Chapter 384 Penalty Shootout Coach Johansen''s heart raced with anxiety as he watched his yers settle down around him on one side of the pitch. He was tense, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t seem to calm down. He understood that penalties depended a lot on the element of luck and experience of the yers. So, as a coach, there was not much he could do to improve his team''s chances of winning the penalty shootout aside from organizing an appropriate order and the best line-up of his yers to take the penalties.
"Okay, guys," he said, sweeping his gaze across his yers. "Listen up. Imend you for the great work done during the thirty minutes of extra time. You yed as a team and held one of the more experienced teams in Europe to a draw for more than 120 minutes of game time. However, our work is still far from done as we have a penalty shootout. We can''t rx. We''ve got to remain calm, highly focused, and at the top of our game during the next few minutes. Are you guys with me?"
"Yes, coach," the yers replied in ackluster manner. The fatigue had already taken a toll on them. So, they were focused on hydrating themselves instead of the coach''s words.
"Guys!" The coach roared after hearing his yers'' half-hearted response. "Are you guys with me?"
"Yes, coach," the yers yelled back in response. That time around, their voices were loud and clear. They reverberated across the stadium filled with chaotic chatter and even caught the attention of the Benfica yers on the other side of the pitch.
Coach Johansen smiled and nodded. "Now, that''s the spirit of a team that wishes to win a ticket to the Europa League finals," he said. "I believe we''re now on the same page. So, let''s move on to the crucial issues at hand. I''ll now read out the order of yers that will take the penalties. Listen carefully."
The coach fished out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket. Without further ado, he unfolded it before continuing. "The yer to take our first penalty will be Zachary Bemba. Then, Nicki Nielsen will be the second, Takumi Minamino will be the third, Mikael Dorsin will be our fourth, and finally, Thomas Partey will be our fifth penalty-taker."
"If we fail to decide the winner of the penalty shootout after the first five penalties," the coach continued. "Then, Alexander S?derlund will take our sixth penalty. After that, it''ll be Eric Bailly, Tore Reginiussen, Paul Kasongo, Yerry Mina, and finally, Daniel ?rlund, in that order. Have you all remembered the order of taking the penalties?" The coach nced around.
"Yes, coach," the yers replied.
"Good," Coach Johansen said, smiling. We have been practicing penalties since we started ying in the knock-out stages of the Europa League. So, you guys are already experts at taking penalties. There is no need to panic. You only need to remain calm and bring out those skills while facing off against the keeper. Remember to choose where to ce the ball before shooting, and don''t go for anything fancy. As long as you do that, you''ll convert your penalty easily. Are you with me?"
"Yes, coach," the yers replied.
"Excellent," the coach said, ncing at his watch. "The five-minute break is almost over. So, it''s time for you to head into the pitch and take the penalties. I wish you the best of luck, and let''s meet at the end of the game when we''re already the victors."
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Zachary felt like he was walking on pins and needles as he marched along with the rest of his teammates toward the center circle. Even though he''d already yed football on the professional stage for more than a year, he couldn''t totally push out the pressure brought about by the penalty shootout.
He dreaded penalties since they greatly depended on luck and understood that even the best yers in the world could miss them. Moreover, Rosenborg''s Europa League dream was on the line — and that caused him to grow tenser as he approached the center circle.
"Guys," Daniel ?rlund, the Rosenborg keeper, said a few secondster when the yers reached the center circle. "I wish you all the best of luck. Let''s win this semi-final." He then shook hands and hugged his teammates before marching off towards the goal selected by the referee for the penalty shootout.
The proceedings moved forward quickly, and soon, the referee called upon Zachary to step forward and take the first penalty.
"Good luck, Zachary," Mikael Dorsin said, patting him on the shoulder. "Remember to stay calm, and everything else will be fine. We all believe in you."
"Thanks for the encouragement," Zachary replied with a smile. He shook hands with a few other teammates before walking towards the selected goal for the penalty shootout.
A wave of silence swept across the stadium as most fans waited anxiously for the result of the first face-off between Zachary, Rosenborg''s young ymaker, and Artur Moraes, Benfica''s experienced keeper.
However, Zachary ignored the abnormal situation in the stands. He activated the Dead-Ball Specialist Juju and slowly forced himself to focus only on the goal and the opposing keeper. The Juju worked its wonders, and his concentration transcended the realms of geniuses. And slowly, all the distracting thoughts faded from his mind as he approached the box with confident steps.
After entering the penalty area, he picked up the ball from the ground and ced it on the penalty spot. The referee gave him the go-ahead, and he took a few steps back from the ball while ncing briefly at the keeper''s position. His incredible spatial awareness came into effect, and in anything but a sh, he assessed the situation between the posts.
*FWEEEEEEE*
The referee''s whistle sounded the next moment. Zachary immediately acted with haste and made an angled run towards the ball. He then took thest jump-step before smacking the ball and sending it towards the goal. His technique was incredible, and he sent the keeper diving the wrong way as the ball homed into the top right corner.
A soft smile lit up Zachary''s face. He exhaled with relief as the cheers around the stadium rose to thunderous heights. He felt like he''d finally unloaded a heavy load off his shoulders since he hadpleted his task and converted Rosenborg''s first penalty during the shootout. He waved to the enthusiastic home fans, causing them to cheer even more loudly before jogging back to the center circle.
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Rosenborg BK 1 : SL Benfica 0
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Therge jumbotron in the stadium showed the current score from the penalty shootout as Rodrigo Moreno Machado stepped forward to take Benfica''s penalty. The striker was surprisingly calm. Without losingposure, he sent Daniel ?rlund the wrong way and converted Benfica''s first penalty.
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Rosenborg BK 1 : SL Benfica 1
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The next yer to step forward was Nicki Nielsen, and he also converted the penalty and put Rosenborg in the lead again. The score was then 2:1.
Lima dos Santos, Benfica''s center-forward, stepped up next. He also remainedposed and sent the keeper the wrong way to convert sessfully. The score from the penalty shootout was then 2:2.
Then, it was Rosenborg''s turn again, and Takumi Minamino converted sessfully and reinforced Rosenborg''s hopes for the finals. The score was then 3:2.
On the side of Benfica, André Almeida stepped forward and also converted. As a result, the score was then 3:3.
Mikael Dorsin, Rosenborg''s left-back, was the next yer in action. His technique was also good, and he converted with his left leg to score the fourth penalty. Rosenborg was again in the lead as the score was then 4:3.
Next, Enzo Pérez, one of Benfica''s midfielders, also converted to equalize the score at 4:4. As a result, the teams were still neck and neck after four penalties.
The tension was in the air, and a wave of silence descended across the stadium as Thomas Partey, Rosenborg''s young holding midfielder, stepped forward to take Rosenborg''s fifth penalty.
After the referee''s whistle sounded, Thomas Partey made an angled run towards the ball and unleashed a heavy shot towards the goal. However, Artur Moraes, Benfica''s keeper, managed to dive the right way and punched the ball out of the y.
"Oh my God!"
Zachary felt a cold chill descend upon his entire being as he watched Benfica''s keeper celebrating after saving Thomas Partey''s penalty. His heart started racing, and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. He couldn''t help but bury his face in his hands as his heart descended into the abyss of desperation.
He was really anxious as Rosenborg was on the verge of losing the semi-final. If Daniel ?rlund failed to save Benfica''s following penalty, Benfica would win the game with five converted penalties. And then, Rosenborg would bow out of the Europa League that night when they were only a step away from the finals. The situation was really dire.