Chapter 82 Defeat Juventus and win the first championship of the season! Lin Feng's goal completely broke the balance on the field. Juventus, who were trailing behind in the score, became in a very passive situation. Not wanting to lose the championship at home, Juventus had to mobilize all its forces and launch a more fierce attack on Inter Milan. In the 58th minute, Nedved's long shot from 20 meters in the frontcourt missed the right post. Two minutes later, Ibrahimovic received a pass from his teammate in the penalty area and attempted a bicycle kick, but it went wide. In the 62nd minute, Juventus had the best chance to score since the start of the game. Camoranesi made a cross from the right, Vieira suddenly made a forward run and headed the ball into the goal without being marked. Vieira's forward run was so sudden that Inter Milan's defenders had no time to react. Inter Milan goalkeeper Toldo scored at the critical moment. He made a key save at the critical moment, lifted the ball over the crossbar and helped the team escape. Seeing that the defensive loopholes in the team's central midfielder position were getting bigger and bigger, Inter Milan's head coach Mancini could no longer sit still. Juventus's attacks were almost all based on gaining an advantage in the middle, passing the ball to the full-backs, who then passed the ball in, or players in the middle passed the ball directly into the penalty area to create threats.
If Inter Milan does not strengthen its midfield, especially the defensive midfielder position, it will only be a matter of time before they lose the ball. We have to change people! Mancini did not hesitate and replaced Veron, who had a card, with Pizarro in the 65th minute. This Pizarro is not that Pizarro. His full name is David Pizarro. He is from Chile. He played for Udinese last season and was the main midfielder of Udinese. This is a player who is good at both offense and defense, has comprehensive skills, and is particularly good at short passes. Mancini chose to substitute him, in addition to strengthening the defense, he also hoped to use his passing ability to produce a legal reaction with Lin Feng in the attacking midfielder position to further improve the team's offensive ability. After Pizarro came on, Inter Milan began to gradually stabilize their position in the midfield. Although his personal strength is not as good as Nedved and Vieira, Pizarro relied on his tenacious fighting spirit and abundant physical strength to restrict Nedved, the Golden Ball winner. Nedved was restricted and the Frenchman became Juventus' midfield engine. But how could Inter Milan just ignore him and let him perform? Cambiasso and Stankovic took turns to play and gave Vieira a warm reception. In addition, Lin Feng often retreated to participate in defense, Inter Milan's midfield began to stabilize the situation, and the team slowly withstood this round of counterattack by Juventus. Seeing that the situation has stabilized, Mancini can finally breathe a sigh of relief. He was quite satisfied with Pizarro's performance, but what made him most satisfied was Lin Feng! "This kid is not only very capable, but his attitude towards the game is also impeccable!" The assistant coaches on the side nodded in approval. They had seen with their own eyes more than once that after the team's training was finished, Lin Feng would stay behind to practice alone. He has such talent and ability at such a young age, yet he is so self-disciplined and hardworking. If a player like this doesn't succeed, who will? If Adriano had half the self-discipline of Lin Feng, he would have won the Serie A Golden Boot long ago. It wouldn't be like it is now, where people brag every year that he will surpass Ronaldo, but every year the expectations are dashed.
