Chapter 209: Calciopoli scandal breaks out, shocking the football world Inter Milan's championship has had a great impact on Serie A football. Firstly, Inter Milan has not won the league title for a long time. The Serie A championship has been held by Juventus and AC Milan in recent years. Only in the two seasons at the turn of the century, the championship trophy was briefly won by Lazio and Roma. It is no exaggeration to say that Serie A is a duet between Juventus and AC Milan. As for Inter Milan, which is also one of the three giants, it can only be regarded as a spoiler at best in recent years. Every season, it clamors to challenge the championship, but always fails during the season for one reason or another. But this time, Inter Milan did not let them down and really won the championship, which shocked the entire Italian football world. Many senior celebrities in the circle have predicted that Serie A is about to change! "Juventus' relegation is a foregone conclusion, and AC Milan will also be implicated. Even if they are not relegated, they will definitely be penalized. Next season, one of the three giants will disappear and one will move forward with a heavy burden. Inter Milan will most likely still be the champion." "I heard that Moratti will continue to recruit players this summer. Inter Milan's lineup will definitely become stronger next season. Who else in Serie A can compete with Inter Milan?" The Italian football world is worried that Serie A will become like the Bundesliga, with Inter Milan dominating the sport from now on. Think about how powerful and prosperous Serie A was when it was still a mini World Cup. All teams have their own trump cards, there is no single dominant team in the league and the competition for the championship is extremely fierce.
The scene of Serie A at that time, full of vitality and competition, is still vivid in our minds. Unexpectedly, in just twenty years, it has fallen to such a state. Although they were very reluctant, they had to admit that Serie A was really in decline! "Whether Serie A will decline or not depends on the performance of Serie A teams in the Champions League next season. If Inter Milan and other teams representing Serie A cannot continue to dominate the Champions League and revive Serie A, then Serie A will really decline!" …… It is no wonder that the knowledgeable people in Serie A are so worried, because the impact of the Calciopoli scandal has exceeded everyone's expectations. It was originally thought that the only team involved in the Calciopoli scandal was Juventus Serie A, but as the investigation by the procuratorate deepened, everyone soon discovered that the teams involved were far more than just Juventus, including AC Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio and other Serie A giants. Everyone in the entire Serie A is in danger, fearing that they will be targeted by the procuratorate and severely punished. In addition to the fact that every Serie A team is in danger, the phone-gate scandal itself is a huge scandal involving match-fixing and refereeing abuses. This incident not only affected the fertility of Juventus club, but also the image of the entire Serie A. Affected by this, sponsors and investors' confidence and willingness to invest in Serie A have declined significantly, and even fans around the world have a worse impression of Serie A. The impact of this is even more fatal. The reduction in sponsors and the decline in investment will directly affect the finances of Serie A teams next season, making them unable to recruit players in the transfer market and enhance their strength. At a time when the five major leagues are engaged in an arms race, if Serie A stops, teams from other leagues will not stay and wait for them, and will surely take this opportunity to leave them behind. The loss of fans is even more fatal, as it will further weaken the broadcasting value and commercial value of Serie A. And most of these fans will flow into other leagues, making the value of this aspect of other leagues even higher. In modern football, you can’t do without money. Without money, not only will it be impossible to bring in high-level players with a big budget, but it will not even be possible to offer attractive salaries to these outstanding players in the team. Not only will the team not be able to buy players, but the current players will also leave. Why have the top clubs in the five major leagues been able to sit firmly on the throne of the top clubs? Isn’t the main reason because they have a large audience base, a lot of commercial sponsorship and good financial situation? As long as their budgets are compressed to the same level as ordinary teams, it will only take a few years for even the top clubs to decline or even be relegated. Considering this aspect, no one probably knows how far-reaching and long-lasting the impact of the Calciopoli scandal was on Serie A.
