"Suker!"
"Suker!"
"Suker!"
In the locker room, AC Milan's players stood in a circle, arms around each other's shoulders, jumping up and down.
Standing in the center, Suker basked in the cheers of his teammates.
Raising his right hand, Suker shouted loudly:
"Suker is awesome!"
The others echoed joyfully—
"Suker is awesome!!!!——"
The entire locker room was filled with laughter.
It could have been a bitter away loss, but the moment Suker stepped onto the pitch, everything changed. AC Milan made a miraculous comeback in the final moments and secured a draw.
This left the team feeling invigorated.
Even though they didn't win, earning a point was still extremely valuable.
Moreover, the last ten minutes had been pure, fluid football.
Smack!
Inzaghi, overwhelmed with emotion, grabbed Suker's head and planted a kiss on it.
In this match, Inzaghi scored twice.
One of those was the crucial equalizer — no wonder he was so thrilled.
The final offside trap was executed to perfection.
The Fiorentina players were stunned!
They even wanted to argue with the referee.
But Suker never touched the ball!
From start to finish, he didn't make contact — the assist went to Kaká, and Inzaghi finished it off!
Just thinking about the dumbfounded looks on the Fiorentina defenders' faces made them all laugh even harder.
At the post-match press conference, Ancelotti was all smiles.
Zero points became one!
And with a last-minute equalizer, no less — he was more than satisfied.
A reporter asked:
"How would you evaluate Suker's performance?"
Without hesitation, Ancelotti responded:
"To deliver a performance like that in just ten minutes? I can't even call it excellent — he was phenomenal!"
The journalists nodded in agreement.
Since joining AC Milan, Suker's performances had spoken for themselves.
"Was that final offside trap something you practiced in training?" another reporter asked.
Ancelotti smiled. "Not everything can be planned out. Tactics are tactics — they don't cover every detail. A match's outcome depends on how the players perform."
"Creativity is crucial in attack. Just like that last goal — if Suker had touched the ball, it would've been offside. But he didn't, and he still drew in multiple defenders, opening the lane for Inzaghi."
"These things can't be trained — they're about instinct in the moment."
Ancelotti pointed to his head. "All I'll say is — Suker's got a sharp football brain."
"With Suker playing so well, why did you bench him for most of the match?"
Ancelotti replied, "We're facing a long season. It's only just begun. The toughest matches come after Christmas. We need Suker at his best then, so he has to rest and stay in peak condition now."
"Given Suker's current form, have you considered making him the core of your offense?"
Ancelotti: "…"
"With his efficiency, would you consider playing him as a forward?"
Ancelotti: "…"
"Compared to Kaká, does Suker play a more central role tactically?"
Still silent.
Ancelotti didn't answer any of those questions.
As the reporters kept pressing, Ancelotti seemed to doze off. After a while, the press conference concluded.
Still in high spirits, Ancelotti hummed to himself as he walked back to the locker room.
"Feeling good?" his assistant coach asked with a smile.
He, too, was in a great mood.
Ancelotti chuckled, reaching for the locker room door handle—
BANG! The door suddenly burst open.
Caught off guard, Ancelotti tumbled forward and fell flat on his face.
"Coach?!"
Suker exclaimed in surprise, then quickly leapt over him and ran off.
"Sorry, Coach!"
Right behind him came Pirlo.
"Apologies, boss!"
And then came the fierce and furious Gattuso.
"You two bastards, stop right there!"
The three of them sprinted past the fallen Ancelotti and began chasing each other in the hallway.
"You three maniacs, watch yourselves!"
Maldini rushed over and helped Ancelotti up.
"Old—"
Ancelotti stood up, shook his head, and sighed, "It's fine, it's fine — no blame, the atmosphere's great!"
Maldini stared at the two streams of blood running from Ancelotti's nose.
Ancelotti noticed. "What's wrong?"
Maldini: "…"
On the team bus home, Suker had a slight bruise on his left cheek. Pirlo had one on his right.
"That guy's too violent!" Pirlo complained.
Suker nodded. "Exactly!"
"Seriously — don't hit the face! Next time, we're pulling his pants down at the San Siro!"
". . .We'll get killed for that!" Suker paused. "Do it by the corner flag — more cameras there!"
"Hehe!"
The two laughed mischievously.
Kaká, sitting across the aisle, said, "Stop bullying Gattuso. He's too pitiful."
Suker glared. "You fake goody-two-shoes!"
Pirlo added, "You're next — we're pantsing you!"
Kaká rolled his eyes and stayed quiet.
Right now, no one dared provoke Suker and Pirlo — the team's infamous prankster duo.
If they set their sights on you, it meant endless mischief.
Gattuso was the prime example.
Suker rubbed his sore cheek — it still hurt a bit.
At first, he had tried to restrain himself, worried the pranks might go too far.
But then he realized something — Gattuso seemed to actually enjoy it.
Despite getting pranked all the time, the man was always laughing.
If even the victim didn't mind, why hold back?
Thanks to these three goofballs, the mood in AC Milan's locker room was lighthearted and fun.
AC Milan's comeback draw against Fiorentina became the hottest story in Italy.
Headlines were everywhere:
"AC Milan Scores Twice in Ten Minutes!"
"It Only Takes Ten Minutes for Suker to Change the Game!"
"The Ten Dark Minutes at the Franchi Stadium!"
"Ten Minutes That Dazzled the World!"
Milan Sports Daily ran a headline: "The Crazy Ten Minutes" — written by the devoted Milan supporter, Claudio Crudeli.
"If you watched Fiorentina vs. AC Milan, forget the first 80 minutes — the real show was in the final ten!"
"I've never seen Milan play with such madness!"
"It was a brilliantly played stretch — passes, runs, and chemistry, all showcased beautifully!"
"How would I describe Suker's performance in those ten minutes?"
"He's a little monster!"
"When he has the ball, he's dangerous. When he doesn't have the ball, he's still dangerous!"
"This match showed the world what off-ball movement really means. When Pirlo was lost, when Kaká was fading, it was Suker's repeated off-ball runs that opened up the space. Pirlo saw the gap, and he found clarity. Kaká saw the gap and snapped back into focus."
"Suker only scored once — but those last ten minutes belonged to him!"
"Ancelotti made the perfect choice — Suker was the turning point."
"And this week, we're lucky enough to have Suker as our guest on the show!"
The show hosted by Crudeli was called Diretta Stadio. This was Suker's first ever TV appearance.
"What am I supposed to do?" Suker asked nervously.
Diretta Stadio was a talk show format, and Suker had no experience with such things.
"You don't have to do anything — just answer the questions. Crudeli will take care of you," said Maldini with a smile.
Suker had heard of Crudeli — a loyal Milanista. Every Milan fan knew the man.
Suker asked, "No script or anything? Not even a list of the questions?"
"Be real!" Inzaghi pointed at Suker. "You know what being real means? Just say what's on your mind — don't be scared!"
Maldini chimed in, "And then you'll end up telling everyone how many girls you slept with in a week — and they'll all team up to call you out."
Inzaghi blinked. "…I was just trying to show how popular I am!"
Suker looked at him in awe.
Inzaghi's brain really was as unpredictable as his runs in the box.
Shevchenko laughed. "Don't worry. Crudeli is a great guy, and everyone there is a Milan fan. With your current popularity, as long as you don't shout 'Forza Inter,' they'll love you and cheer for you!"
"Alright, I get it," Suker nodded, finally easing up thanks to his teammates' encouragement.