Soccer: I became Bruno Fernandes.

 Chapter 257: Wolfsburg's Counterattack

Bruno looked ahead and made a long pass.

"Watch Thereau!" Naldo shouted to his Brazilian compatriot and defensive partner Dante, while he himself prepared for a header clearance.

Then, Naldo realized something was wrong because he noticed Bruno's pass had an outward curve, causing him to misjudge the ball's trajectory!

People saw Naldo jump for the header but miss, as the ball sailed over his head.

"What a beautiful pass!"

"Naldo missed it!"

"What a critical error! This is Udinese's chance!"

If Thereau controlled the ball, he would only have Dante to beat.

Dante panicked a bit and moved toward Thereau.

Udinese's tall striker was unique. Despite his 1.90-meter height, he had excellent foot skills, especially in dribbling.

Dante found himself lost as Thereau did several step-overs. Facing each other, the two giants, both around 1.90 meters tall, clashed. Thereau shifted the ball with his right foot and sped past Dante, then faked a shot to trick Wolfsburg's goalkeeper Benaglio, before slotting the ball into the empty net with his left foot!

...

"Goal!!!!!!"

"Thereau! 2-0!"

"What a remarkable goal!"

"Udinese are two goals up against Wolfsburg!"

After scoring, Thereau shook his finger, smiling joyfully as he ran towards Bruno to thank him for the precise long pass.

The two hugged, joined by more Udinese players celebrating the goal.

"That's the way! Beautiful!" Guidolin clapped enthusiastically.

Actually, when Thereau was about to shoot, Guidolin felt a bit nervous. This guy just couldn't kick his habit of rounding the keeper before shooting.

Don't think it's easy to round the keeper; that's a misconception. Most strikers don't choose to round the keeper because it's really hard. The goal is only so big, and with the tall goalkeeper covering a large portion, getting past him is not as easy as it seems.

But with the ball in the net, Guidolin's confidence soared.

This was the double effect of a smoke screen and tactical deception, fully displayed in this goal.

The deception of Bruno's injury kept Hecking off guard. Then, there was Bruno's new role in the tactics.

From the position of a deep-lying playmaker, Bruno used his speed and skill to break through Wolfsburg's defense, not using the wings but delivering a precise long pass directly to Thereau.

This tactic had been rehearsed multiple times in training, specifically designed by Guidolin for this match and for Hecking.

With the tactic succeeding and the goal scored, Guidolin felt an immense sense of accomplishment.

...

Dieter Hecking swung his arm in frustration.

When Bruno made that sudden central break, he knew he'd been fooled.

To be precise, Hecking had been misled by his own psychological assumptions.

Bruno's deeper position shifted Hecking's focus onto players like Di Natale and Thereau. These players drew all his attention.

Coupled with the first goal, Hecking fell into a mental trap, overlooking Bruno's pivotal role despite his deeper position.

Hecking was displeased.

It wasn't just about being 0-2 down; it was the realization of being outsmarted, something the proud Wolfsburg coach found hard to accept.

...

Trailing 0-2, Wolfsburg launched a counterattack on Udinese's goal.

"For Wolfsburg, the most immediate goal is to score one to reduce the deficit to one goal," the commentator voiced Wolfsburg's intention: Being down by one at halftime is manageable, but 0-2 is too dangerous. They must find a way to score.

Guidolin's team was known for their strong defensive and counter-attacking play. If Udinese entered the second half with a 2-0 lead, Wolfsburg would be in real trouble.

Adnan carried the ball and collided with Guilavogui, falling to the ground.

Udinese players signaled for a foul, but the referee waved play on.

Wolfsburg seized the chance to counterattack, pushing forward quickly, especially down the left where Ricardo Rodríguez sped forward. He made a one-two with Max Kruse and continued his run.

Kruse, not fully trusting Rodríguez's passing, carried the ball himself and indicated for Rodríguez to give him space on the flank.

