At this time, in the home team's dressing room, Fiorentina's head coach Sinisa Mihajlovic was loudly making final mobilizations to his players.
This former Yugoslavian who was world-famous as a player had outstanding football talent and innate leadership qualities, which naturally made him an excellent coach after his retirement.
Of course, what made Mihajnovic famous back then was not only his defensive ability, but also his free kick skills.
Mihajnovic has scored 43 free kicks in his career and is also the player with the most goals through direct free kicks in Serie A.
He also scored three direct free kicks in the 5:2 match between Lazio and Sampdoria on December 13, 1998, performing an unprecedented free kick hat trick, and this record has never been broken.
This unique skill, coupled with Mihajnovic's excellent interception and confrontation ability, and excellent anticipation ability, have made him the core of the defense of the Yugoslav national team and club, as well as the leader of the locker room.
After starting his coaching career, his passionate locker room speeches were also one of Mihajnovic's magic weapons for defeating his enemies.
"Do you know who we are facing tonight?" Mihajnovic asked the players loudly.
"AC Milan!" Montolivo replied.
"Where do they rank?" Mikhainovich asked again.
"First." Gilardino also replied.
"Yes, they came here today as the number one in Serie A, came to Florence proudly, and then they want to take three points from us and break their winning streak in team history!" Mihajnovic
His eyes swept over every player in the locker room, "So, will we let them easily achieve this goal?"
The players were silent for a moment before captain Gamberini shouted: "No, never!"
The players followed suit and shouted, "No!"
Mihajnovic nodded with satisfaction: "That's right! We will not admit defeat! Even if everyone thinks we will lose today, even if we really lose... But we must let them know what a Florentine is.
The fighting spirit!”
At this time, the players in the locker room were all excited, and they were obviously infected by the head coach's passionate speech.
"Yes, they are better than us now. It can be said that now all Serie A teams want to beat Milan and are proud to beat Milan."
"But the question is, is there really no one who can stop them? Just let them be arrogant?"
"Look at the young assistant coach in Milan. Most of you here are older than him. But the media said that the tactics he designed can easily tear apart the defense of every team in Serie A."
"Will you be convinced after hearing this? I'm not convinced anyway."
"It seems that in their eyes, the players and coaches of our team are all trash, and they will all be defeated by Milan."
"Then tell me again, you guys, are you trash??"
At this time, the players had stood up one after another, clenched their fists and shouted in unison:
"no!!!!"
Mikhainovich clapped his hands:
"Very well, go and prove it to me! Go and fight on the battlefield like a real warrior!!"
…
Frankie Stadium.
Players and coaches from both sides have already entered the stadium. Pan Yi followed Allegri to shake hands with the Viola coaching staff one by one.
Pan Yi still has great respect for Mihajlovic, whether as a player or a coach.
Especially after Mihajlovic was diagnosed with leukemia in 2019, he still insisted on coaching. This kind of perseverance is not something ordinary people can achieve.
This is in line with his spirit of never ending life and fighting as a former Yugoslavian.
However, compared to the smiling Pan Yi, Mihajlovic, who shook hands with him, always had a straight face and did not give the Milan coaching staff any good looks at all.
He just said a few words to Allegri politely, then walked straight back to the home team's coaching bench and sat down.
Pan Yi curled his lips.
This is in line with his past impression of Mikhailovich.
High emotional intelligence: a sweet-tempered person.
Low EQ: hot temper.
As a player, it was common for Mihajlovic to receive red and yellow cards on the court. He even made an uncivilized move to insult the referee after being sent off in the Champions League, and was suspended for 8 games.
After becoming a coach, he also publicly criticized players after games, and his attitude became more and more severe, which also made many players dissatisfied.
So, it seems understandable that Pan Yi, as Mihajlovic's opponent in this game, doesn't have a good attitude towards him.
Sitting back on the visiting team's bench, Allegri gently patted Pan Yi on the shoulder:
"Mikhailovich has always been like this, don't take it too seriously."
Pan Yi smiled and nodded to express his understanding.
Allegri continued: "However, his attitude today did appear to be a bit tougher than usual..."
Pan Yi tilted his head: "How to say?"
Allegri: "Mihajlovic always speaks directly and doesn't like beating around the bush, so whatever thoughts he has in his heart will be shown on his face. He looked angry today, and it felt like he was against us.
Angry."
"Are you angry?" Pan Yi frowned, "We didn't offend him, right? We didn't say anything bad, right?"
Allegri smiled and said: "A guy with a bad temper like him, if we really offended him, he might have started fighting with us just now. Isn't it because the outside world now thinks that we will definitely win? So he must be holding it back in his heart.
In one breath, he wants to overthrow us."
Pan Yi was relieved: "Oh, that's why. I've studied his tactics, and it's actually nothing special. It's just a common 442 defensive counterattack."
Allegri shook his head: "This is too shallow. Mihajlovic's team often does not win tactically. They will be more aggressive in the game. He once said
, the tactical system is just interesting for reporters, but the key to winning the game is more about attitude and mental strength."
Pan Yi nodded slightly.
What Allegri said makes sense.
Many times, mental strength may play a greater role than many tactics.
This is why sometimes two teams with very different levels end up in a situation where the weak defeats the strong.
What's more, Florence's strength is not that far behind.
Pan Yi turned his head and glanced at Mihajlovic who was sitting on the home team's bench.
Of course Pan Yi will not be afraid of any opponent.
bring it on!
He wanted to see what kind of fighting philosophy this Balkan powder keg had instilled in his disciples?