Ancelotti told his players about his "front-runner theory" so that they did not have to worry about the two-goal gap. As long as they kept up the pressure on them, the two goals would instead become a burden for the opponent. Everyone felt that the manager made sense. A lead was not necessarily a good thing, especially for a rookie team like Nottingham Forest, which had no experience in winning major tournaments. A two-goal lead might not become a burden for them at the last minute.
After the start of the second half, AC Milan saw that Nottingham Forest had no intention of playing against them, so they continued to bombard the Forest team's penalty area.
The Forest players had seen this kind of scene many times and knew how to deal with the enemy's attack.
In addition to shrinking the defensive line and not giving Inzaghi any chances, they relied on the tireless running of the players in the middle and front fields to contain AC Milan's midfield organization.
Tang En's defensive counterattack was active. It was completely different from most people's impression of defensive counterattack. Even Ancelotti did not expect the Forest team's defensive counterattack tactics to be so diverse before the game.
Did you say that they were completely pressing the entire field? The rear defensive line held their posts and did not move. Did you say that they were shrinking the defense? The counterattack in the middle and front field made the AC Milan players jump and jump.
Ancelotti really wondered if Tang En was of Italian descent.
※ ※ ※
Tang En told his men that the first fifteen minutes of the second half was the most dangerous time. At that time, it was easy for the opponent to seize the opportunity to counterattack because they did not get into the game state in time. He asked the players to concentrate at the beginning of the game until the end.
As he expected, AC Milan launched a fierce offensive against the Forest team's goal. This time, it was more fierce than in the first half.
The gap of two goals was not a useless decoration that was put there for people to see.
Pirlo kept running, and Albertini followed him closely. He would intercept the ball without hesitation when he saw the opportunity! From his actions, you could not tell that he was a thirty-six-year-old veteran who would retire after playing this game.
There were too few opportunities to get rid of the opponent. Pirlo decided not to organize an attack for the time being. He handed the football more to Seedorf and Kaka, while he led Albertini around in circles.
His relationship with Albertini … How to put it, was complicated. He was a teacher, a friend, and a competitor at the same time. Because their positions on the field were the same and their technical characteristics were similar, Albertini's advantage lay in experience, while Pirlo's advantage lay in his youth. Finally, under Albertini's careful guidance, Pirlo grew up and could completely replace Demetrio. Galliani told Demetrio that there was no place for him in the team.
It could be said that Pirlo had indirectly caused Albertini's departure.
This was the normal metabolism of any team. It was just that it happened in AC Milan, which prided itself on being humane, respectful, and loyal. It was more or less shocking.
At this time, Pirlo did not have time to think about the various grievances between himself and Albertini. He was the brain of the team. His characteristic was that he was calmer than anyone else. These things were not enough to disturb him. Since the start of the match, the only time he had lost focus was when Albertini scored a free kick. But that emotion was fleeting. As a player from Inter Milan to AC Milan, Pirlo understood the cruelty of professional football. Nowadays, professional football no longer believed in loyalty …
Pirlo's short-term task was to drag Albertini along with him to run and exhaust the other's physical strength. He was now more of a football staging post and was not really responsible for organizing the attack. The football reached his feet and was quickly passed out. Albertini certainly knew what Pirlo was doing, but he did not dare not follow. If he did not follow, who knew if Pirlo would take advantage of this opportunity to become the commander on the field again?
Knowing that the other side was exhausting his physical strength, Albertini gritted his teeth and followed.
※ ※ ※
Kaka received more passes. Everyone believed in his and Pirlo's ability. Pirlo decided to avoid the frontline for the time being, and the team's offensive burden fell on his shoulders.
To be honest, Kaka had a hard time playing in this game. He was the kind of player who needed space to break through and speed up. He was not a player who mainly organized passes like Pirlo. He was not even an attacking midfielder with the style of Zidane. He was more modern than Zidane. He was a typical representative of the development of modern football to this day — excellent physical fitness, fast speed, good dribbling, strong ability to plug in and score, and also able to help defend.
Such an attacking midfielder was rarely seen more than a decade ago.
The football was handed to Kaka's feet, and he always had to find a way to help the team score, whether it was to assist his teammates or to do it himself.