Just as the outside world was discussing the Calciopoli incident, on the second day after the end of the Serie A season, after several months of investigation and evidence collection, the Naples court summoned 41 people involved in the case to participate in the investigation at one time. What shocked the fans and onlookers was that senior Italian Football Association officials including Carraro, Mazzini, Bergamo, Paileto; Referees Association chairman Lanese; and senior leaders of Juventus, Fiorentina, Lazio and AC Milan clubs were all among them. This not only makes people wonder: Has the entire Italian football top management been wiped out? After Naples took action, courts and procuratorates in Rome, Turin, Milan, Parma and other places also took action one after another, summoning hundreds of people for investigation. There are dozens of referees involved in the summons, and almost every referee who has officiated in Serie A is involved. Although there is no direct evidence to show that everyone is involved in the case, the wide range of involvement has exceeded the expectations of the outside world. In addition to the referees, agents, players, reporters, and senior government officials are all on the list. For a time, the whole of Europe was alarmed. Before the World Cup in Germany was about to start, Serie A's Calciopoli scandal firmly dominated the front pages of major media outlets around the world. Although Serie A fans do not want to be in the spotlight, they have no say in the matter. When the news of the phone gate incident spread back to China, the Chinese public was very upset: "I thought the five major leagues were so brilliant, but I didn't expect them to be the same as our domestic leagues. They are all match-fixing, and no one is nobler than anyone else!" "Alas, I thought the top five leagues were a pure land in football, but now I realize that I was too young and naive." In this era, influenced by magazines such as YiX and DuX, Chinese people generally believe that the moon in foreign countries is rounder and brighter. The outbreak of the Calciopoli scandal was tantamount to a disenchantment for the majority of football fans. "As long as interests are involved, there must be a dark side. Serie A is like this. Are the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 clean?" "Fortunately, Inter Milan was not involved. If Inter Milan was relegated like Juventus, then we wouldn't be able to see Lin Feng playing in Serie A next season!" "Haha, considering the current precarious situation of Serie A, I'm afraid that the earthquake in the football world this summer will not be small. By then, there will definitely be a large number of players leaving Serie A and joining other leagues. I think it's still unclear whether Lin Feng will still be in Inter Milan next season!" "That makes sense. Considering the league environment of Serie A, I think it would be better for Lin Feng to leave as soon as possible. If he continues to stay in this big dye vat, he will be corrupted sooner or later!" The reason why we encouraged young players to study abroad was to let them see the world, experience high-level football, broaden their horizons and keep up with the world's most advanced levels. The second is to keep them away from the dark dye vat of domestic football. Now you tell me that all crows are black, then hasn’t this foreign land been kept in vain? "There will be a lot of changes in Serie A next season. If Inter can maintain the current lineup, even without reinforcements, they will still be very competitive in the league next season and will most likely defend the title. But if they move to other leagues, it may not be so stable. After all, switching from one team to another takes a long time to adapt. If Lin Feng cannot adapt to the new team's tactical system and league environment, then such a transfer will only harm him!" In recent years, there have been many examples in the football world where players' performances have plummeted after transfers due to poor adaptation to the local environment. Especially for young players, their skills and awareness have not yet been finalized, and it is very risky to change teams rashly. If they cannot adapt, they may miss the last opportunity for growth. "Yes, if Lin Feng wants to leave, it is actually difficult to determine his next club. He can probably only go to La Liga and the Premier League. He can't go to the Bundesliga and Ligue 1, right? It would be better for him to stay in Serie A. At least he is the core of the team now. He may not get such treatment if he goes to a new team!" The fans have different opinions on Lin Feng's transfer. Some people strongly support him to leave Serie A, while others advise him to stay calm and not make rash decisions. What they didn’t know was that at this time, thousands of miles away in Germany, Lin Feng was also discussing this matter with his eldest brother. "There are quite a few teams that have contacted me privately. I have selected some of them that you may be interested in and listed them here. Take a look!"
