Chapter 75

On November 24th, in the fifth round of the Champions League group stage, Chelsea faced Paris Saint-Germain at home. The last time they played against Paris, Little Rooney made his debut for Chelsea and performed exceptionally well, completing a hat-trick, which firmly established his position as a key player.

This time, facing Paris again, Rooney once again played brilliantly, as if he had taken a performance-enhancing drug! Well... in fact, he did use a performance-enhancing drug, but it came from 30 years in the future and was made entirely of traditional Chinese herbs, non-toxic and harmless...

In the end, after scoring 5 goals away in Paris, Chelsea once again swept 5 goals at home! Rooney completed another hat-trick, while Kaká and Joe Cole each scored a goal. When the 90-minute match ended, Paris Saint-Germain's coach, Vahid Halilhodžić, who is clearly a white man, looked as if he were black. In the two matches against Chelsea, his team scored 0 goals and conceded 10, a shocking record. At Stamford Bridge, Mr. Halilhodžić wished he could find a crack to hide in!

The 2004-05 UEFA Champions League completed the fifth round of group matches, and one award was almost certain to be locked in—the Golden Boot! In 5 matches, Rooney completed two hat-tricks, scoring an astonishing 9 goals! Last season's Champions League Golden Boot winner, Míchel Salgado, only managed 9 goals in the final.

On the Champions League top scorer list, the second place was also a Chelsea player, not a forward but a midfielder—Kaká! He scored 5 goals in 5 matches, including one brace. The third place was occupied by the alien from Real Madrid, Ronaldo, who scored 4 goals, followed by Andriy Shevchenko of AC Milan, Thierry Henry of Arsenal, Samuel Eto'o of Barcelona, and Ruud van Nistelrooy of Manchester United, all of whom scored 3 goals.

Looking at the entire top scorer list, among the top 20, Kaká was the only midfielder, while the rest were all top forwards from various European teams. In the assists list, Kaká was also at the top, with 5 assists in 5 matches, stunning the world even more!

In the 5 Champions League matches, Kaká's average of 1 goal and 1 assist per game made him the brightest star so far. Now, every time Ancelotti saw the Champions League rankings, his face would turn green with anger. He couldn't understand why Berlusconi would sell a young player with unlimited potential like Kaká.

On the contrary, Portuguese player Rui Costa was thriving at AC Milan and was delighted by Kaká's departure. In the Champions League, he had already scored 1 goal and provided 3 assists, becoming a key player for the team. He knew that if Kaká hadn't left, he would have been sitting on the bench.

On November 27th, Chelsea faced their last match of November, an away game against Charlton. Against the weaker opponent, Giovane Scolari fielded a reserve team and won 4-0 with ease.

Notably, in this match, Chelsea was awarded two penalties for the first time this season! Unfortunately, Petr Čech missed the chance to score a brace, as he missed one penalty. Fortunately, Finnish forward Jari Litmanen performed well, scoring 1 goal and providing 1 assist, making Chelsea's November a smooth one.

The title of Manager of the Month for November finally returned to Chelsea's manager, Giovane Scolari. In the 4 league matches this month, Scolari's team once again demonstrated their terrifying offensive power, with no reduction in goals despite Owen's serious injury. Especially in the match against Everton, led by last month's best manager, David Moyes, a 3-0 win was not a big score for Chelsea but was a huge relief for all the "cannon fodder."

Kaká, who had won the Player of the Month award for three consecutive months, also performed well this month, scoring 3 goals and providing 3 assists. However, the Player of the Month for November was not this handsome young man but England's wing wizard, Joe Cole!

As a player with an English passport, Joe Cole was highly favored by the media, and many were already comparing him to England's greatest winger, Stanley Matthews. Throughout November, he scored 2 goals and provided 6 assists, outperforming Kaká, who was receiving special training from Scolari, and was named the Player of the Month!

Last season, the renowned Italian coach Claudio Ranieri did not know how to use Joe Cole effectively, preferring to trust Frank Lampard in the attacking midfield role. This season, under Scolari, Joe Cole was pushed to the wing, where he finally found his place in Chelsea.

After receiving the Player of the Month award, Joe Cole said in an interview, "I only want to thank one person. He is very young, two years younger than me, but... he is incredibly talented, the greatest coach I have ever seen! I don't want to call him by his name; calling him 'Boss' is my lifelong wish..."

