Reverse.

Chapter 115 Shoe Polishing
"…In the past year, there have been rumors about the relationship between Tyne player Vitini and Madrid FC. Yesterday, Vitini personally admitted the authenticity of these rumors outside the training base, and Madrid FC is indeed interested in him. But he also officially responded to Madrid FC in front of reporters yesterday, that is, he will not leave Tyne and will not go to Madrid FC…

"Vitini is the second player in the past 20 years to publicly reject Madrid FC in front of so many media reporters. He personally closed the door to his own transfer to Madrid FC. So far, neither the Tyne Club nor the Madrid FC Club has made any comments on this matter..."

After reading the news, Waltham assistant coach Alex Watt turned to head coach Toby Webster and asked:
"Toby, do you think Vitini really rejected Madrid FC?"

Webster shrugged. "Who knows? It's not uncommon for a player to deny a rumor that he will not leave, but then transfer away a few days later. And even if Vitini really wants to stay in Tain now, it doesn't conflict with him really wanting to go to Madrid FC in two years."

Watt frowned and said, "I don't quite understand why Vitini would slap Madrid FC in the face in front of so many media reporters... He is not like Ronil, who has a personal grudge against Madrid FC. What good will it do him to anger Madrid?"

Webster waved his hand: "Don't worry about this problem for the opponent players. Think about our next game with them..."

Watt grinned and said, "I'm just worried about our next game. I think this should be a good thing for us - Tyne's recent form is really good, and this incident may interrupt their upward momentum. So I want to find out what their team thinks about this matter, but it seems that no news has been heard at all...

"No matter who I ask, they all say 'no comment'. I wonder if McNeill has issued a gag order within the team... If this is true, it means that the matter between Vitini and Madrid FC is definitely not as simple as the outside world sees. It must have caused a great impact within the team, which is why the club has issued a gag order to the players..."

Watt's analysis was very reasonable, but Webster disagreed: "I think this shows that the Tyne team is more united than the outside world imagines. Since that internal strife, there has been no news from the Tyne team - except for what they actively released - I think this is difficult to achieve with the club management or the head coach's control. We can't be too optimistic about the game against Tyne at the weekend and we have to be cautious. We should focus on defense first on the away game and try not to lose the ball first..."

※※※

This week, the rumors between Vitini and FC Madrid were so influential that even the weekend game was overshadowed.

In fact, this weekend's league is very important for Tyne.

Because this is a direct dialogue between the sixth and fifth in the league - Tyne will host Waltham, one of the fifth-placed Premier League "BIG6".

For Tyne, who are aiming for the Champions League, this is a game they must win and it is worth six points.

Before this round of the league, Tyne ranked sixth with 48 points.

Waltham ranked fifth with forty-nine points.

If Tyne can win this game, not only can they move up to fifth in the standings, but they can also lead Waltham by two points.

The reverse is also true for Waltham, which is critical.

They also want to compete for qualification for the Champions League next season.

They are currently six points behind fourth-placed Sofia United. Regardless of whether Sofia United can win this round of the league, they must at least beat Tyne to ensure that they will not be left behind by Sofia United.

It is generally believed that the scandal between Vitini and FC Madrid is a good thing for Waltham.

Because Vitini and the entire Tyne team might not be able to concentrate on preparations because of this incident.

Although Vitini has announced that he will stay in Tain, who knows whether what he said is true or not, or if it is just a delaying tactic?
When it comes to matters like transfers and contract renewals, no matter who it is, their words are not very credible.

Because whether it is a player, a coach, an agent, or a club manager, they all have their own positions and have sufficient reasons to lie to the public.

Anyway, there is no law requiring them to be honest about the rumors.

This incident has caused such a big stir that it is impossible that there will be no impact at all within the Tyne team.

People’s hearts are hidden. Even if you clarify the rumors in public, how do you know what your teammates are thinking?
Maybe they think you're lying?

