"The problem now is how to contain Suker! The first half already proved that Ivan alone can't stop him!"
Nesta's voice sounded, tinged with frustration.
Suker's repeated assaults on the defense had placed them under immense pressure.
While Gattuso was indeed a top-tier defensive midfielder, the issue was—he was getting older.
"Suker's body seems even stronger now," Kaka raised his hand and said, "During the first-half clashes, I couldn't budge him at all."
"I had to give it my all just to hold him back," Gattuso raised his right hand. "It felt like trying to rein in a raging bull."
Suker already had incredible lower-body explosiveness, and now with his increased physicality, stopping him had become even harder.
"It's weird though. He doesn't look that strong physically, so why is he so powerful?"
"Must be high muscle density."
"High muscle density, but he's still agile! That triple change of direction over five meters in the first half—totally unlike someone with dense muscle mass."
"Enough of this. The point is—how do we stop Suker?"
The room filled with overlapping chatter.
Then suddenly, it fell into silence.
"Damn it! We never had to worry about this before," Gattuso sighed.
The others looked down, similarly frustrated.
Allegri watched everyone's expressions—he too felt stifled.
Before coaching Milan, he had pleaded many times with the upper management to keep Suker.
Suker was tactically perfect for his system. But Real Madrid's offer had been too good to pass up.
A hundred million!
As much as he hated to admit it, Allegri knew that even he would have made the same decision—sell Suker.
It gave Milan much-needed financial breathing room.
Now, while the club's books were balanced, their squad strength had taken a major hit.
"Let me do it!"
Ambrosini volunteered.
"I'll join Gattuso to try and shut him down."
Everyone lowered their heads in thought—maybe that could work.
Only Kaka opened his mouth but couldn't say anything—he could only smile bitterly.
Ambrosini on the field?
Suker had had a fallout with him!
Given how petty Suker could be, this might just motivate him more.
They might just end up triggering the beast.
Meanwhile, in the Real Madrid locker room, Pellegrini was praising the team's performance.
They had conceded a goal in the first half, but it was acceptable.
Kaka's run had been brilliant.
Pellegrini didn't expect his team to never concede—after all, even the best teams let in goals.
What mattered was finding the way to win.
"Milan will strengthen their defense in the second half, relying on counterattacks. That makes Pirlo and Kaka crucial—they'll be initiating every dangerous counter."
"That's why we need to cut off their rhythm—pressure Pirlo as soon as we lose the ball, and then get to Kaka. If we can't win it from him directly, then keep pressing—trap him if needed."
"I'll use some substitutions for defense, but our attack must stay sharp!"
"Diarra, keep moving to disrupt their shape and control midfield rhythm. Alonso's job is to distribute. Our wingers need to tuck in and support Diarra. Suker, you can drop back occasionally."
After speaking, Pellegrini turned: "Anything to add?"
Everyone shook their heads.
Suker silently ate a banana.
Pellegrini's tactics were solid—this was the best approach with their current lineup.
Until their squad was reinforced, they had to be cautious.
"Alright, let's get back out there!" Suker clapped his hands after finishing the banana. "Watch my position—I'll step up the pressure in the second half."
Everyone looked at each other in disbelief.
Suker had already been relentless in the first half.
And he was going to intensify it?
Ramos and Pepe knew the feeling.
Somehow, Suker always stayed strong even into the second half—maybe even stronger.
Sometimes, they questioned—was Suker simply that powerful, or was it just the defenders tiring?
Either way, one thing was clear—Suker was a monster.
Second Half Begins – Sides Switch
"After a thrilling first half, Real Madrid leads 2–1 against AC Milan."
"Suker and Benzema each scored one, while Inzaghi netted for Milan."
"The main issue Milan must resolve is how to stop Suker."
"During halftime, Milan subbed Seedorf out for Ambrosini—a move indicating a shift to a double-pivot defensive midfield to target Suker."
"This tactic was once used by Ancelotti in 2007/08 to successfully contain Messi. Will it work against Suker?"
