God Of football - Chapter 235

Chapter 235: First Blood Drawn.

Chapter 235: First Blood Drawn.

The Copa del Rey final was well underway, and from the moment the whistle blew, it was clear-this was not going to be a cautious game.

Both Valencia and Athletic Bilbao had come to fight, to impose their will on the pitch, and to seize history.

The first ten minutes were a whirlwind of quick passes, sharp tackles, and relentless pressing.

Every touch was contested, every clearance met with another wave of attack.

The crowd at Estadio de la Cartuja fed off the intensity, voices rising and falling with each near-miss, each burst of speed, each crunching tackle.

In the 4th minute, Izan received the ball on the left flank, his first touch taking him away from Óscar De Marcos.

The moment he felt space open up, he turned on the afterburners.

“Here goes Izan!

Look at that acceleration!” the commentator exclaimed.

The Bilbao full-back gave chase, but Izan was already ahead, cutting inside and spotting Pietro making a run through the middle.

“Pietro!

Hold it!” Izan shouted.

Pietro controlled the pass under pressure, shielding the ball from Dani Vivian before flicking it backward toward Hugo Duro at the edge of the box.

Hugo Duro took a touch and let fly with his left foot-The crowd watching on.

BLOCKED!

Yeray Álvarez threw himself into the shot, the ball ricocheting away.

It fell to Andre Almeida, who struck first-time- JUST WIDE!

A collective groan echoed from the Valencia fans behind the goal.

On the sidelines, Baraja clapped his hands together.

“That’s good!

That’s good!

Keep pushing!” he encouraged.

He turned to his assistants, Moreno and Marchena who were analyzing Bilbao’s structure.

“They’re cutting off Izan’s inside runs, but their full-backs are too high.

If we get the timing right, we can exploit that.” Marchena nodded.

“We need Pietro and Javi Guerra pushing up more when we have the ball.

Let’s give Izan more options inside.” Baraja stepped forward, cupping his hands around his mouth.

“Pietro!

Push up higher!

Give Izan support!” The midfielder nodded from across the pitch, adjusting his positioning.

After a while, the match restarted, the ball being passed around in the half of Bilbao.

For all of Valencia’s early dominance, Athletic Bilbao wasn’t just here to defend.

The Basque side had built its reputation on being relentless, direct, and fearless in transition.

And that showed when Iñaki Williams picked up the ball near the halfway line after running deep.

“And now here comes Bilbao!

Look at the space for Iñaki!” The forward surged forward, his long strides eating up the grass, Gayà scrambling to keep up.

Before anyone could close him down, he whipped a cross into the box.

Nico Williams was there!

The younger Williams brother launched himself at the ball, meeting it with a thumping header- but Marmadashvili was there.

“MAMARDASHVILI SAVES!” The Valencia goalkeeper reacted brilliantly, diving low to his right to parry the shot away.

The Bilbao fans threw their hands up in frustration, some already celebrating before realizing the ball hadn’t gone in.

Meanwhile, the Valencia bench breathed a sigh of relief.

“That was close,” Moreno muttered.

Baraja remained focused.

“We need to control the pace.

If we let them get into a rhythm, it’s going to be a long night.” After Bilbao’s near miss, Izan called out to his teammates as they prepared for their next attack.

“Javi!

Move between the lines faster!

We need to break their midfield press!” Javi Guerra gave him a thumbs-up, adjusting his positioning accordingly.

“Pietro!

Hold the ball if you have to, but stay open!

I’m running inside more!” Pietro smirked.

“So you finally admit I have the better hold-up play?” Izan rolled his eyes but remained focused.

“We’re winning this battle.

Stay sharp.” Rallied by their fans, Valencia cleared the corner from Athletic Bilbao before proceeding to press.

The next time Valencia won possession, Izan immediately dropped deeper, collecting the ball from Pietro.

He turned quickly and played a sharp diagonal pass into the path of Thierry Correia, who was already sprinting down the right flank.

The Portuguese full-back didn’t hesitate as he whipped in an early cross toward Duro in the box.

Duro rose high, beating Yeray to the ball but the former’s header was just over the crossbar.

…

In the stands, the fans were already on edge.

A group of Valencia supporters had their hands on their heads.

“¡Dios mío!

That was so close!” one shouted.

