Chapter 76 Champions League Debut
After returning home, the national team soon announced its disbandment.
The players said goodbye to each other and went their separate ways. After shooting several commercials for sponsors, Lin Feng flew back to Europe as soon as possible.
The new season is about to begin, and Inter Milan will also participate in the Champions League qualifiers in advance.
Before 2008, Serie A only had two places in the Champions League, and the third and fourth place teams had to participate in the Champions League qualifiers.
Fortunately, they do not need to start from the first round, but can directly participate in the third round, two rounds of home and away games. If the total score exceeds that of the opponent, they can advance to the Champions League.
This can be considered as UEFA’s preferential treatment to the teams from the five major leagues!
Inter Milan’s luck was not good as they drew a relatively strong opponent - Shakhtar Donetsk!
Shakhtar is a top club in the Ukrainian Premier League and a regular participant in the Champions League.
They are quite strong. Last season, they even defeated Barcelona, a team with many stars including Ronaldinho, 2:0 at home in the Champions League.
However, there is also good news for Inter Milan, that is, it is summer now and the Shakhtar Donetsk's terrible home field cannot take advantage of it.
The reason why it is difficult to play against Ukrainian and Russian Premier League teams is mainly because their home stadiums are too horrible.
Every November and even December, the temperature in Eastern Europe drops sharply, often to minus ten or twenty degrees Celsius.
Playing football outdoors in such extremely low temperatures is really a sour experience.
Teams from Western and Southern Europe often find it difficult to adapt, and players are afraid of getting injured and dare not take any action, which greatly reduces their fighting power.
But in August, there is no need to worry about this problem at all.
When Lin Feng returned, the team was just about to set off for Donetsk.
Although he missed the time to train with the team, Mancini, who was quite fond of him, still chose to take him with him.
However, Mancini also gave him a heads-up in advance. Mancini felt that Lin Feng had just finished the national team game and was physically and mentally exhausted after the long journey, so he would not let him start in the first round.
Lin Feng had no objection to this. If he couldn't start, he could be a substitute.
What’s important is not the first round of the game, but the second round of the game after returning to the home court.
Mancini did not let him stay at home to rest, but chose to bring him with him, specifically to let him feel the atmosphere of the Champions League and learn about the strength and style of the opponents in advance.
This is enough to show that Mancini values him very much and is likely to reuse him in the second round.
Donetsk is the largest city in eastern Ukraine, with a population of over one million.
Before the war broke out, this was an important industrial base for Ukraine and the former Soviet Union, with very developed heavy industry and mining industries.
The fans of the Miners are also mainly concentrated in the working class. A large number of workers in steel mills and coal mines are the most loyal supporters of this team.
On August 8, the day the game started, fans of the Shakhtar team poured into the stadium from all directions, using the unity and ruggedness unique to workers to turn the entire stadium into a battlefield.
Even without General Dong's cheering, they still turned the Olympic Stadium into a devil's home court.
Feeling the terrifying momentum of the opponent's home stadium, the expressions on the faces of Inter Milan players were full of solemnity.
The players of the Miners puffed out their chests with pride. In their home court, they felt they were omnipotent.
So what if they are the giants in the top five leagues?
Didn’t strong teams like AC Milan and Barcelona suffer setbacks here?
Before the game started, Shakhtar Donetsk head coach Lucescu took the initiative to walk towards Mancini, shook hands with him and exchanged a few words.
Lucescu once coached Inter Milan for a short period of time and knows the difficulty of coaching at Inter Milan.
When Mancini was a player, he once played against Inter Milan under Lucescu. The two were only casual acquaintances and were not very familiar with each other.
But when the opponent took the initiative to speak and complained about Inter Milan's management and big boss, the two seemed to have found a common language and wanted to talk about it for three days and three nights.
……
Inter Milan's starting lineup today did not change much from last season. Several new players introduced during the summer transfer window, such as Figo and Lin Feng, either did not make the roster or sat on the bench.
Figo was unable to play because he missed the registration time for the qualifying round.
Mancini did not start Lin Feng and Samuel because they were not in the best physical condition.
However, this does not mean that Mancini is conservative. In this game, Mancini boldly used new players.
