The Prince of Inter Milan starts with Brother Xiaosa

Chapter 333 The Brazilian gang goes to war

In the 2012-13 Italian Cup quarter-finals, defending champion Inter Milan will face Serie B team Verona at home.

Verona eliminated two Serie A teams, Genoa and Palermo, in the previous Coppa Italia competition.

They are the only second division team left in the Italian Cup and can be considered a dark horse.

But none of this matters, because the day before the game, the Brazilian national team coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, who just took office last month, visited Meazza!

Ronaldo, the former Brazilian superstar who played for Inter Milan for five seasons, will accompany him.

As for whether they came on their own initiative or were invited by the club, Leo really didn't know.

In short, a lot of media came this day, not just from Italy.

As the current captain of the Nerazzurri, Leo also participated in the reception as a player representative.

"Leo, I am your fan. Every time I watch Inter Milan or Italy games, I can't take my eyes away from you!"

Leo:?

Ronaldo's enthusiasm surprised him, and why was this so similar to the lines he had prepared before?

But it doesn't happen every time. Under normal circumstances, it's okay to seek cooperation with teammates. "

"For ordinary players, playing reasonably is an advantage. Their abilities are limited. It is enough to implement the head coach's tactics as much as possible and reduce mistakes.

After looking around, Ronaldo couldn't help but sigh:

"We didn't have the conditions you have now!"

"I watched a lot of your games and you played very reasonably."

Leo looked at the sincere Ronaldo and thought, no wonder this guy liked to beat the goalkeeper and hit the goal when he was young, it was just a conspicuous thing.

Brazilian coach Scolari and his team observed the Nerazzurri's daily training from the sidelines.

During the training break, Ronaldo quietly called Leo over.

Pinetina is rarely as lively as it is today, which means there will be no pressure on Inter Milan on the second day of the game.

If he wants to continue to have an advantage in some award selections, then maybe he needs to pay attention to this aspect.

Scolari made a special trip from Brazil to Italy to inspect the players.

As the team's number one star, at some critical moments, you must be responsible and stand up to take on more responsibilities.

"Do you know what your biggest problem is in playing football now?"

But after all, this is still a personal choice. Everyone's personality is different. Some people like assists but don't like to score. Can you say there is something wrong with him?

"This place is completely different from when I was here ten years ago!"

"what?"

Oh, by the way, there is also a restaurant. I will take you to experience it later. In Inter Milan’s restaurants, you can taste delicious food from all over the world.

“Yes, the club’s training facilities can be said to be the most advanced in Italy and among the best in Europe.

The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility. Now that you have reached that position, you need to be able to often change the game on your own.

What Ronnie said was true, and Leo couldn't refute it.

Leo frowned. Is there any problem with playing football?

Seeing that Leo was really puzzled, Ronaldo smiled and continued:

"There are some things I don't know whether to say or not."

Now that Scolari has taken office as a new official, he naturally has some ideas about how to adjust the tactics of the Brazilian national team in the future.

After all, they had good intentions, so Leo nodded seriously.

At the same time, because he has fairly strict requirements on himself, he still performs seriously on the field, but rarely actively seeks out his own personal performances.

Leo was stunned when he heard this. He didn't expect to hear these words from Ronaldo's mouth.

It stands to reason that Ronaldo should be very familiar with this place, but he was the most surprised of everyone.

Another example is that it is obviously not a particularly good position, why does Ronaldo often force himself to hit the goal?

Do their golfers not know what the so-called more reasonable choice is?

Of course not, they did it on purpose.

Gyms, physiotherapy rooms, swimming pools, etc. have all been renovated according to the latest standards.

Otherwise, relying solely on championships and personal data may be useless in the future, and it also depends on the "actual performance" in the game.

After they had just met and complimented each other, the group from Brazil started their visit under the guidance of the club staff.

For example, why does Messi often dribble the ball alone into the midst of three or four people?

Even if there is an opponent's targeted defense, you can choose to pass it to a teammate or use other methods to prevent one person from falling into the opponent's circle.

Ancelotti also gave several Brazilian players all the honor to wear yellow vests symbolizing the main force.

There are quite a few Brazilian internationals in Inter Milan's team. Not to mention the main players like Neymar and Thiago Silva, most of the substitute players have been selected for the Selecao.

This also helps players in the team from different countries to enjoy food they are familiar with and like. "

Leo really didn't expect Ronaldo to say this.

Taking photos and group photos are all routine procedures, but they didn't forget about business.

