Chapter 377: Chapter 376 Sudden Death Law
Beep beep beep!
With the sound of the main referee’s whistle, the additional time ended, and the game was halted to move into the extra time stage.
This was also the first time in the history of European competitions that the Golden Goal rule in extra time had been introduced!
Yes, the Golden Goal rule!
It was also known to people as... sudden death!
The Golden Goal rule was a brief regulation in the history of football for extra time.
Specifically, if two teams were tied after the normal 90 minutes of play, they would need to play extra time consisting of two halves of 15 minutes each.
If one team scored first during extra time, the game would immediately end, and that team would be declared the victor.
This decisive goal was known as the Golden Ball, similar to the sudden death rule in rugby or hockey games.
The emergence of this system was intended to promote offensive football and curb negative play.
In the 1990 World Cup in Italy, Argentina, guided by the philosophy of "counter-attack," successively eliminated the entertaining teams of Brazil, Yugoslavia, and Italy during the knockout stages, and twice reached the final through penalty shootouts, ultimately creating an awkward miracle — becoming the runners-up of the World Cup with just five goals scored in seven matches.
This was a success for the Argentine team.
But it was a huge harm to world football.
The enthusiasm of old football fans was exhausted by this type of play, and new fans were not attracted by these tedious matches. Many sports have declined or even perished due to this dual loss.
Therefore, the Golden Goal rule came into existence.
So far, the Golden Goal rule has appeared in major competitions such as the UEFA European Championship final in 1996, the FIFA World Cup round of 16 in 1998, and the semi-finals and finals of the UEFA European Championship in 2000.
The beneficiaries were Germany, France, France, and France, respectively, with the Golden Ball scorers being Oliver Bierhoff, Laurent Blanc, Zidane, and Trezeguet.
Last year, the Portugal team was defeated by Zidane’s Golden Ball in the semi-finals of the European Championship, so the fans of Sporting Lisbon were familiar with this rule, but they also felt a certain distaste or even fear.
During the rest period before the start of extra time, all the commentators were talking about this.
Whether it was due to being a player down, or considering physical fitness, or the hard power of both sides, or the Golden Goal rule, Sporting Lisbon was considered to have no chance of winning.
According to live reports from local media, in the city of Liverpool, a large number of Liverpool fans had already started to gather, preparing to celebrate the team’s potential treble.
A Liverpool fan said in an interview, "This is just the beginning of Liverpool’s resurgence, we defeated Manchester United’s supporter — Deng Kai and his team. Next, we will take down Manchester United in the league next year! Take down Ferguson! Liverpool is the strongest! We are back!"
This interview appeared on numerous sports channels.
However, during the preparation time for both sides, another piece of news also gained widespread attention among fans, that was...
"Breaking! Found the culprit behind Liverpool’s second-half slump! Playing while drunk?"
"The reason for Sporting Lisbon players’ surge of energy is simple, they could not accept the disrespect from Liverpool, as Liverpool had red wine delivered to their dressing room during the half-time break!"
"Popping champagne at half-time! Liverpool celebrated their victory prematurely and nearly capsized!"
"Staff member: Gerard asked me if there was red wine during half-time and to bring a bottle to Liverpool’s dressing room!"
"Insider: Gerard did indeed ask for red wine."
"Informant who wishes to remain anonymous: Dortmund’s sporting director brought red wine to Liverpool’s dressing room, as they wished to acquire Gerard and Heskey! Negotiations will commence this summer!"
"A royal stance! Liverpool has absolute confidence in their strength; calling for champagne during half-time was a show of confidence, not arrogance!"
"Ronaldo: I do not know if it is true, but if it is, it really disrespects the opponent!"
"Zidane: If my opponent were to pop champagne during half-time, I would make sure they end up with a defeat or a beating!"
The news spread rapidly throughout the European football scene.
Within half an hour, it would likely spread across the world.
What Liverpool did was really outrageous.
But England fans thought Gerard did a fantastic job, that’s so England!
"Great job, Gerard! That’s how we show what makes us English people unique!"
"Eastern cultures value modesty, but that’s just because they aren’t confident. We’re confident, so we can afford to be high-profile!"
"Gerard has created a classic! In the future, popping champagne when leading by a big score will become a symbol of the elite!"
"This is Liverpool, the mighty Liverpool!"
"Gerard’s behavior is a reflection of his leadership ability, I think he should be made Liverpool’s captain in the future!"
"I love the way Gerard did it, so cool! So awesome!"
"I declare, from today on, I am a die-hard fan of Gerard!"
"Gerard is like Beckham, and he even makes up for Beckham’s only shortcoming—being too low-key!"
"Honestly, if Beckham had a personality like Zidane’s, he would have won the Golden Ball and FIFA World Player of the Year by now! I have high hopes for Gerard’s future!"
The absurdity of this world lies in the fact that after the mid-game champagne incident was made public, both Gerard and Liverpool’s popularity soared even higher.
Everyone supported what they did.
Most people care more about the outcome rather than the intention and the process.
It doesn’t matter if you’re just showing off; if you pull it off, you’re awesome.
Of course, if you don’t pull it off, then you’re a fool.
They never look at the essence, nor do they even care if something is real.
...
Soon, overtime arrived.
Sporting Lisbon made a minor adjustment.
Forward Joao Pinto came on for the exhausted midfielder Viana.
The lineup changed to:
Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic, Quaresma
Pinto
Bento, Deng Kai
Terry, Feng Te, Barzagli
Schmeichel
It looked a bit like a 4-2-1-3.
Pinto had experience playing as an attacking midfielder, and with Deng Kai dropping back, the substitution was not a problem.
On the other side, Gerard also heard lots of encouragement from the fans during the brief rest period, with the crowd even chanting "the next Beckham" in unison!
No English young player doesn’t wish to be the next Beckham.
Instant fame, a place in a top club, young national team player, a hero of a treble-winning team!
Gerard almost replicated Beckham’s path to fame, and might even get the treble honors earlier than Beckham!
Peep!
A whistle blew, and the overtime officially began.
Liverpool kicked off.
On the Sporting Lisbon side, Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic, Quaresma, and Deng Kai rushed forward to contest the ball, while Pinto, who was expected to move forward, remained in midfield.
