The road to godhood starting from Ligue 1

Chapter 212 Opportunities are not waited for, but created.

Nobody expected Ribery to pass the ball like that.

The Spanish players focused all their attention on the middle.

Taking advantage of Alba's moment of hesitation, Gaio broke free and moved forward into the right side of the penalty area.

Keep the ball moving.

Facing the football, he volleyed it into the air.

Bang!
Wow!

Spanish fans felt a chill run down their spines and all turned to look at the goal.

Casillas was very focused. He was originally following up in the middle of the defense, but when the ball was transferred to the right wing, he quickly adjusted his position to the near post.

Gaio's kick was made to buy time, and since it was in mid-air, he didn't have much room to adjust.

The ball is heading straight for the near corner!

Casillas leaped from the ground, his fingers touching the ball, changing its direction, grazing the post, and sliding out of bounds.

call!
Spanish fans breathed a sigh of relief; Gaio's kick had truly given them a heart-stopping moment.

When Gaio saw that the ball hadn't gone in, he punched the air in frustration.

He then gestured towards Ribery.

Courtside.

When Deschamps saw an opportunity for Gaio, he was initially delighted, then disappointed.

After sighing, he applauded the players, and at least after the second half, the French team seized the initiative.

Unlike in the first half, they were no longer struggling to cope with Spain's attacks.

of course,

This is also related to Spain being forced to make two consecutive substitutions.

France increased their pressing intensity, giving Spain a chance to counter-attack. Iniesta caught the ball, and Xavi delivered a long pass that reached behind the French defense.

Unfortunately, this Spanish team lacked speed.

Fabregas was tightly marked by Koscielny, and possession returned to the French team.

Some Spanish fans shook their heads slightly at Fabregas' performance.

at this time,

Arsène Wenger, far away at the Colney training ground in London, is watching the match.

Arsenal has a lot of players.

When he saw this scene—a current Arsenal player facing off against a former Arsenal player—he pursed his lips, a touch of melancholy rising in his heart.

However, these thoughts quickly dissipated, and he saw through it all.

Wenger's main focus in this match was still on Gaião.

Wenger never gave up on bringing in Gaio.

He knew that Gaio was now quite valuable, and that bringing him in would cost a lot of money.

Although Arsenal is poor, it's not that they can't afford to buy players.

If we grit our teeth, we can afford to pay tens of millions.

The bright moon shines on the ditch, but alas.

Gaião seems to have remained silent in response to Arsenal's overtures.

of course.

What makes Wenger feel a little better is that Gaião has not made any response to the interest from giants like Real Madrid, Juventus, and Chelsea.

Everyone knows that Gaião is the jewel of Ligue 1.

But Gaio and his entourage did not show any interest in any particular club.

Nowadays, the media reports are mostly fabricated scandals by journalists themselves.

Wenger couldn't help but wonder, "Where will you go?"

Calderón Stadium.

With France gaining more possession of the ball, Gaio also had more opportunities to get his hands on it.

gradually,
Alba was struggling.

Defenders are meant to follow the rhythm of the attacking players. In the first half, because Spain had a high overall possession rate, Gaio didn't have many opportunities to get the ball.

But now the tide has turned.

Not the same.

Wow!

Spanish fans gasped in surprise once again.

Facing Alba and Pedro's defense on the wing, Gaio changed direction to shake off Pedro and then cut into the gap between the two, trying to cut inside.

Alba kicked Gaio from behind, stopping the attack.

drop!
Bridge didn't hold back, blowing his whistle and issuing a yellow card.

Seeing this, the TF1 commentator sounded slightly excited, "They're alive! France has turned the tide. Deschamps may have figured it out: the extreme three-defensive-midfielder defensive system is ineffective against Spain."

The method that Mourinho spent two years figuring out, Deschamps only needed forty-five minutes to complete.

Today's Xavi, Iniesta, and others are not the same as they were a few years ago. Facing the pressing and attacks of these young French players, they can still protect the ball, but it's hard for them to make the same amazing plays as before.

The best news for the French team is that their two flanks have also come alive!
Substitute Juanfran couldn't stop Ribery, while Gaio on the right wing, who had been invisible in the first half, is gradually becoming the focus of the entire match.

Bang!
France takes a free kick.

Giroud headed the ball hard toward the goal, the ball was fast, but unfortunately the angle was too straight, and Casillas caught it.

After getting up, Saint Casillas shouted to his teammates and threw the ball to Ramos.

The players feel Spain's current predicament most acutely.

