Chapter Seventy-Seven: The Age of Youth

Fiorentina has also become beautiful in the Champions League for a while, especially the phrase "this is the era of young people" shouted by Digan, which pushed Fiorentina to the forefront.

Back in the domestic league, Fiorentina had won ten consecutive league games. Although in the current environment of Italian football, from the Football Association to the fans, they all hope that a dominant team will emerge and change the image of Italian football, which has plummeted because of the phonegate incident.

However, people don't want this team to be Fiorentina, if it's Inter Milan, they can still accept it, after all, Inter Milan is a giant team, what is Fiorentina?

Therefore, Fiorentina, which was hyped by the media, will challenge Inter Milan's seventeen consecutive wins last season, but it is just hatred for Fiorentina, in recent rounds of the league, Fiorentina players also have this feeling, every opponent they meet, resistance is extraordinarily tenacious, no one wants to become a sacrifice on the road to Florence's godhood.

Fiorentina will face strong rivals Juventus at home in the upcoming league game, and it is hoped that Juventus can stop Fiorentina's crazy winning streak.

The match between Juventus and Fiorentina, historically, is full of passion and classics in itself, and the "dead knock" between the two teams has been no less significant than the Italian derby and the Milan derby since the 80s of the last century.

Champions, Baggio, Piero and other factors have formed the source of hatred between Juventus and Fiorentina.

The hatred between the two teams, it all started in the 1981/1982 season, when Juventus and Fiorentina were tied on 44 points before the Zuihou league round, Fiorentina only got a 0-0 in Cagliari, and Juventus won the Zuihou title away to Catanzaro thanks to a penalty kick from the Irishman Brady.

Brady had already begun to pack his bags and prepare to make way for Platini. After Juventus won the championship, Juventus fans and Fiorentina fans became more and more intense, and every time they clashed, they had to start a fight.

And on April 28, 1985, Passarella scored a goal to help Fiorentina beat Juventus 2-1, which was the first away win over the Bianconeri in Fiorentina's history, which was regarded as avenging the loss of the title.

On May 15, 1988, Fiorentina won Juventus away for the second time in history, also Zuihou, and more crucially, Fiorentina's first goal was precisely Roberto Brown. Baggio scored.

Since then, the history of the relationship between the two teams has highlighted the character of Baggio, who was sold by Fiorentina to Juventus in 1990, which caused protests from Fiorentina fans at the time.

On 6 April 1991, Baggio refused to take a penalty at Fiorentina's home stadium and wore a purple scarf thrown by the fans. From this time on, the clash and confrontation between the fans of the two teams around Baggio went to the next level.

On April 25, 1993, Juventus hosted Fiorentina in a simple 3-0 game when Baggio awarded Zuihou a penalty, the only goal Baggio scored against his former club.

Baggio was followed by Piero, a rising star who stepped on the footsteps of Florence, which is perhaps the reason why Juventus fans prefer Piero.

After the baptism of the second division, on December 4, 1994, Fiorentina met Lippi, who had just taken office, under the leadership of Ranieri.

Goals from Bayano and Carboni gave Fiorentina a 2-0 lead, and as the purple fans began to celebrate, Vialli levelled the scores in the 73rd and 76th minutes, with Vialli holding the ball and running into the centre circle after the goal.

Then came Piero time, when the famous volley helped Juventus complete a shocking comeback 3-2.

Since then, Juventus have won five in a row at home to Fiorentina, with the only notable being the 1-0 winner scored by Piero on 19 November 1995, his first header in Serie A.

It can be said that because many elements are mixed together, Juventus and Purple Lily can also be called a feud in Serie A, and before the game started, the strong smell of gunpowder has already filled the entire Flaki Stadium.

Fiorentina's unbeaten run against AC Milan and Roma was put to the test once again, with their last win over Juventus coming back in December 1998.

As expected, the game was full of gunpowder from the start, with vicious tackles on the pitch repeated, and Juventus broke the deadlock in the 36th minute when Trezeguet headed in a cross from Camoranesi to open the Fiorentina goal.

After conceding the goal, Fiorentina counter-attacked and Juventus retracted from the defense, and Juventus' lead lasted until ten minutes remained.

At the crucial moment, it was Deegan who stepped up and equalized with a direct free kick in front of the penalty area.

It was expected that the game would end in a draw, but in the first minute of stoppage time, Fiorentina scored again, and Juventus veteran Mutu pushed his old club into the abyss with his worst header.

