"An obviously abnormal save!"
"Leon may well not be doping!"
"If this were a science fiction film, I would suspect Leon was a cybernetically enhanced super-human!"
The Corriere dello Sport had stopped short of directly accusing Leon of doping, instead taking a different angle with a mockingly sceptical tone!
This style of questioning, paired with Leon's genuinely eyebrow-raising [Flash] this time around, had actually left more supporters half-convinced that something about Leon was not normal!
"These media people really have nothing better to do!"
At Milanello, Inzaghi was visibly irritated and furious!
What was their obsession with Leon supposed to mean?
Had Juventus already started to feel the threat that AC Milan posed to them?
That made sense!
An AC Milan with Leon was like a side that had finally found its soul!
In the parlance of the East, it was the brushstroke that brought the dragon to life!
"What is the club's position on this?"
Inzaghi asked offhandedly.
"The board has decided to back Leon publicly!"
Tassotti smiled from the side.
"Those people!"
"So now they know how to show support?"
Inzaghi said, barely hiding his exasperation.
Leon's importance to AC Milan went without saying, and the board was hardly blind to it.
They had no personal grievance with Leon, so there was no reason not to back him at a moment like this!
Berlusconi had been trying to sell the club for some time, but the better the results, the higher the price he could command!
That much Berlusconi understood perfectly well.
As a result, his attitude toward Leon had swung around a full 180 degrees.
"Call a press conference!"
"I am going to hit back hard at these irresponsible media outlets!"
Inzaghi was still very much in the mould of his playing days.
In that moment he looked less like a head coach and more like the senior player who set the tone in the dressing room!
The Corriere dello Sport's latest attack was neither trivial nor particularly damaging in the grand scheme of things.
Juventus had long held the balance of power in Serie A.
As the only club capable of competing with the heavyweight sides in the Champions League, Juventus naturally enjoyed no small amount of goodwill from the league's governing bodies.
Juventus's current strategic ambition was to replicate Bayern's model in the Bundesliga.
To make the club the undisputed colossus of Serie A!
For that reason, Juventus were not above using certain moves to slow down the resurgence of a historically rich AC Milan that was clearly beginning to stir.
The press conference still drew a sizeable turnout of media.
The Corriere dello Sport's questioning of Leon was not without some basis.
In truth, if AC Milan could not provide a convincing explanation this time around, Leon might escape suspension but would find himself under close scrutiny going forward.
"Ahem!"
Inzaghi stepped up to the podium with an air of complete confidence.
With the backing of the club behind him, Inzaghi was not remotely intimidated.
AC Milan was no small club.
Juventus were a powerful force, but they could not yet claim to have a firm hand over both Milan clubs.
Both sides knew exactly where the other stood.
If it came to a full-blown war of words, neither party would come out looking good.
"Leon is lying in a hospital bed right now!"
"I cannot understand why a player who gives everything like that keeps getting attacked and questioned!"
Inzaghi's opening words carried open anger!
"But his [Flash] movement really is difficult to explain!"
A journalist quickly rose to his feet.
The press pass on his chest: Corriere dello Sport.
"A fair question!"
"They say I was a man who lived on the offside line!"
"The number of times I beat the offside trap in my career far exceeded any other forward!"
"Perhaps you would like to explain that one for me?"
Inzaghi's response drew laughter from the journalists in the room.
There really was no explaining it!
That was simply Inzaghi's gift!
"That is different!"
"Yours was reading of the game! What Leon does is a purely physical explosion!"
The Corriere dello Sport journalist had not anticipated Inzaghi using himself as the example and stepping into the ring personally, and could only scramble to drag the argument back.
"If my figures are correct, Roberto Carlos's free-kick reached a peak speed of 220 kilometres per hour!"
"Would you care to explain that!"
"Why did no one question it then, but instead marvel at it?"
"Was it because his legs were thick, so it all seemed perfectly normal?"
"Fifteen years ago, why did no one question Ronaldo Nazário?"
"His performances made even less sense, and yet you not only refused to question him, you gave him the nickname [The Alien]!"
