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Chapter 295 Saint Siro, Saint Dejan (Please Subscribe)
Pele's matches didn't seem to have as many highlights as Maradona's.

This is due to the era.

Limited by broadcasting technology and ball-related issues.

Early balls were quite heavy. To play them skillfully, aside from technique, you needed considerable power in your feet. Back then, a ball that got even slightly wet would become a lump, and it's no exaggeration to say that they were several times heavier than later balls.

Furthermore, the deep seams of the leather ball also limited the players' technical performance.

Even so, some geniuses still stand out, and objective conditions are hardly able to limit these extraordinary talents.

Pelé and his compatriots were among the most outrageous players in the world.

Watching the videos of the Brazilian team from that time, some moments even felt like watching Fabregas's peak Arsenal. The Brazilians completely used their strength to overcome the problems caused by the ball and the pitch.

I drew the old football king, so today is the perfect time for a showdown of the century with Maradona.

Baresi stood at the door and handed the captain's armband to Lu Deyang.

This time, Lu Deyang did not refuse.

When he first faced off against Maradona on the pitch, he was still playing for Sampdoria and was wearing the captain's armband, so it can be said that their relationship had a beginning and an end.

Totti helped Lu Deyang put the armband on his left arm, and the entire Milan team strode out of the away locker room.

The opponent has a big reputation but is not very strong, which has attracted attention.

There's no easier competition to steal the spotlight than this.

Even if veteran players have a slightly more relaxed mindset, they still care a lot about their image.

You can't be expected to be criticized by the media for looking like an old man when you're about to retire.

boom--

"Diego!"

"Diego!"

"Diego!"

Before you even leave the passage, you can hear a deafening roar of shouts.

The San Paolo Stadium is one of the largest stadiums in Italy, and it also has a very high attendance rate.

With a capacity of over 6 people, this stadium is among the largest in Europe.

There were still many fans outside the stadium who didn't have tickets.

The internal and external forces echoed each other, as if the entire city was shouting.

As soon as I exited the passage, I saw a huge TIFO of Maradona.

There are also various slogans.

"Diego forever."

"Diego, God, us."

This shows how popular Maradona was in the city.

Lu Xun once said, "An era that needs heroes is a sad one."

But the greatest tragedy in football is the absence of heroes.

With Anthony and Sancho everywhere, and Rodrygo or Qian Duoduo getting wiped out as soon as they show their faces, there won't be any stories to attract new fans anymore.

Lu Deyang glanced at Totti.

With the Little Prince's departure from Rome, Rome lost a chapter of its legend.

However, with Totti's personality, he would have become a legendary player even at Milan.

The Eternal City also has De Rossi.

It's just that he missed out on a bitter experience of being the team's vice-captain for 20 years.

"There are quite a few people here today."

Maldini looked up and said.

His eyesight isn't that good.

However, his father and many old friends had already made plans to come and watch the game.

"Of course."

Baresi said with some longing, "This is Maradona's last challenge against Dejan."

"Don't think too much, Captain." Lu Deyang smiled and patted his shoulder, saying, "You're no worse than Maradona. Your retirement will be a loss to the football world as well."

Baresi smiled but didn't say anything.

Both teams' players have already warmed up.

Napoli fans were very restrained today.

Almost no one provoked the away team players.

Clearly, they also hoped that Maradona could have a wonderful memory of his last great journey.

Don't think of retirement as a time of chaos, endless fireworks, chairs flying everywhere, and interrupted matches.

Respecting your opponent is respecting yourself.

A very simple truth.

The first to lose face because of their actions are Napoli and Maradona, followed by Italy and the Italian Football Federation.

It has absolutely nothing to do with Milan.

Maradona had already started juggling the ball, displaying his skills like a male sparrow spreading its tail feathers.

You can also tell he's in good shape.

"Dejan, catch the ball."

Tottené pushed hard with the instep, not worried at all that Lu Deyang wouldn't be able to catch it.

Lu Deyang stepped forward with his left foot, and the ball hit the outside of his foot and bounced behind him.

Lu Deyang, who was standing still, did not turn around. Instead, he switched his supporting foot and performed a scorpion kick, knocking the ball from behind him to in front of him, and began to juggle the ball.

The impressive performance still drew gasps of amazement from the fans in the stadium.

"The fight between the two has already begun before the match has even started."