This time, he chose to do it himself.
Trying to protect the football and ignoring Wood's constant attacks from behind, Kaka knocked the football forward. He made to break through, causing Piqué, who was in front of him, to tilt his body and dodge a gap.
Behind him, Wood saw Kaka swing his leg and knew that he was going to shoot. He hurriedly shoveled with his foot, hoping to shovel the football out a step earlier.
He was still too late. Kaka swung his leg faster than he thought.
"Bang!"
The football drilled in through the gap that Piqué dodged!
Wood only shoveled the grass chips that splashed up.
If I can't break through, I still have a long shot! A long shot was a good way to break a tight defense.
The football flew toward the goal with a whoosh. The attentive Edwin van der Sar pounced across the air and slapped the football out with one palm, startling the stands with a gasp.
"That was close! Kaka's shot was saved by Edwin van der Sar. This was AC Milan's most threatening attack in the second half! "
Kaka, who did not score, held his head in his hands and was a little annoyed.
Wood got up from the ground and stared at his opponent's back. In the second half, Kaka seemed to be a different person, which significantly increased the pressure on Wood. As a defensive midfielder, Wood had dealt with a number of attacking midfielders, including many world-class attacking midfielders, such as Ronaldinho and Riquelme. But the opponent in front of him was different from the previous attacking midfielders. Kaka had the physical qualities of a defensive midfielder. A typical collision basically did not pose any threat to him, unless it was a foul.
But Tang En did not let him give the opponent too many direct free kicks in front of the penalty area. If it was not a foul, he would just let him shoot the ball.
Wood, who had watched the video of Kaka's games, was not ignorant of the Brazilian. He knew that Kaka was fast and had an outstanding ability to score from a long shot.
He had to keep his nerves tight at all times.
A corner kick was precious to AC Milan, who had been unable to break through the situation, but at the same time, they had to guard against the Forest team's counterattack.
Maldini and Nesta both went up to fight for headers, while Oddo, Jankulovski, Gattuso, and Ambrosini stayed behind to defend.
This was what Ancelotti had specifically instructed during the halftime interval.
When the corner kick came out, it did not pose any threat to Edwin van der Sar's goal. Neither Maldini nor Nesta headed the ball. Before them, Pepe had already used his powerful ability to control the air and bounce to head the football out.
Sure enough, as Ancelotti had expected, Nottingham Forest launched a quick counterattack.
Fortunately, this time he arranged for four players to guard in the backfield. Otherwise, it might have been another goal concede.
Van der Vaart's dribbling was stopped by Gattuso, who wanted to pass to Ribéry, but the move had been seen through by AC Milan. Ambrosini followed Ribéry closely, while Ashley Young had Jankulovski on his side. In his hesitation, van der Vaart lost the ball at his feet.
AC Milan immediately switched from defense to offense.
Gattuso handed the football to Pirlo, who decided to make good use of the opportunity. He only passed the football to Kaka.
He identified the empty strip in the middle of the Forest team and George Wood's defensive zone. He did not believe that Kaka could not beat this young boy.
Kaka certainly did not believe it either. He originally received the ball with his back to the offensive direction. Wood firmly blocked the position behind and did not let Kaka turn around. However, he did not expect Kaka's arched foot to swipe the football past them when he received the ball. At the same time, Kaka quickly turned around, like a motorcycle turning a corner. He used his hands to support himself to complete the turn in the small space.
Wood did not expect Kaka to be able to do this under such tight surveillance. While he was stunned, Kaka had already turned around to chase the ball.
Wood did not dare to neglect. He also quickly turned around and caught up with Kaka with his speed. Then, while his opponent had not fully controlled the football, he rushed to tackle first and shoveled the football out of Kaka's control range. At the same time, he collided with Kaka, and the two men fell to the ground awkwardly.
The AC Milan fans booed loudly. They thought it was a foul, but the referee did not say anything. Another one of AC Milan's attacks ended …
The chest area of Wood's jersey was completely soaked with sweat, and the red there was darker than the rest of the red. Kaka was not much better. Such a high-speed sprint to be interrupted was a great test for his stamina.
The two men lay on the ground panting for a while before they were pulled up by their respective teammates.
