Chapter 194 A Fury for Sese? ...
Real Madrid's next attack came quickly.
Lennon miscontrolled the ball on the left wing, and Marcelo seized the opportunity, kicking the ball long towards the right side of midfield.
After receiving the ball, Fino passed it back to Alonso in Real Madrid's half, who then passed it forward to Kaká. These two consecutive wide-ranging ball transfers left Tottenham's midfield defense somewhat unable to find a focal point in their defense.
Kaka shook off Bale, who was marking him, and dribbled the ball down the right flank, cutting inside as he went. When he was still twelve or thirteen meters from the penalty area, Modric, Sandro, and Gallas all came up to meet him.
Instead of forcing his way through, Kaká kicked the ball towards the right side of Tottenham's penalty area.
Fino chased after the ball along the edge of the penalty area, received it, turned and dribbled past Tottenham's left-back Hector, before passing the ball into the penalty area just before Dawson could make a sliding tackle.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Adebayor both broke into the penalty area, with Modric and Gallas marking them closely. Adebayor received a pass from Fino, but was unable to shoot due to Gallas' interference.
Adebayor, with his back to Gallas, kicked the ball towards the penalty arc, where Kaká and Alonso both surged forward.
Seeing the danger, Modric and Gallas in the penalty area shook off Ronaldo and Adebayor and rushed towards Kaká and Alonso.
Kaka received the ball and, without hesitation, prepared to shoot directly. However, before he could release the ball, Dawson made a sliding tackle from the side, pushing the ball out of bounds and also grazing Kaka's ankle.
Kaka lost his balance, lunged forward, flew over Dawson below, and crashed heavily to the ground.
Kaka grabbed his ankle and groaned on the grass.
Fino's heart tightened. It had taken Kaka half a season to fully recover, so he absolutely mustn't get injured again.
He ran a few steps and squatted down next to Kaka, anxiously asking, "Rich, how are you? Are you hurt?"
Kaka clutched his ankle, wincing, "Ugh, it's probably a bruise. It hurts a bit, but it's not a big problem."
In the instant he fell, unpleasant memories of recurring injuries flashed through Kaka's mind, but thank God, he wasn't hurt this time.
After Fino was relieved about Kaka, his attention turned to Dawson, who had tackled Kaka.
He got up and walked over to Dawson, who was also lying on the ground. Following Nesta's example, he grabbed Dawson by the collar and lifted him off the ground.
Fino was standing on the right side of the Tottenham penalty area, some distance from where the incident occurred. In the blink of an eye, he didn't see what happened clearly; he only saw Kaká being tackled by Dawson.
Dawson is 189cm tall and looks a size bigger than Fino, but he was lifted up by Fino like a big chick and staggered a few steps before he could stand up.
"What do you want to do? Do you want to cripple him?" Fino asked fiercely.
These damn defenders love to bully Kaká. Fino has seen Kaká brought down countless times on the field. Kaká finally recovered from his injury and was brought down again. This made Fino a little irritated when he saw this.
During the half-season that Kaká was sidelined, Fino worried countless times that Kaká would never be able to return to his peak form.
The Tottenham players immediately surrounded them. What was going on? Why were they pulling on our captain?
Alonso quickly ran over and hugged Fino, reaching out to shake Fino's hand that was holding Dawson's collar.
"Finnie, let go, the referee is coming."
Dawson shrugged and explained good-naturedly, "I was going for the ball, I didn't tackle him on purpose."
Upon seeing this, Kaka also got up from the ground and ran over to hug Fino.
"Finnie, calm down, I'm fine. He didn't hurt me, he just grazed me."
Fino then let go of her hand.
As more and more people gathered, Ramos and his defense came over, worried that their Ballon d'Or winner might get hurt.
"A conflict broke out on the field. Tottenham captain Dawson tackled Kaká, and Cabrini angrily picked Dawson up," the commentator exclaimed excitedly. "It seems Cabrini has learned a lot from the Milan defense."
At this moment, the referee squeezed in, glanced at Fino, then at Dawson, and hesitated.
Alonso immediately explained, "Sir, it was because Dawson tackled Kaká that Finney got agitated, thinking it was intentional. Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, Finney has calmed down, and there's absolutely no problem between them."
Since the match had just started and the conflict was stopped in time, the referee chose to let Fino off the hook, warning him: "Watch your actions and words, and don't let it happen again."
Fino nodded obediently. By this time, he had calmed down and realized that he had acted impulsively.
As for Dawson's tackle on Kaka, the referee deemed it a legitimate collision. Dawson was heading for the ball and made contact with it first before brushing against Kaka's ankle.
The referee did not call a foul on Dawson, but simply urged Real Madrid to prepare for a corner kick.
Fino patted Dawson on the shoulder and expressed his apology with his eyes, to which Dawson nodded amicably.
Alonso took a corner kick from the right, and the players from both sides stood in the penalty area and struggled with each other. Adebayor, who was standing outside the six-yard box, headed the ball, but Tottenham's goalkeeper Gomez made a save and then dropped it.
Modric, standing behind Gomez, quickly moved to block the ball with his short legs, but he was positioned near the goal line, which could easily result in an own goal. He was hesitant and timid when blocking the ball, and it eventually rolled between his feet into the net.
