Chapter 1 The Beginning

"Claudio! The broadcast is starting!" Bellucci's wife called from the doorway as he played with Reina in the yard.

"I know!" Bellucci hugged Reina, a sturdy Novena dog, as she jumped on him. "Okay, Reina, we're going to watch the game! You stay here and don't go anywhere, understand?"

Reina barked twice and obediently lay down on the lawn.

"Good girl!" Bellucci patted Reina's head and walked towards the house. "I can't believe I called it! China versus Italy, Yang Pan versus Pirlo, hey! Which side should I cheer for?" he muttered to himself.

※※※

Yang Pan took off his headphones and listened to Qiu Suhui's final arrangements.

"Even though the Italian team has conceded goals in every game, we still can't underestimate their defense. Yang Pan, Italy is unlikely to send two players to defend you this game, but your pressure won't be reduced much, so still pay attention. Also, the reason Italy's attack has been weak in the previous games is that their attacking midfielder, De Rossi, hasn't been in good form. De Rossi is suspended for this game due to accumulated yellow cards, but I think this is actually an opportunity for Italy. If I were Gentile, I would put Pirlo, who has been playing averagely in the first two games, up as the attacking midfielder. Pirlo played as an attacking midfielder in the last Olympic Games and performed very well. So if Pirlo plays as an attacking midfielder in this game, then Li Yongle will mark him closely and not give him too many opportunities."

Li Yongle nodded. He was a member of Inter Milan's youth team, and Pirlo was also trained by Inter Milan's youth academy. Junior brother against senior brother.

"Although they only have one striker, I think everyone is well aware of Gilardino's ability. At the same time, we must also be wary of their midfielders' late insertions and assists, so the defense must be spirited and maintain concentration for ninety minutes."

"In attack, we will continue to stick to the wings and use our overall speed to break them down. I have studied Italy's match videos. Although they have many stars, only Pirlo has the ability to control the ball in midfield. In other words, Italy's ball control level is not high. We must seize this point and use speed to get them moving and make them tired of dealing with it."

Qiu Suhui threw the marker away, and the tactical board was a mess of markings.

"Basically, that's all I have to say. The rest depends on your performance on the field. Whichever team is better at seizing opportunities and using them effectively will win the game." He scanned the room and noticed that many players were still a little nervous. "Are you nervous?" he smiled. "Actually, there's no need for that. Put aside your nervousness and think of this as your last game in the Olympics. After this game, you'll go home and disband. To leave behind a beautiful memory, go all out! Fight until you're exhausted, and then don't regret it, win or lose! Got it?"

"Got it!!" Qiu Suhui's last words made the players' blood boil, and they shouted in unison.

"Very good, then let's go."

※※※

This quarter-final match was broadcast live to the world. Countless eyes in Italy, China, and the Netherlands were glued to the television screens. They were paying attention to the performance of both teams, and even more to the performance of several star players.

Pirlo (Andreapirlo), Gilardino (Albertogilardino), Yang Pan, Li Yongle. Perhaps their performances would be enough to determine the outcome of this match.

The referee called the captains of both teams together and signaled them to flip a coin.

Yang Pan and Pirlo shook hands as a formality. Although they were nominally teammates at AC Milan, they had never actually met except for their encounters in the league. This teammate relationship was merely in name only.

"Heads or tails?"

"Heads."

"Tails."

The coin was tossed up, rolled, and landed on the grass. The three of them looked down at the same time, and then the referee pointed at Yang Pan. "Kick-off." Yang Pan replied concisely in English.

Pirlo chose the side.

The two shook hands again and then shook hands with the three referees respectively. After completing this set of procedures, the two captains returned to their respective halves, waiting for the kick-off.

※※※

"Ladies and gentlemen! You are now watching the first quarter-final match of the men's football at the Athens Olympic Games. The two sides are the Chinese National Olympic Team and the Italian National Olympic Team. The Chinese team advanced with two wins and one draw in the previous group stage, while Italy relied on Japan's help to enter the top eight. But Italy has always had a tradition of being slow starters. Before the match, Italian coach Gentile also told reporters that Italy's Olympics only starts from this game, and they are very confident of winning. Qiu Suhui also said in an interview that the Chinese team will not give up easily. It seems that this match will be a very intense and exciting contest!"

After Wang Jianxiang briefly introduced the situation of both sides, the match kicked off with the referee's whistle.

