Sitting on the visiting team's bench at the Bophim Stadium, Su Dong had been paying so much attention to the situation on the field that he even forgot that it was time to go to the sidelines to warm up and stretch his muscles.
This was a match .
There are broadcasting cameras in the air above and around the Bofeim Stadium, which will pay attention to every move in the stadium.
Of course, the director will only push out the scenes that fans are most interested in. Most of the captured shots will not be seen by the fans, and no one will pay attention to the unknown players on the bench.
At most, when taking pictures of head coach Boloni on the sidelines, I accidentally included the bench in the picture.
…
The game was actually quite dull.
Setubal relies on defensive counterattacks, while Sporting Lisbon also seeks to play safely away from home, and both sides are reluctant to take risks.
A lot of troops were deployed in the midfield, but no results were achieved.
Boloni let Joao Pinto play as a shadow striker, ambushing behind Jardel, hoping that he could hold the ball within the 30-meter area and then pass it out.
This seemed like a simple task, but under the opponent's tight control, the players at the Lisbon Stadium completed it quite poorly. Even in the first half hour, Joao Pinto did not make even a threatening pass.
The double defensive midfielders of Elio Sousa and Sandro Mendes performed very skillfully and steadily, suppressing Joao Pinto.
Sporting Lisbon was also trying to advance from the wing, but Barbosa on the left was not good at dribbling. Left-back Rui Jorge actively joined in, but the effect was not very obvious. Paulo Ferreira performed very steadily on this side.
Although Quaresma on the right performed as usual, he was still too sticky to the ball.
His style of play is very entertaining and beautiful to play. Even if it were edited into a few short videos, it would definitely be very exciting. However, if you zoom in on the entire game, at least in the first thirty minutes, he did not create any threat.
This is the difference between video highlights and the full game.
Sporting Lisbon couldn't break the deadlock, and Setubal was patiently waiting for an opportunity.
The game went on dully.
Just when Su Dong began to get restless, the midfielder suddenly intercepted the ball, Barbosa made a diagonal pass, Jardel quickly rushed into the penalty area, and like pulling up onions in dry land, he headed the ball into the goal, breaking the deadlock for Sporting Lisbon.
In an instant, the entire Bofeim Stadium was filled with boos.
The fans at the scene certainly would not cheer for Jardel's goal.
But everyone in Sporting Lisbon was very excited.
This goal came at the right time.
Jardel himself was also very excited. He ran around the field to celebrate and even ran to the bench to high-five teammates including Ronnie and Su Dong.
…
"This is the number one star!" Su Dong exclaimed.
Although Boloni doesn't like it, and even many people question Jardel's tactical value, thinking that he can only score goals, but at critical moments, Jardel can score goals.
This is the value of Jardel!
"It's amazing. He seized the tiny opportunity. His sense of smell is so sharp." Ronnie also admired him very much.
Just now, when Setubal switched from defense to offense, midfielder Barbosa successfully intercepted the ball, Jardel immediately followed up, successfully made an offside, and scored a header in the penalty area.
The entire goal reflected Jardel's keen sense of smell and smart positioning.
And, of course, his ability to head the ball past Hugo Costa.
"Now the deadlock has been broken, and Setubal can't sit still anymore," Ronnie said excitedly.
Su Dong also nodded frequently.
After Sporting Lisbon's goal, Setubal had to become more proactive.
In this case, Sporting Lisbon will have more offensive space and more counterattacks.
The situation is very good.
But just when Su Dong and Ronaldo thought that Sporting Lisbon had already grabbed the three points, the situation on the field changed again.
Just seven minutes after Jardel's goal, Sporting Lisbon's Quaresma was too stuck to the ball and failed to pass it in time. After being intercepted, he quickly launched a counterattack, drove straight along the right and passed the ball into the penalty area.
Andre Cruz missed a good opportunity when competing with the opponent's forward, and the opponent got the first point. He headed the ball to the penalty spot, and the defensive midfielder Sandro Mendes who came in from the back row made a direct shot to equalize the score for Setubal.
Everyone was stunned.
Su Dong looked at the Setubal players who were celebrating wildly on the field in disbelief. Hearing the cheers from the whole stadium, a sentence emerged in his mind.
Everything is possible in football!
At the same time, he also remembered a piece of data that Pontes had once told him.
The most dangerous moments in a race are often when you feel safe.
Many goals were scored in the ten minutes after the previous goal.
As if to confirm Pontes's data, just two minutes later, Quaresma made a mistake again. Rui Bento's pass was intercepted and he launched a counterattack again.
Hugo Henrique scored another goal for Setubal, successfully reversing the score.
Two to one!
In just ten minutes, the situation reversed again and again.
First, Sporting Lisbon scored a goal, and then Setubal scored two goals in a row to reverse the situation.