Albertini patted Wood on the shoulder and praised his performance.
Pirlo pulled Kaka and asked if his pass was appropriate and if it should have been bigger to help him get rid of Wood.
Kaka waved his hand to indicate that the pass was just right.
Then he glanced at Wood. Everyone did not have it easy. Oh, the confrontation just now.
He heard that this man was also of Brazilian descent. That was a freak. Who was better, him or Gattuso in the team?
※ ※ ※
"Kaka is much more active than in the first half …" Kerslake said in the technical area.
Next to him, Dunn nodded in agreement.
"It's normal. It's Kaka's credit that AC Milan can appear here. He has this strength. The first half was a surprise for him. He did not expect our defense to be so tight. When he gets used to it, it will be our turn to be nervous … "Twain said. He was not surprised. He was well aware of Kaka's strength. He would be surprised if Kaka did not perform at all throughout the game.
Wood would also feel great pressure if he was asked to defend against Kaka. But this kind of pressure was good for him. If he wanted to continue to grow, such pressure was indispensable.
※ ※ ※
"Keep passing the ball to me." After calming his previously frantic breathing, Kaka said to Pirlo, "I think I have a way to deal with that number 13. My ball was a little far just now. He won't have that chance next time. "
Pirlo nodded. "I would have passed it to you even if you didn't say it. I'm entangled with Demetrio. You're the only one who can break through their defense. "
The two men quickly separated. Pirlo returned to the back and Kaka stood in the front field.
Soon, the football was sent to Kaka's feet by Pirlo again.
This time, Kaka did not receive the ball with his back. He received Pirlo's straight pass as he ran forward. Seeing the football rolling over, Kaka suddenly sped up. He and Pirlo had a telepathic connection. Pirlo knew what kind of pass he wanted — to pass as fast and with as much strength as possible so that he could kick up his speed as he ran.
Once Kaka's speed was increased, there were not many people in the world who could stop him without fouling.
Wood found that Kaka suddenly sped up beside him and knew that he was going to receive the ball, so he also sped up. He wanted to force Kaka into a corner. Piqué was in front of him. He and Piqué would attack from the front and back, and he would not have to worry about the football not being intercepted.
Kaka seemed to be really forced into a corner. Piqué was very close to him, and Wood was close behind.
He received the football, and Piqué was close at hand.
Just when everyone thought that Piqué and Wood would keep Kaka together, the Brazilian's left ankle flicked lightly, and the football drilled through between Piqué's legs!
At the same time, Kaka stopped and changed directions. He brushed past the still-stunned Piqué, and a beautiful separation of man and ball!
Wood did not expect Kaka to break through his and Piqué's encirclement so easily. Although he was surprised, the speed of his feet did not decrease.
Piqué was like a wooden stake. Kaka broke through from his right side, while Wood swept past from his left side at high speed.
Kaka was less than five meters away from the penalty area at this time. His speed had clearly been brought up. If it was not a foul, he would definitely break in. Although the boss said that he could not give AC Milan a free kick in the danger zone, should he give a free kick, or let the other team break directly into the penalty area to shoot or distribute the ball? Which was more dangerous?
Wood no longer hesitated. He twisted his body to shovel the football from the side. Although it was a shovel, his foot was raised high, almost to Kaka's knee. Sure enough, Kaka quickly poked the football away, but he crashed head-on into it.
This time, there was no doubt that it was a foul. The referee's whistle rang out amid the loud boos from the AC Milan fans and was almost ignored by the players.
After Kaka fell, he knelt on the ground and shrugged his shoulders helplessly. The kid did not think about shoveling the ball from the moment he fell to the ground. Looking at the height of his foot, it was clearly aimed at his legs.
The referee gave Wood a yellow card, but Wood did not mind.
Twain stood up from the technical area. He walked to the sidelines and frowned slightly. Wood could not mind the yellow card, but he could not not mind. As the defensive core player and the trump card to mark the opponent, who could guarantee that he would not get another yellow card with thirty minutes left in the game?
"George!!" He waved his hand hard for Wood to run over. He wanted to instruct him face-to-face.
Wood saw Twain waving to him, so he left the referee and ran over.
"You did well, but next time if you want to foul, do it when he has just started." Twain shook his head.
