The Prince of Inter Milan starts with Brother Xiaosa

Chapter 320 The World Preliminaries Begin

"Zeman is a very respectable coach and I personally admire his character.

In today's game, Roma did not play conservatively on the road at all. They showed excellent offensive capabilities.

Fortunately, my teammates and I played better and finally won the game. "

After the game against Roma, Leo attended the post-match press conference as captain.

“Gareth was in great form today and I’m delighted with his performance.

Of course not. There is no such thing as stealing my spotlight here. Everyone is working hard to win the game. "

Leo, who scored one goal and received two assists, was not named the best player in the game. Bell, who scored two goals and one assist, won this honor for his outstanding performance in today's game.

It is inevitable that there will be reporters who want to sow trouble, and Leo will naturally not be fooled.

By the time the press conference interview was over and Leo went to the parking lot to drive, Miriam was already waiting there with a sweet smile.

"Have you been waiting for a long time? There are too many questions from reporters. We are going home right now."

As soon as he opened the car door, Leo unexpectedly found an extra box on the seat.

"what is this?"

"Open it and take a look."

Confused, Leo picked up the box and finally saw clearly what it was by using the lights in the car.

A Patek Philippe watch?

So he raised his head and looked at his girlfriend in confusion.

"Did you buy it for me?"

"That's right, do you like it?"

It's hard to say whether he likes it or not, but Leo is still a little confused.

"I like whatever you give me, but it's not my birthday either, so why do you give me such an expensive gift?"

"Isn't it because the salary from the film has arrived? Although it's not much, I still think I should buy you a gift.

I really like the bag you gave me before, so I wanted to give you a gift you like.

I see that you often carry that watch. I guess you are more interested in this aspect, so I will give you a better watch just to replace that watch. "

Leo smiled.

"Didn't I tell you who gave me this watch before?"

Miriam's expression changed slightly, and it seemed that she had indeed considered this.

"Hahahaha! Mr. Moratti gave this to me once. You wouldn't think it was given to me by an ex-girlfriend, right? Hahaha!"

Leo put his girlfriend's gift next to him and started the car.

"I'll put on your new watch when I get back. The Chinese Valentine's Day has just passed, so I think it's your Valentine's Day gift to me."

"Qixi Festival? What is that? China's Valentine's Day?"

"How to explain it? There is actually a story here. Let me tell you from the beginning.

It is said that the Weaver Girl is the granddaughter of the Queen Mother of Heaven. She is responsible for weaving colorful clouds every day..."

……

The national team match day has arrived again. This summer's European Cup has just ended, and the World Cup qualifiers have begun.

Defending champion Italy is placed in a group with Denmark, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Armenia and Malta.

On September 2012, 9, the Azzurri ushered in the first round of their European World Cup qualifiers.

The Italian national team travels to Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, where they will play an away game against Bulgaria at the Vasillevskiy Stadium.

At this moment, Balotelli went to the hospital for surgery.

Because of myopia, Balotelli has been wearing contact lenses for a long time to participate in training and competition.

But it was precisely due to excessive use of contact lenses, poor cleaning, and Balotelli's hobby of smoking and drinking that all had something to do with it.

Eventually, Bashen's eyes became infected, leading to allergies and conjunctivitis.

For this reason, he was also on the injured list of Inter Milan and Italy.

It was also because of this conjunctivitis that Balot decided to undergo radical surgery.

So he took this opportunity to return to the hospital in Brescia for myopia surgery. After recovery, he will say goodbye to contact lenses completely.

Many Italian media predict that Barcelona is likely to be sidelined for a month as a result.

"It took so long. Mario told me that I can come back in half a month at most."

Leo's first-hand information is naturally much more reliable than the nonsense of reporters outside.

However, even if he is absent for half a month, Balotelli will definitely not be able to catch up in the games in front of him.

Leo's good friend Berbatov also did not appear on Bulgaria's list.

