Imperfect Debut

  Remember in one second

  。

  Wu Yu and Shi Bo Yun replaced Zhang Xizhe and Yu Dabao, Wu Yu played in the front waist position, partnering with Zheng Zhi and Huang Bowen in midfield; Shi Bo Yun played as a center forward, while Gao Lin moved to the left wing position, still maintaining the 4231 formation.

  The two men had only practiced with their national teammates for two days after the previous match, and there was no tacit understanding between them. Moreover, their teammates did not trust these two teammates who were under 20 years old.

  So before the 70th minute of the game, Wu Yu and Shi Bo Yun still had few chances to get the ball, and the Chinese team was unable to create any equalizing opportunities.

  "Dai Zhi, pass the ball to Wu Yu and let him organize!" Fu Bo finally couldn't help but speak up after frowning on the sidelines for over ten minutes.

  With Fu Bo's instructions and Wu Yu's tactical skills on the field, his teammates began to trust him and were willing to pass the ball to Wu Yu.

  After Wu Yu got more players, the Chinese team's offense on the field was thoroughly revived, and both Shi Bojun and Gao Lin had many scoring opportunities.

  It seems that luck was not on the side of the Chinese team today, despite their efforts for half a game, they still couldn't tie the score. With the referee's whistle, the Chinese team lost 1-2 away, Wu Yu and Shi Bojun staged the national team's debut show, but failed to help the team turn the tide.

  "This match is over, the Chinese team lost 1-2 to Iraq in an away game, and entered the Asian Cup finals next year in Australia with a second-place finish in the group. Although we lost this match, it can be seen that young players are slowly emerging, and the prospects for the Chinese team will be better and better in the future..." Liu Jianhong said excitedly in the broadcast room, although the national football team lost this match, he didn't have as much resentment as before, because he saw Wu Yu and Shi Bojun play a role after coming on.

  After the referee's whistle sounded, Wu Yu took off his jersey and walked quietly on the court. The scattered shouts of fans in the stands entered his ears, and the greetings between teammates and opponents became a scene in his national team debut.

  One hand shook hands with his opponent, Wu Yu looked at the opponent's goal and then raised his head to look at the scoreboard, 1-2, after all, he was unable to help the team win.

  "This is football, it's impossible for all good things to happen at the same time. The debut in Maritimo was already perfect enough, being able to play for the national team is also enough, and this game is just a routine, let's just consider it as some regret in my heart."

  。”

  Wu Yu walked quietly on the court, comforting herself in her heart.

  ……

  The next day, the national team that had finished playing in this Asian Cup qualifier was disbanded. Wu Yu and several other overseas players flew directly from Doha to their respective clubs. Due to international match days, the league will not resume until next weekend, so they can all get a relatively long rest to recover their already exhausted bodies.

  Back in Funchal, Wu Lei and Gao Wei reported to the club for training the next day. Teammates were still laughing and chatting during training, but head coach Martins was frowning.

  "Carlos, what do you think we should do?" Martínez asked, frowning, to his assistant coach Carlos Houljeh.

  "Unexpectedly, the FA arranged the match on a weekday, our players haven't fully recovered yet." Jorge also frowned.

  "What I'm worried about now is not this. Now that we've fallen behind Benfica, if we still have to fight on two fronts next time, it will be quite unfavorable for the third place."

  "What do you want?"

  "Hmm, since the opponent is Porto, our chances of winning and advancing are slim anyway. We might as well stop here and focus on the league."

  "This might be a good idea."

  Martins did not respond, but looked at the many players on the training ground, lost in thought.

  A Portuguese Super League team participates in two cup competitions per season, making it a three-front war including the league. In addition to the Ta?a da Liga, there is also the Ta?a de Portugal. The Ta?a de Portugal has now reached the round of 16, where Marítimo drew an away match against Porto on March 12. Three days later, they will have another Portuguese Super League match, again playing away from home.

  The Marítimo players, who originally had two weeks of rest during the international matchdays, saw their rest period reduced by almost a week due to this schedule and also returned to the rhythm of two games per week.

  Before the international matchday, Martins had already sensed fatigue among his players, who also lost away to Braga a week earlier and dropped to third in the league table.

