The Prince of Inter Milan starts with Brother Xiaosa

Chapter 115 Another Champion

On June 2009, 6, the final of the European Youth Championship between Italy and England was staged in Malmö, a city in southern Sweden.

The last time England won the championship was 25 years ago.

The Three Lions' main goalkeeper Joe Hart, forward Agbonlahor and Fraser Campbell are all suspended.

England U21 head coach Pierce temporarily changed the formation to a four-three-three formation in the final.

Watford's young player Rocky guarded the door, Walcott switched to center, and Milner and Johnson were on the wings.

Soon after the start, England played a pretty good offensive combination.

Muamba launched a counterattack, Milner passed the ball straight into the penalty area, and Walcott's shot from a small angle on the right side missed the near post.

Then Leo dribbled the ball through the opponent's defensive player and distributed the ball at the front of the penalty area. Motta knocked back from the right.

Balotelli's shot in front of the small penalty area was blocked by the defender and went out of the right post.

"It feels weird..."

Less than ten minutes into the game, Leo had a feeling that today's opponent seemed to be weaker than the German team in the semifinals.

Whether it's offense or defense, the pressure on Italy is much less.

Maybe it has something to do with their lack of personnel?

Or is it because they played 120 minutes and took a penalty kick against Sweden in the last game, so they are not in good condition?
  Hmm... Without thinking too much, Leo saw the opponent's captain Noble dribbling the ball towards him.

Facing the 22-year-old West Ham United's main midfielder, Leo did not call for help from his teammates.

He was no stranger to Noble. Leo calmly waited until he was at the most suitable distance, stepped forward and intercepted the ball with his hook.

The steal was successful easily, and Leo immediately passed the ball to Criscito on the left.

The Italian left back dribbled the ball through Creni's defense and hit the center.

Leo caught the ball again and turned around, leaving Catmull behind.

Immediately afterwards, Leo cleverly sent a straight pass to the back of Manchester City defender Richards!

Balotelli gently rubbed the outside instep of his right foot on the left side of the penalty area and shot into the far corner of the goal!

One to zero!

Italy scored first!
  After scoring the goal, Bashen ran to the sidelines with a smile and performed a weird dance.

Leo did not join in, but glanced thoughtfully at the England defenders.

This goalkeeper isn't very good either. Rocky didn't even make a save on the ball just now, which was too shameful.

The full-back Crani was held up like a wooden stake by Crisci, which was almost meaningless.

It stands to reason that Richards and Onuoha, the young central defender combination of Manchester City, should not perform like this.

Forget it, it doesn't matter whether the opponent is weak, in poor condition, or has problems with the head coach's arrangements. Anyway, it is a good thing for Leo and the others.

Three minutes later, Leo, who was once again dribbling the ball in the middle, was pushed down in front of the penalty area by Richards.

The referee Bjorn from the Netherlands took out a yellow card as a warning.

Leo took three steps back and took a look at the distance to the wall and the position of the goalkeeper in front of the goal, knowing what he was doing.

The run-up was completed in one go with a swinging leg. Leo's free kick made an arc and flew over the top of the wall before reaching the goal and suddenly falling!

England goalkeeper Rocky didn't react in time. When the ball had entered the net from behind him, he jumped and missed it.

Two to zero!
  Leo's free kick scored directly!

Scoring the first direct free kick of his career should be a very happy thing.

Why do you feel so unmotivated? Leo stood there with his hands on his hips. It wasn't until Bashen pulled him to run to the sidelines that he came to his senses. He should celebrate after scoring a goal.

The stadium, which can accommodate 18,000 people, was almost full today. In addition to the English and Italians in Sweden, there were also many local fans.

For Leo who scored a wonderful goal, football-savvy fans were not stingy with their applause.

At the end of the first half, Consili, who had almost no chance to save, could only silently jump around in front of the goal to keep warm-up.

Back in the locker room, Italian coach Casiraghi made no tactical adjustments.

“If we persist for another forty-five minutes and win this game, we will be the champions!
  Keep up your performance in the first half and don't give your opponents a chance! "

After halftime, England U21 head coach Pierce replaced Onuoha with Chelsea youngster Mancine.

After the start of the second half, the game situation did not change much, and it was still under Leo's control.

Mancini and Balotelli both fell to the ground after a header fight in the backcourt, and the England defender was sentenced to a foul.

This free kick 35 meters away from the goal was still taken by Leo.

This time he switched to his left foot and hit an extremely erratic free kick. The opponent's goalkeeper Rocky made a mistake in judging the trajectory of the ball!

Fortunately, the ball speed was not very fast, and Rocky blocked the ball with his left hand in a hurry and blocked the ball out of the baseline.

Leo, who almost scored twice from a free kick, curled his lips and ran to the corner flag area to take a corner kick.

The high ball was lobbed into the penalty area, and Andreoli missed it. Bashen, who connected in front of the far post, fired a volley and hit the crossbar!

In the fifty-eighth minute, England had a difficult chance to counterattack. Noble broke through and passed the ball in the middle. Cattermole's right foot volley from outside the penalty area flew off the top of the crossbar!

