Born to be a coach [soccer]

When the overtime was over, Chelsea and Sunderland had players on both sides collapsing to the side of the court.The team doctors and fitness coaches of the two teams rushed up to help the players relax their leg muscles a little, and the sports drinks used to replenish water and minerals were also quickly delivered to the players——

Because, the game, unexpectedly, is not over yet.

In the 30 minutes of overtime, both sides created a threatening offense, but no one seized the opportunity to rewrite the score.Sunderland withstood the huge pressure in the last ten minutes of the game, and wave after wave of attacks with Chelsea, but still tenaciously extended the score of 1 to 1 until the final whistle. This time, Sunderland Lan not only dragged such a powerful Chelsea into overtime, but also dragged them into a penalty shootout.

According to the rules, within a few minutes before the start of the penalty shootout, the coaching staff needs to decide on the players who will take the penalty kick and the kicking order.The referee guesses the coin to determine the position of the goal and the order in which the two sides kick penalty kicks, and then the exciting penalty shootout will begin.

Both teams have goalkeeper coaches, who are with Halldosson and Cech at the moment.The two goalkeeper coaches are constantly talking to the players, I don't know if it is to ease the tension of the goalkeepers on both sides.

And Anton was on the sidelines, his face still calm, he only said a word to the players who were about to go to the center circle and were about to participate in the penalty shootout: "Do you remember what I said before the extra time?"

The team members looked at Anton and nodded together.Anton didn't say any more: "Go!" He finished this sentence briefly and watched the players under his command enter the field.In contrast, the assistant coach Russell has already blushed, looking very excited——

Has come so far, at this moment, who can not be excited.

Over there, the goalkeeper coach had already discussed the opportunity with Halldósson. Uncharacteristically, the Icelander waved his slender arms, moved forward while moving his body, bouncing towards the goal like a child.There, he will wait for a while to let his opponent Petr Cech go first-Sunderland has drawn the first penalty point.

According to the free throw order, the captain Garner is the first to stand in front of the penalty spot.He was entrusted with the important task of being the first to play, so he held the ball with both hands and turned it around several times before placing the ball on the turf at the penalty spot.

Garner stood up, faced the goalkeeper who was always wearing a helmet, and took a deep breath.

Behind Garner, near the center circle, the Sunderland players lined up arm in arm.In Wembley Stadium, most of the fans in the stands are also like this, arm in arm with their companions, silently praying for their home team.

Somehow, standing in front of the penalty spot, Garner remembered what Anton had said earlier.

It was before the start of overtime, and Anton routinely taught the entire team face-to-face.It's just that there was no need to say more about Anton's tactics at that time, and the players had already firmly remembered it in their hearts.All Anton needs to do is to boost morale and let these young, inexperienced players fight to the end on Wembley Stadium and live up to expectations.

Strange to say, Anton said a lot, and Garner couldn't remember it anymore. There was only one sentence that left a deep impression on him and he couldn't forget it.

At that time Anton said: "What you need to do is to seize the present!"

"Don't think about what you've done in the past, what games you've played in, and don't assume that 10 minutes from now you'll be experiencing pain or pleasure—the past is long gone without looking back, and the future is forever untouchable, the only thing you have and can grasp Yes, now!"

At this moment, the referee's whistle sounded, and Garner thought: Yes, now!

He started to run, each step seemed more determined than before, and when he reached the twelve yard point, Garner fired a furious shot, and the ball flew towards the goal.

Garner yelled, "NOW!—"

Cech soars, fingers inches from the ball.

The ball crashed into the net!

Garner clenched his fists and directed at the goal, roaring along with the tense Sunderland fans behind the goal who couldn't breathe.

Sunderland vs Chelsea, 1-0.

Cheers erupted throughout Wembley Stadium, apparently from the Sunderland fans.

Followed by Chelsea captain John Terry.Captain to captain, Terry immediately retaliated and scored a penalty in almost the same position.It is a pity that the Icelander Halldosson also judged the right direction this time. His fingers almost touched the ball, but he still failed to prevent the ball from scoring in the air.

Chelsea fans also cheered loudly: 1 to 1, who is afraid of whom?

Anton folded his arms and, together with Sunderland's entire coaching staff, watched both players take penalties from the sidelines.Assistant coach Russell was hiding behind him at the moment, and the irritable brother said that it was too exciting to watch, really didn't dare to watch.

There are still many people who dare not look at it. Whether it is the players waiting near the center circle or the fans in the stands, many people have turned their backs at this moment-I really dare not look at it.

As Anton watched the opponent's captain Terry's free throw brushed off Halldosson's fingertips and into the net, he couldn't help but waved his fist and yelled "it's a pity".But he firmly believes that Sunderland's full preparations will surely pay off.

Sunderland practiced penalty kicks before this FA Cup final, which is a routine operation for most teams before the knockout round-it is good to be able to beat the opponent in regular time, but we must also be prepared for a draw.

Adding penalty kicks is an obvious preparation, but the real killer feature of the coaching staff comes from the collection and processing of opponent data.As early as after Sunderland defeated Portsmouth and qualified for the final, Anton had begun to collect a large amount of opponent player movement data, including the habit of players kicking penalties, whether they used their left foot or right foot, whether they kicked with their right foot or not. Left or right, aiming at the dead corner or kicking the ground ball, what are the chances of serving a half-high ball...

These data were provided to Halldosson by the goalkeeper coach at the last moment-of course it is not so complicated, Hallosson will only know which direction the opponent is more likely to kick.

