The Prince of Inter Milan starts with Brother Xiaosa

Chapter 8 Tacit Cooperation
  "What? Starter?"

Leo was stunned for a moment, then raised his head and saw his head coach Martin Jol looking at his head coach Martin Joel with a deep smile in his eyes.

Then he responded with a firm gaze.

In order to have more playing time in the upcoming new season, Leo must do his best in tomorrow's warm-up match!
  Less than a month after arriving at Tottenham, Leo's best teammate in the team is undoubtedly Gareth Bale.

They both just joined the team, are similar in age, and work well together on the court, so they naturally became good friends.

Apart from Bale, the other person who had a good relationship with Leo was none other than Berbatov, who smiled and patted him on the back to show encouragement.

I don’t know why, but Brother Xiaosha felt very kind to this young man from Italy.

Watching Leo play, it seems that you can always see your own shadow in him. In addition, during training, the opponent is often able to read his movements and intentions and send passes in time.

So Berbatov also unknowingly developed a great liking for Leo.

If Levy, the chairman of Tottenham Club, knew that this little player who was loaned out by Inter Milan and Mino Raiola was so compatible with the current and future core of the team, he might have to keep Leo at all costs. .

The next day at 9 pm local time, Tottenham Hotspur played against Orlando Pirates at the Coca-Cola Park Stadium in Johannesburg.

Although there have been some changes in personnel, the Tottenham coach still arranged a starting lineup of 442.

The forward combination of Robbie Keane and Berbatov is also among the best in the Premier League.

Then there is Leo, who still appears at the left midfielder, the far left position of the four midfielders.

Zocola and Janus sit in the middle, with Malbranque on the right.

Gareth Bale, like Leo, started the game at the back, with captain Ledley King and Michael Dawson partnering as centre-backs and right-back Chimbonda.

The final goalkeeper is England goalkeeper Paul Robinson.

"Don't be nervous, it's just like normal training, just perform normally."

Before the game started, Berbatov came over and gave Leo a few words of care.

This left everyone else at Tottenham a bit "shocked".

You know, the handsome guy who plays with an elegant style on the field is actually a bit shy off the field.

Although I get along well with my teammates, that's all.

For a Bulgarian who dreamed of becoming a painter since childhood, football is just a job to earn money, not everything in life.

On the court, Berbatov is very professional, but off the court, he is not very willing to have too in-depth interactions with these "colleagues".

There is only one exception, and that is this boy Leo.

"I know, thank you."

Leo grinned and gave Berbatov a smile.

It sounds like this is just an insignificant warm-up match, but if you can't even produce a performance that makes the coaches shine in such a game, do you still want to get a chance to play in the official game after the start of the season?
  Having confidence in one's own strength is one thing. Anyway, this is Leo's first time playing on behalf of the first team, so nervousness is inevitable.

The referee blew the whistle and the game officially started.

The dominant Tottenham Hotspur quickly took the initiative on the field and firmly controlled the ball.

The Orlando Pirates, who knew they were at a disadvantage, retreated cautiously, wanting to defend first and not concede the ball.

This left Leo and Belmapaw, who secretly discussed many tactics last night.

There was no space for the Welshman to take advantage of his speed, so Leo had to pass more balls to the center.

Zokola passed the ball to the left and Leo dribbled the ball through the midfield. The opponent's formation was retracted, and there was no defensive player in front of Leo. He adjusted, then clearly saw the positions of his teammates and opponent players, and calmly passed the ball to the edge of the penalty area.

Berbatov flicked his ankle and passed the ball into the penalty area with the outside of his instep.

Robbie Keane, who came in from behind, got rid of the entanglement of the South African defender and scored near the penalty spot!

One to zero!

Just two minutes into the game, Lily Legion took the lead in scoring!

Martin Joel, who was sitting in the coaching bench on the sidelines, nodded slightly. This was the offensive cooperation he wanted to see.

"It's really a genius idea to let Leo play on the left! He has a good passing level and can send high-quality diagonal passes and through balls from the wing.

With him delivering shells to our striker, the number of goals scored by Berba and Keane will definitely be greatly increased! "

On the surface, the assistant coach was praising Leo, but in fact, he was praising the head coach.

Because everyone knows that it was Martin's idea for Leo to play and for him to switch to left midfield.

The Tottenham coach didn't speak, but the smile on his lips could no longer be suppressed.

After assistant coach Poyet finished his praise, Martin Jol said:
  "There are still flaws. Leo's breakthrough ability is slightly lacking, but Bell can make up for it. As long as he can return to defense in time, there will be no problem.

In addition, after all, Leo is right-footed, so he is easy to be targeted when playing on the left, and it is inconvenient to pass with his back turned.

But what you said makes sense, I have to look at it again. "

Leo, who had made a lot of contributions to the goal just now, quickly received the attention of his opponents.

Orlando's full-backs began to mark him closely.

The opponent had made up his mind not to let Leo pass the ball so comfortably anymore.

Just after receiving the pass from Janas, Leo had to control the ball and turn to barely avoid the flying tackle.

It is true that no ball was conceded, but the offensive pace was also forced to slow down.

Leo was very troubled by this, and he didn't have any good way to deal with it for a while.

Simply rest first, Leo stopped asking for the ball frequently, and Tottenham's offensive focus was adjusted to the right.

Malbranque failed to break through and was intercepted, and Orlando Pirates quickly launched a counterattack!
  Yes, the South African team, which is lagging behind, still has to attack as a last resort.

Leo sensed the opportunity. He looked at Bell who was returning to defense, and the other party nodded slightly to express his acceptance.

Robinson made a flying save and picked off the ball!
  The Tottenham goalkeeper resolved the crisis and threw the ball vigorously to the central defender in front of him.

Michael Dawson saw a teammate in front of him raising his arm to ask for the ball, and without saying a word, he passed it with a long kick.

I have to say that the England center back's passing skills are pretty good, and Leo successfully got the ball near the center circle.

At this time, there were only two Orlando defenders and the goalkeeper in front of him.

To the opponent's surprise, Leo did not continue to advance with the ball, swinging his right leg and passing the ball to the unmanned space in front.

Just when the opponent thought that Leo's pass was too big, Gareth Bale, who had been prepared for a long time, stretched his speed to the limit, broke through the Orlando Pirates' back line at lightning speed and got the ball!
  The two South African central defenders were stunned. They raised their hands to signal that the opponent was offside, but the linesman saw clearly that it was a good ball and it was not offside!

Bell's speed can indeed make anyone who sees it for the first time completely dumbfounded. As he speaks, the Welshman has already brought the ball to the penalty area.

The Orlando goalkeeper abandoned the goal in panic. Gareth Bale dunked his left foot, passed the goalkeeper and pushed into the empty goal!

(End of this chapter)