章 203: Chapter 203: Continuous Victories
Chapter 203: Continuous Victories
On February 15, in the 23rd round of the 2014-2015 Serie A season, Udinese hosted Lazio, a team widely regarded by Guidolin as one of the favorites to win the title.
With an upcoming trip to Germany for the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 next week, Guidolin decided to rotate Udinese's lineup. However, both Bruno, who was returning from his first injury of his career, and team captain Di Natale, who was suspended due to accumulated yellow cards, started the match.
Despite fielding a semi-strong lineup, Udinese found the game against Lazio extremely challenging. In the 21st minute, Candreva crossed from the right, and Udinese defender Wague pushed Klose from behind, leading to a penalty. Candreva executed a "Panenka" penalty, scoring against his former team. This was the only goal of the first half.
After the start of the second half, Udinese intensified their attacks. In the 68th minute, Bruno scored, ending his nearly month-long goal drought and equalizing the score for Udinese. In stoppage time, Bruno delivered a precise through ball, and Salah, successfully breaking the offside trap, helped Udinese take the lead with a 2-1 scoreline.
In the end, Udinese secured a 2-1 victory at home against Lazio, marking their 19th win of the season. When the referee blew the final whistle, the entire Udinese Stadium erupted like a volcano.
...
At the post-match press conference, a journalist from La Gazzetta dello Sport asked Guidolin: "Udinese has now achieved its 19th victory of the season. Do you still insist that the team's goal is to qualify for the Champions League?"
"Absolutely! We now have 59 points, and we still need 17 more points to achieve our goal. I don't know when we'll be able to complete this arduous task!" replied Guidolin.
"But you just defeated Lazio, a team you previously labeled as a title contender!" another journalist pressed.
Guidolin sincerely responded, "Lazio is just one of the many contenders, and they are ranked lower. While defeating them was surprising, our goal at Udinese remains unchanged!"
"But after winning this match, you're now 8 points ahead of Juventus!" another journalist exclaimed.
Yes, after this round, Udinese had 59 points, while Juventus, shockingly held to a draw by Cesena, who are second-to-last on the table, remained at 51 points. Roma was also held to a draw by Parma, who are dead last, and Napoli lost 3-1 away to Palermo. Udinese's lead over Juventus extended to 8 points, while the gaps to Roma and Napoli grew to 15 and 17 points, respectively.
Guidolin shook his head, saying, "No, no, no... Our goal this season is just to secure a Champions League spot, nothing more."
A journalist, growing anxious, spoke up: "You are the best-performing team in Europe this season! Many of my colleagues have begun to view Udinese as serious contenders for the Serie A title this year, yet you continue to downplay expectations. We want to confirm, do you truly believe that Udinese's goal this year is not to win the title, but just to qualify for the Champions League?"
Guidolin nodded, "Yes."
...
In midweek, Udinese traveled north to Germany to face Schalke 04 at the Veltins-Arena.
At this point, Schalke 04 had not yet fallen from grace; they were a strong Bundesliga team, consistently finishing in the top four for several years. In the Champions League, Schalke's performance was impressive, as this marked their third consecutive year reaching the knockout stages.
When it comes to Champions League experience, Schalke far surpassed Udinese, who were making their first appearance in the knockout stage in history.
Thus, at the Veltins-Arena, despite fielding their strongest lineup, Udinese played cautiously. Likewise, facing the best-performing team in Europe this season, Schalke 04 was equally careful.
As the match began, the audience noticed that both teams played very conservatively, making the game rather dull. Udinese's first shot on goal came in the 18th minute, but Salah's long-range effort missed the target.
Shortly after, Huntelaar broke through to the edge of the box and fired a powerful shot, but it was saved by Karnezis.
After the first 20 minutes of probing, Udinese gradually adapted to the rhythm of the Champions League knockout stage and began to control the match.
With Udinese in control, their first goal soon followed. In the 26th minute, Udinese executed a brilliant combination in the attacking third, culminating in a cross from Cancelo on the right. An unmarked Bruno headed the ball into the net from 8 yards out.
