Milan Gazzetta dello Sport reported an interesting story. Inter Milan's young rising stars, Juan Mata and Agüero, gave up their luxurious supercars and formed a pickup truck trio with Juan Carlos. The three players went to the training ground together every day and left Pinenati together. Their car was Carlos's famous Ford pickup truck.
This interesting story attracted the attention of the media. Many Italian media reprinted it, and even the media in other European countries reported on it.
In Milan, even some young fans began to favor pickup trucks. For a while, Ford pickup trucks became popular in Milan.
It was said that after Ford heard about it, they intended to invite the three Inter Milan players to endorse their pickup trucks.
"Hahaha!"
Looking at the picture of Carlos leading Mata and Agüero out of the pickup truck in the Meazza Stadium, there was a burst of laughter in the home team's locker room.
Everyone already knew that this was a punitive measure by Manager Li Ang against Mata and Agüero. Agüero was a young striker that Li Ang strongly recommended to bring in and was highly valued. Mata was a player that Li Ang had brought with him since he was in the youth team of Real Madrid. It could be said that he was the direct descendant of the direct line of descent. These two young men were punished, which also made the Inter Milan locker room solemn. The newly rising atmosphere was strongly suppressed, and the atmosphere was clear.
*****
This was before the start of the second leg of the 20052006 Coppa Italia quarterfinals between Inter Milan and Parma.
In this game, Li Ang once again carried out a large rotation of players.
Ronaldo was given a rest.
Li Ang deployed the combination of Adriano and Agüero in the forward line. Although Adriano's contract renewal was in a deadlock, Li Ang stated that he wanted to see how Adriano was doing. Therefore, he gave the Brazilian enough time to get back his scoring touch.
In the midfield, Marchisio and David Silva were given the chance to start, while Cambiasso and Stankovic started.
In the rear defensive line, the team captain, Zanetti, started. However, he did not appear in the right back position, but in the left back position. After Pasquale left the team, Li Ang vowed that Zanetti would play on the left side. If Zanetti could maintain a high standard in the left back position, then Zanetti could rotate the left back when necessary. Li Ang did not plan to bring in any more left backs. He planned to promote a left back from the reserve team in case of an emergency.
Zanetti moved to the left back position, so Mai Kong was given the chance to start in the right back position. This was also the reason why Li Ang did not plan to recruit any more left backs. On one hand, it was difficult to find suitable players during the winter transfer. Most importantly, there was not enough time for the players to adapt to the team. In addition, Zanetti could rotate the left back in some games, which gave Mai Kong a chance to start in the right back position. Li Ang thought highly of and valued Mai Kong. He could not let Mai Kong waste away on the bench.
In the center back position, Bonucci was given the chance to start again. His partner was the veteran, Cordoba.
*****
"Goooooaaaaal!" The commentator, Ferrari, roared. "Beautiful goal! Borriello, he turned around and shot in the penalty area! One to zero, Inter Milan has taken the lead. The total score is two to zero! They're looking to advance! "
This was the 25th minute of the second half. Borriello, who came on as a substitute for Agüero, scored for Inter Milan.
Borriello was excitedly celebrating the goal, while Adriano was slightly dejected.
"Adriano's luck is really not very good," the commentator said.
This was Marchisio's free kick passed into the penalty area. Adriano headed the ball into the goal. The football hit the post and bounced back. Borriello's volley shot was successful.
"Adriano's form has improved a little," Banderas said to Li Ang.
Li Ang nodded. As a coach, they could not only look at the goal statistics. Adriano's form had improved a lot today. He had four shots, two of which forced the goalkeeper to make a save. The header just now hit the post again. It could be said that the Brazilian's form was slowly returning. As the commentator said, his luck today was just a little bad.
In the end, Inter Milan relied on the goal of the substitute, Borriello. Inter Milan defeated Parma by one to zero. With a total score of two to zero in the two rounds, they eliminated the Red Bulls and advanced to the quarterfinals of the 20052006 season.
