The road to godhood starting from Ligue 1

Chapter 191 A Story About Football

Viktoria Plzeň's head coach.

Pavel Vrba.

Pre-match press conference.

He said, "To some extent, Bastia is the same as us, having worked their way up from the lower levels to win cup titles and compete in the Europa League."

I understand them.

We also understand their desire to take points from the Doosan Arena, because two years ago, we had the exact same thought.

“Gio is a good player, and I believe he will play for a big club like Real Madrid in the future. My judgment will not be wrong.”

Just like a few years ago when I was still coaching Žilina, I went to Rijeka, Croatia to watch a friendly match.

In the last 20 minutes, a young player came on. He looks like a kid, but I really like him. He has a lot of talent and ability.

I immediately told the club's management that I needed this player, but they told me that Tottenham Hotspur were pursuing him, and our team's financial situation was not good enough to compete with Tottenham.

I enjoy watching him play, and I've been following his games ever since. He's an absolutely outstanding player. Last month he went from Tottenham to Real Madrid, and he's going to be a star player.

The same goes for Gaio. I've seen him play; he has the same talent as Modric, but we won't let him score, at least not tonight.

At this point, Vrba laughed.

The reporters laughed too.

Some of the Czech journalists present held Vrba in high esteem.

Vrba is currently considered one of the best coaches in the Czech Republic.

Czech media have described Vrba as "a landmark figure for Viktoria Plzeň and even Czech football. He not only broke the monopoly of traditional powerhouses with championships, but also reshaped the team's style with advanced tactical concepts, transforming a mid-table team into a Champions League-level team. His philosophy of emphasizing youth training, teamwork, and attacking football is a benchmark for Czech football."

However, Furba added, "Bastia has many top players, and they just beat Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 two days ago. They are definitely a strong opponent, and we cannot be complacent even at home; we must go all out."

The next day, noon.

The Bastia players gradually got up.

This is actually not a good sign, indicating that the players are still very tired.

after lunch.

The players gathered together for a short rest before a short recovery warm-up session in the afternoon to help them get back into form.

The streets outside the hotel are now adorned with a vibrant array of red and blue colors—the colors of Pilsner.

Red symbolizes courage, and blue represents the nourishment from the tributaries of the Vltava River.

"This match won't be easy," Lukaku remarked softly.

Even now, the team doctor is still giving leg massages to many players.

The impact of that match against Paris was still too great.

Sometimes, it's not enough to have a strong will to win; if your body can't keep up, then you can't keep up.

Gaio stood silently to the side.

Looking at the slightly overcast sky, I anticipated that it might drizzle tonight.

In late September, Viktoria Plzeň is already in autumn, with evening temperatures around six or seven degrees Celsius, making it the perfect time to play football.

Six pm.

The entire Bastia team assembled and traveled by bus to the Doosan Arena.

Doosan Stadium is very small.

It can only accommodate fewer than 12,000 fans, making it smaller than the Cesarí Stadium.

but,

At this time, the area around Doosan Stadium was already packed with people, with thousands of Viktoria Plzeň fans surrounding it.

Singing the team's cheering anthem, "The Flame of 1911"

From Doosan Stadium to the Champions League Journey

Fighting flows in their blood, and their eyes hold unfinished dreams.
Even if the world does not know our names, we will write history with our own hands!
With hands raised to the sky, the entire city of Pilsen sings in unison today!

Never give up! Never give up! Never!

The Bastia team bus drove into the stadium parking lot.

When getting off the bus,
The players can still hear that powerful singing.

Because the Doosan Stadium is too small, only two hundred tickets were allocated to the Bastia away team for this match.

Therefore, Bastia was unable to organize a sufficient number of fans to make their voices heard at the away game.

Dark clouds filled the sky.

Occasionally, there is a light, drizzling rain.

"Fight, Bastia!!"

The players came out of the locker room, and Gaio, as a substitute, stood at the door, giving his teammates high-fives and cheering them on.

The captain's armband was worn on Rothen's arm.

He hugged Gaio and said, "Wait for our good news. Hopefully, you won't have to come up here to save the day."

"Keep it up, but be careful as the track is a bit slippery."

Gaio nodded, offering a reminder.

"Number 10, Horvath!!"

boom!
Boom boom! !
While the starting players waited in the player tunnel to go on the field, the substitutes had already taken their places on the bench.