When Suker saw Ambrosini warming up, he instantly understood Milan's plan.
Double pivot to trap him.
Ancelotti once made it work on Messi—but that didn't mean it would work now.
Besides—Ambrosini!
Suker smirked.
Kaka glanced over and saw Suker grinning wide at Ambrosini—he sighed.
What he feared had come true.
If Milan couldn't stop Suker with the double-pivot…
They'd have to face an even more hyped-up version of him.
Milan kicked off and calmly passed in their own half.
Top-tier clubs knew how to stay patient, even when behind—spreading the ball side to side, waiting for an opening.
Unlike national teams, clubs had years of tactical cohesion and chemistry.
One look could convey meaning.
So club football rarely relied on individual heroics—only players with overwhelming skill could break the mold.
Suker and Kaka were such players.
Milan finally broke forward through Pato.
But his dribbling was too simplistic—trying to beat Marcelo with just speed.
Marcelo and Alonso combined for a clean tackle.
Then Marcelo pulled a flashy roulette and actually beat Pato with it.
Pato turned red.
Not only did he fail to beat Marcelo, he got embarrassed by a left-back.
As he tried to recover, Marcelo had already fed Diarra, who passed to Suker.
Suker quickly pushed it to Higuain on the wing.
Then Ambrosini came rushing in.
"Good evening," Suker smiled wickedly.
Ambrosini flinched—Suker's smile was creepy.
Suker jogged to the wing, watching Gattuso and Ambrosini's positions.
They were keeping a careful, coordinated formation—ready to close in the moment he touched the ball.
"Higuain!" Suker called.
The pass came.
Suker received it facing forward, then shifted to the right.
Ambrosini followed closely. Gattuso closed in fast.
Suker stomped his right foot forward—Ambrosini reacted.
Suker stomped again—Ambrosini's body leaned defensively.
Then Suker pulled it sideways with his right, nudged with his left—
A clean roulette move! Ambrosini stumbled backward and fell.
Just as Suker was about to break away—
BAM!Gattuso's sliding tackle took him out cleanly.
Suker somersaulted and winced.
Well-timed.
Fair play to Gattuso—he got it clean.
Suker got up, brushing himself off. He looked at Ambrosini on the ground and couldn't help feeling a bit satisfied.
After that, Suker focused on Ambrosini—he kept testing his area.
Gattuso managed to intercept a few times, but was slowing down.
And eventually—at the 71st minute—Suker exploded.
No fancy moves.
Just raw power, blasting between the two midfielders.
CRASH!
Ambrosini and Gattuso collided and both fell—completely missing him.
Suker advanced calmly toward the backline.
Facing Nesta and Thiago Silva, he slid the ball right—
Higuain arrived like lightning and smashed it low into the net.
GOAL!Real Madrid up 3–1.
They instantly subbed: Benzema and Higuain off, Metzelder and Albiol on.
Defensive mode activated.
Suker stayed forward for counterattacks; the rest dropped back.
Pace slowed down. Milan's tired legs could no longer mount real threats.
Kaka still fought bravely, but he alone couldn't breach Madrid's solid backline.
With Suker lingering up top, Milan couldn't commit numbers to the attack.
Time ticked by.
Final whistle.
3–1, Real Madrid defeats AC MilanChampions League 2009/10 group stage, matchday 3.
Real Madrid all but secures first place in the group.
The Bernabéu erupted.
Madrid fans finally got their revenge.
Suker had 1 goal and 2 assists—once again playing magnificently.
Kaka sat on the ground, shaking his head.
He had given it his all—but still couldn't turn it around.
Exhausted.
"Here,"
Suker extended his hand and pulled Kaka up.
The two embraced.
"Next one's at San Siro," Suker said. "Been a while since I've been back."
Only four months had passed, but it felt like a lifetime.
Kaka smiled, "The Milan fans might boo you."
"They won't… right?" Suker scratched his cheek.
