Chapter 316 If you give me an assist, I will tell you!
August 29th, Santander, northern Spain, Sardine Stadium.
Less than five minutes before the start of the game, Rijkaard and chief assistant coach Ten Cate were both standing on the sidelines, one pretending to be calm with his hands in his pockets, while the other was looking around anxiously as if seeking help, forming a very obvious contrast.
The Sardegna Stadium of Racing Santander is very different from other stadiums. Due to design problems, the visiting team's coaching bench and substitute bench are both semi-underground, which means that when sitting in the coaching bench, one cannot see clearly what is happening on the field.
So a very interesting scene appeared, that is, the visiting team coaches either accepted this unfavorable situation or actively sought help from the home staff, such as asking for two plastic chairs and sitting directly on the sidelines.
This is not pretty and it is not comfortable, but it is better than not being able to see the situation clearly.
But tonight, Barcelona encountered another problem, that is, there were no staff around.
Ten Cate was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan and couldn't keep his cool at all. Rijkaard, on the contrary, put his hands in his pockets, looked calm and composed. He even comforted his assistant from time to time, telling him to take it easy and not to be anxious.
"This is their little conspiracy, don't mind it!" Rijkaard smiled faintly.
How could Ten Cate not care? This was Barcelona's first game of the new season! What was the team's performance like in the first half of last season? Both Rijkaard and Ten Cate almost didn't make it through the winter break.
The team made a comeback this season and spent a lot of money to introduce a group of stars such as Su Dong and Deco. If the team does not improve, the two of them will probably have no choice but to resign and apologize.
Racing Santander's Sardegna Stadium has never been a blessed place for Barcelona. In January this year, in the first game of the winter break, Barcelona lost 0-3 to Racing Santander at this stadium.
After the game, Rijkaard was almost fired as head coach by vice-chairman Rosell and was forced to hand over the coaching post.
In the end, it was Laporta and Cruyff, one inside and one outside, who did their best to suppress Rosell. This barely maintained Rijkaard's coaching and led to the rise of Barcelona in the second half.
"I just don't believe it. You really don't care at all. If you really don't care, you wouldn't be standing here!" Ten Carter replied unhappily. He knew he was just anxious for nothing, but he was indeed anxious.
Rijkaard looked at his rebellious assistant, understood what he meant, but did not respond. He knew that this was Ten Cate's character.
How could he not be anxious and not care? He had been forced into a desperate situation here before. Although he had come back from the dead, he would never forget the despair he felt at that time.
This season is of great importance, and it is the first league game, so how can he not be nervous? What's more, Ronaldinho is injured and absent, Edmilson joined the team with a suspension, and Sylvinho has not yet obtained an EU passport. In the case that Su Dong must occupy a foreign aid quota, the Brazilian left back can only be excluded from the roster.
In this situation, would Rijkaard not be nervous?
But what's the point of being nervous? Ronaldinho is absent, and Barcelona can only rely on Su Dong for attack.
He let Iniesta replace the Brazilian and serve as the team's left winger, forming a trident with Sudon and Giuly, Deco, Xavi and Motta formed the midfield iron triangle, Van Bronckhorst, Marcos, Puyol and Belletti formed the back line, and Valdes served as the team's goalkeeper.
His biggest expectation now is Su Dong!
Barcelona's strategy is to fly on both wings. Whether they can fly depends on Su Dong! But this is Su Dong's first official game after joining Barcelona.
Carrying a record transfer fee of 80 million euros, a mountain of pressure, and the expectations of countless fans, can Su Dong, who will not turn 20 until mid-September, handle it?
Can he bear it?
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Su Dong was standing on the court, looking quite relaxed.
This kind of relaxation is more of a mental relaxation.
He knew that this was his first game after joining Barcelona, and he also knew that Ronaldinho was not there and everyone's attention would be on him, but he still felt relaxed.
Or it should be said that he has become accustomed to the mentality of competing under pressure and responsibility.
Turning his head, Su Dong looked at Iniesta, who was standing in the center circle with him and looked quite nervous, and he couldn't help laughing.
He had heard a lot of news about Iniesta from Messi, and knew that this Barcelona youth training product was not Catalan. He even almost left Barcelona and joined another team, but in the end he chose to stay.
With his excellent performance in the warm-up matches and his comprehensive characteristics, he can play as an attacking midfielder and left winger. In addition, Luis Garcia transferred to Liverpool, so he was finally able to play as a starter in the first round of the new season.
"Are you nervous?" Su Dong asked with concern.
