In fact, the relationship between the clubs Benevento and San Remo was not bad initially. After all, Benevento bought Vedian from San Remo this summer and then sold the young Fernandez to San Remo.
The latter is currently the starting right winger for San Remo, and his stats aren’t bad.
Many connections between clubs are established through several enjoyable transactions like this.
Of course, many club relationships are also established through intermediaries or people related to both sides, such as the inexplicable closeness between San Remo and Milan because of Sotu.
These scenes are common in the football world.
The cooperation between friendly clubs is often envied, coveted, and begrudged by many other clubs.
Many stars can’t join the clubs they most want to sometimes because of poor relationships between their former and desired clubs.
But this time, it’s not the will of the two clubs.
Rather, it’s the will behind them.
San Remo sides with Martivini, while the capital behind Benevento supports another ambitious football association official preparing to replace Martivini.
Such matches are sometimes more dangerous and fierce than derbies.
Calling this a political derby wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
...
December 5th, third round of the Italian Cup.
The Sanremo City Stadium was packed.
As a lower-tier team, they’ve enjoyed the home advantage in almost every cup match... if there will be more matches to come.
When Benevento’s players warmed up on the field, the fans erupted in applause.
The Benevento players were somewhat surprised as they all looked at their team’s number sixteen.
Vedian!
Everyone knew Vedian came from San Remo, but they didn’t expect him to be so well-received by his former team.
After all, many players don’t leave their mother club very happily.
Burning jerseys is a routine action.
Such heartfelt teams are rare now.
Moreover, it’s worth noting that both sides actually held a serious attitude towards this match, as they received orders to "win this match no matter what."
It doesn’t count as shady dealings since, if both sides aim to win in every match, no fixed matches would occur.
The fear is when some teams want to lose.
Vedian raised his hand to signal, responding to the cheers from the San Remo fans and bending to express his gratitude.
"Why don’t you go back to the lower leagues if you love San Remo so much?" a voice was heard.
It was Benevento’s number seven player.
7, 9, 10—these three numbers are core numbers in modern football, with most superstar players having worn jerseys with these numbers.
"Are you scared, right?" Vedian wasn’t angered by the provocation; this was his teammate and his main competitor.
In previous competitions, Vedian was at a disadvantage, chiefly competing for a position with another striker, but since the opponent was a target man with irreplaceable tactical roles, Vedian often lost out.
But the number seven player’s style was similar to a second striker and complemented the target man quite well.
Of course, with Vedian’s extreme speed, he also matched well with the target man.
So over time, they could see their true competitor.
Not the target man, but each other.
But the number seven player is one of Benevento’s star players, genuinely stronger, and Vedian may not be able to replace him this season.
Likewise, the number seven player is quite apprehensive or even jealous of Vedian. Vedian is younger, faster, and has an imaginably promising future, whereas the number seven is already at the end of his peak.
These seemingly complex but fundamentally simple competition relationships exist in many teams.
San Remo appears harmonious because they offer office opportunities to discarded players for a better future. Benevento, as a mature team, doesn’t offer many management positions to players.
Not performing means leaving; that’s the standard operating model of a regular team.
San Remo will inevitably reach this stage, but before that, they can enjoy some time with pure football.
"I won’t fear any challenge, while you, today, will only sit on the bench," the number seven player said to Vedian.
Vedian gave up the number eleven jersey offered by the team and chose the unassuming number sixteen, which was known as a blatant move.
1+6=7!
Just then, Lu came along.
He heard everything.
His initial intention was to greet Vedian briefly, but it didn’t seem like the right time now.
"Um... Vedian, welcome home," Lu hugged Vedian.
"I’ve missed you, brother." Vedian hugged Lu in return.
The crowd’s cheers intensified.
The camera zoomed in on the two embracing, illustrating a deep brotherhood—a subtle yet genuinely touching aspect in football.
"This isn’t home for Benevento players; we’re merely here to conquer it," the number seven player disapproved of Vedian and Lu stealing the spotlight.
Especially when the broadcast director from San Remo had just cut to Benevento’s head coach, the shot expressed: "Why bench Vedian instead of starting him? You’ve ruined a great show, do you know?"
This deeply irritated the number seven player’s sense of territory.
The lesser one has, the more one values it.
Core players at the end of their peak find their competitors’ disrespect most intolerable.