Chapter 15 The Arrangement of Fate
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The fierce game came to a standstill with a sharp whistle.
Tens of thousands of São Paulo fans in the stands of the Molumbi Stadium in São Paulo all looked at the center of the stadium at this time, silent.
It was only a few seconds before they saw that among them, especially the female fans, were screaming loudly because their idol, Kaka, was rushing forward with the ball. They are cheering on their idols.
But now most of them kept their hands over their mouths, their expressions glazed and frightened.
It seemed impossible to believe what they had just seen.
Just a few seconds ago, Kaka, who was dribbling the ball at high speed, suddenly stopped and gave up chasing the ball.
There was no confrontation, and he slowed down very suddenly.
Seeing the football rolling farther and farther in front of him, he stopped, not intending to catch up again.
He clutched his muscles in the back of his thighs, his expression pained.
Even fools can see that he is injured.
"Kaka is injured...... Look at it like this, Kaka can't keep the game going! It's so tragic! It's not just Kaka, it's São Paulo! Poor Kaka, poor São Paulo! Such an important game, but in the first 30 minutes, it suffered such a nightmare! Galvão Bueno, the commentator for Globo TV, exclaimed in his signature hyperbole.
"São Paulo was so badly lucky...... Ahead of their 'solemn derby' with Corinthians, there was a lot of scrutiny of whether Kaka would be able to return from injury in time. When Kaka returned to training after the match against Bangu, Brafonda's scene was spectacular! It seems that with Kaka, Sao Paulo can beat Corinthians in this game...... But now, Kaka has only played for thirty minutes before he strains his thigh muscles...... This is a huge blow to São Paulo. Another commentator, Jeke Cavfury, from Globo's main rival, Flag TV, used his dispassionate analysis to point out São Paulo's current predicament.
Valdemar de Oliveira was dismissed by the club after a 5-0 defeat to Fluminense in São Paulo. Sao Paulo then poached Osvaldo Oliveira from Fluminense, hoping that the short but title-winning coach could lead São Paulo out of the doldrums. But unfortunately, Osvaldo's first game under Sao Paulo was due to serious squad inconsistencies and lost to Rio's underdog Bangu away. In the second game, they met the mighty Corinthians, who are currently top of the league and four points ahead of second-placed Palmeiras......
Cafurey is still talking.
The referee has suspended the game.
São Paulo's team chief of the team, José Sanchez, rushed to the pitch immediately.
Sao Paulo's new manager, Osvaldo Oliveira, paced anxiously on the sidelines.
If Kaka is injured again, it will be a double blow to the team's strength and morale.
Jose Sanchez, the head of the Sao Paulo team's medical team, quickly made a substitution gesture for Osvaldo off the pitch, and Kaka will definitely not be able to continue the game, and the team must make a substitution as soon as possible.
Damn it!
Osvaldo cursed inwardly.
If he loses two games in a row, especially the "solemn derby", it will be really difficult to explain, and maybe he will follow in Waldemar's footsteps.
※※※
When Osvaldo was helpless in front of the dugout, there was a burst of schadenfreude singing from the otherwise silent stands.
Following the prestige past, the singing came from the stands.
In the stands of the visiting team, there is a huge flag with a red Corinthian emblem on a black background, while in front of the emblem is a huge eagle's head, and above the flag is the word "eagle".
This is Corinthian...... No, it's the Loyal Eagles, the largest fan organization in Brazil.
They are the most die-hard Corinthians fans, but they are also the most controversial fan organization in all of Brazil.
Some resemble Lazio's "unteachables".
Being able to create such a big battle away from home shows the strength of the "Loyal Eagles", and it also shows São Paulo's recent decline - their home stadiums are occupied by others......
Some of Corinthian's most loyal fans are singing in mockery of Osvaldo Oliveira.
"Your champions are all given to you by Corinthians! Without Corinthians, you are nothing! You're nothing!! ”
Osvaldo de Oliveira coached at Corinthians, or the first team he coached in his coaching career was Corinthians.
In 1999, at the age of 49, he took charge of Corinthians and won the São Paulo State First Division in his first season.
In the same year, he also won the Brazilian National Primera League that year.