The Chinese team launched an attack after the kick-off. Their morale was high, and their momentum was fierce. This surprised many people, because they thought that Qiu Suhui would definitely adopt a defensive posture in front of Italy, while using the Chinese team's speed on both sides to look for opportunities to counterattack. Judging from Italy's previous match against Paraguay, this Italian team often makes mistakes when facing the opponent's defensive counterattack. It is truly ironic that Italy, who is good at defensive counterattacks, was defeated by Paraguay using defensive counterattacks.

But Qiu Suhui understood very well. Gentile wasn't joking. Italy in the knockout stage is different from Italy in the group stage. In the European Youth Football Championship in June, this Italian team also lost to Russia in the first group match, which was called a "shameful defeat" by the media. After qualifying from the group, Gentile decisively changed the formation, which proved to be very effective and eventually won the championship. After entering the Olympic quarter-finals, Gentile did indeed change the formation. He pushed Pirlo to the attacking midfielder position, shortening the distance between him and Gilardino, avoiding the situation of Gilardino being isolated and helpless in the first three games, and also better utilizing Pirlo's distribution ability and long-range shooting ability. The formation also changed from 451 in the first three games to 4411.

In the face of a more aggressive Italy, a defensive mindset would not work. Qiu Suhui's idea was to use the Chinese team's speed to attack Italy from the start, striving to score a goal and gain an advantage. A quick victory, not a protracted war with Italy.

But doing so was actually a bit risky, because the Chinese team allocated most of their stamina to the first half. If they couldn't open up the situation, he couldn't predict what would happen in the second half as their stamina declined.

However, if you don't take risks, how do you know whether you'll get gold or scrap iron in the end?

※※※

Yang Pan dribbled the ball rapidly along the wing, and he found that someone was blocking his path. It seemed that he was the person Qiu had mentioned who was specifically assigned to mark him. He glanced at the opponent, but didn't see his number or appearance clearly.

The two were approaching each other.

Italy's left-back, Moretti, watched Yang Pan nervously. This Chinese player, who couldn't be underestimated even in Serie A, would be his opponent today. Try to get close and don't let him accelerate. This was Gentile's instruction.

Yang Pan suddenly realized that the opponent didn't rush up, but instead retreated a little and followed him towards the baseline!

At the moment when the two were parallel, Moretti twisted his body and suddenly leaned up. Now the two were facing the same direction, entangled with each other.

Yang Pan felt the pressure the opponent was giving him, and his speed also decreased. There was no way, in order to maintain control of the ball, he had to slow down, because Yang Pan clearly felt that if he competed with the opponent in a physical speed contest, he might not win. Of course, he would definitely win if he gave him a hundred meters to run, but the opponent only gave him less than thirty meters.

As the captain, he couldn't just act recklessly. Yang Pan raised his left hand, and then used the outside of his right foot to stop the ball backwards, while his body turned accordingly!

Moretti didn't expect Yang Pan to brake so suddenly, which caught him completely off guard. He lost his balance in shock and fell forward.

The Chinese fans in the stands cheered loudly. Now was a great opportunity!

Yang Pan bypassed the fallen Moretti and crossed the ball!

Li Jie knew that this ball was for him, so when Yang Pan shook Moretti down, he started moving towards the opponent's goal, but he quickly realized that his movement was very slow and difficult. The reason was the Italian center-back in front of him, Matteo Ferrari, one of the three overage players. Although only 1.83 meters tall, Ferrari, who had been trained in Serie A, firmly blocked Li Jie, who was 1.9 meters tall, and the pass was eventually caught by goalkeeper Pelizzoli.

Seeing this opportunity in the sixth minute of the first half being missed, Qiu Suhui felt a little regretful. He didn't expect Ferrari, who had performed poorly in the previous game, to recover so quickly. In front of a Ferrari who was performing normally, the big guy Li Jie obviously couldn't gain much of an advantage. Although Li Jie was very tall and not light in weight, he didn't know how to use his body properly due to his lack of experience. When competing physically with others, he raised his center of gravity too high and couldn't exert any strength at all.

It was a common problem for Chinese players not to use their bodies properly and to be at a disadvantage in confrontations. Li Jie couldn't be blamed for this.

If this ball was replaced by Gilardino, he would turn around and avoid the defender if he saw that he couldn't hold on. This was the gap between Chinese players and the world's top teams!

