Starting With Real Madrid

"The Napoli midfielders have successfully intercepted the ball."

"Barcelona made a mistake in their passing under Napoli's intense midfield pressure. Now watch this counterattack!"

"The ball goes to Biglia, but Barca retreats quickly—Xavi is tracking back."

"Biglia switches play to the left, finding Di María."

"Di María controls the ball on the left wing."

"Biglia moves up to support him, but Xavi stays tight on him."

"Di María plays a quick pass to Villa and immediately makes a sprint forward, with Alves chasing after him."

"Biglia returns the ball to the byline on the left side of the penalty area."

"Now look at this, Di María and Alves are locked in a footrace!"

Di María accelerated rapidly, pulling slightly ahead of Alves. But just inside the penalty area, Piqué was positioned near the byline, ready to block a low cross.

The Argentine winger took a quick glance, Cavani's position was clear in his mind.

If he played a low pass, even if Alves didn't block it, Piqué surely would.

Without hesitation, as he caught up to the ball with Alves right on his heels, Di María barely adjusted his stride and whipped in a cross with his left foot, aiming directly at the center of the six-yard box.

Sánchez was lurking at the back post, keeping Puyol occupied, while Piqué was drawn wide near the left edge of the box. This left Busquets as the only one marking Cavani in the middle. The Spaniard tried to keep Cavani behind him.

As Di María sprinted down the wing, both Busquets and Cavani charged into the penalty area from the edge of the box.

At first, Cavani feinted toward the left side of the penalty area, nudging Busquets slightly, making it seem like he intended to run in behind Piqué.

Busquets, falling for the movement, adjusted his position accordingly, ensuring that Cavani remained behind him.

This meant that if Di María wanted to find Cavani, he would need to bypass Busquets first.

But just as Busquets moved left, Cavani suddenly changed direction, cutting diagonally into the center of the six-yard box.

Right at that moment, Di María, having shaken off Alves, delivered his cross.

Alves, positioned wide, failed to block it. The ball sailed over Piqué, cleared Busquets, and dropped right into the danger zone in front of goal.

Puyol, ever experienced, reacted instantly, shaking off Sánchez and rushing toward the ball.

But Cavani had already launched himself forward like a charging tank, surging toward the ball's landing spot. With his powerful leap, he soared above everyone.

Puyol, despite his strong jumping ability, was at a height disadvantage. Cavani timed his jump perfectly, taking off a fraction of a second earlier, giving him the edge.

With a commanding header, Cavani directed Di María's cross toward the right side of the goal.

Valdés reacted quickly, he had initially been positioned near the left post but scrambled toward the center. However, he couldn't match the speed of the ball.

The moment he saw Cavani rise for the header, Valdés flung himself into a dive.

But he couldn't get there in time.

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!"

"59th minute—Napoli scores again!"

"2-0!!!"

"A brilliant assist from Di María on the left, and Cavani meets it with a powerful header, beating Puyol!"

"A devastating counterattack from Napoli, executed with ruthless efficiency!"

"Barcelona's defense reacted quickly, but they still couldn't contain Napoli's lightning-fast transition."

"Once again, we see the vulnerabilities of a three-man defense, particularly behind Alves."

"In the second half, after Barcelona switched formations, Napoli's counterattacks have primarily targeted the flanks."

"Barcelona is in real trouble now. Their attack has struggled to break through, and their defensive gaps are being exposed repeatedly."

"Two-nil, with about 30 minutes left, Barcelona must respond quickly!"

…

…

The live TV broadcast switched to the touchline.

Gao Shen, elated after the goal, leaped into the air in celebration, his excitement even surpassing that of Cavani, the goal scorer.

On the other side, Guardiola stood motionless on the sideline, a deep frown on his face, exuding frustration and helplessness. No one could tell what was going through his mind.

Two-nil.

Despite Barcelona's increased possession after the tactical shift, their overall performance had remained as ineffective as in the first half.

"This goal is a major psychological blow to Barcelona, especially to Guardiola."

In the stands, many influential figures from Italian football had gathered—Lippi, Ulivieri, Capello, Ancelotti, and others. Together, they watched, analyzed, and discussed the match.

After seeing Cavani's goal, Lippi shook his head and sighed, his expression indicating deep doubts about Barcelona's chances.

"Guardiola is still too inexperienced. A halftime substitution is understandable, but switching to a 3-4-3 in such a high-stakes match is overly ambitious. No matter his reasoning, making such a radical adjustment in such an intense contest risks harming his own team more than the opponent."