2:1!

Fiorentina, who have often been reversed by Juventus in history, completed the reversal against Juventus at home and won the eleventh consecutive league game.

Another highlight of this round is the recovery of AC Milan, probably the Champions League defeat to Fiorentina, which hurt the self-esteem of everyone in Milan.

5:1!

AC Milan are finally showing signs of recovery after a long period of slump.

It's just that such a victory may be very embarrassing for Ancelotti, and the person who opened the door to victory for AC Milan in this game is precisely Gourcuff, who he ignored.

The desperate Carlo Ancelotti lined up in a two-man midfield formation for this game, with Gourcuff and Kaka appearing behind Gilardino at the same time.

Gourcuff scored a goal with a long-range shot, then set up Kaka and Gilardino to extend the lead to three.

At the start of the second half, it was Gourcuff's header again, and at the Zuihou moment, the crazy Gourcuff rode alone, disrupting Lazio's entire backline by himself, crossing the middle, and Kaka scored again.

With two goals and three assists in one game, Gourcuff, who had been depressed in Milan for more than a year, finally ushered in a big explosion in this game and proved his worth.

After the game, the media also commented, suggesting that Ancelotti should think carefully about Degan's words, now is the era of young people, and although veterans are important, it is time to give way.

After this game, followed by the Champions League group stage, Fiorentina challenged the Portuguese giants Benfica away, the game went on calmly, and finally with a goal from Pazzini, Fiorentina won 1:0 away and won three consecutive group stage victories.

In the other game in the same group, AC Milan won a thrilling 2-1 victory at home against Shakhtar Donetsk, in which Fernandinho scored a goal first, and at the crucial moment it was Kaka and Gourcuff who stepped up again, Kaka equalized from distance in the 75th minute of the second half, and then before the end of the game, substitute Gourcuff scored in front of the goal to help the team overtake the score.

Back in the league, Fiorentina extended their winning streak to 12 games with a 3-0 win away to underdogs Siena, while AC Milan, who had a rotation policy, were beaten 1-0 away by Empoli and scored by Milan veteran Saudati.

After the game, Ancelotti once again became the object of criticism, the previous state of the big haode Gourcuff did not even squeeze into the squad in this game, replaced by the veteran Serginho, and Serginho's performance in this game, in the words of an angry Milan fan, is disgusting and wants to vomit!

In the following league, Fiorentina played away games in a row, and finally won 1-0 against promoted Genoa with a goal from Degan, extending the winning streak to 13 games.

The last time the two former Serie A champions met was back on 11 September 1994. Mutu had the chance first, but he had lost his shot after getting past goalkeeper Lubinho. After that, Frei saved LeΓ³n's powerful free-kick and Digan's old nemesis Borriello fired a cold shot from the outside. Frei made a couple of fine saves in the second half, and in the middle of the game, Degan's free-kick netted home to give Fiorentina the victory.

The highlight of this round will be the clash between AC Milan and Roma, which is a chance for the two teams to retain the title of Serie A this season.

In the end, Roma won all three points at the San Siro to maintain their hopes of winning the title, while AC Milan looks like they can only compete for a place in the UEFA Cup, which is a very dangerous situation, and AC Milan's current situation is obviously not what the fans want.

Fiorentina then beat Napoli 1-0 at home, this time scoring Montolivo, and still maintained their season win, extending their league winning streak to 14 games, constantly catching up with Inter Milan's Serie A winning streak set last season.

Next, the Champions League group stage was rekindled, Fiorentina played Benfica at home, and with two goals from Digan and Hamsik, Fiorentina won a game and advanced to the group.

AC Milan won away at Shakhtar Donetsk, and their qualification situation is still not optimistic, in this group, Benfica have already exited early, AC Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk have basically an equal chance of qualifying.

Milan's hero was Inzaghi, who scored a hat-trick in the middle of the game, while Kaka and the reactivated Gourcuff provided the assists.

Berlusconi also talked about the game after the game, and his conversation mainly involved two points, one is to praise Inzaghi for "going down in the history of AC Milan", and the other is about the youth of the team, but the player involved in this rejuvenation is Ronaldinho, who is no longer young.