Italy goalkeeper Consilli loudly expressed his dissatisfaction with the defense.

It is also the responsibility of a qualified goalkeeper to remind his teammates in front of him to concentrate when defending.

Milner continuously broke through Chigarini and Criscito on the right, and brought the ball to the bottom line to knock back.

Johnson's heel shot in front of the goal was blocked by Bochetti with his left leg!
  This time it wasn't just Consili, the head coach Casiraghi also couldn't sit still and stood on the sidelines and shouted loudly.

"Pay attention to defense! Keep your spirits up!"

It was Milner's breakthrough again, Criscito's fierce shovel knocked the Englishman to the ground.

Pierce was very dissatisfied on the sidelines, and the referee Bjorn only showed a yellow card.

England's subsequent free kick did not pose any threat and was firmly saved by Consili.

One minute later, Leo broke through diagonally from the frontcourt and Craney made a mistake in the tackle!
  Leo dribbled the ball into the penalty area and hit the back post. Balotelli pushed the goal with his right foot in front of the goal line but missed it!
  Italy U21 coach Casiraghi put his head in his hands in disbelief.

Leo was not surprised. He went up and patted Ba Shen on the back and said a few words of comfort.

"It's okay, there will be opportunities later."

Doing what you say is the principle of Leo's life, and it didn't take long for the opportunity to come.

In the 69th minute, England's attack failed and Italy quickly counterattacked.

Leo made a diagonal pass from the middle into the penalty area, and Bashen's left-footed volley from the right side went through the crotch of England goalkeeper Rocky and into the net!
  Three to zero!
  Balotelli finally didn't get distracted this time, and Italy secured the victory!

The England youth team, which was three goals behind, was in dire straits. Pierce made two substitutions in a row and used up all the substitutions.

Gardner and Rodwell came on as substitutes, replacing Craney and Muamba.

However, it was of no use to give it a try. Instead, the full pressure caused a big hole in England's defense.

Leo steals the ball in the backcourt and hits the frontcourt with a long overhead pass.

Balotelli broke into the penalty area with his chest. Facing England goalkeeper Rocky's attack, Balotelli shot a curved ball with the inside of his right foot, bypassing the opponent and going straight into the far corner of the goal!

Four to zero!
  At this point, the game has completely lost its suspense.

Balotelli, who scored a hat trick, took off his jersey to celebrate in excitement and was given a yellow card by the referee.

But no one cares anymore.

The game had just entered stoppage time and before it was over, the Italian players on the bench had already opened champagne and sprayed the coach.

The referee Bjorn had no choice but to blow the whistle to end the game early.

Leo scored one goal and three assists, Balotelli scored a hat trick, Italy U21 beat England - and won the European Youth Championship!
  They created the most disparate score record in the history of the European Youth Championship finals.

"I'm very happy with my performance today, this championship is a big step for my career.

But to be honest, now I just want to go back to my country and start my vacation. "

In an interview with Sky Sports Italy after the game, Leo seemed a little tired.

Last summer, he immediately returned to Inter Milan after playing the U19 game, and then played one game after another without stopping.

After finally waiting for the winter break, I didn't even have to lie down at home for two days, and I had to run out to take the driver's license test and shoot an advertisement.

Then comes another intense and intensive schedule, with multi-front battles until the end of the season.

This is not over yet. The last round of the league has just ended, and Leo has to train with the Italian U21 to prepare for the European Youth Championship.

This kind of life is indeed fulfilling and fun, but if it continues like this, no one can bear it.

The European Youth Championship was finally over today, and he could finally take a breather and take a good rest... That was impossible!
  The whole team returned to Italy, and they enjoyed a warm "pick-up service" from domestic fans at the Rome Airport.

A small group of fans were satisfied with a brief autograph and photo session before they were able to leave.

As the Italian U21 youth team returned home with great honors after winning the championship, the domestic media in Italy were also excited about the Italian team's victory.

In addition to specialized sports newspapers such as "Gazzetta dello Sport", "Gazzetta dello Sport" and "Gazzetta dello Sport", national comprehensive newspapers such as "Corriere della Sera", "La Repubblica" and "La Stampa" also rushed to report on this event. A message.

"The Italian U21s defeated England with a convincing performance and a score of 4-0.

The most outstanding player in this game was undoubtedly Leo. His three passes and one shot helped Italy win.

After winning the U19 championship, Italy continued to win the U21 championship. "

“The Italian U21 youth team has won the European Championship for the sixth time in its history!
  In the final, the young Italians defeated England cleanly 4-0. This was also the best game played by the Italian team in this cup so far. "

"In this cup, the Italian team not only defended well, but also showed a high level of offense. In the final, the outstanding performance of Leo and Balotelli helped Italy sweep England with four goals to win the championship."

Sure enough, agent Raiola was right, participating in youth team games is still very meaningful.

Like last summer, Leo was once again cordially received by Berlusconi, but the teammates around him changed.

"Crack!"

The cordial photo taken between the Italian U21 championship team and Lao Bei was recorded by the camera.

(End of this chapter)