Chapter Thirty-One: A Desperate Struggle

  Thank you for everyone's support!

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  On September 4, 2010, at 20:45, the third round of the Serie B league match between Torino and Crotone kicked off on schedule at the Olympic Stadium.

  This is the second time that Torino has played at home. Due to poor performance, the number of fans who came to watch today's game was reduced by nearly 30% compared to the first round. The Olympic Stadium, which can hold 27,500 people, was only sparsely filled with over 10,000 people. Although it is still more than other Serie B teams' attendance, it is at a relatively low level compared to Torino's own attendance record.

  Due to the call-ups of Ogbonna and D'Ambrosio to the Italy U21 team, this match saw a new central defensive pairing of Carraro and Rivolta for Torino, with 25-year-old Italian goalkeeper Davide Bassi making his first start for the club. Torino's star player Bianchi, who had just recovered from injury, was on the bench alongside Chinese youngster Chu Jiang.

  Conservative Lillard chose to trust the more experienced Bahi, and put young Chu Jiang and newly injured Bianchi on the substitute bench. Such a regular and square formation is just within the expectation of fans and media. In addition, Lillard sent out his strongest lineup in his mind.

  This game, the Bulls who have lost two in a row can't afford to lose again, Lillard can't afford to lose again!

  In the first half, Torino and Crotone fought hard for victory. Although Torino had a slight advantage on the field, after 45 minutes of fierce competition, both teams ended up with nothing to show for it, and could only reluctantly accept a 0-0 tie. The only notable thing in the first half was that whenever Torino got a free kick opportunity in a good position, the broadcaster would give Jiang a special shot.

  On the bench, Chu Jiang calmly waited for his chance.

  In this game, conservative Lyle D put Chu Jiang in the starting lineup, which is a big improvement over his previous bench-warming situation. Although the coach's choice has some passive meaning, at least it shows that the coach recognizes him more, indicating that in the competition for the main goalkeeper position, Chu Jiang has surpassed the previous main goalkeeper Morello.

  Wanting to go further, wanting to replace Bashi, truly becoming the Bulls' number one point guard, Chujian still lacks some opportunities to show himself.

  He has the ability; he has an excellent attitude towards training; and his understanding with his teammates is not much different from that of Bashi when he first joined the team. What he lacks is just a stage to show himself, the previous Italian Cup was good but not influential enough. The opponent in that match was too weak and it can only be counted as a small test, the opponents in the league are the real deal. An occasional burst of brilliance only surprised the head coach, but did not make Lillard truly trust him.

  Chu Jiang still needs to perform better in more games. Only then can he convince Lyle to truly trust him without reservation, let all his teammates fully believe in him, and truly become the Bulls' main goalkeeper without controversy!

  To get such an opportunity, in addition to doing a good job of preparation, Chu Jiang also needs some luck.

  Compared to the calm first half, the second half was much more lively. Just 4 minutes after the start of the second half, the away team took the lead. In a quick counterattack, Cutolo, Crotone's left winger, broke through Bari's defense and scored. The score became 0:1 in favor of the visiting team.

  With this missed goal, the Olympic Stadium fell into silence. And on the sidelines, Lillard's face was gloomy.

  In the 53rd minute of the game, team captain Zanetti, who was playing as a right-back, got injured in a scramble. Seizing this opportunity, Liedholm promptly sent on both right-back Obodo and striker Bianchi, with Bianchi replacing the ineffective Pellicori upfront.

  Bianchi scored a goal for Torino shortly after coming on, using his sense of smell in front of the door. Unfortunately, that goal was offside first.

  As time went on, there was less and less time left in the match, while the score on the field remained at 0:1, Turin team behind!

  Will the Bulls be unprecedentedly welcomed with three consecutive defeats?

  As the remaining time of the game decreased, the Bulls players on the field became more and more anxious, and their offense became increasingly disorganized. Such a disorganized offense made it even harder for fans to see any hope of the team catching up in score. More than 10,000 fans who were watching the game live began booing, with some fans even starting to leave early as a way to protest the team's disappointing performance.

  "Leida, get out!" Some radical fans even shouted such slogans.

  In this case, the director frequently cut to the Dalian substitute bench. On the Bulls' substitute bench, there was also a player who had brought magic to the Bulls in the Cup, that is, Chinese goalkeeper, Chu Jiang!

  "Faced with such a situation, Torino must make some changes. In the hands of the head coach, there is still one last substitution option, how will he choose?" The live commentator said so, and the camera also cooperated to aim at the Bulls' head coach, Lyle Daly!

