Fox in the Penalty Area

The "Cornerstone" of No. 18

Janus Edman looked out the car window and saw the flat, low cityscape of Madrid.

The city of Madrid is located on the flat Meseta plateau, and it feels like you can see the horizon at a glance.

"This scene really seems familiar..." Edelman said with emotion.

"You're talking nonsense, we just came here twenty days ago." John Sett, who was next to him, couldn't help but complain.

Edelman laughed when he heard this, and then he asked Seth: "John, have you read Hu's interview?"

"I saw it. Is there anyone who hasn't seen it?"

"Then what do you think? Do you think what he said is true or false?"

"All in? That must be true."

"No, I mean in the end, he thought being two goals behind was not too big to catch up."

John Settle thought about it and then said, "I think he's telling the truth."

"Really?" Edman's eyes widened, "But historical records tell us that only one team has done it since the Champions League was restructured..."

"You are talking about history, I am talking about what Hu thinks. For Hu, what he said is indeed true, unlike our head coach who deliberately lied so that the Pirates would misjudge." said. "Do you still expect Hu to surrender? According to historical performance, a team that is two goals behind in the first round of the semifinals will definitely not be able to advance to the finals, so the Pirates will definitely lose this time?"

"Of course I didn't mean that..." Edman waved his hands repeatedly. "I'm just curious, does Hu really believe this? They can only attack at home. Hu's scoring ability is very good. They will definitely score our goals. But they pressed the attack, and there was no space behind them, and there was no Lamy. Reiss Town...do they think our offense is bad?"

Edelman said this very confidently.

His recent state indeed supports his statement.

In the last three games, two league games and one Champions League game, he has scored a total of seven goals.

Averaging more than two goals per game.

This performance allowed him to completely leave Becker behind in the Bundesliga scorer list. With the last round of the league left, there is no suspense for him to win the league golden boot.

Edman also ranks second in the Champions League scorer list with 11 goals, second only to Hulay who scored 15 goals.

Considering that he was only twenty years old, this performance was simply terrifying.

It’s no wonder that the German media believes that as long as Edman is not injured, his future achievements will definitely be higher than Hulay’s.

In this World Cup, Edman is also very likely to partner with Becker on the German striker, giving the German tank the most terrifying striker firepower. However, Soren Gribsch is absent due to injury, and his combat effectiveness against the German national team will be huge. The loss may be difficult for Edman + Becker to make up for.

The German media believes that Edman's biggest advantage over Hulay is his better physical fitness, which gives him more possibilities and a higher ceiling than Hulay.

After all, physical condition is the greatest talent, and it is difficult to change through acquired efforts.

For example, no matter how hard Hu Lai trains scientifically, he can't be as tall as 1.89 meters, right? It is absolutely impossible for him to gain weight to eighty-eight kilograms.

Hu Lai's advantage is that it is relatively flexible.

But if he has a body as domineering as Edman, why does he need to be flexible?

On the football field, flexibility is just a choice for those who are not strong enough.

Set said to this young talent that all Germany is optimistic about: "Isn't that good? We play against each other, they can score, and we can score. And we still have two more goals than them, and the advantage is still there. our side."

Edelman thinks Sett is right.

No matter what Hulay thinks, as Parotti said, the whole world knows what the Madrid Pirates will do in the second round.

But the whole world didn't know what Ruerrhein would do.

At that time, we will calculate whether they have the intention or not, and Ruhr Rhein will still have a greater chance of advancing.

Thinking of this, Edman turned to look out the window again.

He could already see the tall exterior walls of Pirates Park.

He also saw the dense crowds of Pirates fans walking towards the stadium along the road.

They are dressed in blue, like flowing water.

※※※

Li Qingqing was sitting in a box at Pirates Park, looking around curiously.

"Is it any different from the boxes at Crown Stadium?" Song Jiajia asked from the side.

Hu Lai did not let Li Qingqing come to watch the game alone, but asked Song Jiajia to accompany Li Qingqing.

After all, Li Qingqing was unfamiliar with this stadium. She might not even know how to get to her box.

"There's no difference, everything is there." After looking at it, Li Qingqing turned his attention to the court again.

Just now, the players from both sides finished their last warm-up before the game and returned to the locker room.

There is no one else on the field now except for the staff inspecting the turf.

"A little nervous?" Song Jiajia asked again when he saw her staring at the empty turf in a daze.

Li Qingqing nodded: "A little bit."

"Worried about the pirates being eliminated?"

"No, I'm worried about Hu Lai getting hurt."

After Luo Kai was injured yesterday, everyone's concern for Hu Lai's health has increased by an order of magnitude. It is obviously a life and death battle for Madrid Pirates, but Chinese fans are concerned about whether Hu Lai will be injured.

Some domestic Pirates fans even expressed their willingness to sacrifice the Madrid Pirates in exchange for a healthy Hu Lai.

Some fans called on everyone to calm down and stop scolding Hu Lai if he really performed poorly in the game. To understand what Hu Lai has done at this time, even if he does not work hard, it is normal. After all, no one wants to see Hu Lai injured before the World Cup.

Some people also called on Chinese fans to unite. If there are comments attacking Hu Lai abroad after losing the game, they must go out and confront them head-on. They must not let those people wantonly smear our football hero!

But both Li Qingqing and Song Jiajia know that if Hu Lai plays, there is absolutely no way he will not work hard and he will definitely give his best.

Just like he said in the interview before the game.

Since you have to work hard, the possibility of injury is particularly high.

