I Have a Football Superpower

Chapter 005：trailing at halftime

By the time the players arrived at Gig Lane Stadium, the red spear bus had stopped in the parking lot outside the stadium.

Every time he sees this car, Victor has the urge to pull out his oyster card, which is a habit he has developed after coming to the UK and often taking the bus.

The bus was provided to the team free of charge by Manchester City's travel agency, but all the players of the team cooperated with them to take a huge advertising picture to promote it, and won the naming rights of the cuff of the shirt.

In each round of away games, they will organize a group of fans to come to the scene to watch the game.

There are now 22 teams in the UniBond League Premier Division, which means 21 away games, and many enthusiastic fans have booked a season-long away package with the travel agent, which naturally includes accommodation, tickets, fares and so on.

Head coach Clough still has gauze wrapped around his feet, and he doesn't have a good sense of neatness, and he walks a little crutche.

In front of everyone, he counted the number of people, and then called them according to the list.

The starting 11 plus five substitutes plus the rest of the coaching staff made a total of 19.

Finding that everyone who should have come came, he waved his hand and asked everyone to board the car, this time the away road was a little far, and the road had to drive for more than an hour, so they had to leave early.

After the players were all in the car, the driver moved the car, turned out of the alley, and headed south.

Behind the team bus, there was also a full line of tour buses, all of which were the same travel agency.

……

On the car, Clough reconfirmed the starting line-up and tactical set-up: "We played 442 today. Goalkeeper Andy Bale (andy_Be11). Right-back Danny Ogkins (danny_oakins), left-back Danny Roberts (danny_Roberts), left-back Victor Brown. Song, right centre-back Sim Johnston (sim_Johnston). ”

"The midfielders are defensive midfielders Ruben Albert (keith_ard) and Lee Sidwell, left wing-back Teddy James, right-wing midfielder Hal. Lippiat

"The forwards are captain Carl Marginson and Conor Robert".

"Next up are the five people who made it to the roster."

The people who made it to the roster of the match had a goalkeeper, a defender, two midfielders, and a striker.

Except for these sixteen people, everyone else could only go to the stands to watch the game and cheer on the team.

The backline is a big change from the one we used against Manchester United in the last game.

Some are rotated, and some are unable to attend work because of work and personal matters.

Clough then reiterated the precautions for tactical arrangement.

The tactics are very simple, in fact, in this level of competition, everyone's tactics are very simple, 80% of them are long passes.

The action of the game was very rough, but there were few fouls, and the referees had a wide scale.

Some of the actions that would be fouls in a professional game are just commonplace here, and if every action is blown, a game will be blown countless times, and there is no way to do it consistently.

Premier League players lament that League One is rugby, and if they come to the ninth tier of the league, they will probably think that this is not a football game at all, but an unlimited fighting competition......

In general, compared with the other five major leagues, the Premier League is the most physical confrontation, the game scene is simpler, the pace is faster, and it is the hell of technical players.

Therefore, talented players in South America often cannot adapt in the Premier League, and they are more suitable for La Liga and Ligue 1.

"Try to pass the ball to Karl and Robert in front." Clough said to the players. "Carl and Robert, you two have to shoot as much as you can when you get the ball."

Everyone nodded.

"Don't stick the ball in the back, break the ball and pass it forward."

Everyone nodded again.

Clough's tactics are as simple as three sentences, he doesn't analyze how the opponent is doing and what we are going to do.

Because he doesn't know more about his opponents than the players, in fact, everyone is blind to each other.

In this level of competition, it doesn't matter what the opponent is, it's better than who plays.

Even if you want to talk about it, it is nothing more than "focus on me, defend steadily, and make long passes".

It's the same with every team, that's how the amateur league is played.

"When we defend, we move a little bit more to let them know what we're good at, and they don't dare to make a mistake if they come a few more times."

It seemed that he was afraid that the players would go too far, so he made a slight note, "But be careful not to kick them directly on the ankles, and don't show the spikes if you want to kick, we are here to kick the ball, not to kick the feet." ”

After speaking, Clough motioned to the team to be quiet and rest.

He then walked up to Victor and drove Connor Robert to the back of the seat, giving him his own instructions.

"Song, during these days of training, I noticed that you deliberately stepped up your passing practice. To be honest, I was shocked! It's not that I'm surprised at how good my passing ability is, but I didn't expect you to improve so quickly. I believe that as long as you are given time, you will grow rapidly! I'm going to think about giving you more room to play, but I'm already thinking about the possibility of you playing in the back! After all, you've been a defensive midfielder before. ”

"You have to watch how Bert (ardy, Albert's nickname) defends on the field, he's experienced and experienced defensively, so you have to learn a lot!"

