Chapter 166 "In 45 minutes, let's..."
Fino shook his head with some regret, then went over and patted Di Natale on the shoulder to encourage him.
The competition has just begun, and they still have many opportunities.
Italy's counter-attack seemed to inject a catalyst into the game. After a cautious start, the match gradually became more intense – Spain intensified their attack.
In the 12th minute, Ramos made a run down the right flank, received a pass from Iniesta, and crossed the ball into the middle, where Nesta and Chiellini successfully cleared the ball.
In the 17th minute, Alonso launched a long diagonal pass from the right wing, and Villa, waiting on the left side of the penalty area, volleyed the ball, but it hit the side netting and rolled out of bounds.
In the 35th minute, Alonso once again lofted the ball into the Italian penalty area. The moment Pedro received the ball, Nesta, Chiellini, and Gattuso were already closing in. In a panic, Pedro could only manage a desperate shot, and unsurprisingly, the ball flew over the crossbar.
...
Spain's attacks came wave after wave, and Marchetti felt like he could hardly breathe.
While intensifying their attack, Spain also increased their pressing intensity, putting Italy under heavy pressure. Italy struggled to launch quick counter-attacks and could only look for opportunities through set pieces and long-range shots.
Pirlo's two free kicks were both saved by Casillas, and several long-range shots from Fino and De Rossi also failed to find the net.
Near the end of the first half, the Italian team was awarded a corner kick.
The corner kick was again taken by Pirlo. Chiellini, positioned at the near post, lost the aerial duel with Pique, and the ball was headed out of the penalty area by Pique. Puyol got the ball before Ambrosini could reach it and then passed it to Xavi. Spain's attack began again.
Because of the corner kick tactic, the high points in front of the Italian goal were basically inside the Spanish penalty area. Instead of gradually advancing through short passes, Spain launched a quick counter-attack before the Italian defense could get back into position.
Upon seeing Puyol gain possession, Fino immediately felt an alarm bell ring in his mind. At that moment, the Italian goal was empty, with only Nesta and Marchetti by his side.
Fino and his teammates took off running towards the Italian half of the field.
But the ball is always faster than a person. In just a few seconds, the ball had crossed the center line and entered the Italian half.
At this moment, the ball is at Iniesta's feet, Pedro is receiving it on the left wing, and Villa is waiting in the Italian penalty area, being closely marked by Nesta.
Gattuso, who hadn't participated in the corner kick combination, moved up and blocked Iniesta and Pedro.
Iniesta didn't give Gattuso a chance to get close, and immediately launched a long pass over the top, targeting Pedro on the left wing. Pedro received the ball smoothly without any interference, and then dribbled towards the Italian penalty area.
Nesta was keeping a close eye on Villa in the penalty area, while Marchetti was marking Pedro closely, constantly shifting his position in small increments, ready to meet Pedro's long-range shot at any moment.
Pedro is getting closer and closer to the Italian penalty area. Behind him, Gattuso and Iniesta are rapidly closing in, while Fino and Criscito are rushing towards him from a slightly further distance.
The moment he entered the penalty area, Pedro took a shot. Marchetti, who had been anxious, lunged in the wrong direction for a split second. Fortunately, Nesta moved to the side in time and managed to block the ball with his foot, but Nesta himself lost his balance.
Pedro appeared near the path the ball had been deflected. At that moment, Marchetti and Nesta were already down in front of the goal, leaving Italy's goal completely exposed and vulnerable.
At this point, Gattuso finally caught up and managed to block Pedro's position.
Under Gattuso's interference, Pedro was not only unable to shoot, but was also in constant danger of losing possession.
Pedro didn't want to get entangled with Gattuso. Time was too precious at this moment. Every second earlier he shot would increase his chances of scoring. Pedro made a quick decision and passed the ball back to Iniesta. Unmarked, Iniesta immediately raised his foot to shoot.
Just when all the Italian fans were on the edge of their seats, a blue figure slid in and tackled the ball away from Iniesta's feet.
It was Fino. Thanks to Gattuso's brief delay, Fino, speeding at full speed, finally caught up.
Losing his balance, Iniesta crashed heavily onto Fino, who then shoved him aside. Fino remembered that Villa was unmarked in the penalty area, and he needed to get up quickly.
As Fino got up, he searched for the ball. When he saw the ball glide past Villa's toes and roll out of bounds, Fino finally relaxed and rolled back onto the grass.
worn out……
After running for nearly half the game, sprinting from the Spanish goal to the Italian goal was extremely exhausting. Coupled with the pressure of potentially conceding a goal at any moment, Fino was under constant tension. He finally breathed a sigh of relief and gasped for air after the ball went out of bounds.
Italian fans' hearts slowly calmed down, and cheers erupted from millions of Italian families watching the game on television.
The Italian commentator clutched his heart and roared, "Cabrini! Cabrini tackled Iniesta's foot and the ball is gone! Our Ballon d'Or winner has saved Italy once again!"
Taking advantage of the dead ball situation, the television broadcast began to replay Fino's spectacular run and sliding tackle from various angles, repeatedly reinforcing Fino's image in the minds of the viewers, making it unforgettable.
Many young fans, like the Italian commentator, clutched their hearts, staring intently at Fino on the television screen, murmuring to themselves: "So handsome, I want to marry him..."
There were female fans and male fans.
Nesta finally got up, went to Fino's side, and helped Fino sit up by supporting his shoulders.
"Phineas, how are you feeling?"
Fino shook his head and gave Nesta a tired but happy smile: "I'm fine, I just sprinted too hard and I'm tired."
