After the fierce battle between AC Milan and Manchester United, AC Milan finally advanced to the Champions League final.
After an entire season, they once again faced Liverpool in the final.
This time, Milan would not repeat past mistakes.
The Champions League final was scheduled for May 24th.
But Serie A's 38th round would be on May 27th.
Originally, the league would finish before the final.
But due to the "Calciopoli" scandal delaying the start of Serie A, the order was reversed.
That means AC Milan would face Liverpool in the Champions League final first,
and then face Inter Milan in the league.
Both matches would determine the fate of the Champions League and the league title.
Before these, Milan could not afford any carelessness.
Fortunately, Maldini had recovered from injury.
After a week of rest, Maldini was back in form and could participate in these last two crucial matches.
However, recently there was a strange atmosphere within the team.
The veterans of Milan were deeply focused on the upcoming final against Liverpool.
For the newcomers — including Suker, Gilardino, and others — they hadn't experienced that infamous match and were curious.
Suker had tried to subtly ask Kaká about it, but Kaká was very reluctant to discuss the topic, showing no sign of recalling it.
This time, Maldini decided to speak openly.
He felt it was necessary for Suker and others to understand what had happened back then, so they would grasp what Milan had endured.
Maldini gathered everyone in the locker room.
Only Maldini had the authority to gather Nesta, Gattuso, and others to sit quietly and listen.
"Are we really going to talk about this?" Inzaghi's face darkened even before it started.
"That's not a pleasant memory," Nesta played with his long hair, his expression heavy.
"Istanbul was very heavy for us," Maldini took a deep breath, "but for Suker and the others, they weren't there. To better prepare for that match, I think it's necessary to tell you what happened."
"Where do we start?"
"Champagne?" Suker whispered.
Everyone turned to look at Suker.
He hurriedly waved his hands, "Don't be so sensitive. We agreed, it's a closed-door talk."
Maldini sighed, "Alright, let's start with the champagne. I can tell you for sure, that was fabricated. Of course, saying this now doesn't matter much — we suffered enough punishment. But Milan is a professional team. We celebrate after matches, but never at halftime. That's disgraceful behavior."
"That English commentator was to blame," Inzaghi said grimly. "He said during the broadcast that we should celebrate in the locker room because we were three goals ahead. The media took that out of context and exaggerated it."
"People want to believe what they want, they don't look for the truth. And at that time, we were clowns!"
Hearing the word "clowns," the Milan players' faces grew heavy.
Suker nodded slightly. From his interactions, he also believed Maldini and the others wouldn't do such a thing.
Clap clap clap! Maldini clapped his hands.
"Alright, let's talk seriously. Who wants to start?"
No one spoke.
Maldini was about to speak when Nesta sighed:
"I'll go."
Maldini nodded, and everyone turned to Nesta.
Nesta was silent for a long time, as if unsure how to express it.
"For a long time, I wanted to erase that bad memory — especially the second half. We used tight defense and usually won like that, but Liverpool seemed to transform into something unstoppable."
"The first goal happened. Gerrard headed right in front of me. I just stood there, stupidly, unable to stop him. But that was only one goal. We were still two ahead!"
"But then the second goal came just three minutes later — that Czech guy hit a long-range shot that pierced the net. It was a magical goal! But that goal completely disrupted our thinking!"
"We started doubting the tactics. We thought we needed to change, but opinions clashed, leading to poor coordination."
"Some wanted to attack! Others wanted to keep defense. Honestly, we were lost — no one knew what to do!"
At this moment, Nesta suddenly spoke:
"That was my fault. I failed to understand the situation clearly and should have given clearer instructions."
Suker turned to Nesta.
"And then?"
"And then..." Nesta smiled bitterly, "then came the penalty at 60 minutes! When that penalty happened, our minds completely broke."
"Leading by three goals, then conceding three goals — all in less than 10 minutes."
Gattuso interjected: "It felt like we were idiots, losing the ability to think."
Inzaghi: "They were stunned!"
Gattuso turned and snapped: "Shut up!"
Thankfully, Inzaghi didn't play in that match.
"But the real reason we lost was the argument that broke out in the locker room after regular time," Pirlo said seriously.
"Some wanted to attack, some wanted to defend. Even now, we haven't reached a consensus."
Suker whispered: "Did you fight?"
Slap! Maldini smacked Suker's head.
"No fight. But we did have intense arguments, which ruined our mindset for extra time."
Nesta: "We got through extra time, but by the penalty shootout, our mentality had changed."
"See? That's how it was!"
Nesta clenched his teeth and grinned:
"You can laugh all you want. Yes, at that time we were clowns! The whole world laughed at us."
"We were Liverpool's backdrop. All glory belonged to them, and we didn't even get applause because we lost so disgracefully."
Nesta bit his lip:
"We were just a bunch of losers!"
The locker room atmosphere grew unbearably heavy.
Even two years later, the topic was still so heavy.
Nesta, Gattuso, Inzaghi, Kaká, Cafu — all hung their heads low.
Maldini took a deep breath, looked at Suker and the others:
"That's the whole story. I want you to understand it, and understand what we went through."
After a pause, Maldini said:
"Now it's your turn. Anything you want to say?"
Suker and Gilardino exchanged glances.
What could they say?
Maldini encouraged Suker with a look.
Suker scratched his head and stood up.
Everyone's eyes instinctively turned to him.
If it was Gilardino, no big deal.
But Suker? They took him seriously.
Even the usually moody Nesta looked up at Suker.
Suker took a deep breath:
"I don't know what to say. Maybe everyone in their career has to go through this. Of course, I don't want to experience it. I like winning, not losing!"
"That's why I fight to score again and again. I won't comfort you or say nice things because frankly, you played terribly!"
Suker suddenly raised his voice:
"Don't hit me! You made me say it!"
Maldini scolded, "Keep going."
Nesta and others rolled their eyes, thinking, "Just as we thought, you can't say anything nice."
"I won't say comforting things, but I think we shouldn't dwell on the past. Tears come in two kinds: tears of happiness and tears of sadness!"
"Istanbul was bad enough — let it go!"
"Why shed tears in Istanbul? Don't we have Athens?"
Suker grinned:
"This time, I'll make you smile and cry tears of happiness for the coming championship and glory. How about that?"
Everyone stared at Suker.
They didn't understand why he was always so cheerful.
He had been through the worst, yet his personality wasn't gloomy.
During those war-torn years, Suker had developed a sunny personality, like a sunflower always facing the sun.
Looking at him made everyone feel strength.
Slap! Gattuso smacked Suker on the back of the head.
"That's still crying, isn't it?"
"That kind of crying?" Suker snapped back, "I'll tear your pants off!"
"Hey, stand still!"
Maldini's eyes grew moist, but his mood was interrupted.
He rubbed his forehead.
Headache!