God Of football

Chapter 72: This Is Football

”We’re in a stalemate,” Assistant Coach Pablo Amo firmly stated to Luis de la Fuente. ”It’s time for our players to take the initiative and break this deadlock.”

Luis de la Fuente agreed instantly, ready to seize the next opportunity to relay his renewed strategy to the players.

A throw-in presented the perfect moment. Luis de la Fuente seized it as he approached Merino, who was about to throw the ball.

”Encourage the attack and tell Morata to organize the front and counter-press them,” he instructed decisively, and Merino nodded in affirmation.

Merino executed the throw to the back before passing on the instructions to Mikel Oryazabal, aiming to spread the message effectively.

The Spanish squad’s playing style transformed immediately, reflecting the coach’s clear directive.

With newfound vigour, the players took charge to win the ball back swiftly after losing it, forcing a disorganized Georgian team into making a series of mistakes.

One crucial error was when Lobjanidze surrendered possession to Jose Gaya on the wings. Gaya swiftly initiated a fast break by passing the ball to Mikel Oryazabal.

Oryazabal kept his touches minimal and swiftly delivered the ball to Morata in the centre. The pass expertly weaved through the legs of the Georgian players, landing perfectly at Morata’s feet.

Morata, displaying quick thinking, immediately set the ball down for the oncoming Olmo. With a glance, Olmo spotted Oryazabal making a decisive run.

Without hesitation, Olmo nudged the ball forward and delivered a precise through ball to Oryazabal, who, despite being marginally offside, caught the defence off guard.

The Georgian players raised their arms for an offside call, but the linesman held his flag down. Reacting swiftly, the Georgian players scrambled, but Oryazabal had already sent a low cross into the box.

Kiteishvili, keenly watching Spain’s fluid play, moved to mark Morata. Morata, who had been anticipating Oryazabal’s cross, found himself stuck.

Realizing that he would not be able to connect with Oryazabal’s low cross, Morata skillfully leapt over the ball, allowing the play to develop further.

Alex Baena, who had escaped the keen eyes of his marker, appeared and met the ball with a well-placed finish into the left bottom corner.

Marmadashvili tried in earnest to keep the ball out but failed. The ball struck the back of the net sending the Spanish Fans into a frenzy.

Alex Baena, after scoring, didn’t celebrate much and just high-fived his teammates. He didn’t find much reason to celebrate against a weaker side like Georgia.

The Georgian fans, however, didn’t seem pleased with his action and started showing their displeasure.

The stewards tried to get the rowdy Georgian fans who were near the touchline to calm down but were unsuccessful.

They were only able to manage when the Georgian players took it upon themselves to speak with the Fans nearby.

After a while, the match restarted with a score of 2 to 1 in Favour of the Spain team. The Spanish team slowed the game and tried to dictate the tempo.

The Georgian players didn’t want to play at the pace of the opponents but they could only do so much when they couldn’t see much of the ball.

The Spain players played around the Georgian side swiftly and fluidly, depriving the opponent of the ball.

The Georgian players subconsciously began to relax as they thought the Spain team would be holding onto their lead for halftime and wouldn’t try anything that would put their lead in jeopardy, but boy, were they wrong.

In the final minutes of the first half, Unai Simon, the Spanish goalkeeper, sent a lofted ball to Azpilicueta in the right-back position.

The former Chelsea man passed to Mikel Merino in the middle of the pitch. Mikautadze tried to rush Merino from behind but the latter didn’t take too many touches and just flicked the ball to Rodri.

Kiteishvili appeared in front of Rodri as soon as the latter got the ball. Rodri felt a bit annoyed at how this guy seemed to be everywhere. Rodri smirked as he got an idea.

Rodri reeled Kiteishvili in by pretending to pass back but did so in such an inviting way that Kiteishvili could not pass up.

The latter rushed in for a challenge but Rodri flicked the ball through the former’s legs before going around him.

