Chi Meiya
Chapter 100 Norwich has some tricks up its sleeve after all!
Parc Olympique Lyonnais stadium.
Capacity of nearly 60,000.
The stands were already filled with fans from both teams, clearly divided into gold and white.
Norwich, as the nominal home team, wore gold jerseys.
Sevilla's players were all in white.
As the two teams entered the field from the tunnel, the Parc Olympique Lyonnais shook as fans from both sides rose to their feet, roaring with all their might, like two giant waves crashing together.
Mouths agape, veins bulging.
Norwich fans brought the biggest drums, and the drummers, stripped to the waist, pounded them with all their strength.
They were determined to overwhelm the Sevilla fans.
Hundreds more fans beat waist drums to cheer them on.
The momentum was overwhelming.
Meanwhile, Carrow Road remained open.
This time was different from the last; a live commentator had even been arranged.
Although there were no players, the entire Carrow Road stadium was filled with Norwich fans.
Nearly 30,000 fans traveled to France, plus 60,000 at Carrow Road.
Although the players couldn't hear the cheers from the Carrow Road fans, those who couldn't travel to France were still enthusiastic.
Their hearts were with the players and fans in France.
"Both teams are ready, let us welcome the Norwich players with the warmest cheers!!!"
At Carrow Road, the giant screen broadcast the live footage.
The fans in the stands stared at the big screen, rising to their feet and applauding and cheering in the stadium that the players couldn't see.
There were no players at Carrow Road, but some fans already had tears in their eyes.
"Wes Hoolahan! The central defender, the team captain! A team legend who has been with Norwich for ten years!"
Whoa!
"Next up is goalkeeper John Ruddy! He has brought us countless brilliant saves, becoming Norwich's last and most solid line of defense!"
The Carrow Road fans erupted in another burst of loud cheers.
As the commentator continued to introduce the players, the fans' enthusiasm grew.
"Let's welcome the guy we love and hate, the troublemaker, Luciano Becchio!!"
Whoa...
At this moment, the cheers at the scene reached a small climax.
Becchio's playing style disappointed and even annoyed fans, but his aggressiveness and personality were loved by the fans.
The fans in the stands clapped and cheered, their eyes filled with excitement and fervent anticipation.
Finally.
The young man with black hair and yellow skin appeared in the camera.
The commentator's breathing became rapid, and his voice trembled.
"Yes!!! Norwich's eternal number eighteen! Forever..."
In an instant, a neat and loud voice rang out at Carrow Road.
"Zhao!!!"
Boom...
Ah!!!
Sixty thousand people were shouting with all their might.
At the Parc Olympique Lyonnais, the roaring drums became more and more urgent, finally reaching their peak at this moment.
The drummer gritted his teeth, his face twisted, tears streaming down his face, pounding like his life depended on it.
His face was painted with the team logo, his back to the field, and on his back was a full back tattoo of Zhao Gang's face.
The nearly insane Norwich fans in the stands left Sevilla's fans dumbfounded.
Sevilla's players stared blankly.
What the hell, is this the World Cup?
Is this Barcelona playing Real Madrid, with Messi and Ronaldo here?
"We can see the excitement and狂热 of the Norwich fans on the scene, like pilgrims. All this love is given to Zhao Gang, even watching on the screen, we feel like we are there!
How can we not be moved by this scene??" Shen Jian said, seeing Zhao Gang's figure appear in the camera, and then the golden ocean swept the whole field like a tsunami.
The fans vented all their emotions, not only their love for Zhao Gang, but also their clear knowledge that this should be Zhao Gang's last game for Norwich.
The next time they meet on the field, it may be when Zhao Gang represents another team visiting Carrow Road.
"Wow... what kind of godly treatment is this!!"
"What we can hear and see during the broadcast has been weakened a lot..."
"If I were there, I would definitely cry my eyes out!!"
The loud cheers gradually subsided until the game was about to begin.
At BBC Broadcasting, Thierry Henry went directly to the scene this time.
As a live commentator, he shared the game with the fans.
In the broadcasting room, James was paired with Ollie.
"Oh! The Parc Olympique Lyonnais has almost become Norwich's home field. The Sevilla fans could still compete at the beginning, but when Zhao's figure appeared in the camera, the Sevilla fans were like a group of frightened children!
Zhao deserves this kind of scene!
His arrival saved Norwich! Allowing Norwich, who was mired in the relegation quagmire, to successfully get directly promoted.
He used his killer-like sharp passes and goals to bring Norwich to a whole new level!
He is elegant, calm, and deadly.
Let the fans immerse themselves in endless happiness!"
Beep!!
The game begins.
Sevilla lined up in a regular and mature 4-2-3-1 formation.
Kevin Gameiro was the single striker, with Éver Banega behind him.
On the left and right sides were Vitolo and Coke, who were extremely aggressive and lethal.
Steven N'Zonzi and Grzegorz Krychowiak made their debut as defensive midfielders.
Sergio Escudero and Mariano defended the left and right flanks.
Daniel Carriço and Adil Rami joined forces to defend the center.
Sergio Rico stood conscientiously on the goal line.
Norwich's formation was a bit strange, 4-3-1-2.
Zhao Gang was behind Becchio and Hoolahan, which felt a bit awkward.
At the start of the game, Sevilla kicked off.
Zhao Gang observed the opposing formation and the way Sevilla played in his memory.
Sevilla's attacking power was strong. The attacking group led by Gameiro was not as famous as Barcelona and Real Madrid, but it was extremely practical.
