Before the party left Milan, Maldini fulfilled his promise and invited Yan Jing’s team for a match of football by A.C. Milan.
When they arrived at the football stadium, the entire stadium was packed and Maldini had purchased good seats. Unlike the party, most of them dressed casually as Maldini pointed at an amicable-looking middle-aged man and smiled, “Don’t just see him wearing a football jersey, but he’s a actually giant with a networth of over one billion euros.”
Before the competition even started, the fans had already started singing the anthems for their respective teams as everyone looked cheerful.
“I never expected that the ambience would be so intense.” Yan Jing smiled.
“Milan is a complicated city. This is a city famous for fashion, and at the same time, it’s also plagued with homeless; we have tycoons here, but we also have pitiful people here. The football stadium is the fairest venue. Regardless of your social status, we’re all gathered here as just fans.” Maldini smiled.
As Su Tao seated between Yan Jing and Vera, Maldini brought along Emily, whom they met at the party previously. She’s also a fan of A.C. Milan, and she even had painting done on her face that makes her look lively.
At the same time, he was also feeling curious why Silvia wasn’t here, but he instantly figured it out after Maldini told him that Silvia’s parents were loyal fans of Inter Milan, the rival of A.C. Milan. Hence, she definitely can’t show up here.
The competition will start in ten minutes, and the atmosphere is becoming more excited. When the host used his voice to hype up the atmosphere even more, even Maldini started cheering out as if he had taken aphrodisiac.
Not far away, a tall man squeezed out of the crowd as he came over to Maldini and greeted, “Maldini, it has been a long time!”
“Simone, just seeing you makes my mood terrible.” Maldini wore a playful smile as he asked, “You’re not a fan of A.C. Milan, so what are you doing here?”
With a smug on his face, Simone asked, “You’re still brooding over your loss of 100,000 EUROs to me the other time? How about this, are you interested in another bet?”
“You’re boring!” Maldini replied furiously.
Simone is a loyal fan of Lazio, and he had a bet with Simone during the last game between the two clubs. In the end, the game ended with Lazio winning, so Maldini lost 100,000 EUROs in his bet.
It’s not a huge sum, but losing made Maldini furious.
Simone and Maldini had known each other since young. They were both groomed as successors by their families, so the two of them have been competing hiddenly.
Today’s match isn’t a game between Lazio and A.C. Milan, so Maldini was baffled why Simone would be here.
“Seems like you’re afraid that you might lose the bet again!” Simone decided to start prodding Maldini.
“I’m afraid?” Maldini sneered. A.C. Milan isn’t facing off with a formidable team today, and it’s F.C. Crotone, ranked as one of the lowest on the scoreboard.
“Let’s do 500,000 EUROs, there’s nothing interesting with 100,000 EUROs.”
“As you wish!” Simone knew that Maldini was trying to get back what he had lost previously.
As the two of them have been conversing in Italian, Su Tao and the rest couldn’t understand what they were both talking about. But judging from Maldini’s expression, his relationship with Simone should be terrible.
“Ms. Emily, I’ve never heard before that you’re also a fan of football!” Simone suddenly smiled.
Emily was briefly stunned by the abrupt words before and smiled, “I was influenced by Maldini, so I’ve decided to give it a try.”
Shrugging his shoulders, Simone replied, “Then I suggest that you should make an analysis and support another club. Last year, A.C. Milan was only around the mid-rankings, while Lazio was one of the top five. Furthermore, Lazio was more stable in recent years compared to A.C. Milan. So if you want to support a club, you can give Lazio a consideration.”
“I stay in Milan, so it’s natural for me to support A.C Milan.” Emily replied unhappily.
“If you find a Rome husband someday, perhaps you will fall in love with Lazio even more.” Simone spoke ambiguously as he gave Emily a wink.
At this moment, Maldini finally realised the reason why Simone was here today, so the latter was here for Emily!
If Maldini and Emily got married, the two of their families would form a closer cooperation. Simone was long interested in Emily, and Maldini could tell from Emily’s words that they were strangers.
Since Simone is supporting F.C. Crotone, he naturally can’t be present in A.C. Milan’s area, so he left for the other side a few minutes before the game started.
After Simone left, Maldini sighed as he turned to Emily, “He’s wooing you?”
“Strictly speaking, there’s a high possibility that he might be my fiance in the future.” Emily replied in a low voice as she continued, “But I have been hesitating on that.”
When she finished, she looked at Maldini with her eyes glittering.
Letting out a sigh, Maldini squeezed out a smile, “Simone is a vile person, and he’s definitely not a match for you.”
“Actually, I’m not as outstanding as you think.” Emily replied with a bitter smile as she shook her head.
“No, please believe in me. You’re genuinely outstanding, and any man will be attracted to you!” Maldini spoke seriously.