"Hahaha, you are so flattering. I am your fan. I grew up watching you play football."

It's different for a player of your level.

It is because all the teammates in the current Inter Milan team are very good and can win without too much effort, so Leo often has some lazy thoughts.

Leo's frown relaxed, as if someone had said similar words to him before, who is here?

"Well it's okay but it doesn't matter."

"Thank you very much for your advice, I will take it seriously."

But change it or not, this is Leo's true thoughts.

Seeing that Leo was willing to listen to his opinion, Ronaldo smiled with satisfaction.

"That's good, I look forward to seeing you perform better!"

So the Brazilian who is "only" thirty-six years old is already starting to be a good teacher?

Leo rolled his eyes and called Balotelli over.

"Mario, Ronaldo is a very experienced and respectable senior. He has some advice for you. You must listen and remember it carefully!"

Then he applied oil to the soles of his feet, leaving a confused Ba Shen and a confused Ronnie looking at each other on the sidelines.

In the evening, Inter Milan Club prepared a sumptuous Brazilian barbecue dinner to entertain the guests in the restaurant.

But Leo just wanted to complain about someone who just came from Brazil. Do you need your barbecue?

Why not prepare some Italian specialties for them to try.

However, the Brazilian players in the Inter Milan team had a great time eating and soothed their homesickness with delicious Brazilian barbecue.

A focus battle in the quarter-finals of the Italian Cup in the 2012-13 season started at San Siro.

The Serie B dark horse Verona team is coming menacingly.

Verona is a city not far from Milan and is the hometown of Romeo and Juliet.

They finished fourth in Serie B last season and were only half a step away from promotion.

This season, in addition to successively knocking out Serie A teams in the Coppa Italia and causing upsets, they are also unstoppable in the league and ranked second in promotion prospects.

Therefore, when visiting Meazza this time, head coach Mandolini also compiled the team's strongest lineup!

Whether we can beat Inter Milan is another matter, at least we have to show our style!

Ancelotti didn't care that much, it was just a Coppa Italia match. Taking into account the Brazilian national team coach and Ronaldo sitting in the stands today, Inter Milan sent all Brazilian players!

A simple four-three-three formation with Lewandowski in the center and Lucas Moura and Neymar on the wings.

Coutinho is the attacking midfielder, Casemiro and Thiago Motta are in the midfield.

Thiago Silva and Marquinhos partnered as central defenders.

All six Brazilian players in the first team started. Thiago Motta has joined Italy, so there are seven.

Scolari was also very satisfied with Inter Milan's favor. He smiled and said something to Ronaldo next to him.

Seeing Ronaldo return to Meazza, Nerazzurri at the scene showed two distinct attitudes.

Some people welcomed him, while others hated him when he briefly joined rival AC Milan.

But the city of Milan seems to be a sad place for Ronaldo.

He made only 99 appearances in five seasons with Inter Milan, and only 20 appearances in one and a half years with the Rossoneri.

It's like every time he arrives in Milan, injuries come to him from an alien.

Putting aside his time in the Eredivisie for now, Ronnie played 49 times and scored 47 goals in one year at Barcelona.

Then in four and a half years at Real Madrid, Ronaldo made 177 appearances and scored more than 100 goals.

Injured like crazy at Inter Milan, he got better as soon as he arrived at Real Madrid, and then returned to his old ways when he moved to AC Milan. What's the point?

There are always people who say that Ronaldo is not self-disciplined, or that his playing style is prone to injuries, that he is born with physical problems, and so on.

In fact, the reason is very simple, and it has a lot to do with the fierce defense of Serie A. Otherwise, how can we explain that Ronaldo only suffered from serious injuries when he was in Serie A, but not elsewhere?

Fans who have not experienced that period may have a hard time imagining how outrageous the rough defense Ronaldo encountered during his time at Inter Milan was.

Well, Italian defenders are very powerful. For example, old fans often talk about the famous scene where Ronaldo singled out the two ace defenders Maldini and Cannavaro.

At that time, Ronaldo faced flying tackles from different angles from behind.

It’s scary to think about it. Ten years later, that would definitely be a flagrant foul that could get both of them sent off with red cards.

However, at that time, this was just a daily routine that Ronaldo experienced countless times in every game.

It would be weird if he didn't get hurt. It would be just as bad if he tried another iron man.

With the advancement of the times, the protection of players by rules and the improvement of medical standards, tragedies like Ronaldo have been reduced a lot.

There is no telling whether Ronaldo would have achieved more brilliant achievements if he had been born ten years later.

