On Monday, September 15th, Willard spent 8 skill points after waking up early in the morning. He increased his defense to 77, speed to 67, heading to 62, and technique to 59. The balance of skill points was left. 20, the physique and consciousness that have reached 80 can no longer be improved.
Then he got up, washed up, and drove to the club in his private car.
At the entrance of the training base, Velarde's license plate had not yet been entered into the base management system. The guard came out to inquire and saw that it was Velarde. He congratulated him on scoring his first career goal this round and bought him. The private car expressed congratulations, then opened the door to let him in, and entered his license plate into the base management system. When the access control system took a picture of the license plate, it would automatically open the door and let him in.
As expected, he had to arrive earlier by car. Even Dalia and Bonnie Fashaw, who usually rushed to the base early with him for extra training, had not arrived yet. Velarde could only park the car and go to the locker room to change. Wear training clothes, and then start training by yourself.
After more than ten minutes, Dalia and Bonnie Fashaw arrived one after another and joined the morning exercise team.
Dalia looked at Willard who was sweating profusely and asked: "Why are you sweating so much? Have you been here for a long time?"
Willard said: "Yes, I drove my own car today and arrived almost twenty minutes earlier than you."
Dalia said in surprise: "You bought a car?"
Willard nodded: "Well, I just went to buy it with Krisna and the others yesterday. After the extra practice tonight, I can take you home and pick you up tomorrow morning. It will be more convenient for us to practice together." "
Bonni Fashaw said: "That's great! I really envy you. You have already become the main force. Even Bismara has been pushed to the bench by you. You can only compete for the position of central defender. Yesterday, you scored a goal. .I have made a girlfriend who is a college student and bought a car. You are a winner in life. I don’t even dare to meet you anymore.”
Willard patted Bonny Fashaw on the shoulder and said: "Bonnie Fashaw, didn't you also come on as a substitute this round? Didn't Daria also enter the squad? Come on, our hard-working coaching staff has I see it in my eyes, you will be on the squad more and more times, your playing time will be more and more, and the probability of staying in the team after promotion next season will be greater and greater."
The two nodded repeatedly after hearing this, and their morale was immediately high, and they started their morning exercises full of energy.
With Willard's outstanding example, although the extra training is tiring, they are willing to put in the sweat in exchange for the opportunity to enter the squad, come on as a substitute, and stay in the team to play in the A-League next season.
As time went by, teammates arrived at the training ground one after another. There began to be more laughter and laughter at the training ground, and everyone was in good spirits.
After this round of weekend leagues ended, Hurricanes Athletics won 2-0 away from home and reached 11 points, which is the same as Mendoza Independent. However, the goal difference is greater than the opponent's, so the ranking rose to third place.
The key is that whether the top two or the fourth-placed Mendoza Independent, they have actually played 7 rounds of the league. The Hurricanes, on the other hand, already have a bye and have only played 6 league rounds.
Therefore, when these three teams have a bye and the Hurricanes can win the game, it is really possible to reach the top of the standings, because the first place Atletico Tucuman is only 3 more than the Hurricanes. It’s just points, and the goal difference is not as much as the Hurricanes.
Therefore, after returning from the holiday, everyone on the training ground today was in good spirits, the coaching staff was also in a good mood, and the players' morale was high. They were full of longing and confidence for the upcoming league journey and promotion to the Premier League.
In particular, Velarde's visible progress is not only shocking, but also gives him more confidence in the team's prospects.
The Hurricanes Athletic Team is always good at offense, but in the past the defense was not strong. Although they scored many goals, they also conceded many goals, resulting in not enough wins and points, so they could only play in the second division.
But now, the Hurricanes have Willard, a defensive general who can be ranked among the top even if he is placed in the A-League. In the second-division league, it is really like a mountain, and any team's offense can easily climb over it. He is in great difficulty.
In this way, the Hurricanes' midfield and frontcourt offensive lineup can also attack more calmly and boldly, and their offensive and defensive efficiency has improved much more than before.
In the two games that Willard started, the Hurricanes won two games in a row, scoring 5 goals and not conceding a single goal, as evidenced by this.
Although there is a bit of worldliness in football, the most important thing is undoubtedly strength. Therefore, although Velarde has only played two starting games, his main defensive midfielder position has become unbreakable. Even Federico Bismara in his peak period is far inferior.
Except for Willard who is injured or suspended, there is no competition for anyone else in the starting midfielder position.
After the new week of training began, everyone found that Willard had indeed improved a bit.
Some players may not be able to improve their strength even if they train hard and compete for half a year, and some players' strength will decline if they don't work hard. As a result, Willard can improve his skill attributes by 1 point every week, and the speed of progress shown to outsiders is naturally extraordinary.
Therefore, everyone has more confidence in the next round of the league.
Unfortunately, there are unforeseen circumstances.
During training on September 16, the main goalkeeper Marcos Dias accidentally hit the goalpost and suffered a minor injury. He was destined to miss one game. The starting goalkeeper could only be No. 12 Gonzalo Mari. Nellie takes charge.
This definitely cast a pall over the game.
