Greatest of All Legends

Chapter 418: Glory Addict I

***12th January 2021***

“Viera, your job in the center is to draw out their defensive midfielders so that there will be enough space for the ball to reach the strikers,”

In one of the locker rooms of the Madeira stadium in Funchal, Oporto’s manager was giving his players instructions on the tactical set-up for their upcoming match.

The Oporto team would be going up against the Nacional team in the fifth round of the Taca de Portugal and it was a pretty big day because apart from the importance of the match, it was also the first match since before the COVID break where fans would be allowed back into the stadiums.

Of course the stadiums wouldn’t be filled due to some precautionary measures being taken, but sixty percent of the available seats were sold.

Due to it having been a while, the fans of both teams did not hesitate to lap up the available seats and the seats were sold out in less than ten minutes after they were put up.

This showed just how much the fans had been craving live football and they were finally going to get it in this match.

Soon the manager was done with the tactical meeting and the players moved out, with the players in the starting line-up stopping at the tunnel while the bench players continued out of the tunnel and moved towards the bench.

Jason was among the bench players and as he walked out of the tunnel was greeted with the sight of the fans in their seats and singing and having fun before the game started.

They were supposed social distancing, but it was obvious that none of them cared about that and were already swept up in the joy of being back at the stadiums.

As Jason and the rest of the bench buddies walked toward their, some of the fans spotted them and started calling to them, pleasantly surprising them since it had been a while and they waved back with smiles.

Even Jason couldn’t resist giving a wave and a small smile appeared at the corner of his lips. For a moment, he even forgot his issues with the club and that he was likely to be joining another club soon.

The players hurried to their team’s bench as it was almost time for the match and shortly after, the starting players started marching out of the tunnel in readiness for the match and for the first time in a long while, they were welcomed with the loving presence of fans shouts, cheers and chants.

This also brought with it a pressure to the player, especially the new members of the Oporto and Nacional team.

The new players hadn’t played under the scrutiny of their own fans before and the older players had not experienced the fans presence for a while so they could already feel sweat beading on their face before the match began.

The pre-match formalities didn’t take long and the players were soon arranged on the field with the ball in the center of the park as they awaited the referee’s whistle to kick off the game.

The referee didn’t keep the players and the fans waiting for much longer and soon blew his whistle loudly, kicking off the fifth round of the Taca de Portugal between Nacional and Oporto.

The match kicked off with the Nacional team being the one to kick off the game after their luck had put them atop in the coin toss, but as for whether their luck would carry on to help them with the rest of the game, remained to be seen.

The match got off to an exciting start as both teams charged at each other, each one trying to score first and take the upper hand in this cup tie that would determine who would continue toward the title.

Despite being the team that anyone with any knowledge of football would call favorites, the Oporto team weren’t able to dominate their opponents like they would have liked because their opponents were playing as best as they could, their every move made almost in desperation.

The Nacional team was doing all they could to keep the Oporto team in check, but they weren’t able to keep it up for very long and the Oporto team soon began showing why they were the favorites in the match up.

#22nd minute…

Corona broke away from his marker on the right flank with a well executed step-over and side step and immediately sent a powerful diagonal pass towards the center where Mylo was.

Mylo immediately tried to control the ball, but the pass was more powerful than he expected and the ball bounced off his leg and flew towards Oliveira who was nearby.

Before the ball reached him, Oliveira scanned to see which of his teammates was free, and to his delight, Diaz was making a run into the penalty box from the left.

Without hesitation, Oliveira made a first-touch pass into Diaz’s path and Diaz received the ball completely unhindered as he stepped into the penalty box.

{He’s all alone!?} the commentator began and the crowd were on the edge of their seats in anticipation as they saw Diaz about to unleash a shot.

{Hit’s it!?}

Diaz did not disappoint and hit the ball skillfully, sending it curling past the opposition goal keeper.

{GOAL!!!}

{Such delicious curl!}

{They take the lead!} the commentator sang out and for the first time in a while, the stadium erupted in the cheers of the Oporto fans who were swept up in the joy of their team taking the lead.

The Oporto players were not left out of the celebrations and the whole team jointly celebrated their goal for a few seconds before they started heading back to their half of the field so the match could continue.

The match resumed shortly after and like expected, the Nacional team took their style of play to yet another level after they went behind.

The Oporto players immediately reacted in kind with the manager shouting out instructions from the sidelines as well, hoping to coast through this period of high pressure, but it was not to be.