Chapter 135: Everything is ready
If the previous double-digit win over Jumilia could be interpreted as a sign that the opponents were too weak or unfamiliar with Italian football tactics, Torino's big win over Modena made it difficult for the media and some people who have been finding fault to find the right excuse. Founded in 1912 and still a century-old club, Modena is still a century-old club that has not won any major titles in its history, but it has also finished third in Serie A, and is located in the city of Emilia Romagna in north-central Italy, second only to the capital city of Bologna, and is on a par with Parma. Although the team has not been able to return to the first division since the 2003-04 season, they are still relatively secure in Serie B and were relegated again until last season's poor performance. However, the emaciated camel is bigger than the horse, and such a team with a long tradition cannot be underestimated, and Li Mudi can lead the team to win by such a big score, which is naturally to refute the various criticisms given to the team and himself by the outside world before. Although once they don't play well again, those villains will naturally jump out again and say this and that, but at that time, there will not be many people who will be easily swayed by them.
After this game, Torino has also completed the warm-up schedule before the start of the new season, and they will face the third round of the Coppa Italia qualification round on August 13, and the Red Bulls will host their own satellite team, Vercelli, who have been given the opportunity to challenge their partner team after a 3-1 defeat of Serie C Group B Reggiana (not Reggina) in the previous round.
So before Li Mudi officially starts his journey in Italy, let's sort out some of the events that have happened since he left Castile in early June.
On June 21, ten days before the official opening of the European transfer window, Real Madrid couldn't wait to announce that it would trigger a 30 million euro buyback clause to buy back its academy Morata from Juventus. The new Spanish national team striker is the old lady who joined two years ago for 18.7 million euros, and in his two seasons with Juventus, he scored 15 goals in 63 Serie A appearances, which is not very efficient, but considering his many appearances as a substitute and his performance in the Champions League, Lafayette and Zizou did not hesitate to choose him as Real Madrid's forward rotation player next season.
On June 30th, the prize money that previously bet on the NBA Finals champion in the United States finally entered the card of Baozi, with a probability of 600,000 US dollars and 16.67, a total of 10 million yuan before tax for the four people, and after Baozi dealt with various taxes and fees, the net purchase was 5.26933 million US dollars, and the average amount on everyone's head was more than 1.31 million, which was converted into a soft girl of about 9 million, which was definitely called an overnight rich. For this windfall, although Brother Sugar and Qingzi felt helpless because Baozi secretly made a move at that time and exchanged 600,000 soft girls for dollars, but after all, the relationship between the four people was there, and no one was too hypocritical, and after nagging a few sentences, they happily divided the dirt. With the support of this money, I believe that the life of the two sworn friends will be more comfortable, and it will be easier for the four of them to get together again in the future.
On July 10, Real Madrid and Monaco clubs announced on their official websites at the same time: French genius Mbappe will return to Ligue 1 in the 2016-17 season for a one-year loan, during which Monaco not only does not need to pay Real Madrid any fees, but will receive a high training fee under the condition of ensuring the player's playing time. Although the specific figure was not revealed, as a "personal person", Li Muddy still learned from his friend Zidane that the amount is 3 million euros, which is equivalent to Real Madrid buying a Mbappe who has grown into a world-class player for 9.5 million euros next season, which is undoubtedly a deal that makes the Spanish giants make a lot of money compared to the real price that has reached 180 million. I believe that after the French youngster ushered in a big explosion, Lafayette will definitely be grateful to the current Torino manager.
On July 26, Juventus announced that it had introduced last season's top scorer in Serie A and Argentine striker Higuain from Napoli with a record of 90 million euros in team history and Italian football, with a current payment of 75.8 million in the first year, and the rest will be settled next year. The deal undoubtedly further expanded the Old Lady's advantage in Serie A, boosted their hopes of regaining the Champions Cup, and made the seller another big player in the transfer market. Napoli, nicknamed the White Dolphins, used the money to bring in a number of high-quality new signings, and then set their sights on Maksimovic, who again sent a transfer request of €15 million to the Torino club in early August, but the latter rejected it. Then, on August 6, Napoli made another offer: a one-year loan with a buyout fee of 22 million. Torino president Urbano Cairo chose to refuse after consulting his son and the team's manager, and said that he would not accept the loan situation, and if the other party wanted to poach the Serbian, he could only transfer directly.
Just as the local newspaper in Napoli published an article declaring that their team was no longer interested in Maksimovic and that the target would be moved elsewhere, Premier League giants Chelsea made an offer of £17.5 million, or just over €20 million, for the Serbian defender. At the same time, news has also come from Spain that Sevilla are ready to spend 21.5 million euros to bring in the current hot player. Napoli finally couldn't sit still, and at the strong request of manager Maurizio Sarri, they offered a price of 21 million euros, plus 3.5 million euros, to deal with 30-year-old Italian midfielder Mirko Valdifiori to Turin at a low price, and made a final offer to Maksimovic to bring in. After a meeting and study of several high-level executives on the Turin side, according to Li Mudi's proposal, the transfer fee was set at 23 million euros, and the Red Bulls did not need that "addition".
On August 5, Kimchi Country Girls' Generation celebrated its ninth debut, and Li Mudi sent messages of congratulations and blessings to several familiar members online. At night, I was caught by the lively and outgoing Sunny and chatted for a long time, I don't know how to chat, but the other party knew that he wrote a "lyric" before, and then because he was helpless about the other party's hard grinding and invincible coquettishness, he sent the things that flashed in his mind after hearing Xiao Lin's marriage. At this time, no one knew that this short article, which was only more than 100 words, would become the key to a new stage in the life of the Turin coach......