Victor nodded to indicate understanding.

The whole bus was quiet, and the players either closed their eyes and recuperated, or they just looked out the window at the scenery, but no one spoke loudly.

This is a new rule set by Coach Clough, once on the team bus, no one is allowed to make noise and disturb the rest of the other players.

Staying in an industrial city like Manchester for a long time can inevitably be a little depressing, and the idyllic scenery along the way is quite refreshing.

……

Lick is a small town in Staffordshire, south of Manchester, with a population of less than 20,000, and there is hardly any hint of modernity in the whole town, but there is a strong antique English flavor that is evocative.

Lick is one of two amateur clubs in Lick Town and has a long history; The other club, Lick CSOB, is even worse, an amateur team that has long played in the ninth division of the North West of England.

The only thing that is more satisfying is that there is the largest stadium in the entire Northwest Division B here, a stadium without a name, but it can accommodate nearly 3,000 people.

The remote location of the small town of Lick is relatively deserted on weekdays, but on January 6, a large group of fans who came from Manchester to watch the game suddenly appeared, which caused a great sensation.

According to George Sr., there must have been more than 2,000 FC United fans who came with the team.

That's a remarkable number, considering that the average attendance at this level is less than a hundred, and even half of League Two doesn't have that number of attendance.

In the amateur league, it is sought after by so many fans, and FC United is the only one!

Any club that can have such a passionate group of fans is worthy of pride.

……

The team bus slowly drove into the small town of Lick.

At this time, the town was already full of fans wearing Lick jerseys walking the streets. Even an amateur team can have die-hard fans in the community.

It wasn't long before someone from the Lick Club came to lead the way.

Lick's home stadium is in a small alley in the town of Lick, and there is no parking lot around it, so if you squeeze so many buses and cars into it at once, it will definitely cause a big traffic jam.

As a last resort, the police station in the small town of Lick was also dispatched, and they arranged for the bus to be located on the street near the stadium.

The game was scheduled for 3:30 p.m., with plenty of time.

……

Enthusiastic FC United fans flocked to the stadium and turned it into their home turf.

Voices in the audience arose along the lines of: "Jerry! My son! ”

"Uncle Tony, we're coming to see you!"

"Honey, we're here!"

This kind of shouting. The atmosphere is indeed more like a festival than a real league.

"It's a feeling that reminds me of Sunday League...... The feeling of having stands and not having stands is different. Robert, who was warming up on the field, shook his head.

"Hmm...... It's really like that. ”

There are a lot of teammates who have played in Sunday League.

Prior to joining the club, Victor represented The Reds in a similar tournament.

On a sunny Sunday afternoon, you and your friends go to the park without stands, play a game with the opponents you have agreed upon, win or lose, and have a drink at the bar after the game, so you can spend a wonderful Sunday afternoon.

"Okay, stop talking nonsense, hurry up and warm up." Captain Carl Marginson reminded his lazy teammates.

The captain had some prestige in the team, and when they heard him, everyone fell silent and began to warm up seriously.

When the warm-up was over, Victor's starters made their way to the dressing room.

The teammates who didn't make it to the squad were already outside, and suddenly it looked like they were scattered in the crowd like ordinary fans.

……

Victor followed his teammates out of the player tunnel.

FC United's players took to the scene to an earthquake of cheers and cheers, as fans chanted slogans and jumped to the beat in the stands, shaking the tiny pitch to the ground.

Although it is an away game, the number of fans of the away team is many times more than that of the home team, and they are all fans of Manchester United before, and they are definitely stronger than their opponents in creating momentum, so the atmosphere on the scene is suddenly biased in favor of FC United.

After a burst of cheers, there was immediately a sound of boos, and everyone knew that it was Lick's players who were about to play.

Feeling the battle of the opposing fans, the president and captain of the Lick club looked back at his teammates with a wry smile on his face, and asked with envy: "Guys, do you think this is still our home stadium?"

Lick's appearance was greeted by a sparse welcome from the home fans.

Victor didn't know any of them.

It's not a Premier League game, like the last time against Manchester United, he was on the bench and could see the stars up close and personal with what he would normally only see on TV.

If it's a professional game, the coach will definitely analyze the opponent's data before the game, so that they know who is the most dangerous and which person has what characteristics. So that when it comes to the playing field, the players only need to follow the instructions of the coaches and they can play.

There are no such conditions in semi-professional or even amateur competitions. The coach can only say a rough idea, and then everything is left to the players to watch on the field.

It's a fun game because it maximizes the impact of the players.

