Worldie on the Serie C Stage

Even though Dejan Lu showed enough talent, Scarla didn't immediately give him a chance.

Currently, everything with the team was stable, and there was no need to take risks by replacing the starting lineup.

Italian coaches were inherently conservative.

Dejan Lu didn't really mind either.

As long as the team could win and secure the Serie C championship, he'd have to find a job himself in the summer. With his talent, he couldn't possibly stay with Reggina.

He could just look for teams to try out for then.

Just looking at the team photo, he seemed out of place.

Most of the team had long hair, and many sported a distinct mustache.

After he got a more modern buzz cut, they looked like two different generations.

"Kid, you've been playing like a Predator lately, were you modified by scientists?"

Giuseppe Bagnato slung an arm around Dejan Lu and quipped.

The movie "Predator," released in '86, was very well-known.

"I've just started to understand how I should play,"

Dejan Lu said with a smile.

Bagnato smiled and nodded.

With the talent Dejan Lu had displayed, he definitely wouldn't be stuck in lower leagues for long. Though he felt a bit envious, he wasn't too bothered. At 29, he didn't have many aspirations left.

Playing football was just a job; if a better job came along, he'd retire immediately.

Nevio Scala, watching from the sidelines, glanced at his watch and clapped his hands, saying, "Tomorrow is the match against Cagliari, you all need to be sharp."

"Yes, coach."

"Got it."

Cagliari was currently ranked first.

After 22 games, they had 15 wins, 3 draws, and 4 losses, with 33 points, placing them in first. They were only two points ahead of Reggina, who had 13 wins, 5 draws, and 4 losses. If they won this match, Reggina could equalize with their opponents for the first time this season.

As he walked towards the locker room, a teammate immediately invited him, "Want to go sing karaoke? Some Sicilians set it up here."

Calabria was right next to Sicily, separated by a strait. Many things were smuggled in, so-called 'duty-free goods.'

"I'll pass, I need to sort out some transportation,"

Dejan Lu said with a smile.

Always riding his bicycle to training took too much time on the road.

He'd heard a batch of motorcycles had arrived and planned to check them out.

In Italy, about a quarter of households owned motorcycles, with sportbikes and street bikes coexisting. In sparsely populated areas like the US or Australia, larger displacement models were more common, while Thailand and Japan mostly had small street bikes.

When he went to inspect the vehicles at the seaside container yard, he realized he'd met the seller at a funeral. Without much haggling, he bought an R100RS.

It was said that this bike was developed through wind tunnel testing. Although it had been on the market for over a decade, it was still selling very well.

Riding it felt like flying.

The next day, he woke up very early.

Although he wasn't starting, being on the roster was still progress.

Cagliari was a team from Sardinia.

The entire team took a bus to Rome early in the morning, a journey that took 7 hours.

Then, they flew from Rome to Cagliari.

With almost no rest time, the entire Reggina team was brought to the Sant'Elia Stadium.

Seeing Dejan Lu looking tired, Giuseppe Bagnato whispered, "Last time we came to Sardinia, we even took a ferry, which took even longer. It's a good thing Cagliari doesn't get relegated to Serie C often."

"Yeah!"

Dejan Lu agreed and nodded.

Inter-regional matches without flights were indeed exhausting.

They received discounts from the airline, making it cheaper than for regular passengers, but there wasn't a dedicated flight route from Reggio Calabria to Cagliari.

Every trip to Sardinia took a long time.

Giuseppe Bagnato continued, "I hope we can win the championship. With the championship bonus, I want to buy a bigger house. A few days ago, I saw a foreign program where a house could accommodate 40 people for a party."

"It's the same in Italy or any other country; those are houses for rich people," Dejan Lu said. "I also know someone named Celia; her family's house can house 8 million people."

"8 million?" Bagnato retorted, "Do you think I'm an idiot?"

While the two were chatting, the situation on the field had become quite unfavorable for Reggina.

Nevio Scala's tactics were very pragmatic, especially in this era where a win was worth two points. Most Italian coaches focused on defense.

However, today, the travel arrangements had caused significant fatigue for the players, leading to occasional mistakes during the match.

These accumulated mistakes quickly gave the opponent, Cagliari, an opportunity to score a goal.

"Everyone, concentrate! No more mistakes!!!"

Scarla tried to rally the players.

However, the players' physical fatigue did not disappear.

After barely managing to hold on without conceding another goal in the first half, shortly after the second half began, Cagliari scored another goal, changing the score to 2:0.

The Sant'Elia Stadium erupted in cheers.

As the only team from Sardinia, they had stayed in Serie A for over 10 years before becoming a yo-yo club after Luigi Riva retired. The fans had extremely high expectations for the team.

"Goal! Goal! Goal!"

In contrast to the Cagliari fans' cheers, Nevio Scarla's expression soured. The coach felt utterly powerless because he knew very well that the team's predicament wasn't due to a lack of player willpower.

A substitution?

Were the substitutes not tired?

Scarla turned his head and saw Dejan Lu chatting animatedly with his teammates.

He immediately extended his index and middle fingers and beckoned Dejan Lu over.

Bagnato nudged Dejan Lu and said, "The boss wants you to go over."

"Coach?"

Dejan Lu got up and asked.

"Warm up, get ready to go on!"

Scarla said concisely.

At this point, they could only let Dejan Lu try.

He had heard that Dejan Lu's previous appearances hadn't been very effective, but it didn't matter if they conceded one or two more goals now.

What if he could replicate his training form?

In the stands, 45-year-old Luigi Riva showed an interested expression.

The King of Sardinia, hailed as one of the greatest players in Italian history, had also briefly coached Cagliari two years prior.

Habits formed during his coaching days made him very familiar with the team's opponents.

Dejan Lu had only played twice for Reggina, but he had left quite an impression. There weren't many Chinese players in Italy.

He wasn't optimistic about Scarla's substitution.

"Kid, good luck!"

Giovanni Capasso, who was being substituted, said.

After hugging him, Dejan Lu jogged onto the field.

After the opposing team restarted play, Dejan Lu immediately charged forward.

His top speed wasn't particularly fast, but as fresh legs, his stamina was still abundant. This startled Cagliari's midfielder Mariotto, who immediately kicked the ball to Reggina's midfielder Maurizio Lagi.

"Run forward!"

The moment Lagi shouted, Dejan Lu had already sprinted out.

Seeing that figure, Lagi instinctively chipped the ball without much thought.

The pass wasn't great, heading directly towards the left side of the penalty box.

Fortunately, the nearby Cagliari players were focused on the center.

As Dejan Lu charged forward, no player came to interfere.

At this position, the penalty area was still full of players.

Dejan Lu didn't hesitate and swung his left foot.

Bang—

He shot without controlling the ball.

A shot from a tight angle!

The ball flew from the left side of the penalty box towards the goal. The Cagliari goalkeeper didn't have time to adjust his position before the ball flew over his head and nestled into the right side of the net.

By the time he turned around, he only saw the ball bouncing behind the goal line.

Thank you all for your support!!!

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I can only take it slow during the new book period. I'll have a burst of updates after it goes on the shelves, hehe.