Soccer: From the 2005 U-20 World Cup
Chapter 44

Game Winning Goal against Juventus!

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Nedvěd, standing to the side, saw it very clearly: when Vieira used a spin to shake off Lin Feng just now, the opponent hadn't been left behind at all. Instead, taking advantage of the blind spot in Vieira's vision after his turn, Lin Feng had suddenly appeared on Vieira's other side.

The latter hadn't even had time to react before the ball was stolen.

This sequence could only be described as Vieira being too careless and underestimating his opponent.

To think he actually tried to use the same trick to toy with the opponent—did he really take the other player for a fool?

While Nedvěd thought this to himself, his movements were not slow in the slightest.

Just as Lin Feng took possession and prepared to sprint, Nedvěd rushed over from the side, intending to provide cover defense for his teammate.

But after gaining control of the ball, Lin Feng chose to accelerate into a sprint immediately.

Facing Nedvěd, who was charging in from the side and rear, Lin Feng used nothing more than a burst of acceleration to evade Nedvěd's pressing.

Nedvěd did not give up, continuing to chase relentlessly behind him.

He hoped his teammates ahead could block Lin Feng for a moment, giving him a chance to catch up and defend.

But facing the charging Emerson, Lin Feng executed an explosive dribble, using unreasonable speed to simply blow past his opponent.

The Brazilian saw the situation was dire and prepared to commit a foul, but he didn't expect the opponent to be prepared; Lin Feng flicked the ball outward, instantly moving it out of his reach for physical contact.

At this point, Emerson could only sigh in admiration; he didn't even have the chance to commit a foul.

Emerson, having been blown past by Lin Feng's speed, had subconsciously slowed down, feeling that the opponent was too fast and he had no chance of catching up.

But just as he gave up, a figure flashed past. Emerson looked closely and saw it was his teammate, Nedvěd.

Nedvěd hadn't given up yet. He had been chasing for nearly thirty meters, almost from the opponent's half all the way to his own penalty area, and he was still chasing!

The 33-year-old Czech was still the same as his younger self: forever full of fighting spirit, forever refusing to admit defeat easily.

At this moment, Lin Feng could no longer spare any attention for the relentlessly pursuing Nedvěd, because he was already approaching the opponent's penalty area.

But before that, he needed to get past the two iron gates on the Juventus defense line—the interceptions of Cannavaro and Thuram!

Both of these men were the top-tier defenders in the football world of this era.

Any forward would find them troublesome to face.

The two had a clear division of labor: Thuram handled the frontal interception, while Cannavaro provided assist defense from the side, simultaneously blocking Lin Feng's passing lane.

Perhaps because of Lin Feng's reminder in the previous match, Inter's forward Adriano was running very hard during this counterattack.

Just as Lin Feng broke into the edge of the penalty area, he had also arrived at the opponent's box.

The situation on the pitch was now two-on-two; it was a fair contest between the two sides.

However, the experienced Thuram and Cannavaro coordinated with great tacit understanding; they consciously cut off the connection between Lin Feng and Adriano, preventing them from forming a combination.

In this way, the only person they had to deal with was Lin Feng.

Lin Feng saw the opponent's intention clearly, so he didn't rush to shoot or pass.

Because doing so would, in all likelihood, result in the ball being disrupted or intercepted by the opponent.

The match time was running out. Having waited so long for this one opportunity, if he missed it, the outcome of the match would be left to the luck of a penalty shootout.

Thinking of this, Lin Feng proactively dribbled toward the bottom line of the penalty area.

Thuram stared at him fixedly the entire way, not daring to relax in the slightest.

Seeing this choice from Lin Feng, Juventus head coach Capello breathed a sigh of relief.

Lin Feng's choice was causing the distance between him and Adriano to grow wider and wider.

Furthermore, he himself was getting closer and closer to the bottom line, which caused his shooting angle to continuously shrink.

With Thuram's frontal block ability and Buffon's saving ability, no one could break through the Juventus goal from such an angle.

"Oh, this choice of shot is a bit irrational!"

"Thuram's frontal defensive ability is too strong; Lin Feng simply can't get past him!"

"The space left for him to sprint is too small; otherwise, he could have completely blown past his opponent with speed!"

Fans back home watching the game late at night, seeing Lin Feng about to dribble the ball into a dead end, all wrung their hands and sighed, feeling it was a pity that Inter had wasted such a good opportunity.

In the stands, even the Juventus fans breathed a long sigh of relief after seeing this choice from Lin Feng.

"This Chinese kid that Inter spent 20 million to buy doesn't look like much, does he?"

"As expected of a player cultivated in a football desert; is this level only good enough for the Serie B league?"

"I really don't know what was wrong with the Inter owner's brain to actually be willing to spend 20 million on such a bargain bin player."

The Juventus fans mocked Lin Feng to the extreme. Having already viewed him through colored glasses, their impression of Lin Feng became even worse at this moment.

However, the next second, they couldn't laugh anymore!

Seeing that Lin Feng was about to dribble to the bottom line and this Inter counterattack would be completely stopped, Lin Feng suddenly came to a dead stop as he reached the bottom line. He lifted his right foot, pretending to cut inside to break through on Thuram's left side.

Seeing the opponent's body's center of gravity shift, Thuram had no doubt and hurriedly adjusted his own center of gravity, leaning toward the left.

But this was the fleeting opportunity Lin Feng had been waiting for. Utilizing the chance of Thuram's body leaning to the left, he observed Adriano's positioning, then suddenly used his left foot to cut the ball, causing it to bounce up from the ground.

He leaned forward and bent his waist, assuming a posture as if to execute a Dive Header.

Thuram's body's center of gravity had just shifted, and even though he saw Lin Feng's movement, he was powerless to react.

Buffon was shocked, never expecting that his opponent could still carve out space for a shot at such a critical moment.

He hurriedly moved his feet, shifting toward the right side of the goal.

However, just as Buffon and all the fans in the stadium thought Lin Feng was going to shoot himself, he suddenly switched from a shot to a pass, snapping his head forward to send the ball toward the center of the penalty area.

Cannavaro and Adriano clearly hadn't anticipated that Lin Feng would complete a cross in this manner, and both were caught off guard.

They reacted almost simultaneously, both scrambling to contest the landing spot.

At this moment, Cannavaro's weaknesses—his lack of height and weight—were exposed.

Facing Adriano, who stood 189 centimeters tall and weighed 95 kilograms, Cannavaro couldn't secure his position at all.

Under the gaze of tens of thousands of fans, Adriano reached the ball first and flicked it with force toward the left side of the goal.

Buffon had positioned himself far to the right to block Lin Feng's shot, and now, seeing Adriano shoot toward the left, even if he were the reincarnation of Bolt, he would have been too late to save it.

Swish!

The ball grazed the inner side netting and flew into the Juventus goal.

In the final moments of the match, Inter Milan had secured a Game Winning Goal against Juventus!

End of Chapter
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