Chapter 38 Scoring twice (Ch 38)

“Ronaldo!!!”
“He grabbed the second point in the penalty area and used a beautiful volley to help Cruzeiro take the lead!”
“This young man, who is called the successor of Pele, showed his excellent shooting sense in his first professional league game and also scored his first goal in his professional career!”
“However, Ronaldo also has to thank his U20 teammate, Luo Yi from Macau. His free kick was so powerful that goalkeeper Kaufmann had to hit the ball out, giving Ronaldo the chance to shoot.”
“Oh my God. Look at the replay. The ball was so fast! It seems that Vampeta can’t be blamed for shrinking his head. Ask yourself, no one would dare to head a shot like that. It’s really terrible!”
“Maybe before the game, some people will doubt why Mr. Alberto chose such a starting lineup, including me. But now, the doubts should be gone.”
“These two young players who were just promoted from the U20 teamed up to score a beautiful goal!”
The commentator was very excited, and not far away, thousands of Cruzeiro fans who had traveled with the team were roaring with passion that filled the entire stadium!
The audience jumped up from their seats, and the exclamations, applause and screams mixed together as if to blow the roof of the stadium off.
At this moment, Cruzeiro took the initiative and suppressed the noise of the home team Victoria fans.
On the field, Ronaldo was obviously the most excited.
He opened his arms and ran on the green field like an eagle spreading its wings.
At the same time, a bright smile broke out on his face, a pure, heartfelt joy, as if all the pressure and burdens had disappeared at this moment.
This is Ronaldo’s most classic celebration!
Although this is also a “community-level celebration”, his smile can infect everyone.
Also because he scored so many and so many wonderful goals, even this unremarkable celebration will be deeply engraved in the memory of fans in the future and become an eternal classic.
“Congratulations, Ronaldo!” After his teammates rushed up to celebrate Ronaldo’s goal, Luo Yi also ran up and patted Ronaldo’s butt happily.
“Haha, it’s also your credit!” Ronaldo didn’t want to suffer a loss, and slapped Luo Yi on the butt with his backhand, “You are really my lucky star. With you around, I can always score goals!”
“You are still my cheat!” Luo Yi thought, but said, “You are the best at fighting. If it were me, I would definitely shoot down the sun in the sky with this volley!”
The two hugged each other and laughed.
They really deserve to be happy. After all, such a goal really made a good start for their careers!
As the two walked towards their own half, Ronaldo asked again: “Why didn’t your free kick just now have a curve? And you asked me to go for it. Was it premeditated?”
Luo Yi answered honestly: “No, I just wanted to try my luck. I felt that from such a long distance, with my current free kick ability, it might be difficult to directly score the Brazilian goalkeeper’s goal, so I just hit it with all my strength. I bet that he can’t save it, and at the same time I bet that you can get the second point!”
“You trust me so much?” Ronaldo grinned again, “I guess I’ll have to treat you to a meal after the game…”
—————–
“Next, pay attention to defense! They will definitely press forward, we must defend well first, and then counterattack when we have the chance!”
On the sidelines, head coach Alberto also stood up and gave the latest instructions to the players on the field.
Don’t blame him for being conservative. He was only thinking about defending after playing for more than ten minutes.
Cruzeiro plays away today, and has a newly-formed lineup.
Although he is pleased with the performance of this lineup so far, getting three points is what a head coach under great pressure should consider first.
All the players on the field nodded to Alberto to show that they had received his message.
Cerezo even ran to Luo Yi’s side and whispered: “We will focus on defense next. It will be hard for you. Because I may not be able to intercept in time…”
“It’s okay. This is what I should do.” Luo Yi said with a smile, “Don’t worry. The boss sent the two of us in the starting lineup to bring out our respective strengths. You just organize the midfield, and I’ll be in charge of interception.”
Cerezo also grinned when he heard this, and the two mustaches above his lips curled up slightly, as if he was dancing a silent dance.
