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Chapter 553: The Bodyguard

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Ancelotti told his players about his “front-runner theory” so that they did not have to worry about the two-goal gap. As long as we keep putting pressure on them, those two goals will become a burden on our opponent instead. Everyone thought the manager made a lot of sense. Being in the lead was not necessarily a good thing, especially for a rookie team like Nottingham Forest with no experience of winning a major tournament. If they could not secure their two-goal lead, it could incumber them at the last minute.

After the second half began, AC Milan saw that Nottingham Forest did not intend to play offense with them, so they besieged the Forest team’s penalty area and bombarded them.

The Forest players were well acquainted with this sort of situation. They knew how to deal with the enemy’s attacks.

In addition to pulling back the defensive line and not giving Inzaghi any opportunities, they relied on their players in the two lines in the mid and front lines who tirelessly ran to contain AC Milan’s midfield organized offense.

Twain’s defensive counterattack was a proactive type of defensive countermeasure, which was completely different from the defensive counterattack in most people’s minds. Even Ancelotti did not expect the Forest team’s defensive counterattack tactics to be so varied before the game.

Did they just completely use high-pressing tactics? But their rear defensive line held fast to their positions and remained motionless. Did they withdraw their defense? And yet, they counter-pressed so hard in the middle and front that the AC Milan players were in a panicked scramble.

Ancelotti really suspected if Twain had Italian blood in him.

※※※

Twain had instructed his men that the opening fifteen minutes at the start of the second half were the most dangerous. It was easy to be caught by the opponents during that period because they had not entered the competition state yet which their opponents could grab hold of the change to counterattack. He asked his players to focus at the start of the game until the end of the game.

As he had expected, AC Milan launched a fierce offensive against the Forest team goal, which was more intense than in the first half.

The two-goal difference was not a useless display just for show.

Pirlo ran ceaselessly and Albertini followed him close at his heels. Once the right opportunity was spotted, he would tackle without hesitation! From his movements, one could not tell that he was a veteran who was almost thirty-six years old and would retire after playing this game.

There were too few opportunities to get rid of the other party, so Pirlo decided not to organize the offense for the time being. He gave the football more to Seedorf and Kaka, while he took Albertini around in circles himself.

His relationship with Albertini… was somewhat complicated. He was a mentor and a friend, and now he was also a competitor at the same time. Because they held the same position on the field and had similar technical skills, Albertini’s advantage lay in his experience, and Pirlo’s advantage was his youth. Eventually when Pirlo had developed under the careful tutelage of Albertini and was able to fully replace Demetrio, Galliani had told Demetrio that there was no place for him on the team.

It could be said that Pirlo indirectly led to Albertini’s departure.

This was the normal cycle of any team. It just happened to occur in the AC Milan team, which was proud of the value placed in relationships and loyalty. It stunned a lot of people.

Pirlo did not have time to think of his own complicated connection with Albertini. He was the brains of the team and his special feature was that he was calmer than anyone else. These matters were not enough to bother him. Since the start of this game, the only time he was distracted was when Albertini scored a free kick. But that feeling was fleeting. As a player who was once from Inter Milan and now in AC Milan, Pirlo was well aware of the harsh reality of professional football. Today’s professional football no longer believed in loyalty.

Pirlo’s task for the short period of time was to drag Albertini along with him as he ran so as to exhaust him. He acted more like a transit point for the football and was not really responsible for organizing the offense. The football came to his feet and was quickly passed. Albertini obviously knew what Pirlo was doing, but he did not dare not to follow him. If he did not follow, who knew when Pirlo would take advantage of the opportunity to change in an instance and become the commander on the pitch again?

Even though he knew that the other party was draining his energy, Albertini had to grit his teeth and follow.

※※※

Kaka received more passes. Everyone believed in his and Pirlo’s abilities. Pirlo decided to avoid being the spearhead for the time being and the team’s offensive responsibility fell on Kaka’s shoulders.

To be honest, Kaka had a hard time playing in the game. He was the kind of player who needed space to break through and accelerate. He was not a player like Pirlo who could organize the passing. He was not even a playmaker like Zidane. He was more modern than Zidane. He was a typical representative of modern football’s development to this day — with his excellent stamina, fast speed, good dribbling skills, strong ability to score in his plug-ins and also his ability to help with the defense.

