Chapter 10

In February, Guiyang was still very cold, and Li Tie's ugly expression seemed to freeze in the air. He was originally very dark-skinned, and now he looked almost like charcoal.

What you fear will come to you.

In this match, what they feared was a problem with the goalkeeper position.

They never expected it to actually happen, with the goalkeeper directly assisting the opponent's goal.

After all, he was a young goalkeeper, and he couldn't handle the big stage.

If it were an experienced player, even if there was a mistake, they would take the opportunity to fall to the ground after physical contact with the opponent, perhaps even getting a foul call and preventing the goal from counting.

Of course, this was all wishful thinking; the result was already set.

Liu Hao's hands tightly gripped the railing, his expression full of委屈 (grievance), like a child who had done something wrong.

The reason the goalkeeper made such a mistake was because Liu Hao had injured the main goalkeeper, Guo Deliang's hand.

If that ball had been handled by Guo Deliang, it probably wouldn't have turned into such a big gift for the opponent.

Liu Hao had already blamed himself for the goal.

Fortunately, the Super Team's players didn't let this goal affect their morale, and Li Tie was only momentarily stunned.

A strong team wouldn't be afraid of falling behind unless their opponent was even stronger!

As the captain, Ling Zhenbang took the initiative to comfort his teammate.

Although they were behind, his confidence was as bright as his bald head.

The score could be turned around!

Carrying the momentum from his national team experience, his performance was surprisingly good.

Just the opportunities he created afterward made the Kejia team's goal tremble.

He used his head, feet, and every skill he had, like a super monster on the field, and no one could stop him. He was ravaging the opponent's defense.

However, he just missed the goal!

In just ten minutes, the Super Team had five corner kicks and three free kicks.

Liu Hao clenched his fists, saliva already dripping onto his collar...

What a luxurious opportunity!

In his view, if he were on the field, he would have had at least three chances to score.

But Ling Zhenbang didn't seize any of the opportunities, even though two of his free kicks grazed the crossbar.

As for the corner kicks, it was impossible to score directly.

He glanced at the coach's bench, and at that moment, he really wanted to volunteer and tell Li Tie: Brother Tie, let me play. I can immediately turn the game around for the team!

Although Li Tie was a young coach in the domestic coaching ranks, he had followed the champion coach Marcello Lippi, so he appeared very calm in his command.

Both the coach and the players were so calm.

Breaking through the defense was just a matter of time!

However, after a half-hour of intense attacks, the Kejia team's goal still hadn't been breached, and the match had to enter halftime.

After the second half started, Li Tie remained calm, crossing his arms and chatting with the assistant coach.

It seemed that heaven was also on their side.

Sure enough, less than five minutes into the second half, after Ling Zhenbang's efforts for most of the first half, he finally scored.

The score was tied at 1-1.

After equalizing, everything seemed to fall into place.

At the 63rd minute, Ling Zhenbang dove and headed the ball, scoring his second goal, finally taking the lead.

Then came another intense attack.

However, the Kejia team didn't surrender; they continued to resist, like a cockroach that couldn't be killed.

The Super Team's third goal was far from coming.

Li Tie, learning from Lippi's tactics in the AFC Champions League, resolutely withdrew a forward and an attacking midfielder, replacing them with a defensive midfielder and a defender.

This move was to stabilize the game.

But the Guangzhou Evergrande of the past wasn't the Italian national team, and the Super Team wasn't the Guangzhou Evergrande. The defensive levels of these three teams were completely different.

The lower the level of the team, the easier it was to make mistakes in defense.

With less than fifteen minutes left, anything could happen, especially with a defensive strategy.

Never trust a goalkeeper...

Defenders who like to pass back always assume that the goalkeeper's skills and awareness are the same as theirs.

An unintentional half-high pass back made the young goalkeeper make another mistake, perhaps due to nervousness or the cold. He mishandled the ball.

This had nothing to do with skill.

Outside the penalty area, a hungry wolf, still running tirelessly, finally waited for its prey.

Under the watchful eyes of the few fans, it pounced on the ball.

A wild slide tackle, touching the ball first, and sending it into the net!

The referee, as if he had anticipated this, immediately blew the whistle and pointed to the center circle.

Damn!

Li Tie couldn't pretend to be calm anymore.

The game was in stoppage time, and the score was tied! 2-2!

Damn stoppage time, damn mistake, damn goalkeeper, damn Liu Hao!

