Chapter 161: A Rapid Decline After a Brilliant Start

In the first round of the Coppa Italia, Reja fielded what he considered to be his strongest starting lineup. His first intention was to test the true caliber of this squad, and secondly, Frosinone was also a Serie B side; how the team performed against this opponent would dictate what kind of results Napoli could expect in the new season.

The ultimate outcome of the match left Reja and the more than forty thousand Napoli fans in attendance quite satisfied. Playing at home, Napoli did not give their opponents many opportunities. The two new signings包办了全部入球 handled all the goals—De Zerbi opened the scoring, and Bucchi scored a brace. Napoli eliminated their opponents with a three-to-one victory at home, advancing to the second round of the Coppa Italia.

In the second round, Napoli's opponent was Ascoli, a newly promoted team to Serie A that year. Reja adjusted his lineup, giving players like Piá, Sosa, and Trotta—heroes of last season's promotion—a chance to play. However, playing at home, Napoli struggled to find a way past their Serie A opponents, eventually settling for a zero-to-zero draw. In the ensuing penalty shootout, Chu Ran performed brilliantly, stopping two consecutive penalties from the opposition. Napoli triumphed four to three on penalties to advance to the third round of the Coppa Italia.

Over the course of these two Coppa Italia matches, Long Bisheng did not make a single start; he only came on as a substitute for Bucchi for five minutes in the first round, receiving very little opportunity to showcase his abilities. Just like the previous season, what he needed to do was wait—wait for his own chance.

Before the league season commenced, the first three rounds of the Coppa Italia had to be completed in their entirety. Therefore, immediately after breaking into the third round, Napoli had to face their third opponent just three days later.

Napoli's luck was not good.

Though, to some extent, their luck had already been good enough. The first three rounds of the Coppa Italia were single-elimination matches, and who played at home was determined by a draw. Napoli had been exceptionally fortunate to secure home advantage in all of the first three rounds.

In the Coppa Italia, the top eight teams from the previous season's Serie A directly entered the Round of 16, meaning powerhouse clubs like the Milan giants, Roma, and Parma would not appear in the first three rounds. In terms of strength, among the sixteen teams participating in the third round, Juventus was undoubtedly the strongest. Furthermore, if they wanted to return to European competition next year to offset their financial losses, Juventus's only path was to win the Coppa Italia. Since they were guaranteed one of the three promotion spots in Serie B, they placed even greater emphasis on the Coppa Italia—a fact made evident by their deployment of a full-strength starting eleven against modest opponents in the previous two rounds.

Yet, Napoli's opponent in the third round of the Coppa Italia was none other than Juventus.

The official Serie B season had not yet begun, but this Coppa Italia clash became Napoli's most classic match of the season. Sixty thousand fans flooded into the Stadio San Paolo, and amidst a suffocatingly intense atmosphere, the two sides combined to deliver a magnificent spectacle.

Chiellini opened the scoring for Juventus with a powerful header, but soon after, Napoli's two new signings combined for a brilliant goal: De Zerbi broke down the left flank and crossed, and Bucchi executed an acrobatic, aerial cushion shot right in front of the goal to equalize. Not long after the start of the second half, Calaiò met a exquisite through-ball from Dalla Bona, went one-on-one with the goalkeeper, rounded Buffon, and reversed the score. Juventus captain Del Piero, coming off the bench, leveled the score once more in the eightieth minute. The match went to extra time.

In the first half of extra time, Juventus's Camoranesi and Napoli's Grava were both sent off. Del Piero put Juventus ahead once again in the one hundred and seventeenth minute. Just when the Napoli fans in the stadium began to despair, little Cannavaro completed an unbelievable bicycle kick during stoppage time, rescuing Napoli from the precipice once again!

The match went to a penalty shootout. With both sides tied at three goals apiece after the first five rounds, Chu Ran blocked Marchionni's penalty in the sixth round. Captain Montervino converted his kick decisively, eliminating Juventus with an aggregate score of eight to seven and shattering Juventus's dream of returning to European competition next season!

Three consecutive victories in the Coppa Italia allowed Napoli to enter the official Serie B campaign with the highest possible morale and a peak state of form. Winning three straight matches within a single week in the Coppa Italia—defeating a Serie B side, a Serie A side, and a team that, while currently in Serie B, was unquestionably one of the strongest in all of Italy—made Napoli's reputation soar to unprecedented heights. In the odds for promotion and winning the Serie B title, they had even surpassed Juventus!

The opening match of Serie B seemed to validate this sentiment. The front three-pronged trident was radiant: Bucchi scored a brace, while Calaiò and De Zerbi each added a goal. Napoli crushed Treviso, a team in Serie A just last season, four to two at home, topping the Serie B standings by virtue of goal difference. Lecce and Brescia occupied second and third places after defeating their respective opponents three to one and two to zero. Juventus suffered a surprise one-to-one draw away against Rimini, sitting at the very bottom of the table with minus eighteen points.

