As Morici expected, Samp directly substituted a midfielder, their number six player.
This player is also one of Samp’s main midfielders.
From the moment he came onto the field, his eyes were fixed on Morici, the intention was clear.
Sampdoria would definitely not let the Saint Remo people flagrantly take the victory from this match.
This would make them the laughingstock of Serie A.
After all, they’re still among the bottom three in Serie A, not at the top.
Losing to an Italian Third Division team?
Samp’s players couldn’t imagine how they would face other Serie A teams in the future, it’d be such a disgrace.
The second half kickoff.
Samp didn’t attempt a kickoff rush, but their attack was fierce, clearly planning to snatch a goal.
But with Latu Yidi and Lu Yang in defense, Saint Remo’s defense was a Copper Wall and Iron Wall.
Samp failed to sneak a goal.
On the flip side, Saint Remo’s ball control became less smooth.
Morici was heavily marked by the opposition, unable to become the organizational core or manage ball control.
Becher’s technique was adequate, but his passing strategy was far inferior to Morici. Occasionally, he could connect the team, but indeed, "mountain of knives" balls appeared on the field, unlike the first half – dirty balls.
Just like a mountain of knives, it was neither right for teammates to give up nor not give up.
Thankfully, Lu Yang took over the team’s control during this period.
He began to roam the world, no, roam the field, providing receptacle points everywhere for teammates.
Using sheer stamina, he contributed to Saint Remo’s ball possession.
Yet even so, Saint Remo’s ball possession continued to decline.
It’s not entirely that Lu Yang didn’t perform as well as Morici, but the opposition’s intensity kept increasing. Even if Morici was in control, ball possession would drop.
Enduring until the sixtieth minute, Sotu waved his hand, and Bai Zhami and Velsachi substituted Fernandez and Latu Yidi.
This was a bold substitution.
"Oh, we can see Saint Remo made substitutions. In this match, Bai Zhami just returned from injury, and the Fernandez he substituted had also just recently returned from injury."
"Both young players had excessive playing time this season, rotating between each other is the best outcome."
"Hmm... Velsachi didn’t go to the defensive midfielder position? He took Morici’s spot and Morici moved to defensive midfielder! A classic core backline tactic!"
"Morici is familiar with this position, last season in the Italian D Division he played as the team’s organizing defensive midfielder. But he actually showcases his qualities better at the mid position."
"It seems Sotu noticed that after the halftime break, Samp made targeted adjustments making Morici very uncomfortable. However, it’s uncertain if Samp’s number six will follow Morici to his new position."
"Oh... indeed! Sampdoria’s number six player went there, Morici remains under heavy marking, Samp decisively does not let him lead ball possession!"
"Sampdoria clearly understands Morici’s strategic importance, of course, it’s also possible Morici’s wild celebrations before halftime attracted enough hostility for him."
"This weakens Saint Remo’s defense clearly."
"Samp’s number six is an All-Purpose Midfielder, if he successfully intercepts or tackles Morici, Saint Remo will be in danger. Before, Sampdoria scored a goal because of this, and with Latu Yidi off the field, they’ll more easily execute previous tactics."
"What exactly does Saint Remo mean?"
Various commentators tried to analyze the intentions of Sotu and Samp’s coach.
Clearly, this was a tactical battle.
But all the commotion was quiet to Velsachi, who just got on the field.
Only words Morici said to him during halftime echoed in his ears.
"Subbing you in isn’t for defense... it’s for you to replace me and become the team’s midfield core for the upcoming match!"
One sentence made Velsachi’s blood boil.
Midfield core!
Velsachi?
Can he do it?
Substitution finished.
The referee signaled the match to continue.
After Velsachi came onto the field, Lu Yang consciously fed him several balls, helping him find his rhythm.
After adjusting to short passes, Velsachi increased his dribbling time, unlike before when he acted merely as a passing point.
His dribbling wasn’t breakthrough dribbling but rather some meaningless dribbling.
However, meaningless referring only to the game.
In fact, it was part of him getting familiar with the feel of the ball.
Bang!
Velsachi attempted a long pass, trying to directly find the freshly subbed-in energetic Bai Zhami.
Bai Zhami succeeded in breaking offside.
But the long pass was slightly off, and before Bai Zhami could touch the ball, it had already crossed the boundary in the air.
Bai Zhami gave Velsachi a thumbs up.
Can’t learn to cooperate with Zaza but surely can learn to give a thumbs-up?
Brother Lu said it’s beneficial for team atmosphere.
Just as some sighed over Velsachi’s long pass lacking precision, while others mocked how Velsachi’s presence on field fell short compared to Morici, merely like a laborer... and a non-compliant one wanting to dribble excessively,
Velsachi slyly made an internationally recognized gesture to Lu Yang and others.
WC!
Oh, no mistake!
OK!
But truth be told, an OK with an unclosed thumb indeed looks like WC.
"Lu Yang passed the ball to Velsachi again, turned, Lu Yang’s front insertion! This is the classic run pattern seen when Lu Yang played ball with Morici."
"Yet it’s Velsachi receiving the ball, he didn’t pass at the first instant. I knew it, this player has some ineffective footwork with slight ball adhesion."