Li Tie instantly ignited his anger.

The Super Team players,冲动 (impulsively) surrounded the referee, spitting and shouting, even Ling Zhenbang joined in.

They seemed to be saying that the goal was a foul.

The referee raised his right hand and humorously pointed to the big screen.

The big screen repeatedly played the goal, showing that the opponent's forward didn't touch the goalkeeper.

Seeing their trick exposed, Ling Zhenbang led his team back to their positions. With the evidence so clear, continuing to act would definitely result in a yellow card.

He no longer went to comfort the goalkeeper.

The goalkeeper, in a frenzy, clutched his head, probably feeling a deep, heart-wrenching despair.

After the game resumed, the referee symbolically added only half a minute before ending the match.

A game that should have been a win turned into a draw.

The culprit was the goalkeeper who made repeated mistakes, no, it was Liu Hao, the instigator...

Now Li Tie's team was in real danger, and his pre-match worries had become reality.

In the final match, they had to fight hard against the Sea Cows, aiming for a draw or a win to regain control.

If they lost? Li Tie didn't believe that the Kejia and Zhongji match would end in a draw; their result would be a big win.

After two rounds, the Super Team and the Sea Cows each had four points, while Kejia and Zhongji each had one point. All four teams had a chance to advance, and all could be eliminated.

"Why would the Sea Cows want a draw with Zhongji?" Li Tie gritted his teeth, still criticizing the Sea Cows.

But the staff of the Sea Cows had the same thought, "Why would the Super Team and Kejia end in a draw? Too fake!"

Clearly, everyone was suspicious, and no one was satisfied with the scores.

The previously ignored Jia League playoff suddenly became a hot topic in sports news.

With all four teams having a chance to advance and the matches being so dramatic, media attention naturally increased. A well-known domestic sports media outlet even hinted that there might be some improper behavior in the matches.

They used the word "possible" but didn't say it was definite.

However, even a baseless rumor in the special and difficult time of Chinese football still attracted high attention from fans and officials.

The newly appointed chairman of the Chinese Football Association, former Chinese football superstar and the first person in Chinese football history, Hao Haidong, personally called and sent specialists to arrive quickly.

Two specialists were sent, one for each match.

With the fourth official already on site, this showed the FA's emphasis on the matches.

Curious journalists also flocked to the teams' daily training sessions.

The training grounds were full of paparazzi, a first for the Jia League, comparable to the AFC Champions League.

Just because a media outlet said there might be issues with the matches, each team was put in the spotlight. Was this the tragedy of Chinese football?

With three days left before the match, Li Tie decided to close the training and ban journalists from entering.

Taking advantage of his free time, he went to the hotel where the team was staying.

He was really worried about the young goalkeeper and wanted to talk to Guo Deliang, who was still with the team, thinking about whether to give him a shot to play in the match.

Although he knew it was unlikely, he still insisted on doing it.

Who had ever seen a goalkeeper play with a shot in his hand? It wasn't muscle pain, and if his hand hurt while catching the ball, he would still lose the ball.

After seeing Guo Deliang, Li Tie dismissed his foolish idea.

However, something surprised Li Tie.

Guo Deliang actually begged him to put Liu Hao on the substitute list and let him play?

Why did he think that? Li Tie was speechless.

Liu Hao, who was smoking at the training ground entrance, naturally didn't know that someone was recommending him to play. This was bizarre news.

In the past six months, he seemed to have done nothing good, only mistakes. Even when he did something good, it turned bad.

He had even poisoned the Super Team, sigh...

Squatting at the entrance, he looked like a migrant worker who had no hope of getting his wages, feeling quite helpless.

"Brother, can I go in and take a look?"

A faint figure appeared behind him. Liu Hao didn't turn around, just staring at a yellow envelope in front of him.

What does this mean?

"Sorry, I don't deliver letters." Liu Hao firmly replied.

"No, brother, just take this, and let me go in and take a look." The voice was sweet, and if judged by the voice alone, it was probably a beautiful woman, or at least a Beethoven.

As soon as she finished speaking, the envelope was already in Liu Hao's hand, and she had vanished like smoke.

"What a weirdo!" Liu Hao casually squeezed the envelope. "Oh, it seems to be... money?"

From so far away, someone actually sent a gift. Who had such good information?

Out of professional habit, he naturally thought about his work relationships...

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