The road to godhood starting from Ligue 1

Chapter 192 Captain
"Veteran, Heart of Steel"
Your long story is our gospel.

Rain or snow, you lead us in song.

Viktoria Plzeň! Viktoria Plzeň! Victory forever!

The sound of singing filled the air.

This seems to be a night for Pilsen.

Fine rain filled the sky, reflecting the direction of the stadium lights.

The Viktoria Plzeň players celebrated their victory with great enthusiasm.

The Bastia players shook their heads in frustration.

TF1 commentator: "Three days ago, Bastia gave it their all. They are not like themselves now."

Indeed, Bastia is not like Bastia.

In the final minutes, they gritted their teeth and held on to a two-goal deficit.

drop! !

The halftime whistle sounded.

Haji Begichi looked as if he were wearing a "white veil" on his head, and he didn't touch the veil at all.

All I could think about was the second half.

Chatham traveled with the team to the Czech Republic. Instead of going into the locker room, he stood at the entrance of the players' tunnel, watching the fine raindrops falling on the field.

My heart was also filled with emotion.

Bastia's European campaign has started poorly.

The players came in one by one and headed towards the locker room. Some didn't see him, while others managed a forced smile and a nod in greeting.

Chatham looked displeased.

Until he saw Gaio, as if he had seen a glimmer of hope, he immediately approached him.

"How does it feel?"

Chatham asked with concern, "Although we lost the game, Gaio's health is still the team's most valuable asset."

"We can play the second half," Gaio assured, patting his chest.

He knew the team needed someone to step up.

He felt he could do it.

Chatham shook his head, "It's a schedule issue. We can let this game go. We underestimated the difficulty of the Europa League."

Looking back now, Chatham does think the team was too optimistic.

Teams that qualify for the Europa League are all top performers in their respective leagues.

There are no weak teams in European competitions!
Yes, but that's only relative to wealthy families.

For a newly promoted Ligue 1 team like Bastia, there are no weak teams.

Chatham continued, "You should focus on recovering; you don't need to play."

Gaio shook his head, "The others continue to defend, I can go on and find opportunities. I'm confident I can finish the attack by myself. Besides, there's Romelu, he can help me too."

Chatham gave Gaio a deep look, then patted Gaio's uninjured shoulder. "I won't interfere. If Farouk lets you play, then play; if he doesn't, then don't play. Go to the locker room."

"Ah."

Gaio strode towards the locker room.

at this time,

Hagi Begitch's voice rang out, "I know your legs feel like lead and your lungs are on fire, but this is European war. Nobody pays compensation for being 'tired'! We're not a bunch of tourists strolling around Bohemia."

Gaio walked in.

Hagi Bejic glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and continued, "Did you hear what the Viktoria Plzeň fans said? 'Bastia? They're just leftovers from Paris!' They think we don't deserve to be here! But three days ago, who made Ibrahimovic catch his breath until the end of the game? It was us! The tough nut that even Paris couldn't crack, we'll crush these Czechs' teeth today!"

He held up two fingers at the end, emphasizing, "In the second half, all of you must remember only two ironclad rules: First, forget about ball control, forget about pressing, everyone defend, and don't let even a fly into our penalty area or goal!"

Hagi Begic looked around the locker room and fixed his gaze on Gaio. "Second, counterattack and give the ball to Gaio."

His teammates' eyes were also focused on Gaio.

Rothen and the others frowned slightly.

De Bruyne looked dejected. He had said he didn't want Gaio to play, but had it come to this?

Chatham, standing outside the door, shook his head and sighed upon hearing Haji Begitch's decision.

Bastia is ultimately a team that cannot do without Gaião.

Or,

It was Gaio's presence that raised the threshold of all the Bastia.

They are completely dependent on Gaio.

Gaio took a deep breath and said with unwavering determination, "Leave it to me."

His teammates looked at Gaio.

This was perhaps the most comforting thing they had ever heard.

Yes,

If anyone on this team could save the team in crucial moments, it would definitely be Gaio.

Gaio met his teammates' gazes and nodded slightly.

Hagi Begic didn't say anything more. In the second half, there were no other tactics, just two things: defense and finding Gaio.

Hagi Bejic pulled Gaio aside and said to him alone, "I'm sorry, but the team can only rely on you."

