Chapter 68: Chapter 68: Dominating the Advantage
Stankovic walked back while clapping his hands, signaling the Mallorca fans in the stands. He was pleased, as he had completed the task José had given him.
At that moment, the first Arsenal player to take a penalty stepped up, crossing paths with Stankovic. In a way, the two were almost countrymen. Although Stankovic was Serbian, the player walking past him was Croatian...
The player who passed by was none other than Davor Šuker, the golden boot winner of the World Cup, who had been substituted in during extra time.
Clearly, Wenger had placed him first because of his excellent technique, experience, and the fact that he had only recently come onto the field, so his stamina was not an issue.
In the World Cup two years ago, it was Šuker who had scored twice from the penalty spot in the round of 16, helping Croatia eliminate Romania and reach the quarterfinals. In that match, Croatia had been awarded a penalty, but after the first shot went in, the referee ruled that a player had entered the box early, forcing a retake. Šuker scored again, both times placing the ball in the lower-right corner, showcasing his technical skill and calm demeanor.
Wenger, recognizing Šuker's coolness and experience, had chosen him to take the first penalty. Wenger knew the importance of the first penalty taker.
Though the following penalty takers could try to counter the pressure, if the first penalty was converted, the pressure would shift onto the players after him.
On the sidelines, José sneered. In his view, Šuker's career had peaked two years ago during the World Cup, and since then, his form had significantly declined. It seemed that Eastern European players often had this problem; after they turned thirty, many in the Croatian golden generation began to see their performances drop off dramatically. Šuker was one of them. Other stars like Bokšić, Jarni, Prosinečki, and Boban had also seen their prime years after the World Cup fade. Occasionally, they showed glimpses of greatness, but it was merely the tail end of their past brilliance.
Interestingly, even later Ukrainian star Shevchenko had started his decline around the age of thirty. Few Eastern European players managed to maintain peak performance after that age.
This was when the downside of substituting Bergkamp early showed. The Dutchman had been Arsenal's first-choice set-piece taker, with a high penalty conversion rate. If he had stayed on the field, pairing him with Henry would have provided double insurance. But now, with Bergkamp off the pitch, Wenger had no choice but to rely on Šuker, who, despite his age, had the most experience and the best mentality among the remaining players.
On the other hand, José seemed much wiser in this regard. He had kept Stankovic on the field throughout, despite his lackluster performance, and despite the fact that younger players like Mota and Luke could play left wing. José had kept Stankovic on, fully preparing for the penalty shootout by ensuring there were enough reliable penalty takers.
But perhaps this was where the difference in objectives between the two coaches showed—José had already set his sights on the penalty shootout, while Wenger had never considered that the match might not be decided in regular time.
Šuker stood at the ball, gazing at the goalkeeper, who was a full ten years younger than him.
Mallorca had an aging squad, but Arsenal wasn't much younger either. The five players in the backline were almost as old as Mallorca's entire squad...
Franco, Mallorca's goalkeeper, fixed his gaze on Šuker's foot. The Croatian was a left-footed penalty taker, and it was likely he would aim for the left side, just like Stankovic. That meant the right side was open...
As soon as the whistle blew, Franco tensed and dove to his right as soon as Šuker struck the ball!
It was a gamble!
But halfway through the dive, Franco froze. As he saw Šuker's shot, it became clear: the Croatian had aimed for the opposite side—the right side!
Šuker's psychological insight was superb!
However, just as Franco was about to crash to the ground, the ball struck the outside of the right post and bounced out!
The penalty was missed!
"Šuker's penalty fooled goalkeeper Franco, but not the post! The ball flew out of bounds, and the score remains 1-0, with Mallorca still leading!"
"Šuker missed his penalty! This is a huge surprise! Arsenal has wasted so many chances in this match, and now they've missed a penalty in the shootout... At this rate, they might just have to watch Mallorca lift the championship trophy!"
"Yes! That's how it's done!" José pumped his fist, turned, and opened his arms, waving them in the air as the cheers from the Mallorca fans grew even louder.
