The broadcast at the Meazza Stadium announced the names of the visiting players. For the Inter Milan fans, most of the Forest players were unfamiliar, so when they heard the names, they were indifferent. It was just a procedure that had to be carried out before the game. But when they heard a person's name reappear here, ear-piercing boos rang out.
"Demetrio Albertini!"
The boos were not aimed at Albertini, but at the 14 years of AC Milan that Albertini represented. As the arch-enemy of the same city, this hatred would not fade with the passage of time.
Albertini didn't react to this scene at all. He had long been used to it. Even in England, he was not used to not hearing boos from his arch-enemy. Now that he heard it again, he felt a sense of familiarity.
Inter Milan's captain was still the Argentine, Javier Zanetti. That year, the captains of the two teams shook hands again.
"Welcome to … the Meazza," Zanetti said.
"It's San Siro," Albertini replied.
The feeling of a city derby returned to Albertini.
Ever since he pulled his thigh muscle at the beginning of the season, Albertini's physical condition was no longer what it used to be. Strains were fatigue related injuries. They were a stubborn ailment that was not easy to cure. As long as he was too tired, it could relapse. In addition, Albertini was gradually getting older, and his body's functions were declining. Strains were more likely to appear.
So, in fact, a few rounds before this game, Albertini had suffered a small injury because of it, and his playing time was not very stable. But for this Champions League game, Tang En still insisted on putting Arteta on the bench and letting Albertini start. If there were no accidents, he also planned to let Demetrio play the full 90 minutes.
Why?
Because the opponent for this game was Inter Milan. Playing against such a team, Albertini was more motivated than anyone else, and it was easier for him to perform at his highest level.
However, Tang En sometimes felt regretful. If only the opponent for this game was AC Milan … Would Albertini be more motivated?
Zanetti won the coin toss against Albertini, and they obtained the right to kick off.
The players from both sides took their positions, and the game began immediately.
Tang En sat down in the technical area, but he leaned out to look back at the stands.
He wanted to see if Shania had arrived.
Although the little lass said that she still had to work today, he also said that if she was busy with work, it was fine if she didn't come. But deep in his heart, he still hoped that she would turn down her job in order to watch the game … Perhaps this was a little selfish, but it was human nature.
The ticket he gave Shania was not a private room ticket. This was not Nottingham, and he was not the Inter Milan manager. The VIP box tickets for Giuseppe Meazza had long been sold out before the season, or even a few seasons ago. Shania could only watch the game from the stands like an ordinary fan – if she wanted to come.
Twain had only taken a casual glance, but it was too difficult to find that special person among the eighty thousand people.
Just because they couldn't find her didn't mean she wasn't here. Tang En comforted himself in his heart and then turned his gaze back to the football field.
The match had already begun.
※ ※ ※
As the second most popular team in Italy after Juventus, Inter Milan had many fans. The Champions League quarterfinals filled the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium to almost capacity. "Almost" was because from a safety point of view, a portion of empty seats had to be left as a buffer.
The Italian side attached great importance to the safety of the game. After all, the two countries in Europe that were famous for football hooligans were England and Italy. When an English team came to Italy to play, it was inevitable that a large number of English fans would follow. If they drank too much, anything could happen.
The good news for the Italian side for the game was that Nottingham Forest was a small team. There were not many fans who came to Italy, only two thousand people.
The Italian fans sang Inter Milan's song loudly in the stands to cheer the team on. They did not care about the two thousand English fans at all.
As soon as the game started, Inter Milan used their home advantage to launch a bombardment on Nottingham Forest.
When Mancini first took over Inter Milan, he advocated offensive football. His appearance made many Inter Milan fans cheer. It was just that as the season progressed to the present, the ruffian's position was not very stable because the team's results were not very good. Mancini also knew that in a knockout game like the Champions League, defense was safer than offense.
But in this game, he still chose to let the team attack, press on and attack. Because this was their home ground. If he did not attack here, then he would not have a chance in the next round.
Mancini's plan was to use offense and momentum to fight for more goals at home and get three points. Then in the away game, he would sacrifice the Italians' traditional "defensive counterattack" to eliminate Nottingham Forest. In other words, in this game, he wanted to use his own offense to suppress Nottingham Forest's offense.