However, the characteristics of their two defensive midfielders, N'Zonzi and Krychowiak, were very obvious. They were not good at or proactive enough to besiege the opponent's attacking group, putting considerable pressure on the defenders behind them.
This was similar to Zhao Gang's characteristics.
So, use fierce breakthroughs and attacks to open a gap from these two people and try to take them away in one wave!!
At this time, N'Zonzi was dribbling the ball and looking for an opportunity. His passing vision and passing level were quite good.
However, he did not choose to directly pass long to find the wingers on the left and right.
Instead, he cooperated with Krychowiak to pass the ball back and forth. When Norwich players rushed up to intercept, he passed the ball to the defender again.
From the start, Sevilla didn't plan to attack, but rather to observe.
To find Norwich's weaknesses.
Although the coach and players had studied Norwich's playing style for a long time, it was all just theory.
Seeing a hundred times is not as good as trying once. Only by playing on the field can you truly understand your opponent.
Sevilla's rhythm was very slow, and Norwich couldn't find their weakness either.
So, for fifteen minutes, neither side had a truly meaningful threatening attack.
Only Sevilla once broke through to a dangerous area with a cross, but Gameiro only saw the shadow of the ball before it was kicked out by Russell Martin.
Zhao Gang, who had been preparing to open a breakthrough from Sevilla's two defensive midfielders, had been walking around, but suddenly started.
At this time, Vitolo, who had not found an opportunity, passed the ball back to find N'Zonzi according to the previous rhythm.
N'Zonzi didn't expect Zhao Gang's sudden acceleration, and was a little flustered, so the ball was stopped a bit far!
Zhao Gang rushed over, stomped his foot, and stopped the ball between his legs.
Protect the ball!
N'Zonzi lost possession, and his first reaction was to counter-press on the spot!
Zhao Gang, who had maxed out his breakthrough stat, had his ball control improved once again.
Cooperating with his very high-rated dribbling technique, he flicked the ball with the outside of his left foot, pretending to break through from the left.
N'Zonzi shifted his center of gravity, and Zhao Gang's body instantly shifted to the right. The football was basically controlled within 20 centimeters of his feet. He pushed it lightly, and the football went to his right foot.
With almost no hesitation, Zhao Gang, whose feet were extremely balanced, pushed again with his right foot, moving his body forward and breaking through directly from the right!
N'Zonzi subconsciously stretched out his left foot, wanting to stop Zhao Gang, but his body was a bit awkward, and his center of gravity was on the right. He exerted force and fell backward.
Whoa!!!
Norwich fans made loud cheers to cheer him on.
"Damn!"
"This is much more elegant than his previous stumbling croqueta dribble!!"
"He even tripped N'Zonzi!"
"Zhao Gang's dribbling ability and ball control level have indeed made a qualitative leap! This series of center of gravity changes and the control of the football under his feet! Confident and skilled!!" Shen Jian couldn't help but exclaim.
This improvement is too fast, isn't it?
Zhao Gang stepped past N'Zonzi and did not choose to pass, but continued to dribble forward.
Norwich players quickly supported, advancing on both sides.
Behind Zhao Gang, Vitolo and Banega began to chase.
Krychowiak also began to approach from the other side.
The defenders in front of him observed the situation and retreated a certain distance, without rashly intercepting.
Once the defender failed to intercept and let Zhao Gang pass, then something big would really happen!
Amidst the intense cheers, Zhao Gang felt his blood boiling, as if he had endless strength.
Zhao Gang strode forward, and two defenders observed the surrounding situation. As Zhao Gang was about to enter the danger zone, one of them finally stepped forward, preparing to intercept.
At this time, Vitolo and Banega also rushed back. Under the interception of the two defenders, Zhao Gang's speed slowed down.
The two who rushed back did not rashly tackle, fearing a foul, but cooperated with the defender to block Zhao Gang's path forward.
Zhao Gang took small steps, looked down at the football, and pretended to continue forward. A few people swarmed over.
As they swarmed over, Zhao Gang suddenly raised his right foot to shoot!
In a flash, the four people stopped almost simultaneously, turned sideways and raised their feet to block the route.
The route was almost completely blocked, and with the goalkeeper guarding the goal, there was a high probability that the ball would not be kicked in.
"Zhao Gang... he really saw it! Even though he was always staring at the football under his feet, he saw Becchio next to him!
There was not a single defender around Becchio! Everyone was blocking in front of Zhao Gang!
A light push! Becchio is completely open! There is no defense within two meters around him!!"
Becchio stood in the penalty area, about ten meters away from the goal, and kicked!
Bang!!
The football flew directly over the crossbar!
Becchio bared his teeth and knelt on the ground, holding his head.
Oh...
In the stands, Norwich fans also held their heads in disbelief, watching this shot that went way off target.
There was no defender!
Becchio, this very individualistic striker, whose ability increases with pressure, actually wasted this opportunity!!
Sevilla's defenders broke out in a cold sweat.
This Zhao Gang knew where his teammates were without even looking.
If Becchio had performed normally, this shot would have gone in!
"Becchio, is it because he's nervous? Has he never experienced such a big scene before? Or is he too excited?
He can almost 100% kick this kind of ball in the league, but this time he didn't even hit the target!"
This was indeed a bit puzzling.
Sevilla's goalkeeper picked up the football and stood in the small penalty area, with his hands on his hips.
Norwich is really quite powerful.
Their first dangerous attack almost resulted in a goal.
That young yellow-skinned kid's rhythm changes and counter-attack timing were excellent.
He really has something, this won't be an easy match!