ATPnovel Chapter 39: Your next opponent is someone you'll be terrified of just thinking about!
Chapter 39: Your next opponent is someone you'll be terrified of just thinking about!
The next day.
On the bus bound for San Sebastián in the Basque Country, the engine emitted a deep and steady roar.
Kirk bent down and pulled the black sports backpack that was at his feet up to his thighs.
He unzipped the bottommost compartment, reached into the innermost small pocket, and rummaged around for a while.
Then, Kirk took out a palm-sized, extremely dark-colored pointed wooden carving from his bag.
The carving on this thing is extremely rough, and there are a few crooked red lines drawn on it that are hard to decipher.
Kirk held the wooden sculpture tightly to his chest with both hands and turned to look to the side.
Li Jing was leaning back in his large chair, holding his phone and scrolling through a recent tactical analysis video.
"Li, I've never understood this."
Kirk nudged Li Jing's arm with his elbow and asked with a puzzled look on his face.
Since Li Jing provided an assist to Koke in the last match, this little guy has become Li Jing's follower.
Now I have a ton of questions to ask Li Jing every day.
"Isn't today the 20th round of the league? Why does the schedule show the first round of La Liga matches?"
Li Jing's train of thought was interrupted, and he immediately turned off his phone screen.
He turned and stared at Kirk:
"You've even forgotten this? Last August, the La Liga players' union protested unpaid wages and staged a major strike, causing the first two rounds of matches to be postponed. Today is to make up for the debt from last year's first round."
Li Jing silently complained in his heart.
La Liga is such a bizarre league, with protests and strikes happening all the time, making the entire schedule a complete mess, and then having to frantically make up for missed matches in the second half of the season.
Kirk exclaimed "Oh!" as if suddenly realizing something.
The next second, he immediately lowered his head and gripped the pointed wooden carving even tighter with both hands, the veins on the back of his hands bulging.
Kirk closed his eyes, his lips moving rapidly as he began to mutter incoherently.
"May the ancestral wizards bless him! May Lee wreak havoc on the field today! May his passes be as precise as a scalpel!"
"We must get the score to 5-0 or higher before the 60th minute! No, preferably 6-0!"
Li Jing's eyes twitched violently as he listened to this extremely absurd prayer.
He reached out and forcefully struck the ugly wooden sculpture's head, forcibly interrupting Kirk's spellcasting.
"Are you fucking crazy?" Li Jing cursed irritably.
"Are you holding that broken piece of wood in your hand a curse on the other side, or are you performing some kind of ritual?"
Kirk suddenly raised his head, his face full of urgency, and raised his voice to refute.
"This is a wooden carving my grandma gave me for good luck and protection! It's incredibly effective!"
Kirk held the wooden carving with both hands, his tone full of the bitterness of a lowly substitute.
"Think about it, only if you guys, the starting lineup, can beat the other side to a score of 5 or more, will the game be completely over."
Kirk pointed towards the coach's seat in front.
"Only our hot-tempered head coach would dare to bring me, a young substitute, on for a few more minutes to run around during this crucial period of fighting for points!"
"If the score is close, I could sit on the bench until my butt aches and still not get a single second of playing time!"
After hearing this logic, Li Jing suddenly felt that the young man was teachable.
Li Jing grinned.
"Alright, then I'll try to get you playing time in the first half!"
……
A few hours later.
The scene changes.
The entrance to the away team's locker room at the Anoeta Stadium.
Outside in the stands, the boos from the entire stadium mingled with the oppressive shouts of Real Sociedad's home fans, creating a deafening cacophony.
The fervent atmosphere here is no less intense than at their home stadium.
Li Jing walked in the middle of the group, with Falcao in front of him and Gabi behind him.
He looked up, his gaze passing over the barbed wire fence blocking the passageway, and directly at the Real Sociedad starting lineup displayed on the large screen hanging in the middle of the stadium.
It listed a series of names and formation diagrams, including Bravo, Griezmann, and Inigo.
Gabi strode up from behind and stood side by side with Li Jing.
Gabby squinted, staring intently at the tactical board animation displayed on the screen.
"4-4-2?"
Gabby stroked his chin, a hint of disdain in his voice.
"They're about to be relegated, and instead of sticking to a solid five-defender formation, they're playing a bland, standard 4-4-2? Does their coach underestimate us?"
"Hey, we're a little short this season."
"But they're also what's known as the 'Big Three' of La Liga!"
Li Jing shook his head.
He pointed directly at the Real Sociedad players who were spreading out and taking their positions on the outer edge of the pitch.
Li Jing possessed an extremely keen tactical intuition, and he immediately saw through the opponent's formation tricks.
"Captain, look at that Frenchman named Griezmann, and those two wingers in their midfield."
Li Jing speaks very quickly.
"Look at the depth of this formation! This isn't a normal 4-4-2!"
Gabi followed Li Jing's finger and his face instantly darkened.
At this point, Real Sociedad's forwards and midfielders showed no intention of retreating to their own half to protect the defense.
The four midfielders arrogantly stepped onto the center circle line, displaying an extremely aggressive forward-pressing posture, as if they were ready to devour the opponent alive.
This is an extremely distorted and oppressive formation.
This is clearly a direct confrontation!
"A real man fights head-on?"
Gabby sneered, clenching his fists together so tightly that his knuckles cracked.
"These guys definitely watched the replay of our last game."
Gabby gritted his teeth,
"They think our backline is easy to bully, huh! They want to take control of our half?"
……
There was only one minute left before the referee blew the whistle.
Both teams' players have entered the field.
The match is about to begin.
Simeone, standing in the control area on the sidelines, suddenly turned around.
Without saying a word, the old man snatched the oversized silver tactical thermos filled with hot yerba mate from the hands of assistant coach Burgos.
Burgos was pulled forward a step by the rough movement.
"Gabbie! Lee! Everyone, come here! Everyone, come have a drink of water!"
Simeone stood outside the sideline, ignoring the noise from the entire stadium, and shouted at the top of his lungs.
Upon hearing the shout, Atletico Madrid's starting eleven immediately rushed to the sidelines like a pack of wolves receiving a command, forming a tight circle.
Simone didn't pour any water into the paper cup next to him.
He gripped the heavy thermos tightly with both hands, raised it high, and then slammed it violently onto the grass.
A muffled "bang" was heard.
Water splashed out from the loosely sealed spout, steaming as it hit Li Jing's sneakers.
The old man pointed directly at Real Sociedad's pressing formation on the other side of the field with great force, extending his finger.
The veins on his forehead were throbbing, and even his neck was flushed red.
Simone lowered his voice, which was filled with an extremely dangerous, bloodthirsty tone.
"See that?! They completely disregarded our 7-0 victory in the last match!"
Simone gritted his teeth, his voice filled with rage.
"Their tactics are pure provocation! They're shitting on our necks!"
"Why is that? It's because you didn't exert enough pressure in the last match!"
"What if you guys were Real Madrid!"
"Or maybe it's Barcelona, would they dare to set up a formation like that?!"
Simone spread his arms wide, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Li Jing and Gabi's faces, as if he were setting a fire.
"Did they think their high-pressing would cut off our ability to play from our own half?"
Simone slammed his hand on the tactical board next to him, the plastic board making a crisp sound.
"Kick them to pieces!"
Simone roared.
"Let them know, in the most brutal way, how utterly wrong this suicidal tactic is! Charge!"
"So that your next opponent will be someone you dread just thinking about!"
Gabi led the charge with a roar, and all the Atletico Madrid players suddenly opened their throats and roared in unison.
They turned around and rushed onto the field.
At this moment, their fighting spirit and rage were at their peak.