In the eyes of the media and insiders, the possibility of a happy ending to this soap opera that has surrounded AC Milan for many summers is very slim, not to mention that Ronaldo has found happiness again in Barcelona, even if he transfers, Chelsea is in front of the list with a lot of pounds, and most importantly, Ronaldo's conversation yesterday revealed an attitude, he said: "I never considered a move to AC Milan. ”

Maybe it's really time to forget Xiao Luo forever, not to mention whether Xiao Luo can make a qualitative change to AC Milan in terms of tactics, but in terms of cost performance, judging from the jihua that AC Milan is currently executing, Xiao Luo is a very unsuitable "luxury".

Galliani said six months ago: "In the transfer market, AC Milan will go in the direction of Arsenal instead of Chelsea. ”

Although people didn't pay much attention to it at first, in fact, it was a sign that AC Milan was starting to move from the chairman's pocket to semi-self-sufficiency.

Previously, AC Milan was going to bring in Moggie, who said: "I won't ask the board for a penny, and I can still build a championship squad." ”

Of course, AC Milan can't become Juventus, Berlusconi has already published his life, saying that AC Milan will never exchange Kaka for even 150 million euros, Moggi is only concerned about results, and Berlusconi is concerned about the club's image in addition to results.

Not only Kaka, but also Gattuso for 20 million euros, or selling Jankulovski for 12 million, the club can't do it, more people are out of form after the contract expires and leaves for free, before Shevchenko, the club's most expensive sale was as a combination in exchange for Inzaghi's C Zenoni.

AC Milan is more likely to be replaced by substitutes like Oliveira and Donati who have not contributed much to the team, which can solve some financial problems, but is not destined to be exchanged for large sums of money.

It is impossible to make money from the players sold, so it is impossible to poach famous players at a high price like Moggi did when he got Gianluigi Buffon and Nedved, which is what Galliani calls the "Arsenal model", striving to become the "first treasure digger" in the transfer market.

In the past few years, influenced by Florentino, Berlusconi has been keen to bring in established players from other clubs, but there is a premise, which Berlusconi has repeatedly emphasized: "We don't dig into the wall, we only buy the superstars in the transfer market." ”

At that time, most of the people who joined AC Milan were stars who were in a big club but had an unhappy life, such as Inzaghi, Nesta, and Rivaldo.

But at present, there is a situation that cannot be ignored: the number of Italian, German and French giants is shrinking, and as Galliani said, the tax system determines that it is difficult for Italian teams to attract Spanish players, and Premier League players have always been favored by Italy, so the range of such transfers is becoming less and less.

If you follow this pattern, you will only get players like Emerson, and Toni, who is no longer young and almost joined AC Milan in the summer, who has gone downhill or is about to go downhill, or problem players like Cassano.

The introduction of Pato is a signal, AC Milan began to pursue like Arsenal as the "first digger", in the past such players are often bought by some strong teams in the second division or the middle of the three major leagues, and after showing their ability and appreciation, AC Milan will pay attention, among the giants, only Arsenal will be the "first treasure digger".

However, in the past, AC Milan have had a huge sweet spot in a few attempts, such as Kaka, which may have been the trigger for Galliani's determination to introduce the "Arsenal model".

With Pato as a signal, the club has a series of introductions for young players, Slovenian U16 midfielder Novenic who joined this season, and Russian U16 youth team central defender Mikhailov have become the core of AC Milan's youth teams at all levels, and Arsenal's Italian U16 main Albertac will also join AC Milan next year. It's just that these players are not in the first team and are not as interesting as Pato.

At the same time, the scouting network is actively being built, Capello's long-term assistant Gabiati has officially joined AC Milan as a scout, Frenchman Desailly signed before him, and a few days ago, the famous international economist Bronzetti also announced that his economic company has partnered with AC Milan and became AC Milan's transfer consultant at the same time.

At the same time, the club's commitment to youth teams has paid off, with Gallerie's Under-20s joining Inter Milan at the top of their group, while Evani's Under-17s have won all of their games so far this year after winning the title last year, including a Milan derby win just last weekend.

For AC Milan, which is transforming from "Chelsea" to "Arsenal" and is about to be inferior to one cycle after another, what is needed is no longer Xiao Luo, this correct model is the "golden door" that can really wake up the sleeping empire.

Gourcuff's sudden outburst seemed to make AC Milan's head a little clearer from the chairman's point onwards, although he still refused to admit it, but as Digan said, the next is the age of youth.

The Champions League group was successfully qualified, and Fiorentina, who returned to the league, was also much easier, and this round of away challenges to Lazio, before the game started, the media had already helped Fiorentina book the victory in advance.