Qiu Suhui sighed. He didn't have time to teach them how to use their bodies now. It seemed that Li Jie wouldn't pose much of a threat to Italy in today's game.

It was a pity, if it was replaced by Zhang Jun... Qiu Suhui shook his head violently, stopping this dangerous thought. He was now leading the eleven players on the field plus the seven on the bench, and they had been working hard to get to this point. How could he still put his hope on someone who couldn't come at all? This was an insult to these players!

※※※

Pelizzoli launched an attack with a hand throw. Pinzi passed the ball to Pirlo, who unloaded the ball beautifully and advanced towards the Chinese half. But he quickly realized that he had some trouble entering the opponent's thirty-meter area. The opponent's 1.88-meter-tall defensive midfielder seemed to be marking him.

Pirlo slowed down. He wasn't in a hurry to counterattack. Gilardino in front didn't seem to be able to shake off the opponent's marking defense either.

Interesting! Pirlo laughed in his heart. But do you think we have no way to score if you defend Alberto?

Li Yongle suddenly saw Pirlo stepping on the ball, gently pulling it back as if waiting for someone. He glanced at Italy's left side, and a blue figure in an Italian jersey was rushing up at high speed. "Damn! Watch out for the left side..." Li Yongle couldn't help but shout. Just as he turned his head to look at Wang Liang over there, Pirlo smiled slightly, and pushed the ball in the opposite direction, bypassing Li Yongle!

Immediately afterwards, Pirlo took a long shot, and the ball flew towards the goal guarded by Sima Hongxin!

Sima Hongxin lowered his body and firmly caught the ball in his arms. This ball didn't pose too much of a threat to the Chinese team. But Yang Pan had just shaken down Moretti, and Pirlo had tricked Li Yongle with a plan. The two teams were evenly matched in the first ten minutes.

※※※

Compared to Yang Pan's activity on the right, Zhao Pengyu was a bit miserable. His opponent was Italy's right-back, Bovo. Bovo, who played for Roma, was a defender with a strong scoring ability, but in order to suppress the Chinese team's attacks on both wings, Gentile specifically asked Bovo and Moretti, two full-backs who were good at assisting, to stay honestly behind and try to assist less. Sculli would assist on the right wing, so he should just focus on defense. This arrangement made Bovo a little uncomfortable. After two encounters, he felt that the opponent had nothing but speed. Whether in terms of experience, technique, or strength, the opponent was not on the same level as him.

Seeing that Moretti was having some trouble over there, he wanted to go over and help his teammate.

Zhao Pengyu received a pass from Lin Feng, and he was still facing Bovo. Bovo didn't have much fighting spirit when he saw that it was this kid again.

Block the position and wait for him to come up. This was Bovo's arrangement. Anyway, he would only rush forward with speed, and he would lose the ball as soon as he blocked the position.

But this time, Zhao Pengyu didn't dribble the ball and rush forward blindly. He slowly dribbled the ball and observed the opponent's actions.

Sculli ran to the inside to prevent Zhao Pengyu from moving towards the center. With this, the defensive line was set up, waiting for the opponent to drill in.

Seeing that the opponent wasn't pulling up, Bovo decided to take the initiative and met him. Zhao Pengyu was startled by Bovo's actions. He raised his hand and tried his best to protect the ball at his feet. He had tasted the opponent's power and knew that with his foot skills, he wouldn't be able to keep the ball for long.

"Damn it! Why hasn't Xiang Tao come up yet?" Zhao Pengyu cursed in his heart while dealing with Bovo. As he was cursing, Xiang Tao rushed up like a gust of wind!

"Thank God, you finally... came!" Zhao Pengyu didn't want to get entangled with Bovo anymore. He sent the ball diagonally forward and didn't care anymore.

"What!" Bovo was shocked. He had specifically confirmed that the Chinese team's left-back was still in his own defensive zone before he pounced up. How could he have rushed to his side after turning around?

Xiang Tao overtook the dazed Bovo from the outside, quickly caught up with the ball, and sent a low cross into the penalty area: "Little Li, it's up to you!"

"Damn! You make it sound easy!" Li Jie's grinning expression made it seem as if he wasn't fighting with Italy's defenders, but was pushing a train. Ferrari could always occupy the most favorable position for defense. He couldn't push him, and he couldn't get around him. There was nothing he could do.

Of course, the ball was cleared out of bounds by Ferrari again.

