After signing with AC Milan, I will be the king of football!

”Hey, buddy, I read in the newspaper that you partied till dawn at the hotel?”

”When I have the time, I’ll introduce you to some models so you can experience the passion of Italian girls,” Filippo Inzaghi said with a laugh, wrapping his arm around Huang Kaiwen’s shoulders.

He had found his kindred spirit.

”Don’t corrupt our newbie, you jerk!”

Maldini walked up and kicked Inzaghi in the butt.

After Inzaghi ran off with a playful grin, Maldini came over and said, ”Don’t hang out with that guy. The coach is right, you need to restrain yourself a bit. You know Ronaldo, right? He’s a superb forward, but injuries don’t spare you just because you’re a superstar. Even though he performed okay at Real Madrid, I don’t see a bright future for him. He expended too much energy off the field.”

”Yes, Captain, I’ll be careful.”

Huang Kaiwen nodded in agreement.

”Lads, your performance is truly... astonishing. I think I could run a hundred meters faster than Filippo,” Ancelotti said still smiling.

”Boss, you’re lying. Try running one then!”

Inzaghi protested dissatisfiedly.

Ancelotti didn’t reply and, after looking over the data handed to him by the team doctor, continued to criticize the first team: ”It appears you really indulged yourselves over the holiday. I’m going to make sure you guys get back in shape quickly, starting with adaptation training today and increasing the intensity in a few days. By the way, Gennaro, Kevin, and Dario, you guys have injuries, so head to the sidelines or to the gym.”

The AC Milan players teased again, having already assumed Huang Kaiwen had been run ragged.

Gattuso, pulling Huang Kaiwen and Simic aside, reassured Huang, ”Don’t mind those jerks. They don’t mean any harm.”

”Yeah, I’m not upset — everyone is pretty friendly.”

”Good to know. Italians are just like that.”

Gattuso commented, as if he weren’t Italian himself.

”I’m not a fan of going to the gym. How about jogging?”

Gattuso asked.

”Sure, I think jogging is good too.”

Huang Kaiwen happily accepted Gattuso’s suggestion.

Dario Simic glanced at Huang Kaiwen, thinking to himself that he was a real brown-noser.

Simic, having played for Inter Milan before and still feeling like an outsider after two seasons at Milan, was hurt to see Huang Kaiwen immediately fitting in with the local players.

...

On the training field, the AC Milan players were playing keep-away.

The new season always started with low-intensity training, letting everyone train joyfully.

Slowly adapting to the training intensity of professional players.

Back around the year 2000, a holiday was just a holiday — not many players trained extra during their vacation and then posted it on Instagram. So, after more than a month off, the players’ physical condition drastically declined from during the season, and many even returned with a bit of a belly.

”Damn it, I’m a forward; I shouldn’t be doing tackling drills!”

Inzaghi called out, neck strained from being repeatedly outplayed.

His teammates ignored him, continuing to pass the ball around and tease Inzaghi.

Chasing after the ball, Shevchenko tapped it with his right foot, then pushed it with his left to Pirlo on the opposite side.

Pirlo waited for Inzaghi to catch up before passing the ball steadily to Maldini’s feet.

Before Maldini could kick, an irate Inzaghi, using his hands and feet, tackled the AC Milan captain successfully.

”Your turn, Paul!”

Inzaghi quickly pushed Maldini forward, fearing Maldini might refuse.

Maldini smiled and shook his head as he walked to the center.

”You cheater.”

”Filippo is as dumb as a pig.”

”If he hadn’t used his hands, we wouldn’t be rotating players till the end of practice.”

”Rotating players is good; Filippo standing in the middle exerts no pressure at all. It doesn’t serve the purpose of the practice.”

The others teased Inzaghi.

”You jerks, what are you talking about,” Filippo Inzaghi indignantly pointed at his teammates and said, ”I’ve just been in bad shape lately, got it? Otherwise, I would have caught you guys long ago.”

”If you’re in bad shape, you could run laps with Gennaro and the others.”

Pirlo, not giving any quarter, still held a grudge from the hundred-meter test.

Inzaghi looked towards the sidelines and suddenly exclaimed, ”Look, they’re still running; haven’t they stopped?”

The other players also looked over curiously, they had already been training on the field for over 20 minutes, and even jogging was a significant strain.