A whistle sounded, and the next moment, Lu Yang completely calmed down.
Because over on the Italy Team, the goalkeeper Audi, who was so emotional that he started cursing, was shown a yellow card by the Main Referee.
Lu Yang shook off Zidane, immediately rushed over, pulled several teammates apart, and charged ahead.
"Calm down! The match hasn’t ended! We still have a chance!" Lu Yang shouted to all his teammates.
Only then did the teammates reluctantly turn away.
"You’ve made a very serious error in judgment!" Lu Yang, controlling his emotions, spoke relatively calmly to the Main Referee.
The Main Referee did not card him.
In fact, judging from the Main Referee’s expression, he might know he was in the wrong.
But he couldn’t change it.
If he changed his decision now, the pressure he would face would be far greater than it currently is.
French fans would destroy him.
And this place, is France!
More importantly, it’s better to be debated after the match than be confronted by fans now, right?
At this time, the big screen was repeatedly replaying the goal by Alpha.
The commentator, seeing such a clear offside, couldn’t help but say, "Alpha was indeed offside for this ball. But the linesman’s view was just blocked by the forward Rubeus."
"The Main Referee’s view was also blocked; it should be a misjudgment, not a deliberate miscall."
"If the VAR assistant referee technology that the Italian Football Association and Lu Yang have been advocating and promoting was involved, perhaps the Italy Team could have a fair deal. But unfortunately, this year’s European Cup only introduced goal-line technology!"
"And FIFA hasn’t even introduced goal-line technology yet. Personally, I believe these technologies really should have been deployed on the field earlier."
"If the Italy Team loses the match because of this goal, not only is this unfair to the Italy Team, it’s a blasphemy against the sport of football itself!"
After a period of chaos, the match could only resume.
The players of the Italy Team couldn’t stop playing because of this.
They each gathered all their strength, aiming to pull the score back.
But it’s too difficult!
The France Team started to retreat into a shell.
Zidane completely came back.
Rubeus and Robben also fell back to midfield positions.
Only Alpha stood in the front.
At this moment, the France Team was very pragmatic!
Extra time itself doesn’t offer much time.
The halftime break quickly arrived.
Three to two!
The glaring score provoked every player of the Italy Team.
During this period, Maniero went to find the fourth referee, then received a distant yellow blessing sent by the Main Referee.
He also received a yellow card.
Halftime during extra time requires no tactical setup.
Because at this stage, most players rely on their willpower.
Their bodies are already exhausted, and their various skills are nearly depleted; what’s left is only their pursuit and desire for victory!
Maniero broke down while encouraging everyone; his eyes reddened, tears welling up on the spot.
The Head Coach breaking down first is extremely rare.
Whenever such a situation occurs, the consequences for the team... are generally unspeakable.
But there’s a reason.
Maniero had once been like this, so close to the De Laurant Cup, as if he could take it by just reaching out.
But in the end, he could only kneel with Sotu on the grass, watching the opponent take it away, then lift it high, shouting we are the champions!
This is the only trophy Maniero hasn’t won in his career!
Also, it’s forever the blank and regret of the Italy Team before.
The Italy Team languished for twelve years, believing they had come to terms with it, as they were once so bad that they couldn’t even qualify.
With no eligibility to compete, naturally, there’s no thought of so-called regrets.
But who could have imagined that this year’s Italy would suddenly, unexpectedly, fight its way into the European Cup finals?
In the last European Cup and World Cup, they didn’t even make it through the group stages!
They even fell in the World Cup qualifiers, not qualifying for the World Cup proper.
Two years later at the World Cup, no need to guess, many on this team won’t be present.
They are too old.
And the emerging players can’t possibly reach the level of these veteran players directly.
The Italy Team will then undergo a large-scale changeover, with a sharp drop in strength.
So... this year... this year of inexplicable rejuvenation of veterans, this year of explosive performance from young Lu Yang... is the only chance for the Italy Team to vie for a major championship!
Only!
This is the real reason for Maniero’s breakdown.
Rebuilding after achieving glory and rebuilding after failure have entirely different outcomes.
The former, everyone is full of confidence; the rebuilding is much smoother and faster.
While the latter... the Italy Team twelve years ago was the best example!
Maniero can’t afford another twelve years.
...
Second half of extra time.
Minute 106.
Robben unexpectedly fired a long shot from the outside.
This ball was extremely tricky, hitting an absolute dead angle.
Yet, Audi was truly miraculous today!
He actually saved this ball, preserving Italy Team’s theoretical last hope!
Robben was somewhat frustrated.
Can even this be blocked?
Must be fake!
Minute 109.
Morici received a pass from Lam, performed a Marseille Turn to evade Zidane’s charge.
Then he dribbled forward through midfield.
Lu Yang inserted himself.
Joseph chose Morici over Lu Yang.