When a person is down on their luck, even drinking cold water can make them choke.
And when a team is unlucky, weird and messy things just keep happening one after another.
Gattuso sprained his ankle in the shower — all because of a bar of soap.It was completely unexpected.
Coach Ancelotti and the team doctor rushed to the scene.
Seeing the dark expression on Ancelotti's face, the Milan players all felt a heavy cloud hanging over them.
The team was already on a downward slope, and now their key defensive midfielder was injured — this was a big problem.
Milan's defense had already been shaky. It relied heavily on Gattuso and Ambrosini acting as a protective barrier for the backline.
Now with Gattuso injured, things just got worse.
Ancelotti ordered that Gattuso's injury be kept under wraps —He didn't want it to affect the upcoming two legs of the Champions League.
At the same time, Ancelotti started investigating the soap incident.
He initially wanted to hold the team manager responsible, since injuries outside of matches were their responsibility.
But the team manager was Barbara —Berlusconi's own daughter.
So Ancelotti could only swallow his frustration.
Over the next few days, Jankulovski was pulled into a makeshift defensive midfielder role.
With Gattuso out, Milan really didn't have a good replacement for a holding mid.
Thankfully, Jankulovski had originally played as a DM before being converted into a fullback — so he still understood the position.
Still, he couldn't match Gattuso's defensive efficiency.
Worse yet — news of Gattuso's injury still leaked out.
There are always ears behind the walls.It's nearly impossible to have a completely airtight locker room.
Especially after winning two consecutive Champions League titles —Some players began to show signs of "champion's syndrome", and morale began to slip as form declined.
When a team starts falling, all kinds of chaos and internal problems follow.
Right now, Milan was in that exact state — and it was only going to get worse.
At this point, Suker realized that Milan's deep-rooted strength had been exhausted.
Previously, the old squad could still hold things together, but not anymore.
Last season, Suker's god-level performance and the veterans' experience managed to snatch the Champions League —That was already pushing the limits.
From here on, it was only going to get harder.
"You're really unlucky."
Inside the medical room, Gattuso was getting treated.
Suker sat next to him and shook his head.
"You got injured from stepping on soap — you're the headline now."
Gattuso's face turned red.
No one wants to make the news for something like that.
"Did they find out whose soap it was?"Gattuso asked through gritted teeth.
If he ever found out, he was going to beat the crap out of them.
"No one's owning up to it,"Suker said."Who would? They'd definitely get punished."
Gattuso clenched his jaw in frustration.
Suker patted him:
"Just focus on recovering. We won the last round of the Champions League."
He held up three fingers with a proud grin.
"I'm a beast — hat trick!"
Gattuso couldn't help but smile a little.
Suker was still someone you could count on.
In the fifth round of the Champions League, Milan had faced Stuttgart.
After being eliminated, Stuttgart relaxed and played much better.
With Gattuso missing, they had Milan pinned back hard at one point.
But Milan held on and, thanks to a few limited counterattacks, Suker scored a hat trick.
He only had five shots that game — and he scored three.
That kind of conversion rate stunned everyone.
While Suker's total goals this season had dropped, that was more due to the team's decline.
But when it mattered — Suker could still explode with terrifying impact.
"But now the real challenge is coming,"Suker sighed."You're injured. Kaka is going back for Copa América qualifiers. And we're playing the Milan Derby next — Inter will crush us!"
"I believe in you,"Gattuso encouraged him."I know you'll lead us to victory!"
"Stop it,"Suker waved his hands."Don't jinx me. I'd be thrilled with just a draw."
He sighed again:
"We even lost our last EURO qualifier. I couldn't make it back, and we lost 1–2 to North Macedonia. Ughhhh…"
Gattuso twitched.
You guys already qualified. Who cares if you lose?!
The coaching staff was probably just experimenting with lineups anyway.
"Alright, what do you want?"Gattuso asked grumpily.
Suker grinned wide:
"Straight to the point — I like it!"
"Ten Chinese meals from you. Not too much to ask, right?"
Gattuso's eyes bulged.
"I still owe you seventy!"
He wanted to cry.
I'll never pay it all back!NEVER!
"More is better,"Suker shrugged."It gives me motivation. You see—"
"Okay, enough babbling,"Gattuso cut him off."Ten it is!"
"Perfect! That makes it a hundred total now!"Suker clapped his hands.
"What?! How did it become a hundred?!"Gattuso demanded.
Suker counted with his fingers:
"You, Kaka, Boss (Maldini), Ambrosini, Nesta, Pirlo, Inzaghi, Cafu, Dida… and the club owner!"
"You're blackmailing the whole team for Chinese food? Even the club president? And how are you going to eat that much?!"
"Not your concern!"Suker winked."Actually… maybe make 50 of them French cuisine? I'm getting a little tired of Chinese food."
"GET OUT!"
Gattuso had had enough and waved him away before he died of anger on top of the injury.
Suker walked to the door, turned around, and said:
"Say... if I manage to beat Inter—"
"Then you're my dad!"Gattuso snapped."Now SCRAM!"
SLAM!The Milan dressing room door was kicked open.
Suker stormed in, full of fire.
"Tomorrow we go all out — we're taking Inter DOWN!"
The players were stunned.
What the heck was with this guy today?
"Getting a draw would be good enough,"Nesta frowned.
Suker shook his head seriously:
"No! We MUST beat Inter!"
"Why?"Nesta was confused.
Did he have some grudge with Inter?
Sure, it was a city derby, but this was a little extreme.
"Because I'm going to be a dad!"
The dressing room went dead silent.
Then — an uproar.
"Suker! Congratulations!""Haha! You're gonna be a dad — congrats!""Alright, guess we're going all in — for the sake of Suker's kid!""Oh Lord, this is GREAT news!"
Nesta, Inzaghi, Pirlo, and the others all came over to pat him on the back.
"When did this happen?"Nesta grinned.
"Just now!"Suker replied.
"Did Gisele Bündchen tell you?""You lucky bastard!"
"Nope,"Suker shook his head."Gattuso told me!"
Everyone froze.
Gattuso??What did he have to do with this?!
In the crowd, Pirlo suddenly went quiet.
After a moment, he asked:
"What's your kid's name?"
"Ivan Gattuso,"Suker said seriously.
The whole locker room fell silent again.
Then—Inzaghi shouted:
"Simic! CLOSE THE DOOR — DON'T LET HIM ESCAPE!"
Suker turned and bolted.
Before Simic could shut the door, Suker had already sprinted out.
He tore down the training ground with Inzaghi, Nesta, and others in hot pursuit.
While running, Suker shouted over his shoulder:
"Wait! You guys misunderstood something!"
"Misunderstand YOUR MOM!""I don't have a mom!"
Swoosh!Inzaghi threw a mop handle at him.
Suker twisted mid-air to dodge, then used his monstrous speed to break free —He ran straight out of the training complex.
Seeing they couldn't catch him, the guys gave up, furious.
We must be out of our minds, believing his nonsense!
Their emotions had been played.
"So… what actually happened?"Nesta asked.
Everyone turned to look at Pirlo.
"Go ask Gattuso,"Pirlo replied.
They all turned around and headed toward the medical room.
Inside, Gattuso's face was red with rage — darker than his swollen ankle.
"Suker…"
He gritted his teeth, the name barely squeezing out.
"You just wait…!"