Chapter Seventy-One: I Won't Lose This Time
Back to the Serie A field, the highlight of the sixth round of the league is Inter Milan at home against the Red Wolves Roma, as the monopolist of Italy's domestic honor in the post-phone door era met in the Meazza Stadium, Inter and Roma accumulated 11 points before the game, and the goal difference was the same, ranking second or third, in the history of the two teams, Rome has been at a disadvantage for a long time, but in the last four meetings, Rome won three games, especially in the Italian Super Cup before the beginning of this season, Rome defeated Inter Milan 1:0 to win the championship. In the final of last season's Coppa Italia, he won the championship with an aggregate score of 6:2.
In this game, in the last game against Fiorentina, Totti, Perrotta, and Panucci were rested, but Aquilani and Taddei were absent due to injury and were replaced by Pizarro and Giuli respectively.
Roberto Mancini lined up in a similar 4-2-3-1 formation as Roma, with Darkett and Cambiaso playing in the back, Stankovic up front, Figo and Cesar on the wings, and Ibrassimovic coming forward.
What was supposed to be a close contest changed its flavor from the start, and less than a minute into the game, Roma almost took the lead, De Rossi's free-kick was stepped on by Pizarro, Totti's powerful shot was blocked by Inter Milan goalkeeper Cesar, and Mancini Jr. followed up with a follow-up shot, but hit the ball on Cesar, and Roma missed a chance to score.
Totti then made a clever backheel pass to the left side of the box, but Roberto Mancini was a little slower to follow up. In the thirteenth minute, Totti volleyed hard from the left and was again blocked by Cesar.
After withstanding the Roma team's three-board axe, Inter Milan began to counterattack, the game went to the 29th minute, Totti made a mistake with the ball, Maxwell grabbed it, took it to the front after breaking the ball, and made a direct pass, Perrotta tackled but did not intercept the ball, Cesar shot after winning the ball, and was blocked by the attacking Doni with his legs, Ibrassimovic followed in time, and the header shot into the empty goal, and the little man Gyuli jumped on the goal line, subconsciously raised his hand to block the ball.
Red!
Penalty kick!
Ibrassimovic took the penalty himself, slotting the ball into the bottom right corner to give Inter a 1-0 lead.
With the lead in the score and one more player, the next game was gradually controlled by Inter Milan.
But the situation is good, but the mentality of the Inter Milan players is too relaxed, and the continuous wild attacks always weaken on the last kick, and the score has not been rewritten again until the end of the first half.
Shortly after the start of the second half, Roma suddenly made a force, seized a chance, and played a high-quality counterattack, Totti's right rib went straight into the penalty area, Maxwell made a mistake in the return pass under Pizarro's pressure, Perrotta pushed in front of the goal, and hit the ball into the bottom left corner, Roma unexpectedly equalized the score!
Seeing that there was a problem with the three points in his hand, the stars of Inter Milan were also anxious, just three minutes after the Roma team scored, Cambiaso crossed straight through the middle and stepped forward, Crespo touched the ball on the edge of the penalty area, handed the ball back to Cambiaso, Cambiaso met the ball, his left-footed volley was blocked by Doni, followed by Crespo's right-footed volley into the net, Inter Milan exceeded 2:1 again.
It has to be said that when facing Roma, Crespo has a natural psychological advantage, and last season Crespo broke the door guarded by Doni five times, and can be called Doni's most feared goalscorer.
After taking the lead again, many of Inter Milan's big-name stars also got their attitudes right, in the 60th minute, Figo cut back on the right side, and Crespo again, after receiving the ball, he directly volleyed, and the football drilled into the near corner again, 3:1!
In the 68th minute, Figo took a tactical corner kick on the left side, Cesar passed the ball to Figo, Figo arced the ball to the back point on the left, and Córdoba scored with a header, 4:1!
Roma, who fell behind by a large score, lost their fighting spirit, and Inter, who still had the task of the Champions League, also slowed down the pace of attack, and finally Inter Milan defeated their opponents 4:1.
