Chapter 7: Danone Cup Istanbul Quarter Finals(3)

Half time…

The football players are tired and resting.

At the same time, they listening to what the coach was saying.

"So far everything is going as planned. Never be afraid of struggle. "

"Yes, coach."

All the footballers on the team had great faith in winning the match.

He was drinking little water in Helder.

If he drank too much water, his body would not be able to move quickly and use his reflexes well in the incoming balls.

He was using the experiences of his previous life.

Defender Mert approached Helder.

He gave the towel in his hand to Helder.

"Don't worry, captain, this is my spare towel, I've never used it before."

"Thank you, buddy."

Unfortunately, he did not have his towel, as his family's financial situation was bad.

His teammates also doing everything they could to help him.

Helder was also lucky to have such teammates.

It is always difficult to find a teammate who looks after and supports each other.

Football is only result-oriented, if you win you are the king. If you lose, you are no different from a pawn.

And if you lose, the team breaks up ...

Everyone blames each other ...

And in the end, the whole crime belongs to the goalkeeper ...

The goalkeeper becomes a king when he plays very well in a match, and becomes a pawn if the other game performs slightly badly.

The brutal face of football is hidden here.

Football is a game in which nobody takes pity on each other.

But there are times when you lose some matches, but unknowingly you are the ultimate winner.

Helder Xerxes was waiting for the day when he would win everything and crown the king ...

***

The 2nd half started with the whistle of the referee.

The opponent team started the game with 3 substitutions.

The opposing team also seemed to have changed its tactics.

The 2-1-4 tactic?

"Our coach was really right." Helder thought.

The opponent team played full attack-oriented in the matches they fell behind, leaving the defense empty.

In short, this tactic was based entirely on risk.

In fact, with those changes, it was already clear who would win the match.

Because Helder's team was ready.

As seen before, the opponent team was disgraced in attacking the set and establishing strategy in the matches they fell behind.

This showed the badness of Turkish football.

Almost all of the teachers of the Turkish Football Junior League were inadequate.

They didn't know anything.

Unfortunately, this would not change in the 2020s.

Helder knew this, so the plans in his mind should have worked perfectly in the future.

"They just play randomly."

"Well, really?"

"Why are they like this? They don't even rust. They randomly throw all the ball they get forward. "

The audience was muttering too.

Helder's team, on the other hand, was buried in the defense.

The attacking quickly with the balls they won.

The opponent was trying to come from midfield.

Eray got between the ball and his opponent and dropped his shoulder by hitting the opponent.

The opponent team waited for a foul, but the referee did not commit the foul.

Eray won this ball in the midfield, suddenly the opponent was caught missing.

The opposing team had only 2 defenders and the midfielders not returning.

Eray took this opportunity.

"Now is our turn. Enough to play with this ball. "

They 3 to 3.

He made a great pass.

Striker Burak suddenly faced the goalkeeper.

He shot with all his might ...

But what is that?

He shot on the goalkeeper…

The goalkeeper of the opponent team also saved the ball.

Officially the golden opportunity had missed.

The goalkeeper of the opponent team sent the ball forward.

This time, Helder's team was caught missing.

The opponent had suddenly multiplied.

They were passing very fast.

"Do not score a goal, a few minutes before the end of the match!" shouted the coach.

"Mert, you approach the middle from the left."

"Yusuf, come back even more."

"Kaan, keep an eye on your man."

"Hakan, you have to run back quickly too."

Helder was warning his friends.

They came unexpectedly, passing to the right.

The player dribbled on Kaan.

He entered the penalty area.

"Yusuf, get ahead of your opponent."

"Even if you play, don't be afraid, but don't foul."

The player dribbled on Yusuf.

He was just going to pull his opponent off his shirt when he gave up at the last minute.

The player of the opposing team passed the ball to his friend, who was waiting for the ball at the penalty point.

And there was nobody in front of him.

He was just going to shoot ...

The referee blew the whistle….

All eyes turned to the referee.

Penalty…

Alp, running backward from midfield, slipped towards his foot as the opponent was shooting.

And he fouled unintentionally.

"I did not touch."

"I didn't really touch."

"He threw himself to the ground, I swear."

The foul, unfortunately, could not be reversed.

And there was a long time before the VAR system arrived ...

Hakan came to Helder's side.

"I trust you, Helder. Again, only you can save us from a difficult situation. "

Alp had received a yellow card for objecting to the referee.

Then he came to Helder's side.

"For me buddy, please save that penalty."

Alp was very sad ...

***

The player of the opposing team put the ball in the penalty spot.

"Right or left?"

"Or is it medium?"

The player to take the penalty was right-footed.

And as soon as he saw this, for some reason, Helder's goalkeeping instincts were saying that he would throw the ball to the right.

He made eye contact with his opponent.

The player moves to the ball.

He pulled the shot.

Helder jumped to the right.

And yes…

He was coming to the right on the ball.

It was coming, but it seemed like he couldn't hold it.

Because he hit it very hard.

"Ah!!!"

At the last moment…

Yes…

At the last moment, he touched the ball with his fingertips and saved the penalty.

The whole team ran to Helder.

"You are a wonder, my friend ...."

"You're unbelievable."

"You're great, captain, great."

His teammates were not silent with excitement.

"The opponent will use a corner, so everyone can focus quickly." yell.

But the referee did not allow the opponent the opportunity to use the corner whistle and blew the whistle that ended the match.

Now the opponent team was protesting the referee, but the referee was also showing his clock.

The coach of the opponent team was crazy.

But none of that mattered.

Helder and his friends were in Semi-Finals in Danone Istanbul Region !!!