Such an attacking midfielder was rarely seen more than a decade ago.

The football was passed to Kaka’s feet. He had to find a way to help the team score, whether it was to assist his teammates or to score on his own.

This time, he chose to do it himself.

Kaka tried his best to guard the football while he let Wood constantly crash into him from behind as he poked the football forward, He made to look like he was about to break through which attracted Piqué to move his body and expose a small gap.

Wood saw Kaka swing his leg and he knew he was going to shoot, so he hurriedly shoveled at his feet, hoping to shovel the football out a step earlier.

He was still too late, as Kaka swung his leg faster than he thought.

“Boom!”

The football drilled through the gap Piqué had made!

Wood only shoveled the scattered grass fragments.

If I can’t break through, I can still make a long shot! A long shot is a good way to break a dense defense.

The football whizzed toward the goal. The riveted Edwin van der Sar leapt and pounced. He slammed the football out with a single palm, which startled the stands and made everyone gasp.

“So close! Kaka’s shot was thrown out by Edwin van der Sar. This was AC Milan’s most threatening attack in the second half!”

Kaka held his head in both hands with frustration.

Wood got up from the ground and stared at his opponent’s back. Kaka seemed like a different person in the second half, with a marked increase in pressure on Wood. As a defensive midfielder, Wood had a lot of interaction with many attacking midfielders, including many of the world-class attacking midfielders such as Ronaldinho and Riquelme. However, this opponent was not the same as all the other attacking midfielders that had come before. Kaka had the physical makings of a defensive midfielder. The typical collisions were basically unable to pose a threat to him, unless it was a foul...

However, Twain would not let him give his opponent too many direct free kicks in front of the box. If it could not be a foul, then it would have to be this: letting him shoot the ball.

Having watched the videos of Kaka’s games, Wood had some knowledge of the Brazilian. He knew Kaka was fast and had an outstanding scoring ability using long shots.

He had to tighten his nerves at all times.

A corner kick was precious to AC Milan, who had not been able to break through the situation. But at the same time, they had to guard against the Forest team’s sneak counterattacks.

Maldini and Nesta both went up to compete for the header. The four players, Oddo, Jankulovski, Gattuso, and Ambrosini stayed behind to defend.

Ancelotti had specifically instructed this at halftime interval.

The corner kick was launched but did not pose any threat to Edwin van der Sar’s goal. Neither Maldini and Nesta managed to top the ball. Before they could get to it, Pepe had already used his powerful aerial control ability to send the football out with a header.

As Ancelotti had expected, Nottingham Forest took advantage to launch a quick counterattack.

Fortunately, he had arranged four defenders to stand guard in the backfield, otherwise he might have conceded another goal.

Van der Vaart’s dribble was halted by Gattuso. He wanted to pass it on to Ribéry, but AC Milan saw through the trick. Ambrosini followed Ribéry like a shadow and Ashley Young was marked by Jankulovski on the other side. As he hesitated, van der Vaart lost the ball under his feet.

AC Milan immediately turned from defense to offense.

Gattuso passed the football to Pirlo who decided to make good use of the opportunity by passing it only to Kaka.

He clearly identified the empty section in the middle of the Forest team, and George Wood’s defense zone. He did not believe that Kaka could not deal with the young kid.

Kaka did not believe it either. He initially received the ball with his back toward the attacking direction. Wood firmly blocked his position at the back and did not let Kaka turn. However, he did not expect Kaka to use the arch of his foot to skirt the football past their sides when he received the ball. At the same time, Kaka quickly turned his body around, as if a motorcycle had done a turn, and used his hand to complete the turn in the place within the square.

Wood did not expect Kaka to be able to do this with such a close marking. Amidst his astonishment, Kaka had already finished his turn to go after the ball.

Wood dare not neglect so he also quickly turned around and relied on his speed to catch up with Kaka. Then while the opponent had not fully controlled the football, he rushed to tackle and shoveled the football out of Kaka’s control range. He and Kaka collided together, and the two men awkwardly fell to the ground.

The AC Milan fans exploded in loud hisses. They thought it was a foul, but the referee indicated nothing. Another attack by AC Milan was over.