This was Bruno's first goal in the Champions League knockout stage and his 13th goal of the season in the competition, with 10 goals in the main tournament.
...
Falling behind, Schalke 04 started to ramp up their attacks, but they couldn't break down Udinese's defense by halftime.
Udinese went into the break with a 1-0 lead away from home.
In the second half, the game became a stalemate, with Udinese focusing more on defense while Schalke 04, trailing at home, had no choice but to attack. However, they couldn't find a way through Udinese's solid defense, despite their coach's numerous tactical changes.
As the match progressed, Schalke 04's players grew increasingly anxious. The cheers of the 60,000 home fans became a heavy burden on their minds.
With the match approaching the 80th minute and still unable to equalize, Schalke 04 decided to push everyone forward in a desperate bid.
However, this didn't lead to a goal for Schalke 04; instead, it allowed Udinese to launch a quick counterattack.
In the 79th minute, Bruno broke forward rapidly, cutting inside before passing to Guilherme, who shot from the edge of the box into the top right corner.
2-0, Udinese had almost secured a victory away from home!
Guidolin then brought on Badu and Bubonjic to reinforce the defense.
When the referee blew the final whistle, Udinese maintained their 2-0 lead.
Winning 2-0 away from home meant that Udinese had almost secured their place in the Champions League quarter-finals.
...
Back in Serie A, Udinese continued their winning streak in the 24th round, facing Parma away.
This match between the league's top and bottom teams was seen by the media as a foregone conclusion. However, just ten minutes into the game, Udinese's defense made a fatal mistake, allowing Varela to score from long range and put Udinese in a difficult position.
After conceding, Udinese became a bit unsettled, but Bruno, Kanté, and others quickly helped the team regain composure and control the game.
In the 36th minute, Bruno and Salah combined for a one-two, with Salah assisting Di Natale, who scored to equalize.
Seven minutes later, Bruno forced his way through on the right and crossed for Salah, who headed in from close range to take the lead.
After the break, Salah returned the favor by heading the ball down for Bruno, who made a brilliant run into the box and smashed it home, sealing the victory for Udinese.
In the end, Udinese won 3-1 away at Parma.
Since Juventus also won against Atalanta in this round, Udinese remained 8 points ahead of them.
On March 1st, in the 25th round of Serie A, Udinese continued their away journey, challenging Cesena, who were second-to-last on the table.
In this match, Udinese's players were generally not in good form. Deep in the relegation zone, Cesena set up a solid defensive wall, making it difficult for Udinese to find effective attacking options. Bruno often found himself isolated up front.
Cesena gradually grew into the game and scored early in the second half, putting Udinese in a tough spot once again.
Struggling in back-to-back matches against lower-ranked teams somewhat validated Guidolin's earlier comments.
It wasn't until the 81st minute that Udinese equalized, with right-back Cancelo scoring.
By the final stages of the match, Bruno was visibly exhausted but still pushed through.
When the fourth official signaled three minutes of added time, everyone in the stadium, including TV viewers and commentators, assumed Udinese would be held to a draw by Cesena.
But in a critical moment, Bruno received the ball on the right from Cancelo and passed it back to Salah. The Egyptian winger sent a cross into the box, perfectly finding Tallo. The French striker shielded the ball from Cesena's center-back and gently laid it off.
Bruno, who had been on the edge of the box, suddenly made a diagonal run into the area, received Tallo's pass, accelerated, and cut past a Cesena midfielder near the penalty spot before unleashing a powerful left-footed shot.
"Bruno dribbles past two defenders… and shoots!"
"GOOOAAALLLL!!!!"
"Bruno! In a crucial moment! Bruno steps up again and saves Udinese!"
"2-1!"
After scoring, Bruno burst out of the field in excitement.
The 3,000 Udinese fans who had traveled to the match all leaped from their seats, shouting his name in unison.
"Bruno! Bruno!! Bruno!!!"
Udinese's players also rushed to the sidelines to embrace Bruno.
This sudden goal represented a valuable three points and another step in Udinese's winning streak.
In the live broadcast close-up, Bruno laughed heartily, accepting the congratulations from the fans in the stands and his teammates around him.
(End of Chapter)
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