Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 101 Defeating Hamburg
Luca Toni transferred to Roma in the winter transfer window, and he has high expectations for his performance.

Since suffering an injury at Bayern Munich, coupled with his disagreements with head coach Louis van Gaal, Toni has essentially lost his place at the club.

His performance during this half-season on loan to Roma will be crucial for his next contract.

After arriving in Rome, Tony was genuinely happy for a while.

In this world, Spalletti completely abandoned the 4-2-3-1 formation and switched to the traditional 4-4-2. Moreover, Totti's intermittent injuries gave Toni ample playing time.

but……

Tony found himself completely transformed into a tactical center, and the kind of tactical center who could only pull off a tiny defensive stunt.

The team's first choice is definitely Shan Yongzhuo. Although he has the highest average number of tackles per game in Serie A, when the ball gets to the front, his teammates will always check his position first, and will only pass the ball to him if absolutely necessary.

Moreover, this guy never passes the ball.

Having been in Rome for so long, Toni has received a few passes from Shan Yongzhuo, all of which were made when the ball was being kicked off from the center line.

Now, upon hearing Yongzhuo's words, Tony fully understood what he meant: he could only remain in the paint as a defensive anchor.

"Why? I'm very strong too! And my cultivation is improving more and more!"

Tony was devastated, but there was nothing he could do; this guy was just too good at scoring goals.

As a striker, Toni deeply understands that scoring goals is the only way to maintain his influence on the field. Although Toni is unwilling, this is the only way he can do.

Shan Yongzhuo didn't care about Toni's thoughts. It's undeniable that Toni, such a tall center forward, has a greater presence in the penalty area than Totti can match. Since Toni came, Shan Yongzhuo has found playing much more comfortable.

Now that Shan Yongzhuo has dropped far back, Boateng is in a bit of a predicament. If he follows, the team's defensive formation will be disrupted; if he doesn't follow...

Oh well, this guy doesn't seem to be anything special anyway.

After thinking for a moment, Boateng did not retreat too far with Shan Yongzhuo.

Hamburg launched an attack in the attacking third, but Van Nistelrooy's header in the penalty area was saved by Doni, and Roma quickly launched a counter-attack.

Many mid-to-lower-tier Serie A teams typically assign a center-back to closely mark Shan Yongzhuo, while stronger teams will employ a defensive midfielder to mark him when he drops back.

That's exactly what Hamburg did in this match. When Shan Yongzhuo retreated, he was marked by Czech veteran Jarolim.

However, Jarolim is a midfield sweeper, and his individual strength and one-on-one defensive ability are not very strong.

That's where the vulnerability lies.

It wasn't easy for Shan Yongzhuo to shake off Yarolim, but he was still able to find opportunities with ease.

In the 39th minute of the match, Shan Yongzhuo found an opportunity.

Taddei dribbled the ball down the wing, and after reaching the corner of the penalty area, he combined with Perrotta to shake off the opposing players and control the ball.

Shan Yongzhuo was just outside the goal area when he ran towards the ball, and Taddei immediately passed it to him.

Jarolim was right behind Shan Yongzhuo. He couldn't stop Shan Yongzhuo from receiving the ball, but there was no problem with the position. It was 35 meters away from the goal, and in Jarolim's opinion, the position was fine.

If Italian Serie A teams knew about Jarolim's thoughts, they would probably ridicule him mercilessly.

After receiving the ball, Shan Yongzhuo immediately faked out Jarolim with a single touch and then unleashed his powerful leg kick.

The rest became much simpler: kick, shoot!
The football hurtled towards the goal in an instant, moving at incredible speed. Goalkeeper Rost made a desperate save, but to no avail; the ball was too fast and the angle too tricky. "Whoosh..."

Amidst the clamor from the surrounding stands, Shan Yongzhuo raised his arm, but did not reveal a victorious smile.

Upon seeing the goal, Labbadia shook his head helplessly and let out a long sigh.

Being down 0-2 at home was a very painful experience for him.

"Yarolim is still not good enough."

Arorlim was also annoyed. Shan Yongzhuo's movements were just too fast, directly swaying him and leaving him with no way to stop him. It was almost like teleportation.

In fact, Shan Yongzhuo used the Ghost Shadow Tackle the moment he received the ball. The 2.5-second time difference was enough for him to shake off Yarolim and find space to shoot. The rest was up to the Mighty Vajra Leg.

Although it's a weaker version of the Mighty Vajra Leg, with the added bonus of the Golden Right Foot, even long-range shots from over 30 meters have a very high success rate.

Of course, the difference becomes significant at greater distances.

The German commentator also expressed regret over the goal, saying, "This goal demonstrates Shan Yongzhuo's exceptional long-range shooting ability. Even Rost couldn't do much against such a world-class strike..."

The Italian commentators and journalists remained remarkably calm.

"Dan Yongzhuo scored a long-range shot from over 30 meters?"

"That's normal, okay? He scores at least one long-range shot in almost every game."

While the Roma players celebrated, the Hamburg fans felt disappointed and lost.

In a home game, they were already down by two goals before halftime. How could they possibly play like that?
The Hamburg fans around them also lost their confidence after the goal. Hamburg is a strong team, but Roma is not a weak team either. Being down by two goals at halftime made them feel like they couldn't see any hope.

After Shan Yongzhuo scored his second goal, there wasn't much of the first half left, and Hamburg's attack ended after a few waves.

In the second half, Hamburg's defense became much tighter, and they reaped the rewards. In the 60th minute, Van Nistelrooy scored in the penalty area, giving Hamburg fans a glimmer of hope that they could equalize the score.

However, in the 75th minute, Roma dealt Hamburg another fatal blow.

Shan Yongzhuo received the ball on the edge of the penalty area, unleashed a powerful ground kick, and without stopping the ball, shook off Boateng. He then fired a powerful shot from the edge of the penalty area, making the score 3-1, with Roma leading by two goals again.

Many Hamburg fans left early, feeling that their team had no hope.

The Roma fans were ecstatic, especially the dozen or so Italian beauties in the front row of Shan Yongzhuo's cheerleading squad, who jumped around excitedly, sparking all sorts of fantasies.

The Italian commentator joked, "Roma's victory over Hamburg is practically guaranteed, and Shan Yongzhuo himself has scored a hat-trick. So, let's guess whether the cheerleading girls will keep their promise?"

The Italian commentator's words were just a joke, but they still made countless people feel envious.

That's more than a dozen...

cough cough.

Shan Yongzhuo didn't care.

The women down the mountain are tigers; if you encounter them, you must stay away.

Ultimately, Roma defeated Hamburg 1-3 away from home, gaining a significant advantage in the first leg.

(End of this chapter)