Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 53 Rosella's Ambition
It's already October.

Roma has six matches to play this month: two Europa League group stage matches and four league matches, making for a rather packed schedule.

This puts considerable pressure on Roma, whose squad is relatively thin.

However, the training atmosphere was quite good because Roma had a very good record.

After defeating Catania in the last round, Roma has five wins and one draw in six league matches. In addition, Inter Milan lost to Sampdoria away in the last round, which puts Roma at the top of the table with 16 points.

And the person who contributed most to Rome's victory is easy to find.

Shan Yongzhuo.

In 6 league matches, Shan Yongzhuo scored a total of 10 goals, dominating the top scorer list.

The entire Roma team only scored 14 goals, with Shan Yongzhuo accounting for 10 of them – an outstanding performance.

Shan Yongzhuo's strong performance surprised the Italian media.

However, a day later.

A statement from Napoli's coach Donadoni, whose team is Roma's next opponent, has become the focus of media attention, as Donadoni stated with certainty: "We have found a way to limit Shan Yongzhuo."

Donadoni is a former AC Milan player who, like most players, chose to become a coach after retiring.

His coaching career began in the lower leagues, and he later coached Livorno, making his first appearance as a coach in Serie A.

He subsequently coached Genoa and the Italian national team, but failed to produce convincing results.

In March of this year, Donadoni became the head coach of Napoli. In the summer, Napoli increased its investment as required by him, hoping to achieve good results.

They brought in Italian striker Quagliarella from Udinese for €2400 million, midfielder Cigarini from Atalanta for €1200 million, Colombian defender Zugani from Siena for €850 million, and Argentine defender Campagnaro from Sampdoria for €700 million…

Napoli spent over 5000 million euros throughout the summer, which is quite a large sum.

However, after six rounds of league play, Napoli has only managed two wins, one draw, and three losses, placing them in the middle of the league table with seven points. This is clearly unacceptable for Napoli, who aspire to qualify for European competitions.

Donadoni is under immense pressure.

Before this round of matches, club president De La Liga had given Donadoni an ultimatum: if they couldn't beat Roma, Donadoni would likely face being sacked.

Donadoni, facing a do-or-die situation, had no choice but to go all out.

To encourage the team, Donadoni had no choice but to make a high-profile declaration of victory, which led to this statement.

He's just engaging in verbal sparring.

In fact, he didn't quite understand Shan Yongzhuo, the striker.

The Roma media clearly disagreed with Donadoni's words. Shan Yongzhuo has now become Roma's new darling, and they don't believe that Napoli's poor defense can shut him down.

The Roman media relentlessly mocked Donadoni, but they didn't target Napoli; in fact, they even expressed sympathy for Napoli, claiming that Donadoni had ruined the team.

The two teams have a good relationship. As Roma has always been isolated in Italian football, Napoli, located in the south-central region, is a natural ally for Roma in its fight against the three northern powerhouses.

The day before the match, Shan Yongzhuo noticed Donadoni's comments while idly browsing the web, and he felt a little helpless.

"How to restrict me?"

"Sigh, I hope he hasn't found it yet. Although my skills are bugged, they're not invincible. If we study them seriously, we might actually find a way to limit them."

"This guy seems to have coached the Italian national team before, he must be quite capable, maybe even better than Spalletti, that bald guy?"

……

The match was being held at the Stadio Olimpico, Rome's home stadium, and there were still about ten minutes until kickoff. The stands were already quite full, thanks to Roma's excellent record. The stadium, which can hold 80,000 people, had around 50,000 in attendance, which is considered a very good attendance.

Inside the VIP box, Roma president Rosella Sensi sat with an elderly man with slicked-back hair and a full white beard next to her.

That's Naples' president, De Laurentiis.

Compared to his role as president of Naples, De Laurentiis' other identity is clearly more eye-catching.

He is Italy's most famous film producer, chairman of Eurofilm Group, and also the lifetime honorary president of the International Federation of Film Producers Associations.

In 2004, he, a Napoli fan since childhood, bought the Napoli team, which had been playing in Serie B for many years and had filed for bankruptcy, and in just three years, he fought his way back from Serie C to Serie A.

However, although this guy is passionate about football and willing to invest continuously, results are the most important thing.

Donadoni's current performance is clearly not satisfactory to him.

He came to Rome for this match partly to see if Donadoni could continue; if they lost, he would fire him without hesitation.

On the other hand, he came to see the performance of the Chinese striker who is currently receiving a lot of attention in Serie A.

Six rounds of Serie A have been played this season, and this Chinese striker has scored a staggering 10 goals. Even De Laurentiis, who doesn't know much about football, knows what that number means.

"Damn Roma, how come they're so lucky?"

De Laurentiis cursed Roma's good luck under his breath, while also cursing the club's scouts and Donadoni's incompetence.

How come such an excellent striker wasn't discovered and Roma managed to snatch him up?

De Laurentiis decided to observe for himself. If he was really that good, could Napoli sign this Chinese striker?

He knew that the Sensi family was having a tough time right now; their businesses had suffered a huge blow, and both the family and the club were heavily indebted.

Even if others didn't know, De Laurentiis did, and there were quite a few people within the Sensi family who were inclined to sell Roma and get rid of the burden.

Buy Roma?
De Laurentiis didn't have that idea, nor did he have that much money, but he was still somewhat interested in taking advantage of the situation to buy this promising Chinese striker.

Of course, at a reasonable price.

Rosella, on the other hand, was unaware of De Laurentiis's thoughts. In fact, she was having a very difficult time right now, and was even a bit overwhelmed.

After her father, Mr. Sensi, passed away, Rosella became the head of the Sensi family, and only then did she truly understand how difficult it was to run a business.

Fortunately, Roma's current performance is quite good, which gives Rosella some comfort.

She also knew who was responsible for her results, and she was very glad she made that decision in the summer.

"Luckily, I listened to Luciano's advice and placed the order."

Rosella's transfer has now been widely recognized by Roma fans, and her support has reached a new high.

All of this is what keeps Rosella going; she still harbors a sliver of hope that she can continue to hold onto the team.

"Perhaps, if we continue with this performance, we can achieve great results, or even win the championship, without making any more signings?"

“We also have Francisco, Daniele, and Luciano is very capable.”

"Maybe by then we won't have to sell the team?"

Of course, she also knew that this was just wishful thinking, and even if the team performed well, the Senxi family could no longer sustain itself.

(End of this chapter)