Inter Milan won again, but their rivals AC Milan are still continuing their weak form, the previous six rounds, AC Milan with only one win has reached the point where they can't afford to lose, but because they also face fierce rivals Fiorentina in the Champions League in midweek, Ancelotti was also forced to make a rotation, using substitutes Cafu and Favali in the two gates, Karachi continued to replace the injured Dida, and Inzaghi, who has not scored in domestic competitions this season, rushed forward alone.
After the opening, AC Milan played patiently. Several attacks came close to creating goals, especially Inzaghi, who played as a lone arrow, and he seemed to be feeling very good today and running very aggressively.
But the first to take the lead, it was Catania, in the 25th minute, Mascala passed through the middle, Spinesi burst into the penalty area with a single knife, shot with the outside of his right foot in front of the goal, and was blocked by the timely attack of Carraci, but Spinesi won the ball again on the left side, rubbed the ball over the head of Karachi when he lost the angle of the shot, and Martinez, who was outflanked at the back point, headed into the empty goal, 1:0.
Berlusconi in the stands also looked helpless, and he seemed to be accustomed to Milan's weak state.
After falling behind, AC Milan immediately organized a frantic counterattack, but in the face of Catania's iron bucket formation, AC Milan looked powerless.
At the end of the first half, AC Milan exited the pitch amid surround sound boos at the San Siro Stadium.
In the second half, Carlo Ancelotti, who had been pushed to the edge of the cliff, made a desperate bet and replaced Ambrosini with Gilardino and AC Milan reverted to a two-striker duo and Odor replaced the aging Cafu.
In the 47th minute, Odor dribbled the ball on the right side and rushed to Catania's half, with a low cross, Catania's back Eduse touched the ball with his left hand when he was destroying, and the referee decisively awarded a penalty.
Kaka took the penalty and scored with his right foot into the bottom left corner, 1:1, AC Milan equalized the score.
In the next game, AC Milan still had a chance to overtake the score, but Catania's defense was really perfect enough, and AC Milan could only accept the result of shaking hands with the opponent in the end.
The other major fixture of the round kicked off at the same time as Juventus vs Torino, the first Turin derby since 2003.
Hours before the game, fans from both sides clashed outside the stadium. The Torino fans at home created a lively atmosphere, using colour boards to spell out the club's name and colours.
On the field, the two sides also fought very fiercely, although the overall strength of the Torino team was weak, but this game was very bloody, living up to their nickname of bull.
Normal game, the two sides can be called evenly matched, the deadlock has continued until the end of the game, regular time battle, the two sides are still 0:0, but in the third minute of stoppage time, the mutation suddenly occurred, Almiron header in front of the top, Torino defender Delafiore header cleared but into the penalty area of his own side, Trezeguet in front of the goal with a right-footed volley into the right side of the goal!
1:0。
After the goal, Trezeguet was also ecstatic and took off his shirt to celebrate. Judging from the slow mirror, although at the moment of Almiron's pass, Trezeguet was in an offside position, but after Delafiore touched the ball halfway, the offside no longer existed, and Juventus beat Torino!
Although he won, but recently there has been discord within Juventus, after returning to the first division, the club's management has renewed the contract with the main players in the team, Trezeguet, Camoranesi, Buffon and Nedved, all completed the renewal work with the club, signed a new contract, and now only one person remains, Juventus's flag Piero, the captain of the Bianconeri has not renewed his contract with the club, and recently Juventus sports director Seko said an amazing thing in an interview with the media, Seko revealed that Piero was "already ready to leave".
The 32-year-old had expressed his desire to renew his contract with the club in the summer, but the two sides have not been able to agree on a new contract, and Piero is now in danger of breaking with the club over a contract dispute.
