"Chubby! Hurry up! The Milan Derby has started!"
In a university dormitory somewhere in the East, Wang Ke called out to Chen Qiang.
"No rush! Missing a bit doesn't matter!"
"This season's Milan Derby is just two rookies pecking at each other. Nothing worth watching!"
Chen Qiang said indifferently.
"One look at you and I can tell you're not a real Inter Milan fan!"
Wang Ke shook his head.
"Ha! Like you're any more of a real Milan fan!"
Chen Qiang shot back, but still came over to sit in front of the laptop.
Wang Ke and Chen Qiang shared the same dormitory room, yet were fans of AC Milan and Inter Milan respectively!
The two of them sitting together to watch the match in their respective club kits was quite a sight.
"Eh? No way!"
"That goalkeeper! Quick, look at the Milan goalkeeper!"
Wang Ke cried out in shock.
"What's there to look at with the Milan goalkeeper!"
"If Diego López is injured, it'll be either Agazzi or Abbiati!"
Chen Qiang shook his head, thinking Wang Ke was making a fuss over nothing.
"You're wrong, mate!"
"The goalkeeper is one of our own. Leon Feng!"
Wang Ke said calmly.
"No way!"
"Leon Feng is starting!"
"Unbelievable! Brilliant!"
Chubby finally got a clear look and was making even more noise than Wang Ke.
It was not just this one dormitory room. Countless fans from the East, upon seeing Leon Feng in the starting lineup, were absolutely losing their minds.
"That's quite the turnaround. Respect!"
"Ha! I always knew Leon Feng would be playing for the first team very soon!"
"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! There's nothing left to say now. Starting in the Milan Derby, what more could you ask for!"
"Exactly! The goalkeeper position is special. As long as he's not injured, he's guaranteed to play the full ninety minutes. So this definitely isn't down to the Eastern market. Not like the nonsense you see back home where someone plays two minutes and gets substituted off!"
"This is a genuine moment of pride for football in the East!"
It was not only fans in the East who were stunned. The Milan supporters inside the stadium were equally shocked.
What right did a goalkeeper from the East have to start in a match like this?
Quite a few die-hard Milan fans began to turn on Inzaghi.
The Milan Derby was no place for experiments.
"Boo!"
"Boo!"
"Boo!"
San Siro, of all places, rang out with discordant jeers.
Those jeers were clearly directed at Leon Feng.
Inzaghi, standing on the touchline, frowned slightly upon hearing the boos, glanced over at Leon, then let his expression relax.
Leon's face remained completely calm, clearly unaffected by the jeers.
Very good.
In Leon, Inzaghi saw the composure of a true top-level player.
"Pippo! You're looking very confident today!"
Before kick-off, the two managers shook hands, and Inter Milan's head coach Mancini Jr. said with pointed meaning.
"Confidence is what puts the ball in the net."
"That's the secret behind every goal I scored throughout my career."
Inzaghi replied with a quiet smile.
"Ha! You were a legendary striker!"
"But now you're a head coach!"
"Attack alone won't win you matches!"
Mancini Jr. patted Inzaghi on the shoulder and walked away with a grin.
In the managerial world, Inzaghi was a total rookie, nowhere near the standing of Mancini Jr.
Inzaghi smiled to himself. Just wait. This match has a surprise in store.
For you, it might be more of a shock.
AC Milan were dealing with some injury issues this match and could not field a fully fit first-choice side.
Inzaghi still set up in a 4-3-3, determined to commit to his attacking brand of football to the very end.
Four defenders: Lami, Zappata, Mexes, De Sciglio.
Three midfielders: Essien, Muntari, Menez.
Three forwards: Suso, Torres, Bonaventura.
Goalkeeper: Leon Feng.
Mancini Jr. lined up in a 4-4-2.
Four defenders: D'Ambrosio, Juan, Andrea Ranocchia, Yuto Nagatomo.
Four midfielders: Obi, Kovačić, Guarin, Shaqiri.
Two forwards: Palacio, Icardi.
Goalkeeper: Samir Handanović.
AC Milan kicked off.
With the referee's whistle, Torres nudged the ball, and the match officially got underway.
AC Milan played with tremendous intent from the start.
Their very first attack of the match threatened the Inter Milan goal.
Menez drove forward through the centre, beat two men in succession, then flicked the ball back with his heel to Torres.
Torres swung his leg and struck it cleanly, but the ball sailed just over the bar.
"Great stuff!"
"We're definitely winning this one!"
"This is why you love Pippo's teams. Great to watch!"
The AC Milan supporters in the stands erupted.
Torres raised a hand in acknowledgement and shook his head.
Since joining AC Milan, he had managed only one goal in half a season.
His form had been dreadful.
It seemed as though he could no longer recapture the finishing instinct of his younger years.
Inter Milan showed no intention of sitting back either.
Their own league form this season had been nothing to write home about.
For Mancini Jr., the Milan Derby was just as much a must-win.
In the ninth minute, AC Milan's offside trap failed.
Icardi latched onto a through ball from Shaqiri and found himself clean through on goal.
"Oh, God!"
"This could be bad!"
"The defensive line pushed up way too high!"
Even the home supporters in the stands could not hold back their cries of alarm.
AC Milan had been conceding goals exactly like this all season.
And yet Inzaghi appeared to have made no changes to his defensive setup, still pushing the line high.
Lami at right back was an absolute disaster in this match.
Icardi had already pulled five metres clear of him before Lami had even managed to turn his body and begin giving chase.
There was no catching him from there.
It was all down to Leon now.
'He has to save this.'
Even though Inzaghi already knew full well what Leon was capable of in one-on-one situations, he could not stop the tension rising inside him.
Conceding inside the first ten minutes would make the rest of this match very difficult for AC Milan.
Out on the pitch, Leon watched Icardi bearing down on him and felt completely composed.
After pulling off so many one-on-one saves, Leon had reached a state of absolute calm.
As Icardi approached the edge of the penalty area, Leon immediately came off his line.
"Ha! That's going to be a terrible decision!"
"Icardi will chip him for sure!"
On the North Stand, the Inter Milan supporters had already started laughing.
In their eyes, AC Milan's choice to put this young lad from the East in goal for this match was as good as handing them a gift.
Icardi did indeed go for the chip.
Seeing Leon already so close, he used the back of his right foot to scoop delicately under the ball.
The ball lifted into the air in a wide arc.
A smile crept onto Icardi's face. This one was in.
At the instant Icardi made contact, Leon's body suddenly checked sharply, then he leapt backwards in one enormous arching motion and gathered the ball cleanly into his hands.
"Wow!"
"Yes! Yes! Yes!"
Inzaghi's face first flashed with pure disbelief, then he erupted in celebration as though he himself had just scored.
And just as everyone was still reeling from that save, Leon had already strode quickly to the edge of the penalty area and hurled the ball hard out to the midfield.
"Go!"