The entire stadium fell silent for a few seconds before the away end erupted in excited cheers.
"Did you see that? I knew he could do it, right? Right?!"
Nevio Scarla turned and grabbed his assistant coach by the shoulders, shaking him excitedly.
The assistant coach wore an indescribably strange expression.
Just a few minutes ago, Scarla had told him he was sending Dejan Lu on to try his luck.
How long had it been? He had already forgotten what he said? His memory was shorter than South Korea's martial law.
Riva, sitting in the stands, also widened his eyes. It was not easy to see such a wonderful goal in Serie C.
He felt there had been quite a bit of luck involved.
Even so, he still offered a sporting round of applause.
Although he had been loyal to Cagliari his entire life, a goal like that still made him feel the trip had been worthwhile.
After a brief silence, the Cagliari players immediately burst out with astonishing fighting spirit.
Lower-division teams were highly regional in those days.
Both they and their parents had basically witnessed Cagliari's glory days. Facing a team like Reggina, they naturally held a psychological advantage and a sense of superiority.
Mario Ielpo clapped his hands and reminded his teammates to pull themselves together.
The goalkeeper would later play for Milan as well.
After Massimiliano Cappellini kicked off, he immediately went after Dejan Lu. As one of the team's young players, he needed to show more initiative.
He played as a winger, but where were there any real wingers in Italian football?
Basically, everyone had to defend.
At first glance, Dejan Lu felt the guy looked familiar. He seemed to remember that he would play for AC Milan in the future as well.
So it was no surprise that Cagliari were in first place. Quite a few players in their squad had the potential to become backups in top leagues. At Serie C level, that was already quite outrageous.
After only one collision, Dejan Lu realized he had no physical advantage over him.
Normally, in such a situation, it would be better to make runs and link up with teammates, similar to how Van de Beek played at Ajax.
But that style demanded a lot from off-ball movement, passing, and receiving, and lower-division Italian football did not have such a fast tempo.
He could not just pass the ball and charge forward, then turn around to find his teammate had not even brought the ball under control yet, could he?
Cagliari launched another attack. Purga received the ball on the left, and Dejan Lu immediately turned to track back. Massimiliano Cappellini hesitated, but did not follow.
Just as Dejan Lu had expected, Italian football had fairly rigid demands regarding players' positions.
Without the slightest hesitation, Dejan Lu charged forward.
His tackling ability did not have to be strong. As long as he stuck out a foot, he could cause trouble for the opponent.
Since he was not easily injured, he could simply use his body more whenever the opponent had the ball.
Purga was quick, but his technique was not particularly refined.
After being blocked by a Reggina player, he carried the ball straight toward the touchline. Seeing this, Dejan Lu rushed over and stuck out a foot.
Purga immediately hooked the ball back to adjust.
However, his close control was rather poor. Once he slowed down, he had no way to find an opportunity to accelerate again, and Dejan Lu pinned him to the touchline until he could not move at all.
Growing frustrated, Purga swung his right foot, intending to kick the ball off Dejan Lu for a throw-in. Unexpectedly, Dejan Lu had been prepared and dodged aside.
"Well done, Dejan!"
Nevio Scarla clapped and shouted loudly from the touchline.
Leaving aside things like touch and feel for the ball.
He had seen a precious quality in Dejan Lu: he used his brain when he played.
This time, Dejan Lu had clearly guessed in advance that the opponent might try to win a throw-in and had prepared for it beforehand.
A Reggina player came over and took the throw-in.
Dejan Lu ran toward the center, and Massimiliano Cappellini indeed did not continue following him.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Dejan Lu returned to the right flank.
Tarcisio Catanese received a pass from his teammate and immediately sent it forward.
Near the penalty area, Dejan Lu swung his right foot and curled the ball in. It traced a beautiful arc through the air.
"Watch out!"
Cagliari coach Ranieri's warning came too late.
Giorgio Lunetti had already taken up position, wrestled with the opposing defender into the box, got there first, lowered his head, and powered the ball into the net.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah!"
Scarla pumped his arms passionately on the touchline.
The greatest charm of football was the comeback. The score was still 2–2, but he could already see hope of turning things around.
On the bench, Bagnato vigorously rubbed his scalp.
Damn it, that kid had suddenly become much better.
