Perhaps because of the Calciopoli scandal, the Italian Football Association carried out self-cleansing, new personnel and new styles. After winning the World Cup in Germany, they quickly launched a series of lively activities in the headquarters building next to the Borghese Museum in Rome.
Celebrations.
One of them is to put huge posters of the Italian national team on both sides of the five-story headquarters building.
On one side is a scene of the team holding up the World Cup at the Allianz Arena in Germany, and on the other side is a poster of the eleven players who started the final.
It is nearly twenty meters high and looks very spectacular from a distance.
But today, this Football Association headquarters, which usually doesn't attract much attention, has attracted a lot of attention. Even across the narrow road at the entrance, many media reporters are waiting.
They are all here for today's draw for the third knockout round of the Italian Cup.
The draw was arranged in the venue on the third floor of the headquarters building. Representatives of the sixteen teams that entered the third round gathered together. They were all teams from Serie A and Serie B. The teams in the C1 and C2 leagues were basically different.
Think about it.
Italian football is conservative and upsets are rare.
Juventus is represented by sporting director Alessio Seco. Even though the team was relegated to Serie B and despite scandals like Calciopoli, he is still the most watched and even the most popular person on the scene.
people.
The reason is not difficult to guess, because many Serie A and Serie B teams have youth training cooperation with Juventus.
In contrast, Marino in Naples is not well received.
Those who disrupt the situation are always ostracized.
Neither Serie A nor Serie B are very happy with Napoli's rise.
The competition is fierce, and no one knows whether they will be the next unlucky ones.
…
The lottery process is actually very simple, with standard procedures and officially licensed media entering the venue to take photos and witness.
The final result surprised everyone present.
Because after eight games and fourteen teams were drawn, only Naples and Juventus were left.
Basically, there is no need to guess. These two teams are definitely tied together. The only suspense is, who will play at home?
The expression on Marino's face kept changing with the drawing of lots, and in the end, he was almost expressionless.
There are fifteen teams, how come Juventus was drawn?
Even if you draw Lazio, that's fine.
He even wanted to stand up and go on stage to see if there was anything shady about this?
What a bad luck!
Not only Marino was stunned for a moment, but even Alessio Secco was obviously a little stunned, followed by a burst of ecstasy.
Then, the young sporting director of Juventus laughed happily.
Even if Naples plays at home in the end, he doesn't mind.
Look at the cheerful expression on his face, it seems that this is the best outcome for him.
In fact, even before Italy's first-round draw, he said he wanted to take a chance on Naples.
Unexpectedly, we didn’t meet until the third round.
"This is a single elimination match, Pierpaolo." Secco smiled and turned his head to look at Marino, who looked miserable.
Anyone can see that in Serie B and even Serie A, most teams encounter Juventus and have a narrow escape.
Although it cost more than 80 million euros, this team is still very powerful and has a very strong team.
A skinny camel is bigger than a horse. Even if he is downgraded, he is still Juventus!
On the other hand, no matter how strong and dark horse Naples is, even if they have a double-championship coach, they are still promoted from Serie B.
In terms of overall strength, the two sides are not at the same level at all.
If Gao Shen was given more time, maybe the situation would be completely different. He might be able to create an upset, but now, the season has just begun and his team is a scratch team. How is that possible?
Italy doesn’t believe in upsets!
After drawing the lots, Secco walked towards Marino laughing and stood in front of him.
Everyone knows that he had a verbal spat with De Laurentiis, and he also refused to deal with Gao Shen. The two sides had deep grudges.
Now, enemies are on a narrow road, and Naples is in trouble!
"It's a pity, Pierpaolo. I originally looked forward to seeing Naples go further, but fate made our two teams meet so quickly. I can only say that I am sorry." Secco said confidently.
smiled.
Marino was not an ordinary person. He quickly calmed down, but when he saw Secco's face, he became angry.
Before he went north to Rome, De Laurentiis said something to him: no matter who you draw, don't be afraid, beat him to death!
At this moment, seeing Secco's triumphant appearance, Marino gritted his teeth secretly.
"What? Learned to read poetry and changed your profession to become a poet? Is your major in literature?" Marino asked with a sneer.
Seko's expression suddenly changed, and he said coldly: "What did you say?"
"Anyway, we bump into each other, fight to the death, see you on the court!" Marino said harshly.
After finishing speaking, the general manager of Naples turned around and left, ignoring the furious Secco behind him.
Now that we have met, what else is there to say?
As soon as he walked out of the venue, he called Gao Shen in the corridor.
