Football's Number One Madman

Chapter 156
"Drip, drip, drip~~~"

On November 11, in the snowy sky and bleak wind in St. Petersburg, Valencia stopped its ten-game winning streak in all competitions.

At the Petrovsky Stadium on the coast of the Baltic Sea, the Bat Corps, full of wounded soldiers, was defeated by the host Zenit!

0: 2!

Captain Parejo gasped helplessly, looked at the lawn almost completely covered by heavy snow, and couldn't help shaking his head.

[Ghost knows it will snow today! 】

[We are on the warm and humid Mediterranean coast, and there are few days of sub-zero weather in a year! 】

Nuno Santo didn't show much pessimism in his post-match press conference:
"We have been too unlucky recently. The two main defenders are collectively injured, and many players have physical and muscle problems. As a result, this game can only be played with a rotation lineup. Fortunately, this loss will not affect too much. A lot of things..."

He is absolutely right.

Zenit, which has won five games and won five games, has already advanced to the knockout round with the first place in the group. Lyon, the Ligue 1 overlord who was previously recognized as the favorite to qualify, still only has [-] point after five rounds and is definitely out.

As for another team, the Belgian champion Ghent, after defeating Lyon, their points came to 4 points. Even if they beat Valencia in the last round, they only have 7 points, and it is impossible to catch up with 3 points anyway. Valencia with 2 wins and 9 points.

Therefore, this defeat is completely acceptable to Valencia, and Nuno also generously allowed Negredo, Wezzo, Ryan and other substitute players to experience the feeling of the Champions League.

What they didn’t expect was that as soon as they stepped onto the field, St. Petersburg was covered by dark clouds and a burst of sleet. Not only did the temperature drop sharply, but the field became slippery and muddy. Many Spanish and Argentine players had never seen it in their lifetime. Get through this "extremely bad" weather!

In the end, they did nothing in the away game. Vizzo, who replaced Li Polo, even received a yellow card in the second half and was sent off in the 88th minute...

Seeing Wei Zuo walking back to the locker room dejectedly, Nuno was too angry to speak.

[Some players' brains are really unclear!

There are only 2 minutes left in the game, and the defeat has already been decided. What do you think is the point of receiving this yellow card?
Is it to show off your sportsmanship of being indomitable, tenacious, and never giving up until the last second?
This is all right, even if I want you to show your presence in the last round, you won't be able to appear on the stage! 】
-
Of course Ruben Vezzo knew that his evaluation in the head coach's mind had been deducted several points.

So he was very depressed, and even wished to open a bottle of strong wine and get drunk.

But when he woke up, he got great news:
"Mustafi slipped and fell in the shower! Pulled a thigh muscle! I'm afraid I'll be off for another two weeks!"

Vezzo immediately cut a brand new hairstyle and announced to the head coach:
"I, Ruben Vezzo, starting today, I will change my mind and start a new life!"

Looking at this high-spirited substitute defender, Nuno sighed helplessly.

[If you don't need him... who else can you use? 】

[Orban who is less than 180 tall? 】

[Or the two brats who were just transferred from the youth team? 】
-
On the fifth day after the defeat in the Champions League, on November 11, the Valencia team arrived in Seville, which is hundreds of kilometers away.

This is also a famous seaside city with pleasant scenery and spring-like seasons. Even though it has entered winter, the temperature in the afternoon is as high as 16 degrees.

Compared with St. Petersburg, which is freezing and snowy, this place is simply heaven!
But sometimes, Lee Polo would think of a difficult old saying:

"Difficulties, Yuru Yucheng."

Or in other words that are easier to understand:
"The flowers in the greenhouse cannot withstand the wind and rain."

If a team only pursues favorable objective conditions, it will be difficult for them to achieve final success!

On this day, reality also taught them a lesson.

In the warm and comfortable Pizjuan Stadium, facing Sevilla, which is only 12th in the league, the Bat Corps fell into an unexpected bitter battle!
Less than 20 minutes into the game, the two full-backs Cancelo and Gaya, and the central defender Wezzo received yellow cards one after another, and their defense suffered a huge blow!
Standing among them, Lee Polo... turned out to be the only defender who didn't get a card!

Seeing that the defense line was tight, Nuno Santo could only command the team to shrink the formation moderately, and stabilize the position first.

But Sevilla is a bit "killing you while you are sick", and launched a fierce attack on the weakest area of ​​​​Valencia's defense!
Compared with Gaya and Li Polo's left, Vezzo and Cancelo's right seemed to be more popular with them, so that the home team's full-backs rushed into the 20-meter area to participate in the attack, and Parejo had to retreat. Go into the penalty area to assist the defense.

Still, accidents happen.

In the 34th minute, Sevilla left back Escudero broke through with the ball, and Cancelo slapped the opponent's face with a slap when he was already stuck!
Escudero immediately covered his eyes and rolled all over the ground. The referee hesitated for half a second before showing Cancelo a second yellow card!
Two yellows turned into one red, and the right back of the Bat Legion was expelled after only half an hour of playing!
Barragan on the sidelines slapped his thigh:
"Why is he so reckless! There's no need to hit someone!"

But he was already happy in his heart!

【The prayer I did in church yesterday was really useful! 】

[I want to get back my starting position! 】

Seeing that the defense on the right was on the verge of collapse, Nuno could only let the midfielder Enzo Perez play on the wing and barely lasted until the intermission.

Under the aggressive offensive of the opponent, Valencia did not even have a shot in the 45 minutes of the first half!Not even a chance for a corner kick or a free kick in the frontcourt!
Without a set ball, even if Lee Polo's header skill is 100 times better, it is impossible to directly lob an 80-meter goal in the penalty area of ​​his own side to score!
-
"The defeat in the Champions League five days ago obviously affected Valencia's performance today. Their players are so eager to score goals and wins that everyone seems to be in a dilemma. It’s too simple, and it’s easy to be seen by the opponent. And Sevilla has seized their eagerness to attack, successfully counterattacked many times, and frequently threatened their gate.”

A commentator on Spanish TV commented:

"The biggest problem for Nuno now is how to choose between offense and defense!"

Nuno knew the question, but he didn't know the answer.

Perez's defensive ability is good, and there is no problem playing as a full-back, but in this way, the interception ability of the midfielder will be weakened...

[The two starting forwards...should they be replaced? 】

[Or replace the 19-year-old midfielder Danilo Barbosa? 】

[But who should be replaced? 】

[DePaul?Piatti?Or the unstable Figuri? 】

He thought about it for a long time, and finally decided to stabilize the defense:
"Remove Mina and put Orbán in at right-back."

[Defense is the basis for a team to win! 】

His plan is very sound, but today's God is going to oppose him!
After only 4 minutes in the second half, Valencia's defense exploded again!

The location of the accident... is still on their right side!
After the home team midfielder Ivan Banega attracted many defensive players on the right side of the front of the penalty area, he suddenly picked up the ball and passed it. The football directly crossed Li Polo's defense zone and landed precisely between Vizzo and Orbán. In the space between.

Escudero, who was active in the first half, went forward at high speed, grabbed the ball before Orbán and broke through Matthew Ryan's ten fingers!
Ryan, who finally got the chance to start, wanted to cry but had no tears!
Sevilla lead by one goal at home!
"Oh shit!"

Li Polo, who was entangled with the opponent's striker Llorente before, couldn't help but swear:
"You have the ability to come at me!"

"Don't bully a full-back who came off the bench!"

(End of this chapter)