"Mr. President, I think you need to watch this match."
In the office of the President of the Italian Football Association, the secretary reminded President Martivini.
Only by aligning with the urgent needs of the leader can one be seen as a dependable and considerate aide.
This secretary clearly understands the art of being a secretary.
Martivini looked toward the secretary’s computer.
It was a second-round match of the Italian Cup.
The Italian Cup has eight rounds in total.
Serie A teams participate starting from the third round.
Therefore, the matches before that are not considered important at all.
Many people begin watching from the third round onward.
After all, what’s the point of watching football if it’s not the top league?
But this second-round cup match reportedly had more than a dozen media outlets present.
That indeed was unusual.
At this time, the camera on the computer suddenly focused on a certain player.
After receiving the ball on the wing, he wasn’t in a rush to pass as most passing routes were blocked by the opponents.
But he held off the defender with a lateral dribble, and in the image, using two irregular Marseille Turns, stumbled and maintained control of the ball under the pressure of three opponents.
It must be said, this ball protection maneuver was really awkward.
But the effect was indeed excellent.
In the end, under the opponent’s pull, this rather green-looking player stumbled to the ground.
However, the main referee did not blow the whistle.
It wasn’t a biased call.
It was because the player, as he stumbled forward, tipped the ball with his toes for a pass.
You couldn’t tell whether he stumbled into the ball or passed it intentionally.
But that didn’t matter anymore.
Because this pass tore through the opponent’s defenses and crossed their central line combination.
Then, the passer’s teammate, a 1.88-meter central forward, headed the ball toward the far corner of the goal under the opponent keeper’s helpless watch.
A relaxed header to score!
Eighty percent of the credit belongs to the passer.
"Lu?" Martivini saw the name on the jersey and recalled something. "Is it that Lu? The kid Maniero always talks about? The Chinese following Sotu, Lu?"
The secretary nodded.
Martivini’s expression was unreadable, with his eyes sparkling.
Serie A is declining, and everyone senses it.
Similarly, there’s the issue of the Italian Cup’s significance.
Though both are domestic cups, the FA Cup in England and the King’s Cup in Spain have far more influence than the Italian Cup.
As the current President of the Italian Football Association, Martivini could let things be, just avoiding the mistakes of his predecessors.
But... Since he was in this position during turbulent times, how could he not achieve something to satisfy his restless heart?
After all, he’s here now!
The Star of Italy project was established under his initiative.
And it has been very effective.
At least the young generation of Italian fans knows their own league and young stars quite well now.
They no longer only see those prodigies from England; they know about the rising star of Italy in Monaco, Sevajos, the Italian Whirlwind Parrot, the Italian defensive tank Lam, and the Italian future midfield duo Morici and Lu Yang!
These young stars may not all succeed, may not be as excellent as young stars from England, Spain, Germany, France, Belgium, but... at least they now have the foundation to become superstars... attention!
Players without attention can never become stars or even superstars.
Attention not only means being noticed but also influences a player’s ability to handle pressure, mental pursuits, sense of honor, mission, and other qualities and decisions.
Without these, Wu Lei would never have gone abroad to play; what’s wrong with being a king at home?
But without these spiritual pursuits, a player can never become world-class.
There’s a saying that might not sound nice: although Wu Lei has now fallen to the Second Division and become a substitute, seemingly having a mediocre European journey, yet... he at least earned the respect of this generation of fans.
This is what current National Team Players lack the most... fans’ respect, fans’ admiration!
Speaking of which, the success of Star of Italy is just a small success, a minor attempt.
It proved that if you manage football with care, even when top stars and coaches are temporarily absent, Italian football will not fall into decline.
Like the NBA, with enough stories and legends, you can attract enough fans.
When one day you have no stories, even if you still have the four hundred best stars on this planet, you can no longer stop the decline in viewership.
The FA Cup is more influential in Europe than the Italian Cup because it has more storytelling.
And now, Martivini also wants to write a legendary story for the Italian Cup.
So he... needs a legendary protagonist!
Across the entire European Football scene, rarely do non-top league teams make deep cup runs.
If they do, it’s a miracle.
And San Remo has reached the second round and defeated a strong Serie B team with promotion opportunities.
This means, as long as they maintain this level, they have a chance to advance to the fifth round.