Chapter 197: The referee is also an enemy?
After participating in the Champions League, the four teams returned to Serie A and immediately began the third round of matches. Juventus completed their match first, drawing 2-2 against Roma at home.
With only four points from three rounds, the Bianconeri faced widespread criticism. An article in "Tuttosport" stated: "After a season of nothingness, Juventus made great efforts in the summer transfer window to enhance their competitiveness."
"However, the continuous setbacks in the league this season are almost identical to last season. The fans have lost confidence. The club's top management should seriously consider whether Lippi is capable of continuing to lead the team. After all, Juventus has not won any honors since he took over."
Public opinion squarely pointed fingers at the Italian "Silver Fox," even affecting his career plans. Originally, he planned to apply for the position of head coach of the Italian national team after this season, but now it seems unlikely.
In this round of matches, AC Milan also surprisingly drew 1-1 against Perugia. Exhausted from the long journey, they conceded first but equalized through Shevchenko.
The Rossoneri, with seven points from three rounds, were relatively satisfied with their current performance. However, Shevchenko was somewhat frustrated, feeling discontent with the club's empty-handed situation over the past two years.
Despite assembling an almost perfect lineup, they still couldn't beat Wang Feng and Inter Milan. The core players who sacrificed their salaries for the team had their own thoughts.
In addition, Chelsea's new chairman, Abramovich, constantly tempted them with high salaries, gradually eroding their firm resolve.
Despite the apparent strength of AC Milan, there was a subtle trend of instability.
Inter Milan continued to maintain a high level of performance. Hosting Sampdoria at home, they eventually won 2-1 against the newly-promoted team, securing three consecutive victories and leading the league table with nine points.
However, the match was not without difficulties. In the first half, Wang Feng scored the opening goal, but the fouls against him were best described as crazy, especially in the 35th minute when Sampdoria's defender Diagne tackled him from behind.
Regardless of the angle, such a foul definitely warranted a card, and even a red card would not be excessive. However, the referee turned a blind eye and even signaled it as a fair challenge.
Inter Milan players were infuriated and wanted to confront the referee, but Wang Feng stopped them. "Guys, our goal is the championship. If someone thinks they can steal our trophy like this, they are naive!"
In the second half, the referee became even more reckless. When Sampdoria forward Bazan broke through with the ball, he stumbled, but the referee signaled a foul by Matrazi, who was beside him.
Matrazi looked innocent. He was clearly half a body length away from Bazan, but the referee still insisted on awarding Sampdoria a penalty. Bazan personally took the penalty and equalized the score.
Just when everyone thought it would end in a draw, in the stoppage time, Wang Feng took the ball in the frontcourt, suddenly took a long shot, and the ball blasted into Sampdoria's goal like a missile.
At the end of the game, Wang Feng deliberately mocked the referee, Mr. Desantis, with a smile and shrugged. Anyway, the game ended, and the result didn't go as he wished. It was a strong rebuttal against unfairness!
At the post-match press conference, coach Mancini praised Wang Feng lavishly: "For three consecutive matches, he has been the best player on the field, contributing five goals. The data speaks for itself. Wang is the main contributor to Inter Milan's current performance."
Regarding the controversial refereeing decisions, Mancini bluntly stated: "Very unreasonable officiating. Anyone who watched the game knows we faced trouble. Clearly, someone doesn't want to see Inter Milan dominate Serie A, but football matches are decided by strength. We still won, didn't we?"
His remarks caused a huge stir, with numerous media outlets reporting, but they merely quoted directly without making any evaluations, touching on the dark side.
Only a few underground media outlets wrote articles suggesting that the Italian Football Federation clearly did not want Inter Milan to win three consecutive titles, so they would create some obstacles. "In the end, Milan can only be AC Milan, right?"
Although Wang Feng appeared strong, he still worried about the current situation. It should be noted that if the referees were also enemies, the new season for Inter Milan would be exceptionally difficult.
He hinted at some insider information to Inter Milan's president, Moratti, through his agent, but Moratti didn't say much, just comforting him: "I will protest to the Football Federation. The eyes of football fans worldwide are on you, Wang. No one would be foolish to that extent."
In response to the controversial refereeing decisions and Mancini's conspiracy theories, the Italian Football Federation quickly responded. They rarely admitted to referee mistakes, punished the referee Desantis, but still did not acknowledge Mancini's conspiracy theories, thus imposing a fine on him.
The "dark side" of Serie A only attracted the attention of some European media, but one dark horse ignited all the hotspots - that is Jose Mourinho's Porto.
They achieved five consecutive victories in the Portuguese Primeira Liga and surprisingly defeated Real Madrid 2-0 in the Champions League group stage, shocking everyone.
The "Evening Post" detailed the Portuguese coach's career. His coaching career started with victories at Setubal's youth team, but the most important period for him was from 1996 to 2000 as an assistant coach at Barcelona.
Under the guidance of Robson and Van Gaal, Mourinho learned a lot of advanced modern football theories and tactical arrangements. Without his experience as an assistant coach at Barca, there would be no "Special One" today.
After that, Mourinho chose to coach teams himself. His resume was much better than that of other coaches of his generation. While coaching Leiria, he helped the team achieve fifth place in the league, setting a historic record.
After joining Porto, he helped the team secure a UEFA Cup spot in the first season, and then won the league, UEFA Cup, and Portuguese Cup championships.
If it weren't for Cooper's Inter Milan winning five trophies, Mourinho was the most likely candidate for the Coach of the Year award, but he ultimately missed out on the award.
Feeling dissatisfied, the "Special One" made provocative remarks before the European Super Cup. Although they eventually lost to the Nerazzurri and failed to lift the trophy, Porto's strong will and rational tactics left a deep impression on Inter Milan.
Reading the reports on the plane to Udinese, Wang Feng admired the coach. Porto's achievements were closely related to the coach's guidance.
"Are you also reading reports about Mourinho? He seems to be very famous lately. Even the French 'Echo' made a special feature. Many Ligue 1 teams want to invite him to coach," Ribery said as he looked at the newspaper.
"Yes, after fighting against Porto, I have a feeling that this team is likely to be one of our important opponents on the road to defending the Champions League title."
New novel chapt𝒆rs are published on free(w)ebnovel(.)com