Chapter 28: Unexpected (Second Update)
The match ended with Torino defeating visiting Cosenza 3-1. Although the game process was not as smooth as imagined, fortunately, thanks to Chujang's outstanding performance, the Bulls finally won the game without any surprises. Chujang's beautiful free kick and two accurate long passes naturally became a hot topic among fans after the match. Also being followed by fans is his peculiar No. 98 jersey, as well as his even more peculiar Chinese name...
The Italian Cup qualifying match did not have a mixed zone for players to accept interviews, so after the game, only the head coaches of the two teams stayed behind to accept interviews from reporters. Although Chu Jiang was not present, the reporters were most concerned about that unfamiliar Chinese teenager who looked very strange. The stunning performance of Chu Jiang's debut undoubtedly made him the focus of the game, and his mysteriousness before the game further increased the media's interest in him.
In the interview, Lillard first acknowledged the away team's tenacious defense and then attributed this victory to the efforts of the whole team. For Chou Jiang's performance, he spared no praise, but at the same time reminded the media that it was just one game, and future games were still long, and young players should be given a more relaxed growth environment. At the same time, Lillard confirmed the club's pursuit of Palermo goalkeeper Rubini, and did not comment on whether Chou Jiang would become the Bulls' main goalkeeper.
In contrast to Liedda's evasiveness, Cosenza's head coach was much more straightforward. He believed that the Bulls did not show the demeanor of a strong team and that in this match, Cosenza was not at a disadvantage, but lost solely because they were "beaten by that Chinese goalkeeper alone". At the same time, he strongly criticized the refereeing of the match, believing that the main referee's awarding of a penalty kick, a free kick, and a red card overly favored the home team, completely changing the course of the game. Finally, he enviously stated that if Chujang were on Cosenza's team, today's victory would definitely belong to him.
In the Bulls' locker room, Chu Jiang, as the biggest contributor to the victory, received congratulations from all his teammates. Through this game, his teammates gained a deeper understanding and trust of this young goalkeeper. However, since starting goalkeeper Morelo had already left the locker room before the end of the game, he was not present among the celebrating teammates.
At the same time, Chu Jiang unexpectedly received congratulatory messages from Korsos, Pagano, Peia and others. Obviously, they have been paying attention to Chu Jiang's growth all along. For these messages, Chu Jiang was very grateful in his heart. Without their help, Chu Jiang would not have landed on Aiping Island, let alone represent Doolin in the competition.
After the match, the official website of Inter Milan reported on this Italian Cup match with the title "A thrilling game, a great performance by Chu Jiang". The picture accompanying the report was that of Chu Jiang pointing to his No. 98 jersey with both hands. This report finally caught the attention of some domestic media outlets, and some online media began to focus on Chu Jiang. Online, there also began to appear sporadic reports about Chu Jiang.
Seeing their son's grades, Chu Jiang's parents were extremely happy. And their happiness was also the driving force for Chu Jiang to work even harder!
In this match, although Chu Jiang only played for 20 minutes, as the best player of the whole game, he still received double experience points from the "Gate God System", 200 points. Just like that, Chu Jiang's current experience value suddenly rose from 115 points to 315 points! The training value of one game far exceeded the gains of several days of training.
Unfortunately, this time the "Epiphany" skill was not triggered. To trigger this skill, Chu Jiang still needs some luck.
After eliminating Cosenza, Torino's next opponent in the knockout round will be the strong Serie A team Bari, and it will also be an away game. However, that match will not take place until October 28, more than two months from now, which is still far from being considered at this time.
Now, what is imminent for the Bulls is the Italian Serie B, which is about to kick off. Seven days later, on August 23rd, the Bulls will host their first opponent of the season, newly-promoted Varese.
Last season, Torino failed to achieve promotion in the playoffs and this season their only goal is to return to Serie A. In the eyes of many football veterans and journalists, Toro are the number one favourites for promotion this season. At the beginning of the season, U-Boat even gave Toro odds of 1:2.25 to win Serie B.
While Torino's opponents, Varese, who were fighting in Serie B for the first time in nearly thirty years, had no one optimistic about this team before the season. Even Varese fans only hoped that their team could successfully avoid relegation and everything would be fine.
