Wednesday, April 27th.
The crowded Monument Stadium in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina.
As a series of superstars who have produced five-time Champions League winner "Golden Arrow" Di Stefano, 1978 World Cup Golden Boot Kempes, "God of War" Batistuta, "Son of the Wind" Caniggia, etc., The atmosphere of the fans at River Plate's 50,000-seat home stadium is simply suffocating.
"Savio-pull!"
“Sa—vio—la!”
The game going on on the court was the first round of the group stage. Argentina played against Finland. Argentine players wearing blue and white stripes attacked from left to right. Whenever Saviola touched the ball, the Argentine fans in the audience would let out a landslide and tsunami. He is the most conspicuous jewel in the crown of the current River Plate team.
The cheers of the fans obviously made Saviola more excited to play. He frequently dropped back to get the ball and toyed with his opponents in the midfield.
Chen Mo sat on the bench, his eyes following the players running around on the field, and at the same time he glanced at the scoreboard.
Sixty-two minutes into the second half, the score was 1:0, with Argentina leading.
Finland is not a strong team, but Argentina is the number one favorite to win this World Youth Championship. For more than 60 minutes, Argentina kept Finland close to the penalty area. With the players' skillful passing and cutting cooperation, it was difficult for Finland to steal the ball, let alone counterattack.
"I don't know if the boss will let me play against such a weak team."
Glancing at Pekerman secretly, Chen Mo felt a little itchy. One month of training made him understand how big the gap was between himself and the Argentinian professional players in their twenties who could play in the first team of major clubs. , so he doesn’t think he has a chance to play in a strong dialogue, but playing against Finland...
Just as I was thinking about it, suddenly the situation on the court suddenly changed. Saviola, who was originally on the front line, retreated to get the ball. The Finnish midfielder immediately stepped forward, but Saviola very deftly made a pass through the crotch and passed the midfielder to dribble the ball. Go straight to the back line!
"Oh! What a beautiful pass! Are Argentina going to speed up!"
"Saviola!! Defeat them!"
The commentator's passionate shouts echoed in the sky. Saviola dribbled the ball to the edge of the penalty area, attracting the attention of the two central defenders. In the past, when he got the ball to this place, he would either choose to shoot or pass people into the penalty area.
It's hard to break his ball! The two central defenders put their hands behind their backs and lowered their centers of gravity. At this moment, Saviola, who ran to the right side of the penalty area, pushed lightly with his right foot. The ball slid straight into the penalty area from the crotch of the Finnish central defender in a half-crouching position and moved forward quickly. D'Alessandro squeezed out of the gap between the defenders and hit the ball into the net before the goalkeeper could attack!
"Goa-Goa-Goa-t! The ball is scored, No. 37 Andres Nicolas D'Alessandro, who just came on as a substitute for five minutes, received Saviola's diagonal straight shot. Stuffed the ball and shot the ball into the net! Argentina expanded the score to two goals!! This goal must be praised for D'Alessandro's forward awareness. When Saviola broke through the midfielder, he had already started to advance. Got it!"
"Indeed, but the most important thing for me is Saviola's breakthrough after retreating, and he passed the Finnish midfielder in one step. His form is really explosive!"
Under the commentary, D'Alessandro rushed to the corner kick to celebrate, his face flushed with excitement and joy. On the other side, Chen Mo on the bench carefully glanced at the person next to him, who looked not very good but forced a smile. of Roman gnoli.
D'Alessandro is just a substitute, and Romagnoli is the team's main attacking midfielder, wearing the No. 10 jersey that symbolizes the core. However, as his recent state becomes worse and worse, D'Alessandro's state After getting better and better, his playing time began to be seriously squeezed.
"In football, you still have to let your strength speak for itself."
The care and concern from his teammates and coaches during this period made Chen Mo feel a little carried away, but the scene in front of him made him instantly alert.
Soon, the celebrations were over and the game continued.
When the time came to the 70th minute, the Finnish team already understood that there was no point in holding on. In a desperate situation, their coach was very courageous and did not care about the goal difference. He directly replaced three wingers and an attacking midfielder. Defensive players, the formation changed from 532 to 343!
The Finnish team suddenly added three players in the midfield and frontcourt. At this time, Argentina could either attack directly or adjust their formation more conservatively. Anyway, they were leading the score.
After thinking for a moment, Pekerman walked into the bench: "Xiao Mo, go warm up and get ready to play."
Let me play? !
Chen Mo stood up immediately: "Okay, boss!"
As soon as he walked out of the shed, Pekerman pulled him to his side and smiled: "Are you nervous, little guy?"
"Fortunately, I'm not particularly nervous."
Chen Mo scratched his head, Pekerman rubbed his head with a smile, took the tactical board and drew: "Very good, this is the mentality. After you come on the field, you will play as the right midfielder. Your main task is to cut off their midfield. In the passing route with the winger, Coloccini and Mecro will be on top in the middle area, so you don’t have to worry too much.”
"Understood, boss."
Chen Mo bit his lip and couldn't wait to warm up. At this time, Pekerman pulled him back and said with a smile: "Don't worry, your task is not only on the defensive end."
"Boss, you mean..."
Chen Mo's pupils shrank suddenly, and Pekerman smiled: "They are playing with three central defenders, and the two midfielders are not very capable of running, so in this game I need you to get to the opponent's side more often." Way to attract defenses.”
Pekerman waved his black pen and drew a snarling upward arrow on the right side of the tactical board. "When we take the ball to attack, you can move forward to this position along the wing, but you have to pay attention. At any time, Your first priority is always defense. This is very, very important. The whole world pays great attention to the international competition. It is also the first time in your life to play for Argentina. Being steady and not making mistakes is more important than anything else. I don’t want to watch it. After the game you were besieged by reporters."
Pekerman winked teasingly, and Chen Mo smiled and said, "I understand, boss, and I promise not to disappoint you!"
"Go ahead and warm up thoroughly."
"Thank you, boss!"
Chen Mo put on a vest and ran to the sideline to start warming up. This scene was immediately captured by the camera.
"Oh! Oh! Look who this little guy is?! The youngest player in the history of the World Youth Championship - Chen Mo, he has started to warm up. Is he finally going to play?!"
The commentator shouted very excitedly, and the audience and fans immediately turned their attention to the little boy who was waving his arms to warm up on the sidelines. He was still childish and had a sunny and handsome face.
"Oh! Audiences and fans from all over the country! Please let me introduce to you this little guy on the sidelines. His name is Chen Mo, our future star in Argentina! He is fourteen years and three months old and is 176 tall. Centimeters, weighing 140 kilograms, his best position is midfielder. He has previously created 37 undefeated games in the Spanish U15 Youth League, averaging 0.7 goals, 1.3 assists per game, and a passing success rate of over 87%. His record! In this World Youth Championship, Mr. Maradona personally nominated him to join the team!"
"Yes, he is an incredible young talent. I didn't expect that today would be his first time playing for Argentina. I'm so excited! Well, Argentinian defender Coloccini shoveled the ball out of the baseline. Chen Mo has already gone to the fourth official to prepare to play, and his upcoming substitute is... Oh?! Romero? Mr. Pekerman actually asked Chen Mo, who plays through the core of the midfield, to play as a defensive midfielder?!"
