CCTV had been airing Serie A highlights, but it had not started broadcasting the league yet.
When they first received the footage, they had wondered who this young man was.
Then Mantovani came knocking, and they wondered whether Dejan Lu was of Chinese descent or actually Chinese.
They could not make careless claims on a program like this.
By October, they could finally confirm that Dejan Lu was Chinese.
But the information they received was still badly outdated.
As the new episode began, Song Shixiong sat there in a suit and tie and said enthusiastically, "We have received many letters from viewers asking who Sampdoria's Number Seven is. We now have confirmed information: he is a Chinese player named Dejan Lu... Little Lu was adopted at a young age by an uncle doing business in Italy. He excelled academically, enjoyed helping others, loved life and sports, and showed exceptional footballing talent from a very early age..."
The television began showing footage of Dejan Lu appearing on the pitch.
There was no Cup Winners' Cup footage.
Although they had obtained the video from his previous unveiling ceremony, they still had not aired it.
After all, in those days, anyone who rode a motorcycle was considered a hooligan.
It was an openly derogatory term with a strong stamp of its era. Later, it came to describe young people with nothing to do who roamed around all day.
Song Xuemei tore off her apron and tossed it aside. "Look at him. He went abroad and turned out so outstanding. Shouldn't we send our son overseas too?"
Dejan Lu had clearly become the child every parent talked about.
Li Jianguo looked at his son in split-crotch pants and grinned. "Maybe our boy will accomplish something someday too. After all, he takes after you."
Song Xuemei watched her son in split-crotch pants kicking a little ball around. Maybe her Li Huan could go to Italy and play football one day too.
A few days later, bits and pieces of news began appearing in the newspapers.
Below the Football Association's notice on curbing match-fixing was an introduction to Dejan Lu.
The article was proud yet humble, vividly revealing that desire for outside recognition coupled with embarrassment at showing it.
Meanwhile, in Italy, Sampdoria had already become the biggest favorite to win the title this season.
Dejan Lu had not made that many appearances, and he had not even spent half a season in Serie A yet, but the results were undeniable.
One match, he taught Lothar Matthäus a lesson; the next, he tore Andy Müller apart. Even Beckenbauer called him an opponent Dortmund could not defeat, an artist on the pitch.
Gazzetta dello Sport simply put photos of him and Beckenbauer on its front page, under a one-word headline: "Emperor"!
Sampdoria fans, however, did not particularly approve of that title.
Sampdoria's name itself came from two teams. Doria was a hero of Genoa, a legendary commander.
So they preferred to call the heart of their team the Commander, the Captain, or something similar.
Tuttosport was especially amusing. After carefully analyzing a technical move from the match, it wrote, "Clearly, Dejan's turn is more carefree and elegant than Maradona's. In terms of the move itself, the two produce roughly the same result, but visually, they are completely different. Rather than calling it the Maradona turn, we would prefer to call it the Dejan Spin or the Genoa Spin."
Although Napoli and Juventus were not from the same city, the relationship between the two clubs was indeed terrible. Napoli did not get along with northern teams in general.
Tuttosport was more than happy to needle Napoli supporters.
Even later, when Alan's child liked Cristiano Ronaldo, Alan would not allow him to wear Juventus's Number Seven shirt. He could only wear Real Madrid's Number Seven.
The main reason behind it was Italy's deep north-south divide. In the eyes of the north, the south was no different from Ethiopia.
La Gazzetta dello Sport directly called out Galliani several times.
Berlusconi had personally asked about the matter, leaving Galliani in a difficult position lately.
Galliani could not understand it either. He was the vice president of mighty AC Milan, so how had his situation gotten worse and worse?
Watching Dejan Lu smiling brightly on television, Galliani felt that he had to come out and say something.
If this continued, he would become a Joker. How was he supposed to lead a team then?
Before Sampdoria's match against Fiorentina, Galliani gave an interview.
The AC Milan vice president said, "Dejan is indeed a fine player. He has developed an entirely new style of play. His attacking method of cutting inside from the wing has caught many players unprepared. Everyone is unfamiliar with this style, much like when the sweeper system was first developed. However, things will change soon. Many players shine when they first arrive in Serie A, but once everyone becomes familiar with them, their brilliance gradually fades. That is inevitable. The match against Fiorentina will be a good test. Baggio is one of the best young players right now. We can see which of the two is better."
Had he misjudged him?
It was impossible that he had misjudged him.
The key was that he had not actually made any mistake.
He could not exactly sell a Dutchman just to bring in a young player.
Normally, even if Dejan Lu had talent, he would need several years to establish himself. At worst, AC Milan could buy him later. The problem was that his rise had come too quickly.
Galliani could not help sighing.
No, Serie A could not be allowed to have such an absurdly talented young player!
