The Commander and the Prince

CCTV had been showing highlights of Serie A, but hadn't started broadcasting live yet.

Before, when they received the footage, they were curious about this young man's identity.

Later, when Mantovani came looking for him, they became curious whether Dejan Lu was of Chinese descent or actually Chinese.

This sort of thing couldn't be casually discussed on the program.

By October, it was finally confirmed that Dejan Lu was Chinese.

However, the information they received was still far behind.

As the new episode began, Song Shixiong, dressed in a suit and tie, sat there and said enthusiastically, "We've received many letters from our viewers asking who Sampdoria's Number Seven is. We now have definitive information: he is a Chinese player named Dejan Lu... Little Lu was adopted at a young age by his uncle who does business in Italy. He excels in both character and academics, is helpful, loves life, loves sports, and showed exceptional football talent from a very early age..."

The television began to play some footage of Dejan Lu playing.

There was no Cup Winners' Cup.

As for the video of the previous unveiling ceremony, although they had obtained it, they still hadn't released it.

After all, back then, anyone riding a motorcycle was considered a ruffian.

This was a term with a distinctly derogatory meaning and strong characteristics of the era. Later, it was used to describe idle young people who were always roaming around.

Song Xuemei took off her apron and threw it down, saying, "Look how successful people are when they go abroad. Should we also send our son abroad?"

Dejan Lu had clearly become the child others talked about.

Li Jianguo looked at his son, who was wearing open-crotch pants, and grinned, "Maybe our son will be successful in the future too, after all, he takes after you."

Song Xuemei watched her son, wearing open-crotch pants, kicking a small ball, thinking that maybe her son Li Huan could also play in Italy in the future.

A few days later, more news began to appear in the newspapers.

Below the Football Association's notice on curbing match-fixing, there was an introduction to Dejan Lu.

The news was written with pride yet also filled with modesty, perfectly showcasing the essence of someone who craved external recognition but was too shy to show it.

Conversely, in Italy, Sampdoria had already become the biggest favorite to win the championship this season.

Dejan Lu hadn't played many games; he had only just started in Serie A and hadn't even played for half a season, but his achievements were solid.

In one match, he schooled Matthäus, and in the next, he dominated Andy Müller. Even Beckenbauer commented that he was an unconquerable enemy for Dortmund, an artist on the field.

Gazzetta dello Sport even put his and Beckenbauer's photos on the front page with a single-word headline: "Emperor!"

However, the Sampdoria fans didn't quite agree with this title.

Sampdoria's name itself originated from two teams, and Doria was a hero of the city of Genoa, a legendary commander.

Therefore, they preferred to call their team's core player a commander or captain.

Tuttosport was quite interesting. They meticulously analyzed a technical move in a match and wrote, "Clearly, Dejan's spin is more dashing and artistic than Maradona's. In terms of this move, the effect produced by both players is similar, but the visual presentation is completely different. Compared to Maradona's spin, we prefer to call it the Dejan Spin or the Genoa Spin."

Although Napoli and Juventus were not in the same city, the relationship between the two teams was indeed very poor. Napoli didn't have good relations with many northern teams.

Tuttosport was quite happy to annoy the Napoli fans.

Even though Alan's child later liked Cristiano Ronaldo, Alan wouldn't allow him to wear Juventus's Number Seven, only Real Madrid's Number Seven.

The underlying reason for this was the significant division between the north and south of Italy; the south, in their view, was no different from Ethiopia.

La Gazzetta dello Sport directly mentioned Galliani several times.

Berlusconi himself had inquired about the matter, which had put Galliani in a somewhat passive position recently.

Galliani couldn't understand how he, the esteemed Vice President of AC Milan, was becoming increasingly unsuccessful.

Looking at Dejan Lu smiling brightly on the television, Galliani felt he had to say something.

If this continued, he would become a clown, and how could he lead the team?

Just before Sampdoria played Fiorentina, Galliani gave an interview.

The AC Milan Vice President said, "Dejan is indeed a good player. He has developed a completely new way of playing. That offensive style of cutting inside from the wing catches many players off guard; everyone is unaccustomed to playing this way, much like when the sweeper system was first developed. However, the situation will soon change. Many players have excellent performances when they first arrive in Serie A, but once everyone gets familiar with him, his brilliance will gradually fade; this is inevitable. The match against Fiorentina is a good test. Baggio is one of the best young players right now, so we can see who is better between the two of them."

Misjudged?

He couldn't have misjudged.

The key was that he hadn't made any mistakes.

He couldn't just sell a Dutchman and sign a young player.

Normally, even if Dejan Lu had talent, he would need a few years to develop. At worst, they could buy him later. The problem was that he had risen too quickly.

