Chapter 72 A Promise

Chapter 72 A Promise

Last season's Serie A, the most surprising thing was without a doubt Degan's Atalanta. They relied on Degan's terrifying scoring efficiency and near-perfect teamwork throughout the season to pass all the way and finally won the Serie A. And the double champion of the Coppa Italia.

But if you want to ask which team disappointed the most last season, Fiorentina is undoubtedly one of them. They introduced a group of big-name stars in the summer transfer, which is enough to make up a luxurious lineup. They vowed to return The ranks of the strong team, but the final result is that they have been struggling in the relegation circle, and they barely succeeded in relegation until they finally defeated Brescia, which made the fans worry to the limit.

Fiorentina attracted a large number of powerful players such as Hidetoshi Nakata, Maresca, Miccoli, Ujfalusi, etc. last season. The team's top management also made no secret of their goal, which is to enter the European arena.

In fact, in terms of the composition and strength of Florence at that time, this request was not too much. But it is precisely this that harmed the entire team. Because a brand new lineup was introduced during the transfer, on the one hand, it caused conflicts between the club's original forces and the newly introduced players. quickly integrated into a whole in a short period of time.

Although they lost 0:1 to Roma in the first game, the team played magnificently, giving people unlimited room for reverie. Unexpectedly, in fact, Rome's strength has also declined significantly. This illusion caused Florence to suffer a lot and overestimated her own strength, so that she was extremely passive in the following games. He failed to achieve good results, and fired the coach several times eager for quick success. He introduced Bulgarian teenager Bojinov in the middle of the season. Unfortunately, the latter has been injured and failed to play his role. In the end, he has been struggling in the relegation zone.

In the new season, Fiorentina continued the style of last season, and the team experienced another major change. From coach to player, opportunities have undergone a radical change.

The former Parma head coach Prandelli has joined this luxurious team, which is good news for the team. Last season, the coaches including Zoff did not lead the team to achieve good results, but at least they can Let the club be a little less impulsive, give the coach more opportunities and time, and the poor results of last season also objectively gave him a relatively low starting point, and the coaching environment will be much more relaxed.

In fact, Fiorentina had always wanted to ask Prandelli out last season, but had to give up because the latter's wife had been ill.

Now the club's ambition and sincerity have finally moved the coach, and the cooperation between the two parties will definitely make the team develop by leaps and bounds.

In terms of players, forwards Miccoli, Hidetoshi Nakata, Chiellini and other players who did not perform well were left, and veteran Di Livio retired. This is a relatively big change.

In fact, Hidetoshi Nakata's performance in Fiorentina was extremely bad, and he could only play as a substitute in the later stage. Although Miccoli's performance was slightly better, it was still far from matching his worth.

In terms of team introduction, the joining of striker Tony and goalkeeper Frey will greatly improve the strength of the team. Toni's performance in Palermo last season was extremely eye-catching, and he is one of the best players among Italian forwards.

However, due to the limited reputation of the club, he has been unable to play the main force in the national team. Now that the World Cup is approaching, Tony obviously wants to go to a bigger club to strive for more performance opportunities.

Although Fiorentina performed poorly last season, their reputation is obviously not comparable to that of Palermo. Tony is tall and has excellent header skills. He has all the qualities that a high center forward should have.

The introduction of Pacini and Montolivo is another victory for Fiorentina in the summer transfer, although last season's Atalanta, because of the existence of the freak Digan, obscured the inability of Pacini and Montolivo less starlight.

But there is no doubt that Pacini and Montolivo, the twin stars trained by the Atlanta Youth Academy, are absolutely among the best among Italian youth players.

Although Pacini is not the kind of striker who can solve problems with a single blow, his ability to seize opportunities in front of goal and support from the side is very outstanding. The previous cooperation with Digan has proved that he is definitely a The right candidate for the second striker.

There is also Montolivo. Degan's success last season is definitely half of the credit for Montolivo. Throughout the season, Montolivo sent a total of 21 assists to Degan, almost reaching the number of Degan's goals. half.

In the position of midfielder, Montolivo is not the most prominent in Serie A, but he is definitely a resounding and powerful faction.

There is also Albertini, the Italian veteran who had a second spring in Atlanta. He chose to switch to Fiorentina in the summer and immediately became the main force of the team. After the first seven rounds, the defense led by him conceded only four goals. , even one less than Juventus.

Not only in Florence, but also in the Italian national team, Albertini has also regained his main position. AC Milan's midfield core can only serve as a substitute for him when he is in the national team.

The joining of Parma goalkeeper Frey has added another barrier to the defense. Although Parma conceded a lot of goals last season, this cannot conceal Frey's strength at all. Parma is now preparing for the second division.

Many giants, including Bayern, have always favored him, which is enough to show his strength. This time, he returned to work under the account of his mentor to continue his career. Frey also expressed that he must help the team return to Europe.

In addition to the two of them, Fiorentina also invited a group of stars such as the Danish midfielder Jorgensen, the veteran Pancaro, and the unsuccessful Morfeo in Spain. The strength of the team has been significantly increased. The Champions League is no surprise.

However, Fiorentina is still facing the same problem as last season, the problem of lineup running-in. If Prandelli can have a good solution to the problem, then Fiorentina will be very capable to compete for the UEFA Champions League ticket.

When he was in Parma, Prandelli's team was the most entertaining team in Italy, with a powerful center Adriano and a fast winger Mutu. The beautiful defensive counterattack is almost unforgettable. .

It is entirely possible for Tony and Pacini to replicate the terror striker that year, and its current staffing is even worse than that of Parma at that time. People have every reason to expect Fiorentina's performance.

