Chapter 142 Opportunity

Just like Fiorentina, which plummeted into Serie C2 following bankruptcy in 2002, Napoli received attention in Serie C1 unlike any other team in that division. Due to the Laurentiis family's thirty-year partnership and friendship with Murdoch, Napoli became the only team in Serie C1 with a television broadcasting contract, and the fifth club in the entire of Italy to secure an independent broadcast agreement with Sky Television. In return, Napoli received a check for 1.6 million euros from Sky, a considerable sum for a Serie C1 side.

Securing this contract was undoubtedly a positive development, as it greatly benefited both the club's finances and its reputation. However, it also brought a distinct drawback: since they were the only team in Serie C1 with televised matches, opponents would play with extra determination whenever they faced Napoli, and referees would officiate with heightened scrutiny. This meant that Napoli's home-field advantage would be diminished to a significant extent.

For Serie C teams, the opportunity to secure television coverage was extremely rare, so they naturally wanted to put on a strong performance. Coupled with a certain degree of jealousy over the extraordinary attention Napoli commanded even in Serie C1, every team that crossed paths with Napoli would pull out all the stops.

In this match, Sora was no exception.

Fueled by the roaring chants of their home supporters, they went toe-to-toe with Napoli from the very beginning of the match in a fiercely contested battle. Facing Napoli's midfield line of Montevino, Fontana, Bogliacino, and Trotta—a quartet that would not look out of place in Serie B—Sora's midfield held their ground without falling behind. In the twenty-fifth minute, capitalizing on a brilliant long-range surprise shot from outside the penalty area by Italian forward Roberto Pascal, Sora broke the deadlock! Despite a desperate, flying save from Churan, the ball still sailed into the top corner of the net!

Napoli found themselves trailing. Reja appeared visibly furious, roaring loudly toward the pitch and targeting his captain, Montevino: "Francesco! Have you forgotten that you are a defensive midfielder? What were you doing when they shot? Stop losing focus!"

Montevino nodded toward the sideline, his expression turning solemn. The other defenders wore grim looks as well, knowing they shared the blame for the conceded goal.

After the match resumed, the Serie B-caliber midfield began to assert control over the tempo. Fontana's orchestrations in the middle of the park and the flank penetrations of Trotta and Bogliacino caused major problems for the opposing defense, while captain Montevino covered every blade of grass in the central and defensive zones, neutralizing several threatening counterattacks.

Once the midfield established dominance, Napoli's advantages came into play, largely because they possessed an exceptional goalscorer in Sosa. When the midfield could continuously generate opportunities, Sosa only needed to capitalize on one or two of them.

Thirty-five-year-old veteran Fontana controlled the rhythm in midfield, delivering a splendid splitting pass to the overlapping right-back Grava. Instead of carrying the ball forward, the Croatian full-back immediately struck it on the half-turn, launching a diagonal cross from a forty-five-degree angle!

The ball traced a gorgeous arc through the air and plummeted into the penalty area. Sosa leaped high inside the box, his powerful frame barging past an opposing defender before unleashing a ferocious header that slammed the ball decisively into the net. The goalkeeper was completely frozen by the close-range header as the ball bulged the back of the net!

"Great goal!" Long Bisheng on the sidelines leaped up alongside his teammates. Although he had not yet broken into the starting lineup, he at least earned a spot on the bench, primarily because the entire squad lacked any center-forward with a playing style similar to Sosa's.

After sitting back down, Long Bisheng continued to replay that goal in his mind. Grava was not a particularly standout full-back; his defensive and overlapping abilities could only be described as ordinary. Yet, that right-footed curling cross was exceptionally brilliant, and at least a third of the credit for Sosa's goal belonged to that delivery.

Meanwhile, Sosa's goal showcased the striker's superb jumping ability and explosive power—the sheer speed of his sprint, the unrivaled dominance he projected in the air! Although Sosa could only be considered an average center-forward in the broader European landscape, he possessed countless virtues worthy of Long Bisheng's study!

Perhaps because of this, Long Bisheng never found the days spent on the bench tedious or difficult to endure. For him, watching the matches from the sidelines was a form of training in itself.

Having leveled the score, Napoli continued to press the attack. However, the opponent's defense remained stubbornly resilient. The several clear-cut chances created by Napoli were desperately cleared by the opposing defenders and goalkeeper, while a couple of other shots were denied by the goalframe...

Reja sensed an ominous atmosphere settling over the pitch. Failing to break down the defense for so long had caused his players to grow slightly impatient, and right now, they seemed to be pushing a bit too high up the pitch...