Lippi's assessment earned nods of agreement from those around him.

The legendary "Silver Fox" had always been known for his sharp tactical eye.

"The team was completely smothered in the first half. Napoli's tactical discipline and off-the-ball movement were outstanding," Ulivieri observed. "I heard that ever since the quarterfinals against Manchester United, Gao Shen has drilled his players relentlessly on pressing and positional play every single day."

Guardiola probably saw that he had the upper hand in the first half but couldn't convert it into goals or real threats, so he wanted to adjust and strengthen Barcelona's wing play. But who would have thought..."

Ulivieri paused, then glanced at Capello, who sat upright.

"This match reminds me of the final at the Olympic Stadium in Athens."

Capello's expression changed slightly as he turned to look at Ulivieri.

The latter smiled faintly. "Who knows, the scoreline might just repeat itself! It's been a long time since we've seen more than four goals in a Champions League final."

Back in the 1993-94 season, one of the most iconic Champions League finals took place at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece.

Capello, managing AC Milan, faced Cruyff's Barcelona in what was expected to be a tightly contested match.

It had been a remarkable season.

At the time, Capello's Milan had stumbled through the group stage. They narrowly secured first place by edging out Porto, coached by Bobby Robson. Among Porto's staff at the time was a young interpreter named José Mourinho.

In the other group, Cruyff's Barcelona had stormed through, playing dazzling attacking football. They had convincingly beaten tough opponents, including Monaco from Ligue 1, topping their group with ease.

Incidentally, Monaco's manager back then was none other than Arsène Wenger.

The Champions League format had been undergoing reforms in the early '90s, with fewer teams participating. Only the domestic league champions qualified, and the format was constantly evolving. However, the core principle remained, introducing a group stage to increase the number of matches.

In the 1993-94 season, the tournament featured 32 teams, who first played two rounds of two-legged knockout ties. The remaining eight teams were then divided into two groups, with the top two from each advancing directly to the semi-finals.

The semi-finals were also two-legged affairs, pitting the first-place team from one group against the second-place team from the other.

By this stage, the modern Champions League format was beginning to take shape.

Before the final, Cruyff, the architect of Barcelona's philosophy, was still young and brimming with confidence perhaps even arrogance. His side's performances had been dominant, and he didn't shy away from making bold statements.

While inspecting the venue, he remarked that the real AC Milan had been the one under Sacchi, featuring the legendary Dutch trio of Gullit, Rijkaard, and Van Basten. He dismissed Capello's Milan as a team that relied too heavily on defensive players like Desailly.

"We will be the winners, there is no doubt. We are more complete, more competitive. They rely only on defense, while we play beautiful, attacking football."

Those were Cruyff's exact words.

In the month leading up to the final, Barcelona had won six consecutive matches, scoring 20 goals and conceding just 3. Their attacking trio—Romário, Stoichkov, and Begiristain (now Barcelona's technical director)—had combined for 91 goals that season. They seemed unstoppable.

But on the night of the final, none of them showed up.

Meanwhile, Milan's counterattacks shredded Barcelona's defense to pieces.

The backline, anchored by Guardiola and Koeman, was completely overwhelmed.

The result?

4-0.

A crushing defeat.

Capello had orchestrated one of the most dominant performances in Champions League final history.

…

Even though 15 years had passed, for Lippi, Ulivieri, Capello, and the rest of the veterans, the memories remained vivid.

They had witnessed history. They had shaped football.

Now, as they sat in the stands, they were watching a new generation take the stage.

Ulivieri's comparison between Napoli vs. Barcelona and that legendary final wasn't without reason.

Gao Shen, from the moment he emerged in football, had often been called "Capello II."

Meanwhile, Guardiola was Cruyff's direct disciple.

If it had been anyone else, they might have been thrilled to hear such a comparison.

But Capello?

His expression remained as cold as ever.

"He is nothing like me," he said flatly.

Ulivieri chuckled. "That's true. He's not as conservative as you."

Capello's brow furrowed.

He didn't like the sound of that.

Conservative? Me?

Lippi, seated nearby, couldn't help but grin.

"After tonight, he'll have more Champions League titles than you."

Capello's eye twitched.

***

Woah we're at Rank 60, never been this high with this ff before, I know you all are enjoying this ff but you don't show enough love with PS, not that I mind hahaha, just a bit surprised how high we got this week. Guess you're enjoying the final hahaha.

Bonus for 200 PS