It was a pity that Tang En's plan was exactly the same as Mancini's — to defend and counterattack in the away game, fight for away goals, and concede fewer goals. Then in their own home ground, they would use the right time, place, and people to crush the opponent with goals.
Therefore, on the field, Nottingham Forest looked to be in a difficult position. They were being pressured by their opponents and seemed like their goal could be broken by Inter Milan at any time.
But in reality, Tang En knew that the Forest team's goal was safe up until now.
Because George Wood's performance was as stable as ever.
Sometimes, Tang En was tired of this scene. He really hoped that Wood would perform poorly for a few consecutive rounds and fall into a slump. Because that would make him think that the child in front of him was normal. Now, if not for the medical results clearly telling Tang En that George Wood was human, he would have suspected that George Wood was a highly realistic robot who had traveled from the future to the present. He really suspected that Wood was a highly realistic robot who had traveled from the future to the present. Anyway, I, an ordinary Chinese fan, can travel to the United Kingdom to become a professional manager. Why can't a "human weapon" from the 22nd century travel to become a professional footballer? For example, his true purpose should be to assassinate a great demon who would threaten world peace in the future. But when he traveled, the enemy suddenly launched an attack on his time machine and encountered a malfunction. He lost all his original information and did not know what his mission in the 21st century was. He did not even know his own identity. He could only rely on being a porter to support his kind mother who adopted him until he met Tang En, who was also a time traveler. Wait, Tony, stop. This is a football novel based on a limited fantasy based on reality!
The stands were filled with dissatisfied boos from the Inter Milan fans. It had only been three minutes since the start of the game, and they had finally found a target to replace Albertini — George Wood, who people could not help but hate at a glance.
Earlier, when Stankovic dribbled the ball from the side and intended to cut inside, he was unceremoniously knocked down by George Wood from the side. Even though the referee blew the whistle for a foul in time, it could not stop the loud boos from the Giuseppe Meazza Grandstand.
In the eyes of the fans, Wood's action of holding his head high and turning to leave after the foul was really arrogant and disgusting. Most players, after committing a foul, would pull up their fallen opponents in order to show friendliness or to escape the referee's red card punishment. Then, they would pat their heads and say a few words of apology. But Wood never did that. He was not targeting Inter Milan, so the English fans were not surprised. Because when he played in England's domestic league, Wood was always so unlikeable.
He was only pursuing victory. It was easier for him to get into character like Tang En, who saw his opponents in the game as enemies to the death. Since they were enemies, there was no need to show the slightest mercy and friendliness. That would make him feel that he did not have enough fighting spirit and would feel that he was betraying his teammates who pursued victory with him.
Well, yes. George Wood's football world was that simple — apart from his teammates, everyone else was his enemy. So, in the years of his career, he had only had one experience of exchanging jerseys with an opponent, and it was because he had scored a goal at the last minute to help the team force a draw. Moreover, it was the opponent who took the initiative to exchange jerseys. Yes, it was the time when Roy Keane and George Wood exchanged jerseys. Except for this time, Wood had never had the experience of exchanging jerseys again.
Exchanging jerseys? If I'm the winner, why should I care about what the loser thinks? If I'm the loser, why should I do such a shameful thing with the proud winner?
So, George Wood's fans were Nottingham Forest's fans. Apart from that, the supporters of other teams hated him to the core.
Now, the Inter Milan fans were also quickly hating him.
He really left a deep impression on people ….
※ ※ ※
Wood paid the price of a foul to end Inter Milan's bombardment in the opening three minutes. After Adriano headed the free kick high, Inter Milan's offense began to gradually decline.
Nottingham Forest gradually had some offense, but they did not put in many players to attack.
Mancini could see that Tony Twain wanted to defend in the away game and win by losing less. The best result would probably be a draw. This, however, strengthened his idea of persisting in attacking in the home ground.
But the Italian young manager only got the first half of the sentence right. Tang En did want to defend in the away game, but his goal was not to "win by losing less" …
(To be continued. If you want to know what happened next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. com. More chapters. Support the author. Support original reading!)
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