Soccer: I became Bruno Fernandes.

Chapter 241: Encounter with Manchester United

On August 11, 2015, at 11:45 PM local time in Georgia, the 2015 UEFA Super Cup kicked off at the Dinamo Arena in Tbilisi, featuring last season's Champions League winners Udinese against Europa League champions Sevilla.

This match marked the second encounter between the two teams since the 2013-2014 Europa League final.

In front of more than 50,000 fans, both teams put on an exciting display, resulting in a goal-fest.

Sevilla took the lead first with a free-kick created by Reyes, and Banega scored directly from it, making it 1-0.

In the 7th minute, Bruno equalized with a direct free-kick of his own. Just 8 minutes later, Bruno scored again, giving Udinese the lead.

Before the end of the first half, Bruno delivered a precise through ball, which Di Natale converted with a shot, putting Udinese up 3-1 at halftime.

In the second half, Udinese continued their offensive play. In the 52nd minute, Bruno won the ball in the front and provided an assist to the tall striker Théréau, who calmly scored, making it 4-1.

Sevilla then launched a fierce counterattack. Reyes scored again in the 57th minute. Sevilla's coach Unai Emery made three substitutions that resulted in two more goals, bringing the score to 4-4 in regulation time.

In the 115th minute of extra time, Bruno's shot was blocked, but Di Natale scored on the rebound from close range.

With this goal, Udinese won the UEFA Super Cup 5-4 after 120 minutes, securing the title for the second consecutive year.

On August 23, 2015, at 6 PM local time in Italy, the first round of the 2015-2016 Serie A season featured a highly anticipated match at Turin's Allianz Stadium, where last season's Serie A champions Udinese faced off against Juventus.

Udinese had a poor track record in season openers over the past eight years, with only 2 wins, 4 draws, and 2 losses, both wins coming after Bruno joined the team.

Before Bruno's arrival, Udinese had not won their opening game for six consecutive years.

For this match, the media and betting companies favored Juventus to win.

Udinese had lost several key players over the summer, including Salah, Kanté, and Guilherme, who were integral to the second half of last season. Additionally, forward Muriel also left, further weakening Udinese's bench strength.

While Udinese made over 80 million euros from player sales, their spending on new signings was minimal, only spending 220,000 euros on Iraqi youngster Adnan, 200,000 euros on Roma's Marquinho, loaning Zapata from Napoli, signing Felipe on a free transfer from Inter Milan, and getting Iturra from Granada. With a net profit of over 75 million euros, Udinese's overall strength had significantly declined.

In contrast, Juventus made significant acquisitions this summer, bringing in Dybala, Mandzukic, Khedira, Alex Sandro, Hernanes, and Zaza, spending over 120 million euros in total.

However, Juventus also lost several key players. Vidal transferred to Bayern Munich, Ogbonna to West Ham United, Tévez returned to Argentina, and Pirlo went to MLS. These sales generated around 75 million euros in revenue.

Overall, Juventus had a net investment of about 50 million euros to strengthen their squad, a stark contrast to Udinese's situation.

Despite the season just starting, Juventus had a lengthy injury list, including Morata, Khedira, Marchisio, and Asamoah. Mandzukic, who was injured in a midweek friendly, recovered in time to partner with Coman upfront. New signings Dybala and Zaza started on the bench, with Padoin filling Pirlo's role.

Udinese's lineup was relatively intact. Coach Guidolin deployed a 4-4-2 formation, with Greek goalkeeper Karnezis, a defensive line of Piris, Hertaux, Danilo, and Cancelo, a midfield of Adnan, Badu, Iturra, and Bruno, and a forward duo of Di Natale and Théréau.

The match was played under light rain.

In the 5th minute, Udinese made a mistake in a back pass, and Coman's low shot from the edge of the box was saved by Karnezis.

In the 16th minute, Juventus had a free kick 20 meters from the goal. Bonucci's shot hit the wall and went out of bounds. Pogba seemed surprised by Bonucci's attempt.

Mandzukic then headed down from the right, but Lichtsteiner's shot from a tight angle was blocked. Coman cut in from the left, passed to Pereyra, who shot from 13 meters out, but Karnezis saved it. Padoin's left-footed shot from the edge of the box went wide of the left post.

In the 33rd minute, Udinese's clearance in the penalty area was poor. Pereyra's pass found Lichtsteiner, whose low shot was blocked by Karnezis's outstretched leg. Four minutes later, Lichtsteiner crossed from the right, but Mandzukic headed over.

In the first half, Juventus had 11 shots compared to Udinese's 1, completely dominating the game.

Early in the second half, Udinese suffered another blow when Badu got injured and had to be replaced by Kone.

Juventus continued to pressure Udinese, who struggled to even get past midfield.

Just as the game seemed increasingly in Juventus's favor, Udinese scored against the run of play with a quick counterattack.

In the 78th minute, Bruno's cross from the right found an unmarked Théréau, who calmly slotted the ball into the near corner from 5 meters out.

