Golden Greenery

On the last day of May, the weather was already very hot, and the scorching sun had a burning smell on the bare arms. A few eager cicadas in the woods of Milanello also started singing the loudest and last song in their lives.

The famous round table conference room on the second floor of the sports center building was now full of people, and the large room could hardly accommodate all these people sitting together. There have never been so many people here at once, but the badge on the main wall of the room is familiar to everyone who comes here today.

The Champions League final concluded three days ago, marking the end of the 2008-09 season across Europe. The vigorous float parade the day before yesterday also brought an end to AC Milan's glorious campaign throughout the year. Milanello has been on holiday since yesterday, and everyone has dispersed in different directions. Some went to the national team, some started a long vacation, and some reluctantly said goodbye to football and retired to the world.

Today, the knights of the Round Table gathered together in this room that gave them a sense of sacred belonging. It has been more than 20 years since the establishment of the Holy Knights of the Round Table. The knights have gathered together in this room 364 times. Today is the 365th time, just like a complete year.

But this gathering was completely different from the previous 364 times, because today all the knights in the history of the Holy Knights of the Round Table were gathered, and none of the twenty-seven were absent.

Baresi, Maldini, Tassotti, Costacurta;

Ancelotti, Albertini, Donadoni, Lentini;

Sebastian Rossi, Filippo Galli, Evani, Eranio;

Massaro, Marco Simeone, Denapoli, Stefano Nava;

Giovanni Stroppa, Francesco Coco, Valerio Fiori, Massimo Odo;

Gattuso, Inzaghi, Pirlo, Ambrosini;

Nesta, Favalli, Brocchi.

These 27 people were all knights of the Round Table. Some of them retired, some transferred, and some due to other reasons. Some of them left the Round Table and no longer gathered in this house. As of today, there are only the last seven Milan players currently active around the round table.

But today, all 27 knights gathered together. There is a huge difference in football seniority between them. The youngest Pirlo and the eldest Ancelotti are 20 years apart. In the football world, this is four generations. gap.

These 27 people have a common identity - the Knights of the Round Table, and a common blood - red and black. Each of them can call the shots in the Apennines. They stamp their feet and the entire Italian football world will tremble.

The gathering of all the knights together is an unprecedented event in the Round Table's twenty-year history. Today is also a landmark meeting for the Round Table.

Twenty-seven knights, but there were twenty-eight people in the round table room today.

——Zhuoyang!

.

After some lively greetings, 28 people took their seats one after another. Although it was a little crowded, they were still able to sit down. Everyone was sitting shoulder to shoulder, not as relaxed and comfortable as before, but actually more intimate.

"Franco, you should be the host today." Maldini said to Baresi.

Baresi was impacted by his deep-rooted Round Table philosophy, which caused him to fall into intense conflicts. He quit the Round Table in August last year and spent more than half a year in self-isolation. Today he is back here again to chair the meeting as roundtable leader.

"Okay." Baresi nodded. "Everyone, welcome back to the round table. Let's move on to the first topic of this meeting. Please express your opinions."

"It was proposed by myself and Paolo Maldini to invite Zhuo Yang to the Round Table Conference and invite Zhuo Yang to become the 28th Knight of the Round Table Paladins. According to the Knights' Charter, if you have different opinions or opponents, please put forward your opinions now .”

No one objects!

The Knights' Charter stipulates that the qualifications of new knights adopt a one-vote veto system. As long as an old knight objects, the new knight will not be able to enter the round table without any reason.

An invitation to declare miscarriage.

In actual operation, this vote is actually just a formality. Since it can be discussed at the round table, it means that communication has been completed with everyone in advance and no one will object at the table. Therefore, the Round Table has rejected many entrants, but it has never rejected anyone at the Round Table.

But this time, the meaning is completely different from before, because Zhuoyang needs to be recognized by all the knights in history, not by the usual existing knights. So extraordinary because he is not Italian.

The origins and composition of the Round Table will not be elaborated here, as they have already been explained in the previous article.

The idea of ​​inviting Zhuoyang, a non-Italian, to join the round table and become a knight came from Maldini in August last year.

Zhuoyang refused to return to China for the Italian national team, Odo, the knight of the round table, insisted on a transfer to leave AC Milan, and Milan star Gilardino fled angrily. These three things made Baresi, the leader of the round table, lose his faith and also doubted himself for half his life. The glory of perseverance is in doubt. During the conversation with his old brother Maldini, the confused Baresi suggested that the newly joined Zambrotta, the returning Abbiati and Borriello, as well as Bonera and Antonini all enter the round table. , used expanding the number of people to maintain the influence of the round table, but his proposal was vetoed by Maldini.

Maldini believes that this will inevitably cause divisions in Milanello. Italian players and international players will be artificially divided into two groups, which is very unfavorable to the unprecedented atmosphere of unity that he and Zhuo Yang have carefully created together. This extreme approach of making all Italian players in the first team become Knights of the Round Table will even make Zhuo Yang and Kaká lose confidence in Milan and force them to start a new gang.

The horse team believes that this is reversing the course of history and is an extremely wrong approach. The Roundtable should keep pace with the times and re-examine its historical mission. Italian players alone cannot bring Milan back to its former glory. Zhuo Yang has become Milan's de facto standard-bearer.

On that day, Maldini not only objected to the five people's sudden entry into the Round Table, but also suggested that Zhuoyang become a knight.

But such an unprecedented idea that went against the glorious history was unacceptable to Baresi at the time, and the subversive changes made him even more vulnerable. That day, Baresi and Maldini had a heated argument, with neither one willing to give in.

After the quarrel, Baresi withdrew from the Round Table and secluded himself at home. Maldini, who has sole power at the round table, announced that all new members would be suspended and the round table would maintain the status quo.

Maldini was waiting, while Baresi was observing with cold eyes. Over the course of a season, the two had many in-depth exchanges, and Baresi also reflected.

Watching Milan and the Round Table from a distance will give people a better insight into the true nature of the matter. Baresi gradually saw clearly the shortcomings of the Round Table 20 years later, and gradually understood the painstaking efforts of his old brother Maldini.