If this were a TV series, the plot would be full of twists and turns.
After conceding two goals in a row, Sporting Lisbon suffered a heavy blow.
Five minutes after the goal, the first half ended.
…
At the coach's call, Su Dong, like other substitute players, stood up from his seat.
They need to go to the field for warm-up training during the half-time break.
The starting players walked from the field to the tunnel one after another, preparing to return to the locker room. Head coach Boloni was nowhere to be seen. He probably went back to the locker room early to prepare for the tactical arrangements and adjustments for the second half.
Being 1-2 behind Setubal was unacceptable to every Sporting Lisbon player.
We must fight back in the second half.
But the key is, how to create a threat?
"Quaresma acted like a coward today. He couldn't even hold the ball after entering the front court." Ronnie said angrily.
Su Dong nodded. This was a serious problem, but it was not just Quaresma.
In fact, no one in Sporting Lisbon's frontcourt could hold the ball.
Barbosa is a midfielder playing on the wing, so there is no need to say much. Joao Pinto was suppressed by the opponent's double defensive midfielders. Quaresma was too sticky to the ball, but it was more reflected in the advancement. Jardel received the ball with his back... forget it, let's talk about his goal.
Facing a team like Setubal , Sporting Lisbon lacked the ability to receive the ball with their backs when attacking, which was very fatal.
It's very simple. If you want to attack with the ball head on, you must have space.
Jardel's goal was a typical example of shooting from behind the opponent.
But if the opponent retreats tightly and gets into a positional battle, then you have to get the ball with your back to the goal.
Setubal is well aware of this, so Campos does not easily give Sporting Lisbon players the opportunity to dribble head-on.
If Nalizis was there at this time, Boloni would probably consider making a substitution.
Narizis' height and weight are indeed enough to hold his own, but the problem is that his technique is rough, and his stability in holding the ball and passing the ball are both problems.
Su Dong knew very well what the team needed him to do.
But he didn't know whether Boloni trusted him?
…
The starting players of both teams returned to the court one after another.
Apart from the players and coaches, no one knew what happened in the locker room during the ten minutes of halftime.
After the head coach Boloni followed the team, he stopped at the player's tunnel. After looking around, he called out to Su Dong and waved, "Su."
Su Dong saw Boloni's gesture from afar, and after hearing the shout, he ran over immediately.
"How's the warm-up going?" Boloni asked with concern.
"Very good, you can play anytime." Su Dong said seriously.
Boloni looked at him deeply and nodded , "Be prepared. Also, don't be idle after the second half starts. Pay more attention to Paulo Ferreira."
Su Dong was a little surprised. He was a center forward and should have paid attention to the opponent's central defender after coming on the court.
As a right-back, isn't Paulo Ferreira someone the wide players should pay attention to?
But Su Dong didn't ask any more questions or think too much about it, he just nodded.
As long as he can play, he will unconditionally carry out the tasks assigned by the head coach, even if it means letting him play as a defender.
This is the professional ethics of being a professional player.
…
The second half of the game is about to begin.
Su Dong slowly walked back to the bench, met up with other substitute teammates, and sat back on the bench.
"Why did the coach call you over?" Ronnie asked enviously.
Everyone knows that this means there is a high possibility that Su Dong will come on as a substitute in the second half.
“He told me to be ready and watch out for Paulo Ferreira.”
Ronnie frowned when he heard this, "Shouldn't this be something I should be concerned about?"
In the information provided by the coaching staff before the game, Ronnie focused on Paulo Ferreira because he can play on both sides.
"I don't know, maybe the team changed its tactics." Su Dong guessed.
As expected, after the second half, Sporting Lisbon made some minor adjustments to its tactics.
Joao Pinto, who was originally more active in the middle, began to appear on the left side, while Barbosa returned to the center of the midfield, which made Sporting Lisbon look more like a 4-3-3 formation, except that the two wingers were pulled back.
Su Dong quickly figured out that Boloni was trying to give Joao Pinto a try on the left side to see if he could keep the ball on that side.
But Setubal head coach Campos soon saw through this. Paulo Ferreira and Sandro Mendes frequently double-teamed Joao Pinto, which resulted in Sporting Lisbon failing to hold on to the two passes to Joao Pinto at the beginning of the second half, let alone create any threats.
Joao Pinto ultimately plays as a central midfielder and is not good at holding the ball with his back to the goal.
The whole start was still very dull, and the situation did not improve after Sporting Lisbon changed its style of play.
This made head coach Boloni frown on the sidelines.
He is well aware of the situation the team is facing and knows what needs to be done.
The key point is that he couldn't be sure whether Su Dong was worthy of his trust?
A seventeen-year-old player, can he really play at such a crucial moment and play the tactical role that he and everyone in the team expect?
Boloni himself has no confidence.