  Leyda watched the disciples on the field running around aimlessly, then glanced at her wristwatch. The game time was only left with the last 20 minutes or so, but the Bulls still couldn't find a way to score. Faced with this situation, Leyda's heart was burning with anxiety!

  If the team suffers three consecutive defeats, it will be a very heavy blow for Torino, who is determined to win the championship. To know that the team's chairman Kaylo has never been a very patient chairman. If they really lose this game, the one leading the Bulls to fight against the next opponent may not be Lielda anymore!

  Lyle looked up and glanced at the substitute bench, thinking for a moment. At this stage, the strongest attacking lineup he could come up with was already on the field. On the substitute bench, there were still attacking players like Lazarevic and Stefanovic left. But would their substitution change the situation on the field? Lyle didn't have any confidence in that either. If anyone's substitution could make a sudden impact and instantly change the game situation, it would only be Chuijiang, who was good at scoring arbitrary goals!

  Looking at the empty venue, the glaring score on the electronic scoreboard, Laila made a crazy decision.

  "We've got nothing to lose! Rather than waiting for death, let's go all in! There can't be a worse outcome than the current score!"

  After making up her mind, Lillard turned around and quickly walked towards the bench.

  "Chu Jiang, get ready to go on stage!"

  The long-awaited opportunity has finally arrived! Chu Jiang, are you ready?!

  The time has come to the 70th minute of the game, which is about the same as when Chu Jiang last appeared in the Italian Cup.

  The last time, the Bulls were tied with their opponents at home, and Chu Jiang's appearance immediately gave the Bulls a thrilling victory. One pass, one shot, one red card, and one fish-leap save, recorded the miracle of Chu Jiang in that game!

  At that time, before the game between Chu Jiang and the scene, the score of the two teams was 1:1, which was a draw.

  But now the score on the field is 0:1, and the Bulls are trailing at home.

  The Bulls have lost two in a row and can't afford another loss. The Torino fans are still reeling from their second consecutive defeat!

  The Bulls of today need heroes to stand up, the Turin of today needs heroes to come and save! The turbulent river flows horizontally, only then can the heroic spirit be revealed. Chu Jiang, are you ready?!

  Bahsi stared at the substitution indicator in shock, stunned for a moment, and finally ran reluctantly to the sidelines.

  Today, his performance was mediocre, without major mistakes, but also no outstanding performances. In theory, such a performance can be accepted; in theory, such a goalkeeper will not be replaced. However, Bahsi knew that under the current score deficit, the head coach needed a turning point to break the deadlock. And set pieces are often the most powerful weapon to break the deadlock. Therefore, for this substitution, Bahsi was surprised but not unexpected, and he could still accept it in his heart.

  "The head coach values only your free kicks, and it's not that your goalkeeping skills are better than mine. In the next match, I will still be the main player!" Bahsi thought to himself.

  Unfortunately, this is just Bahi's own wishful thinking. Although the head coach now thinks exactly like Bahi, as long as he gives Chu Jiang an opportunity, he will absolutely not let it slip away easily. He will prove with his actions that I, Chu Jiang, am the true main force of the Dalian team!

  After Chu Jiang took the field, his teammates quickly grasped the head coach's tactical intentions, and their originally disorganized play gradually became more organized and methodical.

  Strengthen the front court rebounding and strive for creating scoring opportunities with positioning balls! This is the consensus among the Bulls' frontcourt players.

  The biggest difference between professional and amateur teams is not footwork, nor physical confrontation, nor all the tacit understanding of cooperation, but the execution of the head coach's tactical intentions! Regardless of whether the head coach's tactical intentions are correct or not, professional players can always embody his tactical intentions as much as possible on the football field. This is their professionalism, and this is also the difference between Chinese so-called "professional players" and European and American players.

  After receiving the tactical hint from the head coach, the three most skilled players in Torino's frontcourt, Gasbarroni, Sgrigna and Ewanko, simultaneously strengthened their dribbling. Even center Biandri frequently retreated to the top of the penalty arc to receive the ball with his back to the goal.

  The change in Torino's play made Mericeni, the coach of Crotone, smell a conspiracy, but he couldn't guess the tactical intentions of the Bulls. Because he didn't see the real reason for Chuijiang replacing Bashi. He thought that Bashi's substitution was Lielda looking for a scapegoat for the upcoming loss, just like he replaced Morrello in the previous game.

  Unfamiliarity with Chujang's technical characteristics will become one of Mireceni's greatest regrets after the game. And Chujang, will use this match to clear his name, and also make all Serie B coaches remember his name!

  Soon, Dorothea's tactical play began to take effect.

