Almighty Coach

Looking at Dai Li, Harman’s eyes sparkled with excitement. Li surprised him again.

"Seems like Asian coach is not as bad as I thought," Harman looked at Dai Li with interest, and then Dai Li was pulled away by another player, to massage his muscles.

Halftime was now over. Harman didn’t make any adjustments to personnel and tactics, but instead, just told the players to strengthen some aspects of their games. If the game could end with a score of 0-0 in away games, it could be viewed as a victory for Dingtian.

However, Jeonbuk Hyundai became more ferocious, because they wanted to break the deadlock. They tried in vain for several times to achieve this, but to no avail. Especially considering the existence of foreign aid, Neol, Jeonbuk, and Hyundai dared not input their full power into the offensive. Neol was so prominent, that if Jeonbuk Hyundai didn’t leave someone in the defense line, it would be much too easy for him to get a solo drive.

As time passed, the score remained unchanged. In Jeonbuk Hyundai, all coaches, players, and even their own fans started to become anxious.

In the 61st minute, Jeonbuk Hyundai finally entered a substitution.

...

"Tweeeet!" the whistle sounded, as the referee took a yellow card for a player from Jeonbuk Hyundai.

On the other side, foreign aid Martin Thess lied on the ground, holding his legs with a painful expression.

As a key player in the midfield of Dingtian Football, Martin Thess was strong and had great stamina. He showed world-class insight, control, and tactics, both in offense and defense of his midfield position. As a Brazilian player, undoubtedly, he was great in offensive tactics and imagination. Meanwhile, in terms of defense, his steals and tackles always could build up an insurmountable barrier for the team.

In the first half, Jeonbuk Hyundai had committed several fouls, and was given a yellow card as a result. Thanks to the home field advantage, Jeonbuk Hyundai could get the help of the referee. Otherwise, it would definitely have been more than a yellow card, maybe even a red card.

But now, another yellow card issued, as Martin Thess fell down once again.

Team doctor Maraloni rushed to his aid, along with the medical group, to check his injury.

Maraloni knew that, if this game ended with a score of 0-0, Dingtian would get the home field advantage. Therefore, with the chance of checking on Martin Thess, he tried to delay time deliberately.

However, the referee ran to him quickly, assigning the stretcher group to carry Martin Thess off the field, and thus, not to affect the game. Obviously, the referee was also experienced, and knew what Maraloni was thinking.

Maraloni didn’t dare to talk back to the referee. Reluctantly, he had to let the stretcher group carry Martin Thess to the sidelines. And the game continued. On the ground, it was 10 players on 11, temporarily.

"Good chance. Martin Thess is a key midfielder of Dingtian, contributing both in offensive and defensive. Now he is off. It’s our chance to score!" without any hesitation, the Chief Coach of Jeonbuk Hyundai made all the three substitutions, which greatly helped in positive adjustments to tactics.

In this situation, now the condition suddenly became passive to the Dingtian Club.

For Dingtian Club, Martin Thess was irreplaceable, both in offensive and defensive terms. Especially on the defensive aspect, he was an overwhelming asset, gaining an advantage in front of Asian players. But now that he had left the ground, it meant a loss of an important barrier for the defense of Dingtian.

At this moment, Jeonbuk Hyundai realized that it was a great chance to score, so that they immediately pushed forward to score as soon as possible.

...

"How is Martin Thess now?" Coach Harman asked anxiously.

"It didn’t hurt the bone. In my experience, it is likely to be a sprain, but the severity of the injury requires further examination and confirmation," the team doctor Maraloni answered.

"I need a precise answer. Will he be able to play?" Harman became serious and said, "We don’t have much time to lose, and if he can’t play, I’m going to have to make a substitution."

In football games, every team only had three substitutions during one game, so each was so very valuable. The coach would substitute for tactical adjustments. If the substitution couldn’t have an immediate effect, this substitution could be said to be a failure as a tactical adjustment.

If one substitution was made for a player’s injury, it meant an opportunity was lost for adjusting tactics, even it would disrupt the original tactical management. So, for the coach, such a kind of substitution was obviously not worth it.

The team doctor Maraloni also knew the importance of any substitution, and said at once, "I can give him analgesic spray first, and then tie the injury with a bandage. He could continue to play, but I’m not sure how long he can bear with it. For insurance reasons, I suggest that you leave one substitution in reserve."

Definitely, this wasn’t the answer Coach Harman wanted to hear. He frowned, as he didn’t want to waste one substitution.

At that moment, Martin Thess, lying on the ground, suddenly said, "Let Coach Li have a try! During halftime, his massage relieved my pain. I want him to give me a massage again."

