owlsbooks Chapter 38 FIFA12
Chapter 38 FIFA12
Once he uttered those words, Li Jing didn't even care about the soreness in his legs.
He didn't want to rupture his Achilles tendon.
He was genuinely a little afraid that Simeone wouldn't fight back against Barcelona.
After all, it's already the middle to late stages of the season.
Atletico Madrid's performance has been poor. Perhaps it would be better to put aside their tough matches and focus on completing their goals for the season.
Li Jing raised his head and stared intently at Simone.
Li Jing offered his suggestion.
"Should we just play like we did against Villarreal and go all out with a high-pressure, attacking style of play throughout the game?"
Upon hearing this, Simone's brows furrowed instantly, forming a deep frown.
Instead of rushing to deny it, he directly pointed out the biggest flaw.
"A counter-offensive?"
Simone raised his voice.
"If we play like that, our defensive line will be pushed extremely far forward."
"Those large, undefended areas in the backfield will be riddled with holes by Messi and Xavi's through balls if we can't break them down!"
Li Jing understood what Simone was saying.
Yes.
If the defense pushes up to midfield, Messi will be one-on-one with the goalkeeper if he breaks the offside trap.
Just as the two were stuck in a tactical dead end and the atmosphere became tense again.
Courtois, sitting on the massage bed in the middle, suddenly raised his upper body.
The big guy ignored everything and flipped over, forcefully slapping his broad chest twice.
"Bang! Bang!"
Courtois's face was full of arrogant confidence.
He pointed to his incredibly long arms and shouted at Simone and Li Jing.
"Boss! Li! What are you afraid of!"
Courtois had a very loud voice, so loud that the physiotherapists in the room stopped what they were doing.
"Leave it to me! You guys just focus on creating beautiful attacking plays up front! I'll handle everything in the back!"
He's been frustrated for half a season, conceding so many goals. Now that the defense has tightened up, he's getting no chance to shine.
He had long wanted to get his revenge against those world-class strikers and live up to his reputation as a world-class goalkeeper.
Simeone stared at the bloated Belgian goalkeeper for two seconds.
Surprisingly, the old man didn't make any sarcastic remarks or refute this time.
Simone turned his head back and lay back down on the mattress.
His voice was extremely low, completely devoid of his usual irritability; instead, he spoke calmly and subdued.
"Lee, Thibault."
Simone's voice echoed in the room.
"Since we're so confident, we must win the Europa League title as well."
Gabby stood by the wall, his movement of putting on his shoes frozen in mid-air.
Simone continued to add in a calm manner.
Simone tugged at the towel covering his legs.
"I have already signed the performance-based agreement with the senior management."
"If you don't win the championship, next year you'll be in the locker room with a new coach listening to your tactical instructions."
Li Jing and Courtois widened their eyes in surprise as they stared at Simone's retreating figure.
A performance-based agreement?
Is this old man actually betting his entire coaching career on Atletico Madrid's messy Europa League title?
No wonder he kept pushing his key players forward relentlessly even after winning by four goals. He had no other choice! He was betting his entire future on this team.
If Li Jing hadn't known about Simeone's resume...
One might even suspect that Simeone comes from a family where, if he can't be a good coach, he'll have to go back and inherit the family fortune.
Simone propped himself up on the massage bed and sat up.
The old man picked up the clothes next to him, put them on, and sneered.
"If I can't lead this team to victory the way I do, what's the point of being a head coach?"
Simone jumped to the ground, put on his shoes,
"Finish your physiotherapy quickly, take a shower, and come to the tactics room! Let's figure out how to make Real Sociedad pay the price for an attacking style of play!"
He pushed open the door and walked out without looking back.
Li Jing looked at the closed door, then turned to look at Courtois across the street, who also had his mouth agape.
"He's really going all in."
Li Jing rolled out of bed and stretched her calf muscles, which had already relaxed.
"That old man is absolutely insane."
Gabi walked over and patted Li Jing on the shoulder:
"Atletico Madrid is a haven for lunatics. Aren't you one too?"
Li Jing grinned and smiled.
Yeah, he has the villain system to boost him, plus this crazy coach.
So what if it's Barcelona?
Li Jing simply picked up a white towel, draped it over his shoulder, and waved to the others.
"Let's go, guys, stop standing around."
"They're playing Real Sociedad tomorrow."
……
The Royal Society dressing room.
The group walked out after the meeting had just ended.
In the corridor.
Inigo strode quickly to catch up with Griezmann, who was walking ahead.
He casually pulled a bag of green-packaged gummy bears, which had become slightly soggy from his coat pocket, and shoved it into the bag.
Here, take it!
Inigo slapped Griezmann hard on the back.
"Gezi, the way you were giving out tactics on the podium just now was absolutely awesome!"
Inigo had a big smile on his face.
"You're even helping the head coach with team formations now? That's an incredible improvement."
Griezmann reached out and took the gummy candy, skillfully tearing open the packaging.
He poured out two red gummy candies and threw them directly into his mouth, chewing them with great gusto.
"This is no big deal."
Griezmann casually remarked, spreading his hands dismissively.
"Marking down key players, shutting down their passing lanes, and winning possession early – isn't that the most basic skill in football?"
Inigo moved closer to him with extreme admiration, lowering his voice.
"Stop pretending, bro. Where did you learn this advanced theory?"
Did you secretly read some tactical mastermind's autobiography in your dorm? Or Mourinho's top-secret defensive notes? I'd like to borrow it and take a look too.
Griezmann stopped in his tracks.
He turned his head and looked at Inigo, whose face was full of thirst for knowledge, and shook his head vigorously.
"Huh?" Griezmann smirked.
"What are you babbling about?"
"So where did you get this tactic from?"
Inigo was completely confused, his brows furrowed tightly.
Griezmann swallowed the candy in his mouth, his face radiating utter nonchalance.
"Um... FIFA 12."
Inigo froze on the spot.
He stared at Griezmann for a full two seconds, just about to unleash a curse.
Griezmann had already run backwards towards the training field, stuffing all the gummy candies into his mouth as he ran.
"Hurry up, Inigo!"
……