November 24th, UEFA Champions League, Group Stage Round 5.AC Milan hosts Schalke 04.
For this match, AC Milan fielded mostly substitutes, aside from a few starters.
Starting XI:Goalkeeper: KaracDefenders: Jankulovski, Kaladze, Costacurta, SimicMidfielders: Vogel, Pirlo, AmbrosiniForwards: Kaka, Shevchenko, Rui Costa
Currently, the score stands at AC Milan 1:1 Schalke 04.
On the field, AC Milan is clearly dominating.
Shevchenko's constant threat on the attack is intimidating—he's currently leading the Champions League scoring charts and is eyeing the Golden Boot this season.
However, tonight's goal came from Rui Costa.
Despite Shevchenko's relentless attacking, he hasn't managed to find the net yet.
He's visibly frustrated.
He turns to look at the bench—more precisely, at Suker, sitting on the bench.
He misses Suker!He misses Suker's passing!Suker's assists!
Before the match, Shevchenko, obsessed with Stats padding, even pleaded with coach Ancelotti to let Suker play.
But Ancelotti refused.
The reason was simple: Suker needed to rest and prepare for a more important match.
Coming up on December 12th—the Milan Derby!
With Christmas just around the corner, this match is crucial.
Whichever team loses will have a miserable holiday.
As a significant holiday across Europe, having a bad Christmas is no small matter.
If qualification were still uncertain, Ancelotti might have considered playing Suker. But since AC Milan had already secured top spot in the group with two games to spare, there was no need to risk him in this "unimportant" match.
Shevchenko turned his head to Kaka, pointing to a spot ahead of him.
"Pass it here!"
Kaka scratched his head.
His passing wasn't like Suker's—or rather, he couldn't deliver Suker's pinpoint assists.
Nor could he find Shevchenko in tight spaces with a scoring chance.
Kaka looked a little downcast.
Shevchenko's expectations had been raised by Suker's brilliance—now, he wasn't satisfied with anyone else's passes.
Yaaaaawn…
Gattuso let out a long yawn.
Without a match, life was just too boring.
He didn't realize Suker and Pirlo were eyeing him.
As Gattuso yawned again, Suker suddenly jabbed a finger into his throat.
"Ughhh!!"
Gattuso gagged violently.
He turned and roared: "Damn it, Suker!!"
Suker had already curled up, covering his head, ready for a beating.
But nothing came.
Suker instinctively straightened up.
"Take this!"
Boom! A punch landed hard on Suker's stomach.
Gattuso was still fuming. On the side, Pirlo looked regretful.
"Damn! Suker beat me to it!"
Gattuso suddenly turned and threw a punch.
"You're just as annoying!"
Maldini sighed, "Can you three behave yourselves?"
Gattuso pouted: "Then you deal with these two!"
Maldini shook his head: "Can't control them."
The broadcast camera just happened to cut to the AC Milan bench.
Suker and Pirlo were messing around with Gattuso—so irritating that commentator Aldo Serena couldn't help but quip:
"Gattuso has such a good temper!"
Milan fans were already in stitches.
Who would've thought this burly guy, Gattuso, was actually the team's punching bag?
"Okay okay! I give up!"
Pirlo clutched his head, surrendering.
Gattuso had just released his chokehold when Pirlo immediately poked him in the butt.
Wham! Wham!
Two more punches from Gattuso.
Suker teased: "So annoying!"
Maldini chimed in, "You're no better! That one TV appearance made Andrei hold three separate press conferences to clarify things!"
Just thinking about it gave Maldini a headache.
This little rascal!
Suker shrugged: "Isn't it great? Andrei got promoted to second captain and even wore the captain's armband!"
On the field, Shevchenko, as acting captain, was currently wearing the armband.
"See how well he's playing? That's motivation! That's my contribution!" Suker said proudly.
Smack!
Maldini slapped him on the head.
This brat needs a beating!
Suker clutched his head, laughing, and turned: "Captain, any chance I can wear it sometime too?"
"You want to be captain?" Maldini was surprised.
Suker shook his head: "Just for one game! So I can be the on-field captain and yell at Gattuso—I want to see what he…"
"Yell at who?"