1-0, Adebayor gives Real Madrid a winning start!
Mourinho applauded and celebrated on the sidelines, pleased with himself for making a good deal in the winter transfer window. The 192cm tall Adebayor has a great advantage in duels with defenders and in corner kick tactics.
In the 7th minute, Tottenham's attacking opportunity was ruined by a combination of Ramos and Pepe. Just as Ramos was about to pass the ball, Tottenham striker Crouch slid in and brought Ramos down.
Ramos was stunned!
This is completely upside down! It's always Sese who tackles others, but a striker actually dares to tackle Sese. How brave!
The commentator was stunned!
"Crouch's sliding tackle on Ramos was incomprehensible. Although the position was close to Real Madrid's penalty area, Tottenham had no shooting opportunities and no teammates to support Crouch. Crouch's move was simply baffling."
It was an absolutely dangerous move, and the referee didn't hesitate to show Crouch the first yellow card of the match. Crouch obediently accepted the penalty without any explanation.
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp covered his face with his hands on the sidelines, feeling like he was about to cry from Crouch's stupidity.
Ramos suddenly looked at Fino with an eager expression, which puzzled Fino.
Wasn't it already resolved? What's wrong with Ramos?
Because Ramos kept looking at him like that, he asked, "Sergio, do you need me to call the team doctor for you?"
Ramos shook his head and walked away in disappointment.
Why not "fight to the death for Sese"? You clearly "fight to the death for Kaka" just now!
Fino couldn't understand what Ramos was thinking. He turned to look at Pepe next to him, who shrugged, indicating that he didn't know either.
A few minutes later, Adebayor also received a yellow card in Tottenham's own half for fouling Hector.
"Wow, today's match is so unexpected. Just 10 minutes into the game, two yellow cards have been issued, and both of them are from forwards. Is it a new trend for forwards to tackle defenders?" the commentator joked.
What surprised the commentator even more was yet to come.
In the 15th minute, Real Madrid, having won another midfield battle, launched an attack from the center.
Fino, Kaká, and Ramos, who had moved up, exchanged short passes, penetrating the defensive line composed of Modric, Bale, and Sandro.
Fino has already noticed Adebayor and Ronaldo near the Tottenham penalty area line, as the opposing center-backs are not defending them very tightly.
Fino launched a long pass directly, Ronaldo held off Gallas and headed the ball back two or three meters away with his forehead. Marcelo came from the side, pushed the ball forward, and prepared to shoot between Gallas and Dawson.
The ball had barely left his foot when Crouch's sliding tackle came again, this time landing directly on Marcelo's left foot, sending him crashing to the ground.
The referee reacted very quickly, showing Crouch a red card and ordering him to leave the field immediately.
The red card was completely uncontroversial, and it came less than eight minutes after Crouch tackled Ramos. Crouch's tackle was even more aggressive than Ramos's, which was practically a provocation to the referee, so the referee naturally wouldn't tolerate it.
With only 15 minutes played, and Real Madrid already leading by one goal, Tottenham were left with only ten men.
Tottenham played a 4-4-1-1 formation in this match. Theoretically, this is a formation that emphasizes midfield control and defensive balance. Among the four midfielders, Sandro and Modric form a double pivot, covering both ends of the attack and defense, responsible for interception and passing. The two wingers, Lennon and Bale, are both fast wingers who, while taking on defensive duties, also need to focus on breakthroughs and crosses from the flanks.
However, judging from Tottenham's performance in the first 15 minutes, the four midfielders spent most of the time running around defending and did not contribute much to the attack.
Now that Peter Crouch, a tall striker over two meters tall, has been sent off, Tottenham's attack is left with only Rafael van der Vaart struggling to hold on, making their attack even more difficult.
Everyone understands the principle of taking advantage of someone's illness to kill them.
Mourinho had just patted Crouch on the shoulder to offer some words of comfort when he immediately issued an order for the players to intensify their attack.
In the 17th minute, Fino controlled the tempo and launched an attack from the right flank.
After Fino dribbled the ball across the halfway line, Modric and Hector closed in. Fino passed the ball back to Khedira, who then passed it to Alonso. Alonso then launched a long pass forward to Fino.
Fino dribbled forward down the right flank, with Kaká beside him.
Fino glanced at Kaka while dribbling the ball, and Kaka understood immediately, passing between Dawson and Hector in front of him.
As Kaká made his forward run, Fino simultaneously unleashed a long pass over the top of the ball. The ball arced over Dawson's head and dipped behind him. By this time, Kaká was already in position, dribbling the ball into the Tottenham penalty area.
Tottenham's three defenders simultaneously retreated to the penalty area to defend, and goalkeeper Gomez also lowered his center of gravity and took small steps to the side to prepare for a save.
Kaka took a shot with his right foot in the penalty area, but the ball was blocked by Gomez, who was already prepared.
Seeing that his shot was unsuccessful, Kaka put his hands on his hips and sighed.
Fino came over and gave him a hug, gently comforting him.
“Rich, don’t worry, if this one doesn’t work, there’s always the next one. We have plenty of opportunities.”
Kaka nodded.
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Author's Note: Thank you everyone for your support! [starry-eyed]
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