Wood had a different opinion. "I saw Piqué in front and didn't want to foul. I didn't expect …"
"Yes, yes, I know." Twain nodded vigorously. "Now you have a yellow card on you. You have to be careful. Wisely choose the spot and time to commit the foul, and once you break the rule, immediately make a friendly gesture. This will give you a good impression with the referee … Don't give me a long face as if the whole world owes you five million dollars. You must not be penalized! Do you understand? "
"Yes, I understand." Wood's answer was straightforward, but Twain was still worried. After all, the situation on the football field was ever-changing. Who knew what would happen in a minute?
After letting Wood return to the field, Twain did not immediately turn back to the technical area. He stood on the sidelines and watched AC Milan's free kick.
Pirlo's free kick bypassed the Forest team's human wall and flew toward the goal. This time, Edwin van der Sar, who had performed well, once again saved the team. He jumped out and plucked the football in the air with both hands. He did not even give the corner kick to AC Milan.
Although the attack was still fruitless, the AC Milan people saw hope in it because Kaka was alive.
As long as Kaka was alive, AC Milan's offense had a chance.
Over the course of this season, there had been countless early summer situations like this. When AC Milan's striker did not score, Kaka stepped forward to be the best striker. When AC Milan was not in form and was about to lose, Kaka stepped forward to turn the tide.
AC Milan's stumbling into the final this season was all thanks to Kaka alone.
Everyone had long had this psychological dependence on the handsome Brazilian lad. As long as Kaka was there, we would not lose!
※ ※ ※
Five minutes later, ten minutes had passed since Twain's "fifteen-minute threat theory." The score was still 2: 0, with Nottingham Forest in the lead.
The Forest fans in the stands sang tirelessly. They sang praises of the Forest team, sang praises of Ribéry who scored, sang praises of the captain Albertini, sang praises of the defensive valiant George Wood, and even sang praises of Tony Twain.
Twain relaxed a little and walked back to the technical area.
Seventy minutes had passed, leaving AC Milan with only twenty minutes. They had to score two goals in twenty minutes to drag the game into overtime. If they wanted to resolve the battle in ninety minutes, they had to score three goals. Twain did not believe that his painstakingly built rear defensive line would be so weak that it could concede three goals to the opponent in twenty minutes.
His team had never conceded three goals in a row in such a short period of time.
AC Milan saw that the offensive was not effective and began to withdraw to rationally allocate their physical strength. The game had reached a critical point where both sides were close to exhaustion.
The Nottingham Forest players still remembered what Twain said at halftime: Score a few more goals. Don't give up the chance to score if there is a goal. Let the opponent be completely desperate.
Seeing AC Milan withdraw, the Forest team began to try to press out and attack.
Van der Vaart displayed his ability to dispatch and command in such a positional battle, sending out passes that threatened AC Milan's rear defensive line many times. Twain knew that one of AC Milan's center-back partners was old, and the other was in an unstable state due to injuries this season. The defense that the AC Milan people were most proud of had now become their biggest loophole.
Therefore, Twain asked the team to pass more straight passes when attacking, especially in the flank area between the center-backs and full-backs, which was the best place for a straight pass.
Van der Vaart sent a straight pass there again, but this time it was seen through by Maldini in advance and intercepted the ball.
Maldini, who intercepted the ball, did not hand the football to Pirlo. He kicked the football directly to the front field. His target was AC Milan's number 22, the Brazilian, Kaka!
At this time, when the Forest team officially pressed up to attack, George Wood was the only player left in the back other than the four defenders.
With Albertini around, Wood did not participate in the attack most of the time. Another reason was that Kaka had been hovering near the center line since the beginning, which Wood was very concerned about. AC Milan basically withdrew the entire team, except for Inzaghi and Kaka who remained in front.
His intuition was quickly verified. Kaka staying in front was not useless — he received a precise long pass from Maldini!
Wood began to move closer to Kaka. He intended to intercept the ball before Kaka sped up, or use a foul to completely end AC Milan's attack.
Kaka kicked the football out and cut horizontally in front of Wood. Wood, who had just picked up speed, had to slow down. Now that both men were in the center circle, he still had a chance to intercept the ball.
