Chapter 2248 - 575: The Pursuing Dreams of a Pure Heart
An extra 30-minute match is a test for both body and mind.
Back in the locker room, the Milan players collapsed onto the benches.
Perhaps not as tired.
But with the upcoming battle, everyone chose the most relaxed posture.
Every bit of physical fatigue relieved raises the odds of victory.
The medical team and therapists were working intensely, while the players kept eating to replenish energy.
"Don’t talk, nobody talk."
Cesare Maldini walked into the locker room waving his hand and said, "I wish I could fight alongside you, but I can’t be on the field; you need to rest well and recover well as there’s still a tough battle ahead. I don’t want to demand anything from you because I’m not perfect myself; I’m not God, and I can make mistakes. Today there were some errors in tactics and the lineup, but there’s no time to review them now."
Old Maldini was referring to the midfield arrangement.
In fact, he wanted to start Pirlo more.
But considering Guardiola’s requests, he still went with the current midfield setup.
"Since the coach won’t speak, I’ll say a few words."
Huang Kaiwen, with his feet on his shoes, didn’t even stand up and said, "Many people emphasize the power of spirit; but what is spirit? I don’t know how to tell you, so let me talk about my journey to Allianz today.
At the airport, I encountered extreme weather and directly got onto a van full of fans. On the van, they knew I hadn’t rested well, so nobody uttered a word, they even held down the shaking seats just so I could rest as much as possible. When we were almost in Munich, the car broke down.
We waited for half an hour without another car passing by, then a farmer appeared.
His name was Paul, yes, he was also called Paul. Paul drove his plane and brought me to Munich; although in his drunkenness, the two of us crashed into a river, but we at least got to Munich.
Then I met a mounted policeman named Thomas; he lent me his horse, and I was able to ride past the obstacles to reach Allianz.
Italians, Britons, even Germans... all along the way, I received help from many. In this world, there are countless Thomases and countless Pauls, countless fans expecting us to conquer Munich, so at this moment there’s no retreat; even if only for the fans, we must step over the Germans’ bodies to become the kings of Europe!!!"
Huang Kaiwen clapped vigorously and shouted, "Persist, persist, persist, Forza Milan!!!"
"Forza Milan!!!"
The same story was happening in Bayern’s locker room.
Skills vary.
But the pursuit of honor is equally precious.
Both teams returned to the pitch.
Entering extra time, once again, the mindset of both teams shifted noticeably.
The reorganized Milan slowly began to organize.
They believed Huang Kaiwen could finish off Bayern in front of goal.
As long as they reach the penalty shootout, it would be Germany’s end!
Heynckes’ team started to press because they also feared Huang Kaiwen blocking their path near the goal line.
After 90 minutes of intense battle, the game quickly picked up pace again.
Gattuso protected the ball on the right side, fiercely charging forward.
Conte pulled and tugged, but Gattuso refused to lose possession.
After the two crossed the midfield line, Gattuso made a through pass to Messi.
Schweinsteiger intercepted it a step ahead, and the retreating Messi immediately collided with Schweinsteiger.
"The referee warned Messi; now both sides are being very cautious with each other’s possessions."
"Today’s dribbles from Messi are quite frequent, with successful dribbles reaching 9 times, but he’s too far from the penalty area after retreating."
"Yes, Lahm’s defense against him is outstanding, and now there’s also Conte; Bayern is pinching this spot of Messi, with your front less Huang Kaiwen, defending one Messi is enough."
"Alonso kicked the ball to the front, and Huang Kaiwen rushed out to collect it. Olic went up trying to find an opportunity, but Huang Kaiwen didn’t release the ball, hahaha, he’s dragging time."
Huang Kaiwen kicked the ball out, and it quickly returned to Messi’s feet.
Messi agilely dribbled past Schweinsteiger in the front, his scalp tingling as he saw the penalty area crowd, he swiftly turned left with the ball to give his teammates insertion time.
Timoshchuk dashed straight up, instinctively wanting to grab Messi’s shoulder and stick out his foot.
Heynckes yelled furiously, "If you give a free-kick, I will kill you today, you idiot!!!"
No choice, Huang Kaiwen’s free kicks are too strong.
Back in the locker room, Neuer mentioned something.
He couldn’t guarantee he’d stop Huang Kaiwen’s next free-kick.
In such a poor side-line position on the right, Huang Kaiwen’s free-kick gave him significant trouble.
If the position is slightly better, Neuer wouldn’t dare think about it.
After van Persie and Messi performed a front field collaboration, Messi’s chip shot hit Van Bommel’s foot and bounced out of the goal line.
The ball boy at Allianz Arena immediately threw the ball to Neuer.
The away fans roared with boos from the stands.
Neuer almost instantaneously threw the ball out.
Robben on the right dribbled like he was on fire wheels, marching rapidly toward Milan’s half.
"Don’t let them get close to the penalty area!"
Nesta shouted.
Van Bommel, who returned to the half-field, directly charged in, only to be once again deceived by Robben.
Zambrotta didn’t think twice and directly executed a slide tackle.