Krudelli said with a smile, "The biggest tragedy for Maradona is that he was born too early. He had to retire when Dejan was still on the rise. But that's also his greatest fortune. His career completely overlapped with Dejan's. He would never have achieved what he has today."

To lead Napoli to a championship is nothing short of a dream.

Lu Deyang is more consistent in the league than in the Champions League.

If a team makes the roster, there's no reason why they shouldn't win.

Barry wasn't strong enough back then, which is why Boskov didn't include Ludyan in the squad, but they were also lucky.

In the stands, Pelé and Beckenbauer sat together.

Beckenbauer said: "Now every year I tell the Bayern board that they should have listened to me and signed Dejan. They are more like a bank than a big club."

Pele found it interesting.

He wasn't really familiar with Bayern's management.

Brazilian media also dislike reporting on German football, as neither the players nor the style are the type that Brazilians prefer.

Brazilian media prefer to report on gossip and scandals.

What do you think the score will be in today's match?

Beckbauer asked again.

"2:1, I guess."

Pele thought for a moment and said, "Even if AC Milan doesn't hold back, the Napoli players will still fight hard. If anyone doesn't play well today, the fans won't let them off the hook."

"Sometimes, effort alone doesn't guarantee results."

Beckenbauer said with a smile: "Football is a sport where 22 people run for 90 minutes and the Germans win the game in the end."

Although this statement came earlier, Lineker still marveled at the power of football.

However, the first time it appeared was when Lu Deyang's team won a game.

If you replace Sampdoria with a stronger Milan, Napoli will be weaker than before.

Beckenbauer felt the score wouldn't be small.

Although he hadn't met Lu Deyang many times, he could clearly sense Lu Deyang's pride.

At a time like this, the young man would probably not only not hold back, but would also do his best.

Maradona will most likely face another disappointment in today's match.

Best and Charlton sat in the home fans' stand, while Pele and his group were invited by Napoli, who even took care of their hotel arrangements.

The Manchester United legend's ticket was naturally a gift from Lu Deyang.

So the seats aren't together.

There's a cocktail party in Naples later, so you can talk about anything you want.

Best watched Lu Deyang and Maradona showing off their skills during warm-up on the field and said with some envy, "I never had such a high-profile match back then. I wish I had a similar opponent."

"If you had retired any later, you would have met Dejan."

Charlton said irritably.

This little guy is really disappointing.

Best chuckled and took a sip from the flask.

Seeing this, Charlton sighed again.

He's said it so many times, he's too lazy to say it again.

There were many such combinations in the home and away stands.

The away stands definitely have a higher proportion of former players.

After all, away tickets are scarce, and Italy is home to Milan legends in terms of transportation.

Many Italian legends chose this time to join in the fun.

Moreover, it's no joke that Milan has nurtured half of Italian football.

When Lu Deyang played for Sampdoria, the opposing coaches were either former AC Milan players, had worked in AC Milan's youth academy, or had been members of AC Milan's coaching staff.

Milan was at the height of its influence at this time.

Of the less than 2000 away tickets, almost half were given away to legends and their friends and family.

If a squid were to leave a backpack in the away stands, Italian football would be missing half its power.

Therefore, Naples police focused on stadium security and safety measures today.

Given the Wembley incident, Italy is also worried that Algerians or some Mafia remnants might be planning something big.

"Go back and prepare for the competition."

The referee team reminded them.

Both teams' players headed towards the tunnel.

The atmosphere at the San Paolo Stadium became even more enthusiastic.

The whole world is waiting for this highly anticipated match to begin.

Maradona turned to look at Lu Deyang and said, "Let's make this clear first, don't think that just because I'm an old guy I can't play properly."

"Don't worry, I won't."

Lu Deyang said with a smile.

Maradona said what he was thinking.

It seems everyone is thinking about roughly the same thing.

Maradona smiled and nodded.

Although he will be very upset about losing the game.

But if Lu Deyang throws the game, even if he wins, he will feel ashamed.

When did Diego Armando Maradona need the mercy of his opponents to win? The players from both sides barely greeted each other.

Both sides must give it their all in today's match.

Even teammates on the national team didn't greet each other.

Once you're on the field, let's use reasoning to our advantage.

Nobody wants to lose face in front of the whole world.