According to Italian media reports, the differences between the two sides mainly lie in the issue of the annual salary of the new contract, Juventus wants to sign a three-year contract with Piero, but the salary will be significantly reduced, Juventus fired from the new annual salary is nearly 30% lower than Piero's current annual salary, and Piero is very dissatisfied with this, he himself does not want a salary cut.
Piero's agent has been telling the media that Piero will renew his contract with the club within a few days, but in fact Juventus does not think so, and the club has said for the first time that Piero can leave.
'Piero's role for the club is self-evident and we don't need to say much about it, but we could have lost him.
Although Juventus' sporting director Seco's words were very tactful, Juventus's firmness on the issue of contract renewal was clearly revealed.
"Of course, we will keep Piero as much as possible, we will try every possible means to reach an agreement with Piero, and every Juventus person wants the club and Piero to renew his contract."
At a time when the future of Piero and Juventus' contract extensions is uncertain, there are already clubs that have begun to act, and it is not uncommon in football circles to poach key players of opponents with high salaries.
Italian media speculate that if Juventus can't renew Piero's contract in a short period of time, then Piero's zebra era is coming to an end.
This news is somewhat surprising, because just a few days ago, the attitude of the Juventus hierarchy was not like this. Piero is the flag of Juventus and is the team's all-time leading goalscorer.
The club has also claimed more than once that Piero, who has played for the "Old Lady" for 14 years, is "the past, present and future of Juventus", talking about Piero's future, and also "affirming" that Piero is about to renew his contract with the club.
Weishenme has only been a few days, especially after winning a thrilling derby in Turin, and the club's attitude has changed 180 degrees?
Piero's agent is his brother Stefano, who has met at least three times with chairman Blank and sports manager Seco, but their positions are not close. It was revealed that there are two differences between the two sides, one is the remuneration and the other is the position.
Regarding remuneration, the club asked the 33-year-old captain to take a 30% pay cut and renew his contract until 2010. Piero argued that the offer was unfair, as Nedved, who was two years his senior, had not taken a pay cut but had given it a raise, so even if he had accepted it, it should not have been so large. Regarding the position, Piero asked the club for guarantees, but the club felt embarrassed, and just shirked and said that how to arrange the squad is the business of the head coach Ranieri, but under Ranieri, Piero is obviously not the first choice, Trezeguet, Palladino have to be in front of him.
How does Ranieri's personality relate to Piero?
Could it be that Piero's presence or his demands have constrained the Juventus manager?
The club also did not have a clear answer.
Torino Derby Piero sat on the bench for 90 minutes, and in the previous rounds, Piero's performance was also very average, especially in the second half, he looked very tired.
The reality is clear, Piero doesn't have the stamina for 90 minutes, so he will be substituted as soon as the conditions allow. Not only that, but Juventus are also hoping for Trezeguet to score more goals, with the French striker partnering Iaquinta in attack.
Capello's time at Juventus may be repeated under Claudio Ranieri, with Piero being replaced often and then as a substitute, from time to time.
After the derby in Turin, Piero was asked where he was and the Juventus captain emphasized: "My position is that of a striker and only in the forward position can I maximize my level. If I want to change positions, I might as well let other players play. ”
Ranieri will not meet Piero's position requirements, but he will not ask to give him up either, not only because of Piero's unique position at Juventus, but also because of the lack of strikers in the team, counting Palladino's only four strikers. Judging by the current indications, Juventus want Piero to stay, but are unwilling to compromise too much with him.
Seko's statement was in effect to kick the ball at Piero's feet, and at the same time to prepare Juventus fans psychologically, and in the worst-case scenario, if Piero decides to leave after the end of his contract, the fans will not blame the club.
The rivals for the title were in trouble, and the leaders Fiorentina got a comfortable victory at home, 3-0!
Florence wins relaxed!
Degan, who scored consecutive goals, finally stopped his progress in this game, but his three assists still made him the biggest star of the game.
Livorno tried to fight back in the game, but unfortunately their resistance was unsuccessful, and in the 10th minute, Digan set up Mutu with a long ball to open the door for Fiorentina.
