Greatest of All Legends

Chapter 462: Starting Line-up Debut I

***24th January 2021***

The Uventus arrives at their home stadium, the Allianz Arena, for the next step in their season campaign which was against Bologna.

Having shortened the points difference between themselves and Inter Milan at the top of the table, they arrived with the determination to build off of that and take all the three points from this match as well.

With strong minds, they walked into the stadium, some of them waving at the cameras as they walked by.

After a quick warm up on the pitch, the players went back to the locker room for a finalization of the line-up.

The manager had already informed the players of the line up, but these things could change at any time.

This time though, there weren’t any changes to be made and the bench players left fiirst while the players in the starting lineup headed to the tunnel to await their cue.

A few minutes later, the match kicked off and the fans cheered in excitement.

Jason watched the match from the bench, his face impassive.

He had not been selected in the starting lineup and could only accept that the manager did not yet feel that he was ready for that responsibility yet.

Unfortunately he couldn’t do much to change that other than to keep doing what he was already doing while waiting patiently.

As long as he kept doing well, then it would inevitably happen, the only thing to wonder was when it would happen.

On the field, the match continued excitedly, exciting the fans and keeping their moods up.

The Uventus fans did not have to wait long for their team to give them something to shout about as in the 15th minute, Arthur connected with a pass from Kulusevski and sent a low drive at the the goal from the edge of the box.

The Bologna goalkeeper immediately burst into action, but he couldn’t reach the ball and it rolled into the bottom corner, giving Uventus the lead.

The crowd immediately burst out shouting while the the commentator did his best to be heard while commenting on the goal.

The Uventus players soaked it all in as they celebrated their goal with almost reckless abandon, but the celebrations didn’t take too long and the match soon continued.

After already getting one goal, the Uventus players were intent on getting another, almost desperate, and they sent waves of attack at their opponents, but the Bologna players desperately resisted their opponents whilst also doing their bit to try and get an equalizer.

However, despite the efforts of the two teams, the match scores remained at 1:0 when the referee blew his whistle for half-time.

The players trotted off the field with heavy breaths, but active minds and went to get their rest, already thinking about how they would play to achieve their goals in the second half.

Fifteen minutes quickly flew by and the players were back on the field for the second half.

The referee’s whistle went off and the match resumed.

Once again, the Uventus team commenced trying to further their lead while the Bologna team had the arduous task of stopping them from doing that all while trying to get an equalizer for themselves.

In the end, the Bologna team couldn’t keep up with such a tough duty and during a Uventus corner in the 77th minute, they slipped up and gave the Uventus team a chance to rebound a corner kick.

After the ball had initially been sent flying in, Chjellini had gotten his head to it and sent it at goal, but the Bologna goal keeper had been at alert and had punched the ball back from whence it came.

But before the Bologna defenders could reach the ball and clear it away from the danger zone, Mckennie got to it first and after quickly controlling it in frenzy, he hit it back at the goal.

This time, the ball found the back of the net and the Uventus crowd went wild again as their players celebrated the second goal.

Jason and the other bench buddies also did their own celebrations on the bench as well.

Considering that it was already the 77th minute and the manager hadn’t even told him to warm up, Jason figured that he probably wouldn’t be featuring in the match at all.

It dampened his mood a bit, but then, these things happened in football and he wasn’t going to act like a spoilt child over not getting to play every time.

Even players like Messi and Ronaldo were on the bench from time to time, so someone like him didn’t even have the right to complain.

He was just a loan player in the team for now and it wasn’t like the team was lacking for players in that position so it would be weirder if he became a first choice right from the start.

Having come to terms with what was happening, Jason supportively watched his teammates play and hoped for them to score even more.

Fortunately for the Bologna team, they managed to hold out for the rest of the match, keeping the scores at just 2:0.

When the final whistle was blown, the Uventus fans erupted in cheers as they had won the match and we’re taking all three points, bringing them to the same number of points with Inter Milan in the no. 1 spot on the table.

Of course, the Inter Milan team hadn’t played their match yet and as long as they won their own game, they would once again take an advantage of three points.

Even now, they had an advantage in the goal difference ranking as well, giving them a strong hold on the no. 1 spot, however, the Uventus fans didn’t care that for the moment and were just happy that their team had won.

The manager took to the field to congratulate the players and also to celebrate with the fans and the stadium was quickly filled with even more cheering for a while.

Not playing in the match hadn’t gotten to him and Jason also congratulated and commended the guys that played before they all went to the locker room.

****

***27th January 2021***

The days had flown by after that day and the Uventus players who had been bolstered by their win had their morales flying to the sky at the moment.

The mood at the training ground was good and was usually full of laughs despite everyone training hard and determinedly.

The solemnity of their goals didn’t affect them and the players weren’t showing any signs of bucking under the pressure that was the expectations they and the fans had for the season.

Today was another matchday for the Uventus team and they had a Coppa Italia match against SPAL at the Allianz Arena and they were ready to give their opponents hell.

The match was still a ways away and the players were still at the Continassa for the tactical meeting for the match.

All the players who would be involved in the squad had already been informed by the list on the notice board the day before and they were now all seated in the meeting room, waiting for the manager to arrive.

They didn’t have to wait long as Pirlo walked in with his team a few minutes later and the slightly rowdy room became a lot less louder immediately.

“Good morning, it’s still morning is it?” Pirlo greeted as he walked, unsure and quickly holding up his watch to check.

“It’s 12:15,” a voice came from among the players and the manager confirmed with his watch.

“Then afternoon,I guess,”

“I see you’re all looking springly,” Pirlo remarked, putting his things down on a seat in front and grabbing a marker.

“Good to see you looking ready to give our opponents hell, I’m thinking the same thing, so without further ado, let’s get right into the game plan,” Pirlo said and unplugged the marker in his hands, ready to scribble on the board.

“Our team is obviously a weaker side and shouldn’t present too much of a challenge, but I expect you to play against them like you are playing against Manchester City,”

“We move fast, we hit them hard, we kill them quickly and we do not!… Give them any chances of coming back,” Pirlo said dramatically, emphasizing the last part of the sentence.

“Is that clear?” Pirlo asked the players and they responded affirmatively, some of them wondering which movies their manager had been watching in his free time.

“Let’s get right into our formation,”

“Due to certain circumstances, I have selected the use of a 4-3-3 attacking formation in this match,” Pirlo paused a bit to let that sink in before continuing.

“This will feature the usual back four, two central midfielders at both sides and an attacking midfielder who has both attacking and midfield duties, and then we will have three players upfront as compared to the usual two,”

“The players in the starting lineup are Gigi Buffon as goalkeeper, Demiral and Dragusin as the two center backs and Di Pardo along with Frambotta in the right and left back positions respectively,” Pirlo stated, most of the players he called were youth players who he would be giving a chance in the match due to the circumstances.

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