"Call Coach Li over!" Without any hesitation, Harman directly ordered Dai Li to come to the rescue. Now, it was 10 players on 11 on the field, Harman had to make every decision as fast as possible, without any delay.

Dai Li came over and started to do rehabilitation massage for Martin Thess.

...

On the stands nearest to the substitute bench, the management members of Dingtian were sitting there, all with a nervous look, watching as Martin Thess underwent treatment there.

"How is Martin Thess now? How bad is his injury?"

"The team doctor is dealing with it. Hoping he will be alright."

While everyone was talking about this, Dai Li came over, running quickly.

"It seems like the physician coach, right? Why did he come?"

"Shouldn’t we rely on our team doctor at this time? What’s the use of a physician coach?"

"Besides, he isn’t on Harman Team. I know this guy, he is our own coach, in our club, right?"

"Surely he is one of our own people, as there is no Asian on Harman Team."

Seated in the middle, Yunan Xiao also saw Dai Li running over and squatting beside Martin Thess.

"Seems like he’s giving Martin Thess a massage, right? How come it’s his turn to do this? There are specialized physical therapists and massage therapists on our team, but it looks like Coach Harman has allowed it."

There existed a doubt in her mind. She couldn’t understand why Coach Harman would trust Dai Li versus other coaches on his own team at this time.

By this second, Yunan Xiao couldn’t help but be more curious about him.

...

Owing to the fact that it was 11 on 10 now, Jeonbuk Hyundai had all the advantages on the ground. Meanwhile, the player who was substituted just now was full of physical strength, and he constantly tried to break Dingtian’s defensive line.

However, Harman didn’t make any tactical adjustments at once, didn’t substitute, and didn’t even let Martin Thess back to the field.

Even the TV commentator began to become nervous, "Martin Thess has been hurt and off the field for treatment for three minutes now, but Coach Harman didn’t make any substitution. So it seems that Martin Thess’ injury was not so serious. It may be not long before he returns to play again."

Another commentator offered a different perspective: "I’m a little worried about his injury. If it’s just a general injury, simple treatments would be alright, and it wouldn’t take that long. Martin Thess’ injury was obviously an accident for Dingtian. I think Coach Harman will make tactical adjustments. He might substitute soon."

"But a substitution can’t work for Martin Thess. During the three minutes without him, Jeonbuk Hyundai had launched two rounds of offense, including one threatening shot to the goal range. But by comparison, Dingtian seems to have not adapted to the situation well, without their core midfielder."

"Coach Harman should do some adjustments quickly, or Dingtian will concede anytime."

...

"OK?" Harman asked anxiously.

"All right!" Dai Li nodded and pulled up Martin Thess.

"How are you feeling?" Harman and Maraloni asked nearly at the same time.

Martin Thess stretched his legs, did several running actions quickly, then nodded, "No problem! I can play."

"Great! You play right now!" Harman patted Martin Thess’ shoulder and smiled in relief.

While team doctor Maraloni couldn’t help peeping at Dai Li.

"Simple massage again. Extremely unbelievable!"

...

"What? Martin Thess is walking toward the ground and signing to the referee. Is he going to get back on the field?"

"Correct! Martin Thess is back! His wound is OK for now. But we don’t know whether it will affect him."

"From the steps he walks, it seems like he is OK now. If he can play as usual, Dingtian will get its advantages back, both on offensive and defensive ends."

"Martin Thess is running. No problem. There is no problem with his movements. Seems that the injury isn’t affecting his performance at all."

"Martin Thess is back. Seems like Dingtian will regain the dominant position on the ground."

...

Martin Thess’ presence back on the ground not only guaranteed the defense in the midfield, but also raised the spirits of the other Dingtian players.

On the contrary, the resistance for the offense of Jeonbuk Hyundai suddenly was upgraded, and the pushing in the midfield was becoming harder again. What’s more, they had to guard against Martin Thess turning defense into offense suddenly.

In the stadium, fans had been booing with disappointment, while a heavy look appeared on the chief coach of Jeonbuk Hyundai’s face.

At this time, Harman started to substitute.

Since Martin Thess was not affected by his injury, Harman chose to make a substitution and do tactical adjustments.

Jeonbuk Hyundai substituted much too early, which meant that they exposed their tactical intentions after substitution. How could a world-class coach like Harman not realize it? So, Harman applied the latter tactic by substituting specifically. According to Jeonbuk Hyundai’s tactics that were exposed after substitution, he made tactical adjustments accordingly.

Seeing this, on the substitute bench, all people, including the chief coach and main coaches, looked on in desperation. They all knew that, for a tactical master like Harman, substituting now meant that he had seek out a tactic to counter Jeonbuk Hyundai.

By this time, Jeonbuk Hyundai had already used all three substitutions...

The die was cast!