In AC Milan's home match against Lazio, Diego López returned from injury and took his place as the starting goalkeeper.
Just one minute into the match, Diego López failed to hold a shot cleanly and almost allowed the ever-dangerous Klose to tap in the rebound.
"I don't know why, but watching Diego López in goal suddenly makes me feel very uneasy."
"Same here! Why does Leon feel so much more solid to me?"
"Drop it! Leon's situation hasn't even been sorted out yet."
"Do you genuinely not know? Since when has doping ever been a thing in football? I've never once heard of a drug that improves your ability to stop a free kick."
"Fair point! Inter Milan just couldn't take the loss and cooked up a conspiracy."
In the south stand at San Siro, Milan's most devoted supporters were gradually starting to come around.
In the fifth minute, Klose seized his chance again.
Diego López came off his line with great hesitation, giving Klose all the time he needed to set himself, and Klose tucked a tight-angle finish past him with ease, leaving Diego López with no answer whatsoever.
1-0!
Lazio had taken the lead against AC Milan with minimal effort.
"Damn it!"
Inzaghi stood on the touchline with an expression like thunder.
The gap between Diego López and Leon was simply too large.
If Leon had been in goal just then, there was no way he would have given Klose that opportunity to finish one-on-one.
In fairness, Inzaghi had never had any particular complaints about Diego López's goalkeeping before.
But now that he had Leon as a point of comparison, Diego López suddenly felt like a considerable step down.
With the best option in Leon unavailable to him, Inzaghi felt the club's decision was utterly brainless.
0-3!
Having won the Milan Derby, AC Milan had now suffered another humiliating home defeat in their very next match.
And on the table, AC Milan had been overtaken by Inter Milan once again.
Inzaghi found himself under fresh scrutiny from the media.
Combined with the Leon doping story, the entire club was engulfed in controversy.
"Get Leon's public fitness assessment arranged as quickly as possible."
On the fifth of February, a large number of media outlets gathered at AC Milan's training ground.
Leon remained outwardly calm, because by now everything was watertight.
But at the same time, a quiet fury had taken root inside him.
He had joined AC Milan without any fanfare, completely ignored by the press.
He had made a name for himself in the Milan Derby, and yet the way he had ended up in front of every major media outlet felt nothing short of humiliating.
"Leon, don't let it get to you."
"The club had its own considerations."
Inzaghi patted Leon on the shoulder before the assessment began.
He was equally furious with the club's decision, but equally powerless to change it.
Even Maldini, a genuine Milan legend, had always been kept at arm's length from the club's management, so Inzaghi himself stood even less of a chance.
Leon simply nodded and said nothing.
The assessment began.
"Oh! My God! That pace and explosive power!"
"Bloody hell! That leap!"
"Wow! Reaction speed is exceptional!"
"Leon has absolutely nothing wrong with him!"
"Drug test is clean too!"
With the full attention of every major media outlet on him, Leon gave a genuine demonstration of his physical gifts.
With every one of his physical-related attributes now raised to 15, his physical condition had long since placed him firmly in the top tier among professional players.
And in the subsequent one-on-one test, Leon stopped every single attempt without exception.
Remarkable.
Nobody could find a single thing to fault.
"So we've been wronging him all along."
"Bloody hell! Which irresponsible outlet was the one that ran the story in the first place?"
"I always knew it, no player from the East would ever stoop to doping."
Supporters back home, who had sworn off following football entirely, were in fact keeping a close eye on Leon's every move all along.
There was no media broadcast of the assessment back home, but that was no obstacle for those supporters.
Many of them found ways to watch the live footage through various means.
"Why can't we just believe in our own players?"
"If we can't even give them the most basic trust, what right do we have to demand so much of them?"
Su Jing, far away in Spain, breathed a sigh of relief once the truth was out.
She then posted a pointed message on the forums back home.
Although plenty of supporters back home continued to hurl abuse simply for the sake of it, some did begin to reflect.
Why was it that the moment anyone mentioned football from the East, the immediate reaction was mockery and ridicule?
Because the football had been so poor for so long.
After that many disappointments, hope was hard to hold onto.
But could Leon be the one to change that?
His name had been cleared.
AC Milan officially announced that Leon's suspension had been lifted.
But Inter Milan had already achieved what they set out to do.
Not only had they climbed back above AC Milan on the table, they had also planted a thorn inside the club.
"Coach, from today I'm no longer playing for the club."
"I'm only playing for you."
Leon's expression was entirely composed after completing the assessment.
But Inzaghi could sense the fury smouldering beneath that calm.
"Leon."
"Go out there and play well from here on."
"You are the undisputed number one in this squad."
Inzaghi felt a deep swell of emotion inside.
He simply patted Leon on the shoulder once more and left it at that.
"Pippo is far too emotional as a manager."
"He still thinks like a player rather than a coach, and that will only take this club so far."
"If the club misses out on European football at the end of this season, sack Pippo."
On the far side of the training ground, Berlusconi watched the bond between Inzaghi and Leon with a detached expression and spoke quietly to Galliani.
"Everything comes down to results."
Galliani gave a nod.
On the eighth of February, in Matchday 22 of Serie A, AC Milan travelled away to face Juventus.
Inzaghi released the starting lineup for the match a day in advance.
Leon's name was on it.
Agazzi had long since given up any realistic hope of challenging Leon for his place.
And now even Diego López, who had previously been the undisputed starter, found himself on the bench.
"Hmph! I refuse to believe he can do this better than me!"
Diego López gave a quiet scoff.
He had held on to the starting goalkeeper spot firmly at Real Madrid for much of the previous season, but once Navas arrived, he had gradually faded out of the rotation.
That was precisely why he had chosen to join Milan on a free transfer.
And now it appeared that last season's situation was about to repeat itself at AC Milan.
Diego López felt absolutely wretched about it.
Leon paid no attention to anyone else's opinions.
Since AC Milan had no European football this season and were only involved in Serie A and the Coppa Italia, matches came around roughly once a week.
Before the Juventus match, Leon had accumulated a further 60 System Points through training.
His total currently stood at 432.
Leon continued allocating his attributes.
Aerial ability: 6 to 10!
Distribution: 7 to 10!
That cost a further 350 System Points, leaving him with 82 remaining.
Leon continued to address his weaker areas, making his overall goalkeeping more well-rounded.
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