Mancini and Inter Milan's coaching staff had just criticized Adriano in their hearts, but the latter seemed to have noticed something and suddenly stopped sleepwalking! In the 68th minute, Adriano, who had been sleepwalking for nearly 70 minutes, finally came to his senses. He no longer tried to compete with Cannavaro in speed, but instead used his strong physical confrontation ability to carry Cannavaro and rush into the penalty area unreasonably. Facing the bulldozer-like Ade, Cannavaro's small body really couldn't handle it. Weighing only 75 kilograms, he is 20 kilograms lighter than Ade, and is 15 centimeters shorter than him. Put the two together, Adriano is a whole circle bigger than Cannavaro. Adriano ran into the open space and his teammate's pass arrived as expected. But just when everyone thought Adriano was about to score, his sure-shot shot was saved by Juventus goalkeeper who fell to the ground! I've taken off my pants, and you're just going to show me this? Inter Milan fans in the stands and Mancini in the coaching booth all felt cheated and their happiness was in vain. "It's not like there's no progress at all. At least he's willing to use his brain now!" Mancini was disappointed and could only comfort himself in this way. But fortunately, the team is still in the lead, and the longer the time passes, the more advantageous it is for Inter Milan. Anyway, they are not the ones who should be anxious! I glanced at the time and it was almost 70 minutes. It was almost time to replace Lin Feng. But just as he was about to make a substitution, something unexpected happened on the field. Inter Milan's defensive star Materazzi was injured while competing with the opposing player. After examination, the team doctor recommended a substitution. Mancini did not dare to delay and quickly replaced Materazzi with Samuel. But in this way, two of Inter Milan's three substitutions have been used. If Lin Feng is replaced according to the original plan, Inter Milan will have no substitutions left. Although Inter Milan is currently leading, Juventus' offensive capabilities should not be underestimated. If they had scored a goal in the remaining time and tied the score, the game would have been dragged into overtime. Once Inter Milan has used up their three substitutions, they will not be able to make any substitutions during the overtime period. If a player gets injured or something else happens, they will have to play with fewer players. How to do? Do we still need to change people? Mancini was very hesitant. 75 minutes had passed and he still hadn't made up his mind. "Coach, is it time to make a substitution?" The assistant coach at the side reminded him. Mancini hesitated for half a second, but quickly made a decision. Damn, it’s just a Super Bowl, if we lose it, we lose it! Compared with Inter Milan's future, what does all this matter? Thinking of this, he no longer hesitated. In the 76th minute, he finally used his last substitution and replaced Lin Feng with Solari. "Lin Feng's physical fitness has declined. It is a wise choice for Mancini to replace him!"
"I don't think so. Inter used up their three substitutions early on, which has laid hidden dangers for the rest of the game. They may lose the game because of this!" "If Juventus scores in the later stages of the game and it goes into extra time, Inter will be in big trouble." In the commentary booth, the Italian commentators discussed Mancini's substitution. Some people agree with Mancini's decision and think that his substitution is very wise. A player who is exhausted can't help much on the court, so it's better to replace him early. But some people think that Mancini's decision was somewhat irrational and he did not leave himself any way out. If Inter Milan really loses the game, Mancini's substitution will likely become the main reason for criticism from the media and fans. While Inter Milan was making substitutions, Juventus was also not idle. Seeing that the opponent's main central defender was injured, Capello immediately replaced Camoranesi with Zebra Prince Piero to strengthen the attack! Piero is the top scorer in Juventus' history. He has played for the team for more than ten years. He is both a veteran and the core of the team. His appearance announced that Juventus had sounded the clarion call for a full-scale counterattack. When Piero came on the field, the Juventus fans at the Alpi Stadium stood up and cheered and applauded him. The fans of the Zebras obviously regard Piero as the team's savior and hope that he can step forward and save the team from the dire straits! Piero seemed very confident about this and waved to the fans in the stands with a smile. Although he didn't say anything, his confident smile was worth a thousand words. …… After Piero came on, Juventus changed to three forwards. As soon as he came on the pitch, he almost scored a goal. In the 79th minute, Samuel, who had just come on the pitch, made a fatal mistake. He was not decisive in handling the ball after clearing it, and was counterattacked by the opponent. After Piero grabbed the ball, he took a decisive shot and completed his first shot less than 9 yards away from the goal. But because he was too focused on the angle, the shot from close range actually went wide of the goal frame, allowing Inter Milan to escape danger again. Piero himself didn't expect that he would miss the shot. Seeing that the ball did not go in, he knelt down on the grass in frustration and pounded the grass heavily. The Inter Milan fans in the stands were so scared that they broke out in a cold sweat! It’s too dangerous, it’s really too dangerous! This guy Samuel is simply playing with my heart! How could you make a mistake in such a dangerous place like the penalty area? If Piero's goal had gone in, Samuel would have been the culprit for the team's loss and would have been scolded to death by the fans! Mancini in the coaching booth was also shocked! He even regretted substituting Samuel! I thought the opponent was a veteran and had performed well in the previous warm-up matches, so he should be trustworthy. But I didn’t expect that the opponent would poop so big as soon as he came on the court. It was really shocking! This made him wonder, could it be because Lin Feng was won in the big draw that all the players Inter Milan signed this summer were a bunch of duds? Fortunately, apart from this mistake, Samuel did not make any major mistakes in the following period. On the contrary, as the game time went on, his performance became better and better.
