"Boss, come on, dance with me!"
With two goals to his name, Ronaldinho sprinted over to the opposition's bench, inviting Aldrich to join him for a samba dance.
Aldrich laughed and gave his head a playful shove, naturally refusing.
Players from the substitutes' bench rushed onto the field, joining the players already out there. Together, they surrounded Ronaldinho, who stood in the center, and, under the watchful eyes of the entire Bernabéu crowd, Ronaldinho performed a signature samba to celebrate his goal.
This wasn't meant as an insult to Real Madrid; it was just Ronaldinho's personal way of celebrating a goal. Some players roar with joy, others strike a pose, but for Ronaldinho, when he's caught up in the excitement of the game, dancing is his way of expressing the joy he feels.
Millwall lacked South American players—or rather, black players—so most of the European players didn't have the innate sense of rhythm that Ronaldinho possessed. Whenever Ronaldinho danced the samba, his teammates would watch with smiles. Even though they didn't join in the dancing, they could feel the joy he brought them, especially after a goal, when the passion of the moment made that joy contagious. It gave everyone a sense of unique accomplishment, as if victory and achievement were filled with poetry.
After Ronaldinho finished his celebration, Aldrich clapped his hands and reminded the players not to slack off. There were still ten minutes left in the game, and the basic requirement was not to concede another goal!
4-2.
If the game ended with this scoreline in the first leg, Aldrich was confident he could lead Millwall to the Champions League final in the second leg in London, no matter who the opponent would be.
Finally, Bosque made a change.
He adjusted his formation and strategy with substitutions.
He hadn't made a change when the score was 2-3 because Aldrich had already made the first move. On the surface, Aldrich had weakened the midfield defense, but in reality, he had replaced defense with attack, dominating midfield control and using the offense to pressure Real Madrid, causing their lines to break down, which led to a mistake and a second goal for Millwall.
Bosque substituted Ballack for the underperforming Anelka, strengthening the midfield, and stationed Helguera as the defensive midfielder. This created a midfield trio of Helguera, Redondo, and Ballack, pressing Millwall's Makélélé, Pirlo, and Nedvěd.
After Ballack came on, the energetic German made an immediate impact, particularly in the center of the midfield. Millwall faced significantly more pressure in both defense and attack. Ballack's physicality forced Nedvěd and Pirlo, who had already spent a lot of energy throughout the match, to avoid his aggressive challenges when they moved forward. His presence turned the game in an instant, adding a level of intensity that the midfield had been missing.
"Real Madrid seems to have regained control of the game now. With Ballack alongside Redondo, they've stabilized their defense and built a more consistent attack, supplying the forwards with better balls. Bosque should've done this earlier. Redondo is excellent, but having him as the only starter in central midfield, tasked with both defending and attacking against Millwall, was always going to put him at a disadvantage," the commentator remarked.
Perhaps many of the Real Madrid fans in the stadium shared this view. At this point, it seemed Real Madrid was playing the right kind of football.
If Real Madrid lost the match, Bosque would definitely face questions about his decisions, but in football, there's no "if," only results.
The truth is simple: winning is everything.
If they lost, no matter how much preparation and in-game adjustments had been made, they would be criticized. That's the nature of football. Losers don't get to explain themselves.
Aldrich had already sent Gattuso and Gronkjaer to warm up.
However, just as he was preparing to make a substitution to counter the new situation, the 84th minute of the match arrived, and the game changed.
Ballack broke through Pirlo's defense. Pirlo's stamina was waning, and he couldn't keep up with the German's attack. Ballack passed the ball forward to Raúl, who was positioned in front.
Since Real Madrid had withdrawn one of their forwards, as long as no more players joined in a sudden attack from the flanks, Millwall's defense was still solid. At the same time, Real Madrid was cautious about Millwall's counterattacks. Carlos pushed up, but Salgado stayed back to watch out for Ronaldinho's bursts.
Makélélé was tasked with marking Raúl, staying right on his heels.
Southgate was focused on Ballack's path, while Materazzi kept a tight hold on Morientes. Zambrotta blocked McManaman's inside runs.
Raúl knew well how good Makélélé was at stealing the ball, so at the moment of receiving it, he used a trick. He gently flicked the ball with the tip of his foot and tried to move it forward without touching the ground, hoping to escape Makélélé's marking.
As he pushed forward, the ball didn't go as planned. Instead, it hit Makélélé's arm. Raúl froze for a second before immediately raising his hand to signal to the referee that Makélélé had handled the ball.
The referee's whistle blew at the same moment, and the decision was made—Makélélé had committed a handball.
Indeed, the ball had struck Makélélé's arm, which was slightly away from his body, though it wasn't intentionally extended.
Aldrich watched the referee's decision from the sidelines, feeling only a brief moment of tension and furrowing his brows.
The referee had awarded an indirect free kick to the opposition, seemingly just outside the penalty area.
But suddenly, Aldrich's expression changed.
"The referee has awarded a penalty! A penalty! The referee believes Makélélé's handball occurred inside the box! Let's take a look at the replay. Hmm, this one is tricky to call. From the footage, we can clearly see that Makélélé's feet were on the edge of the penalty area, meaning his handball could have been inside or outside. We don't have a better angle for the replay, and it's one of those decisions that comes down to the tiniest of margins, like an offside call. But the referee has made his decision, and he's given Real Madrid a penalty!"
