Chapter 233: Not 2 but 6
After winning the cup final, what lies ahead of Inter Milan is only the Champions League Cup!
The entire Europe and even the whole world are in awe of Inter Milan's dominance this season. They have already won the league championship, the UEFA Super Cup, the Italian Super Cup, the Toyota Cup, and the Italian Cup, totaling five trophies! After securing the league title in advance, Inter Milan coach Mancini excitedly stated in an interview, "Our goal before the season started was not just one or two trophies, but six!"
It must be noted that last season's quintuple winners were already a unique existence in European clubs. Now they are striving for a sextuple, and they are about to succeed! Will it be the reigning champions Inter Milan, who are at the peak of their game, creating new history, or the dark horse Porto staging a comeback to claim their second Champions League trophy in the club's history?
Porto's first Champions League title dates back to 1987, before the restructuring of the Champions League. After overcoming numerous obstacles, they have once again reached the final, much to the delight of the club's top management.
According to Portugal's "Newspaper", Porto has prepared a historically rich championship prize. If they can lift the Saint Bridget Cup, each player will receive a reward exceeding seven figures in euros.
Inter Milan is not willing to fall behind either. In fact, with the five trophies they have already won, they have accumulated a total of 30 million euros in rewards, with Wang Feng receiving the most, close to several million euros in total.
If they can lift the final Champions League trophy, Moratti has promised to distribute another 15 million euros in bonuses, of which Wang Feng will receive the lion's share.
Wang Feng's income this season is far more than that. With the new five-year contract he signed with Inter Milan continuing until 2008, the contract details various bonuses for winning matches, scoring goals, being the best player of the match, the best player of the season, the European Golden Ball award, the FIFA World Player award, and so on.
Due to Wang Feng's extraordinary performance, according to his and Balmond's initial calculations, the regular bonuses he received this season have already exceeded his net annual salary of 6 million euros, which is simply incredible! "You're like a gold-devouring monster, haha," Balmonde said. "Moratti once complained to me on the phone that after every game, the money in his pocket would flow away like water, feeling like playing a pay-to-win game."
"But he's still generous. Instead of haggling over the agreement, he lets you play to your heart's content. However many goals you score, however many games you win, he'll pay you accordingly."
"But you don't have to be grateful to him for that. This old fox has no idea how much money he's made off you. Just the sales of jerseys and other merchandise could fill his pockets to the brim."
The Champions League final will be held on May 27th at the Gelsenkirchen-Oer-Erkenschwick Stadium, the home of Schalke 04, in Germany.
Before that, on May 16th, Inter Milan will play their final league match against Empoli and lift the league championship trophy after the game. The result of the match is inconsequential; Inter Milan drew 1-1 with Empoli with a substitute lineup.
At the end of all matches, Inter Milan's final record is 27 wins, 5 draws, 2 losses, with 86 points, setting a new record for single-season points in Serie A. If they had not eased off in the final three rounds after securing the title in advance, their performance would have been even better.
The record of 86 points in 34 matches will be impossible to break in the future, as Serie A will adopt a 20-team, 38-match format starting from next season, and the promotion and relegation system will change from "promote four, relegate four" to "promote three, relegate three."
The four teams that have secured Champions League spots this season are Inter Milan, Roma, AC Milan, and Juventus. In the final round, the Bianconeri held off the pressure to defeat Siena, securing fourth place with a one-point advantage over Parma.
As the last edition before expansion, four teams will be relegated to Serie B, and six teams will be promoted to Serie A. The unfortunate teams relegated are Perugia, Modena, Empoli, and Ancona.
The six teams promoted to Serie A are Cagliari, Palermo, Livorno, Messina, Atalanta, and Fiorentina. Thanks to the expansion, the Viola barely secured Serie A qualification, unaware that this would indirectly facilitate their subsequent disgraceful behavior.
Inter Milan is considered the strongest club in today's football world, while Porto is a super dark horse. The clash between the two naturally attracts a lot of attention and discussion, drawing the eyes of the whole world.
To focus on preparing for the match to the maximum extent, Inter Milan kept the timing of their trip to Germany strictly confidential. They quietly arrived at Gelsenkirchen and went to the designated hotel for closed-door training. When the journalists received the news and rushed to the airport, they had already checked in and started adaptation training.
During the training period, full closed-door management was implemented, so Wang Feng could not reunite with his family and friends. He could only, like last year, let his sister lead everyone to enjoy the sights of Germany.
Unlike Inter Milan's low-key approach, Mourinho appeared at the airport with Porto in a grand manner, receiving a warm welcome from fans and the media. He believes that this is also a way to motivate the players.
They arrived a little later, so the venue adaptation training was arranged after Inter Milan's.
At the pre-match press conference, the "Special One" spoke again, full of enthusiasm for the upcoming final, and stated that Porto is no longer the same team from the beginning of the league.
"We have defeated many strong teams, and the players' skills and mentality have been fully honed and grown. They are eager to avenge the defeat in the Super Cup."
Although Wang Feng's terrifying attacking prowess left a deep impression on him, Mourinho still trusts his defensive training. As long as they can score a goal, he is confident of maintaining the lead until the final whistle.
On the Inter Milan side, only head coach Mancini attended the press conference. Although the club's top management hoped that Wang Feng would also attend, Mancini refused the suggestion. "Wang has maintained a good mentality before the match, but we still can't add extra burden to him, such as being harassed by cunning reporters."
When asked about Mourinho's confidence, he said, "Yes, Porto's performance this season has been outstanding. It's not surprising that they are confident in reaching the final. We are the same. We have also reached the final and are full of confidence."
When asked about defending the title, Mancini said, "The Champions League has been restructured for more than a decade, but no team has been able to achieve this feat, which shows its difficulty. Now the competition in the Champions League is more fierce than ever."
"Although we really want to create this legend, now I will advise my players to focus on every minute of the game, rather than the final result. As long as they don't let their efforts down, their efforts will not let them down."
Of course, there are also many malicious reporters who speculate on Wang Feng, believing that Inter Milan has relied solely on him to reach this point. "Wang Feng is a great player, and I absolutely do not deny his contribution to Inter Milan. But I do not agree with the view that we rely entirely on him."
"Ribery and Adriano upfront have grown rapidly, and they have become strong players. They are also young and are the future of Inter Milan."
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