Galliani couldn't help but sigh.

No, Serie A couldn't have such an awesome young player!

Baggio, as one of the parties involved, hadn't expected to be featured in the newspaper like this.

He preferred to let his feet do the talking on the field, and he also disliked explaining himself off the field.

Even when he was later disliked by the national team coach Cesare Maldini, old Maldini said that if he could become the top local scorer, he would call him back to the national team.

Baggio simply replied, "Okay."

He didn't like being compared to others, especially in this situation.

Baggio could clearly feel Galliani's malice.

But he was just the kind of person who disliked explaining things.

At the same time, he also wanted to compete with Dejan Lu, who had been in the spotlight recently.

October 22nd.

The twelfth round of Serie A that day.

On the bus, Mancini was much quieter.

Just as he was about to get off, he sat back down instead.

As Dejan Lu was about to get off the bus, he didn't expect Mancini to pull him back and ask, "Can we win today?"

Dejan Lu glanced at him.

Mancini was very unusual today.

Mancini said somewhat annoyed, "I'm just worried about the team."

Dejan Lu smiled, punched him on the shoulder, and stuffed a hamburger into his mouth, saying, "Don't worry, we'll win."

One is 25, the other is 23, and both are Number 9.5s, completely overlapping in national team positions.

Baggio had been praised to the heavens by the Apennines, so it was normal for Mancini to lack confidence.

Although his previous national team career was unsuccessful due to his personality, Baggio would be his biggest competitor in next year's Italia '90, so his complex feelings at this moment were understandable.

Dejan Lu had always liked Baggio when watching football and was very familiar with his playing style.

That man only had one and a half legs, and it was indeed not easy for him to perform as he was now.

After changing into his gear in the locker room, Dejan Lu chose to draw a card.

[Ding, because your good brother Bagnato has not won any awards in his career and has not scored a single goal, you will draw a player experience card for Flórián Albert, the 1967 Ballon d'Or winner, the 1962 World Cup top scorer, who played in the 1965 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final between Ferencváros and Juventus.]

Holy crap!

The originator of the Number 9.5!

The concept of Number 9.5 was proposed by Zico.

The person he was referring to at the time was this Albert.

Interestingly, his nickname was similar to Beckenbauer's; due to his elegant playing style, fans called him the Emperor.

"The players from both teams have entered the field with the referees. I believe everyone is very much looking forward to the start of the match," Rossi said excitedly.

He had always favored Baggio, and recently he had also been very optimistic about Dejan Lu.

"Fiorentina's current results are not very good; they are ranked outside the top ten, but underestimating them will come at a considerable cost."

Fiorentina 4-4-2 with two defensive midfielders:

Goalkeeper: Marco Landucci, Defenders: Celeste, Stefano Pioli, Mario Facchetti, Alberto Di Chiara, Midfielders: Giuseppe Volpecina, Sergio Battistini, Dunga, Renato Buso, Forwards: Roberto Baggio, Marco Nappi, Sampdoria 4-4-2 with two defensive midfielders:

Goalkeeper: Pagliuca, Defenders: Marco Lanna, Verchowod, Amedeo Carboni, Mannini, Midfielders: Dejan Lu, Pari, Dossena, Lombardo, Forwards: Vialli, Mancini.

"Sampdoria's lineup has remained largely stable, with no significant changes from the previous match against Dortmund, only one starting defender has been replaced."

"Yes, this young player Enrico Chiesa can no longer keep up with Dejan's pace."

The referee team lined up facing the tunnel, and the players from both sides shook hands in order.

Baggio tensed his muscles, his gaze never leaving Dejan Lu.

The starting lineups of both teams were of similar caliber, but Baggio couldn't remain calm. His performance this year was crucial for his national team position, and Galliani was fanning the flames from behind.

This made him inevitably nervous.

After shaking hands with Pari, he saw Dejan Lu walking towards him.

What would he say?

Would he boast about his performance, or would he issue a challenge in person?

Players of similar age had strong competitive spirits, especially when their positions were similar.

Even if they weren't on the same team, the media would inevitably compare them.

This is especially true for a team.

Baggio thought that since Dejan Lu had only just moved from Bing Er to Serie A and was already so prominent, his personality must be very proud.

If Dejan Lu provoked him, how should he respond?

As Dejan Lu stepped in front of him, Baggio slowly turned his somewhat stiff neck.

He smiled!

Dejan Lu had a handsome smile and very white teeth.

Baggio forced a smile.

"He seems like an easy person to get along with," was Baggio's first impression.

But the next second, his mouth dropped open to its widest.

He couldn't believe his ears.

"I've always liked your playing style. Want to come to Sampdoria and play together?"

Thanks to Old Mei for the reward.

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