Chapter 30 Little God of War
Brazilian veteran Emerson is the core of Madeira United's defense.
He used to be a starter in a Portuguese Super League team, but as he got older and the team was relegated, he gradually declined and finally came to Madeira United to retire.
This is the fate of many professional players.
But after all, he was once a main player in a Portuguese Super League team and had fought against top teams such as Porto and Benfica on the field. Even if he came to Madeira United and compete in the Portuguese Second Division South, it would be more of a dimensionality reduction blow to him.
This is also the reason why Madeira Union is temporarily at the top of the standings this season.
The 31-year-old Brazilian veteran and the 22-year-old young player, this pair of central defenders is the best performing combination in the Portuguese Second Division South this season. Among them, the young player Fabio Elbos is from Porto's youth training.
The two have been partners for more than four months and have already established a good understanding. They also did their homework before the game.
In the away challenge against Sporting CP, the most threatening player is the opponent's young center forward Su Dong.
The 17-year-old is a rookie who has risen quickly this season and has firmly established himself as the main center forward. This is very common in lower-level leagues, where players rise quickly but also fall quickly.
Perhaps, Su Dong will be like most rookies, being hyped for a while and then quickly falling.
…
After the game started, Madeira United, who played away, kicked off first.
This team can occupy the top of the list because of their defense. Their own strength is not very good. They are not as good as Olhaneson, a strong team that was relegated from the Portuguese First Division. When they play against Sporting CP, the situation is 50-50.
In the first ten minutes, no one could do anything to anyone else and no one could create any chances.
Su Dong ran very actively, but he couldn't pass the ball from the midfield, so he mainly retreated to receive the transition pass.
It made him seem less threatening.
But in the 13th minute, Baru on the right received the ball and tried to rush forward along the right, but the opponent's left-back was prepared and stood in position in time.
Baru just crossed the center line, dribbled the ball back and passed it horizontally to the middle.
Canelas came up from behind, poked the ball to the left before the defender, and advanced diagonally forward with the ball. The defender kept close to him, trying to force Canelas to pass the ball back.
…
Su Dong was cruising in front.
He first wanted to meet Baru, but after seeing Baru dribbling the ball across the center line, he did not start, but passed the ball sideways.
So Su Dong also followed towards the middle.
The opponent's two central defenders, one old and one young, always sandwiched him in the middle and did not give him any chance to get the ball easily.
But just as Canelas took the lead to catch Baru's cross pass and dribbled the ball diagonally to the left, Su Dong noticed a gesture from the opponent's two central defenders.
The old center back reached behind him and waved to the young center back number four, who in turn shouted for no apparent reason.
After hearing the shout, the old center back obviously moved to the left.
In an instant, an idea emerged in Su Dong's mind.
The old central defender should move the defense line to the left and stand a little forward, so that the young central defender can follow the movement and ensure that Su Dong can be controlled in time.
Almost at the same time, Su Dong thought of a possibility.
Almost without thinking, he followed the old center back, took two steps to the left, and shouted to Canelas.
The two men moved at the same time, not only the old central defender Emerson was a little surprised, but the young central defender Elworth was even a little panicked. When Canelas heard Su Dong's shout and reacted, he took the opportunity to send a diagonal pass to the front of him.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye, and no one at the scene even knew clearly what was happening.
They just saw that after Su Dong shouted, he suddenly started beside Madeira United's central defender Emerson and quickly inserted diagonally behind him, and Canelas also understood what he meant and sent a diagonal pass.
The ball quickly fell to the left side of the penalty area, and Su Dong also rushed over.
Madeira United's goalkeeper is the 32-year-old Brazilian veteran Adriano Facchini, who once played for Santos. He reacted very quickly and left the goal before anyone else.
Although he hadn't received the ball yet, when Su Dong saw the goalkeeper attack, noticed his running route and gestures, he immediately knew what the opponent was thinking.
He wanted to force me to the left so that the fourth central defender could return to the goal in time.
This is also the most reasonable choice for Su Dong at the moment, because he was originally sprinting to the left.
But after understanding the other person's thoughts, a voice in his subconscious mind told Su Dong not to do this!
The moment he received the ball, Su Dong suddenly stopped, intercepted the football with his right foot, gently pushed it behind him, stabilized his body and turned around quickly.
This sudden change shocked goalkeeper Faccini.
He originally thought that Su Dong would dribble the ball to the left, but unexpectedly he suddenly stopped and turned around.
In panic, Facchini also stopped abruptly, but he reacted hastily and failed to stabilize his center of gravity in time, and he lost his balance. Su Dong pushed the ball behind him. Although it was a bit big, he turned around, quickly caught up and shot directly with his right foot.