England's coach, Sven-Göran Eriksson, also commented, "Joe Cole seems much more mature now. On the wing, he has shown a different but equally talented ability compared to Beckham. For this, I must thank Scolari, as Joe Cole's emergence has solved England's left-wing problem for the next 10 years!"

Although Joe Cole often plays on the right wing at Chelsea, in the England national team, Beckham is the undisputed choice for the right wing, so Joe Cole plays on the left.

As December arrived, London experienced its first snowfall of the winter on the night of the 1st. The cool autumn weather seemed to turn cold in an instant.

In this romantic atmosphere of snowflakes, Craven Cottage hosted a League Cup quarter-final match.

Fulham vs. Chelsea!

Fulham's coach, Chris Coleman, is only 34 years old, making him the second youngest manager in the Premier League after Scolari. In the 13th round of the Premier League, Fulham had faced Chelsea at home, and despite fielding their strongest attacking lineup, they were powerless against Chelsea's semi-reserve team and lost 4-1.

Upon learning from The Times that Scolari would field his strongest lineup, Coleman felt a bit dispirited. Fulham had struggled in the relegation zone last season and only managed to stay up with a strong finish. This season, Fulham was 15th, just 2 points away from the relegation zone. In the league match three days later, Fulham would face Norwich, who were second from the bottom.

Both teams were weak, and the match would be a fierce battle for three points to avoid relegation.

After several days of consideration and analyzing Chelsea's overwhelming offensive momentum over the past few months, Coleman made a painful decision: prioritize the league, abandon the cup!

A wise man knows when to yield! Fulham did not have the strength to compete for honors, and securing a Premier League spot was the top priority. Reaching the quarter-finals of the League Cup was already a breakthrough, and there was no need to fight to the death against a strong team like Chelsea.

Therefore, Coleman rested most of his key players, fielding mostly young players and substitutes, planning to save their energy for the league match against Norwich.

Scolari, with foresight, did not use Source 1 for the first time since becoming the manager, allowing the players to play freely.

Over the past few months, Scolari's offensive philosophy had created an atmosphere within Chelsea, known as "cannon attack"! Not only did they attack, but they also aimed to intimidate the opponents. All 11 players on the field, except for Ramos, who had a minor calf strain, were key players, and they firmly implemented this offensive strategy.

Coleman abandoned resistance, but the Fulham players on the field hoped to prove themselves through this match. They did not plan to win but wanted to show their skills, such as stealing the ball from Kaká, intercepting Lampard's passes, completing a dribble, making a good pass, or even... taking a shot.

The Chelsea players were highly professional and did not care whether their opponents were young substitutes. Their only responsibility was to score!

In the 16th minute of the first half, the goal Chelsea fans had been waiting for finally arrived. Joe Cole took a free kick from the right flank, Cannavaro headed it on, and Rooney finished with a delicate shot.

The Chelsea players did not celebrate much, the Fulham players did not show much frustration, and even Coleman on the sidelines remained calm, as if the goal were just a throw-in...

Seeing the numb expressions of the Fulham fans, players, and coach, Scolari felt a bit uncomfortable, returned to the bench with a frown, and sat down gloomily.

Boas was puzzled and asked quietly, "Scolari, what's wrong?"

Scolari shook his head and sighed, "I finally understand why the great swordsman chose to retire to the mountains..."

"Huh?"

Scolari glared at Boas and said helplessly, "Boas, do you think I'm being too inhumane?"

"Huh?"

Scolari glared at him again and sighed, "They say the higher you go, the colder it gets, but why do I feel it's not cold enough?"

"Huh?"

Scolari, annoyed, coldly said, "Are you mute? Can't you speak?"

"Scolari, what are you talking about?" Boas looked at Scolari in confusion.

Scolari scanned the Craven Cottage stadium and said pitifully, "Look at Coleman, look at the Fulham players and fans. Why do they all seem like puppets, with no resistance? I want passion, passion!"

Boas finally understood. Scolari was just pretending... He cleared his throat but couldn't say a word.

The first half ended 3-0, and the second half 2-0. Chelsea won 5-0, but the atmosphere was a bit somber.