Chapter 157: The battle of the halfway finale
On December 22nd, three days before Christmas, most companies in Italy had already started their holidays early, and people took to the streets, beginning to enjoy the holiday joy.
At this time, watching an exciting football match became the best choice for Italian fans, and at the Meazza Stadium, there happened to be a crucial match that would decide the winner of the Serie A first half, about to kick off.
Earlier, AC Milan narrowly defeated Brescia 1-0, so Inter Milan needed a victory in this round to claim the honor of being the first in the first half.
The entire Inter Milan team was united, putting aside personal conflicts temporarily at this time. Everyone had only one thought in mind: to defeat Parma!
Inter Milan's lineup was still very incomplete, with Vieri's physical condition never reaching the competitive standard set by the team doctor. It was originally expected that he would return around the 10th round, but until the end of the first half, he had not been granted permission to play.
Recoba had just been injured as well, and he hadn't even started recovery training yet. It was estimated that he would also miss a large part of the second half of the season.
Parma's lineup, on the other hand, was very complete, similar to when they played in the Italian Super Cup. The forward line composed of Adriano, Mutu, and Gilardino gave Inter Milan a lot of trouble during that time.
Their performance in the league was also outstanding. Currently, all three of them were in the top ten of the goal scorers list, and the forward combination they formed was the most prolific in Serie A.
With the sound of the main referee's whistle, the match officially began.
In order to contain Parma's offensive firepower, Inter Milan adopted a defensive counterattack tactic, stacking up defensively to block Parma's attacks, while relying on speed to tear apart their fragile defense.
So, both sides seemed evenly matched in terms of the situation. Parma could launch some brilliant attacks, and Inter Milan could also respond with sharp counterattacks, threatening the opponent.
On the defensive line, Cannavaro and Cordoba closely assisted each other. Although they hadn't reconciled, they would never make moves that would drag the team down on the field.
The first threatening attack came in the 15th minute from Inter Milan. After Coco intercepted the ball in the backfield, he directly sent a long pass to Wang Feng, who was offside. He shook off Parma defender Bonera on the side and crossed, but Batistuta's header in the penalty area just missed the target.
This shot ignited the Meazza Stadium. Inter Milan fans stood up excitedly, cheering for the home team, and many began chanting Wang Feng's name again.
Two minutes later, Wang Feng responded to the fans' expectations! It was Zanetti's pass in midfield. Wang Feng leaned against Ferrari, using his body to desperately suppress the Italian, and leaped ahead to head the ball to Batistuta on the left.
After receiving the ball, Batistuta flicked it to the edge of the penalty area, then stepped forward to shoot. The Parma goalkeeper made a desperate save, and the ball didn't fly far, dropping in front of the small penalty area.
At this moment, Wang Feng quickly shook off Ferrari's entanglement, wanting to go up and shoot again. But the goalkeeper's position was closer, and the awareness short circuit caused by the previous save quickly recovered. Frey hurriedly tried to catch the ball.
At the critical moment, Wang Feng leaned his body back to the extreme, pushed his leg forward with all his strength just before the goalkeeper touched the ball, finally nudging it with the tip of his foot. The ball suddenly deflected out of Frey's control range, then slowly floated into Parma's net.
"Goal! Inter Milan broke the balance on the field in the 17th minute, taking the lead with a goal!"
"It's a rebound shot from Wang Feng. He got to the ball before the goalkeeper and swept it into Parma's goal. Before that, Batistuta's long shot caused Frey to spill the ball."
"Batistuta still looks vigorous. This long shot was fast and urgent. Frey could only choose to push the ball out, but he didn't expect Wang Feng's follow-up shot to be so quick, and of course, his legs are so long!"
"With a goal so early, it seems that before Christmas, both teams will bring us an exciting match."
Adriano was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. At the same age, like many Brazilian kids, he loved football and admired "White Pele" Zico.
In order to follow in the footsteps of his idol, he went to the Flamengo Football School to study and was successfully noticed by the club chairman, Junior, and became a starter for the team at the age of 18.
It can be said that he, like Ronaldinho and Kaka, was once a brilliant young talent. However, after coming to Inter Milan, Wang Feng, Vieri, Ronaldo, and Recoba were all absolute mainstays, leaving no room for him to play.
Without wearing the blue and black jersey once, he was loaned out to Fiorentina, where Adriano found happiness for the first time after coming to Italy because he could perform on the field without restraint.
But happiness is short-lived. Even if he tried his best to help the team stay in Serie A, the club's bankruptcy and relegation were inevitable.
Moreover, Fiorentina's relegation affected the selection of the Brazilian national team, at least he thought so, because he did not receive a call-up to the national team next, thus missing out on the highest honor of a football player's career.
"Why can Ronaldinho, who couldn't play in the Champions League in Ligue 1, be valued, and even Kaka, who is still in Sao Paulo, be included in the squad, but not me?" Adriano would sometimes bitterly ask himself.
The regret of missing the World Cup had not yet dissipated, and when he returned to Inter Milan, he was hit again, this time with the news that Inter Milan wanted to sell him to Parma. Moratti's explanation was that the club couldn't guarantee his playing time, so they couldn't help him develop quickly.
But he understood in his heart that the chairman still didn't recognize his strength, so he chose to loan out the veteran Batistuta instead, rather than giving himself more opportunities.
Parma was slightly better than Fiorentina, but their financial situation was still very bad. However, they were lucky. They brought back Adriano from Inter Milan for 13 million euros, and brought back Mutu and Gilardino from Verona for 15.8 million euros and 12 million euros respectively.
The combined value of the three of them was almost the price of a top Serie A striker, but the power they displayed far exceeded that. Adriano also truly entered the mainstream media's field of vision in Italy for the first time.
On the other hand, looking at Inter Milan, no one expected that after the season started, Vieri and Recoba were injured one after another. Even the relatively unknown Martins could get playing time. Many media outlets believed that selling Adriano was a wrong decision.
What he needed to do now was to prove this to Moratti, just like he did just now, his powerful shot in front of the penalty area helping Parma equalize the score! After scoring, the Brazilian slid on his knees all the way to the corner flag, looking up to the sky and howling. He didn't want to repeat the same mistakes as in the Italian Super Cup. This time, he must win!
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