Therefore, when everyone saw Waltham facing Tyne with a defensive counterattack in the game, they were still a little surprised, wondering if Webster was too cautious?
But as the game progressed, they gradually changed their minds and felt that Webster was right and had foresight!

※※※

"You're right, Toby." Assistant coach Alex Watt said to head coach Toby Webster beside him in the coaching booth, "Tyne was not affected by the Vitini incident!"

"No." Webster shook his head. "It still has an impact - they seem to have become more combative... Especially Vitini. He was particularly active today, just like an angry calf... In the past, I hoped that Vitini would be so angry that he lost his mind, but this time, he turned his anger into his weapon."

At this point, he said with emotion: "Wang is really an amazing guy... He just transferred to Tyne, but Vitini has changed so much! Now it seems that we didn't pay enough attention to Vitini before the game. I have a feeling... In today's game, Vitini's threat level is even higher than Wang!"

Assistant coach Watt asked him: "So should we change the focus of our defense and focus on defending Vitini?"

Webster was about to nod his approval, but suddenly an alarm sounded in his mind:
After focusing on defending Vitini, what should Wang Lie do?
Vitini is dangerous, but isn’t Wang Lie dangerous too?

He was a little hesitant for a moment, not knowing how to adjust.

After thinking it over again, he decided to play it safe.

After all, the tactical arrangements in pre-match training were all aimed at Wang Lie. If the defensive strategy was suddenly adjusted during the game, it would be easy to make mistakes during the transition period of adjustment.

Tyne's offensive is very strong now, and we should not make defensive adjustments at this time.

Let's wait until we get through Tyne's attacks...

But that doesn't mean he does nothing.

The defense against Vitini should indeed be strengthened, so he asked the team's striker Danilo Godwin on the right to help limit Vitini.

Although this will reduce the team's strength in counterattacks, defense is the top priority.

In general, the defensive tactics that Webster formulated for the team are still focused on defending Wang Lie, supplemented by restricting Vitini. The main thing is to prevent Vitini from going to the middle. As long as he is active on the wing, the defensive focus will be more on Wang Lie.

No matter how active a winger is on the wing, he can only cross the ball, and as long as he defends his teammates in the middle, the threat he can create is very limited.

Only when he tries to go to the middle will he immediately punch hard to defend him.

※※※

Vitini raised his hand on the wing to ask his teammates for the ball.

The ball was passed to him immediately.

After receiving the ball, he moved it forward, but was quickly blocked by two Waltham players.

Faced with their tight defense, Vitini did not bury his head and rush into the dragon's den alone. Instead, he made a feint and turned around to pass the ball.

Then he cuts to the space and looks for, or simply creates, the next opportunity to receive the ball.

Seeing this, the father in the stands nodded.

Since he determined his goal, Vitini has been in a state of excitement. As a father, he is worried that Vitini will be too excited in the game, run into walls, and fail to perform at his usual level... and then directly extinguish his ambition.

But judging from the first twenty minutes of the game, his son kept a clear head and was not blinded by ambition.

This made him very happy - only in this way could he be considered to have truly grown up.

※※※

Vitini got the ball again on the court, and this time he tried to break through, but was grabbed by the jersey by Waltham's right-back Ryan Gilberto on the wing, and he could not break free until the referee blew the whistle and penalized Gilberto for a foul.

However, Vitini did not open his arms to complain to the referee, nor did he yell at Gilberto for the foul. Instead, he immediately placed the football on the grass and kicked it out quickly!
Before the Waltham defenders could react, the ball had already been passed to Wang Lie by Vitini!
While receiving the ball, Wang Lie used his left foot to push the football to the right, shaking off Waltham center back Thomas Sulita who came up hastily to steal the ball!

There was a huge cheer at Leather Park.

Amid cheers, Wang Lie adjusted his body posture and shot directly from outside the penalty area!

