Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 67, Round Sixty-Seven: Facing Inter Milan
At the San Siro stadium, fans have already begun to enter the stadium.

Even with Italy's economic downturn, Inter Milan's home games are still packed to capacity, which is rare in Serie A these days.

Since the Calciopoli scandal, Inter Milan has become the undisputed champion of Serie A, having won four consecutive titles.

However, Inter Milan's repeated failures in the Champions League made oil tycoon Moratti unable to tolerate it any longer. In the summer of 2008, he sacked Mancini and brought in Mourinho from Chelsea with an annual salary of 900 million euros.

However, last season, Inter Milan were eliminated by Manchester United in the round of 16.

In the summer, Inter Milan parted ways with Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and brought in formidable players such as Milito, Sneijder, Eto'o, Motta, and Lucio, aiming to make a run for the Champions League.

Inter Milan doesn't take Roma seriously, a team they've defeated for several seasons in a row.

In fact, Mourinho had criticized Roma near the end of last season, but Rossella, lacking ambition and resources, was unable to retaliate. This left Spalletti and the entire Roma team with a pent-up anger towards Inter Milan and Mourinho.

Mourinho does indeed look down on Roma, which has turned the once harmonious relationship between Roma and Inter Milan into one of bitter enmity.

However, Mourinho never expected that Roma would perform so strongly this season after a summer of struggle.

Mourinho may look down on Roma, but he never underestimates them; he knows why Roma performs so well.

Shan Yongzhuo.

If Roma can contain their Chinese striker, Roma's attacking ability will be greatly reduced.

Therefore, Inter Milan's preparations focused on limiting Shan Yongzhuo, and Mourinho did a lot of work on this, and he was confident in his ability to do so.

Of course, whether it is effective or not needs to be seen in the actual competition.

……

After the pre-match hype subsided, the players on the field sprang into action at the referee's whistle.

Roma took the lead.

Totti passed the ball to Shan Yongzhuo, who then passed it back to Pizarro before charging forward.

When Shan Yongzhuo reached the edge of the penalty area, he found himself somewhat relaxed. Inter Milan hadn't assigned anyone to mark him closely; they were just making normal runs.

This is actually a good thing for Shan Yongzhuo.

He then received the ball, but the effect of his powerful kick was still on cooldown for 10 minutes, so Shan Yongzhuo didn't shoot but instead tried to dribble forward.

Then he noticed a player closing in on him; it was Motta.

Motta is a versatile midfielder that Inter Milan signed from Genoa in the summer. He is not only excellent in attack, but also has considerable defensive ability due to his height and size.

Dan Yongzhuo didn't pay attention to Mota. He just dribbled the ball and slowly moved forward, looking for a suitable shooting opportunity.

Motta followed until Shan Yongzhuo moved forward more than two meters, at which point another player followed, the center-back Lucio.

When Lucio ran over, Motta quickly closed in, and the two of them completely blocked Shan Yongzhuo from two directions. Shan Yongzhuo suddenly realized that it was very difficult for him to break through, and even passing the ball became impossible.

Then, his ball was stolen by Motta, and Inter Milan immediately launched a counter-attack.

"It's interesting."

Shan Yongzhuo also sensed Inter Milan's defense, which consisted of a combination of midfielders and defenders. Whenever Shan Yongzhuo received the ball, he would be double-teamed from both the front and back.

Inter Milan's midfield and defense are very strong. When two players double-team them, it is difficult for them to make any moves unless they are particularly good at making breakthroughs in tight spaces.

Mourinho doesn't believe Shan Yongzhuo has that kind of breakthrough ability.

He studied Shan Yongzhuo and found that the striker's greatest advantage was his extremely accurate footwork and wide shooting range in the attacking third.

However, his technique is average, and his dribbling ability is weak. Although he occasionally makes some brilliant breakthroughs, it only happens once or twice in a game at most. In Mourinho's view, this can be attributed to occasional flashes of brilliance. The Chinese striker's most lethal weapon remains his mid-range shot.

Therefore, Mourinho devised this strategy specifically for Shan Yongzhuo's characteristics.

Of course, this kind of defense is something that most teams can't do, and even Italian teams, which are known for their strong defense, would find it difficult to achieve.

This requires not only teamwork but also strong skills and experience from the players.

Inter Milan can obviously do it; Motta and Lucio are both very good defensive players and have a lot of experience.

Mourinho was quite pleased to see Shan Yongzhuo lose possession of the ball.

Dan Yongzhuo didn't care at all; it's normal to lose the ball when you're not using any skills.

Inter Milan launched an offensive against Roma, and Mourinho's favorite formation, the 4-3-3, was his greatest weapon for success. They quickly put Roma under pressure.

Roma is an attacking team, and their defense is not that strong. Facing the powerful Inter Milan, they were momentarily overwhelmed and unable to defend effectively.

On the field, Shan Yongzhuo was standing there watching the game.

If the ball can't be passed forward, there's nothing he can do.

So, he was encouraging his teammates.

"Come on, Daniele! Come on, David! Come on, Philippe!"

Lucio, standing next to him, was utterly speechless.

Ten minutes later, Roma finally launched an attack, with Pizarro organizing the attack in the middle.

After the ball crossed the halfway line, Vucinic broke through on the left wing, dribbling all the way to the edge of the penalty area before passing the ball to Totti.

Totti wasn't in a good position, with Samuel close behind him, and he then passed the ball to Shan Yongzhuo.

Shan Yongzhuo was standing five meters in front of the penalty area when he received the ball and was immediately double-teamed by Motta and Lucio.

Two people came from both sides to block Shan Yongzhuo's route.

Without any hesitation, Shan Yongzhuo had enough space for his powerful legs. As soon as he received the ball, he took a shot.

"Boom!"

A sudden long-range shot from outside the penalty area!
The football was kicked low to the ground, bypassing Lucio and tracing a wide arc.

Cesar had no idea what was going on. He did his best, but the ball's trajectory was too unpredictable. Cesar was powerless to stop it and could only watch as the ball skimmed along the grass and disappeared into the goal from a corner.

At the same time, the TV commentator shouted, "Goal!"

"The ball is in!"

"Twelfth minute, Shan Yongzhuo!"

"He received a pass from Totti and, before Motta and Lucio could close him down, unleashed a shot that gave Roma their first goal!"

"That was an amazing goal! A ball so low on the ground yet still managing such a terrifying curve!"

"This goal shows just how terrifying Shan Yongzhuo's shooting technique is!"

"0-1, Roma leads Inter Milan at the San Siro stadium, and only 12 minutes have passed!"

"This is also Shan Yongzhuo's 18th goal in twelve league matches. 18 goals in twelve matches, an amazing statistic, an amazing efficiency! Is he treating Serie A like the Chinese league?"

(End of this chapter)