Wood’s jersey was drenched with perspiration over his chest. The red color there was darker than the red color in the other areas. Kaka’s jersey was no better. Such a high-speed sprint and forced interruption were a great test of his stamina.

They lay on the ground and panted for a while before being pulled up by their respective teammates.

Albertini patted Wood on the shoulder and praised him for his performance.

Pirlo also pulled Kaka up and asked if his pass was fitting or if he should have made it wider to help him get rid of Wood.

Kaka waved his hand to indicate that pass was fine.

Then he took a look at Wood. That confrontation was not good for anyone.

He had heard that the man had a Brazilian lineage. Who was more powerful, him or Gattuso?

※※※

“Kaka is a lot more active now than he was in the first half,” Kerslake said in the technical area.

Dunn nodded in agreement next to him.

“It’s quite normal. For AC Milan to be able to get here, it should have been Kaka’s credit alone. He has ability. The first half was a fluke for him. He didn’t expect our defense to be so tight. Once he adapts, it will be our turn to be nervous,” Twain said. He was not surprised by this. He was well aware of Kaka’s strength. He would be shocked if Kaka did not perform at all in the entire game.

Wood would feel a lot of pressure when he had to defend against Kaka, but this kind of pressure was good for him. In order to continue to grow, pressure was essential.

※※※

“Continue to give the ball to me,” Kaka said yo Pirlo after his breathing evened out. “I think I have a way to deal with that number 13. I kicked the ball a little too far away. He won’t have that chance the next time.”

Pirlo nodde., “I’d pass it to you even if you didn’t ask me to. I was entangled with Demetrio and you were the only one who could break through their defenses.”

The pair quickly separated as Pirlo returned to the back while Kaka stood in the front field.

Soon, the football was sent by Pirlo to Kaka’s feet again.

This time Kaka did not receive the ball with his back turned. He received Pirlo’s straight pass while he ran forward. When he saw the football roll over, Kaka suddenly accelerated. He and Pirlo were on the same page. Pirlo knew what kind of pass he wanted — the speed of the pass had to be as fast as possible and as strong as possible to make it easier for him to kick as he sped up in his sprint.

Once Kaka sped up, there were not many players in the world who could stop him without a foul.

Wood realized that next to him, Kaka suddenly sped up and knew that he was going to catch the ball, so he accelerated as well. He wanted to force Kaka into a dead corner. Piqué was up ahead. With Piqué and himself converging on an attack from the front and back, they did not have to worry that the football could not be intercepted.

Kaka seemed to be forced into a corner. Piqué was near, and Wood was close at his back.

He got the football, but Piqué was close within reach.

Just as everyone thought Piqué and Wood had blocked Kaka, the Brazilian’s left ankle gave a light shake, and the football bored through Piqué’s legs!

At the same time, Kaka stopped and changed directions. He skirted round the still stunned Piqué’s side and beautifully knocked the ball past him!

Wood did not expect Kaka to break through his and Piqué’s encirclement so easily. Although he was surprised, he did not slow down.

Piqué was like a wooden block. Kaka broke through his right side, while Wood dashed past his left side.

Kaka was only five meters away from the penalty area. His speed obviously increased. If he did not foul, he was going to break into the box. Although the boss said he could not give AC Milan a free kick in the danger zone. But was it better to give a free kick, or was it better to let the other person just burst into the box to shoot or divert the ball? Which was more dangerous?

Wood did not hesitate anymore. He twisted his body from the side to shovel toward the football. Although it was a tackle, his leg was raised high, almost to the height of Kaka’s knee. Sure enough, Kaka quickly poked the football away, but knocked right into him.

This time, it was unmistakably a foul. The referee blew his whistle and was almost ignored by the players amid the AC Milan fans’ loud boos.

After Kaka was thrown, he knelt on the ground and helplessly shrugged his shoulders. When the kid slid on the ground for the tackle, he did not plan to tackle the ball. Looking at the height of his raised leg, it was obvious that he went for his legs.

The referee gave Wood a yellow card, but Wood did not mind.

Twain rose from his seat in the technical area. He walked to the sideline, frowning slightly. Wood might not mind the yellow card, but he had to care. As a core defensive player and a trump card to mark the opponent, who could guarantee that he would not get another yellow card when there were thirty minutes left in the game?

