Paul. Todd was driving on the highway, and the drizzle outside the window was as gloomy as his mood, and the rare traffic jam on this road made Todd's heart even more irritable.

There is a railway next to the highway, watching the train speeding by, Todd can only suppress his emotions, what can an unsatisfactory middle-aged man like him do except forbear, all for life.

It's a 400-kilometre drive from Rome to Parma, and the price of airfares is too expensive, so the train would have been a good option. But damn Italian train tickets are too expensive, and they are always late for no reason, plus the prices of the meals on the train are comparable to those of luxury restaurants.

So the five- or six-hour drive became a compromise that Todd had to make, all for the sake of life.

The road is back open, and the dashboard of the old Fiat Panda shows that the fuel is about to run out, but fortunately there is a service area two kilometers ahead, and Todd also needs to eat something to replenish his energy.

The service area in Florence has a lot of people, and it seems that everyone is having a hard time.

1.5 euros a liter of gasoline, which is not cheap in the whole of Europe, fortunately, Todd's old Panda does not consume much fuel, but it also takes about 60 euros to fill up the tank, and Todd changed three credit cards to find the one that has not been maxed out.

After refueling, Todd went to the restaurant next door for a bite to eat. In the past, when the market was good, he would order a zaza steak every time he came to Florence, but unfortunately the best restaurant was far away from the hypermarket in Florence, and the service area was naturally not available.

Of course, if you can order zaza steak in the service area, Todd may not go to it, compared to another delicacy in Florence, tripe buns are more suitable for Todd now. It's cheap, generous, and can be enjoyed on your own in the car.

The obese middle-aged man in the car next door was also enjoying his tripe buns, and it was obvious that he was really hungry when he gobbled it up.

Todd's personal finances are very bad, but he still wears a suit every day, and he claims to be a business person, so he is more elegant when eating tripe buns, which is what little solemnity he has left in the last six months.

A "bang" sound came from the car next door, the fat man slammed the door shut, and then slammed a cup of coffee to the ground, brown coffee was scattered everywhere, Todd estimated that his car must have been splashed with coffee, but he didn't want to argue with people, today was enough irritation, he was afraid that he would delay more time at the police station.

"Trin Matti Instant Coffee, this is Italy, it's great Italy, when do Italians drink instant coffee too!

Qunimati Berlusconi, Quniemattimonti, Qunymatita, you are the ones who ruined Italy......"

The fat man cursed at everything he thought was responsible for his bad life and walked to the restaurant. Ten minutes later, when Todd finished his last bite of tripe buns, the fat man returned to his car with a cup of coffee.

Judging from the packaging, that glass is the same as the one on Todd's car, an authentic freshly ground cappuccino. Two men who were not happy with their lives raised the same coffee in their hands through the window to signal, as if they had found the same kind.

In fact, this cup of coffee is more expensive than the price of tripe buns, but Todd still didn't choose instant coffee, even though the ad says that the taste is almost the same.

With a weak Italian economy, rising unemployment, years of unchanged social welfare, and a messy immigration policy, Italy has finally become a wave after the boom of the eighties and nineties, and then it has become shallower and shallower in small puddles, and finally it has become a stagnant pool.

Just like the once glorious Little World Cup compared to today's Serie A.

People who have climbed the mountain are proud, and they have a hard time accepting inferior treatment, which is probably why Todd and many Italians are rejecting instant coffee.

Sociologists call this kind of behavior "glorious perseverance," even though they themselves don't know what it means.

After eating and drinking enough in the Florence service area, it took Todd three hours to finally reach the city of Parma, and it was already dusk.

Todd parked the Fiat Panda in a paid parking space in front of an old-fashioned apartment, which is inexpensive in small cities, so that his clients could see his car parked there at home, and it would let them know that he was a well-behaved guy and should mix well, because who can park properly, right?

Todd carefully checked his tie and suit for wrinkles, looked in the rearview mirror to see if his hair was neat, and practiced his smile when he felt that everything was ready.

Well, this time it's really ready, Todd pulls out the gift from the back seat and walks into an old-fashioned apartment.

The doorbell remembered that Maria, who was busy at the dining table, set the knife away, and then looked tenderly at her daughter who was sitting in the chair.

"I'm going to open the door for the guests, you are not allowed to steal the little gluttonous cat, you know? This is to be enjoyed with the guests. ”

Six-year-old Sara nodded obediently, she didn't know how important today's guest was to the family, but she knew that if she didn't behave, she would definitely not be able to get the chocolate, so she swallowed her saliva and nodded that she would not steal it.

Mary straightened her clothes and brushed her hair before opening the door with a smile and thanking God that he had finally arrived.

"Hi Maria, thank God you're still so beautiful."

"Hi Todd, thank you for coming to Parma in person, please come in, I have prepared Parma ham for you, Mashki said you like this the most."

