Since Chen Yu and Lucarelli are the top two in the scorer list and are both representatives of the team, the media were hyping up the confrontation between the two before the game, but in fact, this game has many highlights. It is not just a competition between the two major scorers, but it is also a derby battle between two teams in the Tuscan region.

Fiorentina and Livorno belong to the Tuscany region, which also has two teams, Empoli and Siena. However, since Fiorentina has been in Serie A, and Livorno, Siena and Empoli have been in low-level leagues for many years, it is rare to see the Tuscan derby. Even if you encounter it in the Italian Cup, it is basically a Fiorentina abuser and cannot attract the attention of fans. However, with the relegation of Fiorentina and the rise of Siena, Livorno and Empoli, the atmosphere of the Tuscan derby has gradually become popular.

In fact, the Tuscany region has more derby conditions than other regions in Italy. In terms of geographical conditions, the quadrilateral consisting of four cities, Florence, Livorno, Siena and Empoli, has a circumference of less than 200 kilometers, and this circle lives with a population of nearly 1 million. From the social environment, this is a region with extremely strong cultural heritage and fans are extremely loyal to the team. Last season, Florence competed in the C2 League and could even have 17,000 season ticket buyers.

After Florence weakened and other teams rose, the competition in this small space, the unlimited loyalty of their fans to their teams will greatly stimulate the fighting enthusiasm between the four teams, making the game more intense and exciting.

In addition to the Tuscany derby, the match between Florence and Livorno was also a derby battle between the Lucarelli brothers.

Brother Lucarelli plays for Fiorentina, playing as a defender, and brother Lucarelli plays for Livorno, playing as a striker.

Before the game, whether this pair of brothers was Little Lucarelli defended his brother or the Big Lucarelli broke through his brother's defense became one of the hot topics in the media.

Although he is a brother, living together and learning football together, Lucarelli is much more humble than his brother. He told reporters that he is not the protagonist in this game. No matter whether his brother can break through his defense, it will not be the key to determining the outcome. The outcome mainly depends on the overall team and the performance of the stars.

Livorno has always been a representative of cheap operations. After the former Genoa president Spinelli took over, Livorno spent money and bought a lot of practical players. With the combination of head coach Mazari, his performance has improved by leaps and bounds. This season, a big Lucarelli loan from Torino is a good deal. Under the overall excellence, star players like Lucarelli directly raised Livorno to a higher level, and Livorno rushed to the top of the Serie B list in one fell swoop. If nothing unexpected happens, they will appear in the Serie A venue next year.

Fiorentina and Livorno are just the opposite. Fiorentina has always been a big deal in the transfer market, and its bankruptcy is also because the boss spends too much money. The fact that he can get the current results is not the overall, but the strong personal ability of the players. After the winter break, Fiorentina brought C 2, and all the players except Chen Yu, Rigano and Dilivio were replaced with players who transferred during the winter break. These players are either Serie B stars or Serie A substitutes. It can be said that they formed a quasi-Serie A team. Although their cooperation may not be as good as those of Serie B teams that have been around for many years, their personal abilities are completely enough to make up for this gap. Especially Chen Yu often performs beyond this level, so it is not surprising that Serie B is in a quasi-Serie A team.

This round of Florence and Livorno can be said to be a battle between Serie B.

The media were more optimistic about Fiorentina's victory before the game, but after Chen Yu rushed back from China with fatigue and injury the day before the game, the media and fans did not dare to be optimistic about Fiorentina's winning, because it is difficult for Chen Yu to play now, and even if he plays, he will definitely not be able to perform at his best.

Every player in Fiorentina has great strength. In Fiorentina, the main players of other Serie B teams are not false, but Chen Yu's great role in Fiorentina is not weaker than Lucarelli's Big to Livorno. It is no exaggeration to say that without Chen Yu, Fiorentina's points will now be reduced by at least three points.

In order to summon the national team, Chen Yu gave up a top-top battle and flew 20,000 kilometers in two days to play an insignificant warm-up match. As a result, he was fired without a minute of the game, which made Italian media and fans feel worthless for him.