Udinese, who had been on the back foot the entire match, unexpectedly took the lead, 1-0.

Allegri made several substitutions to bolster the attack, but Juventus couldn't equalize by the end of the match. Udinese held on for a 1-0 victory at Allianz Stadium, securing 3 points and their third consecutive season opener win.

This loss marked Juventus's first-ever home defeat in a Serie A season opener, a major upset in the opening round.

However, many Italian football experts had predicted this outcome. Although Juventus appeared stronger on paper, and Udinese had lost key players over the summer, they had made the best signing by keeping Bruno Fernandes.

Udinese's winning goal was a testament to Bruno's individual brilliance. His charge down the right wing drew Juventus's defense, creating the opportunity for Théréau to score.

After defeating Juventus in Turin, Bruno didn't return to Udine with the team but traveled west with Coach Guidolin to Monaco.

On August 27, 2015, at 5:45 PM Central European Time, the draw for the 2015-2016 UEFA Champions League group stage and the 2014-2015 UEFA awards ceremony took place in Monaco.

As last season's Champions League top scorer and assist leader, and having led his team to the title, Bruno was the frontrunner for the Champions League MVP award. His competitors included his national team captain and Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, and Barcelona's Lionel Messi.

Although Ronaldo and Messi had excellent performances in the Champions League last season, each scoring 10 goals and leading their teams to the semifinals, their achievements paled compared to Bruno's, who not only won the top scorer and assist awards but also led Udinese to the title.

The final voting was clear, with 49 out of 54 journalists voting for Bruno, making him the undisputed 2014-2015 Champions League MVP.

Messi won the best goal award for his stunning solo effort against Udinese in the first leg of Barcelona's 3-1 home victory. His dazzling dribble past Cancelo, followed by a delicate chip over Karnezis, was deemed the "crime dribble" and the best goal of the 2014-2015 season.

The best save award went to Barcelona's Ter Stegen, who beat Buffon and Neuer. Udinese's Karnezis didn't even make the top three, primarily because Udinese conceded too many goals last season. They allowed 7 goals in the group stage and 20 in total, the most among all teams in the competition.

With such a record, Karnezis's chances of winning the best goalkeeper award were nonexistent.

Besides the player awards, fans were most interested in the group stage draw.

Following the completion of the playoff rounds, the 32 teams for this season's Champions League were confirmed.

According to UEFA's new rules, the 32 teams were divided into four pots, each containing eight teams, and each group would have one team from each pot.

The top eight league champions based on UEFA's coefficient automatically became the top seeds: Barcelona, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Udinese, Benfica, Paris Saint-Germain, Zenit St. Petersburg, and PSV Eindhoven. These teams were placed in the first position in the eight groups.

The remaining 24 teams were assigned to the second to fourth pots based on their UEFA coefficients, with clubs from the same league avoiding each other in the group stage. Additionally, due to UEFA regulations, teams from Russia and Ukraine would not be placed in the same group.

This year's changes in seeding rules meant that despite their high coefficients, Real Madrid and Juventus were placed in the second pot, along with English giants Manchester United, Manchester City, and Arsenal, setting the stage for potential "groups of death."

Before the draw, UEFA first reviewed Udinese's triumph in last season's Champions League, with Bruno prominently featured in the highlights.

Clearly, Bruno was the star of the evening!

The draw's first pot included the previous four Champions League winners, represented by Andoni Zubizarreta, Juliano Belletti, Udinese's Di Natale, and Éric Abidal, who overcame illness to lift the trophy at Wembley. Of the four, only the 38-year-old Di Natale was still an active player.

With this season's final set to take place at San Siro in Milan, the Champions League final ambassadors Javier Zanetti and Paolo Maldini were also present as draw guests.

In the first pot, Barcelona was drawn first into Group E by Zubizarreta, followed by Benfica into Group C, Bayern Munich into Group F, Chelsea into Group G, and then Udinese into Group B. Zenit St. Petersburg went into Group H, PSV Eindhoven into Group D, and Paris Saint-Germain into Group A.

The second pot draw was the most anticipated, as it would determine which heavyweights would face off.

First drawn was Atlético Madrid, placed in Group C with Benfica, a favorable draw for Simeone's side.

Next was Arsenal, drawn into Group F to face Bayern Munich, a tough draw for Wenger.

Manchester United was drawn into Group B, joining Udinese, widely considered the weakest top seed.

Yes, after losing several key players over the summer, Udinese was seen as the weakest team in the first pot.

Fourth was Porto, drawn into Group G with Chelsea, setting up a reunion for Mourinho with his former club.

Real Madrid followed, joining PSG in Group A, pitting new signing Di María against his old team.

Valencia was drawn into Group H with Zenit St. Petersburg, while Manchester City went into Group D with PSV Eindhoven, and Juventus was placed in Group E with Barcelona.

With the third and fourth pots drawn, the groups were finalized.

Udinese's luck held, as their group included Manchester United, Wolfsburg from the Bundesliga, and CSKA Moscow from the Russian Premier League.

(End of Chapter)

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