"It's bad luck, I got drawn against Juventus," Marino said in a low mood.
After a few seconds of silence on the other side of the phone, a high-pitched laughter came, "Good thing, it's time to step on them again and send them home!"
Marino suspected that he heard wrongly, that was Juventus!
But then he thought about it, it was possible that Gao Shen was pretending to be calm.
The league has not even started yet, but Juventus encountered Juventus in the cup match. This is not a good thing no matter how you look at it.
Besides, being eliminated from the Italian Cup will also be a big challenge for the new season.
But no matter what, since we have encountered each other, we can only use our swords.
…
Marino's front foot had just left the Italian Football Association headquarters when Seco's back foot was blocked by media reporters at the door.
This group of pervasive guys had already received the news and knew that Juventus had drawn Naples.
This is definitely an enemy road.
It's a pity that this game is still not broadcast live on TV.
Moreover, time is very tight, with only two days left to prepare for the battle, which does not leave too much preparation for both sides.
It can be said that this is an encounter on a narrow road!
Secco was very satisfied with the result of this draw. He said that the team was confident that it could defeat all opponents, including Naples.
"Yes, I know, Napoli just defeated Ascoli, but I don't think there is anything worth saying about it. They are at their home court and we are stronger than Ascoli."
Secco said that Juventus has its own season plan. The goal is not only to return to Serie A, but also to make a difference in the cup competition, because after winning the Italian Cup, they can participate in the UEFA Cup next season.
"You should all know that for a team like Juventus, it is a very painful thing to be unable to participate in the European war, so we will return to the mainstream European vision as soon as possible. This is also my goal as the team's sports director.
Responsibilities.”
Regarding Naples, Secco admitted that this team has a certain degree of competitiveness, but he believes that it is difficult to pose a threat to Juventus.
"I still say that, maybe Gao Shen can become a famous head coach in Europe in the future, but not now at the age of 25, let alone this season."
Secco also reiterated once again that he chose Deschamps instead of Gao Shen out of responsibility for the club.
"In fact, everyone has seen that after Gao Shen took charge of Naples, he carried out a destructive reorganization of the team. They spent more than 16 million euros, but they have not seen the results so far, and we have
It only cost more than three million euros."
Secco said that it's not that Juventus doesn't have money or doesn't want to invest, but it has its own set of plans.
"This is the reason why we rejected Gao Shen. We are a wealthy team and we have to implement it according to our own rhythm and plan. We will not change our plan at will because of any head coach."
Finally, Secco said that the draw was very good and gave Juventus a chance.
"I believe that our players will use a victory on the playing field to prove how correct the management's choice is!"
After bidding farewell to the media reporters at the door, Secco went to the airport and prepared to return to Turin.
On the way, in the car, he called Deschamps.
"Naples has been drawn." As soon as the call was connected, Secco said, "There is no room for failure in this game. We must win it no matter what, and we must not lose!"
Deschamps on the other side of the phone was silent for a few seconds before he said: "I took a look at Napoli's first two rounds of game reports. They are not very detailed, but it can be seen that this team has a good offensive power and scored eight goals in two games."
I want the club to help me make arrangements and contact Paolucci and others to learn about the situation in Naples."
There was no live TV broadcast, no one knew who the opponent was before, and there was no targeted arrangement. Both sides could only play on the spot.
But Juventus has the advantage.
They have players on loan at Ascoli participating in this match.
"In this case, I will contact Texel directly and ask him about the situation. I will still say the same thing. The club fully supports you, but you must win this game for me!" Seko said fiercely.
After Deschamps was silent for a few seconds, he spoke again: "Our offense is very problematic now. I told you before that I need Van der Vaart and Saviola, but I can't see these two right now."
players.”
"I know everything you said, but in Serie B, we don't need van der Vaart, we have Nedved, and we don't need Saviola. We have Bodinov and Del Piero, which is enough.
Everything will wait until Serie A. I have my own plans and arrangements here." Secco also raised his voice.
After a pause, he seemed to realize that his tone was harsh, so he softened and said: "In this way, we will win Naples first. I will try my best to negotiate and try to win Saviola before the end of the transfer period. As for Van der Vaart
,I try my best."
"Okay!" Deshang replied helplessly.
After Seko hung up the phone, he leaned back, feeling quite tired.
In the beginning, when his senior Moji did these things, he was very familiar with them and seemed very easy. But why did it become so cumbersome and complicated for him?
In the final analysis, his prestige is too low, and no one dares to question him.
Therefore, the most urgent thing he needs to do now is to establish his prestige.
