Chapter 108: Chapter 108: The Decisive Battle at the Estádio da Luz
Chapter 108: The Decisive Battle at the Estádio da Luz
Everyone expected that Zelinski, the young rookie who seldom got the chance to play, would be too cautious to attempt a direct shot in such a crucial match. Most believed he would likely choose to lob the ball into the penalty area. However, to everyone's astonishment, Zelinski wound up his right foot and curved a beautiful arc with the ball.
The ball soared, bypassing the crowded penalty area and the outstretched arms of Benfica's goalkeeper, Artur, curling into the net!
Udinese 2:1 Benfica!
They had turned the game around and taken the lead!
In the 90th minute, the young Polish substitute, Peter Zelinski, received a pass from Pereira and sent a stunning curve into Benfica's goal. It was a sensational goal!
"Zelinski! Zelinski! 2:1! What a wonderful curve, a beautiful goal, a splendid worldie!" exclaimed the local Udinese TV commentator.
He was thrilled to witness such a spectacular last-minute goal, which was exhilarating.
"Within Udinese's first team, there are three young players promoted from the youth team. Besides the third goalkeeper, Scuffet, Widemon and Zelinski are highly regarded by Guidolin. These two youngsters previously had few opportunities to play. While Widemon's performance in his limited appearances has yet to be fully assessed, Zelinski has demonstrated with this crucial goal why Coach Guidolin values him so highly."
Two minutes later, the referee blew the final whistle, and Udinese triumphed 2:1 over Benfica at home. Although they could not prevent Benfica from scoring an important away goal, they managed to secure a victory at their home ground.
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Over the weekend, Udinese faced Fiorentina, and Guidolin did not hesitate to rotate nearly the entire lineup from midweek, leaving only the tireless Bruno to lead the team. Wearing the captain's armband, Bruno alone couldn't prevent Udinese from losing on the road.
The final score was 2:1.
However, Udinese's position in third place remained stable since Napoli also lost their match, falling 0:1 away to Parma.
With their advantage on the Serie A leaderboard preserved, Udinese quickly turned their focus to the upcoming Europa League quarter-final second leg on Thursday night.
On Wednesday, Udinese flew to Lisbon a day ahead of the match.
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Local time, April 10th, evening at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon.
As Bruno and his teammates walked onto the pitch to warm up, it began to rain.
"Damn, I hate the rain!" complained a teammate.
Though both Portugal and Italy have Mediterranean climates, Lisbon's weather differs greatly from Udine's. April is the rainy season in Lisbon, while it is usually sunny in Italy at this time. It seemed the weather would favor Benfica.
Unlike the Udinese players, who looked up at the sky or complained about the soggy pitch, the Benfica players warming up didn't seem bothered by the weather at all; they were focused solely on their warm-ups.
Bruno and the Benfica players proceeded with their warm-ups as usual. Despite the wet conditions, he didn't see it as anything out of the ordinary.
Having played for Boavista's youth team in worse conditions, where rain turned the fields to mud, making the ground slippery and uneven, he was accustomed to challenging playing surfaces. Now, with conditions much improved, he had no reason to complain.
Mahrez slipped and fell during a long shot attempt, covering his backside and arms with mud. After shaking off the mud, he declared, "I'm definitely changing my studs when we get back!"
Bruno had the foresight to change his studs before warming up, and now was the perfect time to test how well the longer studs adapted to the field. He sprinted, shot, and passed, checking how his supporting foot gripped the ground, and was pleased with the outcome.
Due to the rain, the temperature had dropped, so they spent more time warming up than usual.
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After warming up, everyone was drenched.
"Quick, get back inside, dry off, and change into a new kit!" the assistant coach yelled at each player returning from the field.
Like the players, he was soaked but unconcerned for himself, focusing instead on reminding the players to avoid catching cold.
Urged by him, the players jogged back through the tunnel.
Bruno glanced back at the increasingly crowded stands. Amid the sea of white, he could spot specks of blue—likely Udinese fans, though they were only a few thousand strong today. He wondered if they could make any impact against the sixty thousand Benfica fans.
Estádio da Luz, known as a premier five-star stadium in Europe, could hold sixty-four thousand spectators. For this match, Benfica had allocated two thousand tickets to Udinese fans, while their own supporters filled more than sixty thousand seats.
Back in the locker room, like his teammates, Bruno received a dry towel from a coach, removed his wet clothes, dried off, and changed into his match kit.
Under the supervision of the coach, they then switched from short to long studs designed for wet and muddy conditions, and after that, they awaited any last words from their head coach.
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Guidolin knew the importance of this game for his team.
"If we lose, we say goodbye to the Europa League, so we can't afford to lose this match. We have to attack; there's no other way. I don't know what tactics Benfica will use, and even if I did, it wouldn't matter because we must attack. Stick to our style and don't worry about the opponent. Remember, apart from attacking, we have no other choice; we have no way out."
"You are all familiar with how we attack; we've been playing this way all along. But keep in mind the conditions of the pitch. It's wet and slippery, making it hard to play on the ground."
Looking at Bruno, Guidolin continued.
"This means keep your passes simple, avoid excessive dribbling and ball control. The pitch is slippery, and you might fall easily. The referee might not call fouls as strictly, so be mindful of that. Be careful with your own fouls, but also, don't hesitate to commit them if necessary."
Everyone nodded in understanding.
"That's all," he concluded. "Go out there and play like it's the final, lads."
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Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the Benfica locker room was as lively as a bar. With music playing, everyone was casually chatting, seemingly unconcerned about the upcoming game.
It wasn't until their coach, Jorge Jesus, entered and asked them to turn down the music that they focused.
"This is our home game. The weather and the pitch are in our favor. Just play to your usual standards. The most important thing in this match isn't how many goals we score, but that we make no mistakes and concede no goals! Even a 1:0 is a victory for us!"
Given the rainy conditions that had prevailed across Portugal the previous weekend, Jesus felt the weather was a rehearsal for this match, hence his confidence.
His strategy was clear—since they had an away goal, a simple 1:0 win would suffice to eliminate Udinese.
"Why risk a shootout with Udinese? Just ensure we don't concede, then think about attacking. Remember, keep defensive plays simple and decisive, and don't give opponents a chance to intercept near our box. They will have gaps in their defense, so take advantage of those with quick long passes."
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As the players walked out, Bruno was at the end of the line, a spot usually reserved for the team's star unless the star is also the captain.
"Look, they're coming out!" fans in the stands cheered as the players emerged from the tunnel.
Benfica fans were cheering for their heroes, hoping for a home victory to secure advancement. Udinese fans were chanting support for their team.
Bruno's family and friends had traveled from Porto to Lisbon to support him at the game.
Some of his former teammates from Boavista's youth team were also in attendance. Most of these twenty-somethings hadn't managed to secure a spot in Boavista's first team.
"Bruno! It's Bruno! He's coming out!"
"Hey, at the end of the line—that's Udinese's star player!"
"Look how he walks out, so cool!"
"Go Bruno!"
Amidst the shouting, they felt a mix of pride for Bruno's accomplishments and envy of his success. Among those who had played together, some had started higher but now it was he who had risen to become a star in Serie A, leading Udinese to the quarterfinals of the Europa League.
When he first joined the team, apart from his stamina and running ability, he had little else to offer. His shooting, passing, and dribbling were all subpar.
(End of Chapter)
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