The Predestined Internet Famous Team of Thirty Years Prior

On the way back, the whole team was quite excited.

A comeback and a derby, that's definitely the most exciting part of football.

If there's anything more exciting, it's making a comeback against a derby rival in the Champions League!

As the second youngest team in Serie C2, Reggina's average age is just over 23.

There isn't a single player born in the 1950s on the team.

In this era of rapid development in electronics and entertainment, young people have astonishing vitality.

Even though they were exhausted after the match, the whole team celebrated fiercely upon returning to Rome.

The captain offered to treat, and no one went overboard.

Even Serie A players' incomes aren't that extravagant these days. In a city like Rome, if the whole team wanted to fleece him, he'd practically have to sell both kidneys.

Giovanni Capasso kept fiddling with his pager during dinner, as if he had nails stuck to his backside.

"He's getting married,"

a teammate teased.

Dejan Lu was a bit speechless.

The guy was only a year older than him.

Getting married at 19, and his life could be seen at a glance.

"Kid, why are you rolling your eyes?" Bagnato nudged Dejan Lu with his elbow and said, "You shouldn't have refused Riva today."

"What benefit would I get from going to Cagliari? We're getting promoted next season, and they are too. If I switch to a new team, I'll still be playing in Serie B, so wouldn't the transfer be pointless?"

Dejan Lu complained.

He had indeed planned to switch clubs in the summer, but Serie B was not his goal at all.

At worst, he'd go play in England.

Due to the Heysel Stadium disaster, English teams were banned from European competitions for 5 years and were still serving their ban.

Their tactics were already outdated.

Italian players spoke of English football with disdain. At this time, Serie A indeed had the qualifications to do so. Any top Italian team could easily field one or two Baggio-level stars, or slightly less talented ones. The "Seven Sisters" teams were almost entirely composed of key national team players, which was even more exaggerated than the later "BIG4."

It was already past midnight when he got home.

Fortunately, he had the next day off.

One advantage of being a Serie C player was enjoying the weekend.

Serie C matches were usually scheduled for Saturdays or Fridays.

At a little past 7 AM the next morning, his pager wouldn't stop ringing. Seeing it was Old Bianchi, Dejan Lu had no choice but to get up and wash up.

Damn it, he always thought modern communication devices were the biggest obstacle to the development of human society.

Later, some idiots would send messages on work software in the middle of the night, and you couldn't even ignore them without reading them. In the era of landlines, there was no such nonsense!

He tidied himself up in ten minutes, got on his ride, and roared off, drawing a sideways glance from the neighbor's wife.

"Good morning, Alessandro."

Dejan Lu greeted Old Bianchi's youngest son as soon as he entered.

"Morning, Dejan."

Alessandro pointed to the courtyard and said, "Dad's waiting for you there. It's probably not good news."

Dejan Lu waved with a smile and walked towards the backyard.

"Dejan, you're here."

Bianchi De Rosso greeted him, gesturing for him to sit down.

"Uncle Bianchi,"

Dejan Lu said.

"The team is doing well right now," De Rosso began. "There shouldn't be any problem getting promoted. I spoke with the coach, and he said you played very well yesterday."

"Yes, I've recently found my way of playing,"

Dejan Lu nodded.

"But I'm in a bit of trouble now," De Rosso said, holding his teacup. "If the team gets promoted, our facilities won't meet the requirements. You know Reggina has been in Serie C for many years, and the equipment is old and in disrepair..."

Hearing this, Dejan Lu's heart sank.

Usually, crying poverty didn't lead to anything good.

"Uncle Bianchi, what are you saying?"

Dejan Lu asked.

"I just wanted to let you know, so you're not caught off guard," De Rosso said, putting down his cup. "Reggina is a local team, and I don't want to give up on it. But I don't have the spare cash to invest right now. I'm planning to find someone to inject capital into the team to help it through this difficult period."

Dejan Lu roughly understood what Bianchi De Rosso meant.

He was mainly worried that if there were any complications in the summer, the team wouldn't be able to get promoted, which would affect him.

He had actually thought Old Bianchi wanted to borrow money, but it turned out that wasn't what he meant.

His uncle's friend seemed quite reliable.

He decided to give him advance notice.

Although he, Dejan Lu, wouldn't need it, as he was planning to change jobs in the summer.

Old Bianchi was reluctant to give up control of his hometown team, yet he didn't want to invest any real money. This was the biggest problem he faced.

Dejan Lu didn't believe for a second that he didn't have enough money.

The key issue was that investing in a Serie B team wasn't very profitable.

Investing in a Serie B team cost much more than in Serie C. To push for promotion to Serie A, a lot of money was needed for everything from team equipment to players, and even then, promotion wasn't guaranteed.

Old Bianchi was mainly concerned about this sunk cost.

He was worried the team wouldn't get promoted and still wanted to notify him, Dejan Lu. Dejan Lu certainly felt indebted to him for that.

After thinking for a moment, Dejan Lu said, "Uncle Bianchi, can we try a different approach?"

"What do you mean?"

De Rosso asked, looking at him with confusion.

"Let's publicize the team!" Dejan Lu said excitedly. "Get reporters you know to write stories in the newspapers about the team's players. Like, 'So-and-so used to be a troublemaker but turned his life around and trains hard, his performance has been getting better and better recently.' Or, 'So-and-so's grandfather asked him to play soccer diligently on his deathbed. Even though he's just a Serie C player now, he still trains hard every day...' Or maybe, 'The Fendi Six Sisters admire a certain player's fashion sense and want to sponsor Reggina.' Or, 'A famous director has taken a liking to a player and wants to invite him to develop his career in Hollywood...'"

Bianchi De Rosso's eyes lit up.

He was indeed afraid of investing without seeing any returns.

But Dejan Lu had given him a new idea.

As long as the team's story attracted attention and it became famous, even if there were no foolish rich sponsors or investors, his investment would gain significant attention.

An image of him loving his hometown would be very beneficial to him.

Being cousins with a Calabria mafia boss was his biggest worry.

His current mindset was similar to that of politicians.

When needed, he'd call his cousin to sort things out. When things were fine, he wished he had no connection to his cousin whatsoever, terrified that if his cousin got caught, he'd be dragged down with him.

Although Calabrians had a tradition of remaining silent in prison, as a seasoned businessman, he knew better than to trust human nature.

Now, a new path lay before him.

While managing the team's reputation, he could gradually mention his own silent contributions. Then, he could find an opportunity to have a heart-to-heart talk with his cousin. At that point, with the condition of taking care of his descendants if anything were to happen, even if the olive oil fraud was exposed, he, Bianchi De Rosso, would be among the victims.

Moreover, he might be able to use other people's money to build his own reputation. He wasn't the only wealthy person in the Calabria region!

If other businessmen were willing to invest knowing the team was struggling, the reputation would still be his.

Just thinking about it made Old Bianchi excited.

This plan was highly feasible!

Seeking monthly tickets and recommendation tickets, seeking favorites and continued reading!!!