Before the end of the first half, it was Degan's pass that assisted Hamsik to score another goal, completely extinguishing the arrogance of Livorno's counterattack.
In the 70th minute of the second half, Digan crossed the box again to set Arteta into his first goal since joining Fiorentina.
Speaking after the game, Deegan said: "It's great to be able to score, but it's also great to be able to help your team-mates score, and most importantly, we got another win. ”
After the win over Livorno, Fiorentina's winning streak has reached 10 games, one step closer to Inter's seventeen wins in a row.
"I have a consensus with my teammates, we don't think about these things deliberately, what we have to do now is to try to win every game, as for the goal, I just said, that's not the most important thing, and I believe that my goals will not stop, you can take this game as if I took a break, and then we have a very important game, a wonderful goal, it should be reserved for the important game!"
What important matches?
Of course, it was the Italian derby against AC Milan in the group stage of the Champions League.
In terms of the current state of the two teams, Fiorentina is obviously much better than AC Milan, but considering the characteristics of AC Milan's foreign experts, the final result of this game is really uncertain.
Ahead of the Champions League's resurgence, the International Professional Footballers Union (FIA) announced the winner of the Shijie Player of the Year award, which AC Milan's midfielder Kaka won ahead of 55 shijie-caliber stars.
The award was voted for by 45,000 professional players from 42 countries, with Barcelona's Ronaldinho voted the best in the previous two editions, while Wayne Rooney and Lionel Messi won the Rookie of the Year award.
Although Degan has performed well, it is clear that he is unlikely to win the favor of those in power after he has offended FIFA and UEFA.
Of the 55 candidates previously announced, 20 players were selected in the Premier League to be the biggest winners, 17 in La Liga and 15 in Serie A, with Deegan also on the list. There are also three players who are not from the big three leagues: Bayern's Lucio and Lahm, and Abidal, who played for Lyon last season.
In fact, Kaka deserves this award, AC Milan finally won the European Champions Cup under the leadership of Kaka last season, and zuihou Kaka also won the best striker and best player two awards, in the league, Kaka also has an excellent performance, in the unfavorable situation of being deducted points at the beginning of the season, still led the team to a more decent position.
Previously, the Spanish media had revealed that Kaka was the winner of the Ballon d'Or, and once Kaka won the award, then he will undoubtedly become the most beautiful player last year.
In addition, the International Professional Players League also selected last year's Shijie Team of the Year, with three players from Barcelona, two players from AC Milan, two from Fiorentina, last season's super-dark horse, and two other places for Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Real Madrid.
The position of the best goalkeeper belongs to Frei, who was absolutely at the top last season, and if Degan's goal helped Fiorentina finally reach the top four of the league, then Frei's impregnable defense added a lock to Fiorentina's Champions League qualification.
The defender was AC Milan's Nesta, who was also perfect last season, although he missed some games due to injury, but in the Champions League, it was his excellent defense that finally ensured AC Milan to win the cup.
There is also a central defender from Real Madrid Cannavaro, although the captain of the Italian national team is old, but his ability is still the top in Europe, after transferring to Real Madrid, he quickly became the main force of the team, at his age, he can still compete for the main position in the giants, it is rare.
There is also John Terry from Chelsea, although the ruble army is often described as a nouveau riche, but Chelsea captain John Terry is definitely a shijie level in the position of central defender, although Chelsea failed to defend the Premier League title last season, but it was the team that conceded the fewest goals, Terry's excellent performance is a great credit.
Zuihou has a place in Barcelona captain Puyol, the Lions are at the peak of their careers, where he is not only the heart of the team's defence, but also the spiritual leader of the team, and although Barcelona lost the title last season, his performance still earned him a lot of votes.
The most performant in the midfield position last season was undoubtedly Kaka, who scored 12 goals in the Champions League and eventually helped AC Milan to the top of Europe, and also played well in the league, and now Kaka, not only in AC Milan, but also in the Brazilian national team.
