Soccer: I became Bruno Fernandes.

Chapter 274: Midseason Champions

Despite taking a 1-0 lead, Bruno was not satisfied. He knew that a 1-0 scoreline was not secure and that Udinese had the ability to score more goals.

As the game resumed, Atalanta struggled to focus on defense. They began to push forward, but without any clear opportunities, they were forced to pass back and reorganize.

As the ball moved back to their midfield and defense, Di Natale pressed forward aggressively, putting pressure on Cigarini. Receiving the ball from the center-back, Cigarini immediately faced pressure from Di Natale. He shielded the ball and passed it to his teammate, Dutchman De Roon, who signaled for the ball.

De Roon, facing the direction of the pass, failed to notice Bruno closing in behind him. Before Atalanta's players could warn him, Bruno had already made his move. Although De Roon, at 1.85 meters tall, was similar in height to Bruno, he lacked the same agility. As De Roon tried to control the ball, Bruno intercepted it with his left foot, sending the ball bouncing behind Atalanta's midfield—a successful steal.

"Udinese successfully intercepts the ball in the attacking third."

"Bruno advances quickly, leading Udinese's counterattack."

"Di Natale and Thauvin are also surging forward, creating a three-on-three situation."

"Atalanta's center-backs are closing in, but Bruno's speed doesn't falter. He splits the defenders with his dribble…"

"Beautiful! Bruno enters the box and faces the goalkeeper… and he passes!"

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!!"

"Just two minutes after the first goal, Udinese scores again!"

"Thauvin scores, but the credit goes to Bruno. After stealing the ball near midfield, he sprinted 40 meters, bypassed Atalanta's defense, and selflessly passed to Thauvin in a better position."

"In such a situation, most players would have taken the shot themselves, but Bruno chose to pass to his teammate!"

"The fans are ecstatic, chanting Bruno's name."

...

"Atalanta has been disorganized since falling behind, making several passing errors."

"The match is now in the first-half injury time, with the referee adding one minute. This is good news for Atalanta, giving them a chance to regroup. Otherwise, with their current performance, they risk conceding more goals."

"Just as we speak, another passing error by Atalanta, and Udinese launches a quick counterattack."

"Iturra shifts the play to the right. Bruno receives the ball on the wing, one-on-one with the defender."

"Bruno attempts a powerful run. He's incredibly fast, but this time Toloi maintains his position well, not losing sight of him."

"Bruno's cross is deflected off the defender, resulting in a corner."

"Bruno takes the corner, aiming to create a threat."

"Bruno's corner kick goes to the near post—Di Natale!"

"Goal!!!"

"In first-half injury time, Udinese scores again from a corner!"

"3-0! Udinese extends their lead."

"You can see the change in Udinese's players' mentality; they look much more positive."

"Atalanta has struggled with passing errors under Udinese's high press and midfield pressure."

"Di Natale runs to Bruno, lifting him up in gratitude. He has every reason to thank his teammate."

"This is Di Natale's eighth league goal of the season, bringing his career total in Serie A to 236, just nine behind Totti. With Di Natale's scoring rate, he could catch up to Totti this season. The Roma captain has rarely played this season, appearing in only eight matches and scoring two goals in the first 17 rounds."

"Udinese has performed exceptionally well in the first half, with Bruno being their standout player, contributing to all three goals with one goal and two assists, effectively securing the win by halftime."

...

When the referee blew the final whistle, Friuli Stadium erupted in thunderous cheers.

The scoreboard showed the final score: 3-1.

Atalanta's coach Reja could only spread his hands in resignation, accepting the painful defeat.

He had prepared for everything but underestimated one person—Bruno Fernandes. In just fifteen minutes, Bruno had one goal and two assists, putting Udinese three goals ahead by halftime.

In the second half, Udinese controlled the pace of the game, conserving energy for upcoming matches. Three days later, they would face Carpi in Serie A's 19th round and then play Lazio in the Coppa Italia on Tuesday.

