Chapter 5: Substitute debut
On a Saturday afternoon at Virton's Ivan George Stadium, the home and visiting teams lined up to enter the field one by one. In the dimly lit player tunnel, Wang Feng stood out, squeezing his neckline with his right fist and taking deep breaths to calm himself, setting him apart from the other players.
As he walked out of the passageway, everything suddenly became clear. The small stadium, with a capacity of about 5,000 people, seemed vast for Wang Feng, who was stepping onto the field for the first time.
However, the stadium's attendance was not high. Only a few home team fans were scattered in the stands, while a group of visitors passionately cheered for their team.
Renee leaned forward and remarked, "Let me just say, we don't have any die-hard fans at all. St. Gillian is really hot. Look at the fans of their team, tsk tsk." There was admiration in his tone.
However, Wang Feng believed that fans are the most innocent group. A team with ambition, strength, and determination naturally attracts a large following. In contrast, for a team like Virton, perennially in the second division without a clear goal, their fans likely seek entertainment without being overly concerned about winning or losing.
After the game began, St. Gillian took firm control and created several threatening attacks in the opening minutes. Virton's defence seemed flustered.
In the 11th minute, St. Gillian took advantage of the speed of a player on the left, tore through the defence line, and made a precise pass. The high centre forward in the penalty area quickly followed up, scoring with a header from close range.
0:1! This quick conceded goal caught Virton's players and coaching staff off guard. Although prepared for a possible loss, nobody wanted to face a heavy defeat.
Magritte, standing on the sidelines, urged the players to press forward and create threats. However, Virton, especially Paul Chuck, who made frequent mistakes, played without discipline. St. Gillian took advantage of it, launching repeated counterattacks.
As a rookie in the squad, Wang Feng, off the field, appeared visibly nervous. Renee's assessment of Paul as a soft-footed player seemed accurate, as he seemed to lose control.
In the 31st minute, Paul made another mistake, allowing a St. Gillian player to intercept the ball in midfield. The subsequent counterattack led to another goal, mirroring the first. A cross from the left found the high centre in the penalty area, who headed the ball into the net.
0:2! Virton was in a dire situation, and St. Gillian's players, aware of scouts' attention, showed no intention of easing up. Virton's defence was also in jeopardy. Fortunately, they managed to prevent further goals and entered half-time.
The dejected Virton players walked off the field, clearly desperate. Wang Feng observed that Saint-Gilles United played in a four-three-three formation, and the tactics were not complicated. After the ball reached the front court, they basically split the ball from the centre to the left and then crossed to create a threat. Their left-winger had a fast attack speed and accurate crosses, while the centre forward had good physical fitness and a great advantage when grabbing the ball.
Virton's problem was that the main winger was injured and absent. As a substitute, Paul Chuck was not capable enough. St. Gillian organized the offence calmly and frequently created threats.
Head coach Mette Magritte and the assistant coaches, aware of the issue, criticized Paul severely during half-time. They urged him to handle the ball more cleanly and actively participate in defence but had not considered replacing him.
Unbeknownst to Wang Feng, his old acquaintance Andre Diest was in the stands, exchanging greetings with another person: "Henks, I knew you would come. Why, has Anderlecht also taken a fancy to St. Gillian's center-forward?"
This man had a long beard, wore a pair of sunglasses, and was writing and drawing in a notebook with a pen. He looked up at Diest, ignored him, and continued with his work.
Diest, obviously familiar with this person's character, didn't take it seriously. He sat beside him and muttered, "I don't know if Wang will play, but he has good skills and works hard. Can he beat the main force?"
Upon hearing this, Henks looked up at Diest, noting in his notebook, "Genk's scouts seem to be interested in Virton's player Wang."
The second half commenced, with St. Gillian maintaining their first-half strategy, adopting a tight state in midfield, and exploiting the wings to dismantle Virton's defence.
Mette Magritte seemed very depressed, as technical and tactical arrangements had little effect. Relying on the gap in star strength, St. Gillian dominated Virton.
In a moment of despair, Paul committed another mistake, passing the ball directly to St. Gillian's feet. Seizing the opportunity, St. Gillian's player struck a precise shot.
The centre forward, aiming for a hat-trick, arrived at the scene, but his shot hit the crossbar and flew out. Witnessing Paul's errors, Wang Feng felt indignant, jumping up from the bench and only sitting down when St. Giles United cleared the ball.
At this moment, the head coach caught Wang Feng's action. He didn't expect there to be such an active player in the team. He struggled in his mind for a while, and finally decided to send Wang Feng on the field to replace Paul!
"Wang, hurry up, take off your warm-up clothes, and get ready to play."
"Ah," Wang Feng looked a little dazed, then suddenly woke up, and then a burst of ecstasy swept through his heart, his debut was coming soon.
"Calm down after entering, stand firm in defence, don't be as timid as Paul. I believe in you," Magritte said, returning to his calm state after making the decision.
Wang Feng stood on the sidelines, waiting for a dead ball to enter the game. His heart raced, and if not for the noisy stadium environment, the fourth official standing next to him would surely hear it.
The sharp-eyed Diest in the stands chuckled at the sight of Wang Feng, saying, "I knew it."
Henks turned his eyes to the sidelines, observing Wang Feng's immature face, his doubts deepening.
Taking advantage of a throw-in, Wang Feng made his debut!
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