As early as the time of Manchester United, Brother Xiaosa announced that he would quit the national team and concentrate on playing for the club.

This time, the newly appointed Bulgaria coach Penev originally recruited Berbatov.

But Berbatov insisted on his previous decision to withdraw from the national team. Both he and the country's top star Stoichkov said they would not attend the game.

Although Balotelli is not here, Italy's Prandelli still arranged a starting lineup of 4312.

Giovinco and Osvaldo, who have been in excellent form in the league recently, partner up front.

There is no change in the midfield. Leo is still the attacking midfielder, with Pirlo, De Rossi and Marchisio behind him.

Left back David Thornton, right back Maggio, Bonucci and Ranocchia partnered with center back and goalkeeper Buffon.

Although Chiellini recovered from injury, he was not included in the squad for this game.

As soon as the game started, Bulgarian fans set off fireworks in the stands, and the stadium was enveloped in a thin layer of smoke.

Standing on the court, Leo smelled the smell of gunpowder smoke in the air and knew that today's game would not be too easy.

Sure enough, after the game started, Bulgaria, playing at home, attacked very actively.

The home team had just kicked off, and there was cooperation between the two players on the front line.

Galgorov made a direct pass. Popov broke into the penalty area and shot a low shot with his right foot but Buffon blocked it!

Hey, don't tell me that Bulgaria is quite threatening this time.

But the Italian team responded quickly.

Leo sent a pass in front of the penalty area in the middle. Osvaldo dodged the defensive player in front of the goal and dived to head the ball slightly over the crossbar.

The dominant Azzurri quickly took the initiative on the field, and Bulgaria was unable to do anything even with the cheering of all the fans.

In the ninth minute, Pirlo received a pass from Leo and was brought down by Gadzhefu. The referee showed a yellow card.

Leo did his best to take advantage of this excellent free kick opportunity. He stunned everyone with his kick and hit it directly into the upper right corner of the goal!

One to zero!

Italy takes the lead away from home!

Bulgarian goalkeeper Mikhailov, who is currently playing for Twente, has nothing to do in the face of such a hit!

However, after scoring the first goal, Leo found that the opponent seemed to be hitting harder than before!

The home team used the method of strengthening physical confrontation to successfully interrupt the Azzurri's offensive.

The referee Martin Atkinson from England made the penalty scale slightly in favor of the home team, and that was enough!

The Bulgarians resolved dangerous situations through fouls again and again.

This gave Italy an advantage in ball possession, but it was unable to create scoring opportunities.

Milanov's long shot from outside the penalty area did not cause any trouble to Buffon. The Italian goalkeeper easily grabbed the ball and threw it in his arms.

Leo dribbled the ball through two defensive players and sent a through ball at the top of the penalty area!

But Giovinco failed to understand his teammates' intentions, failed to intervene in time, and missed an excellent scoring opportunity.

In the 23rd minute, Bulgaria passed a free kick from the right into the penalty area. Ivanov volleyed with his left foot from the penalty area and shot!

Buffon reacted quickly to face this close-range attack, flew sideways and blocked the ball with one palm!

The atmosphere at the scene was very fanatical, and the Bulgarian fans in the stands of Levski Stadium shouted slogans in unison.

The home team's efforts finally paid off.

In the 25th minute, Manolev received a cross knock from his teammate and hit a long shot of good quality outside the penalty area!

The ball bounced in front of Buffon and then went into the far corner of the goal!

One to one!

Bulgaria unexpectedly equalized the score!

Buffon fished the ball out of the goal and stepped hard on the turf in front of him.

The two sides were now back on the same starting line, and the home team supporters at the scene were even more excited.

After being equalized, the Azzurri stepped up their attack again, which also led to frequent mistakes in their backcourt.

When Ranocchia was pressed and panicked, he chose to pass the ball back to the goalkeeper. As a result, Buffon did not receive the ball and gave the opponent a chance for a corner kick.

