I am practicing in Tokyo

Chapter 61 Rotation

"Are you thinking about how to maintain players' physical fitness?"

Coach Yasuda on the side saw what was on Coach Fukai's mind and asked.

"Hey! How to adjust if you rotate players?"

Touching the back of his head in embarrassment, Coach Shenjing asked his mentor for advice.

"In the fourth round, Shogo Fukuda will rotate, and in the fifth round, Tatsuya Suhara will rotate. Everyone else, except Fujii Shudo, can be replaced at will."

Coach Yasuda's answer surprised Fukai. Will this kind of kicking put too much pressure on Fujii? Everyone knows that he is in good health, but he can't use it to his death.

"Look at Fujii's appearance. Does he feel a little tired? An opponent of this level cannot consume much of his energy. He has not used his full strength yet."

Coach Yasuda, a wily coach, could tell at a glance that Fujii was training on the field just to blend in with the crowd and not stand out.

"Actually, I hope he can lose a game, so as to inspire him to become stronger and play professional football. I have always carried the contract with me, but..."

Coach Yasuda glanced at the young players who were training seriously and said regretfully.

"When you see these young people who devote themselves wholeheartedly to football, you will feel that they are too complicated, too obsessed with interests, and have forgotten their true intentions."

"It's better to look forward to them and try their best to compete for the championship. Let's talk about the rest later."

Coach Yasuda's demeanor became much more relaxed. He, who was not very utilitarian in the first place, put down his obsession and, together with Fukai, silently paid attention to the young men sweating on the field.

——

In the tense fourth round, Hachioji High School faced off against Maebashi Ikuei High School.

Maebashi Ikuei High School from Gunma Prefecture has always been a strong contender in the national competition. Wingers Naoya Koike and Rentaro Moriya performed hat tricks in the third and second rounds respectively. The formation 433 was biased toward attack, with both wings flying together.

It's hard for a high school team to defend.

At the beginning of the game, the two wingers Naoya Koike and Rentaro Moriya took advantage of the first serve and scored a goal. Itsuki Fujii stopped Naoya Koike, but no one could restrain Rentaro Moriya on the other side.

It was one of the few situations where Hachioji High School lost the ball first.

A bit difficult?

Fujii observes the situation on the field. He can lock down one side, but the defense on the other side is a defense that has no presence for either of the two wingers.

Their winger Shogo Fukuda is on the bench this round, and the starting winger is the original winger Yoshiyuki Konishi. The threat level has dropped by more than one level. Relying on Suhara alone to attack is a big problem.

Captain Nakamura replaced him as the attacking midfielder. Although his performance was better than that of the defensive midfielder, he was only barely competent. It was impossible to expect his performance to be outstanding.

If this continues, we will still lose the ball!

Fujii simply judged the situation. The opponents in the national competition all fought their way through the local competition and could advance to the fourth round of the eight-to-four competition. Needless to say, the level of Maebashi Ikuei High School, except for Fukuda Shogo and

Qi Yuan, it will be very difficult for the remaining people to ensure that there are no mistakes. To come forward and show off is just a fantasy and unrealistic.

Coach Shenjing, I'm sorry, your tactics are no longer suitable for the current environment.

He looked at Coach Fukai on the bench. If he stayed in the defensive midfielder position, he would lose several goals later. Since he couldn't defend him, he should attack it.

Making such a decision, Fujii left his position for the first time, ran to the midfield, and called on his teammates to pass the ball to him.

Fujii-san, are you going to attack with the ball?

Captain Nakamura, who was holding the ball, was stunned for a moment, but he still passed the ball over. Fujii Shu's protection of the ball never saw anyone successfully steal it at his feet.

"Oh, did you see it? It feels like you discovered it at about the same time as me."

Coach Yasuda, who was sitting on the bench as a team consultant, made a sound of exclamation. Coach Fukai next to him looked confused and didn't know what he was talking about.

"That's right. With his ability, an opponent of this level should not be limited to a certain position. At least he is fully capable of playing as a free agent in the midfield and frontcourt."

Coach Yasuda’s soliloquy was like heavenly scripture to Coach Fukai, and he curiously asked his mentor.

"Fujii-ki's kick like this won't mess up our formation?"

"If it were a competition like the Premier League and La Liga, it would indeed be like this, but this is an amateur high school competition. Even the team of domestic hegemon Aomori Yamada cannot beat the U16 youth training team of other clubs, and Fujii Shu, he has already He has the strength of the core players of the middle and upper reaches of the Premier League, and may even be stronger."

Turning his head to look at the deep well, Coach Yasuda gave his disciple a strange look and said.

"You don't think that an island high school team that can't win the U16 youth training of a Premier League club can restrict a top Premier League player, right?"

The situation on the field was still changing. Fujii took the initiative to attack with the ball, knocked away the opponent's central defender who was intercepting, faced the full-back who was filling in, and chose to pass the ball across to Suhara in the middle. Suhara received the ball and struck with the ball tacitly. When he came to the penalty area, he suddenly passed the ball back to Fujii's feet.

It’s not for nothing!

Fujii has already run out of space, and Suhara's ball is not a blind pass. He attracts most of the opponent's defensive players, and directly passes through the opponent's defense with a short pass to the side before the goal.

In the open position, Fujii had enough time to take off his feet, lower his center of gravity, and hit the ball with the outside instep. This was a move he only realized when he reached LV4. It originated from Quaresma's outside instep of his right leg and shot the ball very fast. , and it has an amazing arc that can easily bypass the goalkeeper's fingers.

The football drew a curved arc in mid-air. The goalkeeper Ikuei Maebashi flew to save the ball, but the ball missed him. Before he could hit the ground, the football flew into the goal and the score was tied.

"Hahaha! My passing is so clever! Are you stupid?"

Suhara, who obviously only got one assist, was more excited than Fujii, who scored the goal. He laughed wildly with his hands on his hips and spoke in an arrogant tone.

"We haven't overtaken you yet, don't get carried away."

Fujii Shu stepped forward and knocked a chestnut from Suhara and said calmly.

Maebashi Ikuei's two star wingers were not affected by Fujii Shu's goal. At the 38th minute of the first half, they made another exquisite dribbling cooperation to bypass the Hachioji High School defender. The assistant was caught off guard. Both opposing defenders had good shooting skills. After pulling apart one to the left and the other to the right, he didn't know who to guard.

At the end, Naoya Koike on the left, a short player with long flowing hair, received a pass from Rentaro Moriya on the right and almost scored a goal in front of an empty goal, once again leading Hachioji High School by one goal.

"Don't panic, we can respond to them."

Fujii advised Suhara, who wanted to retreat to the backcourt to participate in defense, that at this time, what is needed is offense.

(End of chapter)