Football Dynasty

Chapter 89: To Find the Rhythm

When the players finished warming up, Richard stepped down onto the pitch and stood beside O’Neill, asking, "4-4-2? The same as Wycombe?"

O’Neill shook his head. "I prefer a 4-4-2, but I’m looking to refine it to suit this squad. Solid defensive organization, a hardworking midfield, and two forwards who can press high and capitalize on chances—that’s what I’m aiming for."

"I want the wingers to move inside and act as attacking midfielders when we’re in possession," he continued. "This turns it into a 4-2-2-2 in attack, which creates space for Cafu and Roberto Carlos to push forward and create chances from the flanks." He explained his tactics with a clear focus on how the team would operate dynamically.

On the pitch, Mike Phelan was initially relaxed. After all, he was the most senior player here and the most experienced in Europe, so he felt confident going into the scrimmage.

’Just to make it into the first team,’ he thought.

However, just three minutes into the game... What followed could only be described as an absolute humiliation.

1st Minute: It was just like any normal kick-off. The red team started, and Phelan took his position as central midfielder, just like he had done countless times before.

3rd Minute: This is where things started to go awry.

The ball soared through the air, courtesy of Keith Curle from the red team, who made a perfect long pass toward the red team’s main striker, Shaun Goater. The ball landed right at Goater’s feet!

It seemed like Keith Curle still had some magic left in him, as his pass was nearly flawless. But just as the ball was passed, something unexpected happened.

As Goater began to advance down the sideline, a blur of speed knocked him clean off his feet!

"Hey, this is just a training match, OK?!" he shouted as he got up from the ground, anger in his voice, directing it toward the new kid in the blue vest.

But the culprit was already long gone, sprinting down the right, leaving Keith eating dirt on the ground.

Cafu, already making a run, couldn’t help but feel the discomfort of the cold. His nose still running, he fought to hold it together, pushing through the chill.

’For the future, for my career, for my family...’ he thought, steeling himself.

With determination, Cafu made a precise pass to his teammate, none other than the familiar face of Ronaldo.

Ronaldo had already dropped deep, raising his hand in the air to signal for the ball.

And he was never out of Phelan’s watchful eye, known for his football intelligence. He looked left, then right, seeing his teammates marking their men. With a determined nod, Phelan decided to move forward, targeting Ronaldo.

’This is it, the moment.’ Phelan thought the kid was going to pass the ball, but to his surprise, he kept holding onto it.

This is rare. In England, strikers rarely dropped this deep into the midfield and tried to dribble. So, when Ronaldo started holding the ball and looking for space, Phelan thought, ’I’ve got this. Easy.’

He smirked and lunged, swinging his right leg to make a clean tackle. But then...

The sly fox made a sudden, sharp move. As he came charging in, Ronaldo effortlessly shifted his body, stepping around his leg like a magician dodging a bullet before making an explosive burst of speed that left Phelan utterly stunned.

Ronaldo was already gone.

With retirement on the horizon, how could he possibly compete with the physicality of players in their early prime?

Still, he wasn’t convinced. ’It must have been a fluke,’ he thought to himself.

8th Minute: Phelan, eyes locked on Ronaldo, saw his chance. As the ball was played forward, he found himself in a battle for possession with none other than the same bald, wiry kid.

Keith Curle from the back of the red team made another superb pass, and Phelan seized the opportunity to step forward and prepare to receive it. But to his shock, the same bald kid came charging toward him, moving at a blistering speed!

It was a 50-50 ball.

In that split second, Phelan’s mind raced, and without hesitation, he swung his right leg to pass the ball, wanting to get rid of it quickly. But just as the ball hit his feet, Ronaldo’s legs arrived at the same moment, his speed closing the gap in an instant.

Both sides felt they would touch the ball first. The ball was caught perfectly between them.

BANG!

In an instant, Phelan felt a sharp pain shoot up from his foot, as though he’d just stubbed his toe on a steel beam. It was as if his legs had suddenly decided to go on strike.

