Chen Yu quickly grabbed Ronaldo, who was turning to look for champagne.

’Can’t you save that for when you actually win the championship?’

’And this outfit... I bought it just to see you win the title. It was expensive, you know!’

"How have you been lately?" He greeted the others first before finally turning to Ronaldo.

In truth, he didn’t know many of the others.

He had only met them once, last year when Ronaldo made his comeback.

Chen Yu also asked about Vieri’s Achilles tendon. Trapattoni had previously mentioned that it was a persistent problem that kept flaring up.

He glanced at it with his Eye of All-Seeing. ’It’s okay. There’s some inflammation, but it doesn’t look too serious.’

"I’m doing great," Ronaldo said, grinning to reveal a set of perfect white teeth.

’Huh, did he get his teeth fixed?’

Chen Yu had a pretty vivid memory of the gap between his teeth.

"That’s good." Chen Yu nodded, then looked at Ronaldo with his Eye of All-Seeing.

Chen Yu was actually quite curious.

’Inter is a Serie A giant, a top team. This season, Ronaldo made a healthy comeback. His form in that return match was incredible.’

’You could say he’s the best forward in the world.’

’With an Alien on the team who scores goals as easily as drinking water, Inter’s record this season should logically be miles ahead of the competition. How is it that now, at the end of the season, they’ve still allowed their rivals to keep their title hopes alive?’

’That shouldn’t be possible.’

’If I remember correctly, Ronaldo returned in the eighth round this season, played 24 matches, and scored 32 goals. He’s way ahead on the top scorer chart, so Inter’s record should be excellent.’

’This outcome can only mean there are other reasons at play.’

’For instance, maybe Ronaldo’s form has been inconsistent.’

As he looked, Chen Yu’s brow furrowed slightly.

His right patellar tendon was showing slight inflammation again, and the cartilage had also sustained some wear and tear.

However, Chen Yu didn’t say anything aloud, nor did he pull Ronaldo aside for a pre-match massage.

’It’s too late for that now, and it’s not like he can’t play. Look at him jumping around—he’s perfectly fine.’

After chatting a while longer, Chen Yu greeted Cooper when he came in and then prepared to head back to the private box.

However, as he was leaving, Chen Yu noticed that the moment Cooper entered the locker room, Ronaldo—who had just been bouncing around with a wide grin—instantly lost his smile.

Cooper, for his part, just clapped his hands coolly and called everyone over for the pre-match meeting.

’Looks like those two don’t get along.’

’But if I remember correctly, when Ronaldo was preparing for his comeback last year, Moratti even brought Cooper to the United States to see him.’

’At the time, Cooper was full of praise for Ronaldo. Their relationship should be pretty good, right?’

’Then again, maybe it’s just because the match is so important. The pre-game tension might make them less talkative.’

Chen Yu didn’t dwell on it and returned to the private box.

Lazio’s owner, Cragnotti, wasn’t at the stadium. It seemed he didn’t want to witness Inter lifting the league championship trophy in his club’s home ground.

So, the only people in the box were Moratti and his assistant.

The massive floor-to-ceiling window offered a panoramic view of the entire stadium.

Directly opposite, a huge section was filled with Inter fans. Dressed in matching jerseys, they waved flags as colorful smoke from flares began to fill the stands, as if they had already won the championship.

In stark contrast, the Lazio fans were calm and placid, quietly watching the Inter fans put on their show.

"Chen, we can win this," Moratti said, his face alight with excitement.

It had been thirteen years. A full thirteen years had passed since Inter’s last league title.

From the moment he took over Inter, Moratti had poured everything he had into restoring the glory and honor of the Grande Inter era.

He had waited a full seven years for this day.

This year, their hopes were higher than ever.

Because losing was impossible. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Ronaldo was in red-hot form, and Inter’s squad was at full strength.

Most importantly, there was Lazio’s attitude.

They had nothing left to play for, so winning or losing was irrelevant to them.

In fact, compared to winning, Lazio would much rather lose.

This was because their archrivals, Rome, were currently third in the league with 67 points.

Just like the Zebra Legion, Rome also had an outside chance of snatching the title.

Therefore, Lazio would rather see Inter lift the trophy than watch their cross-town rivals win the title and celebrate all over the city of Rome.

Before the match, some Lazio fans had even started making a fuss, threatening their own team not to win and demanding they throw the game.

Chen Yu could feel Moratti’s excitement. The older man truly loved Inter—it was a deep, passionate devotion.

"You’re right, Inter should be able to win," Chen Yu agreed.

But Moratti shook his head. "Not ’should.’ It’s ’absolutely.’ Look, they didn’t even start Crespo and Lopez."

To throw the match, Zaccheroni had done them the favor of benching both Crespo and "Little Worm" Lopez, the team’s two main forwards. His actions were practically screaming to the Inter fans, ’Go on, hurry up and win!’

Chen Yu smiled and nodded, glancing up at the sky.

It was a brilliant, cloudless blue.

It was indeed a perfect day to win a championship.

At three in the afternoon, both teams took to the field amidst the roaring cheers of the Inter fans.

Chen Yu took the opportunity to casually ask about Ronaldo’s condition this season, such as his number of appearances.

After hearing Moratti’s reply, Chen Yu thought, ’Just as I expected.’

This season, although Ronaldo had seemed to be restored to his former glory, he had still suffered a few injuries.

Of course, they were all minor issues, such as muscle contusions—most likely from being kicked, as the intensity of Serie A matches has always been world-class. He also experienced soreness in his ankles and knees, which was likely related to Inter competing on three fronts on top of his duties for the National Team.

