In name only: The land of Handong, I shall rule its fate.

Doing it better is easier said than done; the Iwatai team simply doesn't have the technical ability!

Coach Luo sighed inwardly.

As expected, it was the same old routine of hyping things up, making grand promises, and manipulating things behind the scenes. Anyway, when reporters and fans asked, they subtly revealed that they were following Executive Director Lin's instructions.

Hehehe!

It's better to criticize you than to criticize all of us, right? I'm sorry, Executive Director Lin!

As for settling scores later...

Hey, he's not part of the system. At worst, he'll just be kicked out of the Yantai team. It was bound to happen sooner or later after such a crushing defeat today.

"I certainly don't know as much about playing football, rules, and tactics as Coach Luo, so I won't bother arguing with you."

Lin Zhiyuan looked at the group of numb players on the side and began to call them out one by one, "The center backs and full-backs also did a good job, effectively intercepting the Lincheng team's attacking rhythm; the forwards also posed a great threat to Lincheng with limited possession."

"The depth of substitutes outside the starting lineup is sufficient, and your timely entry has helped the starters get valuable rest time."

"Coach Luo's use of the 5+3+2 formation is correct, which is an important reason why we have been able to hold on against Lincheng until now."

Lin Kuagua went online, using no words of criticism, only praise.

But it left everyone in the locker room feeling like a brick was stuck in their chest, a tight, uncomfortable feeling. Was this sarcastic remark? It must be a sarcastic mockery of them.

The defense of the Yantai team was easily torn apart, and even one of the five goals was an own goal, which generated a lot of discussion and ridicule from the audience.

forward?

Is there a position for this in the Yantai team?

The only thing the center forward and the winger could do was send the ball to the other half of the penalty area, but they couldn't even touch the edge of the penalty area before Lin Cheng forcibly intercepted it. Their only two shots were powerful shots from outside the box, and whether they scored or not depended entirely on luck. In the end, one shot went wide and the other landed safely in the goalkeeper's arms.

What threat is this?

Coach Luo's face was flushed, and he looked like he was burning up.

From beginning to end, regardless of which team he was facing, he only prepared this purely defensive tactic. This was partly due to the Iwata team's lack of strength, but more so because he was afraid of taking risks, afraid of being blamed, and afraid of losing his job.

There are substitutes too, um…

They couldn't even make the starting lineup for the Iwata team, and in other teams, they wouldn't be given odd jobs like watching the water cooler, ordering takeout, or finding hotels.

In a short time.

Everyone in the locker room was flushed. They wanted to argue or say that they had tried their best, but they couldn't open their mouths because Executive Director Lin wasn't criticizing them, but praising them highly.

Crunch!Crunch!

Lu Yangshan seemed to hear the sound of mice gnawing on furniture. Following the sound, he discovered that it was a group of players, the oldest being thirty-five or thirty-six and the youngest just turning 18, gritting their teeth in frustration, their hands clenched tightly.

"You played well in the first half, and you need to work even harder on that foundation."

林致远温和地总结道，嘴巴一张，又幽幽吐出杀人诛心的话，「争取下半场比上半场少进一个，9-0比10-0、11-0、12-0听上去顺耳。」

"Alright, that's all I have to say."

Lin Zhiyuan waved his hand, signaling Coach Luo to continue with the tactical instructions, "Winning or losing is not important. What is important is to show the football spirit and sportsmanship of Yantai, and let the audience in Handong and even the football-loving audience across the country know what Yantai football is."

"When you return to Yantai, you will be heroes of Yantai, and the citizens of Yantai will certainly give you the warmest, most caring, and most sincere welcome."

The meeting is over!

But everyone seemed rooted to the spot, standing motionless, their faces changing from red to green, green to black, black to white, their lips trembling incessantly.

They remembered something terrible: according to the principle of local selection, they were either to work or study in Yantai. How could they go back to face their elders in Jiangdong after playing such a terrible game?

I hope my classmates, family, and neighbors won't see my embarrassing moments on the court clearly, or even make a commemorative video to play over and over again.

Or perhaps they'll be torn to shreds by angry fans and the people of Yantai, their bones reduced to ashes?

It felt like we played a game of football...

He kicked his home away and ended up experiencing social death.

Lin Zhiyuan led Lu Yangshan out of the locker room. Just as Lu Yangshan was about to say something, a suppressed, angry outburst came from inside:

Damn it!

Then came a deafening roar, like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing together.

"Director Lin, will this go wrong?"

Lu Yangshan peered over and over, then asked uneasily. After a barrage of praise, he felt the Yantai team was about to crumble.

"There's a team doctor here, and if that doesn't work, there's a mental health therapist."

Lin Zhiyuan didn't care at all.

"no!"

Lu Yangshan shook his head and said helplessly, "I'm worried they'll start kicking people instead of playing football."

Since we can't win the game, we can get rid of the players too.

After all, young men are easily impulsive.

"Pass a message to Coach Luo: playing football is playing football; there must be rules and competitive spirit. Anyone who commits a malicious foul should be carried off the field immediately."

Lin Zhiyuan patched up the words.

"good!"

With the sound of a whistle, the second half began.

Coach Luo made a more extreme tactical deployment than in the first half, changing the 5+3+2 formation directly to 5+5. The strikers were not lost, but two more experienced veterans were sent down and two young players were brought on, with the whole team compressing the half to build a dense defensive line.

Defensively, the five defenders closely guard the flanks of the penalty area, the center-backs tighten the central defense to block penetration routes, and the full-backs drop back throughout, abandoning all attacking possibilities.

The three midfielders positioned themselves laterally, closely marking Lin Cheng's ball carrier, while the two forwards provided support from the sides, doing everything possible to cut off short passing combinations. As soon as the opponent pushed into the penalty area, the entire team immediately moved into position to block shooting angles.

Despite the Lincheng team's high-pressure attacks down the flanks, frequent high-speed crosses from the byline by their wingers, and headers from second balls, they still couldn't completely break through the defensive line.

They even dared not hold the ball alone for too long.

The Iwata team seemed to have broken free of some kind of shackles. As long as their defense was in position, they would launch wide and powerful sliding tackles, but their accuracy was just right, keeping them on the line of fouls.

The Lincheng team seemed to be covered in mud. With each forced attack, they exhausted a lot of energy and were inevitably dragged into a stalemate.

They scored frequently in the first half.

Completely different!

Originally, the Lincheng team didn't need to rush, as victory was already in their grasp. However, the Yantai team's rough play and increasing number of passing errors inevitably made them somewhat annoyed.

The more impenetrable their defense, the more they wanted to break through and score, thoroughly humiliating these weaklings.

But the player in control of the ball suddenly felt his feet slip and the ball was gone. Just as he was about to dribble past someone, the defender from the nearby Yantai team slipped away.

Rush!

The defender didn't hold onto the ball for long and instead launched a powerful, miraculous shot that flew towards the opposite half of the field.

Two figures shot out from the crowd like arrows.