Both teams kept their mouths shut and followed the referee team out of the tunnel with serious expressions.

Napoli fans were cheering, hoping to put enough pressure on AC Milan players.

However, compared to those stadiums in Türkiye and Scotland, their attacking power is still much weaker.

"The match is about to begin. We have seen a lot of World Cup champions here today. These people probably have thousands of championships in total. It is truly a grand event in the football world."

"Maradona has confirmed that he will retire at the end of the season, so this will be his last official match against Dejan. Napoli should hold a retirement match for him in the summer, but the format is unknown."

At this time, players also like to invite some big names to form "XX's Friends Team", so that the All-Star game is more likely to be favored by fans and broadcasters.

The club definitely doesn't like this kind of competition.

Even if the competition isn't intense, the club will still bear the consequences if someone gets injured.

"Alright, let's take a look at the starting lineups for both sides."

Napoli's 4-5-1 parallel midfield:

Goalkeeper: Giuseppe Tagliaratra
Defenders: Claesson, Borges, Colonnis, Baldini
Midfielders: Turini, Altomar, Maradona, Bodin, Beto
Forward: Agletti.

Milan's 4-4-2 formation with two defensive midfielders:
Goalkeeper: Buffon
Defenders: Maldini, Baresi, Verjoward, Costacurta

Midfielders: Ludjohnsen, Redondo, Albertini, Baggio
Forwards: Van Basten, Totti.

"In fact, Maradona is positioned further forward. He has reduced his dribbling now, and Napoli's formation is more inclined towards a 4-4-2 with a flat midfield."

"This formation is very risky. Napoli needs to show more control to gain the upper hand on the field."

"However, Luis Simeone should be aware of his team's problems, and I wonder what his specific arrangements will be today."

Lu Deyang has already moved to the center circle to guess the coin.

The sun was very strong during the 2 PM match, so there was no way to be polite at that time.

Maradona, remembering his previous coin toss with Lu Deyang, simply said, "How about I choose for you?"

Lu Deyang: ...

You're afraid of losing if you choose the wrong option for yourself, right?

"Okay, you're in charge today."

Lu Deyang nodded and said.

Collina looked at Maradona upon seeing this.

"I help them choose the heads."

Collina tossed the coin and caught it with his hand.

Maradona muttered from the sidelines, "Heads, AC Milan picks first." Collina took his right hand away, looked at the head, and laughed, repeating Maradona's words.

Maradona rolled his eyes and walked back.

Lu Deyang decided that he must write this incident into his autobiography.

When Lu Deyang returned to his half, his teammates cheered.

Nobody wants to attack under the blazing sun in the first half.

The two team captains returned to their positions, and Collina had already started looking down at his watch frequently.

At 2 p.m. sharp, the young referee blew the whistle to start the match.

Agletti kicked off and passed the ball back.

Maradona turned and delivered a cross kick.

Today he was determined to reduce unnecessary running and save his energy for crucial moments.

Francisco Turini received the ball on the left wing but showed no hurry to attack.

Only after Baggio pressed forward did he slowly pass the ball to his teammate.

Altomar deliberately moved forward of the defensive line after receiving the ball, in order to stretch Milan's formation.

He and Bodin lacked control, but fortunately, playing for Napoli meant they only needed to pass the ball to Maradona.

The young prince continued his tireless pressing, truly a workhorse in Milan's attacking third.

Lu Deyang, Van Basten, and Baggio combined weren't as enthusiastic as him.

Previously, the Italian newspaper "La Gazzetta dello Sport" jokingly remarked that Milan bought Totti to strengthen their pressing in the attacking third.

The concept of high pressing originated in the Netherlands, and the then-dominant Ajax is the best example of it.

The football world is paying more and more attention to this.

However, pressing with only one person has limited effect.

Seeing this, Lu Deyang waved to signal Baggio to move forward.

When the two of them rush towards the defensive line together, Napoli's passing space will be very limited.

Bodin received the ball and passed it back, and Colonnis immediately passed it across to Baldini.

Seeing this, Lu Deyang accelerated and rushed forward.

Baldini clearly didn't expect Lu Deyang to charge so aggressively. He stood still and waited for the ball to give Lu Deyang the opportunity to press. By the time he got the ball, Lu Deyang had already rushed in front of him.

The full-back quickly turned around, trying to get a free kick from the backfield by hitting the ball with his heel.