Lazio have suffered five consecutive defeats in the league and Champions League after losing the Rome derby in the last round, and are at the bottom of the table, with the likes of Mauri, Sivilla and Behrami still missing due to injury.

In this game, Prandelli also rotated several main players, even Digan was on the bench, and Pazzini partnered Argentine Catani in attack.

Fiorentina had their first chance in the 14th minute when Pazzini's volley was saved by Balotta. In the nineteenth minute, the central defender Dainelli went off the field with a right thigh strain, but the purple lily of the 10-man battle temporarily took the lead, Pascual passed diagonally on the left, and the header of the opposing central defender Kribari in the front of the penalty area was not at a good angle, and the old goalkeeper Balota struggled to chase back in order to avoid a corner kick, and fell to the ground on the bottom line on the left side of the penalty area to get the ball back, but he failed to press the ball under him, Pazzini stepped forward to cut the ball into the middle and volleyed into the empty goal to score, 1:0!

At the start of the second half, Rossi replaced Manfredini with Megni, and Lazio did not threaten much despite the improvement of the game.

In the 75th minute, Donader sent a through ball from the left rib, and Pazzini hit the crossbar with a left-footed volley from a small angle in front of the goal and bounced into the net, 2:0!

In the 82nd minute, Ledesma passed, Kavinaghi headed the ball to the left side of the penalty area, and Mutu, who was not able to play, fired a diagonal shot again.

3:0!

Fiorentina used a big win to oust Rossi from the dugout and send Lazio to the gate of the relegation zone by the way.

With fifteen consecutive league wins, Fiorentina are getting closer and closer to the record set by Inter Milan.

In the next round of the league, Fiorentina won 2-1 at home against Udinese.

Udinese opened the scoring and in the 23rd minute, Pepe crossed to the back post from the right and Quagliarella scrambled past Thiago. Silva scores with a header in front.

Fiorentina equalised just five minutes later, however, when Montolivo picked out a cross and Mutu headed in front of goalkeeper Handanovic, who was followed by Dugan in time to head the ball into the empty net.

In the second half, the two teams changed sides and fought again, and in the 63rd minute, Hamsik, who was not on the field, instigated an attack on the left side, and after playing a perfect one-two with Degan, he shot the ball into the top of the goal.

2:1!

Fiorentina completed the comeback at home and extended their winning streak to sixteen games.

Fiorentina went on to win 2-0 away at Reggina with Cavinaghi and Thiago. Silva scored separately.

Seventeen consecutive league wins!

Inter Milan's winning streak is just around the corner, and Fiorentina will face Inter Milan in the next round.

I don't know if it was deliberately arranged or coincidental, in short, Fiorentina, who has stood side by side with Inter Milan at the top of the Serie A all-time winning streak and the top position, now has a very dramatic opportunity to step on the corpse of Inter Milan and climb to the top.

There is also another possibility, and that is for Inter to defend their honour and win away at Fiorentina.

Just one day before the start of the game, Fiorentina suffered a major incident, the wife of head coach Prandelli died of illness.

It is obviously impossible to say that such a big thing has happened, and after several seasons of conditions, this Florentina has now been deeply branded by Prandelli, just as epic opera requires a good conductor, and under Prandelli, Florentina can play the most perfect music.

Since the purple lily ushered in Prandelli, just a few seasons, it has returned to the ranks of Italy's top teams, although it has not won any honors, but Fiorentina owner Dela Valle has already said that Prandelli will stay, because his transformation of the purple lily is obvious to all, and now Fiorentina has established a new style of play and a new model for Italian football.

While being a good coach, Prandelli is also a peerless good man, and his life is like an Italian opera, always leaving the beauty of regret and always ending in tragedy.

Prandelli was once a very good player, winning a championship Grand Slam at club but never being called up to the national team. He was also an excellent coach, and although he didn't start from a humble start, he earned a reputation as a "promotion expert" during his career coaching weak teams, and then rose to become a master tactician, however, just as his coaching career was dawning, his poignant aiqing held him back.

Prandelli was willing to sacrifice his career for Aiqing, however, his beloved wife Kafia left him due to illness.

Qingqing Zijin, leisurely my heart.

This love encounter between Prandelli and Kafia is a little unreal.

Eighteen-year-old Prandelli and 15-year-old Kafia meet outside a hot chocolate shop. He was a little ignorant, she was more shy, and only in the flow of eyes looking at each other, she encouraged the sprout of love for each other.