In this game, Li Ang was also satisfied with the performance of the team captain, Zanetti, in the left back position. Except for the opening stage, when Zanetti was not very comfortable with the position he was not familiar with, the Argentine star gradually adapted to the game. His performance was average, which made Li Ang very satisfied.
*****
On January 18, Inter Milan's official website announced that the team's Argentine striker, Julio Ricardo Cruz, officially transferred to AS Roma for 12.5 million euros.
In the summer of 2003, Cruz transferred from Bologna to Inter Milan for 9.5 million euros. Two and a half years later, he went to Roma for 12.5 million euros. Inter Milan did not lose out in this deal and made a small profit.
After Cruz's transfer, Li Ang was not too worried about Inter Milan's forward line. Borriello's progress was very fast and his performance was remarkable. He could completely fill the gap after Cruz's departure. Cruz's transfer also provided more time for the young Borriello to play.
Now, Inter Milan's forward line had Ronaldo, Adriano, Agüero, and Borriello. Although the four players seemed a little thin, Ronaldo had the protection of Li Ang's [Magic Hand] skill card. He was very healthy and was a stable point to score points. Agüero, Borriello, and Adriano rotated in the other forward position, which was enough to cope with three battles.
Therefore, in the 20052006 season's winter transfer market, although Pasquale and Cruz left, Li Ang did not intend to recruit in the winter transfer market. He set his sights on the summer of 2006.
*****
All of Italy's attention was on the nineteenth round of the league.
In this round of the league, Inter Milan was going to play at home against Cagliari.
In the current Serie A league standings, Inter Milan was only one point ahead of second-place Juventus. Inter Milan needed to win the nineteenth round of the league against Cagliari in order to win the 20052006 season's Serie A league half-way championship.
Although the half-way championship was just a gimmick and had no practical significance to the final outcome of the league, the half-way championship was of great significance to Inter Milan, who had not won the championship for many years. It could also stimulate the team's morale and increase the team's self-confidence.
Therefore, Inter Milan attached great importance to the game against Cagliari.
Cagliari's manager, Arrigoni, was very humble before the game. He praised Inter Milan's strength in his words and said that the visit to the Meazza Stadium would be an extremely difficult game.
It was no wonder that Arrigoni was so humble. For Cagliari, the departure of their captain, Zola, last summer not only meant the loss of an excellent forward, but also the loss of their spiritual pillar. This also made Cagliari one of the favorites for this season's relegation.
In fact, it was exactly so. After the eighteenth round of the league, Cagliari had three wins, six draws, and six losses. They had only scored 16 goals and conceded 29 goals. They had only obtained 15 league points and were currently ranked fourth from the bottom of the Serie A league. They were only one more league point than Parma, who was third from the bottom of the relegation line, and were in the relegation zone.
For this game, Li Ang deployed Inter Milan's strongest lineup.
However, at the end of the first half of the game, the score on the field was zero to zero.
"Inter Milan is playing a little nervously. It's strange."
"Maybe they care too much about the half-way championship, so they can't play freely!"
During halftime, Li Ang flew into a rage and scolded the players.
"It's so difficult to play against Cagliari. What are you doing?!"
"We are a team fighting for the league title. What's the half-way championship? This is what we should get! "
"Fifteen minutes! I'll only give you fifteen minutes in the second half of the game! You must take the lead within fifteen minutes! "
"Facing a team at the bottom of the league! Your performance has disappointed everyone! "
"You have to use fifteen minutes to make up for the mistake of the forty-five minutes in the first half!"
Cagliari's manager, Arrigoni, was excited during halftime and praised the players' performance.
"Well done! Lads! You've forced a draw in the first half of the game! "
"Let's do it! Tell Inter Milan that Cagliari is not afraid of them! "Arrigoni shouted with a red face.
*****
“Goooooaaaaal！”
"Materazzi! Materazzi! When Inter Milan needed to score, the center back Materazzi stepped up! "
"One to zero! Inter Milan has taken the lead! "
Li Ang waved his fist fiercely on the sidelines. His players did not let him wait for fifteen minutes. Just five minutes into the second half of the game, Inter Milan scored.