However, Lu Deyang's foot did not kick his back. Just as Baldini was somewhat puzzled, Lu Deyang suddenly stretched his foot between his legs.

This terrified Baldini.

He quickly spiked the ball towards the sideline, afraid of being intercepted directly.

Lu Deyang was not in a hurry, but quickly retracted his feet and stood nearby to continue to put pressure on the other party.

In this situation, someone must come to meet you.

Bodin and Colonnis came from two directions, but Baldini dared not turn around.

Maradona also returned to the backfield.

Upon seeing him, Totti immediately clung to him.

A chorus of boos erupted from the São Paulo stadium.

This is not the kind of opening Napoli fans wanted to see.

"You idiot, asking for a throw-in!"

Some of the more agitated people shouted from the other side.

Baldini had no choice but to grit his teeth and try.

He put in almost all his strength, turned around and kicked the ball out quickly, determined to hit Lu Deyang and get it out of bounds for a throw-in.

Lu Deyang was prepared.

But they deliberately didn't create any distance between them.

As the other person turned around, Lu Deyang jumped up with all his might.

The ball hit Lu Deyang's right calf, but was stopped by his left foot.

"pretty!!!"

Krudelli gasped in surprise.

Lu Deyang also felt he was lucky.

In this situation, no one can say for sure that they can keep the ball.

But it's worth a try; at worst, we can just give it to the ball in bounds.

Maradona reacted faster than anyone else; as soon as he saw Lu Deyang with the ball, he took a step and rushed towards him.

"Watch out for Dejan!"

Totti offered a reminder.

Lu Deyang was unaware of the situation behind him.

Other players might have instinctively turned around.

Lu Deyang knew very well how dangerous it would be to turn around, as it could easily lead to him running straight into his opponent's arms.

So he controlled his body and didn't turn around. Instead, he pushed off with his left foot and continued diagonally downwards.

Oh shit!

Maradona cursed inwardly.

He felt lucky when he heard Totti shout it out.

When a teammate shouts, people tend to turn around and look, which gives them a good chance to catch up.

Unexpectedly, Lu Deyang acted unpredictably.

Maradona quickly ran into the penalty area; he didn't have time to follow Lu Deyang.

Anyway, Lu Deyang always cuts inside when he dribbles the ball.

Just as Lu Deyang broke through from the baseline into the penalty area, Maradona rushed back into the penalty area and slid in with a tackle, the ball being pulled out of bounds by his thigh.

beep—

Collina immediately signaled for a corner kick.

"Mr. Referee..."

Before Colonnis could retort, Collina, who was holding the whistle, smiled, wagged his index finger, and then pointed to his own eyes.

He was indicating that he could see it very clearly.

Colonnis could only purse his lips and prepare to join the defense.

Surprisingly, the referee showed absolutely no respect for the home team in this match.

"Both teams started the game at full speed right from the start, or rather, Totti immediately brought the match to a fever pitch, making it a very intense contest. When Maradona dropped back into the penalty area to defend, I felt like I was seeing the Argentinian from five years ago."

"Who will take the corner kick next? Baggio, Dejan is more interested in poaching."

Napoli's players are also quite interesting defensively.

Redondo and Totti became the main targets of the defense.

Van Basten and Lu Deyang were surprisingly undefended.

Lu Deyang, however, did not relax at all.

He noticed that Borg had been hovering around him.

In the past, he would pretend not to be aiming for the point, then suddenly rush towards it.

Napoli then turned the tables on them, deliberately letting their defenders relax their defense so they'd be ready to rush forward when the ball kicks off.

Damn it, Simeone, a coach, doesn't study tactics properly, but instead gets into military strategy.

Since that's the case, Lu Deyang simply moved forward a bit, pretending to directly attack the ball, but signaling to Baggio not to pass it to him.

Psychological warfare is everywhere on the football field.

Sure enough, Boggs couldn't keep his balance and quickly caught up with Lu Deyang, holding Lu Deyang's hand with one hand, afraid that Lu Deyang would jump too fast.

beep—

As the whistle blew, Baggio quickly chipped a cross into the box.

The ball looked like it was heading straight for the near post, but Lu Deyang keenly noticed that the ball was climbing.

He deliberately jumped, and Bogues jumped after him.