Two new players, Cesar and Solari, will play for Inter Milan for the first time.
At the start of the first half, the Shakhtar team gave Inter Milan a warning right from the start.
With the help of the momentum created by tens of thousands of fans at home, they launched a fierce attack on Inter Milan at the start and completed the first shot of the game in the 3rd minute.
The shot was very threatening, but Inter Milan's new goalkeeper Cesar performed very well. With his extremely fast reaction speed, he quickly blocked the opponent's shot and resolved the danger.
But the goalkeeper's outstanding performance was not enough to reverse the team's decline.
Just two minutes later, the Miners' attack came back with a vengeance.
The home team's Brazilian midfielder Eraño received a cross from Matuzalem on the left 12 meters in front of the goal. Instead of shooting directly, he dribbled past the Inter Milan players who were trying to steal the ball, and then passed the ball into the penalty area.
The pass was very beautiful, but Materazzi reacted quickly and used his long legs to disrupt the opponent's pass.
The Miners' offensive is not over yet!
In the 8th minute, Matuzalem made a cross from the flank, and Brazilian striker Brandao overpowered Zanetti and headed the ball wide from not far in front of the goal.
After the start of the game, the Shakhtar team firmly took the initiative on the field and almost suppressed Inter Milan in the first half.
This made Mancini a little restless. He stood up and ran to the sidelines, constantly shouting at the Inter Milan players on the field, asking them to cheer up and concentrate.
The Ukrainian Super League started relatively early, in July, and they have been playing for almost a month now.
The players of Shakhtar, who have played several rounds of the league, are much more adaptable to the game than the players of Inter Milan who have not played in the league for a long time.
After all, they had already entered the game, while Inter Milan players were still on holiday and had not had time to adjust either physically or mentally.
But Inter Milan's hard power is superior after all. After gradually adapting to the game and the opponent's offensive rhythm, they began to regain the initiative little by little.
In the 9th minute, Inter Milan's attack hit the opponent's penalty area. Adriano passed the ball at the edge of the penalty area, and Inter Milan's winger Martins made a cross from the right.
Adriano relied on his strong physique like a small tank, and despite the interference of Balcaian, he jumped up with all his strength and completed Inter Milan's first shot 10 meters away from the goal.
But unfortunately, the ball didn't hit the right spot and went over the crossbar.
In the 12th minute, it was Adriano again. He shook his fat body of 190cm tall and 190cm heavy at the front of the penalty area, passed the opponent's defender and broke into the penalty area.
But unfortunately, he dribbled too far, and although he squeezed in, he lost the ball. "What a flexible fat guy!"
"This kid has a bit of a Daluo vibe to him!"
"I bet he performed so well today because he just arrived in Ukraine and is unfamiliar with the environment here and doesn't know where the nightclub is!"
"Haha, you nevermind, this is really possible!"
It is no secret within Inter Milan that Adriano likes to hang out in nightclubs.
Almost all of his teammates knew about it, and there were even some like-minded people who often went in and out of these places of entertainment with him.
But the frequency of their coming and going is really far behind that of Ade. This kid would like to stay in the nightclub every day and never come out, just like Ronaldinho next door.
Over time, the teammates summed up a rule:
If Adriano performed poorly on the court, it was because the battle was intense the night before and he was too exhausted.
But if he suddenly exploded on the field one day, it would mean that the war was calm the day before, or even there was no war.
Given how much Ade loves nightclubs, there is only one reasonable explanation for the lack of fighting - he didn't find the place!
This situation usually occurs when the team goes to an away game. After all, time is tight and the area is unfamiliar, so it is normal to not be able to find the place, unless there is a local to lead the way.
So a very strange phenomenon appeared. At home, Ade often seemed to be still asleep and did not perform well. But when he was on the road, he woke up and played invincibly.
Ade on the court couldn't hear the teasing of his teammates at all.
So he is still continuing his performance!
In the 21st minute, Cambiasso made a straight pass, and Martins and Adriano played a wall pass.
Ade once again relied on his strong body and rushed into the penalty area like a wild boar. Unfortunately, the angle of his shot was too straight and was confiscated by the opponent's goalkeeper.
During this period, the best performer on the court is none other than Ade!
