Chapter 82: Sluggish warm-up match and Serie A debut
Time passed quickly amidst intense training and life. Before the start of the new season, Inter Milan arranged several friendly matches, starting with a match against Brescia in Serie A. This game attracted the attention of many media outlets, as they wanted to see how Wang Feng would perform.
Wang Feng came on as a substitute in the 70th minute and experienced the atmosphere on the field. The most impressive thing for him was the slower overall pace of Serie A teams, with defense and attack being distinct systems, unlike the fast-paced, rapid transition tactics he was used to playing before.
One stark contrast with the Belgian league was the defensive intensity. Serie A teams' defensive battles were truly the best among the top five leagues. Wang Feng was severely tackled multiple times during the game, with referees deeming them as normal physical contests. He could barely protect the ball from being lost due to these aggressive challenges, but his skillful moves couldn't pose any threat.
As a result, he struggled to adapt to this tactical shift and defensive intensity, resulting in a poor performance on the field, with very few key passes and only two shot attempts throughout the match.
In the end, Inter Milan drew 0-0 with their opponents.
After the match, the media present at the scene were ecstatic, as if they had found a hot topic. They immediately started writing articles, which were published the next day.
The Turin Sports Daily's headline read: "Genius player exposed, 18-year-old Wang Feng may struggle to survive in Serie A." The Rome Sports Daily stated: "Roma has already eliminated a competitor this year, which is a delightful thing." The Milan Sports Daily's headline was even more exaggerated: "Inter Milan pays the price for its folly, Milan City only has one title-contending team."
Wang Feng was completely unwilling to see how the news described him anymore. He felt that the Italian media had deep malice towards him, which was not surprising considering an 18-year-old Asian teenager being a key player for a Serie A giant, which did not sit well with the typically arrogant Italian media.
In the second friendly match against Serie B side Palermo a few days later, Inter Milan coach Cooper sent out a reserve lineup, and Wang Feng did not make the squad. However, relying on a goal from a substitute youngster, they managed to win 1-0 in the end.
The Italian media had more topics to hype up, speculating in their articles that Wang Feng had probably lost the trust of the head coach, and what awaited him would be being benched or loaned out to another league for development.
However, in the third friendly match against Serie B side Genoa, Wang Feng started the game. His performance was still not outstanding, seemingly incompatible with the team's tactics. He only contributed to one offensive plan throughout the match, but Inter Milan won 3-1 in the end.
On the sidelines, Cooper frowned. He felt that Wang Feng's performance was being restricted by tactical changes, which often led to the disappearance of excellent players from other top leagues when they moved to Serie A because they couldn't adapt.
However, what pleased him was that Wang Feng seemed to have noticed this too and was working hard to adjust his style of play. Given some more time to adapt, he would definitely develop even better.
In the following few friendly matches, Wang Feng's performance indeed improved with each game. Although he didn't score any goals, he threatened with numerous offensive plans and even provided two direct assists.
However, the Italian media had given up on continuing to pay attention to Wang Feng. In their eyes, he was already a lost cause, bound to be shown the door by Inter Milan sooner or later.
At the Pinetina training ground, in the coach's office on the second floor, Cooper watched Wang Feng practicing on the field with great satisfaction. He hadn't expected Wang Feng to withstand the pressure and quickly integrate into the team's tactical system. Observing from the sidelines, he clearly felt that the cooperation between Wang Feng and his teammates was becoming more and more tacit.
Originally, he had wanted the club's technical director, Horacio Bom, to come forward and reassure Wang Feng, asking him not to mind the criticism from the outside world and to focus on training. He planned to give Wang Feng enough time. Unexpectedly, Wang Feng had already adjusted himself.
Those mocking words seemed to be like a whip, constantly urging Wang Feng to do better. The more they belittled him, the greater the rebound effect.
Cooper nodded in satisfaction. Now he increasingly believed that the club had made the most correct choice. Wang Feng was the key to their rise!
On August 26, 2001, at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium in Milan, the highly anticipated Serie A season finally kicked off. Inter Milan would play at home against Perugia.
This match itself didn't have much suspense because Inter Milan's overall strength was higher than Perugia's, so winning three points smoothly wasn't difficult.
But the Nerazzurri's fans still held their breath. The disastrous situation of last season was still fresh in their minds, and the signings this season hadn't been recognized. If the start didn't go well, the entire club would likely bear a lot of pressure.
Inter Milan coach Cooper deployed a 3-5-2 formation, with Francesco Toldo in goal, Javier Zanetti, Ivan Ramiro Cordoba, and Marco Materazzi in defense. The other players were Vladislav Gresko, Cristiano Zanetti, Luigi Di Biagio, Alvaro Recoba, and Sergio Conceicao in midfield, and Christian Vieri and Wang Feng up front.
Despite Wang Feng's less than satisfactory performance in the preseason matches, Cooper still started him.
On the other hand, Perugia deployed the usual 4-4-2 formation. With Luca Mazzantini in goal, Zé Maria, Dejan Djordjevic, Cesare Bovo, and Mauro Minelli in defense, Gustavo Bartelt, Nicola Amoruso, Mario Alberto Santana, and Edgar Alvarez in midfield, and Fabrizio Miccoli and Fabio Bazzani up front.
It's worth mentioning that South Korean player Ahn Jung-hwan did not appear in Perugia's starting lineup and could even end up not being substituted, rendering the "Asian Derby" hyped up by the Korean media before the match a mere talk.
If the 85,000-seat stadium were to be fully packed, what kind of scene would it be? When Wang Feng entered the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, he was deeply shocked. Looking up, the top tier of the stands was crowded with densely packed dots.
Standing near the center circle, Wang Feng took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, while the main referee blew the whistle to start the game.
Perugia's coach Luciano Gaucci was an experienced local coach. Last season, he led this young promoted team to successfully avoid relegation. However, several key players were sought after by other clubs afterward, including Marco Materazzi, which led to the departure of several outstanding players.
Therefore, the club's goal for this season was still to avoid relegation. Gaucci didn't want to lose heavily in the first round. Otherwise, the team's morale would severely decline, making the road to survival even more difficult.
Under his tactical arrangements, Perugia focused on defense and played very cautiously, while Inter Milan pressed forward aggressively, hoping to take the lead as soon as possible, making the following matches easier.
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