Lin Feng nodded, took the list and glanced at it, and saw some familiar teams in it. As expected, Real Madrid was on the La Liga side, but Barcelona was also on the list, which surprised him a little. It seems that the last time Barcelona visited Milan, their head coach Rijkaard seemed to have mentioned it and expressed interest in himself. At that time, Lin Feng, like everyone else, didn't take it too seriously, thinking it was a response to Inter Milan's attempt to poach Messi. I never thought that the other party was serious about it. Judging from their attitude, they seem to be really going to submit a formal offer to Inter Milan this summer. But Lin Feng, at least so far, is not very interested in going to Barcelona. He is neither a Catalan nor a player from the La Masia youth training camp. If he goes to Barcelona, he will definitely be ostracized by the local gang. Barcelona was able to kick out a number of big-name stars such as Eto'o and Ibrahimovic to make way for Messi, so naturally they can do the same to themselves. Lin Feng doesn't want to try to please someone who doesn't like him, because it's totally unnecessary. He is not unwanted and he has no dream of having a son, so why should he go to Barcelona? As for Real Madrid, in fact, after a conversation with Real Madrid president Florentino during the winter break, Lin Feng was open to going to Real Madrid. But Real Madrid will definitely undergo a major purge this summer, and the team is undergoing drastic changes. Under such circumstances, there is no hope for Real Madrid's performance in recent years. If I go there at this time, I will definitely be doing something that will not be appreciated. If Real Madrid really gets nothing in the next few years, then I will be the scapegoat. This made Lin Feng full of worries, and he lost a lot of interest in joining Real Madrid. So after Inter Milan won the championship, Lin Feng really seriously considered renewing his contract with the team. But after seeing the names of the few teams left on the list, Lin Feng lost his composure. "Are you sure you're not mistaken? The BIG4 in the Premier League all want to sign me?" It's no wonder that Lin Feng was surprised. It was really a bit outrageous to see the names of Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea, four top Premier League clubs, on the list at the same time. Arsenal wanted to sign him. Lin Feng had already noticed this after the last match with Arsenal. The look in Wenger's eyes was just about to hand him the olive branch of recruitment. If the timing had not been wrong and Wenger was short of money, he would probably have taken action already. Influenced by his memories from his previous life, Lin Feng always thought that Wenger's preference for using young players was due to financial constraints and he had no choice but to do so. But now it seems that this is not the case. When Wenger sees a young talent, his eyes seem to light up and he can't wait to kidnap the person on the spot. It is true that Arsenal's financial situation is not good, but it is also true that Wenger likes young players. Arsenal is not in good shape and it is difficult to maintain the current lineup. In addition, Arsenal is short of money, so I probably won't get a very high salary if I go here.
Wenger is so stingy that he only signs one-year contracts to players over 30 years old. He even forced away top stars like Pires and Vieira. Will he offer him a high salary just to recruit him? Lin Feng felt it was impossible! Although his family has some assets and is not short of money, in the football world, annual salary is linked to status. Only the top stars can get the highest annual salary. Going to the Saudi league to make money doesn't count... Therefore, Lin Feng will not give up fighting for the annual salary. When Lin Feng thought of Arsenal’s tight finances, he ruled out the name of Arsenal first. Although Arsenal's squad seems to have great potential, the hidden dangers of poor financial conditions, a thin squad and a large number of young players are still too great. Even if he really went there, it would probably be difficult to help Arsenal change their fate. Even if I really go, Wenger will be more confident when talking about his best lineup, and then he will be even more reluctant to spend money to buy players! After Arsenal was eliminated, Manchester United was eliminated first among the remaining three teams. Although Manchester United is very strong now and is quite competitive in the league. Going to Manchester United is a good choice, but Manchester United already has Cristiano Ronaldo. Lin Feng heard that Ronaldo had a bad impression of him, and this guy was not a generous person. As the saying goes, there is no room for two tigers in one mountain. Going to Manchester United and fighting with Ronaldo every day is enough to make me feel dizzy. As for Chelsea and Liverpool, Lin Feng is quite interested in these two teams. Chelsea's current style of play is more suitable for him, and Mourinho probably saw this and extended an olive branch to him. As for Liverpool, considering that the team has reached the Champions League final twice in three years, Lin Feng is very interested in them. He also wanted to see the style of Benister, the master of tactics! (End of this chapter)