Football Dynasty

Chapter 174: Zambrotta’s Versatility

Richard handed the entire Netscape situation over to Adam Lewis, entrusting him with full legal authority to manage the case and support Clark through the turbulent negotiations and looming court battle.

Lewis agreed to remain in the United States, taking up a temporary base in Silicon Valley to stay close to the action and monitor every development firsthand.

Meanwhile, Richard and Marina caught the next flight back to England.

Their departure was quiet but not without tension—Richard didn’t like leaving things unresolved, but he also understood that dragging himself into the daily grind of the legal mess wouldn’t help matters.

Moreover, he wanted to focus on getting City promoted to the Premier League before anything else.

After Stoke City, they finally entered their first cup competition.

In this match, Richard saw O’Neill rotate the entire squad, fielding a team of substitutes. This was because O’Neill wanted to rest the main team after using a back-to-back pressing strategy against Brentford, Barnsley, and Stoke City.

Goalkeeper: Richard Wright

Defenders: Richard Jobson, Keith Curle, Marco Materazzi, Steve Finnan

Midfielders: Keith Gillespie, Robbie Savage, Theodoros Zagorakis, Steve Lomas

Forwards: Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Andriy Shevchenko

Throughout the game, O’Neill kept shouting from the sidelines, constantly telling the players where to move, as the ball seemed to fly back and forth through the air.

Nonetheless, the City players showcased the qualities he wanted to see. However, in this match, the substitutes revealed several flaws, allowing Plymouth’s attacking combinations to breach City’s defense comfortably from time to time.

Basically, City had far more possession throughout the match, but Plymouth had more clear-cut scoring opportunities.

Ultimately, City found themselves trailing 2–1 at halftime, forcing O’Neill to make the bold decision to bring on his game-changers—Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, and Cafu—to turn the tide.

Ronaldo, still frustrated by being substituted just 10 minutes into the second half in the previous match, seemed determined to make a statement.

It was as if a hunger had ignited in him.

After he came on, everything changed. His relentless offensive forays made Plymouth experience what could only be described as hell.

Manchester City 4 – 2 Plymouth

Ronaldo emerged as the standout player, securing a magnificent hat-trick, while Shevchenko also played his part, netting a crucial goal in the first half.

With four consecutive wins to kick off the new season, the team was brimming with confidence and riding a wave of high morale.

The League Cup mattered—but Richards had made one thing clear from day one: automatic promotion was the priority.

No playoffs. No last-day drama.

They were going up as champions.

Now, City’s focus shifted back to the league.

In their first month of First Division football, City played like a team that truly belonged at the top—and they were determined to keep that momentum going.

Up next were crucial clashes against Bolton, Reading, West Brom, Burnley, and Watford, before facing their first FA Cup Preliminary Round.

The dressing room falls quiet as O’Neill steps forward, eyes scanning the room.

"Bolton isn’t just another opponent. Last season, they finished mid-table—but don’t let that fool you. They gave Derby County and Leicester City all kinds of problems... and those teams got promoted to the Premier League. They’re experienced. They know how to dig deep."

He pauses, locking eyes with his players.

"But guess what?"

His tone hardens, rising with intensity.

"So do we."

The opening minutes set the tone.

O’Neill fielded his strongest lineup—everyone was well-rested, and he wasn’t taking any chances for a match of this importance.

From the opening whistle, it was a high-intensity affair.

Bolton pressed aggressively, zeroing in on Roberto Carlos and Cafu, desperately trying to shut down City’s wide threats and cut off the supply lines from both flanks.

It was a scrappy, physical battle. Neither side was willing to give an inch. But City remained composed.

They moved the ball with purpose—patient, deliberate—waiting for that one clear opening.

And in the 37th minute, they found it.

Neil Lennon collected the ball on the right, drove past his marker, and surged into the box.

A sharp cut inside. A quick one-two with Larsson. The ball was returned to Lennon in stride.

Perfect link-up play.

Then—calm and precise—a low, clinical finish into the bottom corner.