But no matter what, he was the well-deserved number one player in football of that era.

Going back to today's game, facing Verona at home, the Nerazzurri had an unbeaten record of 15 wins and 10 draws in 25 encounters.

The two teams have met twice in the Italian Cup, each winning once.

The last meeting between Inter Milan and Verona dates back to the 2001rd round of Serie A in the 02- season. At that time, Inter Milan defeated their opponent - away from home.

After the game started, the Brazilian players on the home team performed actively and wanted to leave a good impression in front of the new head coach of the national team.

Even the two central defenders took turns dribbling the ball into the opponent's half to participate in the attack.

Faced with Inter Milan's fierce attack after the opening, Verona could only retreat to its own penalty area.

The game lasted two or three minutes before the referee Gianluca Rocchi stopped the game.

The reason was that the more than 8,000 Verona fans who attended the game were so excited that they lit their own fireworks in the Meazza stands.

For a time, the smell of smoke and gunpowder filled the entire stadium, and visibility dropped significantly.

It took a few minutes before Rocky dropped the ball to restart play.

Halfredsson made an accurate pass from the left, and Verona forward Cassia scored with a header!

Only then did Inter Milan center back Marquinhos, who was supposed to stay in the backcourt to mark him, return to the penalty area.

Scolari shook his head. This kid is not very good and needs to practice more.

After communicating with the assistant referee, the referee called Cassia for offside and the goal was invalid.

Slow motion shows that Rocky's penalty was very accurate.

Shortly afterwards Inter Milan was also disallowed a goal.

Neymar and Coutinho cooperated continuously outside the opponent's penalty area in the frontcourt, and then Coutinho passed Albertazzi, the former star of Milan's hope, and tapped lightly.

Lucas Moura followed up with a powerful shot and scored!

However, referee Rocchi believed that Neymar was fouled first, so the goal was invalid.

Gave Inter Milan a chance to take a free kick in the frontcourt.

Inter players on the field protested to the referee, but Rocky ignored them.

After that, Neymar's free kick went directly to the right post and missed the baseline.

Meazza was met with overwhelming boos at the referee.

Leo, who was sitting on the sidelines watching the game, also called him a good guy. The referee today has a lot of personality.

After the two teams were whistled off a goal by the referee, the game entered a stalemate stage.

Until the end of the first half, the score was still zero to zero, and neither side was able to break the deadlock.

Back in the locker room, head coach Carlo Ancelotti reluctantly criticized the entire team.

In the second half, the two sides changed sides and fought again, and the Nerazzurri attacked with all their strength!

Casemiro made a tackle in the frontcourt and fell to the ground to pass. Coutinho passed the defender and sent a through ball!

Neymar broke into the penalty area and calmly pushed with his right foot towards the Verona goalkeeper!

The ball went straight into the lower left corner of the goal!

One to zero!

Inter Milan finally took the lead!

A group of Brazilians ran to the sidelines and danced the samba again, receiving warm applause from the fans.

This time, a smile finally appeared on Scolari's face in the stands. This was what he wanted to see.

Three minutes later, Lucas Moura made a breakthrough pass from the left. Lewandowski was unable to hit the goal calmly under the marking of the defensive players and had to return it to his teammates.

Coutinho received the ball outside the penalty area and broke through to the sideline of the penalty area and volleyed hard with his right foot!

The Verona defender stretched his leg to block it, and then the ball changed course and hit the lower edge of the crossbar and bounced into the door!

Two to zero!

Inter Milan expands its lead!

In the 58th minute, Neymar dribbled continuously on the right to get rid of two defensive players, then cut inside to the right side of the penalty area and hit the net with a powerful low shot!

Three to zero!

The Nerazzurri completely sealed the victory!

After that, the home team, which had a big lead, gradually slowed down its offensive pace.

Verona coach Mandolini, who had played 275 times for Inter Milan as a player, was pacing back and forth on the sidelines, still unable to find the slightest chance.

However, Verona's midfielder Jorginho performed very well.

In the third minute of stoppage time, Jorginho launched a counterattack on the spot after stealing the ball in the frontcourt.

Finally, he took a powerful long-range shot from the outside of Inter Milan's penalty area!

Inter goalkeeper Castellachi flew to block the ball!

At the end of the game, Inter Milan, who finally played most of the rotation, defeated Verona 3-0 at home and advanced to the quarter-finals of the Italian Cup.

At the same time, they continued their unbeaten home record in the Italian Cup for more than ten years since losing 2002-12 to Bari at home on December 12, !

(End of this chapter)