If you are a brother, come and play football

Chapter 299 Milan Love Story (Please Subscribe)

After celebrating, Maradona showed no intention of returning to the field, but instead made a substitution gesture towards the stands.

"The score is currently 4-2. Maradona still couldn't win the match against Dejan. I heard that he hired a nutritionist specifically for this match and even didn't eat red meat for six months. I wonder if he feels that his efforts have not been rewarded?"

"I can't believe it," Krudelli remarked.

Napoli has not started Maradona in the last two matches, in preparation for this game.

Maradona and Napoli made all the preparations, but they still couldn't win.

Some fans may feel that the Napoli players dragged Maradona down.

However, Crudelli believed that Maradona's outstanding performance was precisely because these players were not particularly strong.

If Napoli had the same level of ability back then, the Milan players would have been even more serious.

Maradona wouldn't have had as much room to perform.

It's a bit of a stretch to expect Milan to play with 100% effort, given that they are a mid-table team.

This match held special significance for Maradona, but it was just an ordinary game for the Milan players.

That's how cruel football can be.

Maradona, who was about to leave the field, paused, then returned to the field and walked towards Lu Deyang, saying, "I've lost again."

"Is this the only thing you're talking about?"

Lu Deyang asked with a smile.

Maradona rolled his eyes and said, "I'm a player, and even if I'm substituted, I should still walk off the field."

This guy.

Lu Deyang patted his arm and said, "It's not over yet. You can go be the coach first, and we can continue to compete on the coaching bench later."

Maradona, who had been somewhat dejected, immediately widened his eyes.

They have clearly found their target.

Lu Deyang also thought this was a good idea.

Perhaps someone with goals would be more self-disciplined.

If he focused more on his work and indulged less, his life would certainly be extended.

As for the teams that got screwed over?
Maradona will definitely return to Argentina to coach; the Argentinians don't really care. They'd rather Maradona live longer.

Lu Deyang didn't say anything more.

The same goes for Maradona.

However, as he walked towards the sidelines with his belly protruding, he held his head high.

"Diego!"

"Diego!"

"Diego!"

Applause erupted at the São Paulo stadium.

Maradona failed to win.

But winning or losing doesn't matter to Napoli fans. Even if they beat AC Milan, they still wouldn't have a chance to win the title, and losing won't affect Maradona's influence in the city.

They simply hoped that the King of Naples could fulfill his wish.

Looking back now, it seems that life is always full of regrets.

Even the life of a football legend is like this.

Maradona paused and looked back before high-fiving his teammates, then immediately turned back to high-five them and sat down on the bench.

For him, the game was over.

"Sacchi also called for substitutes, it seems he's preparing to make substitutions. Actually, Sacchi doesn't need to use his full starting lineup, but he did today anyway. Perhaps our coach isn't as heartless as people say."

Ancelotti, watching on television, grinned when he heard this.

Krudelli should have told Capello this properly.

That guy learned from Sacchi and ruined his career.

Otherwise, he really wouldn't have wanted to retire so early.

Ancelotti suspected that Capello's brain capacity was insufficient, and that he could only learn a portion of Sacchi's traits.

It's worth noting that during Sacchi's time, Carlo Ancelotti played a very important role.

It even released some of his offensive power, allowing him to make a late run.

……

After Maradona left the field.

The Napoli players' mental state also changed as a result.

This must be the most tiring game they've played this season, even though it's not over yet.

If they keep kicking like this, they won't be able to keep going.

Van Basten stood in the center circle waiting for the referee to signal the start of the match, and said with some emotion, "It seems like I would have a hard time finding so many people to hold a retirement match for me in advance."

"what differences are there?"

Lu Deyang countered, "The great Maradona and the great Van Basten are both great players. You have surpassed many people and are someone that many Dutch players, and even players all over the world, should look up to."

Van Basten smiled and shook his head, saying, "The Netherlands? I don't think there are that many players who recognize my talent."

Dutch players are somewhat rebellious; they all think they are the best in the world.

Lu Deyang smiled and nodded.

The Dutch national team is extraordinary.

The Dutch are great at football, and they're good at everything else too.

Although the Netherlands is relatively open-minded, Dutch players generally have higher levels of loyalty to their partners than those from other European countries.

If we exclude the Dutch team, love stories in football are mostly shattered, with the occasional lifelong commitment being an anomaly. Ironically, it's the Dutch team's rebellious players who tend to be quite faithful to their partners.

Aside from matters of love.

The tiny Dutch national team has produced three musketeers, three stickmen, and even two damn big D defenders, all of them by the ton.

In China, executing prisoners would consume a significant amount of ammunition, but in the Netherlands, over two tons of ammunition would only last six and a half years.