The DJ announced the starting lineup for today's Viktoria Plzeň victory, eliciting wild cheers from the fans.

The loudest shouts came from number 10 Horvath and number 16 Darida.

Horvath is already a 37-year-old veteran, but he is indispensable to Viktoria Plzeň and is the absolute core of the midfield.

Darida is a player developed through the youth academy of Viktoria Plzeň and one of Vrba's discoveries; he is a fast winger.

A very promising young man.

Gaio sat in the corner, the so-called water dispenser manager.

The red and blue colors of the Doosan Stadium reminded him of Barcelona, ​​the exact same colors.

There was another person even further to the corner than him, Jonathan Close.

Gaio and this player never had any interaction.

He didn't know where the team got the lottery ticket from, and he had no recollection of him anyway.

The only impression I have is that this person is quite proactive in training.

"Gaio."

Klose took the initiative to greet Gaio. He knew Gaio's importance to the team, and that building a good relationship with the team's core player was an essential lesson for even fringe players.

He had already learned this trick during his time with amateur teams.

Gaio responded with a smile.

soon.

The players entered the field.

Because the weather was overcast with light rain, the temperature was slightly low, feeling only around three or four degrees Celsius.

Gaio tightened his coat.

A short while later, the players stood in the center circle.

Boom!
The drumbeats were followed by the cheers of the fans.

"red--"

Boom!
"blue!!"

The rapid drumbeats echoed, boom boom boom—"Unbreakable! Unstoppable!"

The fans were roaring.

The moment the chant ended, a red and blue striped TIFO appeared in the die-hard fans' stand.

Because the stands are relatively low, they don't have the same impact as the giant TIFO in Bastia.

But the passion of the Viktoria Plzeň fans was still evident.

This team had never won a league title or qualified for European competition before Vrba took over as coach.

In three years, they broke all records, winning domestic league and cup titles, and qualifying for the Europa League and Champions League.
They continue to make history for the team, which is nearly a century old!

Furba was not wrong.

To some extent, Viktoria's victory and Bastia's victory are very similar.

Flba's role in Viktoria Plzeň's victory was akin to Gaião's in Bastia's. In different countries and on different lands, stories of football dreams coming true are constantly unfolding.

This is the story of Bjergsen's victory.

This is also a story of football.
drop! !

The whistle blew, and the game officially began!
Viktoria Plzeň kicks off in victory.

“ervenomodí!!”

The Viktoria Plzeň fans shouted "Red and Blue" three times, instantly warming up the atmosphere and dispelling the cold night.

Bastia completely abandoned their defensive posture, adopting a defensive approach on the road.

Just as it started,
The team immediately retreated.

In this match, Hagi Begic deployed a 4-4-2 formation for the team, with Lukaku and Mane in the front line, relying on speed for counter-attacks.

The rest of the players retreated to defend.

In the opening minutes, both sides had few opportunities.

The broadcast camera then panned to Gaio on the Bastia bench.

The TF1 commentator responsible for broadcasting the match lamented, "Bastia won a hard-fought victory against Paris at home, but the price they paid was exhaustion for the entire team and Gaio's injury, which directly impacted this Europa League match. It's uncertain whether Gaio will have a chance to play in this game; Bastia has not yet released any specific information regarding Gaio's injury."

Ugh!
At Sunset Cafe, Martin and his companions let out a disappointed sigh.

"De Bruyne's pass was subpar; it shouldn't have been like that."

"There's no way around it, the last game was too exhausting. I think we're not good at fighting on multiple fronts, we have to make choices, our lineup is too thin."

Listening to the discussion among the fans, Martin added, "The fact that Joplin and Kahusac didn't start in this match shows how hard the team fought against Paris in the last game. Joplin was even on the roster, while Kahusac wasn't even on the roster."

Everyone else nodded, their expressions serious.

They lamented the poor performance of the Bastia players at the start of the game.

but,

They also have to realize that just 72 hours ago, these players gave 120% effort to win a game.

"T'es con!"

Suddenly, everyone gasped again.

Lukaku collapsed during the broadcast.

However, he wasn't brought down by the defender. Instead, while dribbling, he didn't know how to generate power, and when he pushed off the ground, his foot slipped, and an excellent counter-attack opportunity vanished.

On the field.

Lukaku wiped the rain and sweat from his face and quickly got up.

He then gave a thumbs-up to Kanté, who had delivered the through ball.

