<h4>Chapter 157: The battle of the halfway finale</h4>


    On December 22nd, three days before Christmas, mostpanies in Italy had already started their holidays early, and people took to the streets, beginning to enjoy the holiday joy.


    At this time, watching an exciting football match became the best choice for Italian fans, and at the Meazza Stadium, there happened to be a crucial match that would decide the winner of the Serie A first half, about to kick off.


    Earlier, AC Mn narrowly defeated Brescia 1-0, so Inter Mn needed a victory in this round to im the honor of being the first in the first half.


    The entire Inter Mn team was united, putting aside personal conflicts temporarily at this time. Everyone had only one thought in mind: to defeat Parma!


    Inter Mn''s lineup was still very iplete, with Vieri''s physical condition never reaching thepetitive standard set by the team doctor. It was originally expected that he would return around the 10th round, but until the end of the first half, he had not been granted permission to y.


    Recoba had just been injured as well, and he hadn''t even started recovery training yet. It was estimated that he would also miss arge part of the second half of the season.


    Parma''s lineup, on the other hand, was veryplete, simr to when they yed in the Italian Super Cup. The forward lineposed of Adriano, Mutu, and Grdino gave Inter Mn a lot of trouble during that time.


    Their performance in the league was also outstanding. Currently, all three of them were in the top ten of the goal scorers list, and the forwardbination they formed was the most prolific in Serie A.


    With the sound of the main referee''s whistle, the match officially began.


    In order to contain Parma''s offensive firepower, Inter Mn adopted a defensive counterattack tactic, stacking up defensively to block Parma''s attacks, while relying on speed to tear apart their fragile defense.


    So, both sides seemed evenly matched in terms of the situation. Parma couldunch some brilliant attacks, and Inter Mn could also respond with sharp counterattacks, threatening the opponent.


    On the defensive line, Cannavaro and Cordoba closely assisted each other. Although they hadn''t reconciled, they would never make moves that would drag the team down on the field.


    The first threatening attack came in the 15th minute from Inter Mn. After Coco intercepted the ball in the backfield, he directly sent a long pass to Wang Feng, who was offside. He shook off Parma defender Bonera on the side and crossed, but Batistuta''s header in the penalty area just missed the target.


    This shot ignited the Meazza Stadium. Inter Mn fans stood up excitedly, cheering for the home team, and many began chanting Wang Feng''s name again.


    Two minutester, Wang Feng responded to the fans'' expectations! It was Zti''s pass in midfield. Wang Feng leaned against Ferrari, using his body to desperately suppress the Italian, and leaped ahead to head the ball to Batistuta on the left.


    After receiving the ball, Batistuta flicked it to the edge of the penalty area, then stepped forward to shoot. The Parma goalkeeper made a desperate save, and the ball didn''t fly far, dropping in front of the small penalty area.


    At this moment, Wang Feng quickly shook off Ferrari''s entanglement, wanting to go up and shoot again. But the goalkeeper''s position was closer, and the awareness short circuit caused by the previous save quickly recovered. Frey hurriedly tried to catch the ball.


    At the critical moment, Wang Feng leaned his body back to the extreme, pushed his leg forward with all his strength just before the goalkeeper touched the ball, finally nudging it with the tip of his foot. The ball suddenly deflected out of Frey''s control range, then slowly floated into Parma''s.


    "Goal! Inter Mn broke the bnce on the field in the 17th minute, taking the lead with a goal!"


    "It''s a rebound shot from Wang Feng. He got to the ball before the goalkeeper and swept it into Parma''s goal. Before that, Batistuta''s long shot caused Frey to spill the ball."


    "Batistuta still looks vigorous. This long shot was fast and urgent. Frey could only choose to push the ball out, but he didn''t expect Wang Feng''s follow-up shot to be so quick, and of course, his legs are so long!"


    "With a goal so early, it seems that before Christmas, both teams will bring us an exciting match."


    Adriano was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. At the same age, like many Brazilian kids, he loved football and admired "White Pele" Zico.


    In order to follow in the footsteps of his idol, he went to the mengo Football School to study and was sessfully noticed by the club chairman, Junior, and became a starter for the team at the age of 18.


    It can be said that he, like Ronaldinho and Kaka, was once a brilliant young talent. However, aftering to Inter Mn, Wang Feng, Vieri, Ronaldo, and Recoba were all absolute mainstays, leaving no room for him to y.


    Without wearing the blue and ck jersey once, he was loaned out to Fiorentina, where Adriano found happiness for the first time aftering to Italy because he could perform on the field without restraint.


    But happiness is short-lived. Even if he tried his best to help the team stay in Serie A, the club''s bankruptcy and relegation were inevitable.


    Moreover, Fiorentina''s relegation affected the selection of the Brazilian national team, at least he thought so, because he did not receive a call-up to the national team next, thus missing out on the highest honor of a football yer''s career.


    "Why can Ronaldinho, who couldn''t y in the Champions League in Ligue 1, be valued, and even Kaka, who is still in Sao Paulo, be included in the squad, but not me?" Adriano would sometimes bitterly ask himself.


    The regret of missing the World Cup had not yet dissipated, and when he returned to Inter Mn, he was hit again, this time with the news that Inter Mn wanted to sell him to Parma. Moratti''s exnation was that the club couldn''t guarantee his ying time, so they couldn''t help him develop quickly.


    But he understood in his heart that the chairman still didn''t recognize his strength, so he chose to loan out the veteran Batistuta instead, rather than giving himself more opportunities.


    Parma was slightly better than Fiorentina, but their financial situation was still very bad. However, they were lucky. They brought back Adriano from Inter Mn for 13 million euros, and brought back Mutu and Grdino from Verona for 15.8 million euros and 12 million euros respectively.


    Thebined value of the three of them was almost the price of a top Serie A striker, but the power they disyed far exceeded that. Adriano also truly entered the mainstream media''s field of vision in Italy for the first time.


    On the other hand, looking at Inter Mn, no one expected that after the season started, Vieri and Recoba were injured one after another. Even the rtively unknown Martins could get ying time. Many media outlets believed that selling Adriano was a wrong decision.


    What he needed to do now was to prove this to Moratti, just like he did just now, his powerful shot in front of the penalty area helping Parma equalize the score! After scoring, the Brazilian slid on his knees all the way to the corner g, looking up to the sky and howling. He didn''t want to repeat the same mistakes as in the Italian Super Cup. This time, he must win!