Following this resounding victory in their opening Serie B fixture, all of Neapolitan society lost their heads. *Il Mattino di Napoli* even proclaimed that, given Napoli's current starting lineup, they could secure a UEFA Cup spot even if they were playing in Serie A!

When Long Bisheng saw this news, he was dumbfounded. He could not fathom how those enthusiastic Neapolitan journalists had arrived at such a conclusion. From his perspective, the current Napoli was indeed very strong and possessed formidable competitiveness in the Serie B arena. But Serie B was, after all, Serie B! Even a "golden era Serie B" was still merely Serie B! A team that excelled in Serie B might amount to nothing once they reached Serie A—this was an ironclad fact proven by history!

Yet the Neapolitans firmly believed it, including head coach Reja, who ought to have maintained a cooler head.

Soon, the second round of the league handed Napoli a harsh reality check. Their opponents were Piacenza, a side that, years ago, had been a remarkably difficult team to face in Serie A, renowned for their stubborn reliance on domestic players and rejection of foreign imports. Signori, the Inzaghi brothers, and Gilardino were all star players who had emerged from Piacenza. Although they had been lingering in Serie B in recent years, they still possessed undeniable strength.

Faced with the menacing visiting team, Piacenza's head coach, Stefano Pioli, adopted a prudent strategy: from the very kickoff, he massed heavy forces in the defensive third to blunt the attacking edge of Napoli's three-forward formation. Both wingers dropped deep to defend, leaving only central striker Cacia up top to lurk for counterattacks. It was precisely this center-forward who delivered a lightning strike in the eighteenth minute: receiving a long ball from the backline, he cleverly eluded a rashly rushing little Cannavaro and coolly chipped the ball past Chu Ran into the net.

Napoli equalized just before the end of the first half when little Cannavaro made amends for his earlier error by heading home a corner kick delivered by Dalla Bona. However, after the start of the second half, an obviously out-of-form Bucchi squandered two golden opportunities, and substitute Sosa headed another chance against the crossbar. Failing to break down the defense after sustained pressure, Napoli was once again pierced through the heart by an opponent's counterattack. Chu Ran bravely blocked Cacia's one-on-one shot, but Piacenza's other forward, Padalino, lightning-fast, followed up and poked the rebound home. One to two—Napoli suffered an away defeat!

Following this away loss, Napoli's early-season good fortune began to gradually run out.

In the third round, they drew zero-to-zero away against Arezzo. Napoli fired thirteen shots during the entire match, yet not a single one managed to breach the opponent's goal, and starting forward Calaiò left the pitch injured.

In the fourth round, playing at home against Triestina, after opening the scoring in the first half courtesy of a De Zerbi breakthrough and shot, Napoli failed to extend their lead. Instead, they conceded an equalizer to the visitors just before the final whistle, stretching their winless run to three matches.

In the fifth round, Napoli finally halted their winless streak, edging Avellino one to zero away from home. Substitute Sosa scored the sole goal of the match, but shortly after, he too was forced off with an injury, and team doctors diagnosed a two-month layoff.

In the sixth round, Napoli secured their first consecutive victories of the new season. Bucchi, after going four consecutive rounds without a goal, finally proved his market value with a strike. However, their bad luck persisted: during a foray to intercept an aerial ball, Chu Ran was knocked to the ground by an opposition forward, suffering a hairline fracture in his shoulder that required a two-week absence. Napoli paid a heavy price to defeat Rimini one to zero at home.

In the seventh round, Napoli once again squandered a one-to-one away lead in the first half, allowing their opponents to level the score. Veteran goalkeeper Iezzo, who had seen little playing time recently, committed a major blunder near the end of the match, parrying a routine shot directly into the path of the opposition striker. Vicenza forced a one-to-one draw against Napoli on home soil.

In the eighth round, relying on a goal from the newly returned Calaiò, Napoli defeated Crotone one to zero at home to claim their fourth victory of the season. However, a week later, Napoli suffered back-to-back defeats: in the ninth round, they lost zero to one away to Albinoleffe, bringing their six-match unbeaten league run to a halt; a few days later, they lost away to Parma in the second leg of the Coppa Italia Round of 16, bowing out three to two on aggregate.

Following their brief opening-period glory, Napoli immediately plunged into a quagmire. After their four-to-two victory over Treviso, across eight league matches and two cup games, Napoli failed to score more than a single goal in any match. While their defense remained remarkably solid, their offense exposed enormous flaws! The trident formation insisted upon by Reja not only failed to yield a high volume of goals, but their attacking output even lagged behind that of Serie C teams!

Amidst this predicament, Napoli welcomed their tenth-round opponent, and the strongest adversary in Serie B: Juventus.