Trying to maintain balance, his calf betrayed him, and he dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes, utterly defeated. For a moment, Phelan lay there, staring up at the sky in disbelief.

He wasn’t sure if the pain was from the ball or from the sheer humiliation of being outplayed by a kid who probably hadn’t even broken a sweat.

Unfortunately, as he looked up to the sky, he missed the moment when Ronaldo dribbled past four defenders, creating enough space inside the box to score the blue team’s first goal.

After the high-five with Emile Heskey, he didn’t relax after the game at all.

And it wasn’t just Ronaldo making an impact. Even Sol Campbell and Ian Cox were putting on a show, just as O’Neill had emphasized.

Usually, it was Ian Cox charging forward with his no-nonsense, fearless approach to defending, making every challenge look effortless. His relentless energy at the back kept the opposition on edge.

26th Minute: Just as the scrimmage was nearing its end, Paul Dickov and Shaun Goater executed a brilliant one-two, quickly passing Ian Cox, who was charging in like a freight train. The ball zipped through, and for a split second, it seemed like the red team might be in the clear.

But the path wasn’t clear yet.

As the ball sped toward the box, Sol Campbell was already anticipating the play. With a growl of determination, he planted his feet firmly on the ground, ready to face the oncoming attackers.

The ball passed Cox just as Campbell pounced. Without missing a beat, Campbell saw it coming.

He knew Dickov would try to pull the same trick again. So, Campbell leaned left toward Dickov, making it look like he was about to charge him down. Dickov, thinking he had Campbell fooled, quickly passed the ball to Goater.

But as soon as he made the pass, Campbell, who had been reading the game like a book, pivoted sharply on his left foot. In an instant, he charged to the right, heading straight for Goater.

Goater, who was expecting the ball to arrive at his feet, turned just in time to see Campbell already bearing down on him like a bear chasing after a picnic basket.

Before Goater could even think, Campbell swung his leg like he was swatting at a fly, sending the ball flying into the distance. Goater was left standing there, with no ball and no plans. Even after that, Campbell merely glanced at the ball as it soared through the air, then turned around and got back into position as if nothing had happened.

For the next 14 minutes, the floodgates were wide open. The red team’s midfielders lost their composure and started making amateur mistakes, allowing the blue team to capitalize on every opportunity.

On the left, Roberto Carlos unleashed a thunderous shot that had Tony Coton cowering in front of the goal. You could always hear the familiar bang, bang, bang echoing every time his powerful left foot made contact with the ball.

On the right, Cafu pushed forward relentlessly, delivering pinpoint crosses, but Emile Heskey often resorted to diving to win a foul, causing the chances to go to waste. Meanwhile, Ronaldo found himself a step behind, causing the ball to arrive just a bit too late every time.

Though the score remained unchanged, the pressure from the blue team’s attacking play was relentless.

It wasn’t until the final minutes that the dam truly broke.

From the sidelines, even Richard could see the numerous gaps in the red team’s defensive structure. In the 27th minute, Ronaldo cleverly peeled away from his markers with a sharp Cruyff turn, then accelerated toward the goal.

While he hadn’t yet reached the effortless flow he was known for in his prime, he executed the move quickly and slipped a perfectly timed pass to Emile Heskey in front of the goal. Heskey made no mistake, firing the ball into the bottom-right corner to make it 2-0.

For the next three minutes, the blue team was on fire.

They pressed with intensity, tackling with precision, intercepting passes, and dribbling past red defenders as if it were second nature. Emile Heskey, Paul Lake, and Steve Lomas each found the back of the net in the 28th, 29th, and 30th minutes.

Thanks to their collective efforts, the blue team utterly dominated, leaving the red team in their wake.

After 30 minutes of pure action, O’Neill blew the whistle, marking the end of the scrimmage as he began noting the final time.

"How is it? Got the best?" Richard asked.

"Hmm..." O’Neill paused for a moment, thinking. "I think the priority now is to make sure Emile shakes off his habit if we’re going to play him as a target man. As for Ronaldo, playing behind Heskey could also be an option. Curle’s passing is solid; we could probably use him as a defensive midfielder here."