After the away win over Empoli, Prato continued their smooth journey, winning five in a row in the league and then beating their opponents in the group stage of the Primera C Cup, and qualifying for the group with a best-of-three record. It is true that with Prato'www.biquge.info s current strength, the third-division teams are completely unable to stop them, and even Perugia, who had previously competed with Prato for the top spot in the standings, was simply defeated by 2:0 at the Bissenchio Stadium. The only obstacle to Prato was the second division side, who struggled for 120 minutes against second division side Padua in the third round of the Coppa Italia and managed to eliminate Padua through a penalty exchange between the two sides.

But even so, it was enough to lift the spirits of the Prato media, who hyped up that "Prato is already a second division team" and "the team has already secured a place in the second division next season". "The ancient city of Prato is finally welcoming a second division team!" These reports have further stimulated the popularity of the football market, and now not only Chinese fans are rushing to support Prato, but also many indigenous people of Prato have joined the ranks of Prato fans, and the club's jerseys, sneakers, team emblems, posters and other peripheral goods are selling extremely hot. It's just that the seats at the Bisenchio Stadium are limited, and tickets for each game are sold very quickly, and many people don't get the opportunity to watch the game. The third division is not televised in Italy, which makes many Prato fans unhappy.

"We need a bigger home stadium!" "Bisenchio is no longer worthy of a second-division team!" This is a topic that countless Prato citizens have been talking about after dinner, and many fans have even spontaneously petitioned in front of the city hall, asking the city government to provide Prato with a stadium that can accommodate more people.

In fact, as early as the beginning of the season, Shen Yan had already submitted an application report to the Prato government under the instruction of Chen Lin, hoping that the government would approve the transformation of the Bissenchio Stadium from a comprehensive stadium into a professional football stadium, but the Italian government's efficiency was no better than that of the Celestial Empire government, and it was discussed countless times on whether to demolish the track and field track of the Bissenchio Stadium, but a decision was always undecided. After all, the demolition of public facilities is a matter of great condemnation in Italy, and the question of where public matches will be held in the future after the conversion of Bisenzio into a professional football stadium is also a problem. So in the end, Chen Lin, Shen Yan and others could only build a detachable temporary stand at the Bisenchio Stadium, but because of the viewing angle of the temporary stand, they did not make full use of all the space of the ground floor stand, and only expanded more than 2,000 positions.

However, as the Prato team got better and better, and under the wave that swept the whole of Prato, the councillors of the city government gradually couldn't sit still, and they began to look for a solution to the problem, which of course is a story for later.

Because on November 10, Prato ushered in the fourth round of the Coppa Italia. The Coppa Italia is divided into two phases:

Phase 1:

First round: A total of 44 teams from the top rankings of Serie C 1 and Serie C 2 last season participated; 22 teams will be decided

Second round: 22 teams that won the first round + 22 teams from Serie B; 22 teams will be decided

Third round: 22 teams that won in the second round + 10 teams from 9-18 places in Serie A last season; 16 teams will be decided

Round 4: 16 teams from the third round will participate; Eight teams will be decided

Phase 2:

Fifth round: 8 teams that won in the fourth round + 1-8 places in Serie A last season;

Round 6: Quarter-finals, 8 teams from the fifth round win;

Round 7: Semi-finals, 4 teams from the quarterfinals will participate;

Round 8: Finals.

Judging from the format, Prato was lucky to not meet a first-division team until the round of 16 last season, but unfortunately this luck cannot happen every year. Finally, in the fourth round, Prato finally welcomed its first serious opponent of the season, from the first division club Foggia.

Many Chinese fans who like Serie A in later generations are not familiar with this team, but at this time, Foggia is an authentic Serie A powerhouse. Founded in 1920, the Foggia Club was previously unknown like Prato, but the arrival of the two men changed everything. One was a Neapolitan merchant named Cassiro, who used to be in the wheat business. Like a lot of rich people are willing to do, he loves football and wants to get into it, so he decided to buy a club.

In 1986, his wish came true when he bought the Foggia team, and not only that, but he devoted his life to this team, and he wanted everyone to know that this small team also has a great blueprint. To achieve his plan, the team must have a good bishop. At that time, Casiro asked the team's manager Pavane for advice, but Pavane's answer left Casiro quite confused.

At that time, the name Zeman was not yet known. At that time, the team's manager, Parvanet, was also very young, he was only 36 years old, and had just finished his 19-year professional career. But he thinks Zeman has what he has to do what Cassiro envisions.

The reason why Pavane is bullish on Zeman is because Zeman has previously coached a team that has always been named Likata, which is a team that is less famous. Zeman led the amateur team to Italy's third division. It's a remarkable achievement, and of course, what appeals even more to Pavane is the style of football that Zeman admires.

As fate would have it, the final league game of the season was between Foggia and Licata. Cassiro was also given the opportunity to get a closer look at Zeman's coaching abilities. Licata lost 4-0 in that game, but Casiro left the pitch thoughtful. He was particularly interested in Zeman's unsung squad playing attacking football on the pitch, with their energy and enthusiasm almost never running out.

That summer, after a long period of deliberation, Cassiro told Pavane that he could go and talk to the people he had recommended. As a result, Zeman became the new manager of the Foggia team and the second most important person in the club's history. In 1989, Czech coach Zeman took over the team, and under his leadership, Foggia made it all the way from the third division to the first division and even the UEFA Cup.

In recent seasons, Foggia, who has future top stars such as Signori, Di Biagio, and Chamot, has been occupying the upper middle and upper reaches of Serie A, and is the henchman of many giants to win championships.

In the face of such an opponent, Prato's large multimedia expressed pessimism. Although Prato miraculously almost eliminated Inter Milan last season, it is precisely because it is a miracle that it cannot be replicated, and no one is optimistic about the match between Prato and Foggia.