Chapter 454: Super Coppa II
Chapter 454: Super Coppa II
{Here is the line-up for the Uventus side} The commentator did his job as the players of the two teams began to arrange themselves across the field after singing their anthems.
{What we’re seeing here is the familiar 4-4-2 formation that is favored by the current manager} he continued as the line-up was displayed on the screens watching the game.
{Standing between the sticks is Woljiech Sczesny and he will be Uventus’s most pivotal member in keeping the ball out of their goal. He’s been in fine form lately}
{Danilo stands on the right side of the defense and the center is tightly guarded by Bonucci and Chiellini. Alex Sandro is the left back for today}
{In the middle of the park, we have a rarely seen partnership between Rabiot and Ramsey. Out wide are Bernandeschi and Chiesa on the right and left respectively}
{Up front we have a strike partnership between Christiano Ronaldo and Dejane Kulusevski, we’ll be expecting good things from them today}
{What do you think of this line-up, Fabrizio?} the commentator asked his commentary partner.
{I think it’s a strong team. Strong defense line, a midfield that looks like they can control the ball, pacey and technical wingers who aren’t afraid to make the run, and finally, two danger men upfront who we can almost always guarantee to score goals}
{I think we’re in for an exciting game, Guiseppe} Fabrizio quickly analyzed the line-up and gave out his speculations.{I think so as well, Fabrizio} Guiseppe responded with a little laugh.
{Moving on to the Napoli side, they seem to be arranging themselves in the 4-2-3-1 formation}
{it’s Davide Ospina in goal, Manolas and Koulibaly standing right in front of him, while Mario Rui and Di Lorenzo stand out wide on the left and right sides respectively}
{Bakayoko and Demme are playing as holding and defensive midfielders while we have Zielinski, Lozano, and Insigne just ahead of them}
{In front we have the lone striker, Andrea Pentagna} Guiseppe quickly listed out the players in the Napoli team’s starting line-up.
{It seems to be well matched up on paper, though I have to admit, the Napoli side does look quite a bit weaker than their opponents, don’t you think, Fabrizio?}
{Well, like someone said, it’s Uventus they’re up against. They’re not many football teams all over the world that can claim to be equally matched or even surpassing them on paper}
{However, football is a game of twists and turns and the fans love that. I’m pretty sure that if the Napoli player can play their cards right, defend well, control the ball, and attack when an opportunity arises, with the right amount of luck, they might just be able to end this with another silverware in their cabinet despite their strong opponent} Fabrizio analyzed.
{That’s a very big if against a team like Uventus, but far be it from me to speculate so directly. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how things go in the match} Guiseppe replied.
{It’s time for kick-off!} he shouted as all the arrangements were finally done and the referee had his whistle in his mouth and ready to blow.
*Fweeeeeeeeee*
Without hesitation, the referee blasted his whistle and the game kicked off quickly, each side of the field filled with eleven players in distinct and different colors surged at one another, ready to battle it out for the silverware waiting to be taken if only they ended up on top after ninety minutes.
The match didn’t take long to begin exciting the fans in and out of the stadium.
The ball moved quickly across the field from player to player all with the aim of sending a shot flying at their opponent’s goal.
The first goal-scoring chance soon appeared in merely the 13th minute of the game…
The Uventus team had been passing the ball around, but they didn’t have too much control of possession as they couldn’t keep the ball for too long against opponents like Napoli, however, they had been doing well defensively and were severely limiting their opponents.
Every attempt of the Napoli side to break past the Uventus defense line was met with indignance from the Uventus side who simply refused to be broken down and whenever they retreived the ball, they always burst forward on the counter, trying to catch their opponents off guard.
Despite trying to catch their opponents on the counter, they didn’t pass the ball recklessly and the ball moved across the field with precision.
Currently, the Uventus team had just burst forward on another of their counter attacks and this time they seemed to be home free as Cheiesa was making a run from the left and there was no one in his way.
Just as he began cutting in, he suddenly noticed Ramsey running across from the right side of the pitch just behind the last defender and Chiesa didn’t hesitate to send a powerful grounded pass across the field.
Seeing the ball coming his way, Ramsey burst forward with as much pace as he could muster, just barely making it past the last defender and hitting the ball with his first touch.
{Ramsey!!!} the commentator shouted as the ball flew at goal.
Ospina didn’t need an invitation to lunge at the ball, but he fell short and couldn’t reach it.
*CLANG!!!*
The ball slammed against the bottom right post and rolled out of play.
{Oh my word! How did that not go in!?} The commentator’s loud voice contained all the shock that everyone was feeling seeing such a beautiful goal-scoring chance going to waste.
{It was a well-worked attack. The pass was inch perfect, the finish was just inches short of a cutoff mark}
{The player looks gutted that he’s missed that} the commentator continued and as he was saying, Ramsey who was on the field had his hands in his head after watching the ball fly wide after smashing off the post.
Sending an apologetic look at his teammates, he turned around, covering his face once again in exasperation at having missed such a chance.