Chapter 72 - Half-Time (2/2)

“Awesome!”

“I’m speechless!”

“That’s right. If that had been me, I wouldn’t even dare to dive for it—I’d hit the post!”

“That’s the difference between a starter and a reserve!”

Unexpectedly, Xia Bo was not laughing. He did not accept the praises unabashedly, and say things like, “A mere trifle!”, “Not even worth mentioning!” or “Small problem”.

Instead, with a serious look, he said, “Actually, I only knew that I should try to save it at the time, but I never thought that I actually could…”

Everyone was left dumbfounded for a few moments before they laughed out loud.

“Damn! Xia Bo has changed today. Since when did he become humble?”

“Maybe he’s possessed?”

“Hey! Don’t say such unlucky things!”

Liu Wei clapped his hands once, and the room fell silent in an instant.

“The first half was pretty much a success. We have the lead and we’ve stopped their assault. So, there will be no change to our tactics in the second half. But, keep an eye on Yu De just the same. Don’t relax against him just because he looks tired. I believe everyone managed to see his performance just now? Never underestimate him while you stay on Zhang Jun.”

This prompted a little commotion amongst the team members. They witnessed how Ren Yu De shook two of their guys off before crossing the ball with utmost precision despite being pressured by Shi Yan.

Shi Yan could still see it clearly: how Ren Yu De played a stepover and moved one step forward. Stepover and move. Stepover and move. Stepover and move.

When he played another stepover and Shi Yan thought he would move ahead as usual, the cross came, blindsiding him.

“I won’t let him off even if he can’t stand!” Shi Yan muttered quietly.

Fan Cunjie had taken notice of that No.9 too; his tricks were on par with his own although they were not of the same mold. His own dribbles would signal an attack and they were used to quickly shake his markers off.

On the other hand, Ren Yu De was an adept trickster who would start off with a string of feints to trap an opponent. He would then patiently wait for the right timing to get away. That was the case with Su Rui, who was deceived by Yu De’s “pulling mistake” and lost his chance.

Still, his fatal weakness was his physical endurance—it was most likely that he would not be much of a danger on the pitch in the second half.

Zhang Jun removed his captain armband and examined it carefully in his hand.

Yang Pan did that once before too. Back then, he said that he was unfit to wear it, but he had proved to be a fine captain. For Zhang Jun, wearing it had always seemed so cool; he never thought that it was a responsibility and such an immense one at that.

They were behind and Ren Yu De was fatigued—he would probably not last the entire second half. On top of that, Zhang Jun was bogged down by offside traps himself and was at his wit’s end.

What a poor excuse for a captain!

Liang Ke looked at his watch; time was almost up.

“Yuan Shuai, take Ren Yu De’s place in the second half.”

But just as he uttered those words, Ren Yu De who was covering his face with a towel and lying on the bench, sat up in one breath.

“I can still play,” he told his coach with determination.

He was still breathing heavily at this point. Liang Ke looked at him and then at his watch. This went on for a few cycles before the coach nodded.

“Alright. But, I’ll sub you off the moment you can’t keep up.”

“You have that much faith in Zhang Jun?” Zhang Yang asked Li Yongle. “His opponent’s Dingding. They’re unlike the others before! Their offside strategy in the first half have been very successful too…”

“Zhang Jun’s diving header has reassured me,” Li Yongle answered. “He will surprise us in the second half. We just have to wait and see…”

At the stands, two Shu Guang students were arguing.

“Yang Pan is guaranteed to return after the half-time break. Maybe he’s in the locker room changing right now!”

“Rubbish! Yang Pan can’t get back in time! It’s better to cheer for the 11 players than expect his return to save the day!”

“Hmph! Shu Guang can’t beat Dingding without Yang Pan! When the time comes, Yang Pan will soar down from the skies and score with a single shot…”

“You’ve watched too many martial arts movies, idiot!”

“Hey! What are you saying…”

“Both of you shut up!” Liu Qi could not stand the squabble and he broke it up with a roar. “Save your breath for the second half!”

“Let’s go!” Liang Ke clapped his hands and shouted, bringing his team as well as himself into attention.

The squad shuffled out of the door and walked onto the pitch.

Zhang Jun rose and caught Su Fei’s stare.

The pair did not say a word to each other during the break; their glance however, meant everything.

He reattached the captain’s armband, took a deep breath and went out the door. At the end of the hallway, where thunderous applause filled the area, the sunlit field was his battlefield.