Soccer: I became Bruno Fernandes.

Chapter 283: Confidence

From mid-January to mid-February, before the Champions League knockout stage began, Udinese had a relatively easy schedule.

On the afternoon of January 17, Udinese faced Juventus in a top-of-the-table clash. Although Udinese lost 3-4, they still maintained a 9-point lead over Juventus in the standings, making this top-of-the-table clash seem somewhat less significant.

A week later, on the afternoon of January 24, Udinese traveled to Palermo and won 2-1. Bruno scored again, bringing his season total to 24 goals. However, his lead in the top scorer race was not very substantial, as his rival Higuain also scored in this round, bringing his total to 21 goals, just three behind Bruno.

On the afternoon of January 31, in the 22nd round of the league, Udinese hosted Lazio. This was their last match in January.

Udinese's first match in February came on the evening of February 3, against mid-table Empoli.

On February 7, in the 24th round, Udinese traveled to face AC Milan.

On the evening of February 11, in the 25th round, Udinese hosted another mid-table team, Bologna.

These teams, including the once-mighty AC Milan, were relatively weak. The Rossoneri, despite being in the top half of the standings, had only 30 points and were not in good form.

For these matches, Udinese and Guidolin naturally planned to secure points. Before the Champions League knockout stage, Guidolin hoped to avoid dropping points to maintain their lead over Juventus. Otherwise, competing on two fronts against a strong Juventus team would be nearly impossible for a thin squad like Udinese.

On the afternoon of January 31, in the match between Udinese and Lazio, Immobile started again, partnering with Théréau up front. However, his position was more flexible, not confined to just the forward role. Guidolin allowed him to switch positions freely during the match. Sometimes he played as a left winger, sometimes as an attacking midfielder, sometimes as a center forward, and sometimes as a second striker.

The match was intense, with Bruno being heavily marked. Guidolin had Immobile play more as an attacking midfielder to relieve pressure on Bruno. Unfortunately, Immobile's lack of chemistry with his teammates showed—they weren't uncooperative, just not in sync. Eventually, Bruno had to resume his role as the main playmaker.

To exhaust Bruno, Lazio's coach brought on Matri in the second half to strengthen their attack. Bruno received a yellow card while defending against Matri, and Savic also got booked for fouling Bruno.

Immobile ended up returning to his second striker role, as he was not effective as an attacking midfielder due to lack of coordination with the team. The match ended in a 0-0 draw, Udinese's first draw and first goalless match of the season. With this draw, Udinese's lead in the standings was reduced to 7 points.

After drawing with Lazio, Udinese's next match was away against Empoli in the 23rd round of the league. In this match, Bruno faced little resistance in midfield. Immobile, playing as a second striker, was very active and assisted Bruno in scoring a goal.

Bruno scored one goal, assisted another, and played a key role in a third goal, contributing to all three of Udinese's goals in their 3-1 victory over Empoli.

Four days later, Udinese continued their away trip to face AC Milan at the San Siro. AC Milan, despite being in the top half of the standings, were not in good form, sitting in seventh place with a 9-point gap from the top four and little hope of qualifying for the Champions League.

In a fierce battle, Udinese won 3-1 again. Bruno assisted one goal and played a key role in another, contributing to two of the three goals. Immobile scored his second goal since joining Udinese with a beautiful solo effort, a goal in which Bruno did not participate. After scoring, Immobile celebrated wildly, earning a yellow card for removing his shirt.

Di Natale also scored, receiving a perfect pass from Bruno, dribbling horizontally to create space before unleashing a long-range shot into Milan's goal.

Before the Champions League knockout match against Arsenal, Udinese's last game was at home against Bologna. In their last encounter, Udinese had won 2-1 away.

Despite having to travel to London to face Arsenal midweek, Guidolin fielded almost a full-strength squad due to Juventus's close pursuit. Since losing to Sassuolo in the 10th round, Juventus had shown dominant form in Serie A, achieving 14 consecutive league wins—the second-longest winning streak in Serie A history, only behind Inter Milan's 17-game streak in the 2006-2007 season.

However, in this round, Juventus faced a strong Napoli side, a clash between the second and third teams in the league. Juventus had 54 points, while Napoli had 53.

For Udinese, a home win would allow them to watch Juventus and Napoli battle it out.

In the match, Bruno and Immobile performed well. Bruno assisted Immobile for the first goal. Then Widmer assisted Bruno for the second goal, Bruno's 26th league goal of the season, keeping him atop the European Golden Boot race.

Before the Udinese fans could calm down from Bruno's goal, the team extended their lead again with a goal from captain Di Natale, who scored with a header from a corner.

Bologna managed to pull one back in the 90th minute, but it was too late. Udinese won 3-1 at home, reaching 64 points after 25 rounds, maintaining a 10-point lead over Juventus with a game in hand.

Two days later, on Valentine's Day, Juventus narrowly beat Napoli 1-0 at home, extending their unbeaten run in Serie A to 566 minutes and ending Napoli's 8-game winning streak, setting a new club record with 15 consecutive league wins. Juventus remained 7 points behind Udinese.

Juventus's 15-game winning streak in Serie A caused a significant stir, but Udinese's focus was on their upcoming trip to London to face Arsenal, a match that had all their fans' attention.

Facing such an important opponent in such a crucial match, there was no reason not to be focused.

The media had been following this match closely since the draw was announced. Udinese's local media considered it perhaps the most important match of the season, while London's media believed Arsenal had drawn a favorable opponent. Despite Udinese being last season's Serie A and Champions League double winners and leading the Serie A standings, they were still considered inferior to other top clubs.

If everything went as expected, Arsenal would surely advance to the quarterfinals.

"The disadvantage for Udinese is that the match will be played at Arsenal's home, the Emirates Stadium, known for its formidable atmosphere. Even Bayern Munich lost 0-2 to Arsenal at the Emirates this season."

In the Champions League group stage, Bayern and Arsenal were in the same group. Bayern lost 0-2 at the Emirates, showing no resistance. In the Premier League, Arsenal also won 3-0 at home against Manchester United and 2-1 against Manchester City.

Bayern Munich, Manchester United, and Manchester City are among Europe's top teams, yet none could conquer the Emirates.

After arriving in London, Udinese trained at the Emirates Stadium. At the pre-match press conference, Guidolin showed no fear: "We know Arsenal is strong, but this is football—there's no rule that the stronger team always wins. We have a chance."

A reporter brought up Udinese's embarrassing defeat in the 2011-2012 Champions League playoffs against Arsenal: "But Mr. Guidolin, your team was defeated by Arsenal in the playoffs four years ago. Won't this affect your players?"

"I don't think it will," Guidolin responded firmly, unwilling to show weakness. "That was four years ago. We're a completely different team now."

Guidolin's confidence surprised many—did he have a secret weapon to compete with Arsenal? Where did his confidence come from?

Guidolin didn't explain to the media. It was more about determination than confidence. In football, if you lack determination, why compete at all? You might as well accept defeat early.

The media interpreted Guidolin's attitude as psychological warfare, trying to confuse Arsenal or boost his players' morale.

Of course, a coach must instill confidence in his team. How else can he lead them to victory?

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