Waltham goalkeeper Andrea Malomo flew to the side and saved the ball from going out of the baseline!
"Oh!! Nice shot and save!"

The Waltham players who escaped the disaster complained to the referee about Vitini's quick free kick, but the referee shook his head and said that there was nothing wrong with the quick kick. This kind of free kick near the sideline does not have to wait for his whistle to be sounded before it can be kicked.

Although he didn't score a goal, Wang Lie still gave Vitini a thumbs up: "Very good, Vitini! You did a great job!"

This free kick was taken by Vitini very suddenly. Not only did the Waltham players fail to react, but even few of the Tyne players expected it.

If Wang Lie hadn't kept his attention highly focused, he would probably have missed the ball.

Being praised by his idol, Vitini looked calm and composed, without showing any joy on his face.

This attack did not result in a goal, so it cannot be considered a success and there is naturally nothing to be happy about.

※※※

Waltham is not just passively defending their opponent on the road; they also have opportunities to attack.

For example, in the 33rd minute of the game, they pushed forward to the front of Tyne's penalty area.

However, when trying to pass the ball through the middle, Tyne centre-back Matej Katic predicted the pass route and intercepted it halfway.

"Katic, good shot! Beautiful interception!" After intercepting the ball, Katic made a long pass to Wang Lie who was running towards the front court!

Wang Lie was accompanied by Waltham center back Thomas Sulita.

When he was about to reach the landing point, Sulita kept grabbing Wang Lie's shoulders and pulling his arms, preventing him from holding the ball properly.

The movement of his hands was very obvious. If Wang Lie had screamed like that and then fell to the ground covering his face, the referee would probably have called a foul on Sulita.

But Wang Lie did not choose to do so.

Because he is not the only one in the frontcourt.

In addition to him, there is also Vitini who is making a forward move!

He was running towards Wang Lie. If Wang Lie was entangled by Sulita and couldn't get away, he could meet him nearby. Wang Lie only needed to pass the ball back to him, then turn around and move forward, and he could send a straight pass!
He believed that he could pass the ball to the empty space in front of Wang Lie very accurately this time...

So he looked at Wang Lie, paying close attention to the situation on his side, ready to speed up at any time.

Wang Lie and Sulita were entangled in running to the place where the football landed, and Vitini also began to speed up and get closer.

Katic's long pass was not the kind of ball that rushed forward quickly, but it was a bit floating and the flying speed was not very fast.

There was even a situation where the ball started to fall to the ground only after the players waiting to receive it had already reached the landing point...

Wang Lie and Sulita are still entangled with each other, fighting for the landing point.

For this, Wang Lie even had to turn around and face the direction of attack.

And this was the meaning of Vitini following him as a wingman before. Seeing this, he quickly moved closer to Wang Lie.

Wang Lie also saw Vitini, but his eyes didn't look like he wanted Vitini to come up and help...

Just when Vitini was hesitating whether he should move closer to Wang Lie, the idol suddenly shouted at him: "Go! Vitini!"

At the same time, Vitini saw Wang Lie making a gesture to him from behind!

He immediately realized what Wang Lie was going to do!

So he immediately sped up and rushed towards the space diagonally behind Wang Lie!

At the same time, the football fell. With his back to the attack direction and his arm grabbed by Sulita, Wang Lie was unable to turn around. He used the outside of his right foot to kick the football falling in the air directly behind him!
Sulita, who was fighting with him for position, had never expected Wang Lie to play the ball like this. He did not react at all and even lowered his head to look for the ball...

The football has been picked up by Wang Lie and thrown to the empty space diagonally behind!

"Wang Lie! Beautiful!"

"Vitini!!"

There was thunderous cheering at Lize Park.

The Brazilian boy accelerated towards where the football landed.

Then, before Waltham center back Daniel Edwards could come over to defend, he used his head to push the football forward in the air!

At the same time, he did not slow down and rushed towards the penalty area chasing the football!
"Vitini! A one-on-one opportunity!"

