As usual, George Wood was responsible for defense, acting as the "bodyguard on the field." With Wood's rapid growth, Albertini no longer needed to put too much effort into defense. Now that he was 34 years old, it was impossible for him to retreat, defend, and attack like before. As he grew older, his stamina and physical condition were not as good as before. However, the accumulation of experience and stability made him more suitable to be a midfield playmaker.
Tang En was very fond of Albertini's middle and long passes. Before Arteta, Forest Team's offense had mainly relied on this superb, yet unassuming, middle and long passes to tear apart the opponent's defensive line.
However, Inter Milan attached great importance to Albertini in this match. As old rivals, they naturally understood Albertini's strengths. Moreover, Inter Milan's current manager was Mancini.
Albertini's "old friend."
Back when Mancini had amazed the world as a young manager at Lazio, Albertini had played under him for a season. However, the two did not have a good relationship. In reality, Albertini and Mancini had worked very well together in the beginning. However, their relationship later deteriorated rapidly. It was not because of issues such as the position on the field, but because Albertini felt that Mancini lacked respect for him.
Albertini was a very straightforward person, and he had also had fierce arguments with many coaches. However, there was none between him and Tang En. Why? Because in the one and a half seasons of contact, he felt that Tang En was a sincere person. Albertini himself was sincere, so he also liked people who were sincere to him. Tang En just so happened to fit his aesthetic standards.
Back to the match, even though Albertini felt that Mancini did not respect him personally, from the first ten minutes of the match, at least on the field, Mancini valued the former AC Milan vice-captain.
Cambiasso was responsible for marking Albertini. This was only on the surface. In reality, Mancini requested that when Albertini took the ball, the Inter Milan players closest to him must rush up immediately and not give him a chance to control the pace of the match. As a manager who had once coached Albertini, Mancini knew that if Albertini was allowed to control the pace of the match, then no matter how strong Inter Milan was, they could only be led by the nose.
However, as a cultured manager, Mancini was clearly not as shameless as Tony Twain. He also did not have a midfield meat grinder like George Wood, so he did not exert enough pressure on Albertini.
Just after ten minutes, after Albertini got the ball, Cambiasso wanted to come up to defend, but George Wood ran over at an "untimely" time. He swayed between Cambiasso and Albertini. The Argentine was forced to slow down to avoid it. Albertini swung his leg and passed the ball out.
Thirty-five meters long pass, target Franck Ribery.
Cambiasso glared angrily at Wood, who had suddenly appeared in front of him. Then, he turned around and ran back to participate in the defense. Albertini, who had passed the ball, also ran up to receive the attack. George Wood, who had just provided him with protection at the back, stopped in the backfield, waiting for the next opponent to attack.
Albertini, who was running forward, suddenly stopped and turned around to blink at Wood, thanking him for his silent protection.
Wood kept a straight face and did not respond. We're in the middle of a match, can't you be a little more serious …
Albertini, on the other hand, was already used to the child's behavior. He turned around and continued to run up.
Ribery's dribble was kicked out of the sideline by Zanetti, who had returned to defend in time. It bought time for the other Inter Milan players to return to defend.
The Inter Milan captain shouted for his teammates to return to defend, while the Nottingham Forest captain waved for the team to press up.
"George!" Albertini waved to Wood. "Come up!"
Wood turned his head left and right to look at the full back running past him. He hesitated.
"Come up!" Albertini waved again and shouted.
Although Twain was interested in Wood's defensive ability, as his teacher on the field, Albertini hoped that Wood could be more well-rounded, like himself when he was younger.
Defense is not the only thing you can do, George.
This time, Wood hesitated for a moment before running up. He actually did not know what he should do when he came up. When he was in the backfield, he was like a fish in water. His mind was clear, and he knew what his task was. He also knew what he should do. But once he crossed the halfway line and faced the opponent's defensive formation and saw the opponent's goal, his brain was a little inadequate. He lacked experience in this area and did not know how to deal with it. Perhaps he needed to take the initiative to plug forward more in training and games to accumulate experience in this area.
But Albertini was not going to give Wood a chance to slowly adapt. This was the rhythm of professional football. If he could not keep up, he would be eliminated!
Albertini received the ball from his teammate Leighton Baines. He had just turned around when he saw Cambiasso rushing up.
