Maldini's Dad (500 Recommendation Votes Bonus Chapter)

Ancelotti announcing the UEFA Champions League starting lineup ahead of time was nothing new.

Huang Kaiwen felt more or less pressured afterward.

The system had kept drawing attacking players before, which was why he had managed to get by. But now that the prize pool had expanded, what was he supposed to do?

While changing clothes, Huang Kaiwen scratched off a lottery ticket. He won 50 bucks—not bad luck.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

After using the [24-Hour Injury Immunity Card] and seeing that his anticipation value had reached a full 100, Huang Kaiwen chose to draw a card.

[Ding, obtained a single-match experience card for Cesare Maldini in the 1966-1967 Serie A match, Turin vs. Juventus]

Huang Kaiwen's mind buzzed.

He knew this guy!

Not only did he know him—he was a huge star.

But the key was that he had been a defender, a sweeper at that. Not even a libero.

His defending was undoubtedly strong, but he had no particular attacking strengths.

Just from the name, it was obvious how he was related to captain Paolo Maldini. Cesare Maldini was the first-generation star of the Maldini family, and captain Paolo Maldini's father.

He was also a Milan legend, the first Italian to lift the UEFA Champions League trophy as captain.

Later, the elder Maldini served as head coach of the Italy U21 National Team for a full decade, leading them to an unprecedented three straight UEFA European Under-21 Championship titles, and he also coached the Italy national team for a time.

That résumé was legendary enough.

But it was somewhat of a professional mismatch when used on Huang himself.

After getting dressed, Paolo Maldini patted Huang Kaiwen on the shoulder and asked with concern, "Is something wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"I'm fine."

Huang Kaiwen forced a smile.

He couldn't exactly tell Paolo Maldini, I'm your dad today.

The problem was, Huang himself didn't want to be that dad.

With a sigh, he followed his teammates out to warm up.

During the warm-up today, Huang Kaiwen was nowhere near as active as before.

His teammates didn't think much of it. After all, he had only just returned from a serious injury.

As they headed toward the players' tunnel, Ancelotti handed him a small bag as usual and said, "I bought this miracle medicine from a Panamanian. Keep it in your mouth, and it'll bless you against injuries."

Huang Kaiwen took it and pretended to pull one out, walking along as he brought it toward his mouth. Once they entered the tunnel, he tossed the little black pellet—made of who knew what—aside.

"Hahaha, the boss gave you something again?" Andrea Pirlo asked, looking thoroughly amused by Huang's misfortune.

"Yeah. I always thought only Indians sold miracle medicine. Didn't expect Panama to have it too." Huang Kaiwen rolled his eyes.

"That's the boss's heartfelt gesture." Pirlo kept laughing.

"If you want it, I can give it to you."

"I'll pass."

Pirlo waved both hands repeatedly.

Manchester United's players were also looking toward Milan. More precisely, they were looking at Huang Kaiwen.

The incident where Inter Milan had hired someone to "curse" him had caused a huge stir, and they had seen plenty of The Sun's reports in England.

It all felt rather mysterious.

Footballers tended to have low levels of education and limited life experience, so they believed in this superstitious stuff more readily than ordinary people.

Quite a few Premier League players had all sorts of strange little superstitious habits.

Some listened to the same CD before every match, used the same urinal, or sat in the same seat. Others refused to change boots after scoring, or hired wizards to bless them. Such things had all happened among Premier League players.

Their gazes toward Huang Kaiwen were filled with pity.

A perfectly good genius had been ruined just like that.

"The players of both teams are coming out with the officiating crew. Today's referees are from Germany, with Herbert Fandel as the head referee."

"Huang Kaiwen's return to the starting lineup is a pleasant surprise. Shevchenko's injury has brought some disadvantages to Milan, but fortunately Crespo has been in excellent form lately. Let's take a look at today's starting lineups."