Just as Reja was about to stand up to remind his players, a Sora defender lumped the ball out of the penalty area with a desperate clearance. The ball sailed across the halfway line, turning into a botched clearance that inadvertently gifted the opposition a one-on-one breakaway!

Sora's lightning-fast forward charged into the box with the ball, coolly rounding the advancing Churan before sliding it into the empty net, restoring their lead just before the halftime whistle.

During the interval, Reja harshly criticized the lapse in concentration among his defensive line, leaving the defenders—including Churan—silenced and unable to utter a word.

Yet today, fortune did not seem to be smiling on Reja and his Napoli side. Aside from dominating the first half only to find themselves behind by two rather fortuitous goals, they suffered a devastating blow right at the start of the second half.

During a contested challenge in the attacking half, Sosa took a direct kick to the knee and immediately collapsed to the ground, unable to get up. The Argentine had been plagued by knee issues since the beginning of the season, and following this impact, his chronic injury flared up once again!

Reja's heart tightened. If there was one thing he feared most this season, it was undoubtedly Sosa's knee. The Argentine striker was Napoli's most reliable guarantee for goals; while Calaio was equally talented, he lacked Sosa's lethal scoring efficiency. Most of Napoli's draws and their sole defeat had occurred during matches where Sosa was absent. If he were injured again at this crucial juncture of the promotion race, losing this heavy artillery would be an immense blow!

While praying inwardly that Sosa's injury wouldn't be too severe, Reja swept his gaze across the players warming up on the bench. There were two forwards available on the bench: twenty-three-year-old Brazilian forward Piai and seventeen-year-old Chinese forward Long Bisheng...

If he had to make a substitution, the logical choice would be Piai. Despite being only twenty-three, the Brazilian already had two seasons of experience in Italy and possessed remarkable technical skill. However, bringing him on would create a stylistic overlap with Calaio, leaving the team lacking a physical presence inside the box. With the opponent already leading and pulling back into a compact defense since the goal, an attack without a powerful focal point up front risked being entirely harmless.

Facing a packed defense, there needed to be at least one tall player in the box—just as the 1.9-meter-tall Sosa had been the player the opposition feared most throughout the match.

Should he put on Long Bisheng? Reja held a favorable view of this six-foot-seven-inch giant. In training, he always greeted everyone with a gentle smile, practiced longer than anyone else, sat quietly on the bench without uttering a single word of complaint...

Yet these traits did not automatically translate to a strong performance on the pitch, especially since he had only been in Italy for a little over a month and could not possibly have adapted to Italian football so quickly...

Yet right now, the only substitute on the bench who fit the tactical requirement was Long Bisheng...

Reja called over both Piai and Long Bisheng, instructing them to warm up, then turned and walked toward the team doctor returning with the stretcher carrying Sosa. "How is Roberto?"

"It's still unclear... but judging from his expression, you'll need to choose another forward for this match," the team doctor said hurriedly before directing the stretcher off the pitch to begin treatment on the sidelines.

"Damn it!" Reja cursed under his breath, finally making up his mind. He turned, called out to Long Bisheng, and shouted, "Long! Get ready to come on!"

Long Bisheng took a deep breath and nodded heavily. Under the guidance of the Italian tutor recommended by Churan, he had been studying diligently during this period. Although some difficulties remained, understanding football-related instructions was no longer a major obstacle.

As he performed warm-up stretches on the sideline, he watched the assistant coach hand the substitution slip to the fourth official. With less than five minutes elapsed in the second half, it meant he would have nearly the entire half to make an impact—unlike his previous substitute appearance, which ended before he could even touch the ball a few times!

Just days ago, he had been talking about waiting for an opportunity, and now that opportunity had arrived so soon! Even though it came about through Sosa's injury, Long Bisheng was determined to seize it.

Coming on as a substitute while trailing in the scoreline meant that a good performance would undoubtedly elevate his importance in the coach's eyes. Conversely, a poor outing might mean opportunities like this would not come his way again!

After hastily finishing a few more stretches, Long Bisheng stood by the touchline. The fourth official checked his studs before holding up the substitution board.

Napoli substitution: number 10 Sosa off, number 17 Long Bisheng on.

There was no formal ceremony for the substitution because Sosa was currently receiving treatment off the pitch. Upon receiving the referee's signal, Long Bisheng stretched his long strides and sprinted rapidly onto the field.

As he ran onto the pitch, Long Bisheng saw Churan standing near his own goal, raising a thumb in encouragement. Long Bisheng smiled and returned the gesture.

Then he took a deep breath—Serie C1, I have arrived!