King Of World Football

Chapter 21: Crisis

Chapter 21: Crisis

The knockout opponent of the Belgian Cup has been confirmed by drawing lots. It is Bill Short, who ranks in the middle of the league. This is undoubtedly a top draw, because no one wants to face Anderlecht or Bruges in the quarter.

The Belgian Cup is the only honor Genk can get. As last season's defending champion, it is related to the face of the team, so Genk is very nervous from top to bottom, and the league schedule from the end of January to mid-February is relatively tight. Intensive training, so the coaching staff are worried about the state of the players.

At the end of January 2000, Genk played against Lokeren at the Luminas Arena. Soon after the start of the game, Genk intercepted the ball in the backcourt and passed it to Karl Bess in the middle. Karl Bess accurately found Wang Feng through a long pass.

Wang Feng quickly started to form a counterattack. Lokeren's defensive player caught up with Wang Feng on the wing, so he made a one-on-one pass to the left.

Following up, Caspar Blanche seized the opportunity, calmly pushed and sent the ball into the opponent's goal.

1:0! Genk took the lead, and Wang Feng also successfully scored an assist. This was his third assist in four consecutive games. Under his performance, Genk's side attack was fully activated.

Towards the end of the first half, Wang Feng seized another opportunity to defend and counterattack. He passed the defensive player who fell to the ground with a shove, and faced the attacking goalkeeper.

2:0! In the first half, Genk almost sealed the victory, so during the intermission, the players walked into the locker room laughing and playing noisily. The head coach didn't have any new arrangements, just to let everyone focus, to stabilize the defense, and to ensure the fruits of victory.

Shortly after the start of the second half, Wang Feng was replaced by the head coach out of protection. When Wang Feng left the field, he received warm applause from the fans of the home team. In just a few games, he successfully conquered the fans of Genk.

Bobby April came on as a substitute. He was always uncomfortable with Wang Feng replacing him as the starting striker. He wanted to prove that his ability was not inferior to Wang Feng, so he was very eager to enter the game after he came on the field.

It's a pity that he wanted to prove himself too quickly. Because he was staying too much si the ball, it was taken at his feet. Lokeren launched a quick counterattack. After several passes and catches, the visiting team's striker found a shot opportunity at the front of the penalty area and volleyed decisively. The goalkeeper tried his best to save the ball to the bottom line, which shocked everyone into a cold sweat.

But the subsequent corner kick was not so lucky. When the ball flew into the penalty area, Genk's defense was very chaotic, which led to a mistake in the rush.

The player who caused the own goal looked remorseful, and the head coach Aimee Antonis stood on the sidelines and kept shouting tactics, so that everyone could defend more actively and attack more decisively.

His face was livid, and he hadn't felt this way for a long time. Since the New Year, because of Wang Feng's participation, Genk seemed to have returned to the state of the former defending champion.

But how did Genk play after he left the field?

Only at this time did the coach realize the importance of Wang Feng to Genk. He can not only drive the team's offensive firepower, but also contain the opponent's vital strength.

Only one goal behind, Lokeren's offense became sharper, and on the offensive end of Genk, April was not as sharp as Wang Feng's threat, and because of the indirect responsibility of the first goal conceded, he seemed to be even more incomprehensible in how he was playing.

After being in chaos for a while on the defensive end, Genk gradually gained a foothold, but when they were pressed and hit, they were always in danger. Finally, in the 85th minute, Lokeren seized the opportunity. The forward's first shot in the penalty area was blocked by the goalkeeper, but the follow-up midfielder immediately made a supplementary shot.

Genk finally shook hands with Lokeren 2:2, which is obviously not the result Genk wanted. After the end of this round, it is another difficult step away from the goal of the Europa League seat.

At the post-match press conference, many reporters expressed doubts about Antonis' premature replacement of Wang Feng. A reporter from the "Standard" even asked Antonis if he was at odds with Wang Feng and wanted to suppress him.

"This is nonsense," Antonis said a little angrily, "I admit that the substitution was a bit early, but it was more based on the protection of Wang Feng. He has experienced many games in a row. Let him rest. It was arranged by the coaching staff in advance."

Regarding leading by two goals but being tied by Lokeren, Antonis seemed a little helpless: "After the players on the field relaxed their mentality, some problems appeared, and Lokeren seized these opportunities. They performed very well and deserved this draw."

Finally, regarding Wang Feng's performance of passing and shooting in a limited time, Antonis said: "Wang is the most efficient striker I have ever seen in my coaching career. With him in Genk, I believe we are still a strong contender for the Europa League."

This praise is very heavy, and it also revealed Genk's league goals this season.

But apparently the media doesn't care about this, they just want to hype Wang Feng's early departure, some media analyzed that Wang Feng's recent popularity has caused dissatisfaction among the other players, especially the original striker Bobby April. Therefore, the coach had to make compromises for the harmony of the locker room.

Some media were even more outrageous. The report claimed that Wang Feng had a quarrel with the head coach, and because he didn't want to follow the head coach's tactical arrangements, he was replaced early, and he wouldn't even play in the next game.

There are also media reports that Genk is evaluating the technical route without Wang Feng, and they plan to sell Wang Feng to Mainz to make a fortune.

These reports were all groundless. On the second day, team manager Bill Albert and head coach Antonis called Wang Feng to the office and explained to him that the team wanted him to rest properly so that he could have a better intent to fight.

"Wang, you are undoubtedly our trump card. We will never sell you, and we do not want to reduce your playing time. It's just considering that you are still young and you have been playing for a long time. The schedule can cause problems for your body," Albert said.

Wang Feng said that he fully understands the team's decision, but he is in good health and should be able to take on more. He can have regular physical examinations by the team doctor. "This is a good way." Albert agreed with this suggestion. At the same time, Antonis also expressed the need to rely more on Wang Feng. "Your role on the court is not as simple as scoring goals."

The team and the coach's attention made Wang Feng feel the responsibility. Although he came here for a short time, he has gradually become the core now, and the team's goals and achievements have become issues that he must consider.

Wang Feng didn't feel oppressed in his heart, but he was very firm. This is the only way for a star to grow. How fortunate I am, in Genk, in the small stage of the Belgian First Division, to achieve this transformation is much better than those young talents who have sunk in the five major leagues.

So Wang Feng added ball-handling training to his training. His ball-handling foundation was good before, but as his popularity increased, the opposing defenders paid more and more attention to him, and he would be restricted in many cases.

Therefore, Wang Feng needs to practice his ability to break through with the ball. Stepover, deep-fried meatballs, oxtails, and Marseille turns, one by one fancy ball-handling movements are completed under his feet. Gradually he managed to engrave them into his muscle memory one at a time.

Sometimes he is very thankful for his adventure in Virton Park. Although he doesn't know what it is, it obviously gave Wang Feng excellent ball sense and football intelligence, allowing him to use the most correct method.