Chapter 271: Shady
After a year, Inter Milan's return to the Champions League final has exhilarated everyone, especially Chairman Moratti. He immediately promised the players that if they could lift the trophy, the prize money would exceed everyone's expectations.
Their opponents in the final are Barcelona, dubbed the Dream Team. As Ronaldinho had hoped, they had already clinched the league title this season and were striving for European glory.
What the public didn't know was that Wang Feng was about to arrive at the Bernabeu. If he could defeat Barcelona, Real Madrid's arch-rivals, in the final, fans' acceptance of him would likely soar. Therefore, he seemed eager to prove himself, able to help his former club fulfill their dream while also opening up new prospects.
Before the final showdown, they had three more league matches and two Italian Cup finals. First up was a trip to Empoli on April 30th. The main lineup, just after a tough match, all rested, not even traveling to Tuscany.
Thanks to the efforts of substitute and youth players, Inter Milan managed a 2-2 draw away from home.
On the evening of May 4th, the first leg of the Italian Cup final was held at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Inter Milan had arrived a few days earlier for their final closed-door training session.
That morning, as usual, everyone was having breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Ribery was fiddling with his Sony smartphone when suddenly he exclaimed, catching everyone's attention.
"What are you doing, Frank?" Zanetti said impatiently. "Stop playing that damn little box. I don't understand how you guys can keep staring at such a small screen with your eyes."
Ribery didn't respond to Zanetti but exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my God, there's big news! Milan Sports Daily revealed Juventus manipulating referees!"
With this revelation, all the Inter Milan players were shocked. They gathered around to see for themselves, and the young players with smartphones also took theirs out to check.
"Don't crowd, who will go buy some copies of Milan Sports Daily? It's really inconvenient to read on this small brick," someone shouted. A clever substitute player quickly bought a stack of newspapers from a nearby newsstand and distributed them to everyone.
Wang Feng carefully read the report, which mainly detailed the communication between Juventus general manager Moggi and Serie A referee appointees, including the selection of specific referees and match-fixing. It was very specific.
It even mentioned the circumstances leading to Wang Feng's inexplicable red card in the 04-05 season. Before the match against Juventus, Moggi hoped the referee would send Wang Feng off, but the appointed referee, Pieri, refused. "Damn it, this is impossible. Can't you make him lie down and leave the field?"
Moggi said, "There's nothing I can do. He's like iron, no matter how we foul him, he won't get injured. We can't just beat him up on the field, can we? Please think of a solution; we can offer a lot!"
"Who can help you with this kind of thing? Let me think... De Santis, but I can't guarantee success. It depends on luck. The fewer people who know about this, the better, understand?"
In addition to this, there were conspiracies involving matches against Lazio and Fiorentina. This happened last season and this season too!
Milan Sports Daily concluded, "Since Inter Milan inexplicably lost the league title last year, our reporters have been investigating possible scandals behind the scenes. Unexpectedly, the final result shocked everyone."
"This is a disgrace to Italian football. Upholding the ethics of the media and our love for professional football, we have decided to expose the truth, and everyone involved must face legal consequences!"
After reading the entire report, the Inter Milan players were furious. "Damn it, I knew there was something fishy last year. The league didn't want us to win back-to-back titles, and Juventus was up to some shady business behind the scenes."
"No wonder Juventus hasn't lost a single game this year, staying undefeated even after 36 rounds of the league."
While the players were discussing heatedly, coach Mancini walked in. He had obviously just seen the news and clapped his hands loudly, saying, "Everyone, since these ugly deeds have been exposed, I believe they will be thoroughly investigated. Let's not be distracted anymore. Don't forget, there's still a trophy waiting for us to win."
"Inter Milan won't let go of any trophy in front of us, right? Let's train as usual and prepare for tonight's match!"
The players' discussions were temporarily suppressed, but Milan Sports Daily's report caused an earthquake throughout Italy, with newspapers sold out everywhere. European media also urgently reprinted the report, overshadowing news of title races in other leagues.
France's authoritative media, L'Equipe, wrote that this was "one of the biggest scandals in European football," and "the Italian Football Federation should launch an investigation as soon as possible to give everyone the truth."
Sky Sports UK believed that a top club being involved in such a scandal was a devastating blow, "The days of the 'Little World Cup' are gone forever!"
Germany's Bild wrote that Serie A no longer deserved to be ranked ahead of the Bundesliga, and UEFA should punish it, "Clubs openly manipulating referees like this scandal shouldn't happen in football!"
Spain's Marca focused on matters related to Wang Feng, "The man who can only be defeated by referees!" "Manipulating referees to forcibly expel Wang Feng further confirms the Chinese superstar's status as the world's number one player, something that has never happened in football history."
As the outside world was in turmoil, a bigger storm was quietly brewing, but the match between Inter Milan and Roma went ahead as scheduled.
Although coach Mancini repeatedly reminded everyone to focus on the present match, they inevitably were greatly affected, visibly distracted on the field.
Roma took advantage and Totti scored in the 27th minute, instantly snapping the Blue and Black Army's defense back to attention. They made timely adjustments and finally stabilized the situation.
Wang Feng remained the most active player up front. Although he was initially shocked by the report, he cared more about the glory at hand than past events.
Just before halftime, a counterattack was launched by the away team's defense. Wang Feng sprinted with the ball past the midfield, shaking off Cufre with his speed, entered the penalty area, and scored with a narrow-angle shot past the goalkeeper.
Equalizing the score before halftime greatly boosted the morale of the Blue and Black Army. At the start of the second half, they launched an aggressive attack. When Wang Feng received the ball in the center, he passed it to Ribery on the right.
Ribery dribbled diagonally, while Wang Feng ran towards the right penalty area. The two switched positions, and as Ribery reached the edge of the penalty area, he sent a through pass. Wang Feng successfully avoided offside and received the ball.
Facing the rushing goalkeeper Pelizzoli, he chipped the ball over his head with his right foot. The ball crossed Pelizzoli's head and headed towards the goal. Roma defender Panucci tried to clear it in front of the goal, but unfortunately, his slide tackle missed the ball.
2-1! Inter Milan reversed the score! This score held until the end of the match.
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