Kapitel 230: Chapter 230: Blitzkrieg
Chapter 230: Blitzkrieg
As the two teams took their positions, standing in their respective halves, Udinese's Bruno Fernandes and Salah were in the center circle, ready to kick off. Udinese had won the coin toss, and Bruno, wearing the captain's armband, had gathered everyone together in a circle, urging the team to make a strong start.
With his Chinese heritage, Bruno valued the significance of a good start, believing that starting with momentum could intimidate the opponent. Though the strategy of gaining the upper hand early seemed old-fashioned, it was very effective.
Salah prepared to kick off, with Bruno slightly ahead to immediately pass the ball back and avoid Juventus's pressing. As the referee Cüneyt Çakır blew the whistle, Salah kicked the ball to Bruno, who promptly passed it back.
Juventus quickly moved to press high, aiming to invade Udinese's territory. Kanté controlled the ball, quickly adjusted, and passed to Danilo, who then sent it to the left side.
Bruno, still near the midfield on the left side, received Danilo's pass. As Marchisio and Lichtsteiner closed in on him, he had to pass back to Cancelo. Juventus's forwards immediately pressed Udinese's left-back, and Cancelo responded with a long pass to the central midfield, aiming for Kanté.
The French midfielder headed the ball to Maguire, but Vidal's aggressive pressing caused Maguire to make an error, with the ball being nudged away. Luckily, the ball stayed with Udinese as Cancelo made a long back pass to the goalkeeper Karnezis.
The Udinese goalkeeper stopped the ball at the edge of the penalty area, slowly advancing before passing it to Piris on the right flank. Piris launched a long ball forward, aiming behind Evra.
Widmer, sprinting at full speed, reached the ball before Evra, catching it on the bounce. He quickly sent a cross into the box.
Udinese's quick right-wing attack caught Juventus off guard, with only Bonucci and Barzagli back to defend. Bonucci stayed outside the box to cover Evra, while Barzagli marked Salah inside the box.
Salah was positioned between Bonucci and Barzagli, slightly closer to the right wing. When Widmer's cross came in, Salah had the advantage over Barzagli. However, the experienced Juventus defender used his body to block Salah, preventing him from turning even if he got the ball. Bonucci turned to help, creating a double team.
Salah, showing his physical prowess, blocked Barzagli and quickly sent the ball towards the edge of the box without lingering. Due to their pressing, both Pogba and Pirlo were positioned high up, leaving no Juventus defenders in front of the box when Kanté received the ball. With Pogba unable to recover in time, only Lichtsteiner and Marchisio were positioned near the edge, focusing on Bruno.
Kanté advanced rapidly, received Salah's pass, controlled it, and with a slight adjustment, delivered a diagonal pass.
The ball flew over the box, heading towards the far post.
During the fast break, Bruno had two options: sprint to support Widmer on the right or move centrally while staying behind the play. He chose the latter, positioning himself behind Kanté.
As Kanté received Salah's pass, Bruno gradually moved to the edge of Juventus's box. Lichtsteiner and Marchisio watched him closely, with one guarding against his forward run and the other blocking his path to Kanté.
Everyone knew Bruno was dangerous with both feet and could score from the edge of the box if given space. Upon reaching the box's edge, Bruno feigned a move towards the center, causing both Juventus defenders to react, uncertain if it was a real move.
Bruno then abruptly changed direction, sprinting past Marchisio into the box. Kanté's pass perfectly timed, landed at the left corner of the six-yard box.
Bruno's sudden burst of speed and power allowed him to reach the ball before Marchisio, leaping high to meet it. Marchisio, though quick to react, was too late to prevent Bruno from positioning himself and jumping for the ball. Unless he committed a foul, there was no stopping Bruno.
But this was inside the penalty area.
"Goal!!!"
"Gooooooal!!!!"
"One minute! To be precise, 63 seconds!"
"Udinese executed a lightning-fast attack, and Bruno coolly seized the opportunity, scoring against Juventus in just 63 seconds!"
The entire Olympic Stadium in Berlin erupted. Udinese fans went wild, jumping out of their seats and cheering madly. After landing, Bruno ignored the stunned Buffon and Marchisio, sprinting to the corner flag near the Udinese fans and sliding on his knees in celebration.
Bruno himself was surprised, not expecting the opportunity to come so quickly. But he was never one to squander chances, so when it came, he seized it decisively.
This was the Champions League final!
63 seconds, and he had scored!
Guidolin, after the kickoff and seeing Maguire dispossessed by Vidal, turned to shake his head at Portoluchi, indicating Juventus was pressing aggressively for possession.
But before he reached the dugout, his assistants started celebrating wildly. Before he could turn to see what was happening, the stadium erupted in cheers. Turning back, he saw Bruno sprinting out of the box.
A goal already?
"Did we score already?" Guidolin exclaimed in disbelief.
Realizing it wasn't a dream, Guidolin jumped for joy, shouting, "Wow, how long has it been? We've already scored?"
If not for the scoreboard changing from zero to one, Guidolin might have thought he was dreaming. It was so fast he barely had time to react, not even seeing how the goal was scored clearly.
The Udinese bench and coaching staff celebrated wildly, unable to believe how quickly and suddenly the goal had come. Allegri was stunned, feeling like he had been hit over the head.
Had they really conceded so early? He wasn't prepared for this.
Allegri had anticipated the possibility of conceding first but never imagined it would happen so quickly, catching them off guard.
At this moment, Allegri looked even more bewildered than usual.
"Yes, that's right! This is the fastest goal in Champions League final history, scored by the 20-year-old Bruno Fernandes, breaking the previous record of 93 seconds set by Bayern Munich's Waldheim in the 1999 final!"
"Udinese's first attack, their first shot, and it's a goal! It's unbelievable!"
After celebrating wildly on the sidelines with his teammates, Bruno returned, passing by the Udinese dugout to hug Guidolin and Portoluchi, still hearing the fans chanting his name.
Guidolin gathered Bruno, Salah, and Kanté, urging them to capitalize on Juventus's shaky start and extend their lead while reminding them to protect their defense.
On the other side, Allegri quickly adjusted. With his experience, he knew that in the frantic atmosphere of a Champions League final, under such immense pressure, players' mental states couldn't be measured by usual standards. He instructed his team to stabilize the situation first.
At this point, for Juventus, it wasn't about scoring; it was about regaining composure. A 0-1 score was manageable with plenty of time left, but conceding more would be disastrous.
The saying goes, "Old ginger is spicier." Juventus's veteran squad turned this potential disadvantage into an advantage, quickly grasping Allegri's intent. They knew they couldn't panic; panicking would lead to chaos, making things worse.
Led by Pirlo, Juventus quickly regained their composure. They tightened their defense, causing Udinese's subsequent wave of attacks to crash against a solid wall.
Though Juventus lined up in a 4-4-2, their midfield trio of defensive midfielders formed a second line of defense, making it difficult for Udinese to capitalize on their early lead.
(End of Chapter)
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