"But your thigh is injured."
Fino looked down and noticed several cuts, a few centimeters long, on his right thigh, bleeding profusely. He must have been injured by Iniesta's studs when he tackled the ball earlier.
Fino shook his head again, patted Nesta's arm, and indicated that he should not worry: "It should be a superficial injury, nothing serious."
As Fino himself assessed, his injury was minor, just a superficial wound. The team doctor cleaned and disinfected the wound, applied a dressing, and secured it with tape, thus completing the treatment.
While Fino was receiving treatment from the team doctor, the Spanish players surrounded referee Webb, believing that Fino had tripped Iniesta, blocking a sure-fire shot, and should have been shown a red card and a penalty kick awarded.
The referee rejected Spain's request.
When the sliding tackle occurred, the referee did not follow up in time, but the linesman saw it clearly. Fino's sliding tackle was very clean and did not touch Iniesta's foot. Iniesta missed the kick, and his shoe scraped Fino's thigh, causing him to lose his balance and fall.
But the Spanish players remained defiant, continuing to argue with the referee. Fearing the referee might change his decision, the Italian players also gathered around, clenching their fists in defense of Fino.
After Fino finished his treatment, the referee finally lost his patience, pushed aside both teams, and signaled for the game to resume immediately, as Spain was due to take a corner kick.
The first half ended in a draw, with Italy and Spain tied 0-0.
When the first half whistle blew, Italy's starting goalkeeper Marchetti finally breathed a sigh of relief.
In the first half of the game, he was exhausted from making saves. Even though the two defensive lines in front of him provided him with great support, he was still overwhelmed by Spain's attacks.
This was a peak Spanish team built around Barcelona, so Marchetti was under immense psychological pressure.
Marchetti, 27, spent most of his career in lower leagues before finally making it to the top league two years ago, joining Cagliari, a struggling team that had been languishing in the relegation zone of Serie A for years.
Frankly speaking, Marchetti's level is far below that of a starting goalkeeper for a World Cup final team.
For the past decade, the Italian goalkeeper position has been almost firmly occupied by Buffon. Compared with Buffon, neither Marchetti nor the 33-year-old veteran De Sanctis is competitive. Their inclusion in the 23-man squad for the South Africa World Cup can only be described as choosing the best among the worst.
But fate played a cruel trick. Italy's goalkeeper Buffon was injured and had to leave the field in the first group stage match. Marchetti and De Sanctis were forced into the game and began to take turns being arranged to play by Lippi, and they also began to take turns being criticized online.
The pressure from public opinion, coupled with a clear understanding of his own abilities, kept Marchetti on edge under the pressure from the Spanish team.
During halftime, Lippi spoke with the team doctor again about Fino's injury. Only after confirming that Fino was alright and could play normally in the second half did Lippi breathe a sigh of relief.
The Italian team can't do without Fino right now.
On the offensive end, Fino's role in connecting the midfield and forward lines is irreplaceable. On the defensive end, Fino is also an important part of the midfield in resisting Spain. He drops very deep, sometimes even needing to drop back into the penalty area to participate in the defense in front of the goal, just like when he tackled Iniesta's shot.
Moreover, in the second half, Italy can no longer simply defend; they must find a way to score and absolutely cannot let the game go to penalties.
Spain had Casillas, a player who could rival Buffon, standing in front of their goal, while Italy did not have Buffon. Dragging the game to penalties would be tantamount to suicide.
At this point, Fino's ability to break through defenses and score is crucial, so how could Lippi not be nervous?
After outlining the tactics and tasks for the second half, Lippi handed the time to Nesta, who was wearing the captain's armband, hoping that Nesta could boost morale.
Nesta seemed a little bewildered when all eyes in the locker room, as well as the cameras filming the World Cup documentary, were focused on him.
He's really not good at saying nice things; that's much harder than playing a game.
Besides, they only have 45 minutes left to win the World Cup, so there's no need to boost morale at this point, right? Only a fool wouldn't give it their all.
Nesta coughed awkwardly and began glancing frequently at Cannavaro, Italy's nominal captain, while Cannavaro looked down and pretended not to see him.
Cannavaro was certainly not upset about losing his starting position and captain's armband. He gave them up voluntarily for the sake of Italy's performance in this tournament. The main reason was that he might not even have a chance to play in this final, so it would be awkward for him to speak up at this time!
Seeing that Cannavaro refused to step forward, Nesta looked to Fino for help.
Fino immediately got it.
He was somewhat exasperated. When would Nesta's camera phobia finally get better? Nesta even has aspirations to be a coach, how could he possibly be one?
After thinking for a moment, Fino finally spoke.
"Sandro, before we came to South Africa, when we gathered at the Coverciano training ground, you said you would give me your national team farewell match jersey."
Nesta nodded; he had already guessed what Fino wanted to say. The others waited quietly for Fino to continue.
"Forty-five minutes from now, I hope we can give this jersey more meaning. I hope it can witness our moment of lifting the trophy. I hope it can enter my collection room as the World Cup winning jersey."
Fino's voice wasn't loud, but every word was powerful and resonant, striking Nesta's heart and filling him with boundless pride. Nesta's gaze suddenly hardened.
"Alright!" He tugged at his jersey, patted the captain's armband that was firmly wrapped around his left arm, and looked around at his teammates. "In 45 minutes, let's lift the World Cup trophy together!"
"Let's lift the World Cup trophy together in 45 minutes!" the players shouted in unison.
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Author's Note: Thank you everyone for your support! High five! [cat paw][cat paw][cat paw]
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