Capítulo 8: Chapter 8: Showtime
Chapter 8: Showtime
As an Italian Serie B match, this game didn't attract much attention. Only the local TV stations of the cities of the two teams were broadcasting live. Big media outlets like Sky TV or RAI didn't have scheduled broadcasts.
On the outskirts of the small town of Novara, the Ricci family gathered in the living room to watch the live broadcast of this match.
When Bruno came on as a substitute, the whole family was very excited: the boy who had been living with them was finally making his professional debut!
Although they had only been together for less than a month, the Ricci family really liked Bruno.
To Mr. and Mrs. Ricci, Bruno was a polite and extremely hardworking boy. He was very pure, with his eyes almost exclusively set on football. Besides attending team training in Novarello and studying Italian for two hours a day, he spent the rest of his time training alone on the community field with his ball.
Even though he hadn't had the chance to debut yet, the couple had a lot of confidence that this boy would make it.
In the eyes of the two little ones, Isabella and Abraham, the older brother living with them was a cheerful person. Whenever they saw him, he had a smile on his face.
However, they had few chances to see him. They only saw him at breakfast and dinner; the rest of the time, Bruno seemed to disappear, giving them a sense of mystery.
Now, they finally saw him step onto the field, even if it was in the garbage time of the already decided match—they were still very happy!
As for his performance, they didn't have high expectations. The match was already garbage!
But then they saw something amazing: in just 27 seconds, Bruno dismantled Cesena's defense and scored a goal with a beautiful shot with his left foot.
That... was incredible!
The Ricci family was astonished by Bruno's performance. The boy they had been living with turned out to be so talented.
...
Amid the astonishment of the Ricci family, the voice of the local commentator, De Canio, was heard on the TV.
"Bruno shoots! How beautiful!"
"4-1! Novara takes a three-goal lead again! The goal was scored by a young player who joined the team a month ago, Bruno from Portugal!"
The image on the TV showed Bruno's goal from different angles as De Canio continued, "This is the fastest goal in Serie B history! Bruno took only 27 seconds since coming onto the field! Bruno has set a record!"
"He and his midfield partner, Bizzaglia, executed an excellent two-on-one combination. After shaking off Cesena's left defender with his speed, Bruno performed a spectacular turn and unleashed an incredible shot with his left foot from the edge of the box. What a line, what an angle, what speed! Simply unstoppable! Not even Gianluigi Buffon could have stopped that shot, let alone Cesena's goalkeeper!"
"This young Portuguese midfielder, who celebrated his eighteenth birthday yesterday, has scored quite an impressive goal. This is his welcome gift to Italian fans and his adult gift to himself!"
"Welcome to Italy!"
"Happy birthday!"
"Enjoy your moment, Portuguese boy!"
...
This goal was a devastating blow for Cesena.
After pulling one back in the second half, Cesena, playing at home, had seen hope of earning points. But after half an hour of attacking, they were still trailing 3-1 and now had one player less.
Bruno's counterattack was a blow to Cesena's spirit.
The opponent was too strong; they couldn't beat him!
This goal dealt them a massive mental blow, combined with physical issues due to the extra effort during the attack. The entire Cesena team was in crisis, struggling in the following games and showing fatigue.
On the other hand, the morally uplifted Novara continued pressing Cesena.
The most active player was Bruno, who whenever he touched the ball on the field seemed to threaten with danger. Cesena's left defenders and defensive midfielders even received yellow cards for Bruno's incursions.
In terms of shots on goal, Bruno had three attempts in ten minutes, and each one was within the range of the goal.
Although Cesena's goalkeeper could stop his shots from outside the box, Cesena's defense was disorganized when facing Bruno.
...
"Bruno! Another shot from outside the area! What speed on the ball! Cesena's goalkeeper must have felt a shiver when he stopped it. This shot could have gone in if the goalkeeper's wrist strength were a little weaker!"
The TV screen showed Bruno's latest shot attempt. He received the ball near the center circle, turned, and shot directly at goal, but Cesena's goalkeeper managed to deflect the ball.
After several attempts by Bruno, Cesena finally reacted and retreated to defend, closing down spaces for attack.
With Cesena practically defending with all their players, Bruno and the Novara players were forced to change their attacking approach, resorting to long-range shots to threaten Cesena's goal.
Although long-range shots are effective against a team that defends deep, they don't always result in goals.
The challenges of overcoming a dense defense are universal in football.
Of course, this is also due to the defensive tradition of Italian football, and Cesena had been relegated from Serie A last season. Although their team had been dismantled this summer, they still retained a solid foundation.
For example, Cesena's goalkeeper, Teodorani, had been a longtime substitute and finally got the chance to be a starter this season after the starting goalkeeper retired. Although he had had few opportunities before, he had a good understanding with his two central defenders and managed to neutralize all three of Bruno's shots from outside the box.
...
"He's a good kid."
Tessar saw it all. Of course, he knew why Bruno was eager to stand out.
Now he was becoming increasingly interested in Bruno. In the last ten minutes, this Portuguese boy had shown impressive speed, extraordinary ball control, skillful dribbling, sharp penetration, precise passes, and varied shooting skills...
So... do you have more weapons? Show them!
Like the progress bar in a game, Bruno's performance in the last ten minutes had increased considerably in Tessar's mind, but he still needed more to ensure that Bruno would be a starter.
Bruno knew it too. Scoring a goal in his debut was nothing but a surprise. To him, showing enough skill in the game was what would impress Tessar.
In the litmus test of the game, Bruno could clearly feel that, after a month of training under a demanding standard, his ability had improved significantly compared to when he was in Boavista's youth team. His controls, passes, and shots were much better.
He continued to receive passes, dribble, pass, and look for shooting opportunities.
The keenest observers could see that his level was above everyone else on the field at that moment.
Especially his ball skills tormented Cesena's defenders, who would probably prefer to be substituted.
After coming on as a substitute, the attention of the entire field was almost exclusively focused on Bruno. He was now the brightest player on the field.
This was his time to shine!
(End of Chapter)
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