When he was in Rome, Samuel was once the best defender in football. But after one year at Real Madrid, his level not only did not improve, but declined, and his value plummeted by 1000 million euros! Although the Galacticos are star-studded, their internal problems, especially defensive ones, are really serious. Real Madrid fans only care about the top superstars in the frontcourt and don't care at all about the defensive players who do the dirty work in the back. On the contrary, they are scolded when the team loses the ball. It can be said that they have no share in eating meat, but they are always the ones who get beaten. Defensive players have no place at all in Real Madrid. As strong as Makelele is, didn't he also not get respect and finally chose to leave for the Premier League? So after receiving Inter Milan's offer, Samuel did not hesitate at all. He doesn't want to continue his nightmare life in Real Madrid, and hopes to come to a team that truly values him and play well. Facing the impact of three top forwards, Ibrahimovic, Trezeguet and Piero, Samuel stood firm like a rock, always standing in front of Inter Milan's goal, acting as Inter Milan's most solid and trustworthy defender. After watching anxiously for a few minutes, Mancini finally felt relieved. There is no problem with Samuel's strength. The reason for the mistake is probably because he just came on the court and was too nervous to adapt to the rhythm of the game! After all, he was forced to come on as a substitute due to Materazzi's injury. At the 80th minute, except for Adriano who stayed in the frontcourt, almost all other players of Inter Milan retreated. There are only a dozen minutes left until the end of the game. As long as we can hold on for these last ten minutes, Inter Milan will win the Super Cup! Inter Milan has participated in two Super Cups before and won one championship. If we can win another one this time, and it’s at the home ground of our direct league rival. That will definitely deal a heavy blow to Juventus' morale! It will also bring a huge boost to Inter Milan’s morale in the new season! So there is nothing to say, just give it a try! Juventus also fought hard, with Trezeguet, Ibrahimovic, Piero, Nedved and others taking turns to play. Headers, long shots, free kicks! Juventus tried almost everything they could! But Inter Milan's goal remained standing, making their attacks futile time and time again. "Juventus' attack was very crazy, they formed a siege on Inter Milan!" "Inter Milan's formation is completely blocked, and even the long-foot clearance is just delaying the game!" "But time is Juventus' biggest enemy, because they don't have much time left!" In the commentary booth of CCTV, Huang Jianxiang was more excited than the players on the field, as if he was playing football on the field. The 90 minutes of regular time ended quickly, and the score was still 1:0. Juventus's fierce bombardment did not achieve any effect, and the balance of victory was tilting towards Inter Milan little by little. The injury time announced by the fourth official was 6 minutes! This time was too long, which made Mancini very dissatisfied, and the emotional fourth official protested. But it's all useless, the injury time has already been announced and cannot be changed. In the final moments of the game, Juventus really gave it their all, and even the goalkeeper ran to Inter Milan's penalty area to participate in the attack. In the 92nd minute, Trezeguet passed the ball and Ibrahimovic's long shot from 30 meters in the frontcourt went over the crossbar.
In the 93rd minute, Piero cut inside and passed the ball, and Nedved's right-foot shot from the edge of the penalty area was blocked by the goalkeeper. After the corner kick, Ibrahimovic, who had a clear height advantage, got the ball. But his header hit the crossbar again! I can’t count how many times Juventus has hit the crossbar. Although this is their home ground, it feels like even the stadium is helping Inter Milan. After the long six minutes, the referee finally blew the whistle to end the game. Thanks to Lin Feng's free kick, Inter Milan defeated Juventus 1:0 away and won the second Super Cup in the team's history, which is a good start for the new season! (End of this chapter)