Kruse drew Pires for defense, feigned a pass to Gustavo, but pulled the ball back and crossed into the box.

Dost accurately judged the ball's trajectory, controlled it with his chest, and prepared to shoot.

A figure rushed in.

The ball was deflected and went out of bounds, and Dost fell with a scream.

...

The referee's whistle blew.

Maguire got up quickly, explaining that he went for the ball and did not foul. Bruno and Di Natale also rushed over to defend Maguire.

Especially Badu, who gestured with one hand behind his back and pointed to his eyes with the other, implying: "Ref, I saw it clearly, no foul!"

In truth, he had his back to the play and saw nothing.

Cancelo was more direct, accusing Dost of diving.

"Who are you calling a diver?" Dost was furious. Criticize his laziness, fine, but accuse him of diving? No way.

"That's a penalty," Kruse shouted.

"You think you're the ref?"

...

The scene became chaotic, with the referee blowing his whistle repeatedly to quiet things down.

Ultimately, the referee decided Maguire fouled, awarding a penalty!

However, he only issued a verbal warning to Maguire, which Hecking found insufficient. The Wolfsburg coach loudly complained that Maguire deserved at least a yellow card.

Guidolin was livid, insisting it was a clean tackle and that no penalty should have been given. Additionally, he argued that Guilavogui's earlier foul on Adnan should have stopped Wolfsburg's counterattack from even happening.

...

Meanwhile, TV replays showed the incident repeatedly. Maguire's tackle was fierce, taking both the ball and the man down.

The key question was whether Maguire got the ball first or fouled Dost first.

Unfortunately, even after several replays, it was unclear.

In such ambiguous situations, the referee's call could go either way. Whether he saw it as a clean tackle or a foul first, both views could be justified.

Even with slow-motion replays unable to provide a definitive answer, expecting the referee to make an instant call was asking too much.

But Guidolin didn't care. He was furious, considering the penalty a bad call. Any decision against his team was inherently wrong in his eyes.

Wolfsburg was awarded a penalty.

Dost stepped up to take it.

The referee blew the whistle. Dost ran up and struck the ball towards the left.

Udinese goalkeeper Karnezis guessed correctly but couldn't stop the fast and well-placed shot.

...

"GOOOOOOOAL!!!!!!"

"Calmly taken by Dost, making it 1-2!"

"A sharp shot, and though Karnezis guessed right, he couldn't save it."

Dost retrieved the ball from the net, racing back to the center circle, pumping his fist.

His teammates signaled to the stands, urging the fans to cheer louder.

The Volkswagen Arena erupted in applause.

In the 39th minute, Dost's penalty brought the score to 1-2. Wolfsburg was back in the game, trailing by just one goal, with hope rekindled.

"F**K OFF!" Guidolin cursed.

Without this dubious penalty, Udinese could have maintained a safer 2-0 lead, giving them more control over the game.

But now, with Wolfsburg's morale boosted and their attack relentless, Udinese found themselves stretched thin.

Guidolin was forced to make adjustments, focusing entirely on defending to maintain their lead into halftime.

This wasn't being conservative; it was practical.

With about seven or eight minutes including stoppage time left in the first half, preserving their lead was crucial.

...

As the referee blew the halftime whistle, the score remained unchanged.

Udinese led 2-1 at the Volkswagen Arena.

Guidolin stayed wary of Hecking.

The German coach, who took over Wolfsburg as a rescue manager, had been extremely successful in the past two seasons, even beating Guardiola to win the Bundesliga Coach of the Year award last season. He was indeed formidable.

Guidolin's first-half tactics had caught Hecking and Wolfsburg off guard. After the halftime break, Hecking would undoubtedly make targeted adjustments, making the second half much tougher.

Guidolin rubbed his face and pushed open the door.

His players saw a confident, smiling old man, walking with a spring in his step.

(End of Chapter)

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