Chapter 32 Battle of Champions

Chapter 32 Battle of Champions

On May 2013, 5, at three o'clock in the afternoon, countless citizens of Novara left their homes and gathered in the direction of the Piola Stadium.

For the people of Novara, today is a very important day, because their team is expected to lift the Serie B championship trophy again after 65 years!

For those wealthy teams, the Serie B trophy is nothing at all, and may even be regarded as a shame, because it means relegation.

But for a small team like Novara, the Serie B championship is the highest honor in team history!

Historically, Novara has won the Serie B championship three times, but the most recent one was in the distant 1947-1948 season. Most people in Novara have never seen that scene.

Therefore, the people of Novara are very concerned about the team's hope of winning the Serie B championship for the fourth time in team history. More than 11,000 tickets for the Piola Stadium have already been sold out.

In fact, if it were not for the sake of safety, the Novara club deliberately controlled the number of people entering the stadium, I am afraid that there would be several times more fans pouring into the stadium.

At 4:25 pm, five minutes before the official start of the game, players from both sides were already at the entrance of the stadium, waiting to enter the game.

Although Novara only needs a draw to lock in the league title, and may even win the championship if they lose, Texel still uses his main force.

In this highly anticipated day, in this moment of joy and glory, whether it is Texel or the players, all Novara people hope to win the fourth Serie B championship in team history with a victory!

………………

At the corner kick area on the left side of Lanciano's half, Bruno gently put down the football, stepped on the turf behind the ball, slowly stepped back a few steps, stood up straight, and looked straight ahead.

In the penalty area, several of Novara's players with outstanding high points and header abilities are already in their respective positions.

Lanciano's defensive players also pestered Novara's players as if they were facing a formidable enemy. They always had some harassing tricks on their hands, which made the penalty area look chaotic.

In the stands of Silvio Piola Stadium, every Novara fan had a nervous and solemn look on their face.

It was now the ninth minute of the game and Novara, not surprisingly, controlled the situation and the ball from the start.

Lanciano firmly retreated to their own half and allowed Novara to attack. They took the opportunity to counterattack.

Lanciano is currently ranked 17th in the league, but with the same points as Citadella in 18th, it is possible that they will be forced to play in the relegation play-offs.

Even Citadella is in a better situation than Lanciano, and their final-round opponent is Ascoli. Although Ascoli is currently a team in the relegation zone and the pressure to survive will make them very motivated, their strength is limited after all.

Therefore, the possibility of Citadella winning at home is definitely greater than Lanciano defeating Novara, who is desperate for the title, on the road.

Lanciano's goal for this game is a draw.

Under such circumstances, if Citadella defeats Ascoli at home, they will have no choice but to play in the relegation play-offs.

………………

The temptation of winning the championship made Novara full of fighting spirit. After the opening whistle, they launched a crazy offensive towards Lanciano's goal.

In the face of Novara's tidal wave of attacks, Lanciano's goal was like a boat in the storm, teetering.

In just nine minutes, Novara has already had three corner kick opportunities.

The first two kicks, one left and one right, were all taken by vice-captain Rudy. Without exception, Novara's corner kicks failed to create a threat. Lanciano obviously planned for the corner kicks.

In the ninth minute, Novara won the third time. Rudy took the initiative to change and handed the free throw opportunity to Bruno.

Last time, Bruno took the corner kick and achieved miraculous results, but in subsequent games, the coaching staff still did not give Bruno the right to take the corner kick.

They believe that keeping Bruno near the penalty area is more threatening than having him take a corner kick.

But fans who are familiar with Novara will be familiar with it. Bruno scored a goal for the team last time he took a corner kick. He helped the team's Argentine forward Pablo Gonzalez score.

So, when Bruno stood in the corner, the Novara fans cheered.

This also made Lanciano very confused. From the players on the field to the coaching staff outside the field, although they couldn't understand what was going on, they always felt that it seemed to be very powerful.

Could it be that Bruno is Novara's most threatening player when taking corner kicks?

If so, then the defensive strategy formulated by the head coach before the game may have to undergo some changes.

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Bruno could clearly feel that the live broadcast camera behind him was always aimed at him.

He heard the cheers and cheers from the fans in the stands, which was encouragement but also pressure.

To become Novara's number one star, you must be able to bear the pressure.

Bruno exhaled heavily, slowly raised his right hand, and pointed his index finger towards the sky, as if to say something. It took everyone's breath away, both on and off the court.

No one knows what this means, except for a few players in Novara. This is a tacit understanding cultivated by Bruno and them in daily training.

After the referee blew the whistle, Bruno took a deep breath and jumped out quickly. Every step he took was very steady and powerful.

He has done this kind of training countless times in the past year, and the pace has long become an instinct of his body.

After standing with his left foot on the left side of the football, his body formed a specific angle with the football, and his right foot hit the football hard like a whip.

The fans near the corner flag area only heard an explosion-like sound in the air, and the football flew out at lightning speed. The arc is not high, but the ball speed is very fast.

In the penalty area, players from both sides were in a mess. Several Novara players who were good at heading the ball used their movement and body squeeze to interfere with and attract Lanciano's defense.

But before Bruno's penalty kick, Rafaele Rubino, the team's old captain, suddenly retreated to the penalty spot, then suddenly moved forward quickly and chased the penalty spot.

By the time Lanciano's defenders realized Rubino's danger, the old captain of Novara had already jumped to the goal, made a diving dive, and headed Bruno's cross into Lanciano's goal.

………………

“GOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!”

"In the ninth minute, Novara scored first!"

"1:0!"

"Rubino! The old captain of Novara scored a crucial goal!"

"Rubino has rarely played in games this season, and he has not scored a goal this season. But in this championship battle, Texel chose to trust the old captain and gave him a chance to start. "

"And Rubino lived up to Texel's trust and repaid the opponent with his first goal of the season."

"This is a corner kick assist from Bruno! The quality of the corner kick is very high. Bruno's landing point is almost towards Rubino's head. After the little forward, who is only 1.76 meters tall, pushed it, The ball just changed direction and hit the goal, and the Lanciano goalkeeper didn't even have time to react."

"The connection between the new core of the team and the old core can be seen as a kind of inheritance of Novara!"

……

After Rubino saw the header scored, he slammed his fists on the turf, jumped up from the ground, ran quickly in the direction of Bruno, and hugged Bruno directly.

The two celebrated wildly on the sidelines, shouting loudly at the live camera and the Novara fans in the stands.

Behind them, Novara's players also rushed out and surrounded them.

"This goal is so crucial! Anyone who is familiar with football knows that in such a crucial final, whoever scores the goal first will be able to take control of the initiative."

"Novaara scored in just nine minutes, which was beyond everyone's expectations. It was also very cruel for Lanciano, who was eager to score points to get out of the relegation play-off area, but this It’s football!”

"Bruno's corner kick skills are quite exquisite. The level of this corner kick penalty is very high, and Rubino seems to cooperate with him very well. After getting rid of the defender with a feint shot, he quickly chased forward and scored with a header."

"1:0, Novara takes the lead temporarily!"