Porata and his son appeared in the south stands at the Malasi Stadium.

To watch the game, they closed the Focacha store again.

For them, closing the store on the game day has become a fixed procedure.

They did this every weekend last season.

And this time there are more mid-weeks because there is a Champions League match day.

Porata stood in the stands, looking around at the full house, feeling a little sighing.

The last time he came to watch Sampdoria's Champions League game, his son was only five years old, and he also brought him to the Marasi Stadium.

At that time, Sampdoria had an attacking lineup composed by Mancini and Viali, with Brazilian star Cerrezo and Italian local star Pari in the midfield, and fast horse Lombardo and Ivan Bonetti on the wing. Italian national goalkeeper Paliuca and famous central defender Viljoward and Catanic formed a defensive iron triangle.

The overall strength of that Sampdoria is really much higher than the current Sampdoria.

Today, in Sampdoria, perhaps only Gao Zheng can occupy a place in the main lineup of Sampdoria, and no one else can do it.

So Sampdoria finally reached the final and was not at a disadvantage against La Liga giants Barcelona.

Twenty-one years have passed, the sailors are old, and the scenery is no longer there.

"Dad, what are you thinking?" the son asked when he noticed his father's strangeness.

"I thought of the Sampdoria from twenty-one years ago."

The son was stunned for a moment and understood what his father meant: "Don't think about it. It's been twenty-one years, and we're very happy that we can still score in the Champions League, aren't we?"

Porata glanced at his stupid son, smiling honestly, and was really stupid...

But for the first time he agreed with his son.

As time goes by, Sampdoria's glory is like the glory of the Serie A, and it will never return. After so many years, it is already amazing that Sampdoria can still reach the Champions League again.

He regained his spirits and followed the other Sampdoria fans in the stands to sing and cheer for the team.

※※※

CCTV broadcast the Champions League group stage live, and the live broadcast signal started when the players warmed up on the Malasi Stadium. However, the TV audience could not see it, and this time period was full of advertisements from sponsors.

By the time the audience can see the live broadcast signal, it is already the scene where the players are waiting to appear in the channel.

They heard He Ping's excited voice: "Spectators, welcome to the Malasi Stadium! This is the first game of the H group in the 2013-2014 Champions League group stage, with Sampdoria facing the Celtics!"

He Ping commented on La Liga games at CCTV and never got involved in live broadcasts of Serie A games, so he missed the opportunity to comment on Gao Zheng's games. Only in the Champions League can he have such an opportunity, so he was naturally very excited.

"This game is the first Champions League game in the career of our Chinese player Gao Zheng!"

Coach Zhang Lu smiled beside him: "Yes, it's the first main game. In fact, Gao Zheng has played in the Champions League, and it's the first two qualifying matches and has performed very well."

"Well, if it weren't for Gao Zheng, Sampdoria might not have entered the main competition at all. So the biggest highlight of this game is actually what Gao Zheng can perform."

The Chinese fans in front of the TV were all ready to go. Although it was already past two in the morning, many bars were brightly lit and open all night to get everyone together to cheer for Gao Zheng.

"... The Celtics have never won before when they were away from Italy - three draws and seven losses. Of course, this has nothing to do with Sampdoria, because the two teams have never played in the Champions League in history... The Celtics have lost twenty-two away games in the last twenty-four Champions League, and the only victory is the defeat of Spartacus Moscow last season. Their winger Folist was absent due to injury in this game, and midfielder Ridley was also not on the roster because of injury in the league last weekend..."

He Ping did his homework about this Champions League match. When talking about the recent situation between the two sides, he told them in a casual manner.

"Sampdoria is in a complete lineup and has no injuries. In addition, forward Berardi, who has just experienced three bans in the league, also appeared in the starting list of this game. Gao Zheng, Zaza and Berardi, who have been building, have appeared in this game. I hope they can surprise everyone..."

※※※

Although everyone is looking forward to this game, it does not mean that this game will definitely be exciting.

In fact, although both sides had offensive and defensive, neither Sampdoria nor Celtics were able to break through the opponent's goal, and the scene was not exciting.

The Celtics did make very strict defenses against Gao Zheng, and almost kept pace with each other.

But despite this, Sampdoria's only offense that threatened the Celtic goal in the first half was created by Gao Zheng.

It was in the 32nd minute, Gao Zheng's volley in front of the goal was slightly rubbed by Celtic goalkeeper Foster, and the football went out of the baseline.

If Foster didn't make a swing, the football would probably fly to the goal.

This was the only moment in the first half that excited Sampdoria fans.

The Celtics also had some offensive opportunities, but they were not sure about it.

So at the end of the first half, the score was still 0:0.

He Ping said: "The first half is a little dull, which is very hard for Chinese fans who stay up late to watch the game. You can wash your face with cold water during the halftime break, and there are still 45 minutes left..."

"It can be seen that Sampdoria's overall game is actually a bit tight," said Coach Zhang Lu. "Although it is their home court, it is not very active. Some players' movements are obviously stiff. Perhaps it is because of the home court that Sampdoria's players are a little unable to let go when they play..."

"After all, it is a team that basically has no experience in the Champions League. It is normal to have such a performance in the first Champions League game. However, it may be difficult for this Sampdoria to qualify from this group..." He Ping sighed.

He still feels that Gao Zheng shouldn't stay in Sampdoria this summer, and it's meaningless to stay for an extra season.

I finally played in the Champions League, but the result was that I went home after the group stage. There was no breakthrough in team honors, and it was just a waste of a year to stay.

However, he would not say such words, and he might be criticized by many fans if he said them. As a commentator, he has experienced that feeling many times.

※※※

Of course, everyone was not satisfied with this first half, but different from what everyone imagined. Di Francisco, who returned to the locker room, did not criticize his players, and the Sampdoria players were not very frustrated.

Close the locker room door, Di Francesco asked everyone: "How is it? Now I feel the atmosphere of the Champions League. How do you feel? Are our opponents the kind of fearful behemoth? Are they almost invincible? Are their strength much stronger than us? Are the Champions League games 30% faster than the pace of the Serie A as some people say?"

Everyone in the locker room burst into laughter.

"Not at all, right? None at all!" Di Francesco waved his hand hard. "So what's scary? The outside world said the Champions League so terrible and terrifying. It seems that when we step in, we are just naked lambs waiting to be slaughtered. What's the result? The Celtics, the Scottish Super League champion, and the Scottish super giants tied with us in the first half. We admit that our opponents are strong, so we are not weak either, right?"
Chapter completed!