"Go Mallorca! Go Mallorca!" the fans chanted, their excitement peaking as the next Mallorca player, their top scorer of the season and a key striker—Diego Tristan—stepped up to take the next penalty.
Despite Tristan having missed a penalty earlier in the season, the fans had complete faith in him now!
As Šuker walked dejectedly back to his teammates, Tristan confidently walked toward the penalty spot.
Šuker was aging, but Tristan was still young and in his prime.
Tristan strode forward, smiling at Franco, who was encouraging him with a fist pump. Tristan placed the ball at the spot and stood tall, facing the keeper, a man with a nice little mustache.
"Watch me beat you, old man!" Tristan thought to himself, full of confidence. And he had good reason to be—he had noticed, just like José had said in the penalty training, that the experienced goalkeeper Schmeichel was prone to slow reactions. The best way to beat him was with a direct, powerful shot. As long as the angle, power, and speed were right, Schmeichel would struggle to block it—after all, age was catching up with him.
Stankovic's successful penalty proved this theory right.
Taking a short run-up, Tristan kicked the ball sharply and cleanly!
The ball rocketed into the bottom left corner of the net. Schmeichel was slow to react, and the ball zipped into the net, making the net tremble!
"2-0! Mallorca leads by two!" The announcer shouted in amazement as the Mallorca fans erupted in celebration. Despite the anticipation, it was still surprising to see Mallorca take such a commanding lead in the shootout!
José pumped his fist again. Everything was going just as he had planned—Mallorca had taken full control of the penalty shootout!
Wenger, on the other hand, furrowed his brow. It was clear that Mallorca had come prepared for this penalty shootout. They had put in a lot of work, and that made Wenger uneasy. Only now did he realize just how well-prepared Mallorca was, while he had underestimated them.
The second Arsenal player to step up was Overmars, the Dutch winger. He didn't take penalties often, but Arsenal didn't have many players who were good at them. He was one of the few capable of scoring.
The Arsenal fans were praying for Overmars to convert this penalty, and he didn't disappoint, feinting Franco with a pause before slotting the ball into the net!
Finally, Arsenal's fans had something to cheer about. This was the first time in the match that Arsenal had scored! For a team like Arsenal, who often scored multiple goals in their league and cup games, this was quite rare...
1-2. Arsenal had pulled one back in the penalty shootout!
Arsenal's speedy winger ran back, while Mallorca's own fast man, Eto'o, stepped up next.
In the roar of the Mallorca fans, Eto'o walked toward the penalty spot. Since joining Mallorca on loan in the second half of the season, Eto'o had impressed many. Even Real Madrid's technical director Pirri had praised him, calling him the future of Real Madrid's attack. That gave Eto'o even more confidence!
With a steady run-up, Eto'o smashed the ball into the middle of the goal! Schmeichel had anticipated the shot, but Eto'o had chosen to shoot straight down the center.
3-1. Mallorca extended their lead to two goals again!
Eto'o punched the air and jogged back, high-fiving his teammates. The Mallorca players were now completely at ease. They had the upper hand in the shootout, and each penalty had been converted. Victory was so close!
Schmeichel slapped the turf in frustration. Though experienced, his slow reactions were no match for Mallorca's well-executed penalties. Arsenal was getting hammered.
Next up for Arsenal was their French midfielder, Vieira, who was Wenger's countryman.
Vieira, once a substitute for France in the 98 World Cup, had become an integral part of Arsenal's midfield. However, taking penalties wasn't something he did often...
Wenger feared the worst. The next two penalty takers were Henry and Pires, both of whom he could trust, but Vieira had to score this one, or Arsenal's chances were slim...
And then, the worst happened.
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Vieira chose to shoot down the center, but Franco wasn't fooled. Vieira's shot hit the crossbar and bounced back into the box!
Though Vieira was furious and followed up with another shot, it didn't count. According to the rules, if the ball hit the post or crossbar, the shooter couldn't take a second shot unless the goalkeeper had saved it.
With three rounds of penalties completed, the score was 3-1 in Mallorca's favor. This meant that Mallorca only needed one more goal to win the shootout and claim the victory!