The ball went into the unguarded empty goal at an extremely fast speed !
The number four center back Elworth had just reached the front of the small penalty area and was completely powerless.
"Wow!!!!"
After scoring the goal, Su Dong was so excited that he jumped high on the spot and waved his right fist vigorously.
He was clearly aware that the help Romario's "Wolf in the Penalty Zone" brought him was not just running on the court, but also a keen sense of the situation and guessing of the opponent's psychology.
All the fans in the stadium were cheering, and many of them were shouting Su Dong's name.
Even though there were only two thousand people, the noise they made when they shouted in unison was quite loud.
Su Dong excitedly rushed to the sidelines and celebrated his goal to the fans on the scene.
One to zero!
…
…
"pretty!"
Like the excited Atletico fans around him, Benfica's Vieira also stood up and shouted excitedly.
"The positioning of the ball was very smart and the handling was very sophisticated. He doesn't look like a 17-year-old boy at all. Instead, he looks like an old fox who has played football for decades." Vieira praised repeatedly.
Abel Silva nodded continuously.
This goal seems quite ordinary and not particularly beautiful, but there are a lot of details that need to be handled. If even one of them is not handled properly, the ball will never be scored.
"He's improved again," Abel praised. "He's made significant progress since the last time I saw him play. This kid is improving in almost every game, and every time he plays, it's amazing."
Vieira nodded.
Before, he watched Su Dong's performance from the video, but the picture quality was very touching and there was a sense of alienation. But when he watched the game live, he was really infected.
With a height of 1.9 meters and a speed of swiftness, it is like a supersonic tank.
Especially his last kick, it was so powerful and refreshing!
In Vieira's impression, this kind of shot has only been seen on one superstar, the God of War Batistuta.
"No wonder they call him the Little God of War!" Vieira laughed.
Abel smiled bitterly and shook his head, "He doesn't seem to like this nickname."
"Oh why?"
“He feels that he is not small.”
Vieira was stunned for a moment, then he reacted and laughed, "What an ambitious boy, I like him!"
…
…
After Su Dong scored the first goal, Madeira United began to counterattack.
Sporting CP had a one-goal lead, and when they saw their opponents counterattacking, they naturally turned to playing it safe.
The situation changed again.
Su Dong was still at the forefront. The opponent was obviously more afraid of him than at the beginning. The two central defenders followed him closely and did not give him any chance.
Even though Su Dong ran into open space a few times, after getting the ball, no teammates followed him in time, which made it difficult for him to create a threat and seemed to be alone.
Anyone could see that Su Dong's strength had surpassed that of his teammates, and the players in the athletic meeting obviously could no longer keep up with Su Dong's pace, which made the people in the stands feel Su Dong's progress even more.
You know, a few months ago, Su Dong was still struggling in this team, but now, he has stood out from the crowd.
If he continues like this, how high can he reach?
…
As the saying goes, a thief can steal for a thousand days, but you can never guard against thieves for a thousand days.
As Su Dong continued to try to find opportunities, Madeira United was ultimately unable to hold on.
Not long after the start of the second half, Madeira United tried to attack, but Atlético goalkeeper Matelo decisively left the goal and after snatching the ball in mid-air, he suddenly kicked the ball directly to the frontcourt.
Su Dong quickly saw through Matelos' intention, and at the moment of the long pass, he stood almost at the same level as Elworth.
They both started at the same time, but Su Dong was faster.
When Elworth reached out and tried to grab Su Dong, he found that his opponent had already flown away.
Su Dong successfully countered the offside trap and caught up with the ball outside the penalty area. He stopped the ball with his right foot and moved it forward.
Goalkeeper Facchini went to the outside of the small penalty area. Facing Su Dong who was approaching with the ball, he kept guessing the opponent's intentions.
Su Dong suddenly lowered his left shoulder , seemingly trying to pull the ball to the left, tricking Facchini into blocking it sideways, but his left foot blocked the ball back to the right, and then he took advantage of the situation to make another shot with his right foot.
Batty GOL!
The ball was hit into Madeira United's goal again at an extremely fast speed.
Once again, Su Dong was in the opponent's penalty area. He raised his clenched right fist high, turned around and faced his teammates who were running towards him, and let out a lion-like roar, venting his inner excitement.
At this time, Carlos, the technical director of Bellerenses in the stands, also stood up excitedly.
"Sign him! You must sign him for me!"
After a pause, he seemed to be afraid of some changes, and turned to look at Feguerredo, "Go to Gorba now and tell him that we want to sign Su Dong."
But I still feel uneasy.
"No, I'll go myself."
After saying that, he left the table.