In modern professional football, tactics are becoming more and more detailed, the division of labor is becoming more and more detailed, the freedom of players is strictly limited by tactics, and the fun of the game has become much less.

……

Although it was an amateur game, a set of procedures before the game was quite formal, and the captains of both sides came out to guess the heads and tails of the coins and pick the sides.

In the end, Karl lost the right to pick the edge and won the tee-off.

The opponent picked the side with their backs to the sun, which is the western half, so that in the first half, FC United had to face the glare of the sun when attacking, which obviously limited their swing.

When building a modern and regular football field, the influence of sunlight on the football game was fully considered, and the stadium was avoided as far as possible due east and west.

The referee on duty blew the whistle and the game began.

Playing against the light had a huge impact on FC United, with the players having to keep their eyes squinted to avoid getting too much light into their eyes and getting dazzled.

The opponents, on the other hand, had no such worries at all, and played with the sun on their backs on the familiar court.

Therefore, from the very beginning of the game, FC United were on the defensive, allowing the opposition to roam in their own half.

Victor has been keeping an eye on Ruben Albert's performances.

Ruben Albert has a lot of experience, he has been playing in the lower leagues all year round, and he is quite "dirty" in football.

Fouls are as normal as breathing for him, and the small actions of hiding behind him are countless, and the effect is really good......

This is the quintessential England defensive player – rough in technique, but with a strong will, rough movements, and a formidable villain.

When the team was training, Victor was instructed by Albert to play a little more "dirty".

Before meeting Albert, Victor felt that he was "dirty" and foul collisions were often used. After meeting Albert, he realized that he could be considered a little white......

Lick's number 10 was clearly at the heart of them, and Albert quickly set his sights on the bald kid.

When he got the ball, Albert rushed up and shoveled him to the ground, but the referee didn't blow the whistle, just raised his hands flat, signaling the game to continue!

It didn't take long for the 10th to receive the ball again, this time Albert stealthily smashed his elbow under the opponent's armpit, taking advantage of the opponent's short stature and losing control of the ball, he slammed it in to separate the opponent from the football.

It was definitely a yellow card foul in the professional league, but Albert didn't do anything.

And the opponent didn't dwell too much on Albert's two defensive moves, and obviously they were used to it.

If you were to be yourself, how could you defend yourself?

Victor put every problem Albert encountered in his own mind, simulating the game scene in his mind as if he had experienced it himself.

In fact, a lot of the time, Albert doesn't need to defend with those rough moves, he just needs to take a step...... But after all, he is thirty-six years old, his physical fitness is declining, and he can only get started if he is not physically good. Defending with the stealthy action of foul play is not out of his intention......

With Victor's physical condition, many defenses can be done with only regular moves, even if the referee doesn't have to use foul moves to defend in this kind of game.

……

Lick is very fast and fast, and several forwards and wingers are speed players, and the breakthrough is sharp.

In another quick counter-attack, the Lick striker grabbed a long ball and then launched an attack to create a 4-on-4 situation.

Brian May cut in quickly from behind, received a pass from a teammate on the edge of the box, and took advantage of the situation without any pause to break into the box!

Albert immediately got up to him, using his experience, to block his angle and block the position to prevent him from leaning towards the goal.

Brian May's dribbling skills are good, and he can control the ball to change direction continuously when he is running fast, and he still can't shake off the experienced Albert, so he can only pass diagonally to the middle of the penalty area along the baseline.

Victor paid attention to Lick's two strikers, he was hesitating whether to step forward, knowing in his heart that if he stepped forward at this time, there would be no one behind him to guard the two strikers, in case the time came......

Just as Victor hesitated, a red figure suddenly rushed up and used his body to block Lick's striker's shot out of the penalty area in time, but Brian May missed and hit the goal in time.

Fortunately, goalkeeper Andy was very attentive and could lift the ball off the crossbar, a corner kick!

A counterattack and two shots on goal shocked FC United in a cold sweat.

Clough watched from the sidelines, especially when he saw Victor's hesitation, and he couldn't wait to teach the young player he had high hopes for a hard lesson.

He also realized that Victor's lack of experience in the game led to the hesitation he had just now.

At the critical moment, captain Karl blocked the shot with his body, and the team saved the day.

Karl fell on the pitch for a moment, stood up, and glared at the young player as he passed Victor, "The guy who pounced just now should be you, but you hesitated!" ”

Victor was embarrassed, but he hesitated just now!

"Why didn't you pounce just now? Can't you trust Sim? Still can't trust Tony? ”

Victor had nothing to say, he was really worried about the other two strikers just now, and obviously lacked trust in his two partners.