Fiorentina's performance in the new season is indeed very good, with seven wins, five wins, one draw and one loss, ranking third in the standings, behind Juventus and AC Milan, and it is very hopeful to enter the UEFA Champions League next season.

"Rod! Our goal is not to stay in Italy forever, or to participate in the UEFA Champions League every season. We have a more ambitious goal, and you are the most important part of realizing this goal!"

Mendes also interjected at this time: "Rod! Although I don't want to say this, your situation in AC Milan is indeed very difficult. It's not a matter of strength. With your strength, you can definitely win in any European club." The giants get the main position, but Ancelotti doesn't want to give you this opportunity. He admires Shevchenko, and now Inzaghi is also paying, and Gilardino's performance is getting better and better, which will squeeze you. The living space in Milan! You are still very young, you still have huge room for improvement, I don't want you to continue to waste time in Milan!"

Degan looked at Mendes and said, "But, if I remember correctly, didn't you always hope that I could join Chelsea?"

When Mendes heard Degan mentioning this matter again, he suddenly smiled helplessly: "Of course I hope you can go to Chelsea. After all, you can get more salary than there, and my salary will be more, but I think now. I understand, if I bring you to Chelsea, I think it will be very uncomfortable for me to be caught between you and Jose. You are both people with outstanding personalities, and you will not appreciate Jose's tactics, but Coach Prandelli Fiorentina is different, he is a coach who advocates offense, he is not like an Italian at all, you can get more full play under his hands!"

Mendes had unknowingly encouraged Degan to switch to Fiorentina, and Delaware looked at Degan expectantly.

At the beginning, Delava didn't really care about Fiorentina, but as the team returned to Serie A, he realized that he couldn't do without football at all. He hoped that Fiorentina could achieve greater success.

I have to admit that Digan was really moved!

However, he has some concerns. After all, he doesn't want to repeat what he has encountered in AC Milan.

Delaware obviously guessed Degan's concerns, and continued: "Rod! Coach Prandelli was planning to come with me today, but he still has to prepare for the mid-week game, so I can only come here alone. , what I can tell you is that you are a player he admires very much, Fiorentina's current main center is Luca, but in Coach Prandelli's mind, you are the most suitable candidate for the main center!"

A coach who trusts himself, familiar teammates, and an ambitious club president are all what Degan expects.

After thinking about it, Degan finally spoke up: "Mr. Delaware! Can you continue to invest in the team like you are now? It's just a temporary desire, just for fun!"

Any club hopes to have a lunatic chairman like Abramovich who doesn't take money as money, but they also don't want the chairman to be a person who only has a three-minute enthusiasm. Even disturb the peace of the entire team.

When Delaware came to see Digan, his tone relaxed a lot, and he hurriedly said: "Of course! Coach Prandelli and I have discussed it. When I invited him, I had already made a promise to the team. I will not be stingy with investment! But everything must be rationalized!"

Delaware didn't blindly make promises just because he was eager to impress Degan, which Degan appreciated. At least Delaware was much more reliable than Florence's former chairman, Cherry Gucci.

If it was Digan before, maybe he really agreed. His soul is a Chinese. The Chinese philosophy is to die for the confidant. Since he was injured, AC Milan has not even seen anyone. And Florence, who was eager for talents, was actually sent out by his chairman to lobby. This value alone was enough to make Degan nod his head in agreement.

But after these twists and turns in Milan, Degan dared not promise anything easily to others.

"Mr. Delava! You can come to Brussels to say these things to me in person, which has shown me Florence's sincerity, but I can't make any promises to you yet."

A trace of disappointment flashed in Delaware's eyes, and he said, "Rod! You can call me Andre, that's my name. Even if you don't want to come to Florence, I hope we can be friends!"

Digan smiled and said, "Of course, it's my honor, Andre! So be it! If one day I leave Milan, Florence must be my first choice, but I hope that when I choose Florence, Florence will at least Qualified to participate in the European Champions Cup! I hope to show my strength on a big stage!"

After sending Delaware away, Mendes looked at Digan and said, "Rod! Have you decided yet?"

Digan didn't nod or shake his head: "No! Not yet, but Florence is indeed an option!"

Mendes knows that Degan is still not giving up, and he still wants to succeed in AC Milan. Although there are some things that are hard to say, Mendes thinks this possibility is really small, at least Ancelotti sits. When he was on the AC Milan coaching bench, Degan wanted to succeed in AC Milan, and this expectation was minimal.

"Hell! Now is not the time to think about those things. Maybe after I recover from my injury, my state will not be able to return to what it was before. At that time, I may only be able to go to a small club to continue my career. And then sadly retired!"

Mendes was stunned for a moment, and when he saw Digan smiling, he realized that Digan was only joking, and he was really worried before he came. This injury would cause a certain degree of blow to Digan's heart.

"Rod! You will succeed, I promise, I can never go wrong with people!"

"I hope so!"

When Delava came back to Italy, the 8th round of Serie A was over, and AC Milan won again. They defeated Palermo 2:1 at home in San Siro, won five consecutive league victories, and were still 3 points behind Juventus And ranked second.

In the first half, Caracciolo first scored a goal for Palermo, followed by Gattuso's rare world wave equalizer. In the second half, Inzaghi, who came off the bench, made a beautiful dive to the top and scored his first goal since his comeback, which was also his first Serie A goal since March 2004.

After the goal, Inzaghi rushed directly in front of the camera, lifted the jersey, and wrote a line on the shirt: Rhodes! Do not forget our agreement!

Digan looked at this line of words on the TV screen, just smiled lightly, but couldn't help being moved in his heart, at least not everyone had forgotten him.