Twain said that if he wanted to foul, he should do it early, but Wood did not want to foul. He felt that Kaka was a very good player, but if he could only rely on fouls to stop the opponent, it meant that he was not as good as Kaka. He wanted to beat Kaka fair and square for once, without fouling and relying on his own defensive skills.
Kaka dribbled the football. He felt that George Wood had been following him, like a leopard running with its prey, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
Kaka did not mind the other side running with him because he did not intend to give the opponent any chance.
Now the Forest team's backfield only had one rear defensive line, four defenders and George Wood. There were large swathes of empty space for him to sprint. When he sprinted, Kaka was confident that the rear defensive line would not be able to hold him back from breaking through.
Wood observed Kaka's dribbling as he ran at high speed. He looked forward to the other side dribbling a little bit so that he could use his sharp shovel to destroy the football, or forcibly overtake to separate the football from Kaka.
But Kaka's dribbling rhythm was very stable. In the high-speed run, the football was always not too close to his legs, so Wood could not find the right time to make a move. Every time he wanted to intercept the ball, his speed would slow down, and then Kaka would take the opportunity to pull away from him. Then he had to speed up to catch up, and then look for the right time to prepare for the next interception, and then slow down again to pull away.
In this repetition, the two men were getting closer and closer to the Forest team's penalty area.
"Wood is chasing Kaka, but he has no chance to intercept the ball. Both sides are very fast, and Kaka's dribbling is very reasonable! Wood has to run with him. Now they have entered the thirty-meter zone! "
This time, Piqué dragged behind, and it was Pepe who came up to defend against Kaka. Pepe's speed was considered fast among the center backs, and he was a suitable candidate to block Kaka.
Kaka kept his head up when he dribbled the ball. He saw Pepe's intentions early on and did not give Pepe a chance to fight one-on-one with him. When they were about to meet, he suddenly poked the football diagonally out, and then accelerated again to bypass Pepe's side.
Pepe's speed was not considered slow, but in the face of Kaka who was running at full speed, he was still a little powerless … By the time he turned around, Kaka had already surpassed him by two body lengths and had broken into the penalty area!
"Kaka! Kaka! " The Italian commentator roared excitedly. Like him, the AC Milan fans in the stands finally found a breakthrough to vent their emotions after being silent for most of the game. At this moment, the cheers from the AC Milan fans resounded through the sky, completely suppressing the boos from the Forest fans.
Tang En stood up from the manager's seat when Kaka had just sped up, and his mouth kept chanting, "Bring him down! Bring him down! "He hoped that Wood was smart enough to choose an inconspicuous little move to stop Kaka's breakthrough.
But he did not wait for that scene. Instead, he saw Kaka break through Pepe and enter the penalty area. He could not help but curse.
"Damn it! Doesn't he know how fast Kaka dribbles the ball? Did he watch all those videos for nothing? This idiot! Idiot!! "
Once in the penalty area, Wood could not foul even if he wanted to.
Piqué came up to cover for the defense. This was the Forest team's last line of defense before Edwin van der Sar.
Wood had been following Kaka's side, but he could not find the right opportunity. The only chance now was the moment when Kaka made his shot. He could not foul, and he had to stop Kaka from shooting. Even if it was just a little interference, it would be good.
Kaka did not give Piqué the chance to close up and force him to slow down. He suddenly raised his leg to shoot!
Wood suddenly shoveled the football in front of Kaka. It was a matter of who was faster!
He shoveled the ball, or rather, the football hit his foot.
The football that Kaka shot out hit Wood's foot and bounced up, which made Edwin van der Sar's previous save a comical decoration.
The football bounced up, went over Edwin van der Sar's head, and then fell into the net amidst the deafening cheers of the AC Milan fans.
"2: 1! We've recovered a goal! The great Kaka! The omnipotent Kaka! At this critical moment, it's still up to Kaka! A long-distance raid on the final, a classic goal that could not be more classic! He beat the entire Nottingham Forest team by himself! Kaka! Kaka — "The Italian commentator roared himself hoarse and was about to cry. "Don't give him any chance, Englishmen. You've seen it now! We still have a chance to make a comeback. Don't give up, AC Milan! "
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