Brest vs Marseille
The fans filled the stand.
Everyone was excited about the new manager's first game.
However, it was an unlucky week for his first game.
And on top of that, they sent all the players over the age of 30 to the squad.
Marseille was one of France's strongest teams.
Could the Brest team beat them with a really young squad?
***
Pre-Match Brest Locker Room…
Oscar Leite was giving a speech.
"We've only been training together for 5 days, but now you clearly understand what I want from you. And I have full confidence that we will win this match. I'm going to ask you this and that. "
He took a deep breath.
"Will the Brest team create a new era in the future, are you ready for it?"
"Yes, boss!" The entire locker room groaned.
"Beautiful. It's great that you are like this. This is the spirit that I expect and want from you. Never give up, never be afraid to fight, and never lose your confidence. Every time you get tired, every time you think negatively, remember the pain you went through in training. And you are a team, never forget that! Everything is understood, isn't it? "
"Yes, boss!"
Oscar Leite gave a great motivational speech to the team.
"One more thing. Helder, it's your turn as captain. " said.
And Oscar Leite came out of the locker room with the assistant coaches.
Helder took a deep breath.
He shouted like crazy.
"Who are we?"
"Losers!" he was shouting like him on the team.
He shouted again.
"Who are we?"
"Losers!"
And he shouted again.
"Who are we?"
"Losers!"
Helder looked everyone in the eye and yelled again before going on the field for the last time.
"So what are we going to do today?"
"We will win, Captain!"
That was the atmosphere.
It was as if Helder was back in his middle school years.
He felt like he belonged to the Brest club for the first time.
And the team took to the field after this speech ...
***
The squad was as follows.
Goalkeeper: Helder Xerxes (C)
Defender: Luis, Angel, Pep
Midfielder: Alex, Cristian, Stephen, Leon
Striker: Thomas, David, James
They would play with a 3-4-3 formation.
Their tactics were to press the front area for the first 15 minutes and then lower the tempo and pass a lot in the following minutes.
The aim was to score goals with the balls captured in the first 15 minutes.
If they didn't score in the first 15 minutes, they would likewise lower the pace.
Because it was seen in the training that the condition of the team was very bad. This was the decision taken by the coaches.
"Wow, it was really true that the 16-year-old Helder would be the captain."
"I wonder if Real Madrid pushed them?"
"I do not think so. Rumor has it that the new owner of the club, Lee Long, wanted Helder to be the captain. "
"I've heard that, unlike you, Oscar Leite asked him to act as captain."
"Oh anyway, the match is about to begin ..."
These were the speeches of the fans at the stadium.
It was surprising and unexpected that Helder would become captain.
The referee blew his whistle and the match started ...
***
There was dead silence in the stadium.
No one could understand what was happening.
"Is this what we see as real?"
"Did we win this comfortably?"
Brest 3 - Marseille 0
There was a sudden noise in the stadium.
"You are awesome!"
"Our first win, this is it!"
"Helder, you played great."
"And David you scored 3 goals. You are my favorite from now on… "
The fans were crazy.
They showed love to all the football players.
The footballers could not believe it either.
The tactics of the coach worked strangely and wonderfully.
By the end of the match, Oscar held up his hand.
And shouted.
"Everything is just beginning!"
Helder was thinking of following the end of the match.
"We did tactical and conditioning training in the morning. In the evenings, we worked on the strengths and weaknesses of the Marseille team for hours in the meeting room. The whole team knew what Marseille was going to do. Everyone, myself included, had memorized all the rival players. We even knew the minutes to score the goal, we prepared the set attacks accordingly. This manager is an amazing tactician! And he's not just a tactician, he also gives great motivational talks. It's like being a graduate of the Cologne academy… Maybe he's just different from the others. "
"I think for the first time I am interested in a manager in this world that I just woke up." Helder continued to think.
Helder Xerxes End-of-Match Statistics
Saves: 3 (The reason he made so few saves is that they didn't give the opponent a position chance. And all the balls he saved were long shots.)
Goals Conceded: 0
Match rating: 7.0
Lee Long and his assistant Ricardo had watched the game from the stands.
All he was thinking was this.
"It is very important to find the right person at the right time." and he was happy.
The future was waiting for the Brest team!