Bulgaria's corner kick entered the penalty area, and Buffon stood up first and reached out to pick the ball off.

In the 32nd minute, Leo stole the ball in the frontcourt and launched a counterattack!

Pirlo passed the ball over the top of the defensive player to the right side of the penalty area. Marchisio headed the ball back in the penalty area. Osvaldo was unmarked and scored with his left foot from the far corner!

Two to one!

Italy takes the lead again!

This is Osvaldo's first goal for the Italian national team!

This is not over yet. Two minutes later, Leo passed the ball directly and Giovinco broke into the left side of the penalty area and seemed to pass and shoot!

Osvaldo stepped in the middle and leaned over to header the ball. The ball hit the opponent's defender Ivanov and changed the line to deceive the Bulgarian goalkeeper Mikhailov who fell to the ground to make a save and got into the near corner!

Three to one!

The Azzurri extended their lead to two points!

Osvaldo scored twice in half the game!

Originally, Italian fans were full of worries about Balotelli's absence. After all, there are not many reliable players on the Italian front line.

Fortunately, Prandelli has a good vision, and Osvaldo brought his excellent form in the club to the national team.

Bulgaria, which fell behind by two goals, launched a fierce counterattack in the final stages of the first half.

Popov received Minev's cross from the left in front of the penalty area, turned around and volleyed!

The ball went slightly over the goal crossbar.

In the 42nd minute, Manolev hoisted the ball into the penalty area from the right. Maggio made a low-level error when clearing the ball. Popov behind him seized the opportunity and shot furiously!

However, the ball missed the right post slightly. There was a tremor in front of the Italian team's goal.

In the 44th minute, Li Ao made a wonderful pass, and Osvaldo seized the opportunity at the top of the penalty area and volleyed hard!

Bulgarian goalkeeper Mikhailov bravely blocked the ball.

Osvaldo almost scored a hat trick with his third goal of the game.

At the end of the first half, Italy led Bulgaria three to one.

In the second half of the game, the two sides changed sides and fought again.

In the 46th minute, Giovinco dribbled the ball from the left and cut in. The "Atomic Ant" staggered the Bulgarian defender with extremely fast steps and broke through to the penalty spot and fired with his right foot!

It's a pity that the ball was hit too straight and was bravely saved by the opponent's goalkeeper.

As a native of Turin, Giovinco has shown outstanding talent since he was a child. It can almost be said that he has had high hopes from the day he joined the Juventus youth training.

Despite the ups and downs in his growth, this little man still managed to get a place at Juventus with his skills and talent.

The unhappiness he had with the club because of Diego disappeared with his outstanding performance.

Last season, Giovinco had excellent statistics of 15 goals and 13 assists in the league. This is undoubtedly a core level level.

After many ups and downs, he is only 25 years old this year. As long as he can maintain his current competitive level, he can definitely contribute to the Bianconeri and the national team for many more years.

A minute later, Giovinco took the ball again and was knocked over by the Bulgarian defender outside the penalty area. The referee did not even intend to call a foul.

Giovinco, who is less than 1.65 meters tall, weighs only 60 kilograms.

Of course, this may be because he did not deliberately strengthen confrontation in order to ensure his speed, dribbling and flexibility.

But this means that once Giovinco encounters a tough opponent, he will easily fall behind in physical confrontation.

To put it bluntly, he is like a piece of paper that falls over when touched.

Maybe when playing against a weak team, Giovinco can rely on his technical advantages to avoid head-on confrontation, but if he wants to play the core of Juventus, he will always encounter strong enemies.

After encountering several vicious fouls from his opponents, Giovinco did not dare to go deeper into the territory and could only try long shots from outside the penalty area.

Although the long-range shot was of good quality, it was still punched out by Mikhailov!

Bulgaria quickly counterattacked and hit the frontcourt!

Mikansky, who had just come on as a substitute, made an inverted triangle pass from the right. Milanov, who was unmarked, calmly volleyed from the center of the penalty area and scored!

