Loyalty! (Seeking Monthly Votes, Seeking Collections)

After lunch, Dejan Lu left.

The street-side cinema still had posters for Top Gun, which had been released two years prior.

The city of Calabria was so contradictory.

At the port, you could see the latest electronics and cars, chasing the footsteps of more developed countries, but in terms of entertainment, it was still years behind.

Hollywood's cultural output was quite exaggerated in this era.

Later, it gradually became overused, and even Americans themselves disliked it.

Not to mention other countries.

Upon returning home, Dejan Lu found there wasn't much in the refrigerator, so he simply made some egg fried rice and sat down in front of the television.

After the match highlights of the day, Dejan Lu saw himself.

The TV anchor praised him without reservation, saying, "It's hard to believe this is a goal from Serie C. A direct shot without controlling the ball, an outstanding world-class goal that gave the goalkeeper no chance. Some viewers might question if it was luck? But the subsequent performance of this young man shows us his exceptional skill. Perhaps we'll see him in Serie A soon..."

This was very good news.

If he maintained this form, he would soon attract the attention of Serie A scouts.

Serie A teams paid quite a bit of attention to discovering talent within Italy.

"Gigi, you invited me to watch a Serie C match, and not even Cagliari, and not even playing in Milan?" Gianni Rivera complained from the stands.

"Relax, man. I know you were upset about leaving AC Milan, don't take your negative emotions out on me," Luigi Riva said.

Two and a half years ago, Berlusconi acquired AC Milan, and Rivera, as the vice-chairman, had left.

"I didn't expect you to make jokes," Rivera said, as Riva had always seemed quite serious to him.

"I'm not a robot," Riva rolled his eyes.

Their relationship was okay when they were on the national team.

There had been a tradition of infighting before, mainly because the 1966 World Cup coach, Fabbri, disliked the Milan clubs' defensive counter-attacking style. Additionally, he was going to coach Bologna the following season and brought in a large number of Bologna players, which had an impact on Italy.

"Alright, what amazing player have you found now? If you can't impress me, you'll have to refund my gasoline for this 300-kilometer trip." Rivera said.

Milan to Livorno was just over 300 kilometers.

"I'm doing this for your own good. Sulking at home will cause trouble sooner or later," Riva said, pointing at the field. "See that tall, lanky kid? I think he plays like you."

"Roman?" Rivera asked instinctively.

"Chinese!" Riva replied.

This time, Rivera was genuinely interested.

Let alone him, even all of Europe was unfamiliar with China. They could only get occasional glimpses through TV shows or brief introductions in movies.

In just a few seconds, he deciphered a lot from Dejan Lu's positioning.

Agile!

Italian players started tactical lessons at a very young age.

Everyone had excellent tactical awareness, so after retiring, coaches, regardless of their success, were always organized tactically.

However, Dejan Lu's positioning was clearly not in the style of an Italian coach.

He could even guarantee that Dejan Lu's apparent forward runs might not necessarily be intended to go forward; this young man seemed quite clever.

A few minutes later, Rivera said, "He switched his passing method after his through passes couldn't be received by teammates. His skill level and thought process are above Serie C, no wonder you asked me to come."

"The key is that this young man is genuinely interesting," Riva said.

After the match, he saw Dejan Lu's interactions with his teammates and felt he had good relationships with everyone on the team.

A player who was better than everyone else and also so good at managing interpersonal relationships made Riva even more optimistic about Dejan Lu's future.

"So? Isn't he pretty good?" Riva asked.

"He's just so-so," Rivera pouted.

Rivera could see Dejan Lu's talent, but he was also very raw.

He was a bit thin but unafraid of physical challenges.

Playing football requires a thinking mind.

Overall, there are more positives and he shows great promise for the future.

It's just that he didn't want Riva to be too smug. At worst, he could secretly introduce the young man to Sacchi. Anyway, Sacchi was no longer the vice chairman of AC Milan, so even if AC Milan "happened" to sign this young man, it would have nothing to do with him.

Riva took a newspaper from his side and handed it over.

"La Repubblica?"

Rivera asked in confusion.

This newspaper had a large circulation, but its style was too lively and leaned more towards entertainment.

It was founded late in their professional careers, so it wasn't usually part of Rivera's daily reading choices.

Riva turned to the second page and pointed, "Look at the content, don't mind the newspaper."

Rivera lowered his head and began to read.

"In 1971, a Chinese boy was born. Just three years later, his parents died in an accident, and Reggio Calabria gained a young immigrant.

Adopted by his uncle, Dejan loved football from a young age, but his talent wasn't obvious. However, his inner persistence was the cornerstone of his success.

Dejan's masterful reversal in the last match against Cagliari wasn't a sudden burst of energy; it was the result of continuous accumulation. He stayed for the last session in every training, practicing day after day, which led to his performance of directly contributing to three goals in a single game.

Because the team owner, Calabrian businessman Bianchi De Rosso, was a friend of his uncle, there had been negative rumors about Dejan within Reggina. However, no player from Reggina had ever spoken ill of him.

Even his classmates and neighbors praised his character.

After investigation, we discovered that this young man was earning the team's minimum wage.

In his own words, he plays football for everyone in Calabria, not for money. This is a young man's love for his city, his loyalty to football!

Perhaps it was precisely because of his pure soul that God began to awaken his football talent. He is the young man Calabria anticipates the most, their good classmate, good friend, good neighbor – Dejan Lu!"

Rivera was stunned for several seconds.

Riva handed him a magazine.

The cover of the magazine featured Dejan Lu, with a photo of him riding a motorcycle.

The large headline below read: Fashion Attitude Most Admired by Fendi Director Karl Lagerfeld.

That German was very famous. Even though Rivera didn't follow the fashion world, he had heard his story – how he and the five sisters of the Fendi family turned the brand into an international one, earning them the nickname "Fendi Six Sisters."

After flipping through a few pages, he found quite a bit of news about Dejan Lu, some true and some false, until he came across a piece that made him unable to contain himself any longer – Renowned director Tinto Brass greatly admired Dejan Lu and hoped he would play the male lead in his next film.