The laws of the world are magical in some ways.

Van Basten passed the ball back to Lu Deyang.

Lu Deyang turned around and passed the message back to Redondo, then began to move forward himself.

Redondo immediately took action.

He flicked the ball with his right foot and delivered a long, rolling shot.

He was still watching Lu Deyang pass the ball to Baggio, who was making a forward run.

However, this time the opponent saw through his plan. Altomar rushed up and blocked the ball's path, but still managed to knock the ball back into Milan's half.

Albertini dashed sideways toward the ball and snatched it away first.

Altomar, who was a step too slow, immediately tried to win the ball back, but Albertini had no intention of continuing to dribble. He simply passed the ball down the court and then played a through ball.

Lu Deyang ran to the middle, and Totti on the left wing, despite being sandwiched by Burgos and Baldini, still managed to break through and receive the through ball first.

Totti, with the ball in hand, dribbled all the way to the edge of the penalty area. As soon as his right foot stepped into the box, he flicked the ball with his left, easily lobbing it over the goalkeeper's head and changing the score once again.

Totti, who scored the goal, was equally excited. Without slowing down, he turned around and jumped over the advertising boards to interact wildly with the Rossoneri fans in the away stands.

"Goal!"

"Francisco Totti!"

"This young number 10 is still performing brilliantly! Dejan said that Totti will be the future leader of the Italian national team, and I agree. I wonder if the national team coach Cesare Maldini in the stands thinks so."

"At present, Totti is the best number 10 under 30 in Italy. Playing alongside excellent players like Dejan and Baggio, Totti will make great progress. I am already looking forward to seeing how far he will grow in the future."

"Sacchi still chose to substitute Dejan. Since it's Reizig, Milan will temporarily play with a five-man defense, haha..."

"Krudelli said with a smile."

Saki's intention to call a retreat was all too obvious.

The important thing is that he doesn't have many substitutions, so give Napoli some face and ask the Napoli players to be gentle with their tackles.

With two months left in the league, Napoli will have nothing left to play for.

They won't be relegated; honestly, the prize money based on their ranking isn't worth much.

If you really push them too far, a Napoli player might risk a suspension to kick you.

Lu Deyang and Reizig high-fived and then sat down on the sidelines.

However, Milan managed to change the score in the final moments, with Albertini scoring the goal.

The midfielder made a forward run and scored a follow-up shot near the six-yard box on the right wing.

After Collina blew the final whistle, Maradona walked directly to Milan's bench and handed his jersey to Lu Deyang.

Lu Deyang also took off his jersey and handed it over.

"Do we really want to have a match on the coaching field?"

Maradona asked.

"Of course."

Lu Deyang said with a smile.

"Okay, don't say I'm bullying you. Maybe I'll have already led the team to win the Copa Libertadores before you even retire," Maradona said.

At this point, the Champions League's dominance over other European competitions was not so obvious.

For South American players, the Copa Libertadores is currently no less prestigious than the Champions League.

Even after retiring, Maradona still wanted to return to his home country to coach.

"Then you'd better be careful, winning the South American championship isn't so easy."

Lu Deyang reminded him.

There were quite a few outstanding coaches in South America during this period.

Just like its players, Argentina boasts a wealth of talent; the Argentine football scene alone can be described as a constellation of stars.

Bilardo, a pragmatist who led Maradona to the 90 World Cup; Passarella, the iron-fisted captain; Bianchi, the king of Vélez Sarsfield, and so on.

In addition, there are Zagallo, Scolari, and Carlos Pereira from Brazil.

The two powerhouses alone have a number of famous coaches.

There are also many outstanding coaches from other South American countries who are currently active in the football world.

Like Tavares, the chief planner of youth training for Uruguay's generation of Suarez, and Hector Núñez, Marseille's most successful coach, and Maturana, a Colombian tactical expert...

This period marked the final glory days of South American football.

If we disregard their fame during their playing careers and only consider their abilities, Maradona would have a hard time competing with them.

Judging from tactical philosophy alone, you can be fairly certain whether these famous coaches prefer flashy passing and possession or pragmatism. When Maradona was coaching, it seemed very ambiguous, without a clear tactical focus.

“I am Diego Maradona.”

Old Ma pursed his lips and walked towards the south stand to thank the crowd.

Lu Deyang and the Milan players simply waved to the away fans in the stands and that was the end of it.

She didn't steal his thunder.

The two coaches were very polite after the match, which greatly disappointed the reporters.

……

On the bus back, the players were already discussing where to eat when they got back to Milan.

It's rare for Baresi to treat people to a meal.

"They all want you to spend more money, Captain."