Most importantly, Serie A didn’t have a winter break.

A schedule like this naturally took a massive toll on a core player like Ronaldo.

But those were just external factors. Chen Yu still believed the biggest problem lay with Ronaldo himself.

’His style of play is just too damn hard on his knees.’

Combined with his congenital trochlear dysplasia, it was only natural for problems to arise from overexertion.

’He really needs to take better care of himself.’

’But the World Cup is this summer.’

Chen Yu decided that after the season ended, he would tell Ronaldo not to rush off on vacation. Instead, he’d have him come to the United States with him to recover for a couple of weeks.

’It would count as preparation for the World Cup, and it certainly wouldn’t do him any harm.’

After all, he and Ronaldo were friends. Chen Yu didn’t want to see another tragedy befall him with a new injury.

Thinking of friends reminded Chen Yu of Batty.

He was based in Rome but had traveled with his team to Turin. Chen Yu wondered if he’d get a chance to see him this time.

The match began promptly at three in the afternoon.

Moratti wasn’t just focused on the match before him; he was also keeping an eye on the match of their rival, the Zebra Legion.

All nine matches of the final round kicked off simultaneously. Inter, Juventus, and Rome were all at the same starting line.

The television in the private box was showing the Juventus versus Udinese match.

Then, a mere two minutes in, Moratti started cursing up a storm, spittle flying.

While Ronaldo was still just ambling about in the attacking half, the Zebra Legion had already scored.

"Iron Man" Nedved delivered the assist, and the Frenchman Trezeguet seized the opportunity, putting the Old Lady ahead in just the second minute.

His cursing was rather foul. Feeling a little awkward, Chen Yu picked up his wine glass and took a sip.

’Lazio is throwing the game here, so maybe Udinese is throwing theirs over there, too. It’s all about helping a friend out, right?’

’Besides,’ Chen Yu thought, ’it’s never a good idea to pin your championship hopes on what your opponent does.’

After swearing for several minutes, Moratti finally sat back down. He apologized to Chen Yu, slightly embarrassed by his outburst, and then said nervously, "I’m just so afraid something will go wrong."

His voice was trembling slightly.

Chen Yu could see he was genuinely nervous.

’The ball is round,’ he thought. ’Anything can happen.’

Then, after only a few minutes of silence, Moratti shot to his feet again in a panic.

On the television, the Zebra Legion had scored again.

It was Trezeguet again, this time with a long pass straight to the "Zebra Prince," Piero, who finished it on his first touch. 2-0.

The match had only been going for twelve minutes!

Moratti clutched his chest, feeling like his heart was about to stop.

He had been hoping for Juventus to slip up on a banana peel, but instead, they came out of the gate with an unbeatable hand.

With a 2-0 lead, Juventus had all but secured the victory.

"Quick, go tell Cooper that Juventus is winning," Moratti said urgently to his assistant.

The assistant hurried out of the box.

But there was no need to send someone to deliver the news. On the sidelines, Cooper had obviously already learned of Juventus’s two-goal lead. Unable to sit still, he had moved to the edge of the pitch and was now shouting at his players, waving his arms and pointing at the Lazio goal, urging them to score.

In the stands, the roaring Inter fans also grew restless. They had clearly gotten the bad news as well.

Chen Yu tensed up subconsciously.

Fortunately, Inter’s fate was still in their own hands. As long as they won this match, the championship was theirs.

Just then, Inter won a corner kick.

Rekoba booted it toward the front of the goal. Vieri was the first to leap for it, but he was impeded as he jumped and couldn’t get enough height. The ball skimmed over his head and fell toward the far post.

In that instant, Ronaldo spun around, powerfully shaking off Nesta who was marking him, and lunged forward with a stooping header to meet the ball.

He couldn’t get full power behind it, and the motion was awkward, but the angle was tricky. Peruzzi, who was on the other side of the goal, had no time to react.

It was in!

Moratti, who had been cursing under his breath just a moment before, instantly lit up, throwing his arms in the air and roaring with excitement.

The private box filled with his triumphant shouts.

Chen Yu shot to his feet. He’d just been wondering when Inter would score, not expecting it to happen so soon.

"We scored! It was Ronnie!" Moratti turned and pulled Chen Yu into an excited hug.

Chen Yu was excited too, but he kept one eye on the pitch. ’I already confiscated that one jersey,’ he thought. ’I’m just afraid this guy has a spare one ready.’

On the pitch, Ronaldo sprinted all the way to the stands packed with Inter fans, excitedly patting his head before being mobbed by his teammates.

"See, Chen? I told you we could win." Moratti sat back down, in an impossibly good mood, and raised his glass to toast with Chen Yu.

Chen Yu smiled and nodded.

’Although, based on what you said earlier, if Lazio is trying to throw the game, winning is only to be expected,’ he thought.

Moratti, now on a roll, chattered on and on to Chen Yu about how they were going to celebrate after winning the championship.

He even mentioned how Sabrina stripped last year, so if Inter won the title this year, they could have a similar celebration.

Chen Yu looked at Moratti, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. ’Is that really something you can compare?’

But his wonderful fantasy didn’t last long. Just seven minutes later, the situation changed dramatically.

Lazio launched an attack.

Stankovic chipped a pass to the left side of the box. Fiori ran onto it and tapped it across on his first touch. The Czech, Bohusky, charged in at high speed and blasted a shot into the back of the net.

The private box fell deathly silent, and the roars from the stands vanished in an instant.

Even the placid Lazio fans were stunned. ’Weren’t we supposed to let Inter win? How did we just equalize?’