This small tip may seem insignificant, but Anton is a student of mathematics. From the perspective of probability, with such a tip, the chances of Halldosson judging the correct direction of the ball will be greatly improved.

Of course, the correct judgment does not mean that the penalty kick can be saved, and a penalty kick that is too tricky is also embarrassing for the goalkeeper, so everything depends on the performance of the opponent and Halldosson.

As for Sunderland's own players, Anton's only requirement for them is not to be under pressure, just play according to the requirements during training.Most of his players are young, with a newborn calf who is not afraid of tigers. When they come to Cech and give him a powerful kick, Cech is not so easy to catch.

From the first round to the second round, the two sides bit tightly.Garner, Terry, Eriksson, and Ivan all made free throws steadily. Petr Cech and Halldosson also all judged the right direction, but they couldn't save the ball.

The score came to 2-2.

In the third round, Sunderland sent the little man Shaqiri. He did not hesitate when he came up, and kicked the ball into the net in the upper right corner of the goal without hesitation. Cech unfortunately misjudged the wrong direction and pounced on To the left, the opposite is the opposite.

3:2.

Anton swung his fist vigorously from the side: another one, and it will be up to Haldosson next.

Chelsea's penalty shooter in the third round was the Frenchman Malouda.Because Malouda is the main force of the French national team, there are a lot of data about him. Anton and his team have studied this player very thoroughly.

If Malouda takes penalty kicks according to his inherent habits, then the chances of Halldosson being able to save this penalty kick will be greatly improved.

Anton stood on the sidelines and pushed the frame on the bridge of his nose with his hands. Rather than being nervous, he was full of anticipation.And Halldosson did not let him down. There was a roar from the direction of the goal, which belonged to the Icelanders.Immediately afterwards, Sunderland fans cheered excitedly in Wembley Stadium, while Chelsea fans sighed in disappointment.

Malouda covered his face, turned around, and walked back slowly, as if he didn't know how to face his teammates, so he could only slowly return to the middle circle.

Halldosson saved Malouda's penalty and the tie was finally broken.After the third round of the penalty shootout, the balance of victory and defeat finally began to tilt towards Sunderland.

In the fourth round, the penalty shooters of Sunderland and Chelsea showed their respective status.Henderson and Anelka made free throws respectively, neither gave the opposing goalkeeper any chance.

What attracted Anton's attention was Anelka. Like Malouda, Anelka was also the main player of the French national team and one of the players who had been thoroughly studied by Sunderland's coaching staff. The performance was impeccable, and the penalty kick was tricky. Although Halldosson judged the right direction, he was completely helpless in the face of such an incoming ball.

After the free throw was over, Anelka himself was not so excited, he didn't celebrate at all, but he walked slowly back to the center circle like a dejected old man.Malouda, the teammate who was saved from the penalty earlier, saw Anelka, a bit like a mouse seeing a cat, bypassing the national team and the club's "dual material" teammate from a distance, and hid on the other side Go -- the star's temper was also evident in the reactions of his teammates.

Anton quickly stopped paying attention to Anelka, because the penalty shootout came to the fifth round, and Sunderland made the first penalty.If the penalty was scored, then Chelsea would not have to kick, because Sunderland had already won the game.

Sunderland's No. [-] penalty shooter is the hero of the game. Vardy was promoted from the amateur team by Anton this season.

To be honest, in the entire Wembley Stadium, people who have watched Vardy take penalty kicks probably can count them on one hand, let alone Cech.The Czech goalkeeper faced an opponent he didn't understand at all, saying that everything can only rely on basic skills.

Vardy also really did not expect that he would face such a situation where one goal determines the outcome.He always thought that the penalty shootout should have a result before it was his turn, or that he needed to continue playing for a few more rounds.

So he somehow took on this heavy responsibility, and the young man still feels: a little confused!

All this happened too fast. Just half a year ago, he was still engaged in a caring career in the prosthetic factory, but now he is already standing in the finals.He was facing tens of thousands of spectators at the scene, and countless people were watching the live TV broadcast.

Yes, it was so fast that at this moment, Vardy seemed to suddenly see his former self, the self who had been forced to put aside his dreams...he was willing to be such a self, the dream self.

But how could such a heavy burden be entrusted to him?

Oh my god, which idiot in the coaching staff came up with this order of appearance!

At this moment, Halldosson yelled something at Vardy in the distance, but Vardy didn't hear it clearly, knowing that it was roughly a word of encouragement.But this shout quickly brought Valdy back to reality, making him realize clearly:

—Now, now, now!

Under the gaze and expectation of countless people, the only thing he should do is to score this penalty now.

However, this little brother also has a big heart. After thinking about it, Vardy turned his heart and thought: Humph, let's kick hard, anyway, there are still Icelanders here!

Just thinking about it, the referee's whistle blew, and Vardy started to run up.

boom--

chap——

He hit a game-killing kick.

The author has something to say: Anton (knocking on the blackboard): Listen up everyone, kicking a penalty kick is very simple, you just need to remember one sentence:

If the sky is loving, the sky is also old, seeing... Chekhmon kicked.

Cech: The person in this line...it seems like it shouldn't be me!

Regarding Cech, I read a piece of news before, saying that this Europa League final will be the last game of Cech's playing career, and that game was his old club against his current club, Chelsea against Arsenal. accept.Maybe this is fate.

PS Tomorrow is the season finale of the Premier League, so tomorrow there will be a character-saving event for the home team, everyone, come tomorrow!