Chapter 915
Words:1488Update:22/10/11 16:32:35
January 18, 2008.
The Serie A giant Inter Milan posted an announcement on their official website, announcing that the team had acquired the captain of the team, the Russian national footballer, Andrey Arshavin, from St. Petersburg, the stadium of the Russian Premier League for a price of 9 million euros. The two sides signed a four-year contract, and Inter Milan had the priority to renew the contract in the fifth year.
The official website also released a photo of Arshavin holding up the Inter Milan scarf after he passed the physical examination.
There was also a short video on the official website, in which the Russian player said in broken Italian, "I love Inter Milan!"
This was obviously a move that was very pleasing to the fans.
"This Russian national footballer is highly valued by Coach Li Ang. This is the player that Coach Li Ang specifically wants. In Russia, Andrei Arshavin's nickname is' The Tsar. 'From this nickname, you can see his name and strength in Russia. Welcome,' The Tsar '!" – Inter Milan's official website sent a welcome message.
*****
Inter Milan's transfer of Arshavin had been relatively secretive. Even in Russia, when Arshavin announced his departure, the Russian media did not link Arshavin with the Serie A giants Inter Milan, because there had never been any news of Inter Milan being interested in Arshavin.
On the contrary, the media suspected that the Premier League giants Arsenal were the ones that were linked to Arshavin's future. Previously, it was reported that Arsenal's French coach, Arsène Wenger, was interested in Arshavin. The Russian media was very excited about this. If Arshavin could join Arsenal, he would be the only Russian national footballer currently playing for a European powerhouse.
Now, it was suddenly revealed that the Serie A giants Inter Milan were signing Arshavin. The Russian media was boiling, and they praised the transfer and sent their blessings to Arshavin.
The news that spread was that Coach Li Ang specifically wanted Arshavin, which also made the Russian media and fans very excited.
The St. Petersburg Red Star bluntly said that the favor of the world-famous coach Li Ang was an acknowledgment of Arshavin and Russian football!
Many Chinese reporters who followed the news of Inter Milan, as well as some Chinese people in Russia, were very emotional when they saw the words of the Russian media. Then they felt honored and proud.
With Li Ang, the overall image and status of China's football seemed to have changed.
*****
While the Russian side was cheering, the Italian media's reaction was different.
Corriere dello Sport and Turin dello Sport were questioning Inter Milan's transfer deal. They believed that Inter Milan spent nine million euros to bring in such an "overage youth", which was a risky move.
"Andrei Arshavin is already 26 years old and has never played for a team outside of the Russian league. The performance of Russian players abroad has never been very good. It is said that this player is specifically wanted by Li Ang. It is difficult to understand what this Russian has that attracts Li Ang's attention. We will wait and see about the Russian's prospects in Inter Milan …" – Corriere dello Sport.
If Corriere dello Sport was just questioning, the Turin media was a bit too much.
Andrei Arshavin?
Who is he?!
Turin dello Sport even used such words.
Did this media really not know who Arshavin was? Of course not!
Andrei Arshavin might not be very famous in the mainstream European leagues, but he was still a Russian national footballer. How could Turin dello Sport not know him?
This media just used such a way to satirize and question Li Ang's transfer. Considering the grudge between Li Ang and Turin, Arshavin was being doubted, which was equivalent to being "implicated" by Li Ang.
*****
Turin dello Sport was Li Ang's number one enemy in the Italian media. Slandering Li Ang was their daily job, although it was difficult for them to find an opportunity and reason to criticize Li Ang.
Li Ang would only argue with Turin dello Sport when he was really bored. He usually did not like to deal with this media.
However, now that Turin dello Sport was directly attacking his player, Li Ang could not tolerate it.
"Turin have never heard of Arshavin's name? Tsk tsk, I can only say that they have closed their country after losing the game and don't care about the world anymore? "Li Ang was extremely sarcastic on his personal website.
"Someone once asked me what my hobbies were. I told him that I had a wide range of hobbies. He then asked me to name a favorite. I thought for a while. My favorite must be 'eating, sleeping, and beating up Juventus'!"
Li Ang's fighting power was amazing when he turned on his "protective" mode. He did not mention Arshavin too much, let alone how good Arshavin's performance would be. This would only bring more attention and pressure to the player himself. Li Ang directly attacked Juventus, which made the Bianconeri very happy.
Juventus was angry.
Turin dello Sport was the one who started this. What did it have to do with us?! They felt that they had suffered an undeserved calamity.
Li Ang shrugged. Turin dello Sport was the mouthpiece of Juventus. Who asked you to have a good relationship with them?
Inter Milan fans were very happy with Li Ang's attack on Juventus. For Inter Milan people, fighting with Juventus was politically correct. There was nothing wrong with it.
*****
After Arshavin officially signed with the team, he made an appearance at the Pininati base.
Inter Milan Team captain Javier Zanetti welcomed the Russian international on behalf of the team.
At the end of the day's training session, the Inter Milan players had an initial understanding of their new Russian teammate. Although he did not have a good rapport with his teammates, Arshavin still showed his good individual ability in the limited training. His footwork was good and his speed was good. At the very least, his individual ability was good. During the team's training, Arshavin once suddenly turned inward and easily bypassed Samuels. The Argentinian star player was left in the dust as he chased all the way back. Arshavin beautifully sent a diagonal pass. It was a very good pass through space. It was a pity that Arshavin and Aguero still lacked rapport and did not plug in in time. Although the breakthrough and distribution of the ball were not perfect, it showed that the Russian player had some skills.
Li Ang's coaching staff also had a good evaluation of Arshavin. Pablo Banderas's impression of the Russian players was very average. Now that he saw Arshavin's training, he had to admit that the Russian national footballer, nicknamed the "Tsar," was good. He had to express his admiration for Li Ang's eye for people.
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