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After a few days of vacation in Mallorca, Gao Zheng took a good rest.

But after returning to the team, he naturally faced the pressure from the physical examination and the coach.

Gao Zheng is not bad, and relatively restrained. Alberto Massi's weight has changed a bit, so he was picked up by Di Francesco and asked him to only play as a substitute until his weight reaches the standard.

You must know that Masi has always been the main force of the defense line before, this can be said to be a big blow to him...

As for such a main central defender, Di Francesco said he would put it on the bench as soon as he put it on the bench, which also made other players dare not have any fluke mentality and could only desperately recover their body and state.

Marcy was very depressed. Like Gao Zheng, he had gained weight, but Gao Zheng was fine, and he was cleaned up...

"The head coach wants me to gain weight. We are different, Alberto. You can lose weight honestly." Gao Zheng gloated and said to Marcy, who told him to play so crazy in Mallorca, who he just met for a day The girls are all in bed...it's time!

Although Alberto Massi tried very hard to lose weight, he still couldn't catch up with Sampdoria's away game to Naples on January 6th.

Just finished the Christmas holiday, the whole Sampdoria team was not in good condition, and finally they lost 0:2 to Naples in the away game.

But it's not just their team that is in poor form:

Inter Milan, which ranked fifth in the last round of the league, also lost 0:1 away to Lazio in this round of the league. The ranking slipped to sixth and was overtaken by Verona.

Turin, who was behind Sampdoria in the last round of the league, also lost this round. They lost to Parma 1:3 away, and their points and rankings were stagnant.

So even if Sampdoria also lost this round of the league, their league ranking has not changed, and they are still ranked seventh.

Next, Sampdoria ushered in an opponent in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia. This time it was not a weak or similar opponent. This time Sampdoria met Rome.

If according to the idea at the beginning of the season, Di Francesco will definitely replace all the substitutes and youth team players, and lose the game cleanly in the away game. For the rest of the season, there will be no need to think about the Italian Cup at all.

But Di Francesco now has different ideas.

The league played eighteen rounds,

It's almost halfway through, and Sampdoria currently ranks seventh with 28 points. Juventus topped the list with 49 points, Roma ranked second with 41 points, followed by Naples with 39 minutes.

This is the situation in the Champions League.

With Sampdoria's current points, they are still 11 points behind the qualifying places for the Champions League.

With Sampdoria's performance in the league this season, the more realistic goal should be to maintain its current position, which is considered a passable result, after all, the impact of the Champions League - the last time the team won Qualifying for the Champions League that season, but directly relegated.

If you have to say that Sampdoria was the third runner-up last season, it would be a failure if you don't get the third runner-up this season, and you should wait and see second this season, that is nonsense.

Last season, Sampdoria was able to finish third, and there was a lot of luck. Coupled with the fact that the opponents didn't know about Sampdoria and Gao Zheng at the time, this interview with Sampdoria took advantage of the loophole. And this season, even if Sampdoria does not have a Champions League game, it may be difficult to break out of the strong hands and win the third place again.

Sampdoria's more ambitious goal this season should be to qualify for the Europa League next season, which is relatively pragmatic.

In the league, the fourth and fifth places can qualify for the Europa League. It's not that Sampdoria, currently ranked seventh, will definitely not have a chance to get fourth and fifth at the end of the league and qualify for the Europa League.

But wouldn't it be better if there was an extra insurance policy?

This extra insurance is naturally the Coppa Italia.

As long as Sampdoria can win the Coppa Italia, they will automatically qualify for the Europa League, regardless of their ranking in the league.

For example, last season's Coppa Italia champion belonged to Lazio. They defeated their rival Roma in the Rome city derby, so although they are one place behind Rome in the final ranking of the league, ranking seventh, they are eligible to participate in this season's Europa League. Cup, and currently entered the Europa League knockout stage as the second in the group.

In Di Francesco's view, the Coppa Italia, which could have been given up, has another role, so he is reluctant to let the substitute lineup and youth team players play.

He doesn't know how far the team can go in the Champions League, but the Coppa Italia and the Champions League do not conflict.

Because the Coppa Italia is mainly played in January and February, the degree of overlap with the Champions League knockout round is not very high-Sampdoria's Champions League quarter-finals first round match was on February 19th, seven days before that, The Coppa Italia semi-finals have all been played.

Only one final game left.

If Sampdoria does not reach the final, it will naturally not have any impact on the next Champions League knockout round.

And if Sampdoria reaches the final, even if there is the impact of the Champions League, they will not give up the Coppa Italia anyway. They must go all out in the final final and strive to win the championship.

Even if they can't win the championship, if the opponent is the top five teams in the league, then Sampdoria can also qualify for the Europa League next season in accordance with the postponement rules.

No matter how you think about it, it's not a loss.

There is another possibility-Sampdoria did not reach the final of the Coppa Italia, but finally ranked sixth in the league. If the champions and runners-up of the Coppa Italia are the top five teams, Sampdoria can also win because of the postponement. To qualify for the Europa League next season.

But this is not double insurance.

So for this game against Rome, he already has an idea in his mind.

But before that, he plans to ask the players for their opinions. After all, whether his plan can be realized is also inseparable from the support of the team.

And there is only one person in this team who can give him the greatest support, and that is... Gao Zheng.

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After Gao Zheng practiced free kicks as usual, he planned to leave the training ground, but Di Francesco, who rushed over, stayed behind.

"Italian Cup?" After listening to the head coach's thoughts, Gao Zheng thought for a while before nodding and said: "I have no problem. And to be honest, coach, I think the team really needs a clear goal." We all know that it is impossible to win the Champions League, so there is no goal in the Champions League, and the league is the same. I think some voices in the locker room are satisfied with the current ranking in the league... This is actually not good. So there is It’s good to have a clear goal and get everyone back on their feet.”

Di Francesco was very happy that Gao Zheng could understand him in this way. He slapped his hands and smiled: "Yes, yes, that's what I mean! The team needs a clear goal, so that it can generate motivation. But I have a worry-to put forward Does aiming for the Coppa Italia title scare you?"

Gao Zheng was amused: "How could it be? The team is a little confused now, and a clear goal will only cheer everyone up. Although the goal looks a little scary, it is more effective. And there is such a thing as hitting the championship. How many people will refuse?"

DiFrancisco nodded and said, "You're right, Kao. You gave me confidence that I know what to do."

He said goodbye to Gao Zheng very satisfied. Gao Zheng looked at the back of the head coach who was walking with wind, and could feel the enthusiasm of this young coach.

Thinking back to the plan he had just told himself.

Although the main purpose is to qualify for the Europa League next season, Gao Zheng is obviously more interested in the Coppa Italia champion mentioned by the coach.

That's a champion after all...

Who would refuse a champion?

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