Gaio nodded. "Isn't that a captain's duty?"

He suddenly thought of Klose and continued, "Perhaps we can bring on some players with good stamina in the defense. They might be fine in defense."

Back to the locker room.

The team doctor applied more elastic muscle tape to Gaio's shoulder to help stabilize his shoulder joint and reduce the strain on his muscles.

It can also relieve pain.

of course.

It's impossible to be completely painless; all we can say is that those who play with injuries are warriors.

After applying the muscle tape, Gaio took the opportunity to warm up.

"Be careful later, I'll pass you the ball if I get the chance." De Bruyne knew that Gai's entry into the game was inevitable, so he came over to remind Gai.

Gaio said, "Don't worry, I know my body. You should be careful about playing the whole game at a high intensity."

"I want to win," De Bruyne said nonchalantly.

Gaio looked into his eyes and smiled. "What a coincidence, me too."

on the other side.

In the Viktoria Plzen locker room, Vrba kept emphasizing to the players, "Their stamina is a big problem. We must push forward more to attack their defense, play behind their defense more, make them run, and if we do that a few more times, that will be our chance!"

Later, as usual, Furba said, "Of course, we must be careful that Bastia might bring on their key winger, Gaio. Although everyone says he's injured and can't play, we can't rule out the possibility that he'll come on as a substitute in this situation, so we must be careful. Once he comes on, we must mark him tightly!"

Furba still wasn't satisfied.

He took out the tactics board and kept explaining the tactical positioning, attacking tactics, and so on to the players in the second half.

Halftime ended quickly.

"Fight, Bastia!!"

In the locker room, all the Bastia players, including staff, gathered in the middle, chanting their slogans.

Heading towards the entrance of the passage.

Gai and Lukaku said, "Remember to go all out in the second half, you're the most energetic player on the team."

Lukaku scratched his head, "In the first half, I couldn't get the ball. Either I didn't have possession, or if I did, I'd be surrounded by two or three players."

"I'll be there for the second half."

Even though Lukaku is usually very cheerful, he couldn't be happy to see Gaio playing with an injury. He only had one thought in his mind: he had to score a goal!

Gaio stood at the front of the team and led his teammates onto the field.

Many people behind him looked at Gaio's back.

I thought to myself, if the reason I gave Gaio the captaincy last season was largely to give him a sense of belonging, to keep him around, and to show my respect for his abilities.

So at this moment,
They completely ignored Gaio's age; they only saw one word—

"team leader"!
boom!
Boom boom! !
The roar of the crowd at Doosan Arena rose and fell.

Viktoria Plzeň fans celebrated their team's lead with great enthusiasm, undeterred by the light rain and the low temperature of only three or four degrees Celsius.

“ervenomodí!!”

The fans cheered excitedly as they saw the home team players enter the field.

at the same time.

The TF1 commentator sighed, "As expected, just like I analyzed at halftime, Gaio did come on. He replaced Mane as a substitute."

We all know that Gaio has brought us many surprises; he is full of talent.

but,

Let's not forget that he also started and played for a long time in the last match against Paris, and even had to leave the field due to a shoulder injury.

We can still see some muscle tape showing on his neck and collar, which means his injury has not fully healed and Gaio is playing with an injury.

Such behavior naturally deserves everyone's applause, but we need to analyze the problem realistically: how much strength can Gaio exert while his injuries have not fully healed?
Furthermore, Gaio has always been perceived as fragile; will this injury, which wasn't initially considered serious, worsen further? These are all questions that need to be addressed.

Listen to the explanation and analysis.

The fans at Sunset Cafe, whose eyes had lit up with hope when they saw Gaio take the field, now felt their hearts sinking.

They also began to worry.

Is it worth taking the risk of playing an injured Gaio in a game like this?

If they fail to score and worsen Gaio's injury, wouldn't that be a double loss?

"I think it's okay!"

When the fans were feeling down, Bertrand's voice rang out.

Everyone looked at him.

He continued, "If anyone can save Bastia right now, it's Gaio! Even if he doesn't do anything, the players will be fired up on the field! Gaio has always created miracles like this! Have you forgotten those moments?"

Fans have the purest emotions.

It is also the hottest.