But neither of them managed to touch the ball.

Even if you time it perfectly, you can't touch it. The height of the ball is a bit off; it's not meant for the near post.

Seeing this, the player in the middle wanted to move to the back post.

At this point, it was quite obvious that the ball was heading towards the far post.

Unfortunately, there were too many people to move around quickly.

Totti and Colonnis jumped together near the right post.

The Little Prince made a subtle hand gesture, causing Colonnis to lose his balance in the air.

Totti's header wasn't executed well, and the ball hit the post and bounced into the penalty area.

Albertini followed up with a shot, but unfortunately, the powerful shot hit Totti's foot and bounced out of bounds.

"You blocked my shot."

"I'm sorry, Demi."

Totti chuckled as he spoke.

As Van Basten walked back, he asked, "Did you just hit him?"

"you saw it?"

Totti covered his mouth and whispered, "I learned it from that Argentine guy from Atletico Madrid. I watched the video several times when I got back, and I didn't expect this trick to actually work."

Van Basten gave a thumbs up, both amused and exasperated.

Who could have imagined Totti would make such a change?

Tagliaratra did not immediately ask the caddie for the ball.

He was besieged by Milan in the opening stages, so he needs to play it safe.

He didn't kick the ball immediately after receiving it.

Collina warned him before he threw the ball to Claesson.

Classon noticed that Milan's players might have been influenced by them, and weren't very nervous, just thinking about launching a quick counter-attack.

Having spotted Maradona's position, the full-back immediately turned and launched a long pass.

Without anyone interfering, his pass was still very accurate, and it was only then that the Milan players noticed the ball flying towards the midfield.

However, Maradona soon encountered the same thing.

"Watch out, Diego!"

Maradona instinctively turned his head and caught a glimpse of a figure rushing towards him from his left rear.

Lu Deyang!
At this point, Maradona became a little anxious.

He spread his arms and took a step back, trying to firmly block the landing point.

However, the height difference between the two is still quite exaggerated.

Lu Deyang jumped ahead of time, and using the momentum of his running, he soared into the air.

All 60,000 fans in the stadium saw that Lu Deyang's waist was already above Maradona's shoulder.

Damn, he seems to be able to fly.

Baggio and Totti both nimbly charged forward, ready to receive Lu Deyang's header.

The Napoli players quickly ran back.

click -

However, Lu Deyang used the left side of his head to glide forward and touch the side of the ball, allowing Redondo to easily receive the ball while standing still.

As Lu Deyang landed.

Redondo immediately flicked the ball with his toe, and it rolled rapidly across the grass.

Maradona instinctively tried to intercept the ball, but his outstretched leg failed to stop it.

Lu Deyang rushed past him, took the ball, and headed straight for Napoli's half.

Chase back!

Maradona is trying to run back.

But Lu Deyang was too fast.

Almost instantly he was out of the center circle and heading straight for Napoli's penalty area.

Altomar quickly went to meet Lu Deyang.

As Lu Deyang slowed down, he passed the ball to the left with his right foot. Altomah thought he was going to dunk the ball and was trying to figure out how to break through.

Lu Deyang flicked his left ankle and passed the ball to his left side.

Snapped--

Totti, who had come back specifically to receive the ball, received it with his back to goal and, without even turning around, delivered a cross to the basket.

When Lu Deyang got the ball again, Bogues and Colonnis were already blocking his way.

The two men, one in front and one behind, tried to close the door and defend.

click -

Lu Deyang pushed with his left foot and forced his way between the two people.

Colonnis, who had returned to the penalty area with him, quickly turned around to face Lu Deyang again.

Lu Deyang swung his arm and lifted his left foot.

Colonnis, who had just regained his footing, quickly stretched out his right foot and took a big step to block the shot.

Unexpectedly, Lu Deyang lifted his left foot and gently lowered it.

A fake shot!
Push with the inside of your left foot, and then extend your right foot forward.

This time there were no defenders blocking his way.

Tagliaratra, standing on the goal line, lowered his center of gravity, waiting for Lu Deyang to make his move.

boom--

Once inside the penalty area, Lu Deyang twisted his body and unleashed a powerful left-footed strike.

The Napoli goalkeeper chose to go down, but the ball flew quickly towards the upper right of the goal. He misjudged the situation and the ball went directly into the net.

(End of this chapter)