  If they want to compete with Benfica for the remaining Champions League spot, they must focus on league matches and cannot be distracted by the Portuguese Cup after just finishing the League Cup campaign (the final is in April).

  。

  So Martins made an important decision on this day: Marítimo gave up the Portuguese Cup match.

  This decision was made after discussions with the coaching staff and ultimately got the approval of the board, sending most of the substitute players to play away against Porto in the Portuguese Cup.

  Wu Yu, Gao Wei and other main players did not go with the team, and Maritimo also unexpectedly lost 0-3 to Porto in the Portuguese Cup, ending their journey early.

  On the same day, arch-rivals Nacional da Madeira eliminated their opponents after a hard-fought match and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Ta?a de Portugal.

  But this time, the normal strategic abandonment of the game was exaggerated by Marítimo's city rival Nacional, who questioned Marítimo's negative play through their official news media.

  This article by the national team once again caused a stir in Portuguese football, with media outlets reprinting and commenting on it, each with their own opinions.

  I think Marítimo's head coach did a great job this time, everyone knows that Marítimo has risen strongly this season, their lineup is not as strong as the top three in Portugal, and even inferior to Braga who ranked fifth. From last week's match where they lost to Braga, it can be seen that the double-line battle had too much impact on them, the players were all exhausted.

  "For those who have just escaped the pressure of double-line combat, they certainly do not want to fall into such a crisis again. I think Martins' dispatching most of the substitute players to Porto is not a big deal, giving up a cup competition and focusing on competing for third place in the league, believing that if Nacional were in this position, they would do the same." SportTV host Cristin spoke out first to speak for Marítimo.

  "I don't agree with you, Cristin." Figo sat opposite Cristin on a talk show on SportTV: "As a professional football club, Marítimo should be prepared to face all difficulties. Intentionally sending substitute players and giving up the match is clearly against the principles of fair competition."

  ……

  Representatives of different views in the Portuguese football community have expressed their opinions on this matter. Although the opinions supporting and criticizing Marítimo are balanced, public opinion has put a lot of pressure on Marítimo Club, making the atmosphere in their training sessions quite heavy.

  。

  Maridimo's fans, however, are very supportive of their team's decision. After Monica learned from Wu Yun that the team is under great pressure now, she organizes fans to hold up banners outside Maridimo's training ground every day to show support for the team.

  The behavior of these fans also infected the players and coaches in the team, who won the league three days later under tremendous pressure. At the post-match press conference, Martins threw out his carefully prepared remarks:

  "I'm glad we won today and didn't let Benfica open up a bigger gap. At the beginning of the season, our team was considered to be in danger of relegation from the Portuguese league, but now we're right behind the top three teams in Portugal and even have a chance to fight for a Champions League spot. If you call that playing negatively, then I don't know what to say."

  "The lineup I arranged for the match against Porto was based on that particular game and today's league schedule, and the result was a loss. Although we have beaten Porto before, in my eyes, the team is still far from being able to compete with Porto, and this defeat was only something expected."

  "My team will face important battles such as the league and League Cup final next, I hope my team can perform well in these two events. Thank you everyone."

  After Martin's remarks came out, everyone suddenly realized that public opinion also tilted in favor of Maridimo for no other reason:

  If Marítimo, currently fourth in the league and a finalist in the League Cup, who have already conquered the Dragon Stadium, intend to play negatively, what about other teams?

  Martins' words turned the pressure of public opinion on the team into a driving force, allowing the team to seize Benfica's loss in the league over the next month and regain third place. However, the difference between the two teams was still only one point, and any carelessness could lead to being overtaken by the opponent.

  Another League Cup semi-final was held in mid-March, Benfica fought for 120 minutes and finally eliminated the Portuguese Super League leader Porto in a penalty shootout, meeting Marítimo in the final. The competition between these two teams has become one of the highlights of this season's Portuguese football, extending from the league to the League Cup final.

  The clock has moved to April 2014, Marítimo is tied with Benfica in the Primeira Liga and ranks third due to a better goal difference; while the final of the Ta?a da Liga will be held on Saturday, April 12 at Estádio do Drag?o.

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