Song Jiajia had no way to reassure Li Qingqing, so she could only say half-jokingly: "Don't worry, that kid is a very thief, he won't be hurt that easily."

Li Qingqing sighed: "Fortunately, the opponent in this game is not a Korean team..."

Song Jiajia had a question mark: "This is the Champions League, not the AFC Champions League."

"I know, I just want to blackmail the Koreans." Li Qingqing nodded.

Song Jiajia was speechless...

※※※

Leroy Kuhn stood in the visiting team's locker room at Pirates Park and was saying to the players in front of him:

"I know that some fans and media deliberately interpreted Hu's words in the interview before the game out of fun. I admit that after they misinterpreted things, things did become interesting. But you should It’s clear that today’s game is not interesting at all.”

When he said this, his expression was very serious and he didn't mean to be funny at all.

Everything stems from the last words Hu Lai said in the interview:

"It's just two balls, not too big to catch up with."

Then it was re-created by fans and media online...

Many people use secondary creation to create evil spirits.

After all, it's "just" two goals ahead...

——Ah, right, right, Catalonia United was "only" ahead of Tramed by two goals in the first round.

"In a sense, the nonsense is correct. With a two-goal lead, this score is very subtle. It is neither so big that it makes the Pirates lose their fighting spirit, nor is it so small that everyone can see that our victory is not Solid...Today's game hasn't started yet, but as we all know, the Pirates' offense will be very, very fast. But we are not weak either! Believe in your own abilities, we can definitely go to Munich!"

Munich's Iron Dome is the venue for this season's Champions League final.

Kuhn told his players that they can definitely go to Munich, that is, they can definitely reach the final.

"If the Madrid Pirates think that we are arrogant and underestimating our opponent when we are two goals ahead, and they have an opportunity, then let them give it a try!"

※※※

In the home team's locker room at Pirates Park, Parotti had given his final instructions before the start of the game.

He told his players to focus on the offense and not do anything that would affect the offense. Don't argue with the referee, and don't be irritated by your opponent's flagrant foul, thereby falling into the opponent's emotional trap.

If the Pirates score a goal, then everyone goes together to put the football in the center circle and let Ruhrlein kick off quickly.

If Ruhrlein scores a goal, then go and put the football in place yourself.

Wait for the referee to blow the kick-off whistle.

In this game, the Pirates' offensive firepower was squeezed to the extreme.

After Parotti finished speaking, he paused for a moment and wanted to announce the next news, but at this moment, Hu Lai couldn't wait to stand up from his seat and said to his teammates:

"I have a few words to say to everyone."

The chance of this happening to Hu Lai was very low, so when Parotti saw Hu Lai standing up, he swallowed back the words that came to his lips.

We can only make the people outside the door wait a little longer.

Facing a room full of teammates who were looking at him, Hulay said: "First of all, I want to apologize to everyone. When the team needed goals most, I failed to score in two consecutive games. In these two games, I failed to score. The scoring games brought bad results to the team...I failed to fulfill my responsibility and failed to live up to everyone's expectations of me."

After he finished speaking, everyone bowed seriously.

This surprised his teammates, including Parotti.

The latter even said directly: "No, Hu. This is not your problem alone. When it comes to responsibility, it is my responsibility that is greater..."

Hulay shook his head and rejected the comfort from the head coach: "Thank you for your kindness, sir. But I still remember what the captain said to me during halftime of last year's Champions League final. He said: 'Hulay, go and do it for me. We scored!' In those two most critical games, I failed to score for the team. But...here today I promise everyone, and I also promise the captain, that I will try my best to score! I'm not an all-around player, I'm not good enough in many aspects, but I'm confident in scoring goals."

Having said this, he paused for a moment and raised his head slightly, giving the impression that he was looking at people with his chin.

"I think if this game is about goals, we will win!"

"Well said! Hu! Well said!"

After Hulay said this, Joaquin Vela, who had been impatient for a long time, also stood up. In fact, he stood up from his seat when Hulay said halftime of last season's Champions League final.

Now he simply jumped to the center of the locker room to express his support for Hu Lai and shouted to his teammates:

"They all say that the captain is the 'cornerstone of the championship', and they are right! Many times before, we won the championship by standing on the captain's shoulders. But now, it is our turn to carry the captain into the finals and win the championship. ! The captain is the 'cornerstone' of the championship, and we must become the 'cornerstone' of the captain!"

※※※

After Parotti finished his speech, Juan Ramirez, who was standing outside the door, gently put his hand on the door lock handle.

As soon as he heard Parotti calling his name, he pushed the door open and entered.

This was a "surprise" that he and the coaching staff discussed together to give his teammates.

Before this life-and-death battle, he came to the locker room as captain to cheer for his teammates.

Next, he will enter the locker room and cheer up his teammates one by one to cheer them up and prepare to fight Ruhrlein with a bayonet.

But instead of waiting for Parotti to call his name, he heard Hu Lai mention him.

He just stood outside the door and listened quietly to the speeches of the two young people in the locker room.

Then he whispered to second assistant coach Enzo Nacher next to him: "Enzo."

"Huh?" Nahel responded.

"It seems there is no need for me to appear. Tell them for me that I have already booked a ticket to Munich, and I will see them there."

After saying that, he turned around and, with the support of his wife, walked slowly towards the entrance of the box.

Nahel did not call Ramirez, but turned back to watch him and his wife leave.

Behind him, in the locker room across the door, were the maddening roars of the Madrid Pirates players.