Chapter 562 - 36: Explosive Opening
In this ranking, the lowest among the European giants is Milan.
Among domestic Chinese Super League clubs, only last season’s champion team Guoan Team made it into the top 350.
After the release of this ranking, Milan’s extreme fans were furious. They couldn’t tolerate that Inter Milan’s ranking surpassed theirs, and the reason Inter Milan was able to continuously rank first was all because of Mourinho.
Allegri’s statements not only failed to cool down the situation between the two teams, but also intensified the public opinion between them.
Milan’s extreme fans even held the ambition to defeat Real Madrid at San Siro Stadium and to disgrace Mourinho.
Some newspapers even interviewed Milan’s extreme fans, and their remarks were quite blunt, directly pointing out a harsh fact: Real Madrid had visited San Siro Stadium six times before, and without exception, they never won, losing five times.
In 1989, Real Madrid was swept away 5-0 by Milan led by Sacchi.
This painful memory still distresses many Real Madrid fans to this day, and Milan’s extreme fans bringing up this matter again completely enraged Real Madrid fans.
They even boldly proclaimed, "We will have our revenge!"
"At San Siro Stadium, we will win the match."
"And Real Madrid will leave, taking nothing with them, just like before."
Milan has reached this point, and naturally, Real Madrid’s media are not to be left behind. They directly used the White Army to declare their chance to break the historical curse.
Having already qualified early, Real Madrid is set to create another new record.
Chen might score the 700th Champions League goal for Real Madrid.
They did not directly retaliate against Milan but instead elevated themselves to a new level, using another method to announce their strength.
As long as they score in the match against Milan, Real Madrid will raise their total goals in the Champions League to 700.
Currently, Real Madrid has scored 699 goals in Europe’s top club competitions.
Moreover, judging by the match two weeks ago, the probability of Real Madrid winning and scoring in this match is very high. The only question is who will score this historic goal.
In the first-leg match two weeks ago, Real Madrid gave Milan almost no chance, which also filled them with confidence for the second-leg match.
Moreover, Real Madrid’s coach Mourinho previously coached Inter Milan, and the Portuguese is evidently unlikely to go easy on Milan. He was full of fighting spirit throughout the last match.
In the pre-match press conference, Mourinho also did not directly discuss the match against Milan or the fan disputes, instead casually saying, "We will give our all in every match."
"Without a doubt, we will field our strongest lineup."
Mourinho had just finished the local derby with Atletico Madrid, where both teams fiercely contested every inch, and it even turned bloody.
After the match, Kaka was reported to have multiple injuries. Before Ibrahimovic’s video came out, many thought that Real Madrid would rotate their lineup in this match.
After all, it’s almost impossible for Real Madrid not to secure the top spot; they’ve already cemented their position as number one.
Mourinho seemed unable to restrain his inner blazing flames at the end of the pre-match conference, straightforwardly stating, "Milan should be scared now because they know we can win here."
Mourinho’s words were not blindly confident. Compared to Real Madrid’s effortless win over Atletico Madrid, which was good news, Milan’s performance was not as pretty.
The main reason being Pato, who once competed for the Golden Boy award with Chen Zhong and failed.
This former genius who blitzed Barcelona, Milan’s son-in-law and a Brazilian forward favored by Milan fans, was in poor form and underperforming.
This led to Milan losing to their title rival Juventus in the just-concluded Serie A league match.
Reports suggest that given Pato’s poor form, coach Allegri might bench the Brazilian in the match against Real Madrid.
And Allegri’s choice is likely to be replaced by the "most terrifying striker," as Mourinho put it, Inzaghi.
Of course, many people think this is a smokescreen, because in the first-leg match, Inzaghi’s performance was neither dazzling nor outstanding. The only certain forward choice on Milan’s line-up is Ibrahimovic.
With Robinho "disappearing," the Swede has become the only newcomer for AC Milan to live up to expectations.
Another good news for the Red-Black Army is that young center-back Thiago Silva has finally returned to the starting lineup after several weeks of injury.
Seeing the news taking a turn against Milan, Brazilian center-back Thiago Silva, affectionately referred to as "Little Silva" by domestic fans due to a homophonic nickname, spoke up.
He missed the last match against Real Madrid, which many believe was a significant reason for Milan’s loss. After all, the current Silva has become an indispensable member of Milan’s defense.
In the pre-match press conference, Thiago Silva, this dark-skinned, thick-lipped center-back, did not hide his discussion about Chen Zhong in front of the camera.
"Chen is an outstanding player."
"In fact, I was once his teammate for a while."
"But back then, due to various reasons, even though I joined Milan, I couldn’t play for Milan."
"To be honest, it was an incredible season. The team won the UEFA Europa League and the league championship."
"The fans really liked Chen at that time, and some even called for his purchase. But as everyone knows, he went to Real Madrid, donned the number ten jersey, and became Real Madrid’s captain."
Thiago Silva rambled on quite a bit. He once faced Chen Zhong, but the results weren’t as great. He also faced Drogba, and back then, Thiago Silva was completely overwhelmed.
But not anymore.
He has now mastered the "tricks" to face such physically strong players. He had been waiting for another encounter with Drogba, but using it on Chen Zhong now isn’t a problem either.
Facing the camera, Thiago Silva confidently declared, "I will defend against Chen."
...
This scene puzzled quite a few neutral fans. After all, Real Madrid’s number 9 is Negredo, 7 is Cristiano Ronaldo, and there’s Ballon d’Or winner Kaka. Why would a less than 20-year-old Chen Zhong receive such emphasis?
Why does it seem like everyone is talking about Chen Zhong?
But soon, they realized one thing: the current Chen Zhong is indeed Real Madrid’s top star.
...
The entire Real Madrid team flew to Milan City.
In a few hours, they are set to play a match against Milan at the San Siro Stadium.
Both Inter Milan and Milan have "San Siro Stadium" as their home ground, and many in the Real Madrid team are familiar with this stadium, like Mourinho, Chen Zhong, Kaka...
Before the match, Chen Zhong also gave an interview, and when asked how he viewed this match and if he had anything to say to Thiago Silva.
Chen Zhong, with a smile, said, "We will give our best in every match."
"Additionally, Thiago Silva, I know him too."
"His performance in Milan this season has been quite impressive."
"He’s a very excellent and potential center-back."
"But as for saying he’ll defend against me."
At this point, Chen Zhong showed a meaningful smile on his face. Different people had different interpretations. Some thought Chen was intimidated, while others thought he was dismissive.
But no matter what, with the blow of the whistle, this much-anticipated focal battle officially commenced.
```