Edwards rushed forward and reached out to grab Vitini's jersey, determined to keep him at all costs, because he knew very well what it would mean if he let Vitini break through!
He did succeed in grabbing Vitini's jersey at first, but before he could pull it back hard, a huge force was transmitted to his fingertips, breaking his palm!
Vitini accelerated and broke free from his restraints!

He staggered, looked up and watched Vitini enter the penalty area, then faced goalkeeper Andrea Malomo who moved to the near corner to block the shooting angle, and shot!

Although Malomo had blocked the near corner, the ball shot by Vitini was still heading towards the near corner, and it was a ground ball!

It is almost impossible to save this kind of ball with your hands, because the goalkeeper cannot get to the ground as fast as the speed of the football moving forward on the grass.

So Malomo just sat down, spread his legs, and tried to block the ball with his feet...

But he didn't succeed!

Vitini's shot was faster than he expected!

Before he could reach the football, it had already flown into the net behind him!

"Vitini - Goal! Goal! Tyne leads Waltham 1:0 at home! Assist from Wang! Vitini has scored the first goal for Tyne in three consecutive games! His growth rate is amazing!"

After scoring the goal, Vitini did not run away to celebrate alone, but ran back excitedly, running towards Wang Lie who assisted him, and then took a step and jumped directly onto Wang Lie.

Wang Lie leaned back, hugged him, and then lifted him up.

The lifted-up Vitini waved his fists excitedly and shouted to the sky.

Seeing this scene, Waltham head coach Toby Webster on the sidelines also looked up at the sky, but he was not shouting, but sighing...

His tactics focused on defending Wang Lie, while also strengthening the defense against Vitini, but he still failed to defend him!

※※※

"Good job, son!" The father clapped his hands vigorously in the stands and cheered for his son.

As a father and agent, he has been under tremendous pressure since his son publicly rejected FC Madrid.

I wonder how many people are waiting to see his son make a fool of himself!

Madrid FC is one of the world's top football clubs with countless fans around the world.

His son's public rejection of Madrid FC was seen by these fans as a public humiliation.

He had seen comparisons between his son and Ronil Nascimento online.

If it were in the past, he would definitely be happy for his son.

But now he knew that this was actually roasting his son on the fire...

Now that he saw his son was still in great spirits, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Now that he has rejected FC Madrid, he must show that he is qualified to do so.

Keep moving forward, son!
Write your own legend here!

A close-up of the TV broadcast appeared on the big screen at the scene.

Vitini was held up by Wang Lie, while other Tyne players gathered below him and reached out to him.

And his son was smiling very happily at this moment.

※※※

After the celebration, Vitini found Wang Lie again and said to him, "Wang! Come here! I want to polish your shoes!"

After saying that, he knelt on one knee in front of Wang Lie and motioned Wang Lie to put his right foot up.

Wang Lie was a little stunned, but he still raised his right foot and hung it on Vitini's thigh.

Vitini really made the shoe-polishing gesture!
This scene naturally aroused thunderous applause and cheers from the audience, as well as the attention of the commentators.

"After scoring the goal, Vitini thanked Wang for assisting him in this way! Vitini has scored the first goal for Tyne in three consecutive games, and all three goals were assisted by Wang! The combination of the two of them has produced a very strong chemical reaction!"

"Vitini has to thank Wang Lie very much! Ha! Wang Lie's pass was so beautiful! Sulita never thought that Wang Lie could make a wonderful pass in such an unfavorable situation! The scorer shines the shoes of the assister, Wang Lie totally deserves this assist!"

After polishing his shoes, Vitini stood up, laughed and hugged Wang Lie again, and then the two ran side by side towards their own half.

The players from both teams are already in position, just waiting for them.

※※※

PS, sorry, I was typing until 4am today and was so dizzy that I forgot to set up automatic updates...

(End of this chapter)