"Dejan!!!"
"Dejan!!!"
"Dejan!!!"
As both teams warmed up, the away supporters were already putting their passion on full display.
Ever since Dejan Lu's first appearance, his career had seemed to have rocket boosters strapped to it.
Before the winter break had even arrived, Dejan Lu had already become one of Sampdoria's most beloved players.
Roma manager Luigi Radice watched the pitch and said to his assistant, "He's popular, isn't he?" "Yeah, and he's made AC Milan look pretty bad too."
His assistant teased him.
Luigi Radice was a Milan legend. He had played for Milan for ten seasons and even managed the club in the early eighties, though his results had been dreadful and he was soon sacked.
"A genius."
Luigi Radice sighed.
As a player, he had also been considered a gifted left-back. Very few players could get past him head-on.
Back then, he had been part of that Milan side that lifted the Apennines' first European Cup alongside Cesare Maldini. Unfortunately, injuries had forced him to end his career early.
Whenever he saw an outstanding young player, he could not help feeling regretful.
In those days, playing football did not earn much more than a regular job. People did it entirely out of love.
And because they loved it, the regret ran even deeper.
That was why he had never left football.
After warming up, both teams returned to the tunnel.
The mascot beside Dejan Lu was noticeably older, but that was normal. Sometimes mascots were even taller than the players, and that was truly awkward.
"Kid, what's your name?"
Dejan Lu asked casually.
"Francesco Totti!"
Pfft...
Dejan Lu quickly lowered his head for a look.
Sure enough, he could actually see traces of the future Wolf King in the boy's features.
"Is my name funny?"
Totti asked, somewhat displeased.
"No, sorry." Dejan Lu said, "You reminded me of someone I know."
"I see." Totti did not get angry. Instead, he eagerly asked, "If I want to become a big star, do you have any advice?"
"Read more books, and don't date women who work at television stations."
Dejan Lu answered sincerely.
Besides his miserable marriage, Totti's education was also a joke.
There were plenty of poorly educated players in football.
But Totti really did have a uniquely awkward way of speaking, and he drew too much attention. The media always loved dragging him out to mock him.
"Let's go, we're coming out."
Pari turned back to remind him.
Dejan Lu nodded and led Totti out with him.
The kid was probably twelve or thirteen years old, already nearly 1.7 meters tall, and growing fast.
Once they were in position on the pitch, Dejan Lu asked, "Francesco, do you want to come play for Sampdoria? I have a friend named Marco Lanna. I can introduce you two sometime."
At eleven o'clock that night, the referee blew the whistle to start the match on time.
From the opening whistle, Roma's players showed tremendous intensity.
Pezzotti said worriedly, "Starting Dejan today may not necessarily be a good thing. Those Roma players aren't easy to deal with."
"It's fine. They probably won't go too hard in the opening stages. We'll take him off after Dejan scores two."
Boskov said indifferently.
Was Dejan Lu not quick enough at scoring?
Maybe before Roma's players even found a chance to lose their tempers, Sampdoria would already be several goals ahead.
"The tempo today is a little fast."
Rossi nodded. "Yeah. Roma definitely want points at home. They know they can't give Sampdoria the chance to build up slowly, so they want to disrupt Sampdoria's rhythm."
"Dejan sends it in directly from the wing, but unfortunately there's nobody in the box."
Luigi Radice watched the pitch and could not help shaking his head.
He kept feeling that this young man, Dejan Lu, was anything but ordinary.
Although he had always displayed strength beyond others, his style kept changing.
Changes in a player's tempo made sense; that was for dribbling past opponents.
But what the hell was the point of changing your playing style?
Some newspapers had claimed that Dejan Lu would also lose his way in his second season in Serie A. Damn it, just wait and see. If Dejan Lu's performances declined, he would stand on his head on the touchline while managing from now on.
No wonder Rivera had kept recommending Dejan Lu to Milan.
If he had discovered Dejan Lu earlier, he would have recommended him to his former club as well.
Being driven out after managing Milan eight years ago had been too humiliating. This was the perfect chance to do something to win back the Rossoneri's hearts.
A few minutes later, Sampdoria launched another attack.
Dossena immediately passed to Pari after receiving the ball, and Pari promptly sent a through ball toward the attacking half.
Standing side-on in the attacking half, Dejan Lu did not turn around. He simply stretched out his right foot and gently scooped beneath the ball.
Smack—
The ball sailed directly over the heads of Antonio Comi and Sebastiano Nela, clearing Roma's entire back line.
Sivori knew at once that something was wrong and immediately rushed off his line.
But Vialli reacted faster than he had expected. After the ball bounced, Vialli leaped up, raised his right foot high, and successfully chipped the ball over Sivori's head. It stumbled and rolled into the empty net.
"Boo!"
"Boo!"
"Boo!"
The Red Wolves supporters were going insane.
They had not expected their team to concede so soon after the match began.
And there was simply no way to describe that goal. There had been seven men in the backfield, with only Vialli near the penalty area. Yet Dejan Lu, standing side-on, had produced a delicate chipped pass that put Vialli clean through to finish.
They could not accept conceding in that fashion.
It was fucking absurd.
It was like two football hooligans had both brought weapons and were ready for a brutal fight, only for one of them to suffer a heart attack the moment the other uttered a threat.
"Goal!!!!!"
"Goal!!!"
"Vialli!"
"Vialli received Dejan's chipped pass and scored! That attack was incredibly simple. Pari gave the ball to Dejan, Dejan found Roma's weakness, and he created a perfect opportunity for Vialli."
"Roma's defense has no weaknesses? Perhaps that is only what we see. The world as seen by a genius is never the same as the world seen by ordinary people. Dejan sent the ball into the box without even turning around."
Vialli ran excitedly toward Dejan Lu.
He threw an arm around Dejan Lu's neck.
That goal felt incredible.
Previously, when he partnered Roberto Mancini, the two of them had always set each other up.
Their understanding had been excellent, but their passes had never been this sharp.
Vialli had not even expected Dejan Lu to do that, since Roma's defenders were all back.
Yet the goal had come so easily. It had truly happened.
In the stands, Roberto Mancini's face darkened.
He increasingly felt that his position within the team was under threat.
What exactly had those two been doing while he was away?
"Go to Sampdoria, don't go to Sampdoria..."
Just as Mancini was grumbling inwardly, he noticed a brat muttering beside him.
"You're sitting in the Roma stands saying something like that. You could get beaten up."
Mancini warned him.
"You're the one who could get beaten up for showing up here!"
Totti shot back.
What was a Sampdoria player doing in the home stands?
Mancini's face darkened. This kid really was not adorable at all.
The team had an allocation of tickets, but he had lost his.
After arriving with the team today, he had casually bought a ticket, only to find himself in the Roma section.
Thankfully, he was wearing a baseball cap.
"I heard you want to play for Sampdoria? I'm the team's second captain."
Mancini said somewhat proudly.
"Tch, I'm the captain of Roma's youth team too."
Totti said disdainfully, "Dejan invited me to play for Sampdoria, and I'm still considering it. But after seeing you, I don't think Sampdoria is anything special. Oh, and second captain doesn't count as captain."
Mancini could not help drawing a sharp breath.
What an annoying little brat.
What the hell did that bastard Dejan see in him?
For the first time, Mancini felt that someone had an even fouler mouth than he did.
If this had not been the home stands, he would have made an exception and beaten up a minor today.
Thanks to Old Mei Brewing Wine for the reward.
Thanks to all the big shots for your support.
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