"Damn it! Little Li, I finally ran from the back to the front to assist you, but you didn't even touch the ball and were finished by someone else! It hurts my heart too much!" Xiang Tao pointed at Li Jie and shouted.

"Damn! You try facing him and see!" Li Jie didn't have much intention to argue with Xiang Tao. He couldn't understand why the opponent was shorter and lighter than him, but he could always gain an advantage when defending? Did Italian defenders have a natural ability to defend?

Xiang Tao didn't throw the ball to Zhao Pengyu who was on the side, but directly threw it hard to the front of the goal. His target was Li Jie's head: "Use your header! You're much taller than him!"

But Li Jie still couldn't jump up, and the ball was headed away by another center-back, Bonera.

"Damn it! Why is this happening?" Li Jie wailed unwillingly.

"Idiot! Lower your center of gravity and concentrate your strength on your waist and abdomen!" Yang Pan slapped Li Jie on the back of the head.

Li Jie looked at Yang Pan, a little surprised: "It's that simple?"

"Hmph! You'll know it's not that simple when you actually do it." Yang Pan stopped paying attention to the simple-minded Li Jie and ran away by himself.

※※※

Gentile frowned. Twenty minutes had passed in the first half, and Italy didn't have much of an advantage except for Pirlo's long shot. The Chinese team was constantly putting pressure on Italy with their speed and layered attacks. They were very passive.

But he didn't plan to make any adjustments now. It was still too early, and he wanted to see what tricks Qiu Suhui could come up with.

※※※

As Qiu Suhui had requested, the Chinese team fully utilized their speed advantage and made Italy a little disoriented.

Yang Pan crossed the ball!

Li Jie kept Yang Pan's words firmly in mind, lowering his center of gravity, concentrating his strength on his waist and abdomen, and confronting Ferrari. And Ferrari also felt that the opponent seemed different from before, and he also put in more effort.

"Idiot!" Yang Pan suddenly shouted loudly, startling Li Jie. "Are you two bullfighting! Look at the ball! The ball!"

It turned out that Li Jie was only focused on competing with Ferrari for strength, forgetting that the ball had a flight time. While he and Ferrari were competing, the ball had already flown to the spot. Li Jie didn't have time to jump, and Bonera headed the ball out.

Ferrari looked at the regretful Li Jie and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. This big guy was becoming more and more difficult for him to defend. Fortunately, his experience was too pitiful, otherwise...

"Idiot!" Yang Pan was still scolding Li Jie, wasting such a good opportunity. He was really simple-minded. "Do you still think this is simple? Don't just focus on competing with your opponent, you also have to pay attention to the movement of the ball, otherwise what's the use of you winning him, the ball has already flown past!"

Li Jie shrank his neck and listened to Yang Pan's reprimand without daring to say a word.

Qiu Suhui looked at Yang Pan and Li Jie and smiled: "It seems that I don't need to teach him, someone is more qualified than me! Haha!"

※※※

This time, Yang Pan once again gained the upper hand in the confrontation with Moretti, and he took the lead in passing the ball into the penalty area.

It was Li Jie again, and Ferrari again. But this time, Li Jie firmly remembered Yang Pan's words. While lowering his center of gravity and concentrating his strength on his waist and abdomen, he also paid attention to the flight of the ball with the corner of his eye. The 1.9-meter man shrank to 1.85 meters, and Ferrari felt the same feeling again. The pressure exerted on him by this 1.9-meter big guy was increasing! If he wasn't careful this time...

Li Jie lowered his center of gravity again. He felt that Ferrari's steps were a little unsteady. It was time! Li Jie suddenly exerted more force, and Ferrari finally lost his balance and fell backwards!

Great opportunity!

Li Jie was overjoyed and jumped up suddenly. Yang Pan's ball also arrived, a header!

Pelizzoli had no way to deal with such a close-range header. He watched helplessly as the ball flew into the goal. The ball went in!

"The ball went in! A powerful header from Li Jie! In the twenty-second minute of the first half, the Chinese team took the lead... Ah? The referee blew his whistle, he signaled that the goal was invalid!?"

Li Jie was just about to celebrate when he saw the referee blowing his whistle and running towards him. Shouldn't the referee point to the center circle when a goal is scored? Why was he running towards him? Li Jie wondered in his heart. At this time, he noticed that the Italian players didn't have the slightest look of annoyance, and his teammates didn't have any happy reactions either.