Maldini joked.

“You should know, Paul, I’m not stingy, I just don’t like spending time with my colleagues on vacation,” Baresi said.

For him, most people come to Milan to make big money.

They're just here to work.

They're just colleagues who work for someone else.

“Your thinking is too extreme, Captain.”

Maldini said with a smile: "I've watched TV series and heard some stories. The atmosphere in the team is at least more relaxed and simple than in companies outside. If we were all colleagues, we wouldn't have such a harmonious atmosphere."

Baresi did not refute.

After all, Maldini has a point.

Towards the end of his career, his appreciation for foreign players actually increased significantly.

Besides Lu Deyang, Totti and others also deserve credit.

The attitude of those young players made Baresi realize that not everyone agreed with his approach. The first-team players, however, all said they wanted a big meal.

But the meal only cost Baresi a little over $500, which is just over $20 per person.

Compared to the simple celebrations of the Milan players.

Napoli invited a group of club legends to a cocktail party held at their hotel after the match.

Many renowned figures have been interviewed by television or newspaper reporters.

Pelé told reporters, "I'm only 50% satisfied with this match because it wasn't a fair contest, and AC Milan didn't give it their all. I'm not criticizing AC Milan; the league rankings of both teams did affect the excitement of the game. Sometimes, like the fans, I wonder if it would be exciting to have some players in their prime facing off. I think it would be, but that's hard to achieve, isn't it?"

Pelé voiced the sentiments of some fans.

Some fans thought it would be a match like the World Cup game between Germany and Argentina.

Unfortunately, Napoli wasn't strong enough.

Maradona prepared for half a year, but still lost another game.

The Sun, however, focused on the drinking situation of a celebrity: George Best and Socrates were having a great time, with a pile of bottles of liquor around them.

The Sun joked that they should be sent to Arsenal.

After all, the professor could reform Tony Adams, whose autobiography is titled "Addicted," and perhaps he could help them kick their alcohol addiction.

After breakfast, Lu Deyang decided to rest at home for a while.

Look at movie magazines or something.

Participating in group activities all the time can be tiring.

Unfortunately, Totti called around 11 a.m., inviting him to go roller skating together.

Around 12:00, Lu Deyang arrived near the university town and saw Totti and Buffon standing at the entrance.

Both of them were dressed very casually, in jeans and T-shirts.

This was the general state of players at that time; players like Bellerin were exceptions.

Even Redondo, in informal settings, wears jeans and a T-shirt or shirt, but he puts a little effort into the details of color and style.

"Deyang!"

Upon seeing Lu Deyang park his car, Totti immediately came over to greet him.

"Why do you want to go rollerblading?"

Lu Deyang asked after getting out of the car.

“It’s not Gigi yet. Yesterday when we came home, we saw some kids rollerblading downstairs in the apartment building, and he said he wanted to come and play.”

Totti scoffed.

"I just think it would be nice to relax a bit."

Buffon defended himself.

"Let's go, ice skating would be nice too."

Lu Deyang greeted him with a smile.

At that time, the club's requirements were not so strict.

Later, due to excessively high player salaries, clubs generally required players to refrain from engaging in other sports during the season, let alone extreme sports.

Sports themselves are prone to injury, let alone in unfamiliar fields.

There weren't many people.

"After going upstairs, Lu Deyang said."

"Italians are all lazy."

Buffon complained.

They're considered hardworking if they can get up to eat lunch on the weekend.

"Fewer people means it's easier for us to have fun."

Lu Deyang said nonchalantly.

Too many people increase the risk of injury.

A few people rented skates and started playing on the roller skating rink.

Some fans greeted them but they weren't disturbed.

After playing for a while, Totti, who was resting on the side, suddenly said, "I want to change my name. Francisco is too common. I've met at least five people with the same name as me today."

Buffon was trying not to laugh.

Gianni Luigi didn't have this problem.

Luigi would be more common.

At this time, he was somewhat grateful to his parents, who had put a little effort into naming him.

“If you suddenly change your name, fans will probably think you’re a completely different player,” Lu Deyang advised. “Besides, you might also have the same name as someone else.”

In terms of Italian naming habits, most names will be repeated.

Aside from given names, they are mostly names left over from the Roman or Greek periods; it would be strange if they weren't repeated.

“You can call yourself Vladimir Totti; no one will ever share that name with you again,” Buffon encouraged.

Lu Deyang: ...

I've recently been reading about Soviet history.

"I wasn't talking to you, Albanian."

Totti said irritably.

"Do you know what their names are?" Buffon suddenly asked.

Totti got stuck immediately.

He really doesn't know.

Lu Deyang found it very interesting.

