini's eyes, and Ronnie gave him a thoughtful look. Kaka's blood began to accelerate, and if he deducted fifteen points, he could still win the Serie A title. Oh, God. What a great thing that would be!

"So, I don't think we can give up the Scudetto. We have to believe in miracles. But if we don't even have the courage to give it a try. Miracles can never befall us! ”

"Last season we beat Inter twice. A game can be shortened by three points. Two games is six points. With a gap of fifteen points, only nine points left, I think we have a chance! Tang Jue continued to elaborate his opinion.

The locker room fell silent. Gattuso's brow furrowed. Damn, did you think Serie A was Ligue 1? Fifteen points, God, that's fifteen points, which means we have to win five more games and Inter lose five more games. Even if we play well and win five more games, will Inter pass up such a good chance? Can other Serie A teams have what it takes to stop Inter?

Kaka's face began to redden, miracle? Isn't it a miracle at the last moment of last month's World Cup final, maybe a miracle can really happen. Excited, Kaka whispered: "If we can win the Serie A title, it will definitely be a miracle in football history!" A miracle like no other! ”

The locker room was quiet, and although Kaka said it quietly, everyone heard it. Ronnie raised his eyebrows and said: "Don is right, although I don't believe that we can win the Serie A title at the end of the season." But I think we should give it a try. ”

"In a lifetime, people always have to do a few difficult things. That's where it's fun! ”

Before the meeting, Ancelotti always thought that tonight's meeting would go smoothly. Because the reality is cruel, the gap of fifteen points is too big, and the Serie A champion will definitely have to give up. However, Tang did not agree with this opinion, and his opinion was supported by Ronnie and Kaka.

Ancelotti said: "Very well, everyone is free to speak, tonight is to hear your point of view." Nesta, what do you think? ”

Nesta has not been an active person and rarely speaks in the dressing room. Seeing that the coach called his name, Nesta knew that he had to speak.

"Football is played one game at a time. Maybe by the end of the season, we really have a chance to fight for the Scudetto. So it's not a bad thing for us to give it a try. As for how to deploy personnel, that's the coach's business. Of course, I think our focus should be on the Champions League. ”

Nesta expressed her opinion. In this way, three points of view emerge from the players. Maldini believes that the goal of Serie A is the top three, in fact, it means that it is necessary to give up the competition for the Serie A championship and get a place in the Champions League, which is the least difficult.

Represented by Tang Jue, the goal of Serie A is the championship, and this difficulty is the greatest. Nesta thinks the Serie A champions can give it a try, but Milan should focus on the Champions League, which is a compromise.

Ancelotti began to think deeply, and Gattuso said: "We should go back to reality, no one doesn't want to win the title, but there are some things that can be done without thinking about it. ”

In the final of the World Cup, Zinedine Zidane left the field, and everyone thought that Italy would get the last victory. But the result was the opposite, and Gattuso clearly did not come out of the shadow of defeat yet.

Tang Jue said-for-tat: "Miracles are for people who have ideas, if we don't dare to think about it, miracles will never befall us!" ”

In the final of the World Cup, the French team won the championship, which is a miracle. In order for this miracle to happen, Tang Jue let Ribery boldly break through on the flanks before the goal, and then pass the ball forward or backward. In Tang Jue's view, miracles are not impossible, but you must first think boldly. Dare to think, then act, and miracles are possible.

Gattuso had anger in his eyes and was about to retort when Ancelotti waved his hand to signal him not to speak.

"Okay, let's give it a try. Whenever there is a conflict between the Serie A schedule and the Champions League, I will focus on the Champions League! ”

Ancelotti's words disappointed Don Jue, although he said that he would give it a try, but in fact he had given up. Serie A has to make way for the Champions League, and the meaning is clear.

"We aim for the top three in Serie A and if we have the chance, we want to go for the title. Let's talk about the Champions League. Maldini, you say it first. ”

For the Champions League, there is no disagreement, and the goal is to win the championship. Carlo Ancelotti concluded: "Good! Let's set a new record together and become the first team to successfully defend the title after the Champions League restructuring! ”

"I don't think anyone is going to object to us trying to win the Coppa Italia. From tomorrow we will be preparing for the new season. Champions League qualifying starts next week and we need to get back to form as soon as possible. In addition, there are certain economic difficulties this year, so we will train at the base and will not go abroad to train. (To be continued......)