Prandelli hails from the town of Oznuovi in Brescia, the richest town in northern Italy. At a glance, the young man's mind was even more imminent. The girl with beautiful eyes and bright teeth turned out to be not far from her home. was destined to meet thousands of miles away, and the two began to date frequently.

From a little-known reserve member of the Cremones team, to Atalanta's Serie A debut, to Juventus's giants, Prandelli has forged the strongest foundation of a small family at the age of 25 with a promise of "I do".

Firewood, rice, oil and salt, love, no wear, more sublimation.

Prandelli played with peace of mind, winning three Serie A titles, one European Cup, one European Cup Winners' Cup, one Toyota Cup and one UEFA Super Cup during his years at Juventus.

She, with her own side and a pair of children, gave Prandley the greatest spiritual support with the tenderness of a wife and mother.

Her husband, who couldn't do without football, quickly became a coach after retiring.

For the first time, they moved their family to the south, and the beginning of Prandelli's coaching career was not smooth, whether it was Atalanta Youth or Lecce, both of which terminated their contracts early after signing, and his beloved wife was his safe haven.

In 25 years, they haven't blushed once.

They thought that such true love must be invincible.

This should be a story of holding hands to the white head, but in the end it can't escape the curse of fate, with a poignant tone, and the ending is a different side of the sky, only reminiscing about the morning and twilight.

Verona, Venice, Brescia, Parma, four different cities in five years, they have always been together.

But after 25 years of mutual love, it was so perfect that it was hated by God, Kafia fell ill, and in 2004, Prandelli came out of the way and took over the handsome seal of the giant Roma team.

But just a month later, before he had played a single league game with Roma, his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, the first multi-million euro contract of his coaching career, and he looked at his increasingly emaciated wife and resolutely submitted his resignation: "It was not too difficult a decision for me. ”

The first person in my life will always be the girl I met for the first time in front of the chocolate hot drink shop, who will not let down his wife and does not want to involve the team: "They also need me to be 100 committed, and in this situation, since I can't do both, then I should let them find another coach who can lead the team wholeheartedly, I need to take care of my wife." ”

This is his farewell to the Zuihou of the Roma players.

Prandley stayed at his wife's sickbed, on his wife's desire to overcome her illness.

At the beginning of glory and splendor, at the center of fame and radiance, a man, at the most capable age, turned away without hesitation, and for the sake of his beloved wife, the whole of Italy was moved.

Kafia's illness went back and forth, and finally on November 26, 2007, Prandelli ushered in his most painful day.

Manluela died.

At the end of her life, Fiorentina were preparing for a clash with Inter Milan, and this time Prandelli once again chose to stay with his wife, telling the team that he was ill in order to stabilize the morale of the team.

When she was dying, Kafiya was rarely sober, she rubbed her husband's hand, and confided word by word: "Promise me to live the rest of your life." ”

Despite Prandelli's intentions, the attentive Fiorentina players found out that Prandelli, who is usually the first to come to the training ground, was absent today.

Subsequently, the news broke out, the death of Mrs. Prandelli shook the Italian football world, the mayors of Florence and Rome personally sent condolences to Prandelli, Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Atalanta, Parma and other clubs expressed their condolences on the official website.

As the captain of Fiorentina, Digan also sent a text message to Prandelli: "We will always be there for you in such difficult times. ”

Of course, no amount of comfort can compensate for the grief of Prandelli's loss of his beloved wife, and then, in the name of the whole Fiorentina team, Digan suggested that the Fiorentina club send an initiative to the Italian Football Federation to wear a black veil to mourn the subsequent match with Inter Milan.

The Italian Football Federation quickly replied to the Fiorentina club to accept their request, and although the Inter Milan club was a rival to Fiorentina, they also chose to accept it calmly in the face of the deceased.

Inter Milan President Moratti also personally expressed his condolences to Prandelli's wife: "At this time, we are saddened by the loss of a strong and great wife in Italy, and at the same time hope that Coach Prandelli can cheer up as soon as possible!" ”

But just as there is always a dissonant note in a beautiful movement, there is always someone who jumps out to spoil the atmosphere in this sad moment.

Probably because of the recent performances that have been so good that Swede Ibrahimovic's head suddenly lost control: "I don't understand that I want to do this, it seems to me that it is completely unnecessary!" ”

For a time, the entire Italian football world was collectively speechless!