He could accept Dejan Lu going from a forty to a sixty. After all, sixty was only barely a passing grade.
But Dejan Lu's improvement now was a little too unreasonable.
The kid who used to stay up all night playing video games with those bastards from the team was actually a fucking genius?
The entire stadium had been drowned in boos.
The Cagliari fans vented their dissatisfaction wildly.
They had originally been riding high with home advantage, yet now they had been pegged back.
Their displeasure was directed not only at the visiting team, but also at their own players.
Sweat had appeared on Ranieri's face as well.
The young Tinkerman was not yet forty, and he cherished the opportunity to coach Cagliari immensely.
The team had only recently been relegated, and its players were quite capable. He had a chance to realize his ambitions here.
The young coach fiercely rubbed his tongue against his gums.
He had indeed studied the opposition, but who the fuck could have expected Reggina to send out someone with connections?
He knew Dejan Lu's situation very well.
He had joined Reggina at sixteen and made two appearances over the past two seasons, performing quite poorly. The team had only avoided losing because Reggina had been leading whenever he came on.
Had they swapped him out today? Did he have a twin brother who could actually play football?
Even unwilling as he was, Ranieri knew he had to make adjustments now.
The team had gone from leading to being pegged back, and the players' mentality would inevitably be affected during that stretch.
He had to make defensive substitutions first.
Nevio Scarla tilted his head toward Cagliari's bench.
He had not expected this young colleague to be so cautious.
The match gradually became dull.
The traveling Reggina side were all out of sorts, while Cagliari, playing at home, began to focus on defending.
Neither team showed much desire to attack.
The fourth official had already raised the stoppage-time board. There were only three minutes left in the match.
Both managers had used their final substitutions as well.
At this point, no tactical adjustment was really possible. They were simply making substitutions and hoping for luck.
In the final moments of the match, Reggina won a corner.
Players from both sides crowded into Cagliari's penalty area.
Seeing the space behind the goalkeeper, Dejan Lu thought of Arsenal's corner routine.
Screens!
Block the goalkeeper's path so he could not make a save.
Before VAR became widespread, few teams used that tactic, mainly because it was easy to be penalized for obstructing the goalkeeper.
But with VAR, it was clear that several Arsenal players surrounded the opposing goalkeeper without actively making contact. It was allowed under The FA's rules, yet it was an extremely infuriating tactic for goalkeepers.
The instant his teammate took the corner, Dejan Lu rushed behind the opposing goalkeeper.
Mario Ielpo leaped backward and crashed into Dejan Lu. The ball flew over his hands and dropped toward the far post. Bagnato, who had only just come on, slid in and got there first, blocking the ball into the net.
"Damn it, he ran into me!"
Ielpo turned and shouted at the referee.
Players from both sides looked toward the referee as well.
The referee glanced to the touchline. Seeing the assistant referee shake his head, he was silent for several seconds before pointing to the center circle.
The goal stood!
Accompanied by two short whistles and one long blast, the entire Reggina team rushed onto the pitch.
A last-gasp winner!
They had successfully come from behind in the marquee clash.
For most Reggina players, this was already one of the few matches in their careers worth boasting about.
Everyone was ecstatic.
Captain Maurizio Lagi even announced, "When we pass through Rome on the way back, dinner is on me for the whole team."
"Long live the captain!"
The atmosphere instantly became even more heated.
"You did well, Dejan."
Scarla put an arm around Dejan Lu's shoulders and said, "You played very intelligently today. You're very good at finding the opponent's weaknesses."
"Because I like observing everyone's characteristics," Dejan Lu said with a smile.
He had liked doing that when he was a fan too—looking for each player's weaknesses and figuring out how players from the team he supported should deal with them.
"Keep performing well and keep it up. You'll definitely get to play for a big club."
Scarla patted Dejan Lu on the shoulder.
During his career, he had played for giants such as Roma, Fiorentina, and both Milan clubs.
"Can we talk?"
A voice came from nearby.
Scarla was somewhat displeased at being interrupted, but when he looked up, he discovered it was his former national team teammate.
"What is it, Gigi?" Scarla asked.
Luigi Riva looked at Dejan Lu and asked, "Kid, are you interested in playing for Cagliari?"
Please vote with monthly passes and recommendation tickets, hehe.
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