Two to three!

The home team gets a point back!

In fact, judging from the slow-motion replay, this goal was suspected of being offside.

But the referee is Atkinson, so he understands everything.

Afterwards, Marchisio hit his knee on a billboard on the sidelines while fighting, left the field and received treatment before returning to the field.

Prandelli wanted to make substitutions, but only forwards such as Borini and Insigne were available on the bench.

Call them bad, but they are not particularly bad.

They are all average Italian forwards.

But in terms of how useful they will be after replacing them, it doesn't seem to be possible.

After thinking about it, the Italian coach asked Destro to go to the sidelines to warm up and prepare to come on as a substitute.

At this time, the game has reached the 71st minute.

Pirlo points the ball, and Giovinco breaks through with the ball from the left!

In the front left corner of the penalty area, Giovinco avoided the defensive player's press and made a pass.

Bulgarian central defender Gian Norris took the lead and jumped high to head the ball to clear the ball!

Leo controlled two penalty kicks outside the penalty area.

The restricted area is full of people, so don’t rush to observe the situation first.

The fourth official on the sidelines had already raised a substitution sign. Giovinco knew that he was about to be replaced and was a little anxious.

However, his back and forth on the left side of the penalty area also successfully helped the Italian team open up a little space.

It's now! Leo kicked the ball and sent it to the left side of the penalty area!

Giovinco quickly turned around and knocked the ball across the penalty area!

David Thornton, who came forward with an assist, followed up with a low shot that cleverly passed through the gaps between the defensive players in the penalty area and into the lower left corner of the goal!

Four to two!

Giovinco was then replaced by Destro, who received an assist before leaving the field.

At this time, some commotion broke out in the stands, and excited Bulgarian fans clashed with the police who were maintaining security at the scene.

However, it did not affect the progress of the game. Later, Leo and Pirlo were replaced successively.

Italy defeated Bulgaria 4-2 in an away game and got a good start in the World Cup preliminaries.

“We were in control throughout the game and I never worried about whether the team could win.

Of course, the Bulgarian team also played very well and they also had some chances.

Osvaldo and Giovinco have done some great stuff together and we're working towards a better team.

Play more young people against Malta in the next game?

I think we will consider this. We spent a lot of energy in this battle and we have to see how much the boys can recover. "

Four days later, Italy returned to the country to rest, and they will face Malta at home in the second round of the 2014 World Cup European Qualifiers.

With a population of only half a million, Malta is a small country that can hardly be found on a map without a magnifying glass.

Their world ranking is 139th, and they are undoubtedly weak.

Prandelli intends to use this game with Malta to test some new players and prepare for the future.

"Leo, I plan to use some new people in this game, so how about you take a break?"

No matter what, Prandelli still didn't dare to take advantage of the Italian team's number one star, so he didn't dare to act like a head coach.

Before the starting list was determined, the Italian coach specially communicated with Leo privately.

Otherwise, if Leo said that he just wanted to play to get more data in this kind of game against a weak team, Prandelli would have no choice but to agree.

"Okay, this is a good thing for the team. Coach, just do what you want. I will be on standby at any time."

Prandelli breathed a sigh of relief and looked at him, this is the attitude that the best in the world should have.

On September 9, at the Braglia Stadium in Modena, Italy, the Azzurri faced the Malta team at home.

"My dear, aren't you starting this game?"

"Yeah, the head coach wanted to check out some new players, so I took a rest."

“Oh, no wonder you asked me not to go there and cheer you on.

Did any of the other girlfriends or wives of the Italian internationals go to watch the game? "

“There seem to be a few, but not many.

how? Do you want to come over to the "wives" group? "

"I won't tell you anymore, I'm going to work out.

I've gained weight after being with you, and if I continue like this, I'll be doomed. "

"Well, the game just happens to start soon. I will return to Milan after this game."

"Okay, I'll wait for you at home!"