As one of the people involved, Baggio had not expected to end up in the papers like this.
On the pitch, he preferred to speak with his feet, and off the pitch, he disliked explaining himself just as much.
Even later, when national team manager Cesare Maldini did not favor him, old Maldini said that if he could become the top domestic scorer, he would call him back into the national team.
Baggio simply replied, "All right."
He did not like being used for comparisons, especially in this sort of situation.
Baggio could clearly sense Galliani's malice.
But he was simply someone who did not like explaining himself.
At the same time, he also wanted to test himself against the recently red-hot Dejan Lu.
October 22.
The day of Serie A's twelfth round.
On the team bus, Roberto Mancini had been much quieter than usual.
Just as they were about to get off, he sat back down instead.
Dejan Lu was about to get off when Roberto Mancini unexpectedly tugged him from behind and asked, "Can we win today?"
Dejan Lu glanced at him.
Roberto Mancini was acting very strangely today.
Roberto Mancini said irritably, "I'm just worried about the team."
Dejan Lu smiled, punched him lightly on the shoulder, and stuffed a hamburger into his mouth. "Relax. We'll win."
One was twenty-five, the other twenty-three, and both were Number 9.5s. Their positions in the national team completely overlapped.
Baggio had been praised to the skies across the Apennines, so it was only natural that Roberto Mancini lacked confidence.
His earlier struggles with the national team had been due to his personality, but at next year's Italia '90, Baggio would be his biggest rival. It was understandable that his feelings were complicated at this point.
Dejan Lu had always liked watching Baggio play, and he knew Baggio's style well.
That man only had one and a half legs, so it was not easy for him to produce his current performances.
After changing into his gear in the locker room, Dejan Lu chose to draw a card.
Ding. Because your good brother Bagnato won no awards in his entire career and did not score a single goal, you have drawn the 1967 Ballon d'Or winner and 1962 World Cup Golden Boot winner. You have obtained a single-match experience card for Flórián Albert in the 1965 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final: Ferencváros vs. Juventus.
Holy shit!
The progenitor of the Number 9.5!
The concept of the Number 9.5 had been proposed by Zico.
The person he had been talking about was Albert.
Interestingly, his nickname was similar to Beckenbauer's. Because of his elegant style, fans called him the Emperor.
"The players from both sides have entered the pitch with the refereeing team. I believe everyone is eagerly awaiting the start of the match," Rossi said excitedly.
Baggio had always been a player he rated highly, and recently he had come to rate Dejan Lu very highly as well.
"Fiorentina's current record is not particularly good. They are outside the top ten, but anyone who underestimates them will pay a heavy price."
Fiorentina, 4-4-2 with two holding midfielders:
Goalkeeper: Marco Landucci,
Defenders: Celeste, Stefano Pioli, Mario Faccenda, Alberto Di Chiara,
Midfielders: Giuseppe Volpecina, Sergio Battistini, Dunga, Renato Buso,
Forwards: Roberto Baggio, Marco Nappi,
Sampdoria, 4-4-2 with two holding midfielders:
Goalkeeper: Pagliuca,
Defenders: Marco Lanna, Verchowod, Amedeo Carboni, Mannini,
Midfielders: Dejan Lu, Pari, Dossena, Lombardo,
Forwards: Vialli, Roberto Mancini.
"Sampdoria's lineup has basically remained stable. There have not been many changes from the previous match against Dortmund, aside from one starting defender."
"Yes, the young Enrico Chiesa has already fallen far behind Dejan's pace."
The refereeing team took their positions facing the tunnel, and the players from both sides shook hands in sequence.
Baggio's muscles were tense, and his gaze never left Dejan Lu.
The two starting lineups were roughly equal on paper, but Baggio could not stay calm. His performance this year directly concerned his place in the national team, and Galliani was fanning the flames from behind.
It inevitably made him nervous.
After shaking hands with Pari, he saw Dejan Lu walking toward him.
What would he say?
Would he boast about his own performances, or challenge him to a duel face-to-face?
Players of similar age were highly competitive, especially when they played similar positions.
Even when they were not on the same team, the media inevitably compared them.
It was even more so when they played for the same club.
Baggio felt that Dejan Lu had gone from Bing Er to Serie A and caused such a stir, so he must be very proud.
If Dejan Lu provoked him, how should he respond?
As Dejan Lu stopped in front of him, Baggio slowly turned his slightly stiff neck.
He smiled!
Dejan Lu's smile was very handsome, and his teeth were very white.
Baggio forced out a smile.
He seemed easy to get along with. That was Baggio's first impression.
But the next second, his mouth dropped wide open.
He could hardly believe his ears.
"I've always liked your style of play. Want to come to Sampdoria and play together?"
Thanks to Lao Mei Zhu Jiu for the tip.
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