Ahead of the 1997–98 season, Gil invested heavily into the team, bringing twenty-four-year-old Italian superstar striker Christian Vieri fresh from winning the Serie A title and reaching Champions League final with Juventus. He also bought crafty twenty-five-year-old Brazilian Juninho from Middlesbrough for £12 million. In order to somewhat offset the costs, inspirational midfielder Diego Simeone was sold to Internazionale. Naturally the expectations were high, with spotlight especially focused on expensive new signings. Though both struggled with injuries causing them to miss significant chunk of the season, Vieri still managed to produce excellent form when fit to play with 24 goals in 24 league appearances, while Juninho struggled to make similar impact with only 6 goals in 23 league appearances. When Atletico started sputtering in La Liga, the rumblings about Antić's possible dismissal were heard for the first time. When Atlético got eliminated by Lazio at the UEFA Cup semi-final stage, Gil launched into an obscenity-laced tirade against Spanish television for reporting he has lined up an Italian coach to replace Antić.