Iniesta raised his head and looked at the player who was younger than himself but had already created the highest transfer fee in the history of world football. His heart was full of admiration. After hearing his question, he nodded slightly.
"It's okay. When you don't know what to do, just pass the ball to me!" Su Dong instructed confidently.
Iniesta was slightly stunned, but soon understood Su Dong's intention.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome." Su Dongman replied nonchalantly.
Iniesta looked at Su Dong with gratitude and found that he was really tall and strong. Just by looking at him and thinking about what he had just said, he really felt a sense of security and protection in his heart.
But it just so happened that Su Dong and he were both born in 1984, four months later than him.
It may sound a bit inappropriate for an elder to be protected by a younger one, but Iniesta didn't feel the slightest sense of incongruity at this moment.
Su Dong was also very sincere, which made him unable to resist at all.
"Are you scared?" Iniesta suddenly asked.
Su Dong looked at Iniesta, smiled and said, "I used to be scared, but now... not anymore."
"Why?"
"Because I found that fear is useless, so before every game, no matter how important it is, no matter how strong the opponent is, I will hide my fear and nervousness deep inside, in a place where even I can't find it."
Iniesta didn't understand. How could he not find it? Seeing Iniesta's silly and cute appearance, Su Dong couldn't help laughing. He reached out and touched Iniesta's head. The Spaniard was about the same height as Messi, so it was very easy to touch.
"Give me an assist and I'll tell you!"
After touching it, Su Dong found that the Spaniards' heads were also very comfortable to touch, and were not inferior to the long hair of the Argentines.
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When the game started, everyone was surprised to find that Rijkaard and Ten Cate were sitting on two white chairs.
This is particularly eye-catching in the green football field.
The two Barcelona coaches must have felt the gazes of everyone at the scene. They felt very awkward and on pins and needles.
But once the game started, they quickly put all of this behind them.
…
After all, it was the first game of the new season, so both teams started off cautiously.
Needless to say, the home team had no choice but to be cautious when facing the powerful Barcelona.
Barcelona's problems are more internal. Ronaldinho's absence requires Barcelona's entire offense to be re-adjusted.
It is also a good idea to start cautiously and steadily, slowly adjust the game, and let the players gradually find the rhythm of the game.
But in the seventh minute, Barcelona, playing away, took the lead in launching a threatening attack.
After getting the ball on the left, Iniesta dribbled forward and forced a breakthrough. While being entangled by two opposing defenders, he made a straight pass and sent the ball to the left side of the penalty area.
Su Dong used his body to push away the opponent's central defender Kasa, received a direct pass from Iniesta on the left side of the penalty area, stopped the ball and shot directly with his left foot, making the first shot of the game.
The shot was powerful, fast and at a tricky angle, forcing the opponent's goalkeeper Awat to fly and save the ball with one hand, blocking it out of the baseline.
"Wow!" Su Dong clenched his fists and roared.
The 18,000 fans in the stadium screamed in surprise.
If this ball goes in, it would be really scary! Rijkaard and Ten Cate on the sidelines stood up from their lounge chairs, not even caring about the chairs behind them falling down. But when they saw that Su Dong's shot didn't go in, they were a little disappointed.
"Barcelona's attack was very beautiful this time. Whether it was the breakthrough pass from the left-wing young player Iniesta or the powerful shot from Su Dong in the penalty area, it was very impressive."
“It’s worth noting that both players were born in 1984.”
Although he did not score a goal, Su Dong still gave Iniesta a thumbs up from afar when he turned and ran out of the penalty area.
Well done! Iniesta applauded Su Dong with a smile on his face.
It seemed that he was not as nervous as before.
Sometimes, that's just how football games are.
Shooting is not just about scoring goals and points, it often has the effect of calming people down.
Just like this time, Su Dong's shot made Iniesta clearly realize that he had performed well and this kind of pass could create a shooting opportunity.
With Su Dong's shot, Barcelona's attack began to come alive.
Just one minute later, Su Dong retreated and passed the ball back with his back. Deco suddenly made a run and after receiving the pass from Su Dong, he rushed directly to the front of the penalty area and suddenly made a long shot, threatening Santander Racing's goal again.
Unfortunately, the shot was slightly off target.
After two consecutive attacks, Barcelona players gradually stabilized their position and minds.
The game started to proceed in an orderly manner. Deco, Xavi and Motta patiently controlled the midfield and the ball, while Sudon, Iniesta and Giuly kept running in the frontcourt, waiting for opportunities.
Barcelona's goal-scoring machine began to operate slowly, with all its components closely integrated and connected to each other.
Racing Santander quickly fell behind and was forced to defend tightly.
(End of this chapter)
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