Chapter 742: Chapter 742
The Rome fans sent Huang Kaiwen off the field with applause.
The smiles on their faces were genuine, reflecting their joy from the inside out, with no pretense.
Apart from Huang Kaiwen’s gratitude to Italy and Totti,
they were also more than willing to see the UEFA Champions League regular erupt for only three goals before leaving the field.
Just think about Juventus, and you’ll know that a hat-trick is just an appetizer.
"Standing ovation, once again a standing ovation."
"When playing against Inter Milan before, Huang Kaiwen received this kind of treatment from Inter Milan fans."
"Yes, Huang Kaiwen is very popular among Italian fans, and today his performance indeed deserved such treatment."
"The departure of Huang Kaiwen is good news for the Roma team. The youngster Higuain is decent but poses far less of a threat than Huang Kaiwen. Now De Rossi is liberated; he finally doesn’t have to mark Huang Kaiwen closely."
Huang Kaiwen returned to the bench.
Cassano immediately came over to complain, "Why didn’t you celebrate? And you didn’t play seriously either. You should have scored 10 goals or more to show these Romans how good you are!"
"It’s your old club after all,"
Kevin said with a smile.
"I have nothing to do with them!"
Cassano said indignantly.
Besides not getting the pay raise he wanted, there were many conflicts between him and Rome.
The majority of the players who played today and the Roma coaching staff weren’t on good terms with him.
Spalletti had once even stripped him of his position as the third team captain.
"That can’t be helped if you have your own issues,"
Cassano was no saint. The conflicts between him and Rome were mostly his fault, with the responsibility split roughly 70-30 against Cassano.
Cassano’s temperament was similar to that of Cantona; both needed the pampering of a coach to perform.
Unfortunately, he never encountered Ferguson, who was especially adept at handling such players. You’d have to obey whether you liked it or not.
As the match neared its end, Mancini, the Roma dribbling wizard, finally scored a goal.
The score was rewritten as 2:4, and the Roma team continued their offensive seeking a glimmer of hope.
Capello, standing on the sidelines, knew the Roma team very well.
The culture of its locker room and the character of its team.
He knew that heading back to the Bernabeu, Roma would certainly attack like mad, striving for that sliver of hope.
Roma was indeed a very tenacious team, and their squad was quite strong.
But it didn’t matter; Kevin would take action.
With Kevin present, not even the Roma team, but also the Roman Legion, would face defeat!
Injury time ended, and Real Madrid won 4:2 away against Rome.
At the post-match press conference,
Totti firmly stated, "Although we lost to Real Madrid, the UEFA Champions League is a two-legged affair, and all of us have the confidence to fight for a result. Roma will definitely not give up hope of advancing."
Totti could be temperamental, receiving more red cards than many attacking players and having various issues. The Prince of Rome was not without flaws, but he was a very persistent person, a qualified captain and team leader.
"Giving up" was not in Totti’s vocabulary.
"During half-time, Kevin eavesdropped on Roma’s tactics right outside our locker room door, that’s why we lost!"
Spalletti told the reporters.
Huang Kaiwen, sitting next to Capello at the press conference, was dumbfounded.
At the time, Spalletti seemed quite amicable.
So it turned out he wanted to make the Yellow Ball King his scapegoat.
Totti looked dissatisfiedly at Spalletti; clearly, the situation was simply Huang Kaiwen walking into the wrong locker room.
But now he couldn’t undermine his coach, so he had no choice but to acquiesce to Spalletti’s claim.
"Did you eavesdrop on their tactics and that’s why Rome lost, Kevin?"
"Was it Fabio or you, Kevin, who figured out how to decode Rome’s tactics?"
"Today you scored two long shots from the right flank; did you discover a weakness in Rome’s right side?"
"Fabio, could you explain why Cassano, who often starts with Kevin, didn’t get the chance to play today?"
"Totti says he won’t give up. How will Real Madrid respond?"
Capello pondered for a moment before speaking first, "This nonsense about eavesdropping on tactics is just that—nonsense. Kevin would never do something so senseless. In fact, I wasn’t even aware that he encountered the opposing players during the half-time break. After spending a moment in the changing room, Kevin found the visiting team’s changing room toilet to be unclean and chose to go elsewhere. To accuse him of eavesdropping on tactics is simply irrational. Kevin has a hundred ways to get the ball into Rome’s net. Even when playing against a team as strong as AC Milan, we don’t need such tactics."
"Is what Capello said true, Kevin?"
Kevin said with a smile, "Yes, the visiting locker room toilet was in a terrible state, perhaps due to a cleaning oversight, so I opted for another restroom. When returning, I accidentally pushed open the door to the Roma locker room. The home locker room is usually well soundproofed, and there are also home team staff members passing by, so Mr. Spalletti’s allegations are simply unfounded."
The reporters nodded in agreement.
What Kevin said made more sense.
In the world of football with so many important matches, no one has ever heard of tactics being overheard during half-time.
Also, as Kevin mentioned, the home locker room facilities are far superior to those of the visitors, offering better sound insulation. If any eavesdropping was to happen, it would be easier for the home team to orchestrate, not the visitors.
Spalletti stubbornly said, "Anyway, Kevin was standing by the door, and under such circumstances, it’s hard not to make certain assumptions."