The following year, in 2000, he led Corinthians to defeat European giants in Brazil and won the first World Club Cup, becoming the world champion!
Such a brilliant achievement deserves to keep him in charge of Corinthians for a long time, at least not just a year and a half.
But in the second half of 2000, after leading the team to the Club World Cup, he left Corinthians.
Because he had a very bad relationship with the "Loyal Eagle".
As the most powerful fan organisation in Brazil, the Loyal Eagles can even exert influence on teams and clubs.
When the team is not doing well, they will directly attack the bus that the team is travelling in to threaten it.
They will also break into the locker room and beat up Corinthians players who dare to be disrespectful to Corinthians' jerseys.
Their power is so great that it is entirely possible to force the club's board of directors to bend to their demands.
Because they had a conflict with Osvaldo Oliveira, they pressured the club to fire Osvaldo Oliveira.
Corinthians' board of directors couldn't bear the pressure from them, and after firing Oliveira, they called him to apologize and explain.
The "Loyal Eagles" are especially happy to see the bad luck of those they hate.
Osvaldo Oliveira's helpless look made them happy.
They laughed loudly at Oliveira, and everyone who left Corinthians had better not end well!
Oliveira's fate will make those who offend the "Loyal Eagles" weigh it well, and the "Eagles" are they worthy of offending?
※※※
Amid the mocking and bantering singing of the "Eagles of Loyalty", Osvaldo Oliveira set his sights on the bench.
Anyway, I have to change people......
His gaze flashed over the faces of the substitutes with different expressions.
Most of the players had painful expressions – as São Paulo is currently suffering, painful, even desperate.
Finally, his gaze rested on Rongguang's face.
The Chinese.
Unlike his teammates around him, his eyes are glowing, like stars in the sky.
He thought of the speed of glory, of his drive......
At this time, although Sao Paulo has not conceded a goal, look at these people on the bench, with an expression of "we have lost".
Of course, according to convention, anyone who knows football can see that São Paulo is indeed in a desperate situation. The lineup was not neat, and now the main core is still injured, how can this game be played?
Rongguang is a rookie, and his understanding of football is not deep enough.
But......
Osvaldo thought about the youth team game he had watched. An opportunity that all those who know football would choose to give up, but let the glory be chased back......
Perhaps it is this kind of novice who doesn't know anything that can rewrite people's common sense, and in the face of "impossible ......", they can create "possibility!" ”。 Because he doesn't understand anything, he is the least constrained.
At this time, maybe this is what you need...... Newcomer?
He stretched out his hand and hooked his hand towards Rongguang: "You, go warm up!" ”
※※※
The Sao Paulo fans in the stands were silent.
The waving flag had long since fallen by this time.
Kaka is the savior of the team and a guarantee for Sao Paulo to beat Corinthians at home. Sao Paulo's fans pinned their hopes on him to beat Corinthians.
Unexpectedly, he only lasted 30 minutes before he was injured again......
Corinthians fans were constantly singing in the stands to provoke.
But this time, few São Paulo fans fought back resolutely.
They are worried about Kaka's injury, as well as Sao Paulo's fortunes in this game.
Could it be another 5-0 fiasco?
The match against Fluminense resurfaced in their minds.
The disillusioned São Paulo fans had only limped to the sidelines at this time, and they didn't notice an unfamiliar face after a short warm-up, and had returned to the coach's box, where head coach Osvaldo Oliveira was pulling him to teach him.
Only Glory's agent, Godot, noticed, because his eyes hadn't taken off Glory since he was called up to warm up.
He saw Osvaldo pulling him and saying something to him.
His eyes widened.
He joked before the game, but he didn't expect it to come true after the end!
Glory is really going to play in such an important game!
This world is crazy...... I can't keep up with the pace anymore?
This......
Glory gets a chance to play in this game, and Godot doesn't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing.
He was worried that Glory would be crushed by the tremendous pressure, but deep down he was lucky—what if this kid really succeeded? Isn't that what you want? After so many months of hard work and dedication, begging grandpa and grandma everywhere, doesn't he just hope that Rongguang can succeed and become famous?
Looking at the glory of leaping on the sidelines, Godot had mixed feelings.