“George!” He waved his hand vigorously to make Wood run over, and he wanted to directly give him instructions.

Wood saw Twain waved at him, so he left the referee to run over.

“You did a good job, but the next time you’re going to foul, do it when he’s just about to take a step,” Twain said as he shook his head.

Wood had a different opinion, “I saw Piqué in front and did not want to foul. I didn’t think...”

“Yes, yes, I know.” Twain nodded vigorously. “Now you have a yellow card on you, so you have to be careful. Be smart about the location and timing when you choose to foul. And also, once you’ve made a foul, make a friendly gesture right away so that you can gain some brownie points with the referee… Don’t make a face like the entire world owes you five million. You mustn’t be penalized anymore! Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand,” Wood answered simply, but Twain still did not feel reassured. After all, the situation on the football field changed rapidly. Who could tell what would happen in the next minute?

After Wood returned to the field, Twain did not immediately turn back to the technical area. He stood on the sidelines to watching the free kick from AC Milan.

Pirlo’s free kick bypassed the Forest team’s human wall and flew toward the goal. This time, van der Sar saved the team again. He leapt out and took down the football with both his hands, without even giving the corner kick to AC Milan.

Although the attack was unsuccessful, the AC Milan people saw hope in it because Kaka was buzzing.

As long as Kaka was energetic, AC Milan’s offense was in play.

With such situations happening countless times during this season in the early summer, when the AC Milan striker could not score, Kaka would step forward to act as the top scorer; when AC Milan was not in form and were going to lose, Kaka stepped forward bravely to save a desperate situation.

For AC Milan to have reached the final after they stumbled through the season, it was all thanks to Kaka alone.

Everyone had long relied on the young Brazilian man — as long as Kaka is there, we won’t lose!

※※※

Five minutes later, ten minutes of Twain’s “fifteen-minute of threat theory” had passed, and the score was still 2:0 with Nottingham Forest in the lead.

The Forest fans in the stands sang tirelessly and extolled the Forest team, praising the goalscorer, Ribéry, the team captain, Albertini and the ferocious defender, George Wood. They even sang the praises of Tony Twain.

Twain walked back to the technical area when he felt a little more at ease.

Seventy minutes had passed which left AC Milan with only twenty minutes. They had to score two goals in twenty minutes before they could drag the game into extra time. To settle the fight in ninety minutes, they had to score three goals… Twain did not believe that the rear defensive line that he had painstakingly built would be beaten so easily that three goals could be conceded to his opponent in twenty minutes.

His team had never conceded three consecutive goals in such a short period of time.

When AC Milan saw that their offense was not effective, they began to withdraw to conserve their stamina. The game had reached a tipping point where both sides were close to physical exhaustion.

The Nottingham Forest players remembered what Twain said at halftime: score a few more goals, don’t throw away any chance to score, make the opponents utterly hopeless.

When they saw AC Milan retreat, the Forest team began to press out to try to attack.

In such a frontline battle, van der Vaart displayed his ability to manage and direct. He repeatedly sent out passes that threatened the AC Milan rear defensive line. Twain knew that in the AC Milan’s center back partnership, one player was older and the other had been in a shaky condition of constant injury during the season. The defense that had originally been AC Milan’s proudest was now their biggest hole.

Therefore, Twain instructed the team to make more straight passes during the attack, especially in the flank area between the center-back and full-back, which was the best place for a straight pass.

Van der Vaart once again sent a straight pass there. This time, Maldini saw through it early and intercepted the ball.

After he intercepted the ball, Maldini did not pass the football to Pirlo. He directly kicked the football straight to the front and his target was AC Milan’s number 22, the Brazilian, Kaka!

When the Forest team pressed up for the attack, the players who stayed at the back were George Wood, in addition to the four defenders.

Albertini was there. Most of the time, Wood was not involved in the offensive. Another reason was that Kaka had been hovering near the center line since the beginning which Wood was very concerned about. The entire AC Milan team had basically retreated except Inzaghi and Kaka, who stayed in the front.

His instincts were quickly verified, and it was not useless for Kaka to stay in front. He received a precise long pass from Maldini!

Wood began to move toward Kaka. He intended to intercept the ball before Kaka sped up, or to completely end AC Milan’s attack with a foul.