He didn’t say anything else, but just patted Luo Yi’s shoulder hard to express his appreciation for him.
With such a “little brother” by my side, what more could I ask for!
After the game resumed, Victoria obviously stepped up its offensive and its formation pressed forward frequently.
Cruzeiro strictly followed the head coach’s requirements and began to shrink the formation, compress the space and actively defend.
Especially in the midfield, today’s two wingers Aurelio and Flores also moved closer to the center to strengthen control over the midfield.
As for the two sides, it was mainly left to the two full-backs to handle, and Luo Yi was in the position of defensive midfielder to “put out fires” on all sides.
This arrangement is to build a castle between Cruzeiro’s goalkeeper and central defender, and never let the opponent face their own central defender line easily.
Victoria wanted to walk to both sides, but she had to face Luo Yi, the handsome guy who was everywhere.
This made it very difficult for the home team to play.
They are not a strong team in themselves, and offensive battles are not their forte.
Faced with the “iron bucket formation” that Cruzeiro had set up so early, there was nothing they could do.
What’s even more annoying is that Cruzeiro is not actually in a 100% retreat.
Don’t forget, they have a passing expert like Cerezo in the midfield, and a very fast “running forward” like Ronaldo on the front line!
Therefore, even though Cruzeiro seemed to have tightened the fence to prevent opponents from getting in during this period, they would open the fence from time to time and let the dog bite people!
Uh… it seems disrespectful to Ronaldo to say that. Never mind, foreigners won’t think it’s an insult anyway.
When the game had been going on for half an hour, or 30 minutes, the patient Cruzeiro finally found an opportunity.
It was Luo Yi again, who got the ball with an elegant Nesta-like tackle.
At this time, on both sides of him, left-back Renato and right-back Belletti both started instantly and joined in!
Especially Renato on the left, he waved at Luo Yi: “Quick, pass it to me!”
Luo Yi raised his head and took a look, pretending to pass it on.
The opposing midfielder Vampeta felt that he had a chance to intercept, so he made a flying tackle!
But Luo Yi pretended to pass the ball, and after a feint, he pulled the ball to his left foot, and then turned around decisively and rushed forward with the ball!
This was beyond everyone’s expectations, whether it was the Cruzeiro or Vitoria players.
Because from the first half hour of the game, Luo Yi showed a notable characteristic, which is that he is not greedy for the ball at all.
Whether he steals the ball or receives it from his teammates, he almost always transfers the ball immediately and will not let the ball stay on his feet for even a second longer.
But with this charge, he instantly moved the front line forward nearly ten meters.
Victoria’s midfield and backcourt defense were quickly mobilized. The midfielder double-teamed Luo Yi at the first opportunity, and the players on both wings also quickly began to move inwards.
But at this moment, Luo Yi chose to pass the ball.
The target of the pass was none other than their own midfield engine – Cerezo!
At this time, Cerezo was already waiting in front of the opponent’s penalty area.
After getting the ball, facing the Victoria center back who was rushing towards him, Cerezo took a shooting posture, but the moment his foot touched the ball, the contact point became the arch of his foot.
Then with a gentle push, the ball slipped through the gap between the opposing defenders.
Through ball!
Almost at the same time, Ronaldo, who was pressing the opponent’s last defender, started.
Beautiful off-ball movement, and not offside!
In the next second, the broadcast camera saw Ronaldo gently taking the ball and dribbling towards Victoria’s small penalty area!
Goalkeeper Kaufman rushed out and stretched out his arms to maximize his defensive area.
Because he felt the opponent was about to shoot!
But he didn’t know Ronaldo well enough.
Ronaldo easily dribbled past Kaufman with his right foot, then took a light step forward and brought the ball to Victoria’s goal.
The true meaning of emptiness.
Only then did Ronaldo gently touch the ball with the instep, and the ball slowly rolled across the goal line.
The roar that tested the commentator’s lung capacity sounded again:
“GOAL————————…………!!!”