Nutmegs were always welcomed in football as the Fans reacted greatly to the nutmeg. Rodri, after nutmegging Kiteishvili, just took one touch before sending the ball to Alex Baena.

Alex Baena, who found the ball coming his way, went into an aerial challenge with Azarovi, the Georgian left-back.

Ultimately, Asarovi won the challenge and headed the ball but he wishes he hadn’t as the ball found its way onto the chest of Dani Olmo.

After Olmo controlled the ball with his chest, he didn’t let the ball fall as he already had a target in mind.

Morata, as if reading Olmo’s mind began to make a run. Olmo unleashed a floated ball into the path of Morata who had already escaped from his marker and was on his way to the keeper.

The whole Spanish bench prayed that Morata could control the ball because they all knew that Morata’s footwork wasn’t the best.

The prayers of the Spain team were heard as Morata took a nice touch before letting the ball roll on the ground.

Marmadashvili, who saw this, ran to intercept the striker, but Morata wasn’t to be trifled with. He looked up and saw Marmadashvili coming his way.

He found little openings since Marmadashvili had made himself as big as he could get. Morata took another touch and smiled before chipping the ball over Marmadashvili.

The Goalkeeper, who wasn’t expecting this outcome, tried to react to the ball but couldn’t. Morata began heading the way of the corner flag even before the ball could hit the back of the net.

The striker slid on the ground in front of the Spain fans before jumping up to pump his fist in the air. The other Spanish player followed suit and pulled him in for a group hug when they got near him.

The Georgian Fans and players could only sigh as they had been deceived and outclassed this time around.

The Spanish players soon returned to their respective positions. The referee blew the whistle only to blow it again about 3 minutes later when the match went for half time.

The Spanish players went into halftime with smiles on their faces, but the same couldn’t be said for their opponents, who had put on grim expressions.

The Georgian Fans weren’t satisfied by the first half and could only hope that their team would come through in the second.

During the half-time break, the Georgian team Coach, Willy Sagnol pointed out their mistakes. From giving the opponents way too much time on the ball to getting lazy when the opponents didn’t attack.

He thrashed the players with his words while encouraging them at the same time. The Georgian players nodded, almost in sync.

The Coach, seeing as his players had understood his intention, left them to do whatever they wanted for the remaining 5 minutes.

[Spanish Locker room]

”Okay guys, nicely played. Although you were dull at the start, you guys went clinical in the dying minutes, and that’s something to applaud but we haven’t won this match yet,” Luis de la Fuente spoke.

”I won’t be making any changes for now, so go and play like you did in the dying moments of the first half”, Luis de la Fuente attempted to shout but could only make a frail noise.

The players still nodded sharply after his words. Izan looked at the team and smiled. This was where his heart was at the moment.

The break came to an end after a while with the players returning to the pitch once more. The energy of the fans hadn’t dissipated in the least but had increased.

The intensity of their shouts and chants had increased as the fans anticipated the second half.

”This is football” Izan muttered before walking over to his seat on the bench. He engaged in a conversation with Pedri and the rest of the guys before the match began.

The players of both sides walked over to their respective positions and stood waiting for the whistle of the referee to sound.

The referee could feel the anticipation from the Fans, so he didn’t let them down and blew the whistle as soon as everything was set.

The Spain team kicked off with Morata sending the ball to Unai Simons at the back. Mikautadze, who was looking to make an early impact, pressed high and rushed towards the Goalkeeper.

His teammates followed suit and pressed the viable passing options of Unai Simon.

The Goalkeeper, who suddenly found himself under pressure, tried to get the ball into space, so he sent the ball to Rodri, who was still marked.

This led to a turnover in possession as Lobjanidze got the ball instead of Rodri. It was on for the Georgian team.

A/n: Hello guys. I want yesterday to be a two chapter day but I couldn’t write anymore after a while. So I decided to watch some blue lock to get some Inspiration. Season 2 is not that good but whatever.