Even the Real Madrid players were momentarily stunned, but then they clenched their fists and raised them in determination.
Raúl, standing closest to the incident, had only instinctively pointed out the handball to the referee, not fully noticing whether it was inside or outside the box.
Aldrich, being far from the action, couldn't determine if it was a penalty either. However, he walked over to the fourth official, his tone firm as he said, "My player didn't deliberately handle the ball; it hit his arm, and it wasn't clear-cut. He had no intent to foul. In such a sensitive area, we could accept a free kick just outside the box calmly, but a penalty? Are you referees trying to steal the spotlight? Are you trying to make headlines?"
The fourth official turned to face him, trying to explain with a serious expression, but Aldrich wasn't some unknown manager to be easily ignored. No longer the man who could be dismissed when speaking to referees on European stages, Aldrich knew that if he harshly criticized the referee in a press conference, it would affect the referee's reputation, even if he were punished for it.
Aldrich's words weren't unreasonable. If the handball was clearly inside the box, Millwall would have accepted it, but when the decision was made in such a contentious area, and a penalty was awarded, it was hard to justify.
Before the fourth official could offer an explanation, an even more troublesome scene unfolded on the pitch.
Makélélé, after the foul was called, clutched the ball and repeatedly appealed to the referee, insisting the ball had only struck his arm, and that his arm was close to his body, thus not a foul. He argued that he hadn't enlarged his defensive area.
The referee ignored him completely and proceeded to award the penalty, causing Makélélé to erupt in anger.
At this point, if Real Madrid scored, the final minutes of the match could prove difficult to navigate.
The referee, unfazed by Makélélé's protests, continued on with his decision, prompting Makélélé to throw the ball angrily onto the ground. The ball bounced up in front of the referee, who flinched, and the referee's expression changed to one of clear irritation.
Seeing things escalate, Southgate rushed over and placed a hand gently on the referee's, attempting to deescalate the situation. He explained that Makélélé's actions weren't directed at the referee, but were simply the result of the pressure the player was under.
Materazzi stepped forward to pull Makélélé away, but the Frenchman had already snapped, loudly criticizing the referee's decision, his outburst resembling a small volcano about to erupt.
Even Real Madrid's players came over to calm him down. Raúl and Helguera urged Makélélé to settle down, which the Millwall players found admirable. Helguera, perhaps due to his past at Millwall and his friendship with Makélélé, and Raúl, showing good sportsmanship, were the voices of reason.
Though they could have stood by, watching Makélélé's outburst, or even stirred things up further, it was Raúl, Helguera, Nedvěd, and Materazzi who surrounded Makélélé, ensuring he finally calmed down.
But Southgate's efforts to plead with the referee on behalf of Makélélé were in vain, as the referee remained firm and showed Makélélé a red card.
Makélélé left the field with a blank expression on his face.
After the referee issued the red card, Southgate clapped his hands and gave a big thumbs-up to the referee.
The referee responded by showing Southgate a yellow card.
Southgate didn't seem to care. He turned around and faced the away supporters' section, where the less than five thousand Lions fans waved their arms up and down. The Bernabéu immediately echoed with their chant.
"No one likes us, we don't care!"
The Lions' anthem boomed from the stands, reaching the skies...
As Makélélé reached the sideline, staff from the referee team were already preparing to supervise his departure, but he stopped in his tracks, his head lowered.
He couldn't face the man standing at the sidelines.
Arriving at the Bernabéu, his coach had done everything to help the team to a 4-2 lead, but in the final moments, Makélélé had failed to help the team and had turned the match into a nerve-wracking contest once again.
He had been sent off with a red card. How much would that affect the team in the next match?
Last year, they had fallen in the semifinals. This year, Makélélé didn't want any regrets, but he feared that his red card might become the very cause of those regrets.
A light tap on his shoulder broke his thoughts, and a soft voice reached his ears.
"You played well today, Claude. Go take a shower in the locker room, wait for us, and then we'll head home together."
Makélélé didn't lift his head, but he took a step forward, brushing past Aldrich.
The fourth official walked over and asked, "Do you want to make a substitution?"
It was unclear whether the fourth official was offering a comforting reminder to Aldrich.
Substitution, of course, there would be one.
But it wasn't going to happen now.
Aldrich didn't even glance at the penalty, turning instead toward the bench. As he walked, the Bernabéu erupted in cheers. Raúl had scored the penalty, and the score was now 3-4.
At that moment, Aldrich signaled for Gattuso to make the substitution, then instructed Gronkjaer to return to the bench.
When Makélélé had been shown the red card, Klinsmann had ordered all the substitutes, except the goalkeeper, to warm up. Now, Aldrich called Neil over to assign him his task for when he would take the field.
Before Millwall could restart the game, Gattuso entered the pitch, replacing Ronaldinho.
Ronaldinho understood the intent behind the substitution, so he leisurely walked toward the sideline from the opposite end of the field. The referee approached and urged him to hurry, but Ronaldinho ignored him, pretending he hadn't heard a word.
Go ahead, try to show me a card, you bastard!
The referee didn't dare show another card.
The substitution took about 20 seconds, with Gattuso replacing Makélélé.
A minute later, Millwall made their final change.
Neil came on for Pirlo.
Nedvěd dropped deeper, and Klose moved back too. Millwall shifted to a 4-3-1-1 formation, with everyone retreating into their own half, preparing to defend for the rest of the match.