Chapter 529 - 20: Blazing Atmosphere
"Good evening, viewers and friends!"
"We’re now bringing you live coverage of the UEFA Champions League Group G second match."
"Live from the match where Real Madrid hosts Serie A giants AC Milan."
"In the first leg, Real Madrid defeated Ajax 3-0, while Milan won 2-0 against Ousel."
"Real Madrid holds the top spot in Group G by virtue of goal difference."
"Both sides have been playing it cool before this match."
"The relationship between the two clubs has always been pretty good."
"Especially since Berlusconi took over Milan, there have been very frequent personnel exchanges between the two teams."
"Last season, Raul and Guti played for Milan, and this season Chen Zhong and Kaka in the formation of Real Madrid also once played for Milan and achieved success."
"This is also the consecutive times the two teams have been in the same group in the Champions League; Milan and Real Madrid can be said to be the most successful teams on the Champions League stage, their number of titles dominating others."
"Mourinho, during his tenure as Inter Milan coach, played against Milan four times in Serie A, with a record of 3 wins and 1 loss, quite impressive."
"Real Madrid’s lineup for this match hardly surprised anyone."
"On Milan’s side, since they lost the match against Cesena in mid-September, they’ve remained unbeaten."
"However, for this match, Thiago Silva, who was injured last weekend, is not on the team list."
"Bonera and Nesta will pair up as center-backs for this match."
"It’s noteworthy that Abbiati also didn’t pass the medical check, while on the bench, former Real Madrid player Robinho is ready to make an impact."
In the players’ tunnel, Real Madrid and Milan players were getting along well, with Kaka and Chen Zhong chatting with some familiar friends, such as Inzaghi.
This "special" forward player kept chattering to Chen Zhong, "I heard of your bad reputation in the Apennine Peninsula, you better not treat me like that."
"Haha!" Chen Zhong looked at Inzaghi with a relaxed expression and replied, "Unless you don’t show up in dangerous areas, but I think that’s hard for you."
"Damn it." Inzaghi gently punched Chen Zhong’s chest, saying, "We have similar traits, always finding the right positions on the field, I really hope you don’t play this match."
"Haha." Chen Zhong chuckled, covering his mouth, "I think our coach feels the same, he told me to be mindful of you during the match."
Inzaghi showed his teeth with a grin.
For Milan and Real Madrid, this match isn’t exactly a life-or-death battle, and the atmosphere is rather relaxed for both teams.
Among the four teams, Ousel is pretty much set for elimination, and Ajax isn’t much of a concern.
It’s evident that Milan’s mysterious coach Massimiliano Allegri has some skills, at least from the faces of Milan’s players, you can feel they’ve developed trust in this so-called "nobody".
This season, both teams in Milan City changed coaches, the difference being Inter Milan’s successor is the renowned Benitez, whereas Milan opted for local coach Massimiliano Allegri.
This choice left many Milan fans puzzled and sparked discussion.
After all, this "mysterious" coach was fired by Cagliari in April due to unsatisfactory team performance, who would’ve thought just two months later he’d become the head coach of the Serie A powerhouse Milan?
For this match, Allegri set up a 4-3-1-2 formation.
Inzaghi, Ibrahimovic
Ronaldinho
Gattuso, Boateng, Seedorf
Antonini, Bonera, Nesta, Zambrotta
Amelia
Substitutes: Rome, Pato, Papastathopoulos, Flamini, Abate, Boateng, Robinho.
It was surprising that Milan’s darling Pato was on the bench, while in midfield, Allegri put in Boateng, who he has high hopes for.
According to some rumors, Allegri intends to replace Ronaldinho with Boateng, selling the undisciplined, sharply declining Brazilian star to other teams.
Of course, there are also rumors that Milan wants to sell Ronaldinho mainly because he’s negatively influencing the young players in the team.
And Real Madrid set up a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Negredo
Cristiano Ronaldo, Chen Zhong, Kaka
Xabi Alonso, Khedira
Marcelo, Pepe, Cavaleiro, Ramos
Casillas
Bench: Dudek, Benzema, Higuain, Alvaro, Granero, Albiol, Di Maria.
This match, players and coaches face with a relatively relaxed mindset, but evidently, fans have different thoughts, at least Milan fans do.
For this match, many Milan fans traveled with the team, which shows the calling power a top-tier team should have.
And these die-hard Milan fans who came to the Bernabeu started singing loudly when they saw Mourinho.
They sang loudly, "Mourinho, you’re a pain in the XXX!"
Complete with trash talk, they enjoy their utmost pleasure.
Evidently, Milan fans were premeditated, repeatedly singing these lines for the guy who left them with unpleasant memories during his time with Inter Milan.