He was still popular in Milan—even after leaving, many fans liked him.
As Kaka walked off, Suker shook his head.
Milan's condition was clearly declining.
Once Gattuso, Nesta, and Inzaghi retired—the team would collapse completely.
Back in Milan's locker room, silence reigned.
Gattuso sat on the bench, breathing heavily.
He sighed, looking down.
Besides Kaka, none of the attackers had offered any real threat.
Even the double-pivot strategy failed to contain Suker.
A complete defeat.
What made it worse—his body could no longer keep up.
He'd even had the shameful thought: It'd be nice to just get subbed off and rest…
He considered that thought disgraceful—but under this pressure, it had surfaced.
The room was dead silent.
Losing hurt—especially when the one who dominated them used to be their own teammate.
BUZZ BUZZ
Gattuso's phone vibrated.
He picked it up.
It was a picture.
Him, wearing teddy bear underwear, sprawled out on a bed.
Caption:"GIVE! ME! BACK! MY! COMPUTER!"
Gattuso looked up, stunned.
Kaka, Inzaghi, Nesta, Pato, and Seedorf's phones all buzzed too.
One by one, their expressions turned to horror.
Pato said blankly: "He… had a backup?!"
"What do we do now?" Inzaghi panicked. "He'll really leak these photos!"
"What do we do? We give it back! I told you not to steal it!"
"You okay knowing those pics were on his computer?"
"Well now he's got backups! It's useless!"
"How were we supposed to know he'd back them up?!"
Everyone fell silent.
Gattuso: "Who's returning it?"
They all turned to Pato.
Pato froze—then stood up and shouted:"If I die, we ALL die!"
Kaka grinned: "Should we… mail it?"
"If he doesn't get it tomorrow, can you guarantee he won't leak it?" Nesta shook his head. "No way!"
Inzaghi said, "Let's send someone."
"Who?"
They all looked toward the corner of the locker room.
Inzaghi walked over with a bright smile.
"David, can you do us a favor?"
In the Real Madrid locker room, Beckham walked in holding a laptop, catching up with old friends.
Raúl warmly greeted him.
Suker lingered nearby, watching intently.
Left glance. Right glance.
That's his laptop.
Beckham noticed and smiled as he handed it over.
"Inzaghi asked me to return this to you."
Suker asked, "No other messages?"
"Inzaghi said nothing—but Gattuso sends his apologies."
Suker laughed aloud.
Clearly, the teddy bear underwear had done the trick.
He still couldn't figure out why Gattuso wore something so… cute.
Probably his wife bought it—and he just wore it without caring.
Then Suker happened to snap a photo.
He slipped the laptop into his bag and asked Beckham,"You're playing Ukraine next?"
Beckham sighed: "After losing to you guys, our whole plan's in chaos. Now we're just fighting for second place."
No one expected Andorra to beat Croatia.
Back in the Euro qualifiers, Croatia put 12 past Andorra across two legs—Andorra didn't even score once.
Just thinking about facing Croatia gave Beckham a headache.
Early tactics aside—when it turned into a physical brawl in the second half, they couldn't handle Suker's power.
Just like this match—Suker turned into a cheat code in every second half.
While others wore down, he only got stronger.
Beckham didn't stay long—he left after returning the laptop.
The other Real players were curious.
Ramos asked, "What's in there?"
Suker turned, "You wanna know?"
Ramos nodded.
Suker smirked, "You'll find out."
Ramos flinched slightly.
"Whatever it is, I've got a bad feeling…"
Suker just smiled.
He had just made a new folder called 'Real Madrid Special'.
Now wasn't the time.
Better to wait until they all got closer—
The better the bond, the sharper the sting.
The 2009/10 UEFA Champions League group stage—Round 3 was complete.
AC Milan were defeated at the Bernabéu.
But this was only the beginning.
Three more group matches remained.
And Milan's home match would be crucial.
They needed a win at the San Siro to fight for a place in the knockout stage.