Manchester City 1–0 Bolton Wanderers F.C

But Bolton didn’t fold. They kept coming, kept probing for a way back.

Early in the second half, Bolton found their breakthrough.

A well-delivered corner caused chaos in the box—bodies collided, the clearance was missed, and in the scramble, the ball fell kindly for a close-range finish.

Manchester City 1–1 Bolton Wanderers F.C

"Rio, calm—calm!" O’Neill shouted from the touchline, motioning with both hands for composure as Rio Ferdinand, flustered, had rushed a clearance that slipped away and led to the equalizer.

It was the first goal City had conceded in four games—a streak of three consecutive clean sheets shattered.

The question now: could they respond?

74th minute.

McNamara, with time and space in midfield, scanned the field. His eyes quickly found Ronaldo, who had already begun a well-timed run, darting behind the Bolton defense. With a subtle raise of his hand, Ronaldo signaled for the ball,

McNamara didn’t hesitate. With a flick of his foot, he played a perfectly weighted pass, slicing through the defense and putting the ball right into Ronaldo’s path.

Ronaldo, cool under pressure, took a calm first touch to control it.

The keeper rushed out, but Ronaldo was already in control. He steadied himself, then, with precision and poise, slotted the ball past the keeper’s outstretched arms.

Full-Time: Manchester City 2–1 Bolton Wanderers F.C

It wasn’t their prettiest win, but it was the kind of win that proved they could handle tough games.

The next match was against Reading.

Back at Maine Road, City had one clear objective—control the game from the first whistle.

And that’s exactly what they did.

From the very first minutes, Reading struggled to get a foothold.

City’s fullbacks were overlapping regularly, creating constant threats on the wings. Their passing was crisp, their movement sharp, and their pressing relentless.

The breakthrough came inside the first 10 minutes.

Cafu, dancing past his marker on the right, delivered a low, dangerous cross into the box.

Larsson, perfectly positioned, was in the right place at the right time. He calmly tapped the ball home from close range.

1–0.

City didn’t let up.

They controlled possession with ease, moved the ball seamlessly, and suffocated Reading’s attempts to counter.

In the second half, Ronaldo shifted from provider to scorer.

A quick cut inside, a shift onto his left foot—and with precision, he curled the ball into the top corner.

2–0.

Full-Time: Manchester City 2–0 Reading.

For the next three matches against West Brom, Burnley, and Watford, O’Neill decided to experiment.

Gianluca Zambrotta.

Previously, in Como, he had been played as a striker, with the head coach hoping to utilize his physicality and height to win aerial duels. However, this type of physicality came at the cost of flexibility in his game, making Zambrotta more of a rigid target man—one who, unfortunately, couldn’t fully tap into his ambidextrous ability.

Despite this, his tenacity, discipline, and stamina remained undeniable. Most importantly for O’Neill, Zambrotta’s renowned hard-working ethos was exactly what the team needed.

Thanks to Richard’s suggestion to try Zambrotta as a right-back, O’Neill agreed—but knew the transition wouldn’t be instant.

From striker to right-back overnight?

Not a chance. He needed time to adapt, to grow into the role.

That’s why, in the early stages of the experiment, O’Neill deployed Zambrotta as a right midfielder—a halfway step between attack and defense to help him adjust gradually. However, a flaw quickly became apparent. While Zambrotta’s shots were unexpectedly powerful, his accuracy was poor, often wasting promising chances.

"Trend-setting—one of the first truly great attacking full-backs. Excellent at getting forward, but also very strong defensively," said John Robertson, offering his advice to O’Neill on how best to use Zambrotta.

As someone who had personally trained Cafu and Roberto Carlos, and worked closely with them, he felt that his entire perspective on the role had been shaped.

At first, he subscribed to the traditional view—that full-backs should remain rigidly fixed in a flat back four, disciplined and defensively focused.

Referencing their style of play in the Brazil, he worked hard to translate that kind of football into the current City setup. That’s why City is feared not for their central or forward play—unlike many traditional lower-league English clubs that rely on target men and poachers—but instead for their relentless threat down both flanks.

