The Prince of Inter Milan starts with Brother Xiaosa

Chapter 97 Full Moon Scimitar
  Cesar's wonderful save won applause from the audience.

Leo stood helplessly looking at his teammates, and Cesar smiled at him.

Lippi, the silver-haired coach on the sidelines, took a deep look at Leo and wondered what he was thinking.

The game is not over yet. Although there is not much time for Leo to perform, he still does not want to end his national team debut so hastily.

Since you can't do it alone, try asking for help from your teammates.

The Brazilian team made substitutions, with Thiago Silva replacing Juan and Pato replacing Adriano.

Leo stole the ball in the frontcourt and immediately moved it to the wing. Rossi made a pass from the right side of the penalty area!
  Tony's shot from close range in front of the goal was too straight and was confiscated by the opponent's goalkeeper Cesar!

Ronaldinho dribbled continuously from the left and then passed in. His club teammate Pato's attack near the far post was saved by Buffon with a single palm.

Ronaldinho took a corner kick from the left, and Brazilian defender Thiago Silva, who came on as a substitute, dived forward and missed the ball.

Italian goalkeeper Buffon made a mistake in saving the ball, but he reacted quickly and immediately suppressed the ball.

As the game came to an end, Dunga continued to make substitutions, with Baptista and Josue replacing Robinho and Gilberto.

Melo flew forward to tackle, and Leo turned around deftly and passed by. Then he looked at the positions of his teammates and took advantage of the situation to pass the ball over the top into the penalty area.

Luca Toni withstood Thiago Silva's close marking, overwhelmed the Brazilian and then nodded the ball into the goal!

The ball is in!
  One to two!

At the end of the game, the Selecao defeated Italy 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium.

The performance of the Azzurri did not satisfy the fans, and Lippi also ended his world record of 31 consecutive unbeaten games coaching the national team.

However, Leo's performance after coming off the bench in the second half was unanimously recognized by the outside world.

"Italy needs some new blood, and I think Leo is good."

"Although Leo is young, his ball-taking, support, breakthrough and final pass in the midfield and frontcourt are all in great need in Italy."

"That's right. I also think Lippi should give more opportunities to young people."

But it doesn't matter what they say. Whether they can get more playing time still depends on the thoughts of national team coach Lippi.

Leo had no idea what Lao Deng was thinking. He had already hurriedly said goodbye to his London friend Bale, whom he had not seen for a long time, and returned to Milan.

Even though they were opponents just now, Leo couldn't help but complain to Cesar on the flight back to Milan.

"Julio, you saved my first goal for the national team. When you go back, you have to treat me to dinner to comfort my injured heart."

"Hahahaha, you can't blame me for this. If you were more tricky, I wouldn't be able to pounce on you."

Of course, Leo was just joking to get closer to his teammates.

In the Inter Milan team, he had a lot of private communication with these Brazilians, or at least almost none.

There is nothing wrong with taking this opportunity to get closer to them.

"If it doesn't work, I'll ask Maicon to pass more passes for you in the future, so that you can score more penalties in the club."

"Haha, thank you two brothers!"

……

On February 2009, 2, the second leg of the Milan Derby in this season's Serie A is about to begin.

Looking at the standings before the start of this game, whether it is Juventus in second place or AC Milan in third place, they are all far behind Inter Milan.

This game is not only a contest between rivals in the same city, but also a battle for key three points between first and third in the league.

Inter Milan's Brazilian full-back Maicon returned from his thigh injury in time.

The central defender combination was replaced by Samuel and Chivu, while Burdisso returned to the bench.

On the front line, due to Balotelli's accumulation of yellow cards and suspension, Ibrahimovic could only play with Figo, and Crespo entered the squad.

At AC Milan, Gattuso is still recovering from a torn cruciate ligament.

Kaka also failed to catch up with the derby. Seedorf and Ronaldinho formed a double attacking midfielder, and Pato stepped forward to support the front line.

Pirlo leads the midfield, and the other two are Ambrosini and Beckham, who is on loan from the United States.

Maldini, the legendary captain of the Rossoneri, made his 56th appearance in the Milan Derby, but it was the first time for Beckham.

How popular is this game?

More than 80,000 fans poured into the Meazza Stadium, more than 500 reporters went to the scene to interview, and as many as 32 TV station staff were on site to broadcast the game live.

Before the game started, there were Inter Milan fans in the stands holding banners to pay tribute to Maldini, who may have participated in the Derby for the last time:

"You have been our opponent for 20 years, but you have always been a gentleman in life."

Maldini, who is over 40 years old, has decided to retire at the end of this season. This game may really be the last time he appears in the Milan Derby in his career.

Unfortunately, a hole in the net was discovered before the game and the kick-off time had to be postponed for five minutes.

After the net was repaired, the game could finally begin.

With the whistle of the famous Italian whistler Roberto Rossetti, the much-anticipated Milan Derby began!
  Looking at the relatively soft midfield combination of his opponent Pirlo, Beckham and Ambrosini, Leo originally thought that the defensive intensity would be greatly reduced without Gattuso.

But when I actually got my hands on it, I realized that it was not the same thing.

