Second Chances: Indonesian Football Player

Chapter 109's

"Okay, let's get serious" said Coach Marcel, his tone serious.

He had just finished moving around the room and had a light chat with the players. By then, Bersch Hill, assistant coach, had set up video equipment and turned on a large flat screen hanging on the wall in front of the room.

"I welcome you again at another post-match meeting where we review our most recent performances" Coach Marcel began. "However, I'm not in a good mood today. I'm still not happy with our defeat to Machelen yesterday."

"If we follow the game plan, we will definitely avoid it. But we made mistakes, put on a miserable game, and lost again. That's a concern." He stopped, letting his gaze explore the players in the tactical space.

For a few seconds, there was complete silence in the room, except for the sound of Coach Bersch Hill breaking into several pieces of paper on one side of the room. The players on his side, including Nero , all waited attentively until the coach continued his speech.

"I know defeat can happen in football" continued the coach, his eyes narrowed. “And I understand there are always winners and losers in every game. But losing the game because we didn't give our best on the pitch is unacceptable. We had all the possession against KV Machelen, but we didn't convert any of them. I'm disappointed with your performance in that game."

Coach Marcel sighed. "Let's talk about the one goal we conceded in the 23rd minute" he said before turning to look at his assistant. "Hill, can you set the video to the right moment when we conceded," he told him.

"OK," said Bersch Hill, putting his papers on the chair beside him. He then picked up the remote and started playing the video of the match quickly. In just a few seconds, the assistant head coach stopped the film, and a Sandnes player in a red yellow jersey appeared on the screen.

Nero instantly recognized Boubacar Dialiba, the winger who scored the two winning goals against Anderelcht the previous day on screen.

"That's perfect" Coach Marcel said as he nodded. "We can start watching from here. Thank you, Hill." He added, moving towards the screen.

Coach Bersch Hill smiled in response before playing the video once again. Boubacar Winger KV Mechelen, started dribbling and passed Cheikhou Kouyate, Anderlecht's left centre-half. Nero watched as he avoided two more players in white and went on to deliver a high pass into the box.

Then, one of KV Mechelen's strikers, the number 11, jumped over the defenders and connected to the ball. But instead of trying to score, he headed the ball back into the fast running path of Boubacar Dialiba, the left winger. Boubacar managed to maintain his composure and fired a howitzer shot into the goal despite having been marked by two Anderlecht players.

Silvio Proto, goalkeeper, helpless. He could only turn around and watch the ball curl into the top corner of the goal. The video stops there and then when the assistant coach presses the pause button on the remote.

"OK," said Coach Marcel, letting his gaze pause to some of the players in the tactics room. "Can someone tell me what our mistake was before conceding that goal?"

All players, including Nero, remained silent. Some frown or smile sadly. The rest stared at the screen with full attention as if their gazes could penetrate the fabric of reality and gain a better view of what was happening inside.

"Whoever?" Coach Marcel asked once again to see his players remain silent.

Bram Nuytinck, veteran defender of Anderlecht, raised his hand.

"Yes, Bram." Coach Marcel pointed at him.

"Fright, thank you, Bram," said Coach Marcel, smiling for the first time since the start of his speech. "You get the words out of my mouth. Our defensive form was a mess before that goal."

"Bersch, back off a little bit" he said, returning to the screen. The assistant coach did as instructed, replaying the video and simply pressing the pause button at the time Boubacar Dialiba received the ball. It was just over a minute before the left winger scored.

"Take a good look at the Mechelen players" said Coach Marcel, stepping away a few steps from the screen as the video began playing once again. He leaned against a table on one side of the room before continuing.

"Dead and see how we conceded this goal. If you only take a quick look at this, you might decide that the goal was Cheikhou's fault. He lost track of running. This guy ran across the wings and broke through our half, and finally gave a cross into the box." He added, pointing at the picture of running Boubacar Dialiba on the screen.

"But when a cross goes into the box, the centre-back does not jump to challenge the ball. Worse still, Boubacar somehow managed to make a 30-yard dash off the wing and arrived near our box before shooting and scoring. None of you tried to track his run. What the fuck?"

"Where are the midfielders?" His voice went up a little. "Where is his right back? How can we let a player run from wing to box without a fight? We were supposed to be the best team in Belgium, for God's sake."

He sighed, shaking his head. "It's unacceptable for a player from Belgium's biggest club. You have to read the game. You should anticipate any changes in tempo and react accordingly. You have to communicate and stay in the right form of defense for the duration of the game. That's the only way to avoid conceding such a stupid goal in the upcoming game."

All the players in the tactics room remained silent, waiting for the coach to continue. Nero also watched the video with a serious expression. But if he had to be honest, he would have admitted that he was a little happy inside that Anderlecht's first team had made a mess in the previous three games.

If the club is at its best and continues to win every game with ease, he believes the coaching staff will not consider him to be in the squad that soon. Therefore, Nero watched Coach Marcel's presentation with a flat face only to adjust to the serious atmosphere in the tactics room. Otherwise, he would have already started grinning if he was alone.

After a few minutes, Coach Marcel began alternating with Bersch Hill, his assistant, in making presentations. The two took turns to expose some of the players' mistakes in the match against KV Mechelen when playing the video game again. They are very detailed in showing what the players can do better to win. Minutes passed quickly, and before Nero realized it, the meeting was almost over.

Nero, for the most part, was rather bored. Throughout the session, she struggled to hold herself back from falling asleep because she woke up early and spent most of the morning exercising intensively. He only came to his full attention when Coach Marcel took to the stage towards the end.

"If we want to achieve something this season, we have to work as a team" Nero heard coach Marcel say in an excited tone of voice. "If our goal is to win the Pro Ligue or the Belgian Football Cup, we have to defend and attack as a team when we are on the pitch. There's no other way to do that."

"When we get into trouble in the box let's say two attacking opponents in attack, we shouldn't think that our two centre-backs will stop them alone. I saw that moments before Olivier received a red card for his last-person challenge, some of our guys were walking. They're walking." He emphasized, letting his gaze explore some players.

"The opposition team attacked our goal, but about five of us walked," exclaimed Coach Marcel, his tone changing a little dramatically. "For God's sake, we played 4-3-3. Three midfielders and two attackers on the wing should have rushed back and helped the defence. But, you all let Olivier face their two attackers alone, forcing him to commit a professional offense."

"Don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying that Olivier should have done the tackle." He half-smiled, shaking his head. "I'm just stressing that you shouldn't let him fall into a 1 vs 2 situation alone. If any of you three can run backwards when their attacker picks up the ball, I guarantee we won't be saddled with a red card."

"You have to thank Silvio for saving the penalty. Otherwise, we'll lose by a bigger margin, not just that one goal."