Spain was able to control the ball in tight spaces using individual skills, but France's aggressive pressing prevented them from connecting.

Spain's attack lacks speedy players to punish France's high-pressing defensive tactics.

This allowed Spain to maintain a stable defense for the time being, but their offense fell into a slump.

The time came to 60 minutes.

The score remains 1-0.

Deschamps substituted Gonalons and told Valbuena, who was about to come on, "Pass the ball to the flanks more often. Keep an eye on Gaio's position. Their number 18 has a yellow card, so they'll be hesitant to defend. That's where the opportunity lies."

After saying that, Deschamps patted Valbuena on the shoulder.

The French team has made a substitution.

Vicente del Bosque still had one substitution left, but he hesitated to use it.

The appearance of two injured players tonight has really disrupted his tactical plans.

Simultaneously,

Bosque looked at Gaio with some unease in his heart. As an experienced head coach, he could see that Gaio was gaining momentum.

Bang!
Three minutes later, Valbuena unleashed a powerful shot inside the penalty area, but he aimed too high and hit the post.

Wow!

French fans held their heads in disbelief, their faces filled with astonishment. How could that not have gone in?!

The ball originated from Gaião breaking through Iniesta and Alba's defense on the right wing and heading straight for the byline. Ramos was forced to cover, resulting in an open space in Ramos's original defensive area, which Valbuena, who had moved forward, received Gaião's cutback pass.

Gaio got up from the ground.
Just now, he suddenly thought of Griezmann, what if the current French team had a Griezmann?
However, Gaio only thought about it.

The current Griezmann is not yet the all-around midfielder/forward who later became a "commander-in-chief, patcher, metronome, and pivot".

He is currently just a regular winger for Real Sociedad, occasionally taking on the role of "cutting inside to the right wing".

We still have to wait for him to grow up.

When he meets Simone, then he meets Deschamps.

These two coaches placed him in the second forward position, which officially began Griezmann's path to realizing his talent.

The game continues.

Spain has once again had a chance to counterattack.

Fabregas' right-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area hit Sakho and went out of play.

Xavi took the corner kick from the right, and Ramos headed the ball over Sakho in the middle, but it went over the crossbar.

Many French fans, upon seeing this, joked, "Deschamps has cracked Del Bosque's strikerless formation."

Some fans also know that

In fact, it wasn't Deschamps who broke the strikerless formation, but rather that France's two flanks were too strong.

Suppress Spain's wing attacks, causing their defense and offense to become disconnected and unable to connect.

As Xavi and Iniesta have aged, they no longer possess the ability to dribble quickly through the middle like they did in their prime.

However, the French team is still behind.

Spain's attack failed, and then it was France's turn to attack.

Gaio received the ball on the right wing, and despite being defended by three men, he saw Giroud come out. Thud!
A long pass.

Giroud came out, received the ball, and crossed it from the left side of the penalty area. Cabaye, who was unmarked on the right side of the six-yard box, volleyed the ball high with his right foot.

On the sidelines, Deschamps watched as repeated attacks failed to produce a goal, his expression grave.

Two minutes later, Valbuena passed the ball to Ribery, who took a low shot with his right foot from the edge of the penalty area. However, Ribery failed to control the ball at the last moment, causing the shot to go wildly wide. It might have gone in if the goal had been in the corner flag area.

Deschamps is already considering further adjustments to the lineup.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Bosque has made his final substitution.

Remove Iniesta, who is physically exhausted.

Torres is on the field!
Five years later, Torres once again appeared at the Vicente Calderón Stadium.

All the Atlético Madrid fans in the stadium stood up and applauded him.

Former captain of Atlético Madrid.

Torres, the golden boy, is the undisputed idol of many Atletico Madrid fans.

however,
His first touch of the ball left the fans slightly disappointed.

Xavi delivered a through ball during Spain's counter-attack.

Torres on the wing uses his speed to break through, creating opportunities for Spain.

As a result, Xavi's brilliant pass was stopped out of bounds.

When Deschamps saw Torres come on, he abandoned any thought of making a substitution and kept waving to signal for a stronger attack.

With Iniesta off the field, even with Fabregas dropping back, Spain's midfield control is bound to weaken.

The same is true.

The moment Alonso received the ball, he couldn't see any passing options, and Matuidi dispossessed him.

Spain quickly set up their defense; if they can hold on for these last ten minutes or so, they'll win!

The French team passed the ball back and forth a couple of times on the left and in the middle, but didn't see any opportunities.

Matuidi passed the ball to Gaio.