That country is clearly located between Italy and Greece, but these two people have made it seem like some mysterious Atlantis.

Even if you're not familiar with the names of the green countries, you can easily name a few commonly used ones.

Geographically speaking, it wouldn't be wrong to say either of the two Slavic names, as there are too many people of mixed European descent.

Buffon pressed on, "If you don't know, don't talk nonsense. It makes you seem ignorant. Do you know what Albanians are called?"

Totti racked his brains for a long time but couldn't come up with a solution.

Buffon finally gained the upper hand on the Albanian issue.

He didn't want to let the little prince off the hook at all, and spent the whole day asking him this question.

Totti was so frustrated that he barely ate any dinner and asked to go home.

Lu Deyang suspected that the Little Prince was about to hire a tutor for him again.

The next day, after returning to training, the topic of the match against Napoli was no longer popular within the team.

The players warming up on the training field were discussing the UN Human Rights Commission meeting and the upcoming film "Lolita".

Before people discovered that the United Nations was essentially a tool of American dictatorship, ordinary people still held the organization in some awe.

"I heard that child labor is no longer allowed. What will happen to people from the south?"

"Who knows? Children should be in school anyway."

Albertini said.

“Demi is right, it’s inhumane to make minors work early,” Costacurta said.

There has been a lot of discussion about child labor in Italy in the newspapers these past few days.

The Italian Ministry of Education has also published data on educational disparities between the north and south.

“Some people think that children should start earning money to support their families as soon as possible, as if they have children just to make money,” Maldini remarked.

"If they had the money, I think most parents would still want their children to have a better life."

Lu Deyang, who was stretching his legs, turned his head and said.

Redondo nodded and said, "I think so too. Italy should try to increase the income of residents in places like Sardinia. If the parents of the children have money, they will naturally send them back to school."

"Never mind, let's talk about something else."

Maldini was in a real bind.

This is something that players can't solve.

At this moment, Tardelli came to the sidelines and said, "Tomorrow afternoon's training will end early. We're going to participate in community activities at an orphanage, a nursing home, and a hospital. There's no choice; it's all by drawing lots."

"My God!"

Wiljoward immediately wailed.

Lu Deyang knew why he was like this.

These places are actually better, such as nursing homes.

If you, as an ordinary person, visit a sick fan in the hospital, you won't feel good about it.

The situation is similar in orphanages; those children are very pitiful.

The elderly who are not sick are in a better position.

That's why everyone prefers nursing homes; at worst, they can just chat with the elderly football fans.

Milanello resembled a Thai military recruitment drive, with each player going to the draw as if they were being led to their execution.

"Home for the elderly, home for the elderly..."

As Lu Deyang was about to step forward, he heard Baresi muttering to himself.

For these three places.

Lu Deyang felt fine as long as he wasn't in a hospital.

He pulled out a slip of paper and handed it to Tardelli, saying, "Don't tell me it's a hospital."

"Orphanage."

Tardelli said with a smile.

"Okay, thank you, Marco."

Lu Deyang said as he walked back.

“You’re from an orphanage too, Dejan? That’s great!” Totti said excitedly. “It seems our friendship is blessed by God, that we’re able to do things together at this time.”

"Idiot, are you going to perform the hardships of an illiterate person's life for those children?"

Buffon scoffed.

He drew the name of a nursing home.

When visiting an orphanage, it's common to prepare small performances for the children.

The gift club will prepare, but the program is not simple for the players.

“That’s quite educational, telling kids they should study hard,” Panucci said with a mischievous grin.

Lu Deyang had been to the school with Mancini and the others before.

They also prepared a program.

Those guys put on a show where the Three Sages of the East answered some questions from the children, which was a very clever trick, since they didn't have to perform anything.

"Don't stand here and laugh at this!"

Baresi walked back and complained.

"Hospital?"

Maldini asked.

"Orphanage."

Baresi said, "How about we perform a fairy tale?"

“Kids these days love love stories,” Wiljoward said. “When my son was little, the plays performed at school were all love stories. Maybe you could start with that.”

"Really? You're not kidding me, are you?"

Baresi asked curiously.

He had never heard the child say that.

“Of course it’s true. You can ask the teaching assistant if you don’t believe me.” Wiljoward said, “The teaching assistant’s child isn’t very old either.”

Tardelli, who was organizing the draw, said, "I can tell you for sure it's true, Franco. Actually, I'm a little surprised myself, but the kids these days are quite precocious."

"Then shall we perform Romeo and Juliet?"

Baresi asked uncertainly.

“You and Francisco, Captain?” Maldini said directly, “I think it’s more like Romeo and Attila…”

(End of this chapter)