Gattuso turned ominously.
Suker immediately said: "Kaka! I meant Kaka!"
He pointed at the field in mock frustration: "Look at him—what is he even doing with those passes?"
Maldini's eyes suddenly lit up with mischief. "Well, maybe… if you…"
WOW!!!!
Suker shot up from his seat. On the field, Shevchenko had just scored with a powerful strike!
AC Milan now leads Schalke 2:1!
Suker cheered with all his might, hiding a sigh of relief inside.
Maldini shook his head. He didn't actually mind giving Suker the third captaincy—as long as Suker agreed to a lifetime contract with Milan.
But this little punk didn't seem interested!
With this win, AC Milan once again took all three points in the group stage.
Group E's battle for second place now became a total mess.
PSV Eindhoven, after beating Fenerbahçe, climbed back into second place.
To qualify, they'd have to beat Schalke 04.
Schalke also had to beat PSV.
As for Fenerbahçe, they'd need to beat AC Milan at home in the final round.
It was chaotic—but AC Milan didn't care. They were through no matter what.
In the final round, they'd again field a team of substitutes.
November 27th: AC Milan vs Lecce, Home Match
Suker played 60 minutes, providing an assist for Shevchenko's goal.
The rest of the time, he conserved energy—Ancelotti didn't want him overexerted.
The goal was to win while keeping the tempo steady, managing the match.
That's exactly what Suker did.
At 60 minutes, Suker was subbed off.
The San Siro crowd gave him a heartfelt ovation—reluctant to see him go.
They wanted to watch more of his brilliance, but for the sake of the season's second half and the upcoming derby, they had to be patient.
Final score: AC Milan 2:1 Lecce.
Goals from Shevchenko and Kaka.
December 4th: Away vs Chievo
It was a fierce back-and-forth match.
Until Suk left in the 70th minute, AC Milan was up 2:1.
But in 90+1, Chievo striker Semioli scored a dramatic equalizer.
The home crowd erupted.
"The Flying Donkey Miracle!" they shouted.
That term refers to Chievo's historic rise in the early 2000s—from underdogs to finishing fifth in Serie A as a newly promoted side.
Before Leicester City's miracle, this was already legendary.
Chievo's late equalizer against Milan was seen as a minor upset in Serie A.
But AC Milan didn't dwell on it—they quickly refocused.
All eyes were now on the most important pre-Christmas match:
The Milan Derby!
December 7th, Istanbul, Turkey
"I knew it!"
Heavy snow blanketed the city.
Suker sat bundled in a puffer jacket on the bench.
The heavy snowfall clearly affected AC Milan's players—they struggled in the conditions.
Suker grew increasingly anxious watching from the sidelines.
Ancelotti stood silently on the sideline.
Suker couldn't take it anymore.
He walked up to the assistant coach.
"Let me send instructions!"
The assistant coach was shocked, then nodded.
He began shouting directions:
"Ahead! Aim the ball forward! Keep running—don't stop!"
He looked back at Suker, who gave more orders.
"Shoot more! Try long-range shots! The ground's slippery—maybe one will go in by luck!"
"Pirlo—push up! You're too deep! Defenders, secure the first bounce, no one knows where the second bounce will go!"
"Ahem…"
Ancelotti cleared his throat, giving the assistant coach a strange look.
The assistant turned to Suker.
After a moment, he pointed at Suker and said:
"He says he's more experienced in this weather than you!"
"Ahem." Ancelotti cleared his throat again and turned away: "Carry on."
Suker's commands had some effect.
In the 86th minute, Pirlo unleashed a long shot. The ball skidded on the snow and deflected into the goal.
AC Milan equalized at the last minute.
The match ended in a draw.
UEFA Champions League Group E Final Standings:
1.AC Milan: 5 wins, 1 draw, 0 losses – 16 points
2.PSV Eindhoven: 2 wins, 1 draw, 3 losses – 7 points
3.Schalke 04: 1 win, 2 draws, 3 losses – 5 points
4.Fenerbahçe: 1 win, 2 draws, 3 losses – 5 points
AC Milan and PSV Eindhoven advanced to the knockout stage.
Schalke 04 dropped to the Europa League.