On August 10, the two teams officially announced that they had completed the transfer deal of Maksimovic, and finally Napoli paid a transfer fee of 22.5 million euros for the versatile defender, while Torino not only solved the time bomb, but also made a lot of money, you must know that in the 2012-13 season when the Serbian international was introduced from Red Star Belgrade, even the loan fee to the buyout fee added together was only 3 million euros, and after three seasons, it made almost 20 million. This is definitely one of the most successful player transfers in Turin's history.
Red Bull, who received a large sum of money, was naturally not too stingy, and immediately announced that he had completed the contract extension with goalkeeper Padelli, who had been with the team for three seasons, and the contract expired on June 30, 2018, in addition to a number of young players in the U20 team also received new contracts.
On August 11, Torino announced five loan deals: defender Kevin Bonifazi joined Serie B side Prijvo, right winger Vittorio Parigini joined Chievo, winger Mattia Aramu joined Vercelli, and Venezuelan striker Josef Martinez was loaned to Atlanta United. There is also a 4.5 million euro buy-out clause, with centre-back Marco Chiosa on loan to Serie B side Novara, with a buy-out clause of €500,000.
The next day, there was a new development in the long-awaited recruitment, Roma's Spanish winger Iago Farke joined the team for 6 million euros, which is slightly higher than in his previous life, but considering that Bruno Perez failed to switch to Roma as planned and the player's true valuation of 8.5 million, Li Mudi feels that the deal is still worth it. A little later, Sweden's Hogan's 21-year-old midfielder Samuel Gustafson also switched to Li Mudi for 600,000 euros, and then went on loan to Vercelli. In addition, Brazilian centre-back Carlo is on loan from Atletico Greece for a one-year loan, with Torino having the option to buy out for €500,000.
On August 13, Serbian defender Sasa Lukic, who celebrated his 20th birthday on the same day, moved from Partizan Belgrade to Torino for 1.7 million euros, and the team's two non-European signings for the season have been exhausted.
Valentino Cairo was in charge of all of the above operations, and Li Mudi was not too involved, and his focus was on bringing in a reliable centre-back for some time, and the number one target was former France international Philippe Mexès, who terminated his contract with AC Milan in the summer. Although the veteran has also suffered a serious decline in physical fitness after a major injury, his defensive awareness and experience are still very good, and the new Torino boss wants to sign him as a rotation for Moretti and can dominate the back line when he plays. However, the reality is always full of all kinds of helplessness, and in the negotiation process with the star and his agent, who has never received an invitation from the team since leaving Milan, Li Mudi was very angry, and the other party's conditions were too much. Position in the main team, appointment as captain of the team, annual salary of two million euros, two-year contract...... Although it is said that the negotiation is to ask for the price and repay the money on the ground, but this price is shouted outside the solar system, how can people return? So, naturally, the intention to sign broke down, and a few days later, the former talented centre-back, who had been on the radar of giants across the continent at a young age, announced his official retirement.
The failure to sign the veteran has left the Torino boss somewhat disappointed, with the quality of the backline still too weak after a major overhaul and with the deadline of the transfer window approaching, there are not many options left for them. Fortunately, Valentino Cairo's goalkeeper recruitment plan is still going relatively smoothly, as in his previous life, after Guardiola entered Manchester City, he has been trying to buy Chilean international Bravo from his old club Barcelona, so Joe Hart's main position will naturally be lost, but there is no suitable next home in the market for a while to accept the number one goalkeeper in England, so the way he leaves the team will inevitably be on loan, and Valentino's goal is to turn it to Torino. Li Mudi is not too optimistic about the goalkeeper who was praised by Mr. Zhan Jun as a "super world wave witness", although his reaction and one-on-one ability are the world's top, but he has a great lack of defensive positioning, prediction and foot skills, and the hitting tendency is also a little too high, it looks like a strengthened version of Padelli.
The main reason why Guardiola can't look down on Joe Hart is that the goalkeeper's skills are too rough to suit City's new overall possession strategy. And this is not a big problem for Torino, Li Mudi does not require the goalkeeper to be good at handling passes, and with the excellent center forward of Red Bebe in the front, it will not have much impact on the big kick-off. Coupled with the fact that there is really no other high-level goalkeeper to be found, the Torino manager agreed to the club's prince to run the loan, and the trajectory of things coincided with the previous life.
As for the reinforcement of the central defender, after thinking carefully for a few days, Li Mudi turned his attention to France, and he decided to ask the old Ligue 1 team Toulouse for 19-year-old Issa Diop (Issa Diop), although he is currently only 116 ability, but all the key values are not bad, coupled with his potential of 158 points, there is definitely hope to grow into a world-class central defender in a few years. Since you can't buy a good player with money now, you can cultivate a star yourself, and after trying to buy a number of central defenders who are in their prime, Li Mudi has to pin his hopes on the future. As for the defense this season, we can only count on Joe Hart's play and tactical adjustments.
However, it will take some time for England and France to join the international and French youngsters, and the most important thing for Torino at the moment is to qualify for the third round of the Coppa Italia, with the club's board of directors aiming to reach at least the first round of the main tournament to face the Rossoneri, while the new manager's goal is to meet their city rivals in the second round. But no matter what the team ends up with in the cup, there is no room for loss in this first game, otherwise the crazy fans will let everyone know what hell is!