Even though there were three people staring at Gaio.

After Gaio received the ball.

He didn't start immediately, but glanced at his teammates' positions, where everyone was tightly blocked.

Having grasped the situation, Gaio did not hesitate any longer.

Someone needs to break the deadlock!

Gaião was in front of three defenders: Torres, who had dropped back, as well as Fabregas and Alba.

Gaio gently tapped the ball, observing their positioning.

The other party was also waiting for him to start it.

Gaio moved!

He lowered his shoulder, dribbled the ball towards Alba, and made a sprinting motion.

He immediately mobilized the three of them.

Fabregas, in the middle, moved towards Alba, intending to cover for him.

Torres, however, did not immediately follow.

Torres was still defending with his habitual mindset, thinking that if Gaio broke through on the wing, there would be teammates defending him, and he could mark the other players' forward runs from behind.

however.

In an instant, Gaio cut the ball back, his footwork incredibly fast, and he quickly rushed through the gap between Torres and Fabregas.

Cut inside!

Hey!
Gasps of surprise erupted from the crowd; they hadn't expected Gaio to emerge from between the three people.

After Gaio rushed over, Ramos and Xabi Alonso were less than two meters away from him and quickly surrounded him to provide cover.

Alba and the other two also rushed towards Gaio.

For a time,

Gaio was surrounded by five people, a splash of blue amidst the red.

Surrounded.

Gaio saw an opportunity!

Ramos was still some distance away from him, but Casillas's view was completely blocked by them.

Bang!
Without a second thought, Gaio kicked the ball!
He circled towards the far corner.

The ball is extremely fast!
Ramos immediately stretched out his leg to try to block, while Busquets on the other side also turned his back to try to block the ball.

But these are all subconscious behaviors.

The football, with speed and an arc, headed straight for the far corner of the goal.

Casillas didn't realize it was a shot immediately; by the time he saw the ball, it was too late.

All I could do was turn my head to look at the football.

Bang!
The football hit the inside of the right goalpost and deflected into the net.

Wow!

Spanish fans at the stadium held their heads in disbelief. What had they just witnessed?
How did that ball go in?
When Gaio saw the ball go in, he stood still and raised his arms in celebration. Then he ran to the sidelines and raised his hands to the French fans in the away section.

This prompted French fans to shout enthusiastically—

"Geo!!"

His teammates rushed over and hugged Gaio. This goal meant that their hopes of directly qualifying for the World Cup were not yet gone.

Courtside.

Bosque shook his head sadly.

When Deschamps saw Gaio score, he raised his hands and shouted. He had been tense all game, but in the end, it was Gaio who stepped up.

And with such an unreasonable goal!
"Wonderful!"

In the stands, Zidane and Morientes couldn't help but applaud Gaio.

Gaio didn't make many moves, but every step he took showcased his talent, skill, and confidence.

To be able to make a breakthrough even when facing three people at such a time.

Zidane had a big smile on his face.

This is the kind of player the French team needs.

boom!
The Sunset Cafe suddenly trembled, and the Bastia fans roared as if an earthquake had struck the cafe.

"Geo!"

"Geo!!"

The fans chanted the legend's name, but they still felt that the emotions were hard to express.

too excited!

They were so excited!

This goal was their first impression of Gaio: top-notch footwork.

Bondi.

After celebrating with Saliba, Mbappe said to Saliba, "I even want to play as a defender now. I really can't learn to score goals like Gaio."

Saliba laughed loudly, "Are you trying to steal my place?"

Haha.

Etang laughed and comforted Mbappe, "Kylian, Gaio plays on the right wing, you're on the left, you just need to be stronger than your opponents on the left!"

Calderón Stadium.

The celebration didn't last long; the Spanish players encouraged each other and returned to the center circle.

The game restarts.

The ball came to Torres' feet, but in this match, he was once again subjected to a media frenzy.

When he broke through Debuchy, he slipped, and possession returned to the French team.

Debuchy passed the ball straight to Gaio.

In fact, Gaio's physical condition had also declined significantly by this point in the game, but he knew that his opponent wouldn't be in much better shape either.

It all depends on who can hold out.

Gaio suddenly accelerated as he faced Fabregas and Alba.

The two then started.

Gaio suddenly stopped abruptly, cut inside, and as Fabregas tried to tackle him, passed the ball to the advancing Matuidi.

Then Gaio quickly moved forward, pointing ahead.

Short pass penetration!
He wanted to use the Spanish way to break through Spain's goal!

(End of this chapter)