The other place belongs to Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, the captain of the Reds last season although he did not score anything, but his performance still received countless praises, most of the reason for not winning the title is the overall strength of the team, but to bring Liverpool to the Champions League final, Gerrard is proud enough.
Zuihou a place is from Manchester United's Camuro, last season, Camuro ushered in a big explosion after joining Manchester United, after the start of this season, his performance is still extremely good, under the command of Lafayette, he has completely replaced Scholes and Ryan Giggs, become the core player of Manchester United, although it is a pity to miss the European Cup, but in the Premier League and the Champions League, he can still show his superb skills.
On the forward line, Messi was successfully selected, although he is still only the younger brother next to Ronaldinho, but everyone knows that Barcelona's future must belong to him, especially this season Ronaldinho's small injuries continue to occur, coupled with the contradiction with coach Rijkaard, Messi quickly rose to the top and faintly became Barcelona's first idol.
In the same position, Ronaldinho was also successfully selected, although he is no longer an indispensable core player of Barcelona, but there is no doubt that Ronaldinho is still one of the outstanding stars on this shijie.
Zuihou a position belongs to Degan, but Deegan did not come to the scene, which embarrassed the organizers, but there is no way to change it, no matter how big the contradiction is, it is impossible for people to violate their conscience and exclude Degan, recall his goal to know that if this best team has only one striker, it must also belong to Degan.
Kaka won his first individual honour and is well on his way to becoming a football champion, and after returning to Italy, Kaka also gave an interview.
"I'm very happy to receive this honor, but it's thanks to my teammates and my family, who have supported me to get to where I am today! I would like to give a special thanks to my brother Rhodes, who kept telling me before the Champions League final last season that I would be the champion, and he was right! I really did! ”
Although they expressed their gratitude off the field, on the field, the most famous brothers in Shijie football still have to face the upcoming competition.
In the league, AC Milan has lost for a while, and soon this battlefield will be transferred to the Champions League, and Kaka still seems confident in this game.
"To be able to play against Rod in such a short period of time is exactly what I am looking forward to, Fiorentina is indeed a very strong opponent, but AC Milan also have the quality to win, the result of the game will only be known at the end of the game, but I expect me and my teammates to be the ones who laugh zuihou!"
'It's frustrating that we've not played well in the league this season and we've missed out on a lot of chances to win, but we're not going to bring that emotion to the pitch and for the upcoming games we need to stay calm so that we can concentrate on the pitch at all times, which will be very important!'
"I don't want to say too much about this match, all I can tell you is one thing: we will definitely not lose again this time!"
Kaka said that AC Milan will never lose again, in fact, AC Milan really can't afford to lose, the league has played six rounds, but only a pitiful victory, for a giant like AC Milan, it is really a bit unreasonable.
Although Carlo Ancelotti is still sitting in the position of Milan manager, this position is no longer secure, and after the last round of the league draw with Catania, Berlusconi once again expressed strong dissatisfaction, and pointed the finger at Ancelotti, accusing him of conservative tactics and ugly.
But in all fairness, this is really not Ancelotti's responsibility alone, he can bet as much as he has the capital in his hand, and compared with Inter Milan, Juventus, Fiorentina, and even Roma, which has been running on a small budget in recent years, AC Milan's lineup is a little shabby.
Especially in the forward line, Ancelotti only has two people at the moment, Inzaghi and Gilardino at the moment, and he can't play even if he wants to play open football.
Of course, there is a shortage of strikers, and Ancelotti can't complain about others, so he can only blame himself, if he hadn't driven Digan away, he might not have faced the current predicament.
But no matter what, the head coach of the giants is not good, even if Ancelotti has 10,000 reasons to be sad, the game is not good, the results can't go up, and he can only get out.
League, AC Milan has basically withdrawn from the championship race, and now the only straw in Ancelotti's hands is the Champions League, just like Kaka said, AC Milan must not lose in the next game, and really can't afford to lose.