In the 28th round of Serie A, AC Milan hosted Roma.
Roma had just been eliminated from the Champions League, and the whole team was feeling a bit restless.
This match was an away game against AC Milan, so they naturally couldn't afford to relax.
Currently, Roma still led the Serie A standings.
But Inter Milan and AC Milan were close behind in points, which kept Roma in a constant state of anxiety.
Roma wanted to deliver a decisive blow to AC Milan while Milan was in a slump.
The bad news for Roma was that Gattuso had returned from injury.
Gattuso's return would surely strengthen AC Milan's defense, further boosting their overall strength.
Still, Roma remained confident they could break through Milan's defense.
But when they saw AC Milan's formation, they were a little confused.
Starting Lineups:
AC Milan (4-3-1-2):
Goalkeeper: Dida
Defenders: Oddo, Nesta, Simunic, Yankulovski
Midfielders: Gattuso, Kaká, Pirlo
Forwards: Ronaldo, Suker, Pato
Roma (4-3-1-2):
Goalkeeper: Doni
Defenders: Eneto, Panucci, Juan, Cicinho
Midfielders: Pizarro, De Rossi, Perrotta
Forwards: Taddei, Totti, Mancini Jr.
"Everyone pay attention to me!" Kaká shouted loudly.
In this match, he needed to play the role of a metronome, mainly controlling sudden changes in rhythm during passing.
Ancelotti stood on the sidelines watching the game.
He had enough courage to use a new tactic against Roma, but only after it had shown some success during training.
Still, he was curious how well it would work in an actual game.
Roma kicked off first.
Totti frowned, watching AC Milan's positioning.
Though he didn't know what tricks these guys were trying, Milan was Milan, and he couldn't afford any carelessness.
With Ancelotti's tactical awareness brought to the pitch, Milan was showing enough cohesion.
Beep!The whistle blew, and the game began.
Roma kept their usual tempo, entering a probing phase, a normal Serie A approach—slow testing followed by sudden acceleration.
But AC Milan gave them no chance.
Right from the start, Milan pushed forward aggressively.
"Go, go, go!"Suker sprinted while shouting.
Kaká also moved up in position, yelling back:
"Watch the space behind!"
"AC Milan immediately applied high pressing after kickoff. Their enthusiasm is very high, constantly harassing Roma in the front court!"Commentator Aldo Cerella shouted.
But he was also a bit puzzled.Was this high pressing?They were indeed pressing in the opponent's half, but something felt off!
Suker moved laterally, glancing at Ronaldo.
Fat Ronaldo—he couldn't run anymore!
Still, Ronaldo positioned himself in front of the opposing defenders to pressure their clearance.
Suker followed closely to support the player.
Panucci could only pass the ball to the flank, and Suker quickly followed.
At the same time, Kaká, Gattuso, and Pirlo blocked the main passing lanes.
"They're surrounded!"Ancelotti clenched his fist.
He saw Perrotta helplessly boot the ball deep forward.
Simunic, playing a dropped role, easily headed the ball to Pirlo upfront using his height advantage.
"Beautiful!""Got the ball!"Kaká shouted, then signaled to Suker.
Suker moved to the right flank.
Kaká pushed up and received a pass from Pirlo.
"Watch out! They're counterattacking!"Roma players shouted.
But the next moment, Kaká calmly moved the ball laterally, closing in on the ball carrier.
Oddo advanced to support Gattuso.
Suker also retreated closer.
From a bird's eye view, AC Milan's players formed various triangles in different positions—this was the basis of possession play.
Gattuso quickly passed the ball to Suker.
Suker immediately laid it back.
Roma players were fooled and rushed toward Kaká again.
Kaká didn't cling to possession and returned the ball to Pirlo.
"Damn it!"Roma players were frustrated.
They felt like they were being led around by the nose by AC Milan.
"Don't rush, don't steal!"Totti shouted loudly.
Kaká glanced at Totti.
If you don't press, we won't push forward.
Real possession involves progressing the ball during passing—a process that must move forward.
But AC Milan used only their own half as space, relying on their numerical advantage in defense, including the goalkeeper, to keep shifting the ball.
If Roma didn't press, Milan wouldn't advance.
And because of Milan players' quality, they rarely made careless mistakes.
Time passed—five full minutes without AC Milan attacking.
Roma still couldn't take the ball.
"Steal!"Totti couldn't hold it anymore.
He yelled and rushed in.
Two players pressed Pirlo, blocking his passing lanes.
But Pirlo casually sent a through ball straight to Kaká.
Kaká passed sideways to Suker, who returned it.
Roma players were confused.
They just couldn't understand what was happening.
On the commentary booth, Aldo Cerella watched for a while before realizing:
"This is the 4-2-2-2 formation!"
A possession system that protects the defense.
A double pivot and double midfield setup, forming two midfield defensive lines.
They place the opponent in the central zone and slowly strangle them.
This formation originated in Brazil and was widely used, but eventually phased out for relying too heavily on the abilities of the 10 outfield players.
It seemed like a tactic called the "Magic Box."
The key to the Magic Box lay in the freedom of the number 10 position—which was Suker!
The strength of the number 10 determined everything and could raise or lower the system's effectiveness.
Suker's contribution to this system was his extraordinary individual ability and unpredictable runs.
Suddenly—Bang!
Kaká spun and dribbled, using a burst of speed to break past the midfield line.
Before the defense could react, he immediately sent a through ball forward.
Pato sprinted diagonally, received the ball, paused briefly, then made a back-heel pass.
The ball arrived at the penalty spot, where Suker appeared and fired a precise shot between two defenders, sending the ball into the lower left corner.
17 minutes in, AC Milan scored first!
Roar!!!!!!!!
The entire stadium erupted.
This attack was different from the usual rough and direct approach.
The sudden rhythm change plus frontcourt passing combinations completely confused Roma's defense.
Most importantly—
"This is a double-core system!"Aldo Cerella exclaimed, "It's the Suker-Kaká double-core system! How did AC Milan pull this off? The coexistence of Suker and Kaká was a major puzzle in football, and now Ancelotti has solved it."
"Although the system still feels rough and awkward, probably because it's just starting, after some more coordination the roughness and rhythm issues will disappear."
"I'm already looking forward to seeing this system in full effect!"
Hearing this from the commentator's loudspeaker, Suker smiled bitterly.
There won't be a "full system"!This is all there is!
They thought the awkwardness came from lack of familiarity, but in fact, this was the system's limit.
Hand signals for communication took time—that's the source of the awkwardness.
The Suker-Kaká double-core system was basically a resource transfer process.
That inevitably created this awkward feeling, unless Suker could get the [Kaká's Awareness] skill.
But it wasn't bad!
They just needed to keep it under wraps as long as possible.
At least in the short term, there would be no problem.
Understanding tactics, discovering problems, and solving problems would probably take 1–2 months.
By then, the season would almost be over.
Ancelotti never planned to develop this tactic long-term; it was just a temporary ruse—deceptive but unsustainable.