Borata, along with his son, appeared in the south stand of the Marassi Stadium.

To watch the game, they closed the Focccia store again.

For them, closing stores on match day has become a regular routine.

They did that every weekend last season.

And this time there was more midweek because there was a Champions League matchday.

Borata stood in the stands, looking around at the seats, a little embarrassed.

The last time he came to watch Sampdoria's Champions League game live, his son was only five years old, and he also brought him to the Marassi Stadium at that time.

At that time, Sampdoria had an attacking line-up consisting of Roberto Mancini and Vialli, with Brazilian star Cerezo and Italian star Parry in midfield, and fast Marlombado and Ivan Bonetti on the flanks. At the back, Italian international Pagliuca and famous central defenders Viljo Ward and Katanic formed a defensive iron triangle.

The overall strength of that Sampdoria team is really much higher than the current Sampdoria team.

In today's Sampdoria, perhaps only Gao Zheng can occupy a place in the main lineup of Sampdoria, and no one else can.

So that Sampdoria team finally reached the final, and they did not fall behind in the face of La Liga giants Barcelona.

Twenty-one years have passed, the sailors are old, and the scenery is no more.

"Dad, what do you want?" The son noticed his father's strangeness and asked.

"I think of the Sampdoria team from 21 years ago."

The son was stunned for a moment and understood what his father meant: "Don't think about it, it's been twenty-one years, and we're still in the Champions League, so I'm very happy, isn't it?" ”

Borata glanced at his silly son, and smiled innocently, really stupid......

For the first time, however, he agreed with his son.

Time has passed, and Sampdoria's glory, like the glory of Serie A, is gone. And after so many years, Sampdoria can still reach the Champions League again, which is already remarkable.

He regained his spirits and sang along with the other Sampdoria fans in the stands.

※※※

The Champions League group stage was broadcast live on CCTV, and the live broadcast signal started when the players warmed up on the Marassi stadium. However, the TV audience will not be able to see that this time period is all given to the sponsor's advertisement.

By the time the audience can see the live signal, it is already the picture of the players waiting to play in the tunnel.

They heard He Ping's excited voice: "Audience friends, welcome to the Marassi Stadium!" This is the first match of Group H of the 2013-2014 Champions League group stage, with Sampdoria taking on Celtic! ”

He Ping is commenting on La Liga games on CCTV and has never been involved in the live broadcast of Serie A games, so he has no chance to comment on Gao Zheng's games, and only in the Champions League does he have such an opportunity, so he is naturally very excited.

"This game is the first Champions League match in my country's player Gao Zheng's career!"

Director Zhang Lu smiled beside him: "Yes, it's the first race." In fact, Gao Zheng has already played in the Champions League, that is, the first two qualifying matches, and his performance is still very good. ”

"Well, if it weren't for Gao Zheng, Sampdoria might not have been able to enter the main game at all. So the biggest attraction of this game is actually what Gao Zheng can perform. ”

The Chinese fans in front of the TV were also gearing up one by one, although it was already past two o'clock in the morning at this time, many bars were brightly lit and open all night, just to let everyone get together to cheer for Gao Zheng.

“…… Celtic have never won a trip to Italy before – drawing three and losing seven. Of course, this has little to do with Sampdoria, as the two teams have never played each other in the Champions League in their history...... Celtic have lost 22 of their last 24 Champions League away games, with their only win coming against Spartak Moscow last season. Their winger Frister was out injured and midfielder Ledley was not included in the squad due to an injury sustained in the league last weekend......

For this Champions League game, He Ping did his homework, and talked about the recent situation of the two sides.

"Sampdoria have a full squad and no injuries. In addition, striker Berardi, who has just experienced a three-game ban in the league, also appeared in the starting lineup for this game, and the attacking trident of Gao Zheng, Zaza and Berardi, which Di Francisco has been building, appeared in this game, and I hope they can surprise everyone......"

※※※

Just because everyone is looking forward to this match doesn't mean it's going to be exciting.

In fact, although the two sides attacked and defended each other, neither Sampdoria nor Celtic could break through the opponent's goal, and the scene was not exciting.

The Celtics did defend Gao Zheng very tightly, almost never leaving.

But despite this, the only attack that Sampdoria threatened the Celtic goal in the first half was made by Gao Zheng.

It was in the 32nd minute that Gao Zheng's volley in front of the goal was slightly rubbed by Celtic goalkeeper Foster, and the football was off the line.

If Foster doesn't make this save, there is a good chance that the football will fly into the goal.

It was the only moment of the first half that could thrill the Sampdoria fans.

Celtic also had some attacking chances, but they didn't take them.

So at the end of the first half, the score was still 0:0.

He Ping said: "The first half was a little dull, which was very hard for the Chinese fans who stayed up late to watch the game. During the intermission, you can wash your face with cold water, and there are still 45 minutes......"

"It can be seen that Sampdoria is actually a bit tight in this game as a whole." Director Zhang Lu said beside him. 'Even though it was their home stadium, it wasn't very positive and some of the players were noticeably stiff. Maybe it's because they're at home that the Sampdoria players can't let go of it......"

"After all, it's a team with little Champions League experience. It's normal to have such a performance in the first Champions League game. However, it may be difficult for this Sampdoria team to qualify from this group......" He Ping sighed.

He still feels that Gao Zheng should not stay at Sampdoria this summer, and it is pointless to stay and play for an extra season.

finally played the main match of the Champions League, but the result was just to go home after the group stage. There is no breakthrough in team honor, and it is just a waste of a year to stay.

But he won't say this kind of thing, and if he doesn't say it, he will suffer from many fans. As a narrator, he's experienced that feeling many times.

※※※

Of course, everyone was not happy with this first half, but unlike everyone imagined, Di Francisco, who returned to the dressing room, did not criticize his players, and the Sampdoria players were not very frustrated.

Closing the door to the dressing room, Di Francisco asked: "How is it, how is it to feel the atmosphere of the Champions League now?" Is our opponent that fearful behemoth? Is it almost invincible? Are they much better than us? Is the Champions League 30 per cent faster than Serie A, as some have claimed? ”

The crowd in the locker room burst into laughter.

"Not at all, right? Not at all! Di Francisco waved his hand vigorously. So what's so scary? The outside world said that the Champions League was so terrible, and it seemed that we were naked lambs to the slaughter when we stepped in, and the result? Celtic, the Scottish Premier League champions, the Scottish supergiants, played to a draw with us in the first half, and we admit that the opponent is strong, so we are not weak, right? ”

"In that case, treat the game as if it were a normal league. Don't forget what Gao said before the game, how can there be anything that we can't even think of winning on our own home turf?! ”