Although Atalanta's D'Alessandro scored a consolation goal in the 75th minute, Udinese won 3-1, securing a good start to 2016.

...

Three days later, Udinese visited Carpi, a newly promoted team.

Carpi was second to last in the standings, with only 11 points from 2 wins, 3 draws, and 13 losses, just three points ahead of bottom-placed Verona and facing a tough relegation battle.

With Udinese's strength, they should have easily won the match, but it turned out to be a tough battle.

In the 26th minute, Bianco's cross created a scoring chance, and Pasciuti's header found the bottom left corner, giving Carpi a 1-0 lead over Udinese.

In the 70th minute, Lasagna's precise pass set up Lollo, who scored from the middle of the box, extending Carpi's lead to 2-0.

Udinese then took control of the match.

In the 72nd minute, Bruno's long shot was blocked, but Zapata pounced on the rebound, scoring from the left wing to make it 2-1.

In the 82nd minute, Di Natale's pass found Bruno, who scored from close range to equalize for Udinese.

During injury time, just as Carpi was preparing to settle for a draw, Bruno made his mark again.

Udinese launched an attack, with Bruno controlling the ball and evading Carpi's defenders on the right wing. He dribbled into the box, used a series of step-overs to beat the defenders, cut inside, and passed to Di Natale at the edge of the box. Di Natale then dribbled into the box and scored with a low left-footed shot.

3-2!

Udinese secured a dramatic victory!

Bruno had been involved in all of Udinese's goals for the second consecutive match, continuing his outstanding form in 2016.

...

The next day, all matches of Serie A's 19th round concluded.

Udinese, unsurprisingly, secured the midseason championship, leading the standings with 17 wins and 2 losses from 19 matches, totaling 51 points.

The team in second place at midseason was both a surprise and an expected result—Juventus.

Yes, you read that right—Juventus, the team that had the worst start in their history!

The same Juventus that had only 1 win, 2 draws, and 3 losses in the first six rounds, accumulating just 5 points and sitting 15th in the standings, nearly in the relegation zone!

In those first six matches, Allegri's team only managed to beat a weak Genoa, with the rest of the games ending in draws or losses.

Many doubted Allegri's ability to adapt his tactics, joking that he could only cook one dish and struggled with new ingredients.

However, starting from the 7th round, with a 3-1 home win over Bologna, Allegri's Juventus began to find their rhythm. They drew 0-0 with Inter at the San Siro in the 8th round and beat Atalanta 2-0 at home in the 9th round.

In the 10th round, Juventus lost 1-0 away to Sassuolo, but from that point on, they didn't drop a single point, defeating Torino, Empoli, AC Milan, Palermo, Lazio, Fiorentina, Carpi, Verona, and Sampdoria in succession, amassing a nine-game winning streak and rising to second place with 39 points.

From the 7th round onward, Juventus had the most points in Serie A, earning 34 points in 13 matches, one more than Udinese's 33 points in the same period.

However, due to their poor start, Juventus remained 12 points behind Udinese.

Given Juventus' strong overall strength, they were undoubtedly Udinese's biggest competitors for the league title.

...

Not only did Udinese face strong competition from Juventus in the Serie A standings, but Bruno also encountered a challenge in the Serie A top scorer race.

Napoli's Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuaín, nicknamed "El Pipita," scored twice in Napoli's 19th-round match against Frosinone, bringing his league tally to 18 goals, just three behind Bruno.

Italy's renowned sports newspaper, La Gazzetta dello Sport, suggested that Higuaín, known for his off-field exploits in stealing other people's girlfriends, was now encroaching on Bruno's lead in the top scorer race.

According to Italian media, Higuaín had a penchant for courting women involved with other players. He had reportedly pursued Gago's girlfriend Luciana and Parma goalkeeper Mirante's girlfriend Chiara, even leading to a near altercation with Mirante during a match. Recently, he had also been linked with Belen, known as the "Queen of Serie A," causing her to get divorced.

(End of chapter)

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