Milan, 4-5-1 Christmas Tree:

Goalkeeper: Dida,

Defenders: Maldini, Nesta, Stam, Cafu,

Midfielders: Seedorf, Andrea Pirlo, Gattuso, Huang Kaiwen, Kaka,

Forward: Crespo.

Manchester United, 4-4-2 flat midfield:

Goalkeeper: Howard,

Defenders: Heinze, Silvestre, Rio Ferdinand, Brown,

Midfielders: Giggs, Keane, Scholes, CR7,

Forwards: Van Nistelrooy, Rooney.

"Stam put in an excellent performance when he returned to Old Trafford in the previous match. Let's hope he can maintain that good form today."

"On the formation graphic, Huang Kaiwen and Kaka are shown as dual attacking midfielders, but in reality Huang should still be playing out wide, so Milan's Christmas Tree isn't symmetrical today. All right, the referee has blown the whistle to start the match."

The moment Manchester United kicked off, Huang Kaiwen charged forward like a rabid dog.

Van Nistelrooy hurriedly played the ball sideways to Rooney again, and Rooney passed it back to CR7 on the same flank.

The moment he saw Huang Kaiwen rush at him, CR7 got fired up.

He had always believed he was the greatest genius around. This Chinese player from Milan had stolen plenty of his spotlight, so this was the perfect chance to dribble past him and show him what he could do.

CR7 moved his left foot, then his right foot in slow motion; then his right foot, then his left foot in replay. He performed several stepovers in a row and moved forward barely half a meter. Ferguson chewed his gum faster and faster, both hands clenched into fists.

"Cristiano Ronaldo's technique is extremely flashy. Now it's a one-on-one with Huang Kaiwen."

Slap.

After two more stepovers, CR7 tried to nudge the ball past him.

He never expected Huang Kaiwen to have seen through everything.

With the match experience of [Maldini's Dad], he could tell the next move at a glance from such an obvious dribbling feint.

Huang Kaiwen stuck out a foot and poked the ball away. Caught unprepared, CR7 lost his balance and crashed hard to the ground.

"Fuck!"

Ferguson kicked the water bottle at his feet flying.

Last season, he could still say the boy had just arrived at Manchester United and hadn't adapted yet. But after a whole season, why hadn't he improved at all?

Watching Huang Kaiwen carry the ball away, Ferguson couldn't help feeling that his own genius was lacking something.

On the touchline, Ancelotti clenched his fists excitedly. Kevin was just too brilliant. So talented and so hardworking—he truly was the future core of Milan that Ancelotti had valued.

But Ancelotti quickly noticed a problem. Huang Kaiwen's dribbling today was not as fluid as usual.

Different players had different touches, which led to different dribbling styles.

Huang Kaiwen's touch was clearly much worse today than before.

When he saw Scholes go straight into a sliding tackle, Ancelotti's heart nearly leaped into his throat. Damn it, those bastards who only knew how to tackle shouldn't even be allowed on the pitch.

Then inspiration struck Ancelotti, and he understood.

Fuck!

After being injured by Materazzi, Kevin had lost his feel.

His playing and dribbling were clearly worse than before.

Damn it, it was all Materazzi's fault!

If he had known, when they played Inter Milan a few days ago, he should have told the players to take special care of Materazzi, who had just returned from suspension.

When Huang Kaiwen reached the attacking third and chose not to dribble past a defender, instead passing to Kaka, Ancelotti became even more certain of his judgment.

Kevin had recovered, but not completely.

His injury had healed, but psychologically, he had still suffered a massive blow.

Of course.

Any player who was constantly injured would be deeply affected.

Just look at Van Basten. He had retired early because of injuries.

The more Ancelotti thought about it, the angrier he became.

He wanted nothing more than to kill Materazzi right there and then.

On the pitch, Kaka's through ball was read by the opposition. Rio Ferdinand intercepted it, and Huang Kaiwen pressed again.

Huang Kaiwen's performance moved Ancelotti deeply.

Even though he had not returned to his best condition, Kevin was still working hard to contribute to the team.

What a wonderful kid!

It was all Materazzi's fucking fault!

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