Chapter Twenty-Six: Salvation

  The 2,000 words I wrote this morning are still at home, and I forgot to copy them onto a U disk. What a tragedy! Tomorrow, there will be at least two updates of 4,000 words. If all goes smoothly, it'll be 6,000 words.

  ————

  Seeing the substitution electronic board on the sidelines, Morillo picked up the towel in the goal with a black face and walked straight out of the baseline. He didn't even bother to make a complete substitution gesture with Chu Jiang. After leaving the field, Morillo went back to the locker room without greeting anyone.

  "Looks like Morrelo is extremely dissatisfied with this substitution, there will be a good show after the game!"

  De Stro smiled helplessly and patted Chu Jiang's shoulder, saying: "Don't be nervous, just relax, the result doesn't matter, go ahead!"

  "Coach, don't worry, I'll make sure victory stays in Turin!" Chu Jianghui said with a smile, before running towards his own goal.

  DeStro was taken aback for a moment, smiled and nodded, saying in a low voice: "Still quite confident. This kid is not bad!" He looked up at the huge electronic scoreboard above the field.

  Italian Cup qualification second round. Torino 1:1 Cosenza. Time: 72 minutes.

  "Ogbonna, watch your back!"

  "Philippe, don't press down too hard!"

  "Obodo, Obodo! Attention Fiore!"

  ……

  As soon as he came on the field, Chu Jiang immediately entered his role, loudly directing the defensive players to run positions, not at all like a rookie who had just played a professional match.

  "It seems that our rookie goalkeeper won't be as green as we imagined, at least on the surface. But can he really handle this position? Let's wait and see!"

  "At 17 years old, Buffon was already the mainstay in Parma and went on to become a legend among Italian goalkeepers. This oriental goalkeeper is also 17 years old, will he become our Gianluigi Buffon? Haha, don't take it too seriously, I'm just joking!"

  ……

  In the blink of an eye, the game time came to the 80th minute, and the score on the field was still 1:1. Chu Jiang's appearance further solidified Torino's defense. However, Torino's offense couldn't open up the situation. Facing Cosenza's copper wall and iron wall, the bull seemed helpless.

  If the score continues, the game will inevitably enter extra time. The 120-minute battle will greatly consume the physical strength of the players on the field. For Torino, who will be fighting in Serie B seven days later, no matter what the final result of this game is, it will be an unacceptable outcome.

  "Oh no, danger! Ogbonna has scored a header!"

  After a scramble for an arbitrary ball in the backcourt, Ogbonna was fouled. Cosenza's center forward interfered with Ogbonna's jump with a very small movement, and the main referee did not notice this scene. As a result, Ogbonna's jump height was not enough, and he couldn't touch the ball! The football fell along the predetermined trajectory to the back point, where a Cosenza player had already been intercepted!

  "Oh God!" Berrelli was about to despair!

  Leyla stood tense at the edge of the field. At the same time, Cosenza's head coach also stood on the sideline. Nearly 5,000 fans at Turin Olympic Stadium all stood up.

  It's now the 82nd minute of the match and if Dalian fall behind, it would almost certainly mean they are eliminated!

  This would mean that Torino will start their new season campaign with a bitter defeat!

  This would mean that head coach Lyle Draemel's first game coaching the Bulls will end in defeat!

  This would also mean that 5,000 fans on site will witness the Bulls' first loss to Kocenca in history, and at home!

  Who can save Dalian?

  Perhaps underestimating Chu Jiang, the player from Kosovo didn't even bother to conceal his shooting intention. In his opinion, a rookie who had never experienced professional game pressure would definitely be brain-dead and flustered when facing such a dangerous shot.

  So, facing the aggressive Chu Jiang, the Cosenza player who had been caught offside couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.

  "Rookies are just rookies! Today I'll show you what a real professional player looks like!"

  He took a glance at the far corner of the goal and met the incoming football with a bow-shaped shot!

  "Bang!"

  The football flew straight towards the goal, direction, far corner!

  Seeing the performance of the opposing team members, Chu Jiang couldn't help but reveal a hint of a smile on his face.

  As soon as the opponent's player aimed at the far point, Chu Jiang roughly estimated the angle of his upcoming shot. When he saw him use the instep to shoot, Chu Jiang became even more determined in his thinking. On the surface, Chu Jiang was frantically rushing forward with all his might, but in reality, Chu Jiang had been holding back his strength and observing the opponent's every move.

  Chu Jiang is far more mature than his opponents could have imagined! Underestimating Chu Jiang will inevitably come at a cost!

  Backward step retreat, flying body fish jump, sideways horizontal pounce!

  Chu Jiang stretched out his arms as if flying over the goal line, like a flying fish. With excellent explosive power and perfect prediction, Chu Jiang intercepted the football in mid-air with both arms and pressed it firmly under his body.

  The whole audience gasped in shock at this moment!

  At this moment, Chujian saved the Bulls!

  Leyla jumped up from the sidelines, excitedly waving her arms. Chu Jiang's high-difficulty save this time not only successfully pulled Doolin back from the brink of defeat but also proved Leyla's wise decision to make the substitution from another angle. Such a performance is enough to make all the criticism of his blind substitutions disappear after the game!

  Compared to the excitement of Torino's coach, Cosenza's head coach suddenly changed from sunny to cloudy. He was extremely frustrated with this missed goal, not only kicking a innocent mineral water bottle into the air, but also constantly cursing. This scene in front of us makes people can't help but feel deep sympathy for the Cosenza player who failed to score, under the head coach's great anger, that player may be doomed after the game...

  "What a brilliant save! What a perfect save! What a miraculous save! This is a textbook-like world-class save. This save pulled the Bulls back from the brink of sudden death!"

  "Let's pay tribute to the goalkeeper who completed this wonderful save! Let's pay tribute to this hero who saved the Bulls with his own strength! Let's shout out the name of this Chinese goalkeeper together!"

  "Pig!"

  "Pig!"

  Under the leadership of the broadcaster, all the fans in the stadium shouted loudly in unison, shaking the sky.

  At this moment, Chu Jiang's face is covered with tears!

  "Is the Chinese name so hard to pronounce?" Chu Jiang couldn't help but complain in his heart. A strong thought emerged in his mind, and after the game, he must suggest that the commentator take the HSK 4 exam.

  "However, to be honest, the scene of 5,000 people shouting 'pig' in unison was quite spectacular." Chu Jiang thought with a hint of self-mockery. After all, such scenes are not commonly seen, even within China...