Inzaghi was heading toward an all-out broadside.
Though to be fair, neither Roberto Carlos nor Ronaldo Nazário was likely to mind in the slightest.
"There are players on the pitch who can produce bursts of energy that far exceed the limits of the human body!"
"It happens across every field of endeavour! This is an accepted fact! And there is a scientific explanation for it!"
"So why is it unacceptable when it comes to Leon? Is it because he is from the East?"
Inzaghi was firing at full force!
The room of journalists fell silent.
Because what Inzaghi was saying was not wrong.
Was not the whole beauty of competitive sport precisely that it produced moments which surpassed the limits of ordinary imagination?
And besides, the moment Leon used his face to block Higuaín's thunderbolt was clearly above reproach.
A goalkeeper willing to block a cannon shot with his face was capable of anything.
Seen in that light, whether it was the journalists in the room or the supporters watching the press conference, the prevailing reaction was that he had a very strong point.
In particular, the discrimination angle that Inzaghi planted at the end had left the assembled media unwilling to say another word out of turn.
Eastern football was a sorry sight, yes, but the East itself had risen as a global force!
The Italian media could no longer afford to report carelessly about people from the East.
After the press conference, as a wave of stars and legends backed Leon in their respective interviews, the questioning finally faded away!
And from that point on, no matter how jaw-dropping Leon's future performances became, he would not face that kind of scrutiny again.
"Inzaghi said my legs were thick?"
"Ha! He and I are good friends off the pitch, and he is not wrong!"
"To be completely honest, I have no idea who Leon is!"
"But if someone is being questioned purely because of a stunning performance on the pitch, then I will back Leon without a second thought!"
Roberto Carlos said with a laugh when a journalist approached him for comment.
"Leon! I watched the video of your saves!"
"Honestly, it has made me want to try it myself and see if you can stop me in a one-on-one!"
"Pay no attention to those people and their questions! I am giving you a nickname: [The Martian]! Neither of us belongs on this planet!"
Ronaldo Nazário's words naturally caused an even bigger stir.
The prospect of Ronaldo Nazário wanting to test himself against Leon in a one-on-one had every supporter buzzing with anticipation.
Any true supporter of the game had nothing but reverence for Ronaldo Nazário!
At his peak, he truly was an [Alien]-level presence!
It was a shame, of course, that Leon would never have a genuine chance to face Ronaldo Nazário in a real contest.
It would have to remain in the realm of supporters' fantasies.
And in football video games!
Surely Leon would be making an appearance in the major football games releasing next year!
Seeing the doubts about Leon finally vanish completely, Inzaghi felt a profound sense of satisfaction!
Although Inzaghi was being widely criticised at the time for still thinking like a footballer rather than a head coach, he did not care in the slightest what others said.
He had his own distinct way of managing, and as long as it brought success to the team, it was the right way!
Only a player truly understands a player!
Only by earning the players' trust could the team produce perfect performances!
A head coach and the players should not be pulling in opposite directions.
Most importantly, Leon deserved everything Inzaghi had done to back him!
However, Inzaghi was also staring down another serious problem at that very moment.
In three days' time, the Coppa Italia semi-final second leg was upon them.
AC Milan would travel away to face Juventus.
In the first leg, AC Milan had lost 0-1 to Juventus.
That was before Leon had joined the side.
In the second leg, Juventus not only had home advantage but also held an away goal!
They had one foot already in the final!
And then, of all the timing, Leon had been injured!
That had knocked Inzaghi's confidence straight out from under him.
'If only Leon could play!'
Inzaghi shook his head, the frustration plain on his face.
AC Milan had gone far too long without the taste of a trophy.
The Serie A title was out of the question this season!
That left the Coppa Italia as the only remaining chance!
Ten years ago, at the height of their powers, AC Milan had not even bothered with the Serie A title and had set their sights entirely on the Champions League!
But this was a different time.
The Coppa Italia had become the last piece of silverware through which a fallen Milan could preserve any semblance of their former standing among the elite!
Leon, was there any chance he could play?
---