Kaka jabbed the football out and cut across in front of Wood. Having just sped up, Wood had no choice but to slow down. Now that they were both in the center circle, he still had a chance to intercept the ball.

Twain had said that if he wanted to foul, he’d better do it early. However, Wood did not want to foul. He thought that Kaka was a powerful player, but if he could only rely on foul play to stop him, then it meant that he was not as good as Kaka. He wanted a decent win over Kaka for once using his own defensive skills and without the use of foul play.

Kaka started to dribble the football and he could feel that George Wood had been following at his side, like a leopard running with its prey and waiting for the opportunity to strike.

Kaka did not mind the other party running with him because he was not going to give his opponent any chance.

Now the Forest team only had one rear defensive line with four defenders and George Wood. There was a large expanse of empty space for him to sprint. When his speed increased, Kaka had confidence that the rear defensive line would not be able to hold back his breakthrough.

Wood watched Kaka dribble the ball during the high-speed run, and he looked forward to the other side to go a little wider so that he could tackle the football with his precise shovel, or he could forcibly overtake to separate the football from Kaka.

But... Kaka’s dribbling pace was steady. During the high-speed run, the football was always neither close to nor far from his legs, so that Wood could not find the right time to make his move. Every time he wanted to intercept the ball, his speed would slow down, and then Kaka would take the opportunity to pull away from him. Then he would have to pick up his speed to catch up, and then seek another chance to prepare for the next interception, and slow down and pull away again...

During such repetition, the two men got closer to the Forest team’s penalty area.

“Wood is chasing Kaka, but he doesn’t have a chance to intercept the ball. Both men’s speeds are very fast. Kaka is skillful in his dribble! Wood has to run along...and now they’re in the thirty-meter zone!”

This time, Piqué stayed in the back and it became Pepe to come up and defend against Kaka. Pepe’s speed was considered fast among the center backs, and he was the right person to block Kaka.

Kaka always looked up when he dribbled the ball, so he saw Pepe’s intentions early on. He did not give Pepe a chance for a face-off. When they were about to face each other, he suddenly poked the football across. Following which, he sped up and bypassed Pepe.

Pepe’s speed was not slow either, but he was still not as strong as he wished in the face of Kaka’s full-speed running… By the time he turned around, Kaka was already up ahead by two bodies’ length and had burst into the penalty area!

“Kaka! Kaka!” The Italian commentator roared excitedly. The AC Milan fans in the stands were just like him. They were silent for most of the game, and finally found a break in the catharsis. The cheers of the AC Milan fans resounded through the skies and completely crushed the boos from the Forest team fans.

Twain got up from his seat when Kaka sped up. “Put him down! Put him down!” He hoped Wood would be smart enough to choose insignificant tweaks to stop Kaka from breaking through.

However, he did not manage to see that. Instead, he saw Kaka break through Pepe and enter the penalty area. He could not help but utter a curse word.

“Damn it! Doesn’t he know how fast Kaka can be when he dribbles the ball? Did he watch all those videos for nothing? This idiot! What an idiot!”

Once in the box, Wood could not resort to foul play even if he wanted to.

Piqué came up to help with the defense, which was the Forest team’s last line of defense Edwin van der Sar.

Wood had been following Kaka at the side but was unable to find the right opportunity. The only chance now was the moment Kaka kicked the shot. Even if he could not foul, he had to stop Kaka from shooting, even if it was just a distraction.

Kaka did not give Piqué a chance to come up and slow him down. He suddenly swung his leg to shoot.

Wood suddenly used his foot to shovel the football in front of Kaka’s body. It was down to who would be faster!

He would shovel the ball, or the would football hit him in the leg.

Kaka’s shot out football hit Wood’s leg and bounced upward which made Edwin van der Sar’s action to save look comical.

The football bounced up, crossed van der Sar’s head, and then fell into the net amid the AC Milan fans’ deafening cheers...

“2:1! We have recovered a goal! The magnificent Kaka! The invincible Kaka! It’s still up to Kaka! The long-distance raids in the final and a classic goal! He alone beat the entire Nottingham Forest team! Kaka! Kaka!” The Italian commentator yelled until he was hoarse, and almost cried. “Don’t give him any chance, Englishmen, now that you’ve seen it! We still have a chance to flip the tables. Don’t give up, AC Milan!”