In one of the famous neighborhoods of Milan stood one of the renowned stadiums in the world that had witnessed a large part of Italy's footballing history. It was known to many football enthusiasts as the San Siro Stadium, one of the legendary houses of the footballing world that housed two sporting giants - AC Milan and Inter Milan. It was one of the symbols par excellence of the city of Milan, which often attracted large crowds of supporters yearning to watch live Serie A matches on most weekends.
On match days, the atmosphere around the stadium was always explosive. Fans would start lining up at the gates hours before the kick-off, and when they finally got the chance to enter the stadium, most would immediately begin cheering at the top of their voices in support of their respective teams. Their support was what gave the San Siro life during football games.
That Saturday evening, business was as usual at this famous stadium. The fans were chanting at the top of their voices as they watched AC Milan, their local club, facing off against one of their fiercest rivals in Italy. It was only the ninth minute after kick-off, but the supporters were doing their utmost to boost the morale of their players. They were using their loud voices to support their team and ensure it defeated Juventus, the footballing powerhouse from Turin, Italy.
"El Shaarawy! El Shaarawy...."
The AC Milan fans started chanting again as their club initiated another counterattack against Juventus through Stephan El Shaarawy, their left-winger. El Shaarawy controlled the ball well close to the touchline and skipped past a sliding tackle from Stephan Lichtsteiner. Then, before any other opponents could close him down, he accelerated to top speed and raced towards the other side of the pitch as if his life was on the line.
MartÃn Cáceres, one of the Juventus center-backs, soon stepped towards the flanks to close down the AC Milan man. But El Shaarawy was cunning as ever on the ball. He didn't choose to take on the Juventus man -- but instead squared the ball into the middle, just into the gap left by Cáceres in the backline. And as expected, his brilliant pass also managed to find Jérémy Ménez, the AC Milan center-forward, lurking in that position.
"Jérémy! Ménez! Jérémy..."
The cheers around the stadium hit another thunderous crescendo as Jérémy Ménez connected with the ball just before the box. The center-forward turned and twisted to escape from Leonardo Bonucci, the Juventus center-back, marking him. He executed a couple of body feints to draw the defender out of position and created a pocket of space to work with the ball. And at the right moment, he accelerated and rushed past Leonardo Bonucci to step into the box. He was almost one-on-one with the keeper and ready to shoot at goal.
But just then, the unexpected happened. Giorgio Chiellini, the other Juventus center-back, committed a mistake when he rushed in from the other side, trying to cover his teammate. The center-back stretched out his leg and attempted to clear the ball off Jérémy Ménez's feet. But luck seemed not to be on his side that day, and he caught the striker's leg just inside the box.
"Merda! Ma che cazzo!" Gianluigi Buffon, the Juventus keeper, mumbled a few expletives as he watched Ménez tumbling to the ground inside the box. The AC Milan striker's acting was good, and he rolled on the ground several times while contorting his face in pain. He was obviously exaggerating his reaction to influence the referee's decision.
*FWEEEEEEE*
The referee reacted as expected and immediately blew the whistle to award AC Milan a penalty inside the box. But he didn't just stop at that. He also fished out a red card from his shirt pocket and showed it to Giorgio Chiellini, the defender who had committed the foul. The referee had reduced Juventus to only ten men within the tenth minute of gameplay.
"Referee," Gianluigi Buffon yelled, rushing towards the scene. "That was Chiellini's first foul. Moreover, it wasn't intentional or malicious. How can you show him a straight red card? Isn't that too unfair?"
The experienced goalkeeper was performing his role as captain and trying to convince the referee to change the harsh decision against Chiellini. But his words seemed to fall on deaf ears as the referee only shook his head in response before signaling Chiellini to get off the pitch. His expression said it all, and he wasn't going to change his decision for anything in the world.
"Juventus is in trouble now," Carlo Vanzini, the commentator, yelled, allowing his voice to resound across the San Siro Stadium. "They have conceded a penalty and a red card within the tenth minute of gameplay. That means they might go a goal down in the next few seconds if AC Milan successfully converts the penalty. They will also have to play the next 80-plus minutes with only ten men. I can't picture them winning this game unless something unexpected happens."
