The next day's Italian media used words similar to "defeat but glory" to describe the previous day's San Siro match, and the fact that two completely different teams played with a 4-4 aggregate score against the mighty AC Milan (3-2 in the league and 1-2 in the cup) proved that the Torino team has indeed joined the ranks of the strong teams this season. Although their lineup still has some deficiencies of one kind or another, and they also have a heavy dependence on a certain core player, with a rare vitality, this Bulls, with an average age of only 26.2 and a main player of only 25.1 years old, is definitely worthy of being optimistic about the future.

Corriere della Sera and La Repubblica also mentioned in their articles the importance of Li Moody to the Torino team, arguing that he is the key factor in leading the team back to the top of the mountain, and that the club should agree to a contract extension with him, so as not to miss out on this great opportunity to regain the glory of 70 years ago. Needless to say, Pantario Longo made an offer on Monday on behalf of the Torino club to Gines, who has been in Italy for this time, with some salary and additional bonuses compared to before, but it still does not meet the bottom line of the latter's requirements, but the club's desire to renew his contract has at least been clearly expressed, which is good news for the manager.

However, before the negotiations between them could progress to a certain extent, Valentino Cairo spent another sum of money according to the list previously given by Li Mudi, and he bought two players from Serie B side Novara Calcio, right-back Lorenzo Dickmann, born in September 1996, and Senegalese central defender Moustapha Beye, born in August 1995. However, they will remain with their original team until the end of the season, and will officially join Torino this summer. The price paid by the Red Bulls was a package of €3.4 million in transfer fees, plus two youth team players, 20-year-old winger Simeone Rosso and 19-year-old striker Kanderonn.

In addition, Australian winger Reno Piscopo, who was born in 1998 and came through the Inter Academy, also joined the Red Bulls as a free agent, and he was found to have an unknown lump in his body at the end of 2015, which was then surgically removed and recuperated for almost a year before returning to the youth team by the Torino coach.

In addition to these three young talents, there are several young players who are optimistic about Li Mudi who are in intense negotiations, and he is eager to have a big harvest in this winter window where scouting tools can still be used, and it will be difficult to find a treasure so easily without the help of this plug-in in the future. With the help of scouting tools, Muddy has given Under-20 coach Federico Coppitelli and Under-18 coach Marco Sesia special instructions to focus on developing individual high-potential young players, and the results are indeed very gratifying, but since they are not part of the first team, it has not had an effect on the Torino manager's medal experience, which makes him feel a little frustrated.

Speaking of medals, more than four months have passed since the last time I checked it carefully, and Li Mudi took advantage of the fact that he thought of this matter today and called up the relevant interface again, and found that there had indeed been a lot of changes. The progress of the four categories is: Friends of the Players Level 2: 331/1000, Friends of Colleagues Level 2: 358/1000, Master Conductor Level 1: 675/1000 and Master Cultivation Level 1: 27/100. Because of the team's excellent record, the Masters of the Command Medal has the most experience to improve, and over time, the understanding between the Torino manager and his colleagues has gradually increased, and the players have become more familiar with each other, resulting in a steady increase in the experience of the first two medals. Only the promotion of the training master has encountered difficulties, and the potential of the existing players is already difficult to tap into too much, which is one of the reasons why he is eager to recruit some talented young players.

But just when Li Mudi was a little excited about the upcoming little demons, something happened that no one had expected before. At the end of the training session on Friday afternoon, the captain of the team, Vives, did not go to the equipment room for half an hour to train his strength as usual, but went straight to the boss and invited him to talk alone, and the latter naturally agreed with doubts. The two of them entered the conference room of the office building, and after the staff brought twice as much coffee and left, Vives adjusted his breath slightly and said his thoughts: "Boss, I feel that my abilities can no longer help the team, and there will be disasters for everyone in many cases, so it's time to say goodbye to the team and everyone." ”

After ......hearing these words, Li Mudi's mind was a little dazed for a while, this was the first time that a player took the initiative to ask to leave the team after he crossed over to become a football head coach. To be honest, I still feel hurt by 10,000 points in my heart, and I almost have self-doubts, is there something wrong in the coaching process that causes the players to feel dissatisfied? But before he could come to his senses and ask, the other party first opened his mouth to explain the reason for the idea.

"I moved to Torino from Lecce in the summer of 2011 after five seasons, in fact, the transfer at that time was not voluntary, but the team's finances were very serious, and my departure could help them alleviate some of the financial pressure, but in the end, Pepper was relegated directly from Serie A to Serie C due to bankruptcy and reorganization...... But since I put on this crimson shirt, I feel very fortunate to have joined Turin as a fearless and always fighting bull when I think back to the choices I made that summer. In the last five and a half years, I have changed my age from 31 to 36, and I have been reinvigorated by Coach Monventura and your support, and then I have become the captain of the team, and the fans have written me songs......"

When Lecce was first mentioned, it was inevitable that there would be a sad expression on Vives' face, but when he mentioned his years in the Torino team, a smile appeared on his face, and it was clear that both teams had a very important place in his heart.