The Italian Daily said: "We don't know what happened in the distant China, but a player gave up a top-ranking battle and flew 20,000 kilometers in two days to play an irrelevant warm-up match. This is enough to illustrate the problem. If the Chinese team doesn't care that they don't need such a player, then leave it to us. Italy now needs players like Chen. We believe that Trapatoni will definitely welcome Chen's joining with both hands."

The famous "Milan Sports Daily" also made a rare comment on a Serie B player, "A player like Chen was actually fired by the Chinese team? This is a joke! Do you really think that a player who plays Serie B is not worthy of the Chinese team? Even in Serie A, he can't find one. He is shooting, dribbling, extraordinary, and consciousness. He may not be the best in every item, but in total, few people in Italian football can compare with him. Now Chen has been in Italy for three years. As long as he lives for another two years, Chen Yu can become an Italian nationality. I hope Chen will consider playing for the Italian national team. In the Chinese team, he needs to worry about rushing out of Asia. If he plays for Italy, he can start a rush to the World Cup championship."

Chen Yu's current situation also made Fiorentina head coach Mondonico worry. He flew 20,000 kilometers in two days and was kicked and swollen on his heel. Although the magnetic resonance examination did not find anything unusual about the Achilles tendon, he was still injured after all. Moreover, Chen Yu was in a very bad mood and could not be said to be depressed, but like a powder barrel, it exploded at some point. Mondonico really dared not take the risk of letting Chen Yu play.

But Chen Yu flew back from China so anxiously to play this game. When he was in China, Chen Yu called Mondonico to say that he wanted to come back to the game. How could Mondonico dare not let Chen Yu play?

Since Chen Yu returned from China, fans of both sides have been waiting for the news of Florence's start. The fans of Florence and Chen Yu are in a complicated mood. They are eager for Chen Yu to start, kill Livorno, destroy Lucarelli, and win the derby, but are worried that Chen Yu will be overworked and injured. This tangled emotion is vented to the Chinese Football Association, which recalled Chen Yu to China. On the emerging online forums in Italy and China, posts cursing the Chinese Football Association are flying all over the sky. If the old stubborn people in the Football Association see it, they will definitely be so angry that they vomit blood and die.

On the morning of May 2, Florence's head coach Mondonico finally announced the starting list, and Chen Yu was watching.

At this moment, a stone in the hearts of Fiorentina fans finally landed. Although they didn't know what would happen in the game, Chen Yu was able to play, which means that he was not injured and his competitive state was OK, which reassured Fiorentina fans.

In the afternoon, Chen Yu, who did not train with the team after he came back, followed Mondonico to attend the pre-match press conference.

Chen Yu, wearing a sportswear, had a hint of fatigue on his face and yawned in the press conference hall, but he had no desire to fight. After head coach Mondonico spoke, Chen Yu talked about his views on the game.

"This is a fairly good confrontation. Livorno is overall very good. There is a forward who can score goals, but we must win and we will definitely win. We cannot meet our current ranking. We must advance to Serie A directly. We must strive to win the Serie B championship. I believe we have the strength and courage. Regarding the national team, I don't want to say it. Don't ask, fans should not worry about my condition. I'm very good. I'm flying thousands of miles away. The blow of being fired cannot stop the desire and determination to win. Believe me, hand the ball to me and I will send him into the opponent's net."

Although Chen Yu looked a little tired, his generous words at the press conference inspired the fans and players of Florence. There were still two or three hours before the game started. There were already many fans wearing purple jerseys wandering around the streets and alleys of Frankie Stadium, among which many fans from Livorno. Compared with the slightly ordinary games in the past, the atmosphere of the derby battle became stronger and stronger.

There was a lively scene outside the court. On the Frankie Stadium, the Fiorentine players looked solemn. They were very clear about Chen Yu's situation. Chen Yu was indeed very tired. He didn't train on the day he came back, mainly for recovery. Although Fiorentina's purpose was to advance, who would not want to be the first, even if it was the first in Serie B, and this was still a derby in the Tuscan region. No one could lose to the derby opponent. This has always been a convention. Now it is different from the previous one. It turned out that Fiorentina was disdainful to call the teams in the Tuscan region a derby. Now Siena is already a Serie A team, and Livorno basically plays in Serie A next season. Fiorentina has no qualifications to look down on them anymore. If they want to compete for their dominance in the Tuscan region, they must defeat these two rising competitors.
Chapter completed!