Another fan, still holding his beer, let out a deep breath.

“I swear, this team is going to kill me before the night is over.” On the other side of the stadium, the Bilbao fans breathed a sigh of relief.

An older man, who had been a fan since the last time they won the Copa del Rey, shook his head.

“We can’t let them play like this.

We need to slow the game down.” His grandson, barely ten years old, held onto his scarf tightly.

“We’re going to win, right, Abuelo?” The old man exhaled.

“We’ll see, mijo.

We’ll see.” …..

Back on the touchline, Baraja and Moreno, together with Marchena continued their tactical discussion.

“They’re playing dangerously, Carlos.” Marchena nodded.

“If we get the first goal, they’ll have to open up.

That’s when we finish them.” Baraja glanced at his watch before looking at the players again.

He could feel it-something big was coming.

As the minutes ticked by, the intensity refused to drop.

Valencia pushed, but Bilbao resisted.

A true cup final battle.

The next moment of magic was coming.

It was only a matter of who would take it first.

….

“Valencia are getting more and more threatening by the second but Athletic Bilbao are relentless with their defending.

And can we just take a moment to appreciate what Izan has done this season” “Yeah George, it’s 26 goals, 18 assists in 38 games for him this season.

This is just utter madness.

If I were to tell you a year ago that there would be this 16-year-old called Izan getting these numbers, I wouldn’t be here right now.

Maybe an asylum at best.

Taking a deteriorating team like Valencia and carrying the team on your back in your first full season, in a league like Laliga is just a fantasy.” “Was!

It was just a fantasy, Mikel, cause Izan has done that.

And just as we are speaking, Izan moves forward with the ball, driving on towards goal, facing his opponent…..” …..

“Ven por la pelota[ Come for the ball],” Izan said to Hugo Duro, who had his back to the goal.

The Bilbao player who was marking Hugo heard what Izan said and, therefore, prepared to move according to Duro.

Just then, Hugo moved, and Vivian also went with him, but the pass Izan slipped behind the Athletic Bilbao defensive line from his side made Vivian rethink his life choices.

The whole Cartuja got up from their seats as they watched Diego Lopez latch onto the ball.

The Winger tried cutting inside but he was quickly getting surrounded due to the timely response of Athletic Bilbao’s midfield.

Being one-on-one with the full-back from Bilbao, Diego López used a few rushed stepovers to provoke the fullback into a challenge, but the fullback was having none of it.

From the corner of his eye, Diego Lopes saw a white figure streaking towards him, and without much thought, he sent the ball towards the edge of the penalty box.

Izan, who had escaped his marker, ran towards the ball, the Bilbao players chasing him down, but the latter had one thought.

Ding, [Pinpoint Accuracy Variation: Bend it Like Bec-] [Ahem, we can’t deal with the copyright.

Anyways, continue] With a resounding thud, and the weight of the stadium pressed upon his shoulders, Izan sent the ball curling towards the far end of the box.

“Izan, looking for???” The Valencia fans watched, hoping someone would latch onto the ball, And their prayers were heard, Pietro rising to the occasion.

The latter jumped and using his head, redirected the ball towards the middle of the 8-yard area where the ball was met with a volley from Hugo Duro.

“Huuugooooooooooooo” the commentator roared, the stadium watching on as the ball rustled the net.

“Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllll, Valenciaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa” “AMUNT!

AMUNT!AMUNT¿ Valencia” “Created by Izan.

Set up by Pietro and finished by Hugo Duro.

Valencia Ball at its finest.

Do not leave that kid alone but it seems the Athletic players have forgotten their Coach’s instructions.

Look at Ernesto fuming on the bench.

That goal was avoidable had they just marked Izan well” With the fans, roaring behind his back, Hugo Duro ran towards the bench, sliding in front of Baraja, who came to hug him.

The Valencia bench as well as the players on the pitch joined in on the hugs, pressing Hugo Duro down under their weight.

“Okay, okay boys.

Keep it cool” Baraja muttered as the players returned to their half.

“And we are off to a blazing start as Valencia draws first blood in the 14th minute here at the Estadio Cartuja, here in Seville.

It’s Valencia 1, Athletic Bilbao, nil” CREATORS’ THOUGHTS Art233 Your gift is the motivation for my creation.

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