After all, the strength gap between the substitute goalkeeper and the main goalkeeper is much higher than that of other positions. If there are no injuries or red and yellow card suspensions, the starting goalkeeper will generally not be replaced. Therefore, even if a capable goalkeeper goes to the lower leagues to play as the starting goalkeeper, he will not be willing to sit on the bench for a wealthy club. The chance to compete in that way is too great. not enough.
The substitute goalkeeper is not only far different from the main goalkeeper in terms of strength, but also has a lot of difference in playing time and experience.
Now that Marcos Dias is injured and Gonzalo Marinelli is starting, the safety of the goal has undoubtedly become a time bomb in everyone's mind.
Even the 352 formation originally planned by the coaching staff had to be changed due to Dias' injury.
Finally, after the training on September 16, when the coaching staff announced the squad for the next day's game, the starting lineup was changed to 4231, with Alan Willard and Lucas Villaruel partnering In the double defensive midfielder, Federico Bismara still started at the central defender position and became a part of the back four.
Such a formation is naturally to strengthen the defense, try to block the opponent's offensive, and prevent goalkeeper Marinelli from easily facing the opponent's shot.
Dalia and Bonnie Fashaw were once again included in the squad, and both were delighted. Although he is not a starter, as long as he is on the roster, he has the possibility of playing as a substitute, which is much better than those players who are not even on the roster.
Under the leadership of Willard, Dalia and Bonnie Fashaw, who also trained hard and worked hard, have improved a lot in strength, and their status in the eyes of the coaching staff has also been raised from marginal substitutes to regular substitutes. , without a system plug-in like Willard around, this is already a very good improvement.
Moreover, now that we have entered the rhythm of double matches a week, injuries and physical problems will increase. Substitute players such as Dalia and Bonny Fashaw will also have much more opportunities to play. The situation is very favorable.
The next day, Wednesday, September 17, was the match day. After the afternoon classes, Krisina, Alyssa, and Bertha took a taxi to the stadium without even eating. Grabbing a bite to eat at a nearby restaurant while waiting for the game to start.
Due to working days, Duke Thomas Arena was not fully occupied on this day, only about 80% full.
The 48,000-seat stadium is indeed too large for an Argentine second division team. Of course, if we are promoted to the A-League next year and the results are good, maybe every home game will be almost full.
Today's weather was not very good either. It was a bit rainy. Before the game started, the drizzle turned into moderate rain. It was not very friendly to the players or the fans watching the game.
However, with this level of rain, it is impossible to suspend the game and fight another day, and can only continue as usual.
At 19:00 in the evening on September 17, with the referee's whistle, the 8th round of the 2014 AL Second Division playoffs between Atletico Hurricanes and Cruzeiro Norte at home officially began.
Because of the weather, neither side dared to attack on the ground. Instead, they fought for the top through the air and used headers to attack the opponent's goal.
Therefore, the ball is more likely to be hoisted directly into the penalty area, with taller players on both sides competing for the top.
The Hurricanes Athletic Team usually plays a three-centre-back formation. The average height of the defenders is already higher, and with Velarde's retreat to participate in defense, Cruzeiro Norte can compete for the top spot in the Hurricanes penalty area. There are not many opportunities to attack the goal.
But your goalkeeper is not the main goalkeeper, and his goalkeeping ability is limited, which is also helpless.
In the 22nd minute, Cruzeiro Norte made a diagonal pass from the wing and hoisted the ball into the penalty area. Center No. 9 Abalos got a lucky break from the double team of Mancinelli and Bismara. At the first point, when he couldn't attack the goal, he made a header to ferry the ball to the gap on the left side of the penalty area.
Cruzeiro Norte's left midfielder Anel Martinez rushed in diagonally. Before Lucas Villaruel tried to clear the ball, he swung his left foot and fired a volley to successfully score the ball. It hit the door frame.
Anel Martinez's volley was too decisive, and Alan Velarde, who rushed over diagonally and tried to block the hole of the shot, was also a step too slow and missed the ball by a hair's breadth.
The ball flew past Willard and towards the center of the goal.
However, the angle of the ball is not awkward, and Velarde is not very worried. Even if the goalkeeper dare not hold the ball directly, he can easily take it down and control the ball with a second save.
As a result, what Velarde didn't expect was that goalkeeper Gonzalo Marinelli actually performed a butter hand. He reacted a step slower and failed to bat the ball with his raised palm. Instead, the ball bounced on his palm. Suddenly, it bounced up again, hit the lower edge of the crossbar, and finally fell into the goal.
The Hurricanes' starting goalkeeper Gonzalo Marinelli failed to stop the ball when the opponent's shot was taken from a very positive angle, and Anel Martinez scored. Cruzeiro Norte Leading 1-0 against Hurricanes Athletics.
Marinelli turned his head and looked at the ball in the goal. He was dumbfounded. Velarde and his teammates were also dumbfounded. Only the Cruzeiro Norte players were left to celebrate wildly in the wind and rain, leaving Thomas Duke Stadium with nearly 40,000 home fans. The fans were silent.