"Song, you'd better keep in mind that if you want to gain a firm foothold in this position, it's not just about strength, it's not just about stabilizing the overall situation, but also about knowing how to trust your teammates!"

"Did you see Albert?" Bremer pointed to Albert, who ran over to prepare a corner kick tactic, "The reason why he can become the team's main midfielder is not only because of his skills, but also because of his teammates, Sim and Tony, which one of them is not deeply trusted by Albert?" ”

"If you don't trust your partner, you'll never be a good centre-back!"

Albert stepped forward, hugged Victor and said to the captain: "Okay, Carl, this time I didn't do a good job, and it is my responsibility not to seal the other party's No. 10!" Song,It's just the first debut.,It's normal to be unfamiliar.,Slowly you should understand! Don't we old guys all come around like this! ”

Although Victor was reprimanded by the captain, he did not feel disgusted in the slightest, but nodded his head, acknowledging his lesson to himself.

But he is also grateful to Albert for taking responsibility and speaking for himself.

"Understood, Captain, I'll learn from Albert."

Victor has a correct mentality, he still has a lot of things to learn, and a lot of details are not as simple as they seem on the surface.

If you don't have experience, be active and run more.

He calmed down, focused on the opposing frontcourt, and stared at the opposing frontcourt.

Every time he attacks, as long as the opponent approaches his defense area, he rushes up, grabs it if he can, and gets stuck if he can't grab it to prevent him from passing smoothly.

Sprinting back and forth, sweating profusely after a while.

……

Judging from the scene, FC United's attack was not organized, and now the backfield is being pressed and beaten again.

The opponent hoisted the ball in front of the goal again and again, and every time they fought for the top, FC United's goal was in chaos.

Head coach Clough was a little restless, with one foot on one foot, jumping to the sidelines to shout and tell his players to pay attention to the opponent's high ball.

At this moment, Lick suddenly changed his style of play and kept playing high balls, and suddenly passed a low flat ball!

……

Twenty-eight-year-old May is at the heart of Lick's attack, and for proof, he wears the number 10 jersey.

He pulled to the left flank, bypassed Albert and faced the last line of defence.

Victor rushed up and joined up with left-back Danny Roberts to help take charge.

Brian May knew that once he was entangled by a defender, the rhythm of a quick counter-attack would be chosen, and the opportunity would be gone.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw his striker teammates waving at him as they charged.

Then he had an idea, and suddenly he came with a low pass, fast and fast, the ball diagonally through the entire FC United defence, moved to the other side of the pitch, and delivered it precisely to the feet of his team-mates.

This long pass with a low flat ball, like an antelope hanging on its horns, is full of imagination, like a scalpel, unexpectedly, directly tearing the entire defensive chain, very exciting.

This kind of passing is also rare for Brian May, but it is not something that can be passed on from one mouth to another.

The Victors who rushed forward instantly became ornaments.

Victor turned and chased back, but he was thirty meters away from the opponent's player with the ball, and no matter how fast he ran, he couldn't catch up.

But he didn't give up, he ran to the middle of the box, the opponent picked up the ball on the wing, and in the end the football had to go back to the middle anyway.

Even if it is a 1 in 10,000 chance, it will be the only chance he can stop the opponent's attack this time, and he must chase it and never give up.

Lick's forward was quick, offside and before defenders could turn to catch up, burst into the box, confronted the goalkeeper and fired a soft shot.

Andy Bale couldn't make a save and the ball went into the net.

……

There was a cheer around the stadium and it was the Lick fans.

FC United fans were a little disappointed with the goal conceded, but they didn't show it too much. They are all old fans who have watched football for decades, and they know no less about football than those experts and scholars. What level FC United are, they know very well.

They love FC United because of a sense of belonging, not because of the strength of this team.

Otherwise, why did they split from Manchester United in the first place?

Who else is stronger than Manchester United?

If you really can't win, it's not a big deal, you still love it.

It's just that there is no victory, and there is less joy!

Football needs passion, it needs blood.

Victor hates failure.

……

The format of the game was unfavorable, and FC United's counter-attack was not threatening, and Clough had to let the team shrink the defensive line and stabilize the defense first.

And Lick took full advantage of the sunny direction to launch waves of fierce attacks, bombarding FC United indiscriminately!

FC United's defense is tight, marking, grabbing the ball, and blocking positions, everyone is tense and nervous, sparing no physical strength, and strictly defending.

Victor gasped and ran non-stop, eager to break the ball and deliver ammunition to his teammates up front.

waited until the referee's whistle blew before he realized that the first half was over.