Sending my third like today.

Viktoria Plzeň controlled the ball, and they combined play on the wings and in the middle, focusing on penetrating through the middle.

In the early days of Viktoria Plzeň's tenure as manager, Vrba primarily used a 4-2-3-1 formation, emphasizing fast counter-attacks and breakthroughs on the flanks, and relying heavily on veteran Horvath's long passes and distribution.

Since the Champions League, he has gradually shifted towards a possession-based style of play.

By increasing short passing penetration and midfield creativity, and flexibly switching formations to 433 or 4141, Czech football can be considered a representative of the technical style of play.

In this match, he used a 4-1-4-1 formation, with veteran Horvath playing deep to conserve energy while orchestrating attacks through passing.

Darida and Hanosek launched continuous attacks down Bastia's flanks in the forward line.

Duris, who plays center forward, is only 183cm tall, but he is agile and versatile in his movement, often switching positions with attacking players in the frontcourt and dropping back to make plays.

Bastia is finding it difficult to hold out.

Hagi Begic looked serious; he had underestimated the difficulty of this match.

Doosan Stadium isn't a large stadium; it's smaller than a standard football field.

This hinders the counter-attacking speed of Bastia's two forwards.

Wow!

In the 23rd minute, a gasp erupted at Doosan Stadium as fans began to hurl insults.

They were shouting "Red card!"

When Kante tried to intercept Darida's cut inside, he stretched out his leg to block, but as his energy waned, his footwork slowed down.

Her foot touched Darida's calf.

The fans in the stadium started clamoring for a red card for Kanté. Even those who didn't understand football could see how important Kanté was to Bastia's defense.

Darida's inside cuts were thwarted by Kanté several times.

However, they also noticed that Kanté's defensive ability declined rapidly as the game progressed.

The referee did not issue a card, but instead awarded Viktoria Plzeň a free kick.

The TF1 commentator remarked, "Kanté's running in the last game left a deep impression on us, covering an astonishing 14.6 kilometers. But it also left a hidden danger; in this game, Kanté seemed a bit tired."

Viktoria Plzeň successfully implemented a free-kick tactic.

The ball was about four meters outside the penalty area, which seemed far, but this is a small field, and set pieces pose a great threat.

This is Viktoria Plzeň's fourth set piece in just over twenty minutes.

Bench.

Gaio looked at Bjergsen's winning position with some concern.

"They might pass the ball to the far corner, that's dangerous," Kroos's voice suddenly came.

Gaio turned to look at him.

"If it were me, I would definitely pass to the far corner," Klose said confidently. "Dardida just gave Horvath the signal to make a run."

drop!
The whistle sounded.

Bang!
Horvat suddenly kicked the ball, and it arced through the air, heading straight for—

Far corner!

Holla and Hanosek provided cover, and Darida made a run around to the far post, heading straight for the ball.

Rothen, who was defending, turned around and pulled Darida, but Darida pulled him along, causing him to lose his footing and slip and fall to the ground.

Darida chested the ball down and then charged forward to volley it!
It struck the football hard.

He unleashed a powerful shot towards the near corner of the goal, and Noves dove to save it, but it was too late.

Swish!
Darida scored with a powerful shot.

Viktoria Plzeň defeated Bastia 1-0 at home.

boom!
Cheers erupted from the Viktoria Plzeň fans; they were in the lead.

They all shouted.

The sound of singing filled the air—

"Pilsen! Pilsen! The red and blue walls!"

Never kneel, fight to the last moment!
In the heart of Europe, our shield of pride shines!

Victory! Victory! Hope will never be extinguished.

The stadium was filled with cheers of victory from Bjergsen.

Gaio shook his head.

He looked at Cross, "You're right."

Cross shrugged and said helplessly, "I wish I hadn't said the right thing."

The team is behind.

Hagi Bejic didn't let the players launch a full-scale counterattack; he recognized the team's fatigue issues.

He frantically racked his brains for a solution.

But the primary goal is to "hold the line and not concede any more goals".

however,
When you want to hold on, it's often difficult to hold on.

Haji Begitch's goal failed.

37 minutes.

Viktoria Plzeň, a 37-year-old veteran, found himself in open space outside the penalty area and unleashed a powerful shot.

A stunning long-range strike!
2-0!

The excited Viktoria Plzeň fans sang the Horvat anthem.
(End of this chapter)