Chapter 187: The last piece of the puzzle
Inter Milan's players had intended to celebrate all night long, but time did not allow it. They had to rush back to Milan overnight to prepare for the second leg of the Italian Cup final, which would be the last piece of the puzzle for the quintuple crown!
The club's top brass planned to hold a grand parade after the match, regardless of whether they ultimately lifted the Italian Cup. The glory Inter Milan had achieved was enough reason for extravagant celebration.
When the group arrived at Malpensa Airport in Milan, it was already nine o'clock in the morning on the second day. After seven hours of flight time, they had gone from revelry to slumber. They were utterly exhausted.
Thousands of Inter Milan fans came to the airport to welcome their heroes' triumphant return. When Wang Feng and Zanetti stepped off the plane carrying the Champions League trophy, the fans' cheers accompanied flashes from cameras.
Soon they boarded the team bus and headed straight to Pinetina. There was no time for vacation this time. After discussions among the coaching staff, it was decided to start training camp immediately, capitalizing on the momentum of the major competition to clinch the final match.
Outside the bus, thousands of fans cheered and followed, while inside, there were sleeping faces, creating a contrasting yet harmonious scene.
On the first day of June, the cup final was held at the Meazza Stadium, with a full house of eighty thousand spectators. All Inter Milan fans wanted to witness history. Many fans who couldn't get tickets gathered outside the stadium, prompting local police to strengthen security forces.
In the first leg, Inter Milan had defeated their opponents 2-0, so everyone was optimistic about lifting the trophy.
Not only Inter Milan fans but also neutral fans were eager to witness the birth of greatness. The only ones not pleased were probably AC Milan players and fans.
"Guys, Inter Milan has just won their third Champions League trophy in their history. This season, they also won the league championship, the UEFA Super Cup, and the Italian Super Cup."
Ancelotti continued, "What about us? Stopped at the Champions League quarter-finals, second place in the league, are we going to give up the cup too?"
"Show some spirit, boys, let our city rivals see what we're made of. Greatness isn't easy to achieve!"
After the match began, AC Milan indeed became exceptionally fierce. They relied on ample physical strength to compete head-to-head with Inter Milan, who had just come from a grueling battle. How could the worn-out Inter Milan possibly match the opponent?
This situation had been anticipated by Cooper before the match. He had specifically arranged tactical responses, which, in blunt terms, were parking the bus and time-wasting. As long as AC Milan couldn't score two goals, victory belonged to Inter.
Winning the match was what mattered most!
So Inter Milan promptly abandoned the midfield, with all players concentrating at their own thirty-meter position. Wang Feng transformed into a defender, reveling in the joy of defending.
AC Milan despaired as they found Inter Milan's defensive players everywhere in front of their penalty area, especially Wang Feng. How could a forward defend so well? It seemed like he should just switch to playing defense. Wasn't Inter Milan's defense line a serious problem?
Of course, they didn't know that Wang Feng had earned his first chance to play by defending. His keen senses made him exceptionally sensitive to the ball and players' muscle movements. Ordinary feints couldn't fool him.
Sometimes he even felt that if he didn't play as a forward, he could also perform well as a goalkeeper. His precise judgments left the opposing forwards hopeless.
This time, as Inzaghi dribbled, he tried to make a feint, but his shoulder movement gave him away. At the moment of his breakthrough, Wang Feng accurately extended his foot to disrupt the ball out of bounds.
Inzaghi looked at Wang Feng, panting heavily, with a face of despair. This was his third attempt. The first time he thought it was a coincidence, but the third time couldn't be.
The first half ended in a draw, but Wang Feng was not at ease because he knew that as time passed, Inter Milan's players' stamina would inevitably decrease.
Once their physical strength declined, they might lose in confrontations or leave gaps in defense, which would be a fatal blow.
Sure enough, shortly after the start of the second half, there was a sudden uproar at the Meazza Stadium. AC Milan midfielder Ambrosini passed the ball to the right flank area, where Ruikosta accelerated past Cordoba near the baseline to receive the ball.
Cordoba's physical strength was almost exhausted, and he failed to stop the ball's penetration at the first opportunity. After Ruikosta received the ball, he quickly reacted before being double-teamed by Zanetti, using a feint to trick Cordoba again.
Then he seized the opportunity to loft the ball into the penalty area, where Shevchenko outjumped Zambrotta to head the ball into Inter Milan's net.
AC Milan opened the scoring!
Faced with this attack, neither Cordoba nor Zambrotta made any mistakes, but they could no longer resist the opponent's onslaught.
On the sidelines, coach Ancelotti finally let down his arms, as he saw hope. So he waved his arms, directing the team to attack with all their might, not giving Inter Milan any breathing space.
From the fiftieth minute to the seventieth minute, Inter Milan experienced their darkest moment. The opponent's tireless running depleted their last bit of energy, and several players even suffered cramps.
Instances of players cramping rarely occurred in Serie A matches, especially not before the end of the game. This alone showed how poor Inter Milan's condition was.
But AC Milan failed to score again, thanks to Wang Feng's heroic performance and goalkeeper Toldo's extraordinary saves. During this period, wherever the ball appeared, Wang Feng ran to defend, and even though the match wasn't over, he felt a hint of fatigue.
His running distance must have exceeded the norm again! But the effect was evident. Wang Feng disrupted AC Milan's five threatening attacks, leaving Shevchenko and Inzaghi frustrated.
They also had five shots, all within the frame, but were all saved by Toldo.
In the 81st minute, Wang Feng intercepted Serginho's pass in the backcourt. As he was dribbling back, Shevchenko pressed forward.
When Sheva reached him, Wang Feng suddenly stopped the ball with his foot, then turned and passed it to the nearby Di Biagio, while using his body to block Sheva's path.
Di Biagio had space! He accelerated with the ball through the midfield, launching a rapid counterattack for Inter Milan. After reaching the frontcourt, with AC Milan's Gattuso quickly catching up, he passed the ball to the right flank where Wang Feng was making a run.
Wang Feng's speed was still impressive. From blocking Shevchenko to appearing in the attacking line, it took him less than ten seconds. After receiving the ball, he stormed into the penalty area, leaving Nesta and Maldini half a step behind.
AC Milan's goalkeeper Dida quickly rushed out, wanting to sandwich Wang Feng with the two defenders, determined to intercept the ball!
But Wang Feng didn't wait for the goalkeeper to reach him. In the high-speed dribble process, he suddenly exerted force and kicked a low shot, the ball flying straight towards the far corner of the goal. Dida was taken aback, quickly diving to reach the ball.
The ball flew past Dida's fingertips, and he failed to touch it!
The most uptodate nove𝙡s are published on fr(e)𝒆webnov(e)l.com