Chapter 561 - 36: Explosive Opening
A recent video has gone viral on the internet.
Milan’s popular star, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, angrily flipped over a table in the locker room after the match against Ajax, his eyes bloodshot and looking completely out of sorts.
In the recently concluded Champions League group stage, Milan was unexpectedly defeated 0:2 by Ajax, which means that the next match against Real Madrid is crucial. If Milan loses, they could be knocked out of the group stage.
This is unacceptable for Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
When Mourinho was coaching Inter Milan, Ibrahimovic ignored Mourinho’s pleas and went to Barcelona just for that Champions League trophy.
Now that he has joined Inter Milan’s city rival, bearing the nickname "Three-Family Servant," it’s certainly not to be eliminated in the group stage.
The most unacceptable thing for this proud Swede is that, after losing stars like Kaka, Chen Zhong, and Pirlo, Milan might end their Champions League journey "in disgrace" at the group stage.
What does that mean?
Am I alone not as good as those three?
I am Zlatan Ibrahimovic!
In the video, the Swede tried to inspire his teammates with his body language, but the effect was not ideal. In the end, the irate Swede flipped over a table and shouted angrily, "What’s up with Real Madrid?"
"Is Real Madrid unbeatable?"
"The sky over Milan City is red and black, and so is the sky over Madrid!"
Ibrahimovic’s behavior directly angered Inter Milan’s fans, who had just won an unprecedented Triple Crown, becoming Italy’s first team to do so.
It also angered Real Madrid’s fans.
What does this mean?
It’s one thing to casually say the sky over Milan City is red and black, after all, Real Madrid really doesn’t care about winning or losing this game, having already secured advancement on their own.
But to say the sky over Madrid also belongs to Milan?
The next game isn’t even at the Bernabeu! You lost the first match at the Bernabeu, didn’t you!?
Have you forgotten?
The next game is at San Siro!
Even Milan’s own fans felt a bit awkward, as watching the "young" Ibrahimovic in the video, they didn’t quite sense any kingly aura, but instead felt like this person was just going crazy.
Someone even quipped, "I might never like him."
Of course, these words turned to nothing years later when the elder Ibrahimovic joined Milan again and flipped over a table once more.
However, Milan indeed has enough reason to take this game seriously. With one loss and one draw against Ajax and no victory against Real Madrid, Real Madrid could still remain at the top of the group standings even if they lost their remaining two Champions League group stage matches.
In such circumstances, given the relationship between the two teams, it was still open for negotiation.
If Real Madrid went all out against Ajax and eased off a bit against Milan, then Milan had a good chance to advance to the next round.
Second to last round of the Champions League group stage.
Milan VS Real Madrid
Ajax VS Ousel
All eyes focused on San Siro Stadium.
Before the match, Milan’s coach Allegri also intended to reduce the tension caused by the disputes surrounding this match.
Facing the cameras, Allegri’s brows furrowed into a big "囧" as he spoke, "Someone asked me what happened after that match."
"All I can say is that it’s a player’s desire for victory overwhelming his sanity. His desire for victory is intense, and I can’t blame him."
"I also believe this won’t affect the relationship between our two clubs."
"Chen, Kaka, Pirlo, Raul, Guti, Ronaldo, Beckham, and other players have played for both our clubs. Our cooperation in various aspects is very close."
Allegri did not criticize Ibrahimovic’s comments. After all, Milan is also a top club, and Ibrahimovic essentially desires to win.
So he subtly used the relationship between the two clubs to implicitly "appease," but this left fans of both sides dissatisfied. Some extreme Milan fan organizations even stated they would prepare a grand welcoming ceremony at San Siro for Mourinho and Real Madrid.
Mourinho once coached Inter Milan and led them to success.
In the latest International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) world club rankings this year.
Italy’s Inter Milan Team, last season’s Triple Crown winner, still holds the top spot, with La Liga champions Real Madrid Team and Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich Team ranked second and third, respectively.
Though Barcelona won nothing last season, they still hold the fourth position, followed by Chelsea and Liverpool of the Premier League, ranked fifth and sixth.
The clubs ranked seventh to tenth are Atletico Madrid, Argentina La Plata University Students, Belgian Anderlecht, and Internacional de Brazil Team.