“Including you?” Emily asked bashfully.
“That’s right, including me!” Maldini gnashed his teeth as he spoke his heart.
Lowering her head, Emily smiled before she placed her palm on top of Maldini’s. At this moment, Maldini felt as if there’s a current flowing through him as he trembled. Thereafter, he grabbed Emily’s hand tightly.
At the same time, he swept his gaze out at the stadium confidently as the players were entering the field. F.C. Crotone is barely surviving, so how can they be comparable to a powerful club like A.C. Milan?
Looking at the players, Maldini was shocked as he muttered to himself, “Why isn’t Sanche around?”
An hour before the game starts, the player’s list will be distributed, which Maldini has a habit of checking. But due to Su Tao and Yan Jing’s presence today, he forgot to check the list today. Turning to the reserves, he saw Sanche seated among a few players with a grave expression as he doesn’t seem to be in a good mood.
Sanche is the most expensive player in A.C. Milan, and he has a strong influence in the club. Thus, it will affect A.C. Milan greatly if he’s not on the field.
Looking at this scene, Maldini’s face changed as he finally found out why Simone was so confident to bet with him. That fellow must have received news that Sanche won’t be playing in this game.
Looking at the drastic changes on Maldini’s face, Su Tao asked curiously, “What’s the matter?’
Shaking his head in disappointment, Maldini replied, “I’m afraid that I might leave you disappointed in this game. The mid-game motor, Sanche, won’t be participating in the game, and I’m afraid that it might not be a pleasant game later. Sanche is the backbone of the entire club, and A.C. Milan will be scattered without him. Compared to F.C. Crotone, A.C. Milan won’t have any advantage.”
Wearing a smile, Su Tao comforted, “The game is only interesting with something unusual for once. What’s the joy in it if we already know the result?”
Maldini responded by forcing a smile. Inwardly, he’s feeling extremely terrible. If he loses his bet once more, Simone would only be more smugly in the future, not to mention that his previous loss had made him a laughingstock in their circle.
Su Tao also has some understanding of football, but the standards of Chinese clubs are too terrible. A decade ago, they can still be ranked, but they’ve been dropping thereafter, becoming a third-rated team in asia.
Compared to men's football, the standards of women's football has been rising in recent years. However, it's completely different compared to men's football.
For example, if male players receive a prize money of ¥500,000-600,000, women are only getting a salary of ¥1,000.
While male players can afford luxury cars, female players can only choose to withdraw because of life.
Due to the deformity in the development of football in China, many fans were hurt.
As the whistle blew off, the competition officially began. It was just as Maldini had predicted, A.C. Milan lost their direction without Sanche, allowing F.C. Crotone to launch a few threatening assaults.
Looking at the game, Maldini constantly sighed in regret with beads of sweat forming on his nose. As for Yan Jing, she had no idea what was going on and needed explanation from Su Tao.
“I never expected that you would be versed in football!” Yan Jing smiled.
Shrugging his shoulders, Su Tao replied, “Let’s just say that I’m omniscient and omnipotent.”
On the other hand, Vera wasn’t too interested in football as she has been snapping photos with her phone before asking with a smile, “Who do you think will win in this game?”
Casting a glance at Maldini, Su Tao went over and whispered in Vera’s ear.
“Do you dare to say it louder?” Vera smiled.
“Nope! This side of the stadium represents A.C. Milan, so I won’t be able to leave this place alive if everyone knows what I’m saying.” Su Tao shrugged.
Actually, there’s nothing complicated about football. As long as you know some of the rules, you will be able to determine who’s the stronger team.
F.C. Crotone is a traditional relegation team. They have a stronger defense compared to their offense, using ‘park the bus’ method. The moment A.C. Milan’s players got into thirty meters, they will start to attack and snatch the ball, causing chaos to the attacking team. Under this situation, they will require a player with strong control over the ball in order to get the ball in.
However, A.C. Milan without Sanche seemed to have lost their soul. After a long assault and not being able to get the ball in, they started growing impatient and made bigger movements as well.
That allowed F.C Cortone to find an opportunity to retaliate as they made a long pass. After defeating the defending players, an African midfielder with a robust figure and swift speed charged towards the goal. He was running in the lead compared to the defender, giving the goalkeeper a fright and made a decisive move. However, he was easily dodged by the midfielder. Seeing that F.C. Cortone had a clear excess to the goal, the defender had no choice but to go with a slide. However, he did not manage to get the ball, and instead, he tripped the midfielder.
As the whistle rang out, the referee pointed at the position of the ball before retrieving out a red card and was dismissed off the field.
Without Sanche in A.C. Milan, when the first half was close to coming to an end, one player was dismissed, and they’re only left with ten players in the field.
