Going back more than twenty years, when the Italian national team was still labeled "copper-headed iron-tailed tofu waist", old fans who experienced that era should still have some impressions.
The so-called "tofu waist" does not mean that the midfielders of the Italian national team are not strong. On the contrary, Di Biagio, Conte, Dino Baggio and Di Livio are all good players who are conscientious and good, even in the contemporary era.
The reason why this team was labeled "tofu waist" was purely because the Italian midfield at that time was mostly sapper-type players, lacked the talent to dominate the overall situation, and the creativity was extremely lacking, which was in stark contrast to the impregnable defensive line and the star-studded front, and invisibly magnified the problem several times.
In fact, the Italian midfielder in those years did not fall to the point where even a handsome man could not be found. In addition to albertini, who is habitually underrated, Fiore is also a talent for the midfield. Unfortunately, this rare Italian coach, his career is really too tragic, always encountering difficult problems at key time nodes, which directly led to the failure of this flower to fully bloom, and has already ushered in a withering fate:
Stefano Fiore was born on April 17, 1975 in Cosenza, Apennines. As early as the 1993-94 season, The less than 20-year-old Fiore had already represented the local Cosenza team in Serie B, and after just one season, he was recruited by Parma and stepped onto the Serie A stage.
It has to be said that this is obviously a debatable transfer option. You know, at that time, Parma was in its heyday, the team was full of big stars, it was recognized as a Serie A powerhouse, and the championship was the main task of this team, and there was not much room for trial and error for a fledgling newcomer like Fiore.
It didn't take long for Fiore to be loaned out and trained in Padua and Chievo until the summer of 1997 when he returned to Parma.
At this time, Parma is still full of talents, and Fiore can occupy a place, which is actually a clear proof of strength. Given enough time, Fiore is not without a chance to grow into Parma's midfield core.
But just a year later, in the summer of 1998, the 23-year-old Fiore met a near-impossible competitor: Veron.
That same summer, Parma spent a fortune bringing in Argentine midfielder Perón, shattering Fiore's core dream.
At that time, Verón was already the core of the Argentine midfield, and he was recognized as the top midfielder in the World Cup in France. The midfielders who were entitled to be compared with him in the same period were nothing more than Zidane and Rui Costa, and Fiore, who had not yet made a name at the time, was obviously not among them.
At the same time, Perón also had a close personal relationship with Crespo, parma's number one striker at the time, which made it more difficult for Fiore to challenge Perón.
As a result, the 23-year-old Fiore could only pinch his nose to give Perón a hand, and after a season he transferred to Udinese.
It has to be said that Fiore's transfer to Udinese is a good move. Without Perón, a near-invincible competitor, Fiore quickly established a core position in his new club, led the team to a good performance, and was selected for the Italian national team without suspense, and became the main midfielder under Zoff.
In the 2000 European Championship stage, Fiore took on the organizational responsibility of the Italian midfield, cooperated with Albertini and Totti, and helped the Italian team reach the final final, leaving a deep impression on the fans.
After the end of the European Championship, Fiore returned to Udinese to continue his strong performance, interpreting the definition of midfield talent to the fullest, which was regarded by many media and experts as the hope of the Italian midfielder.
Players of this level naturally cannot stay in a mid-range team like Udinese for a long time. By the summer of 2001, Fiore had been recruited by the star-studded Lazio.
At this time, Fiore was just 26 years old, and everything looked so beautiful. No one expected that the Italian midfielder had ushered in a key turning point in his career at the age of 26.
The change of club not only made Fiore lose his core position, but even the main seat could not sit steadily, which naturally affected his position in the Italian national team.
Just when Fiore was in an embarrassing situation in Lazio, the new Italian coach Trapattoni adjusted the formation of the national team to 4-2-3-1, forming a domino-like chain reaction.
On the one hand, because Fiore is not well versed in defense, it is doomed to make it difficult for him to occupy a seat at the back. Theoretically, the position that suits him best is the forward behind the center.
On the other hand, because Vieri's position is unbreakable and is destined to occupy the center position, even if he is as strong as Totti, he has to look for opportunities in other positions. Obviously, the position that best fits Totti in this formation is also the forward behind the center.
As a result, this turned into a situation of two tigers competing for food, and the 26-year-old Fiore had to pinch his nose to compete with Totti. Everyone understands how low the odds of Fiore defeating Totti really are...
In fact, even Fiore himself understood how difficult his situation really was. The Italian midfielder publicly complained: "I can't understand why this formation was chosen. A month ago, I was the main player in the Italian team, playing before Albertini and after Totti... But now, some people think I'm just Totti's substitute, and I can't accept it. ”
I have to admit that in the 4-2-3-1 formation, Fiore's chances of getting on the Italian national team are too small.
If Fiore wants to get back on the job, he can only show phenomenal performances in the club's competitions.
In the following years, Fiore, dressed in a Lazio shirt, also walked low and high. Although his owner's economic problems have become increasingly serious, almost reduced to the existence of a star supermarket, Fiore's personal performance is actually remarkable, attracting the attention of many teams.
In the summer of 2004, Lazio's financial situation was so bad that he had to put the 29-year-old Fiore on the shelves.
But at this moment, a dark thunder hidden in the Lazio team was completely detonated.
I want to introduce Mendietta by Lazio that year, and adopt the method of installment payment. However, because the Lazio team is overstretched in terms of funds, it is impossible to send the subsequent transfer fee to Valencia, the former owner of Mendieta, as scheduled, which will naturally cause Valencia to be strongly dissatisfied, and it is strong to demand that the Lazio team settle the transfer fee as soon as possible.
Poor Lazio at this time, even the funds to run the team are running out, and where is the cash settlement to introduce the old accounts left by Mendieta?
Against this backdrop, Lazio could only send their players to Valencia and use this extreme method to reimburse the transfer fees for the introduction of Mendieta that year. Fiore, as one of the few players in Lazio's squad at that time who could sell for a price, naturally bore the brunt of it.
In this way, the 29-year-old Fiore was implicated by Mendietta, left the Apennines he was most familiar with, and stepped onto the extremely unfamiliar La Liga stage, and his performance can be imagined.
In the following days, Fiore was displaced, leaving his footprints in many teams such as Valencia, Fiorentina, Turin, Livorno, And Mantua, and gradually disappeared.
Throughout Fiore's career, the Italian midfielder is really a bit sad, meeting Veron at the age of 23, competing with Totti at the age of 26, and being implicated by Mendietta at the age of 29.