  Skriegeiner advances with the ball along the left flank. After passing two people, he did not choose to pass in the middle of the bottom, allowing Bianchi to grab the point on this very familiar attacking routine; but instead chose to cut inside and rush straight to the top of Crotone's penalty arc. This unexpected sudden change of direction caught Crotone's defensive players off guard. Helpless, the defender had no choice but to stretch out his hand to pull Skriegeiner back, preventing him from continuing to enter the penalty area and complete a shot.

  A direct free kick 27 meters from the goal! Chu Jiang's chance has come!

  The goalkeeper of Crotone is the main player of Slovenia U21 team, 20-year-old Vid Belec. By the way, Belec also has a connection with Zhu Jiang. Belec was born in Appiano youth training camp and was the predecessor of Zhu Jiang's good friend Bardi as the main goalkeeper of the youth team. This season, Belec just joined Crotone on loan from Inter Milan and is also a very promising goalkeeper.

  However, since leaving Apiano relatively early, Bellucci did not know Chu Jiang and was even more unclear about his technical characteristics.

  For Chu Jiang who suddenly appeared at the free throw line, from head coach to players, the whole team was very surprised.

  However, the Torino players who are familiar with Qiu Jiang are not surprised, and the Torino fans who are familiar with Qiu Jiang will not be surprised either. When Qiu Jiang takes a free kick, all the fans in the Olympic Stadium stand up!

  "It's now the seventy-seventh minute of the whole game, and there are only about 15 minutes left until the end of this match! The current score on the field is still 0:1, with the home team Bulls temporarily trailing behind. If they lose this match, the Bulls will suffer a humiliating three-game losing streak, which would be a huge blow to the confidence of Torino, who are aiming for promotion and even the championship!"

  "Now, Torino has obtained a fairly good free kick position. Directly shooting from this position is a bit far and the angle is also somewhat biased, the difficulty of the penalty is not low. But this time, the free kick may be the best opportunity for Torino in the remaining match time."

  "The hero of the Italian Cup, Chu stood in front of the ball once again. Faced with great pressure, can he once again show off his free kick skills and save Torino again? At this moment, even getting just one point would be a rare breather for the Bulls! Can this Chinese youngster get this precious point for the Bulls?"

  Facing this decisive free kick that could change the situation on the field, the live commentator began to use all his strength to mobilize the emotions of all the spectators.

  Chu Jiang stood in front of the ball. At this moment, he felt a lot of pressure. However, this kind of pressure was not unfamiliar to him. Three weeks ago, on the same court, he had already experienced it once. Compared to last time, Chu Jiang began to like this heart-pounding feeling a little bit.

  All eyes are on you; the team's life and death depend on your one foot. A goal, the whole field laughs; a penalty miss, the whole field cries!

  This stimulating feeling is enough to drive people crazy, it's so cool!

  Chu Jiang licked his lips, savoring the refreshing feeling, while also thinking about the kicking method of this free kick.

  27 meters from the goal, which means that the free kick needs to have enough power; the left edge of the penalty area, which also requires a high arc for the free kick. For Chu Jiang, his left foot is not his strong point, but using his right foot in this position, wanting to kick out an arc with both power and precision is not an easy task.

  Chu Jiang looked up and saw that against this free kick, Crotone lined up a five-man wall. The wall sealed off the near corner, while goalkeeper Belyak stood at the far end defending the far corner, which is a very regular defensive strategy. However, judging from the number of players in the wall, Crotone was very concerned about this set-piece defense.

  It seems that Chu Jiang can't find an angle to shoot!

  Bellek is a very young goalkeeper, youth means great potential, but also means lack of experience. In terms of experience and level, Bellek can't compare to Baldi, let alone Chu Jiang. In this free kick defense, Bellek stood too close to the far corner, his expression was also more tense, that's where he is not as good as Baldi and Chu Jiang!

  After noticing this, Chu Jiang revealed a hint of a smile. He beckoned to bring Gharo Falo over and began to deploy the kicking method for this free kick. Soon after, both players stood in front of the ball.

  Who will take this free kick? The Crotone players seem a bit disoriented.

  From the position, Garofalo stands on the left side of the ball, which is just suitable for him to take a long shot with his right foot. Garofalo is Turin's first choice for taking free kicks in the league, and his strong foot happens to be his right foot. Chuijiang stands in front of the ball, which is suitable for a left-footed player to attack the near corner with his left foot, but previous matches have proven that he is actually a right-footed player!

  If this free kick wasn't taken by Chu Jiang himself, a goalkeeper would have rushed up at this time, wouldn't that be boring?

  As Crotone's players were bewildered, two Torino players sprang into action!