Only thirty seconds into the game, as soon as Leo received the pass, Beckham flew over and tackled the ball regardless of the danger. Leo, who was not prepared, was naturally intercepted by the opponent.

"Do you want to work so hard?"

Of course, Leo knew that the Englishman joined AC Milan on loan because he wanted to maintain his condition and prepare for the World Cup a year later.

The intensity of games in Major League Baseball is simply too low.

But is he really not afraid of getting hurt when he fights so fiercely?

Beckham's iconic 45-degree cross was dropped into the penalty area, but Pato's header in front of the small penalty area was not correct.

Ronaldinho picked up the ball near the baseline, and someone in the north stand threw a firework, which almost hit the Brazilian.

Fortunately, there were no consequences and the game continued without being affected.

Cambiasso hit a cross, and Leo's powerful long-range shot from outside the penalty area was blocked by Abbiati!
  Then Beckham clashed with Stankovic during a fight, and referee Rossetti arrived in time.

But he didn't show his cards and only verbally warned both parties.

As a result, the defensive actions of the two teams will inevitably become larger and larger.

Anyway, the referee's standards were relatively loose, probably because he wanted to ensure the smooth progress of the game. Rossetti simply ignored some minor fouls, and he only said a few words about some actions that could be used.

Pato was brought down by Zanetti outside the penalty area. Although the Brazilian reacted fiercely, the referee still only gave a free kick and did not issue a warning.

Pirlo and Beckham stood in front of the penalty kick position. To be honest, this battle was a bit scary.

Inter Milan's goalkeeper Cesar did not dare to be careless in the slightest, and hurriedly called on his teammates to form a wall in the penalty area.

As expected, the ball was given to Becks, and Pirlo made a feint and stepped over the ball.

Beckham's "Full Moon Scimitar" appeared in the Milan Derby!

The ball drew a beautiful arc and flew over the head of the wall. Cesar flew to save and touched his fingertips!
  Beckham's free kick went straight to the goal but was touched by the Inter Milan goalkeeper and then scraped the crossbar and went slightly higher!

Soon the Rossoneri made a comeback, and Jankulovski's pass from the left was pushed to the back post by a defensive player.

Beckham followed up with a low pass with his left foot. Zambrotta stopped the ball on his chest near the small penalty area and the golden hook was confiscated by Cesar.

It’s not good. Why did AC Milan gain the upper hand after the game started?

Inter Milan club president Moratti frowned in the stands.

Leo took the ball and faced Beckham again. He looked in all directions and couldn't help but smile when he found that no one else was following him.

Do you have confidence in yourself if you want to deal with me alone?

Without stopping, Leo adjusted his dribbling rhythm, and when he was about to collide with Beckham, he turned 360 degrees and left the opponent behind.

Pian Ruo Jinghong, graceful like a dragon!
  With a burst of energy, Leo passed Pirlo's defense and dribbled the ball to the edge of the penalty area!
  Leo passed the ball with one kick before Maldini could cover up the defense.

Figo cut diagonally into the penalty area to receive the ball and then made a slight adjustment to volley with his right foot!
  Although he was very powerful, he still hit it too straight. AC Milan goalkeeper Abbiati made a sideways dive to block the ball from the baseline.

Can this also go in?
  Leo was also helpless. Maybe Figo didn't have the shooting touch after being away from the field for a long time, so we could only give him more opportunities to find the feeling again.

Cambiaso's corner kick from the right landed too deep and was punched out by Abbiati.

Stankovic volleyed with his right foot from outside the penalty area!

The ball flew into the stands.

The Rossoneri failed to succeed in several early attacks, and the initiative of the game was gradually controlled by the Nerazzurri.

A few minutes later, Leo made another direct pass. Before Figo had time to hit the goal, he was saved by Kaladze.

Forget it, let's pass more passes to Ibrahimovic.

In the 11th minute, Ibrahimovic's cross from the left was blocked by Pirlo who was returning to defense.

Inter Milan got another chance from a corner kick.

Maicon took a corner kick from the left, and Samuel's header went slightly wide.

Two minutes later, Leo made a long pass from the backcourt. Ibrahimovic responded to the overhead ball and returned it with his chest. Stankovic lightly knocked to the left. Cambiasso's shot from the frontcourt to the top of the arc in the penalty area was higher than the crossbar.

Although the goal was not scored, Inter Milan's wonderful offensive cooperation still received applause from the fans at the scene.

Then came another pass from Jankulovski after a breakthrough from the left, and Pato entered the penalty area and headed the ball wide of the left post.

In the 18th minute, Ibrahimovic made a wonderful "scorpion tail" pass with his right heel. After receiving the ball, Leo broke into the right side of the penalty area and passed the low ball to the goal!

Stankovic, who followed up in the middle, faced Abbiati alone!

But Ambrosini fought back and scooped the ball out of the baseline!

Sevilla missed the perfect scoring opportunity and was very upset. If he had moved faster just now, he would have finished the goal.

After more than ten minutes of high-intensity and fast-paced attack at the beginning, the game finally slowed down slightly.

Nervous fans in the stands can also breathe a sigh of relief for the time being.

　There was a heavy rain here yesterday, and I almost couldn't get home when I went out. Everywhere on the road was flooded, and there was a stench of sewer...

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)