Ronaldo dribbled the ball and was pulled to the ground by the Cagliari defender, Agostini. Inter Milan was awarded a free kick in the front field.
Figo drove the football into the penalty area and the tall Materazzi pressed the Cagliari defender, Loria, to head the ball into the goal.
The football flew straight to the top left corner of the goal. The Cagliari goalkeeper, Brenner, could not save in time and watched the football go into the net.
On the field, the Inter Milan fans celebrated the goal happily. Materazzi, who scored the goal, even patted his chest in the direction of the technical area, meaning that he did not wait for fifteen minutes before he scored.
Li Ang had a smile on his face. A player like Materazzi, not to mention his playing style on the field, was a player that a manager would like very much. He was very courageous and had a lot of fighting spirit. Of course, for the opponent team, he was a villain that was not very popular.
*****
The Cagliari manager, Arrigoni, had an ugly look on his face. He did not expect Inter Milan, who had been attacking for a long time in the first half, to score so early in the second half.
Arrigoni could only comfort himself that it was just a goal concede. When Inter Milan pressed heavily, Cagliari only needed a counterattack to succeed in a sneak attack to equalize the score. Then they would defend to the death. There was still hope for one point.
However, Inter Milan soon burst Arrigoni's bubble of hope with a goal.
Materazzi's goal opened the scoring account for Inter Milan.
Nine minutes later, Inter Milan played a beautiful combination in the front field.
Zanetti passed the long ball from the back field. After Figo stopped the ball with his chest, he passed the ball across the middle.
Modric dribbled the ball forward and attracted the attention of three defenders before suddenly splitting to the side.
Mata dribbled the ball quickly near the end line. He suddenly cut inside and then passed the football to the goal.
Figo, who plugged in, did not stop the ball. Instead, he let the football pass.
Ronaldo, who followed up in the middle, directly stabbed the ball!
The football passed through the small goal of the Cagliari goalkeeper, Brenner, and rolled into the net behind him!
*****
“Goooooaaaaal！”
"Ronaldo! A beautiful goal! Ronaldo! He widened the score for Inter Milan! "
"That's Ronaldo! After returning to the Italian game, after the run-in at the beginning of the season and opening the scoring account in the game against Juventus, the omnipotent Ronaldo is back! "
Ronaldo jumped and jumped to celebrate the goal. His old partner in Real Madrid, Figo, climbed on his back and waved his fist in celebration. This scene also became one of the happy memories of the Inter Milan fans.
Cagliari manager Arrigoni's face twitched. He could not help but sigh in his heart. He knew that his Cagliari had no chance with a 2-0 deficit. This goal concede not only meant that Cagliari was behind by two goals. With Cagliari's current weak attacking ability, this goal concede would also lower the morale of the Cagliari team. They began to realize that the game was a lost game.
*****
At the seventy-sixth minute of the game, Inter Milan's third goal arrived.
After Inter Milan's continuous and dazzling combination of passing and receiving in the front field, Ronaldo dribbled the ball into the penalty area. Facing the defensive back Agostini, he beautifully spiked the ball and pulled the ball horizontally again to avoid Loria's tackle. Then, he directly volleyed the ball!
The Cagliari goalkeeper, Brenner, made an incredible save. He flew to the side and blocked the football.
However, the Cagliari defender, Vega, did not kick far away in a panic. Outside the penalty area, Modric squeezed past Conte. After stopping the ball with his chest, he directly shot a long shot!
The football drew a beautiful arc and flew straight to the goal!
The Cagliari goalkeeper, Brenner, could no longer do anything about this ball!
The football hung directly in the upper right corner of the goal!
“Goooooaaaaal！”
"Modric! Modric! A beautiful long shot! "
"3-0! Modric has locked in the victory for Inter Milan! The people of Inter Milan can open the champagne in advance to celebrate. They have won this game and will also become the half-way champions of the 20052006 Serie A season! Congratulations to them! "The commentator, Ferrari, shouted.
The entire Meazza Stadium was filled with thunderous cheers.
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.
