I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Chapter 262: Chapter 11: Starting Lineup! San Siro!

”Ancelotti finally broke the curse of substitutions.”

”Previously, there were already three instances where making a substitution led to conceding a goal.”

”But this time, after bringing on Chen Zhong, we achieved a comeback and took all three points.”

The media are discussing Milan, discussing Ancelotti.

This season, Milan’s handling of players is an open secret, and Ancelotti’s conservatism is hotly discussed among fans, with some even starting to fear his substitutions.

This season, Ancelotti has made three ”conservative substitutions” that caused AC Milan to drop from 3 points to 1 point. After these substitutions, the team quickly conceded a goal, allowing the opposition to equalize.

For example, in the 11th round against Lecce, he was ahead 1-0 when Ancelotti swapped Emerson for goal hero Ronaldinho in the 84th minute. It was Emerson’s foul in the 93rd minute that handed the opposition a free kick to equalize.

In the 13th round, the 2-2 draw with Turin, at 2-1 ahead, Ancelotti replaced Pirlo with Emerson to shore up defense in the 74th minute, only for the opposition to level at 2-2 in the 78th minute.

In the 18th round against Rome, leading 2-1 with Milan at a field advantage, Ancelotti substituted Ambrosini for Ronaldinho in the 73rd minute, with Rome equalizing just a minute later.

If Milan had not turned those three points into one in these three matches, they could have surpassed Inter Milan now.

This has led many fans to be somewhat dissatisfied with Ancelotti, but Chen Zhong’s appearance in the last game slightly changed their view.

After half a season, the news of Chen Zhong returning to the field did not cause much stir in Italy, but in Asia and Spain, the media were vying to report it.

Because Chen Zhong, in the last match, showcased a ”Crescent Blade” shot and was even dubbed ”Chen-ke-ham.”

On the internet, discussions about Chen Zhong are also running high.

”It seems like he’s improved, have you noticed?”

”Seems so, initially Chen’s shooting or passing was just a straightforward line with no curve.”

”But did you see the last match, when Chen Zhong was passing, he could curve the ball! If only looking at the ball’s trajectory, it’s just like the second Beckham.”

...

These were all praises discussing Chen Zhong, generally comparing him to Beckham, thinking Chen Zhong is like the second Beckham, but not all voices on the internet are like this, there are also some ”nitpicking” truths.

”Really, anyone can be Beckham now.”

”Is Beckham someone not very skilled? His passing can’t truly be compared to Beckham’s.”

”Didn’t you see that long pass from Beckham later? It’s like it had eyes, directly targeting, and it landed directly in the penalty area.”

”But Chen Zhong’s long pass...”

...

These people have a point too, if Chen Zhong’s pass was given by Beckham to Kaka, then Kaka would directly charge into the penalty area, but Chen Zhong gave it for Kaka to chase the ball away from the opponent’s penalty area.

By the time Kaka stops the ball, the opponent has already tightly filled the defensive zone, and Ancelotti is clearly aware of this problem, instructing Chen Zhong to strengthen his passing training in recent days.

Many people say Ancelotti’s tactics have issues, that he doesn’t know how to change, but without considering who he has available.

During this period, Chen Zhong has also grasped almost entirely the situation within Milan.

Ronaldinho and Shevchenko are considered the two most disappointed players.

Ronaldinho has frequently sat on the bench recently with few chances to play, seemingly hinting that Milan bringing him from Barcelona to San Siro was a mistake.

And Shevchenko, this ”Ukrainian warhead” has had less than 10 minutes playtime since entering 2009.

Compared to Shevchenko, Ancelotti seems to trust Pato more.

In Milan’s locker room, Ancelotti announced the lineup for the next match.

The forward lineup remains Pato, Seedorf, Kaka, the midfield is Chen Zhong, Pirlo, Beckham, while the defense is Jankulovsky, Favalli, Maldini, Zambrotta, with Abbiati as the goalkeeper.

For the next match, Milan will face off against Genoa at San Siro Stadium. Genoa is now in third place in the league, just ahead of Milan, and if Milan can defeat Genoa in this match, they will surpass Genoa and Juventus, sitting second in the league, just 6 points short of the top Inter Milan.

In the pre-game interview, Milan players also expressed their confidence in this match and their league championship aspirations.

Abbiati, who has gradually secured the position of the team’s main goalkeeper this season, spoke: ”We surely respond to Genoa, we are now on the right track.”

”After winning, a 6-point gap isn’t scary.”

”After all, we’ve previously chased an 8-point gap over 7 rounds in history.”

Pirlo also accepted an interview saying: ”Although it sounds strange, everyone is discussing us alongside Inter Milan, wondering who will be champion.”

”We will pursue Inter Milan at all costs.”

”I believe in the team’s strength, believe in my teammates.”

And Kaka also clarified the renewal issue in front of the camera, he said: ”I will stay in Milan.”