Their spirits lifted once more.

Bertrand continued, "Furthermore, experiencing moments like this is a form of tempering for the team! If we can't get through these tough times, how can we expect to achieve greater success?!"

Gaio did not back down; he stepped up and lived up to the captain's armband on his arm and the number 10 jersey!

What we need to do now is not worry, but cheer for Gaio and for Bastia!!

Saying,

Bertrand raised his arms and shouted, "Fight, Bastia!!"

The entire tavern was instantly filled with a deafening roar.

"Fight, Bastia!!"

"Fight, Gaio!!"

drop!
The referee's whistle sounded.

Bastia kicks off.

Lukaku passed the ball to De Bruyne, who then passed it directly to Gaio on the right wing.

Gaio has the ball.

Viktoria Plzen immediately gathered three defensive players on the right flank.

Gaio attempts to break through.

However, on his first touch, coupled with the discomfort in his shoulder, his movement was slightly sluggish, and he failed to shake off Viktoria Plzeň's left-back, Limboski.

This gave Hora and Horvath the opportunity to stick with him.

With no other option, Gaio passed the ball back to the opponent.

Despite taking a two-goal lead, Viktoria Plzen did not relax their efforts. After Gaio passed the ball back, they continued to press forward and press Bastia from a high position.

Vrba wanted to take advantage of this moment to crush Bastia!
Under Hagi Begic's strategy of dropping back to defend, Bastia didn't pass the ball around much in the backfield, which was playing with fire.

The long pass was an attempt to find Lukaku.

With Gaio drawing Lukaku's attention, he was only marked by two center-backs.

But Prohaska headed the ball forward in advance.

Bastia and Viktoria's players clashed in a chaotic melee, but Viktoria ultimately regained possession of the ball.

Gaio watched Bjergsen's attack.

He remained near the offside line, waiting for his chance.

Lukaku in the middle also did not retreat, and the two of them were Bastia's only attacking options.

We can't retreat!
And with Gaio on the field, Limboski's overlapping runs on the flanks completely disappeared, and he had to keep an eye on Gaio at all times to prevent Bastia's counterattacks.

This is the core of Bastia, even injured, it is still the core!

Courtside.

Vrba was a passionate coach, gesticulating wildly and directing his players on how to attack.

Duris, Darida, and Hanosek continued to pressure Bastia's defense.

If it were a fully healed Bastia, it wouldn't be in such a predicament.

However, physical fatigue always causes players to be a half-step slower in making their movements.

When Hagi Begic saw this scene, he remembered what Gaio had said: the substitute players might not be very capable, but at least they were strong defensively.

Many names flashed through his mind.

suddenly,

He wondered why Gaio had said those words to him. He glanced silently at the bench, where Gaio had sat in the first half. Klose was leaning on his hands, his eyes fixed intently on the field.

A lottery ticket purchased at level 5.

use?

Haji Begichi was undecided.

Hey!
The noise from the fans at Doosan Stadium interrupted Hagi Begic's thoughts.

Kante made a brilliant block—

Viktoria's victorious attack flattened Bastia's formation in the penalty area, and after a series of attacks, a triangular formation was created, with Darida passing the ball to veteran Horvath.

The latter had almost a wide-open space inside the penalty area and looked ready to unleash a powerful shot.

Kante makes a sliding tackle.

Block the ball.

The ball was blocked, Rothen helped to block the position, and De Bruyne took control of the ball first.

He looked up at the forward area and quickly advanced the ball forward.

De Bruyne is a big, athletic player who drives forward, and Viktoria Plzen immediately had a player pressuring him back from the spot.

But he saw an opportunity!
A long pass found Lukaku making a run into the middle.

Lukaku didn't contest the header, but instead positioned himself to block Sisovsky, cleverly allowing Sisovsky to miss the header.

Lukaku then took a touch of the ball forward.

Prohaska immediately stepped in to cover.

However, once Lukaku gets going, he's not someone that just anyone can stop.

Lukaku suddenly pushed the ball forward.
Eat it raw, take advantage of the speed!

People on the road are as swift as charcoal, and fleeting as shooting stars!
Wow!

A gasp of surprise erupted in the Doosan Arena, and one word flashed through everyone's mind:

Danger!

(End of this chapter)