Could it be...

He turned his head to look at the linesman. Sure enough, the other party made a gesture indicating that the goal was invalid!

"How is this possible?!" Li Jie shouted at the referee, but the referee ignored him and signaled Italy to take a free kick.

"Forget it! Who told you to use too much force just now, it was your foul for charging!" Yang Pan pulled Li Jie back. He also looked at Ferrari. He had just been pulled up by Pelizzoli and was talking to Pelizzoli. He was truly worthy of being a main player in the Italian national team, so experienced! Li Jie had used a little too much force just now, but with Ferrari's strength, he shouldn't have fallen backwards. That fall was too exaggerated. But he was still very successful in making the referee think that Li Jie deliberately charged. Li Jie was still too inexperienced. It seemed that even if he learned to use his body, he would still be calculated by Ferrari.

"Go back, don't stand here like a telephone pole." Yang Pan patted Li Jie and urged him to return to defense.

Li Jie reluctantly moved his feet and ran back.

Yang Pan looked back at Ferrari walking forward with an indifferent expression. Experienced? Hehe, you know how to cheat, but others don't?

※※※

Pirlo found that the defensive midfielder guarding him was very difficult to deal with. In the five encounters between the two so far, he had only passed the opponent once, and in the remaining four times, he could only choose to pass the ball when he reached him. The opponent's long legs expanded his defensive range by nearly doubled, and the amazing explosiveness and abundant stamina meant that even if he shook him once, he could turn around and catch up as long as there was a slight delay.

If Pirlo knew that Li Yongle was already a member of Inter Milan's youth team, he would probably have an even bigger headache, right? A few years later, maybe he would have a strong opponent in the Milan derby.

Gilardino couldn't receive good passes and he wasn't willing to retreat to get the ball. He became a little impatient. When Pirlo finally managed to make a direct pass under Li Yongle's interference, he himself was offside. The linesman raised his flag, but he still took a shot at the goal, but it was all saved by the dedicated Sima Hongxin.

The referee went up and gave Gilardino a verbal warning. The two sides were playing relatively civilized so far, with not many fouls, and he didn't need to issue a card now to provoke Italy's anger.

※※※

It was the Chinese team's turn to attack. Li Yongle dribbled the ball in midfield, heading towards the front. Yang Pan gestured for him to go to the baseline, and then ran towards Li Yongle. To outsiders, the two would make a cross-switch, and then Li Yongle would hand the ball over to the currently very active Yang Pan, who would then shoot.

But when Li Yongle dribbled the ball diagonally past Yang Pan, he didn't hand the ball over to Yang Pan as people thought, but continued to dribble the ball towards the baseline!

Moretti was shocked. At this time, Yang Pan turned around and ran into the penalty area. For a time, he didn't know whether to chase Li Yongle or Yang Pan.

"Li Jie, come out! I'll deal with Ferrari!" Yang Pan waved his hand outwards, signaling Li Jie to get out of the way. Li Jie was obedient and got out of the way without saying a word.

Ferrari was wondering why the opponent was retreating when he saw Yang Pan rushing towards him. "Oh? It's this Chinese from Bologna..." Ferrari had played against Yang Pan once in the league, so he recognized him. "Is he coming?"

Li Yongle looked up for someone and then passed the ball!

Yang Pan stepped hard and strode forward, it looked like he would collide with Ferrari.

The ball passed through Moretti's legs and rolled diagonally into the penalty area along the grass.

Seeing that the ball was in a situation where neither of them could control it, Ferrari decided to play it safe and shovel the ball out.

But Yang Pan took another step and actually caught up with the ball! He gently pushed the ball to the outside with his right foot, and Ferrari had already shoveled past. He suddenly realized that something was wrong and couldn't continue shoveling like this, otherwise...

Ferrari forcefully stopped the foot that was originally shoveling towards the ball, but was now shoveling towards Yang Pan's right ankle.

But Yang Pan didn't hesitate to drag his left foot behind, and then "actively" hooked onto Ferrari's shoveling ankle. Then the ball rolled out, and Yang Pan fell to the ground simply and neatly, rolling over in the process!

The referee blew his whistle! He ran into the penalty area and pointed to... the penalty spot!

Penalty! It was a penalty!

"Yang Pan fell in the Italian penalty area! There's no doubt about it, the referee awarded a penalty! In the thirty-second minute of the first half, the Chinese team got a penalty!!"