"He’s basically like Cafu," Robertson added. "Both have exceptional work rates. Zambrotta may not be as nimble or capable of delivering deadly crosses like Cafu, but he makes up for it with smart movement and sharp intuition. He consistently finds space in open areas, staying unmarked and away from danger."

"We’re working on his crossing," he continued. "After all, the ability to strike the ball with power is a foundation. Accuracy can be built from there."

With this, the personal training plan was specially tailored for Zambrotta: crossing.

The First Experiment – Against West Brom

This was City’s toughest test so far—not because West Brom dominated, but because everything about the match felt like a battle. From the opening whistle, the game was disjointed, physical, and frustrating.

And in the 14th minute, City paid the price for a sluggish start.

A miscommunication between Ferdinand and Gallas opened the door for West Brom.One pass. One clinical finish.

West Brom 1–0 Manchester City.

For the next 50 minutes, City threw everything forward but couldn’t find a breakthrough.

Ronaldo twisted and turned down the right flank, but his cutbacks were smothered.

Larsson found space in dangerous areas, only to see his shots crowded out.

Lennon came closest, with a close-range effort that was somehow cleared off the line.

O’Neill shook his head and turned around. "Ole, come here."

Solskjær nodded and made the sidelines his laboratory, quietly conducting mental gymnastics in consultation with his manager—strategizing how best to dismantle the opposition’s defense.He watched the game intently, astutely identifying individual weaknesses and uncovering tactical blind spots.

When the calculations were done, O’Neill gave a sharp nod before turning to Zambrotta and Jamie Pollock.

"Go warm up. You’re going in next."

Moments later, he gave the signal, and the fourth official’s board lit up, announcing what was coming.

Commentator: "And here come the changes for City. With that, Zambrotta, Pollock, and Solskjær are coming on—replacing Cafu, Gillespie, and Larsson. Fresh legs, fresh ideas. O’Neill clearly looking to shift the momentum here."

Then—a moment of brilliance.

Zambrotta picked up the ball wide on the right. He shaped to deliver, swung his foot—and the ball skidded awkwardly off his boot, slicing low across the face of goal.

It was hardly elegant. In fact, it looked like a complete mishit.

But in the blink of an eye, Solskjær ghosted into space at the far post, meeting the ball with a simple tap-in.

Clinical. Ruthless. Classic Solskjær.

Commentator: "What a goal! Wait—hold on. Did Zambrotta mean to cross that, or... was that a mishit?!"

Even O’Neill and Robertson exchanged baffled glances on the sideline. Robertson raised an eyebrow. O’Neill shrugged and muttered, "I don’t think he meant that..."

But it didn’t matter.

Call it instinct. Call it luck. Either way, it counted.

City were level. 1–1.

"Push up! Push forward!"

In the 90th minute, it was all or nothing. O’Neill wasn’t interested in a draw—he wanted the win. One final push.

City threw everything forward.

Players surged into the box. Even Jens Lehmann sprinted from his goal, joining the attack—an eleventh outfield player for this last desperate assault.

Neil Lennon raised his right hand, scanned the crowded penalty area, and prepared to deliver what might be City’s last chance.

A deep, floated corner—targeting the far post with pinpoint precision.

All eyes locked onto the ball.

And there was Marco Materazzi.

He launched himself into the air, using the defender in front of him for leverage, climbing higher than anyone else. _{𝑛𝘰𝘷𝑝𝘶𝑏.𝑐𝘰𝘮}

A diving header. Full power. Full commitment.

The ball slammed into the back of the net.

GOAAAALLLL!!!

2–1, Manchester City.

The stadium erupted.

Materazzi sprinted to the corner flag, ripped off his shirt, and twirled it above his head like a helicopter—his first goal for the club, and what a time to score it.

West Brom’s players dropped to the ground. Stunned. Defeated.

On the sidelines, O’Neill, Robertson, and the coaching staff embraced, overcome with emotion.

They hadn’t played their best match.

But they found a way.

Full-Time: West Brom 1–2 Manchester City.