The two entered the house after a face-to-face salute at the door, and then Todd delivered the door-to-door gift he had prepared.

"This is the wine I brought back from Bordeaux three weeks ago, the stock of a player's private wine cellar, which is not available on the market."

Maria happily accepted the gift and gave her a kiss again to express her gratitude.

"What about Mashki, what is he doing?"

Todd's words made Maria's happy face instantly sad, it was her husband's lowest time, but she couldn't help him except company.

"He's been on the phone in the room, and I'm not sure what they're talking about, and it's been almost half an hour."

The door of the room opened, and an ordinary-looking man with a scruffy beard walked out, holding a mobile phone in one hand and a two- or three-year-old child in the other.

Maria took the child, Mashki waved hello to Todd, and then chatted with the other end of the phone, and after three minutes he hung up, his face full of exhaustion.

The atmosphere at the table was nice, Parma ham with Bordeaux wine was a perfect match, little Sara attacked the steak on the plate and ate it with relish, and the adults talked about the latest news.

Todd was here to work, so he was the first to break the semblance of ease.

"Is Parma really powerless?"

Mashki and Maria were stunned at the same time, Mashki put down his knife, then wiped his mouth with a napkin, and he looked up at the chandelier, as if he had fallen into a good memory of the old days.

Manetti's lawyer said he couldn't do anything at an internal meeting of the club, and the court would soon convict him of money laundering, which, combined with a debt of almost 300 million euros, made it impossible for anyone to take over Parma.

Last week, a Middle Eastern consortium sent someone to visit secretly, but they were worried about the Italian economy and the strength of Serie A as a whole, and finally preferred the Premier League teams.

So Parma has actually gone bankrupt, and Serie A has begun to discuss countermeasures, but the outside world is still waiting for the official announcement. ”

Born in 1981, his father took him to the Tardini Stadium to watch his first Serie A match when he was 4 years old.

Throughout Mashki's childhood and adolescence, Parma was said to be a strong team in Europe, and Parma, one of the seven sisters of Serie A, dared to attack even if they met the invincible Real Madrid in the Champions League.

A Coppa Italia, a Super Cup Italia, a League Cup, a UEFA Super Cup, a Cup Winners' Cup, Parma shined in Serie A at its most glorious.

As a native of Parma, the Tardini stadium and the yellow and blue jersey became the spiritual beliefs of Mashki, almost as high as Jesus.

Then he became Parma's echelon player, then the second team, then the first team. Although he was a substitute in all coaches' tactical system and often did not make the squad, he had a good temper, obeyed the tactical arrangement, had a low salary, and was a native of Parma, so he always escaped the purge and the change of blood.

But not now, once the bankruptcy liquidation is declared, the Italian Football Association will force Parma to be kicked out of the professional league, and they can only play in the amateur league, or directly announce the dissolution of the club, and there will be no Parma again.

The great slogan of one man and one city is only for superstars like Maldini and Totti, Mashki never felt like a star, he only considered himself a player, but he also wanted to stay at Parma and never leave, even if Parma did leave the professional league he would not want to go.

However, in the cruel reality, the last wish of an old soldier is so difficult to achieve.

Mashki has more than a year left on his contract, but as soon as Parma declares bankruptcy and liquidation, his contract will be nullified and the compensation given by the club will be extremely limited.

To make matters worse, Parma have been in arrears for half a year, and if no one really takes over and declares bankruptcy liquidation, it is questionable whether he will be able to get his remaining salary and compensation.

Todd is Mashki's agent, so he also knows the difficulties involved, but he is just a small agent, although the company behind him is very bullish, but the company's resources will only be tilted to those giant agents, and the senior management of small companies like him Todd and Mashki are estimated to have no impression at all, and it is almost impossible to put pressure on the Italian Football Federation for them.

"What does the union say?"

The union became Todd's last hope, and an hour ago it was also Marshki's.

"The union said that if Parma went into liquidation, our hopes would be very slim. In order of compensation, the city government came first, then the big creditors, then the players and other creditors, but Parma FC was already insolvent. ”

At this point, Mashki closed his eyes in pain, tears in the corners of his eyes. The Parma whom he had believed in for half his life, who had loved him for half his life, who had dedicated all his childhood, adolescence and youth, had abandoned him like this!

His wife, Mary, got up and embraced her husband and comforted him by pressing his head into her towering chest.

"I'm sorry Mashki, I asked the Italian Football Federation before I came, and they said they couldn't do anything, and your main * Simanetti is involved in money laundering, so his personal assets will be frozen indefinitely, even after the verdict is pronounced, it is estimated that it will not be credited to the assets of Parma Club, he is an old fox, and he has already been cut."

Todd's words were like the last straw that broke the camel's back, and Mashki was already in despair.

It's over, Parma is completely finished, and so is Hemashki.