Chapter 3 - 000 Helps Milan Turn the Game Around
"Carroll, sign me up, I'll definitely be your wisest signing. Please, give me a chance, I beg you!"
Seeing that he was about to be carried into the players' tunnel by security, Huang Kaiwen gripped the edge of the tunnel tightly and shouted at Ancelotti, his voice crying like a bloodied cuckoo, making the nearby fans' hearts wrench.
Ancelotti, with an unsettled look on his face, finally got up and walked over.
Seeing this, the security personnel set Huang Kaiwen down, though they still held his hands behind his back, fearing he might rush into the pitch again.
"Let him go, he's not a bad person."
Ancelotti's words were quickly translated and executed.
Ancelotti was a kind man, he also soothed the security staff a few words before taking Huang Kaiwen to the coach's bench.
"What position do you play?"
Ancelotti asked.
"I can play anywhere in the front, my favorite position is center attacking midfielder, but I can play winger if Kaka is there," Huang Kaiwen said unabashedly.
Ancelotti turned to the locker room manager and gestured, "Find him a set of gear."
The moment Huang Kaiwen saw this, he immediately said in Italian, "I wear size 42 soccer shoes, and I would prefer jersey number 7."
Ancelotti, with a deadpan face, this guy is already asking for a jersey number, isn't he a troublemaker? But recalling Huang Kaiwen's demonstrated skill on the field just now, he couldn't help but smirk internally. Such a skilful player available on a free transfer would be a huge gain.
God knows why this kid hadn't found a team previously, Ancelotti had already decided to offer Huang Kaiwen a contract, but he needed to see him play in a game again.
The Milan substitutes crowded around Huang Kaiwen, asking him all sorts of questions. They weren't strangers to fans running on the field, but a fan who played so well was definitely a new sight for them.
As Huang Kaiwen warmed up, he chatted and shot the breeze with them.
In the 76th minute, Ancelotti substituted Cyrilino, pushing Huang Kaiwen onto the field, saying, "Go on, just show what you can do."
Immediately afterwards, Ancelotti called Maldini, the captain, over and instructed, "Tell them to pass the ball to that kid more, let's see his level—if things go as expected, we'll sign him."
Maldini nodded.
Although a bit annoyed at being outplayed by Huang Kaiwen, Maldini still recognized the young man's talent. Signing such a player would be great for the team he had served for half his life.
So, he went back to the pitch and sternly reminded his teammates to pass more to Huang Kaiwen.
It wasn't that he was being meddlesome.
Mainly because professional players are quite proud and exclusivist, and the manner in which Huang Kaiwen had entered the game had already offended people. Without a serious word, they probably wouldn't cooperate well.
"That fan has entered the game, we still don't know his name, but he must be Chinese. Speaking of which, his skills are really good. Now he's wearing Milan's number 7 jersey. I wonder if Ancelotti will decide to sign him." Zhang enthusiastically said. Even though it was a bit nonsensical, having a Chinese talent suddenly emerge was definitely a good thing.
The match restarted, although after Maldini's admonition, the Milan players still held the intent to give Huang Kaiwen a tough time.
Passing the ball – wasn't that ultimately up to them? They could control whether it's a bit harder or easier.
As for the Shenhua players, having recently been effortlessly dribbled past by Huang Kaiwen, they became mere background actors, seething with resentment. It could be said that most of the players on the field disliked Huang Kaiwen.
After Diana received the ball, he assisted in progressing it to the front field, intentionally making a long kick a bit too short, just to give Huang Kaiwen a hard time.
Seeing this, Huang Kaiwen immediately ran from the side to the center, and after jumping, he barely managed to chest the ball to the side using his chest, then accelerated to snatch the ball in front of Yu Tao. Immediately after, he passed the ball to Leidesma, who was also recently substituted, while he rushed toward the penalty area.
Leidesma decisively kicked toward the penalty area.
This pass was also somewhat forceful, but Leidesma still underestimated Huang Kaiwen. Or perhaps he underestimated the peak speed of Michael Owen. Even though the ball was intentionally passed towards the end line, Huang Kaiwen still managed to receive the ball successfully in the small penalty area. Then, without paying any attention to Borello, who was asking for the ball, he twisted his body and kicked a sharp shot from a tight angle.
The ball easily breached the goal guarded by Zhu Huiqian.
"Goal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"What a world-class shot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"This shot is no less impressive than Van Basten's famous zero-angle goal; this fan has helped Milan pull back a goal, 1:2, Milan sees the hope of leveling."
Ancelotti, smiling, applauded from the sideline, the wrinkles on his face deep enough to trap a fly.
Huang Kaiwen's immediate scoring upon entering the field was unexpected.
The Milan players, too, did not foresee this turn of events and decided to start playing seriously, setting aside any underestimations.
Minutes later, Redondo, dribbling the ball, was brought down by Jiawen Peng, and Milan won a free kick about 35 meters from the goal.
Leidesma was eager to try, but Huang Kaiwen walked over, picked up the ball, and pointed to himself, saying, "Let me take it, I need to seize the time to show myself."
Leidesma shrugged his shoulders and walked aside, joining his teammates to watch the spectacle.
The entire stadium, with tens of thousands of eyes, watched this scene.
Even the Shenhua fans were silently cheering for Huang Kaiwen now.
The situation today was clear to everyone; as Chinese, they all hoped this kid could impress Milan.
Huang Kaiwen placed the ball down and started backing up.
After taking a deep breath, he began a short run-up.
One step,
two steps,
three steps.
After three steps, he swung his arm and whipped his right foot.
Bang—
The ball flew almost in a straight line directly from Huang Kaiwen's position towards the goal.
Just when Zhu Huiqian breathed a sigh of relief, the Shenhua goalkeeper suddenly found that the ball began to drop. Damn it, it was a knuckleball!!!
He had no time to react as the ball plummeted and snuck in past him into the net.
Hongkou Stadium erupted into a frenzy.
Huang Kaiwen astutely chose to celebrate by embracing the Milan players.
Ancelotti kept rubbing his hands together, almost wishing he could interrupt the game to sign a contract with Huang Kaiwen.
In his time on the field, the technique and speed displayed by Huang Kaiwen were notable, including the first run into the field, scoring a total of three goals using both his left and right feet.
In the soccer world, players who are balanced in using both feet are very rare.
Being ambidextrous and bursting with talent is even rarer; this trip to China was truly a treasure found.
Minutes later, Huang Kaiwen, after dribbling past four players at the edge of the Shenhua area, set up Borello with an assist, helping Milan turn the game around.
As the referee blew the final whistle of the match, Ancelotti couldn't help but rush onto the field to pull Huang Kaiwen away, a contract must be signed, he couldn't wait another minute.