However, against all expectations, before the rebirth of Chievo, Varese's final result in this year's Serie B was 16 wins, 20 draws and 6 losses, scoring 51 goals while conceding only 34, with a total of 68 points to finish fourth in the league. Their conceded goals were also the lowest among all Serie B teams! If not for bad luck, failing to advance through the promotion playoffs, this seemingly unremarkable team would have achieved the miracle of three consecutive promotions within three years!
And what about Torino? With the same 42 games, the Bulls' record was 15 wins, 13 draws and 14 losses, scoring 49 goals but conceding 48, with only 58 points, ranking eighth in the league, not even qualifying for the promotion playoffs. Who would have thought that the top favorite Torino team at the beginning of the season would end up with such a dismal record?
In the first round of Serie B, the Bulls were defeated by newly promoted Varese at home, in a match that was expected to be an easy win. This unexpected loss marked the beginning of a tragic season for the Bulls.
There are many reasons for the tragic situation of Parma, and their weak defense is one of the most criticized factors. 48 goals conceded, ranking seventh among all 18 Serie B teams. Although on the last day before the transfer window closed, Parma successfully loaned Rubinho, Palermo's former main goalkeeper, but failed to reverse their decline.
Will the Bulls be able to change their fate with the addition of Zhou Qi?
The first match of the league is about to kick off, and the pre-match atmosphere in Turin is getting more and more intense. On the streets of the city, fans wearing Juventus' red jerseys are becoming increasingly common. Fans are very optimistic about this match, with messages calling for a big win for Juventus appearing everywhere on fan forums.
The players and coaches of Torino, including Qiu Jiang, were equally optimistic. Qiu Jiang was in a state of self-closure at this time, locking himself in his room and having no interest in anything, so he didn't even know the actual result of the game.
And on the Torino website's match preview, the big headline read: "We've never lost!" In previous encounters, Toro had a record of 10 wins and one draw against Varese, an advantage that was even more pronounced than their Coppa Italia opponents Cosenza! Who would have thought that after this game Torino would swallow the bitter pill of defeat?
The day before the match, Torino's official website announced the list of players for the match. The team's star player, Bianchi, was not unexpectedly absent due to injury, and new signing D'Ambrosio would also miss the match due to a suspension from last season. However, what surprised fans most about this list was that goalkeeper Morello, who made an error in the previous match, and newly loaned-in Bashi were both selected, while Chu Jiang, who had performed well after coming on as a substitute, did not even make the list.
Last time, Chu Jiang was selected for the Italian Cup squad, sparking a flurry of speculation among Bulls fans due to their unfamiliarity with him. This time, his unexpected omission has sparked even more debate among fans, stemming from their recognition and affection for him!
For such a result, Lillard's coach was also somewhat helpless. In his original plan for the season, Chujang was not on the list of the first league match, after all, the team's main goalkeeper is Morrelo, and Bashi is also an experienced goalkeeper who has been fighting in Serie B for a long time. He just didn't expect that Chujang would make such a surprising debut in the Italian Cup.
Although he also hopes to include Chu Jiang in the list of matches, but he does not know which goalkeeper to replace with Chu Jiang.
What's going on with Bahsi? He was just loaned over and hasn't even played a game, but he's already being made the third goalkeeper. Can people accept this? Moreover, when Chujang played in the Italian Cup, Lillard personally promised Bahsi that he would definitely be the main substitute for the league door position. Lillard can't go back on his word, can he? If so, where is the authority of a coach? Where is the integrity?
Morello? Of course, Morello made two consecutive mistakes in a game, but can't allow players to make mistakes? Moreover, as a 32-year-old old goalkeeper, Morello is experienced and familiar with the team. Because of a game's mistake, letting a newcomer who has just joined the team replace his main position, this will easily chill the old team members. In fact, after the end of the game, Morello found the injured captain Bianchi, together with Lillard, to admit his mistakes and express that he would work harder for the team in the future.
As a new coach who has just arrived at the team, Lyle cannot ignore the demands of the old players. He can't ignore the opinions of the team's meritorious captain. He may not care about Morrello alone, but he can't ignore the feelings of the old players, can't ignore the attitude of the captain, and can't ignore the views of the locker room.
Therefore, the melancholy and taciturn head coach Laredo chose to sacrifice Chou Jiang, while recruiting Morello and Bashi.
Soon he tasted the bitter fruit of doing so!
