On August 11, 2005, in the Meazza Stadium, Inter Milan hosted the Ukrainian Premier League powerhouse Shakhtar Donetsk in the third qualifying round of the Champions League.
The whole of Italy was paying attention to this match.
The Italians were very xenophobic.
Many people did not like a Chinese as the manager of Inter Milan.
Inter Milan had undergone a major cleansing and replacement this summer. In the eyes of many media outlets, Inter Milan was now in chaos. This Inter Milan, which had changed more than half of the team, was up against the strong Ukrainian powerhouse Shakhtar Donetsk. If they were eliminated in the Champions League, then there would be a lot of fun to watch …
Many people were waiting to see Inter Milan and Li Ang make a fool of himself.
Li Ang naturally knew that many people were waiting to see him suffer, waiting to see him make a fool of himself. He would not let these people succeed.
Li Ang named the starting lineup for his first official game as the manager of Inter Milan.
In the goalkeeper position, the veteran Toldo was in the starting lineup.
In the rear defensive line, from right to left, was the captain Zanetti, the Argentinian Samuels, the Italian Materazzi, and the Frenchman Evra.
In the midfield, Li Ang sent out Carlos, Stankovic, Figo, and Mata.
In the front line was the partnership of Adriano and Ronaldo.
Speaking of Ronaldo, Li Ang was still using acupuncture to nurse Ronaldo's body. He had not used the Magical Hands skill card on Ronaldo for the time being.
On one hand, it was to make it more realistic, so he needed a healing process. On the other hand, Li Ang had to wait for a while before using the skill card on Ronaldo. At that time, Ronaldo would be able to feel the joy of a healthy self and cherish it more. Of course, he would also be more grateful to Li Ang. Things that were easily obtained were not so cherished and appreciated.
*****
Donetsk was the industrial center of the former Soviet Union. Early in the Soviet Union, it was a famous coal city. In May 1936, the Shakhtar Donetsk team was officially established. The team's initial name was Stakhanovets, which was the name of a miner. The team initially participated in the Soviet Champions League and began to participate in the Ukrainian domestic league after Ukraine. However, the historical Shakhtar Donetsk team could only be regarded as unknown until the billionaire Akmetov took over the team in 1996.
Akmetov was a rich man comparable to Chelsea's owner Roman Abramovich, but he had a different philosophy from Abramovich. he would "never invest in a foreign team" and regarded Shakhtar Shakhtar Donetsk only. After becoming the boss of Shakhtar in Donetsk, Akmetov invested a lot of money in the miners. The club opened a new youth academy, equipped with modern facilities, and spent US $400 million to build a new home ground, the Dunbas Arena. Under Akmetov's management, Shakhtar began to break Kyiv Dynamo's monopoly in the country and gradually became the best club in Ukraine in the new millennium.
One of the characteristics of Shakhtar Donetsk was that the team had a lot of foreign players from Brazil. It also became a springboard for many South American players to enter the five major European leagues.
In the current Shakhtar Donetsk team, the young Fernandinho was the team's most threatening player. Fernandinho debuted in Brazil's Atlético Paraná. At a young age, he represented the team 72 times and scored 14 goals. Shakhtar Donetsk had a discerning eye and brought the 20-year-old Fernandinho to Donetsk for eight million euros this summer.
Li Ang did not send Cambiasso to play today. Instead, he sent Carlos. Although Carlos did not have Cambiasso's organizational ability, Carlos's defense and interceptions were stronger than Cambiasso's.
Inter Milan had just completed a change of blood. The team was still in the most basic run-in period. Li Ang's LION tactics would be a blessing if Inter Milan could play one-third of the effect.
Under these circumstances, Li Ang had high hopes for Carlos. He wanted to dismember Shakhtar Donetsk from the midfield.
As for Stankovic, Li Ang still arranged for him to play defensive midfield tactics!
It could be said that Inter Milan today was using a simplified version of the LION tactics that Li Ang had used in the early days at Sporting de Gijón. The core was to fight for the ball!
Since the team had not yet formed, they would use the simplest tactics.
He was not the kind of rigid person who did not know how to adapt. He knew that the team's tactics had just begun to form, but he still used them mechanically.
If it were in the Serie A, Li Ang would not mind the team making mistakes to gradually understand his tactics. However, this was a two-legged knockout round. They had to successfully pass the knockout round and enter the Champions League group stage first. Later in the Serie A, he would have time to gradually form the team.
Therefore, the situation that people saw in this game was that Inter Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk were caught in a strangulation in the midfield. According to the Turin Sport, the two teams did not play in any order and were very ugly.
*****
It was indeed quite ugly.
However, Li Ang achieved the result that he wanted.
In the first half of the game, after Carlos stole the ball in the midfield, Shakhtar Donetsk counterattacked. Figo passed the ball over the head. Adriano headed the ball back to the point. Mata, who followed up, scored with a low shot!
One to zero. Inter Milan took the lead of one to zero!
This goal was the only highlight of the entire first half of the game for Inter Milan!
In the second half of the game, Li Ang replaced Ronaldo, who had an average performance.
The Argentinian youngster, Agüero, came on as a substitute.
In the 71st minute of the game, Agüero dribbled the ball in the front field and was pulled to the ground by his opponent.
Stanković took the direct free kick. This was a powerful low shot. The football quickly rolled under the human wall. Shakhtar Donetsk's goalkeeper, whose vision was blocked, could not save it in time. The football went into the net!
Two to zero!
A counterattack!
A goal from a set piece!
Inter Milan, who did not play well on the field, took down Shakhtar Donetsk with a score of two to zero.
*****
Although the field was not good, and there were even some moments in the game that were a little difficult, Inter Milan won the game. Moreover, his direct subordinate, Mata, scored. The one who intercepted the ball and launched the counterattack was Carlos. The one who instigated the attack on the flank was the veteran, Figo, whom Li Ang strongly recommended to bring in. The substitute, Agüero, created the free kick that Stanković scored.
The result was good. The few players that Li Ang personally picked performed well.
The unsightly performance of this Inter Milan team after the big change was not a big deal.
The media, who were waiting to see a joke, had a bellyful of words waiting to mock Li Ang, but they did not get the chance.
This hurt a lot of the media.
Turin Sport and other media, after making a dig at Inter Milan's chaotic play, could only say that it was not Inter Milan who played well, but Shakhtar Donetsk who played badly.
Only Milan Sport praised the performance of Li Ang's signings, especially Carlos, the young Spanish player with the nickname of Little Gattuso. He made it impossible for Shakhtar Donetsk's midfield to organize a decent attack.
In short, Li Ang's first game was not ideal. The process was not ideal, but the result was ideal. His team won the first leg and did not let the opponent score an away goal. The future of advancing to the UEFA Champions League group stage was bright.
Those who were waiting to see him make a fool of himself were disappointed. They could only continue to wait.
PS: Update 4. Thank you to Tang Da Chui Chui for the thirty thousand reward 3.
Urgently looking for a monthly ticket.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