"You're right," Pierluigi Pardo, the co-commentator, agreed. "Juventus has been playing possession football with a slow build-up from the back during the opening ten minutes. They have been passing the ball from one end of the pitch to the other, hoping to stretch AC Milan's midfield and defense. But now that they have lost Giorgio Chiellini, one of their most important center-backs, I also can't picture them building up slowly from the back to play possession football. They have to adapt and switch to defensive tactics, or else AC Milan will blow them away here at the San Siro."
"I'm sure that Coach Allegri should also see what the rest of us see," Carlo Vanzini said. "He should be making a few changes in the next few minutes. He will most likely take out an attacking player and bring on a defensive-minded player, preferably one who can play as center-back or a defensive midfielder. But who'll he take out? Zachary Bemba, Andrea Pirlo, Carlos Tévez, or Kingsley Coman?"
"I think Zachary Bemba, Andrea Pirlo, and Carlos Tévez are all out of the question," Pierluigi Pardo replied with a chuckle. "Those are players that make things happen for Juventus. I think Coach Allegri will take out Kingsley Coman and bring on Arturo Vidal, a defensive midfielder. The wing-backs can then push back to form a four-player defense with the two remaining Juventus center-backs. Then, in the middle, we might see Arturo Vidal, Claudio Marchisio, Andrea Pirlo, and Zachary Bemba partnering up to make things happen for Juventus. And lastly, on striking, it will be Carlos Tévez leading the attack."
"That's quite an impressive line-up," Carlo Vanzini, the commentator, said. "You might be right. But let's first return our focus to the field of play where AC Milan is preparing to take the penalty."
Coach Allegri was a bundle of nerves as he followed the proceedings on the pitch. He had wanted to utilize possessive football to whittle away AC Milan's tenacity. But his plan was up in flames after Chiellini got the unfortunate red card. The coach could not continue attempting to dominate possession with only ten men on the field. He had to formulate a contingency plan within the shortest time possible to handle the unfavorable situation and ensure his team came up with a result after the game. He had to make sure that his team didn't lose to AC Milan, one of their fiercest rivals, despite being a player down.
"What to do?" The coach mumbled as he watched Stephan El Shaarawy, AC Milan's left-winger, preparing to take the penalty. He really hoped that Gianluigi Buffon, his experienced keeper, would rise to the occasion and save the spot kick. Otherwise, Juventus would be in deep trouble for the rest of the game.
*FWEEEEEEE*
The referee's whistle sounded the next moment, and El Shaarawy started his angled run towards the ball. The AC Milan striker then opened his body and unleashed a grounded shot towards the inside of the left post. His attempt was well-placed and sure to find the back of the net if the keeper didn't save it. But El Shaarawy soon realized that he was out of luck as he was against Gianluigi Buffon, one of the most experienced keepers in the world.
Everything seemed to happen within a flash, and Buffon reacted by executing an acrobatic dive immediately after El Shaarawy took the penalty. On a full body stretch, he managed to cover a distance of meters within milliseconds and pushed the ball off its intended trajectory with his outstretched fingertips.
The experienced keeper had managed to save Juventus from conceding a goal from the penalty spot during the twelfth minute. But Coach Allegri was still tense as the danger was still at large in the box. The ball had altered its course slightly and smashed off the post before returning to the field of play.
"Damn it! Clear the ball away! Anywhere will do!"
Coach Allegri shouted from the sidelines as the ball bounced back into the box. The coach's heart raced with anxiety as he watched the players of both teams scrambling after the bouncing ball. He only calmed down after Kwadwo Asamoah, his left wing-back, got to the ball first and smashed it towards the touchline on the left to clear away the danger.
"Phew! That was close," Coach Allegri mumbled, letting out a breath. He angled his head and continued following the ball that was on a course towards the touchline on the left flank. And that was when he noticed the silhouette of a player in Juventus' black and white colors after it. It was Carlos Tévez.
"Carlos! Tévez! Carlos..."
The visiting Juventus fans started singing at the top of their voices as Carlos Tévez leaped high and chested the ball to the green. Their voices soon combined to form a booming chorus that shook the San Siro stadium as Tévez skipped past a tackle and took off towards the other side of the pitch.
The visiting supporters were obviously excited by Juventus' immediate reaction after conceding and surviving the penalty kick. As a result, they were soon on their feet in the stands as they watched their star player racing along the touchline to initiate a counterattack for Juventus. They couldn't hide their agitated emotions as they could smell that it was a chance for Juventus to outwit AC Milan for the first time that evening.