Not only did the Inter Milan fans who travelled with the team praise Adriano's performance, but even the fans of the home team were dumbfounded by this agile fat man.
This guy is tall and strong, fast, has strong explosive power, and is very heavy. He can't be pushed, pulled down, caught up, or watched!
The Miners' defenders had no way to deal with him!
A striker of this weight should be a bulky fat man, but he is very flexible. If you don't watch him closely, he can mess up your penalty area.
What’s even more frightening is that his footwork skills are so good that he can not only eat cakes, but also make his own cakes.
Where on earth did Inter Milan find such a terrifying guy?
The fans of Shakhtar suffered a loss because they didn't know Adriano. He is affectionately called the King by Inter Milan fans, so how could he not be capable?
Although Ade's performance was excellent, his luck always seemed to be a little bad and he never scored a goal.
And not only Ade had bad luck, Inter Milan also seemed to have bad luck today.
In the 24th minute, Martins received a pass from Stankovic and faced the goalkeeper who was rushing out. He shot with his left foot from 9 meters in front of the goal and the ball hit the post and went out of the bottom line.
In the 32nd minute, Veron took a corner kick and Materazzi headed the ball from 8 meters in front of the goal. The ball was blocked by Duryayi on the goal line and hit the crossbar.
In the 35th minute, Inter Milan got another corner kick. This time, Ade got the ball, but his header also failed to pose much threat to the opponent.
Although Inter Milan took the initiative on the field during this period, they were unable to score.
On the contrary, because they concentrated a large number of troops in the frontcourt, the Miners' counterattack threat increased sharply.
In the 27th minute, Zanetti made a cross from the wing, and after Xubschmann cleared the ball with a header, the Miners launched a counterattack. Elano broke through Solari and made a cross from the right, and Brandang's volley from 10 meters in front of the goal was blocked by Cesar.
Two minutes later, the Miners launched a quick counterattack after successfully stealing the ball in the middle, but Tymoshchuk's shot was again confiscated by Sasser.
Judging from the situation in the first half of the game, the Miners are quite strong.
It wasn't luck that enabled them to beat Barcelona in the Champions League!
Although their hard power is not as good as Inter Milan, they are not completely passive.
Under Inter Milan's massive attack, Shakhtar's counterattack was very effective and the threat they posed to Inter Milan fans was no less than that of Inter Milan.
Of course, the referee's whistle today also favored the home team, and Inter Milan was suspected of missing a penalty in the first half.
If that penalty had not been missed, the outcome of the game would have been very different.
Neither team was able to score in the first half and both teams returned to the locker room with a score of 0:0.
As the stronger side, they took the initiative on the field.
Mancini was obviously very dissatisfied with the score!
So after entering the locker room, his first words were to ask Lin Feng to get ready, as he would be substituted in the second half.
Inter Milan needs some changes in its attack in the frontcourt!
"Great! Lin, when you come up, you must pass the ball to me more. I feel like I'm in great shape today. I can score at least two goals!"
Adriano was overjoyed when he heard that Lin Feng would play in the second half.
He still remembered that Lin Feng had fed him a goal in the Tim Cup, and he had been looking forward to the two of them joining forces again.
Facing Ade who was eager to try, Lin Feng smiled and painted a pie for him:
"Ade, I think with your ability, let alone scoring two goals, even a hat trick wouldn't be a problem!"
"Really? Do you really think so?"
When Ade heard Lin Feng's words, he was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling.
Lin Feng nodded heavily and said sincerely:
"Of course you are the best striker on the planet!"
Seeing that Lin Feng was so sincere, Adriano was even happier.
"Lin, you are worthy of being my best friend, and you understand me the best!"
Ade, who had long regarded Lin Feng as a good friend, has now further upgraded their relationship to best friends.
This made Lin Feng feel a little guilty. Ade was so naive that he felt like he was deceiving a child!
So he added:
"Don't worry, as long as you get into a good position in the second half, I will definitely pass the ball to you!"
After the half-time break, both teams made substitutions.
Mancini replaced Solari with Lin Feng, and Lucescu replaced Erano with Brazilian midfielder Jadson.
From the moment Lin Feng stepped onto the court, his Champions League debut began!
(End of this chapter)
