Inter Milan scored 5-3 in the away game in the first leg and 3-0 in the home game in the second leg. With a total score of 8-3 in the two legs, they eliminated Arsenal and entered the 20052006 UEFA Champions League final.
After the game, the Italian media was cheering for Inter Milan.
"The return of the Nerazzurri!" — Milan Gazzetta dello Sport used a huge headline to congratulate Inter Milan for reaching the Champions League final.
La Repubblica was generous with its praise for Inter Milan's manager, Li Ang. It said that Moratti had strongly advocated inviting the young China manager to coach the team. It seemed like a risky and gamble move, but it had brought about brilliant results that no one had expected.
Spain's Marca focused its coverage on Li Ang. The Madrid media, which had a feud with Li Ang, also praised Li Ang, and once again mentioned the topic of inviting Li Ang to coach Real Madrid.
France's L 'Equipe said that a China manager would lead a team to appear in the UEFA Champions League final at the Stade de France. This in itself was a historic event.
The whole of Europe was paying attention to Li Ang and Inter Milan. In China, it was even more so.
Unlike the UEFA Europa League, which was not paid much attention and was considered inferior, the UEFA Champions League, which was the highest level of competition in Europe, had always been the focus of attention. Li Ang led Inter Milan to the UEFA Champions League final, which caused a wave of cheers and excitement in China.
CCTV Department 1's World News took a minute and a half to report the news. There was also news that the news might appear on XIWNEN Broadcast, which started at seven o 'clock that night. This would also be Li Ang's third appearance on this highest-profile news program.
*****
On the Italian side, while the media was praising Li Ang and Inter Milan, they could not help but think of a possibility: the two powerhouse teams in Milan would meet in the finals?!
One day after the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final between Inter Milan and Arsenal, there would be another UEFA Champions League semi-final. AC Milan would challenge Barcelona in an away game at Barcelona's Camp Nou. In the first leg of the game, AC Milan was behind 0: 1 at home. Although this made the Rossoneri face a crisis, it did not mean that AC Milan did not have a chance to make a comeback. As long as they won the game with a score of 2: 1 or more, they could reverse the situation and eliminate Barcelona and meet Inter Milan in the final.
The Italian media was also in heated discussion, imagining the grand Milan derby between Inter Milan and AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League final!
However, a few hours later, AC Milan drew 0: 0 with Barcelona and was eliminated with a total score of 0: 1 over the two legs.
At the post-match press conference, Ancelotti lost his composure. He was angry at the referee, Merck, for calling off Shevchenko's goal in the 24th minute of the second half.
Ancelotti said, "That was a good goal. No one understood why an experienced referee would call for a foul at that time. Puyol was left behind by Shevchenko at that time, lost his balance and fell to the ground. This was an important game. Such a misjudgment weighs heavily on our shoulders. Of course, we feel punished."
AC Milan's vice-president, Adriano Galliani, also questioned the referee, Merck. "Three minutes of stoppage time is obviously too short for the interruption of the game. Under such circumstances, the referee even ended the game 24 seconds earlier at the last moment. In addition, that goal was not a foul. The two legs of the game were evenly matched, but unfortunately, because of the referee's mistake, we were eliminated. If we had that goal, this game would have changed. I think we would have had a chance to enter the final. "
*****
The anger of AC Milan's manager, Ancelotti, and the club's vice-president, Adriano Galliani, also represented the general mood of the Italian media.
In the 68th minute of the game, Shevchenko scored with a header. The referee determined that the "nuclear warhead" broke into the penalty area and pulled Puyol down first, so the goal was ruled invalid.
This caused the AC Milan people to be extremely angry, and the referee erased AC Milan's goal.
In addition, Galliani's suggestion that the referee blew the whistle to end the game 24 seconds earlier also caused a huge controversy.
The Italian media sarcastically said that Barcelona relied on the referee's help to eliminate AC Milan.
Barcelona insisted that the referee's decision was not wrong. As for the referee blowing the whistle 24 seconds earlier, Barcelona also felt that there was nothing wrong with it, because Barcelona was in possession of the ball at that time.
This caused the Italian media, especially the AC Milan fans, to be even angrier.
The dispute in this game became the focus of the whole of Europe after the game.
Later, the UEFA Referees Committee, after an analysis after the game, determined that Shevchenko did not obviously push or pull Puyol. The referee's decision to blow off Shevchenko's goal was due to technical reasons, and he believed that the decision was within the referee's self-understanding.
The UEFA's conclusion added fuel to the fire.
However, these disputes could not change the result of the game. Barcelona eliminated AC Milan with a total score of 1-0, and the powerhouse of Catalonia advanced to the UEFA Champions League final. For Li Ang and Inter Milan, the current situation was that they would compete with the La Liga powerhouse, Barcelona, on May 17, which was three weeks later at the Stade de France, for the glory of the UEFA Champions League title!
After leaving La Liga for a year, Li Ang once again met his old rival, Barcelona.
*****
Before Li Ang could say anything about Barcelona, Catalonia could no longer hold back.
"The Best Opponent" – this was the headline on the front page of Mundo Deportivo. The newspaper was very excited. In their words, competing with Li Ang's Inter Milan for the UEFA Champions League title was the best result. Barcelona wanted to avenge the La Liga title that was taken away by Li Ang's Sporting de Gijón last season. They wanted to defeat Li Ang on the stage of the UEFA Champions League final, which was a higher level stage, and make Li Ang bow his head.
Mundo Deportivo was even more excited. The newspaper even said, "Maybe Li Ang even regrets that his team entered the final because they are facing a hungry Barcelona team, a Barcelona team that is determined to take revenge, the strongest Barcelona team!"
Barcelona's reporter even ran to Milan, took the report from Mundo Deportivo, and asked Li Ang what he thought of it.
Li Ang looked at the reporter with disdain, pursed his lips and said, "What is revenge? Only the losers are qualified to use this word. This word is used very well. Congratulations to you for being qualified for revenge. "
The reporter's face turned red and he said loudly, "Mr. Li Ang, in the face of such a strong opponent, are you not afraid?"
"Only the weak and fearful always say that they are strong," the Inter Milan manager said with disdain and pride.
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.
