Chapter 218: "Crazy" February
In February, Wang Feng looked at the packed schedule in his hands, a wry smile forming at the corner of his mouth. Describing this arrangement as "insane" wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Coming up were not only five league matches, including against strong teams like AC Milan and Udinese, but also two rounds of the Italian Cup quarter-finals against Lazio, and a round of the Champions League round of 16 against Sparta Prague.
For Wang Feng, he also had to return to his country to participate in the World Cup qualifiers with the national team, facing Kuwait.
Due to the format of the World Cup qualifiers, only the group winners can advance to the knockout stage. While Hong Kong and Malaysia in the same group weren't particularly threatening, Kuwait posed a significant threat.
To be cautious, the new head coach, Alihan, sent out a call-up invitation to Wang Feng, hoping he could play in the two group matches against Kuwait and spare himself from unnecessary travel for other matches.
This would be Wang Feng's first time wearing the national team jersey. Domestic media had already extensively covered this, with many fans questioning whether it was appropriate to send the World Footballer of the Year to play against Kuwait, likening it to using a cannon to kill a mosquito.
Only Alihan knew in his heart that although China had made it to the World Cup two years ago, the team's performance was currently very unstable. He needed Wang Feng to sit on the bench and turn the tide in critical moments.
On February 2nd, in the 19th round of Serie A, Inter Milan hosted Siena at home. In preparation for the midweek Italian Cup, Mancini placed all the main players on the bench, allowing a rotated lineup to face the promoted team.
These players with limited playing time fought hard, engaging in back-and-forth play with Siena, and contributed one goal each in the first and second halves through Martins and Cruz.
2-0, Inter Milan secured victory without much trouble.
On February 5th, in the first leg of the Italian Cup quarter-finals, Inter Milan hosted Lazio at home.
To gain home advantage quickly, Inter Milan started with a fast pace. Lazio had no choice but to pick up the pace as well, falling into Inter Milan's control. They frequently threatened Lazio's defense.
After a midfield interception, Ribery received a long pass from Zanetti on the flank and then sent a straight pass to the back line of Lazio. Wang Feng broke free from Negró's entanglement, seized the ball first, and smoothly entered the penalty area.
Facing Fawalli's sliding tackle, Wang Feng dodged with a quick stop and then pushed the ball into the near corner of the goal.
1-0! This goal ignited the Meazza Stadium, cheers and shouts filling the entire stadium.
Inter Milan soon seized another defensive loophole of Lazio. Still attacking from the right, Zanetti's breakthrough was disrupted by Albertini, resulting in a sideline ball for them.
Dalmazzo quickly threw the ball into the penalty area. Wang Feng ran to the drop point and lifted his leg to hook the ball backward, avoiding the attempt to intercept by Lazio defender Cotto, then turned around to catch up with the ball.
He used his arm and body strength to block Fawalli, who was retreating to defend, and with his left foot, made a stab shot, piercing through Sereni's fingers again.
In the end, the Black and Blues secured a 2-0 victory at home against Lazio, putting one foot into the cup final!
On February 8th, in the 20th round of Serie A, Inter Milan challenged Sampdoria away.
As usual, Mancini rested some key players and let Wang Feng start, hoping he could finish the battle in the first half.
In the 17th minute, Wang Feng dribbled past three defending players in the front court and shot into the goal from inside the penalty area, opening the scoring for the away team.
In the 38th minute, he cut inside from the right, suddenly passed the ball back, and Carlon, unmarked, shot fiercely to expand the lead.
After completing his mission, Wang Feng was substituted off at halftime. However, in the second half, Inter Milan immediately fell into a disadvantageous situation. Perhaps due to the recent heavy schedule and frequent appearances of substitute lineups, fatigue set in, or maybe they became complacent due to the lead, resulting in many mistakes by the team on the field.
In the 67th minute, Sampdoria center-back Carrozieri seized the opportunity to pull one back for the home team. Then they frequently threatened Inter Milan's defense. Seeing the situation turning unfavorable, Mancini had to substitute in Civu and Markelayle to stabilize the defense.
Despite the stumbling, Inter Milan still managed to secure a 2-1 victory.
On February 12th, Inter Milan traveled to Rome to face Lazio again in the second leg of the Italian Cup quarter-finals.
Different from the first leg, Inter Milan slowed down the pace, while Lazio, who were in a desperate situation, wanted to speed up the game. However, Inter Milan's overall strength and relaxed mentality kept them in control of the situation.
This made Lazio players gradually become impatient, and their defensive actions gradually became larger. In the 35th minute, after a back pass in midfield, Dalmazzo received the ball at his feet, and the anxious Liverani directly brought him down.
Inter Milan won a free kick in midfield. Dalmazzo's long pass reached Wang Feng on the right flank. He then dribbled to the outer edge of the penalty area on the right, evaded Negredo's block, and sent a cross.
Vieri failed to reach the ball at the first point. The ball slipped to the left area. Zanetti stopped the ball near the sideline and reorganized the attack.
He glanced at the situation in the penalty area and then lifted his foot to pass towards the middle. Wang Feng, who had originally been on the right, had now moved to the middle to receive the ball. He leaped high to head the ball into the penalty area.
Wang Feng's movement attracted the attention of Lazio's defense. With no one marking, Vieri easily slotted the ball into the net.
1-0! Inter Milan scored another goal, a valuable away goal!
Now the total score between the two sides was 3-0, meaning Lazio had to score four goals in the remaining time to reverse the tie.
This was an impossible task for the Eagles. Despair was written on everyone's faces, and goalkeeper Sereni angrily roared at the defenders, questioning why they had let their guard down.
Defenders Stam and Cotto also felt helpless. They saw Wang Feng already fighting for the ball in the middle. Based on previous match experience, at this point, he would definitely choose to shoot or dribble past the defenders.
So one chose to approach the defense, and the other chose to block the shooting path, but they didn't expect Wang Feng to head the ball. Vieri on the side was almost ignored.
This situation couldn't be blamed on their mistake. Without the encirclement of these two, Wang Feng would definitely choose to shoot by himself, and the probability of scoring would be very high.
After the restart, Lazio's players seemed somewhat listless and failed to organize effective attacks again. Inter Milan didn't press further but instead wasted time to prevent injuries.
Coach Mancini gradually substituted off Wang Feng and other key players in the second half. Only in the last moments did Lazio manage to score a goal to salvage some pride through a substitute, Odo.
Inter Milan won 3-1 over Lazio over two legs, once again advancing to the Italian Cup final. Their opponents would be Juventus, who narrowly defeated AC Milan to reach the final.
After the match against Lazio, Wang Feng flew back to his country. He would miss the Serie A 21st round match on February 15th due to the World Cup qualifiers.
In this match, Inter Milan drew 1-1 with Udinese, with Adriano helping the team score the equalizing goal at a crucial moment.
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