"Don't let him shoot and pass comfortably!" Zanetti shouted from behind.
The people in this stadium must be very familiar with the shot of the young man still wearing the AC Milan number 4 jersey, right? A long shot! A falling leaf!
Albertini swung his leg at Cambiasso.
Would we see that familiar downward arc again in this stadium?
Cambiasso jumped up without a care for his own safety and crossed his body to block.
But! Albertini passed the football sideways to George Wood, who ran up!
George Wood froze for a moment. Inter Milan's defensive players had already rushed up. Because it was too close to the penalty area, the player who came up to defend was the center back, Materazzi!
Should he shoot? Wood's mind went blank. He was completely unprepared. Not shoot? He saw that the opposing defender was coming up. He was also a defensive player, so he knew what it meant.
If the defensive midfielder, who was originally in charge of defense, rushed up and the ball was intercepted by the opponent, it would be a fatal counterattack. What was originally an opportunity for the Forest team would immediately become an opportunity for Inter Milan.
Manager Tang En did not say that Wood should plug in to participate in the attack in this game. He only told him to be responsible for defense, especially staying in the backfield during set pieces. Now that Albertini had disobeyed Tang En's orders and called Wood up to participate in the attack, who would be responsible if something went wrong because of this?
Wood did not want Albertini to be responsible for him, so he could not let the football be taken away from his feet. Looking at Materazzi, who was rushing up aggressively, Wood subconsciously flicked the ball to the outside …
Materazzi watched the football roll past his feet but could not stop it. He thought he might as well take the opportunity to knock down number 13. No matter what method he used, he had to stop the opponent's attack.
So, with the idea that the ball could pass the man, Materazzi clasped his hands in front of his chest and knocked George Wood.
Wood was knocked down solidly by Materazzi. But what was the result? Before Materazzi fell on his back, he did not see Wood lying on all fours like him. Instead, he swayed a little and steadied himself.
He looked at Wood in disbelief and fell down just like that. He even forgot to reach out to protect his head. What kind of person was Materazzi? If he deliberately knocked into someone, how many people could act like nothing had happened? He dared not believe that such a situation would happen, but there was such a person in front of him now!
With Materazzi down, the obstacle in front of Wood was gone. He looked at the football rolling under his feet and, without thinking, went up and swung his leg!
When Tang En saw Wood "knock" Materazzi over, his eyes began to shine and his body leaned forward, as if he was anticipating something. But immediately after, he saw Wood use all his strength to shoot but kick the football into the stands at the back. He sat back down abruptly.
"Ah, this d * mn 'future soldier'!"
The hearts of the Inter Milan fans were about to jump out of their throats. Fortunately, Wood's unguarded shot was ridiculously high, so their hearts did not really jump out. But they were even more determined to hate Wood. They thought that before the shot, it was Wood who knocked down Materazzi.
But this was really ridiculous. Anyone with a discerning eye could see who took the initiative to come knocking at the door.
Wood was still upset about his terrible shot when Albertini smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "Well done, George!"
"But I …"
"No, I'm not talking about the shot. I'm talking about your performance before the shot … "Albertini looked at Materazzi, who was pulled up from the ground by his teammates, and finally could not help but laugh loudly. "If you were playing for AC Milan, you would be welcomed by everyone at San Siro just based on this performance alone." He winked at Wood.
"But I just want to be at Forest …"
Albertini patted him on the shoulder, indicating that he should not say anything. "Well done. Go back and defend."
Wood obediently ran back, but Albertini did not follow him back to defend. He looked at the back of the figure in a daze.
"I just want to be at Forest …"
"I just want to be at Milan …"
"How can a vow made when he was young be counted?"
He lowered his head and ran back.
"Demetrio Albertini controls the rhythm of Nottingham Forest's game. His feint and true pass have thrown Inter Milan's defensive line into disarray. Even George Wood, who usually does not go forward easily, has a shot because of him. It's a pity that if he had been the one to kick the ball, I'm afraid Julio César would have been powerless. At 34 years old, he does not show any signs of aging at all. His performance is as good as ever. It's really nostalgic for this figure to appear in this stadium … "The ESPN Italian commentator sighed.
(To be continued, if you want to know what happened next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. COM. There are more chapters. Support the author and support the original reading!)
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