Leo put away his phone with a smile on his face. Even though most of the wives of his teammates on the national team were also models, there was really no comparison with Miriam.

Prandelli made major adjustments to the starting lineup, and rotation players such as Cassani, Peluso, Nocerino, Diamanti, Destro, and Giaccherini received rare starts. Chance.

However, these people did not seem to cherish this hard-won opportunity. In the first half, their ball possession rate at home was as high as 80%, but they were always unable to break the Malta team's goal.

This makes Prandelli and Italian fans across the country really anxious and angry.

Before the end of the first half, the home team even overpowered the central defender, but still failed to score.

At the beginning of the second half, Leo came on as a substitute to replace Diamanti, who had performed poorly in the first half.

In the 47th minute, Leo, who had just come on as a substitute, sent a precise pass from the frontcourt!

Destro broke into the right side of the penalty area and formed a single shot. Facing the Maltese goalkeeper, he calmly pushed the shot with his right foot and scored!

One to zero!

Italy finally broke the deadlock on the field!

Leo also helped Destro score his first goal for the national team.

There are two completely different teams with and without Leo!

Prandelli continued to make substitution adjustments, and the 21-year-old Insigne also played for the Azzurri for the first time.

Insigne, who was still playing in Serie B last season, scored 18 goals. This season he returned to his home team Naples as a rotation player.

Prandelli also saw his potential and recruited him into the national team against all odds.

But his performance failed to repay the coach's trust.

Insigne's two consecutive shots after coming on the field were both below par and off target, which was outrageous.

Leo resisted the urge to hold his forehead, so he had no choice but to stop passing the ball to him without him on the field.

Malta's counterattack failed, Leo quickly distributed the ball to the wing, and Nocerino dropped into the penalty area from the right!

The visiting team's goalkeeper rushed in front of Destro to clear the ball!

Italy once again missed a chance to score.

A minute later, the Blue Jackets made a comeback. Leo passed the ball in front of the goalkeeper. Destro once again faced the goalkeeper and shot single-handedly, but his right foot hit the side net on the right side.

Bonucci went to the edge of the opponent's penalty area and tried a long shot, but the ball was blocked by the Maltese defender.

Leo took a corner kick, and a melee broke out in the opponent's penalty area. Nocerino's furious shot near the penalty area line was blocked by the defender.

In the 78th minute, Italy continued to make substitutions, with Giovinco coming off the bench to replace Destro.

Giaccherini attacked the goal in the penalty area, and his first shot was blocked by the opponent's defender. After the ball bounced back, Giaccherini shot again and missed the near post.

In the 89th minute, it was another wonderful direct pass from Leo. Giovinco broke into the penalty area against offside and shot a single shot, but the Maltese goalkeeper fought hard to save it!

The game entered stoppage time, Leo went to the corner flag area to take a corner kick, and Peluso took off from close range to header!

This time Maltese goalkeeper Hogg had no time to make a save, and the ball went directly into the near corner of the goal!

Two to zero!

Italy secures victory!

“We lacked passion and momentum in the first half and therefore failed to score even though we had the advantage in possession.

In the second half, with Leo sorting out and organizing our offense, our offense seemed more organized.

Overall, like everyone else, I am not particularly satisfied with this game. I believe the boys will show more enthusiasm in subsequent games! "

As Prandelli said in an interview with reporters after the game, Italian fans on the Internet were also not satisfied with the team's performance today.

“We are still in a chaotic period of change, and the team as a whole lacks structure.

Especially when Balotelli and Cassano are gone, the offensive end lacks changes and creativity, and basically can only rely on Leo alone.

It's good to use new players and young players, but Prandelli still has a lot of work to do. "

In other games in the same group, Bulgaria defeated Armenia 1-0 at home. Like Armenia, they have three points from two games and are ranked behind Italy, which has won both games.

Denmark and the Czech Republic tied in the first round and tied for second last in the group with one point each without playing in the second game.

(End of this chapter)