"As of the last round against AC Milan, I've played more than 180 official games for the Red Bulls, and I'm not boasting, but I'm definitely proud to have performed like this at this age. And Coach Lee, after you joined the team last summer, the potential of those outstanding players in the team has finally been fully unleashed, and the results are still so good, it is likely that they will return to the European competition next season. It stands to reason that I shouldn't have caused problems at a critical moment when the team was going all out to qualify for Europe, but the games and my physical condition have taught me that I can't play a positive role in such a tight game now. In the 20 seasons I've been a professional, I've been able to be an absolute mainstay in every team I've played for because of my tireless running, sharp judgment and clean tackling ability, but it's gradually moving away from me, and I can feel it every day. ”

At this point, the old captain paused, as if to suppress his slightly excited feelings, and then gave a conclusion again.

"I have to admit that I am not at the level of the main team of the Torino team now, Afriel (referring to Acquaa) is much better than me, and the strength of the new signing Russ is even more open to me. My contract was due to expire this summer, but it can be terminated at any time, so with 10 days left before the winter window closes, the team can use the slots I have set aside to bring in another quality new signing to be more competitive. ”

If Wives' reasons for believing that he is no longer capable of helping the team are not enough, then his departure will undoubtedly be more tempting for Li Muddy to bring in a signing, and if the transfer window opens in early January, he may really think about it. However, now that the transfer funds in hand have been arranged accordingly, even if there is a position, it may not be possible to buy any players who are more powerful than the old captain. After telling the other party about this situation, the old captain thought for a while and nodded, and said to the team boss: "If there is really no better choice, I will stay and fill the bench, add a little thickness to the midfield for the team, and not let a precious registration place be wasted." ”

In the previous conversation, Li Mudi had called up the FM system to check Vives's personal information, and it turned out that Vercelli, a satellite team in Turin who was fighting for promotion in the second division, had sent him an offer to contract, and promised to give him a place in the core of the main team while keeping his salary unchanged. This contract and sincerity are not willing to be the team's mascot or even drag down the Torino captain is difficult to refuse, originally he should have made a decision to leave, but after seeing that his departure could not help the Red Bull improve his strength, he chose to stay without hesitation, how great the feelings contained in it are, so that the Torino coach was moved to red.

"Giuseppe, I'm glad you came to me at the first moment things happened, and I admire you immensely for your qualities. Since you're so genuine, I'm not going to be hypocritical anymore, and you'll probably have to be the third option in defensive midfield for the rest of the fixtures, and only get a chance when you're playing with a double midfield against a strong team or if Afriel and Russ are injured. That's not to say you can't help the team anymore, as your experience, your fighting spirit and your professionalism are examples for the young players in the squad. I already had a very premature idea that I would like you to renew your contract as a part-time coach in the near future and devote some of your time to developing new blood for the club. But when I saw you today, I realized how selfish this idea is, you are still a professional footballer, and you still want to find the joy of playing football on the green field, and it is not yet time to go behind the scenes......"

At this point, seeing that the other party was a little excited and wanted to interject, Li Mudi hurriedly raised his right hand to show that he hadn't finished speaking, and then spoke again: "Don't say that what I just said is wrong, I know you far better than you think." The job of being a coach can start at any time, but there is not much time left in the career of a player at this age, and no one will know which is more important. Giuseppe, now you just have to go and have fun on the field, and once you get tired or really can't kick, come back, and I and the whole Red Bulls are looking forward to that day. ”

The two of them chatted for an hour and a half in the conference room, and then went outside to find a restaurant to continue the conversation, and did not go home separately until half past eight in the evening. In the face of the reporters of "Torino Sports Newspaper" who came over after hearing the news, they did not reveal any useful content, but only mentioned that the team's official website will release some more important information in the near future, please pay attention to it then. Since then, the media have speculated that the conversation between the Torino manager and the captain should be related to contract renewals, and both have contracts expiring at the end of June, and it is likely that they are exchanging future plans or joining forces to put pressure on the club's hierarchy, although it is unclear when the relationship between the two became so close.

However, before the official news came out, the time came to the penultimate weekend of January, and the 21st round of Serie A was in full swing. Fiorentina beat Chievo by three goals away from home in the first two games on Saturday night, giving the Flying Donkeys a fourth straight defeat; In a big game, Napoli at the San Siro won 2-1 thanks to goals from Insigne and Callejon in the opening 10 minutes, and the poor fitness of the AC Milan players forced them to accept the bitter consequences of a home defeat. Thankfully, Lazio suffered a 2-0 defeat away at leaders Juventus in Sunday's opening game, leaving the Rossoneri not too far behind in the race for European qualification.

The remaining seven matches were all played on Sunday evening, with Torino arriving in Bologna, the capital of the historic city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy, the second richest region in Italy after Milan in terms of per capita income, and home to the headquarters of Lamborghini, Ferrari and Maserati. The city is also home to many historic buildings and famous attractions that attract hundreds of thousands of tourists from more than 100 countries around the world every year, but Li Mudi doesn't have time to think about the easy things right now, because his team has been plagued by injuries. Ranocchia felt a slight discomfort in his knee during the simple warm-up before the game, and as there was not much time left before the official start of the game, out of an abundance of caution, the Torino coach put the teenager Vallejo in the starting line-up without waiting for the results of the team doctor's examination, which was also the first time that Li Mudi changed the starting line-up since taking charge.

Fortunately, at half-time, the team's head of the team, Gleco, brought good news, Ranocchia's knee is not in major problems and will not have major problems. However, the manager's face is still not good, because his team is down by one goal after the first half, and no one can be happy at this time.