After Michael Pihra's injury, Benzema, who was on the substitutes' bench, was especially excited and nervous.
Although he knew that it wasn't right to think this way, Michael Pihra's injury did make him happy because this child saw a chance for him to make an appearance.
However, he was not sure if the manager would send him on the field. Although he was the only striker on the substitutes' bench, if the manager Li Ang changed the formation and added an attacking midfielder, it would be possible. Sporting de Gijón had also practiced the single-arrow formation during training.
Li Ang looked at the substitutes' bench. He gritted his teeth and made up his mind.
He asked the assistant manager, Scott Trey, to inform Benzema to warm up.
The young Benzema saw Mr. Scott Trey walking towards him and then he heard him asking him to warm up. Little Benzema was even stunned for a moment before Scott Trey patted him on the head. "Kid, hurry up and warm up."
"Yes, yes, yes." Benzema almost hurriedly put on the yellow singlet and then ran to warm up.
*****
About two minutes later, Li Ang asked Scott Trey to call Karim Benzema, who was warming up, back.
Now, Sporting de Gijón had not completed the substitution. They were fighting with one less player on the field and only had one striker, Dinatale. Dinatale's characteristics were more like a shadow striker, so they had to give them a different change.
Benzema ran to Li Ang's side and called out excitedly, "Coach."
Li Ang, who was paying attention to the situation on the field, turned his head and glanced at Benzema. Then he pulled him over and pointed to the field. "I need you to go on the field and use your impact to create some trouble for the RCD Espanyol's defensive line. Do you understand? "
Benzema took a deep breath and nodded. "I know what to do, coach." In fact, did he really understand? His head was still dizzy. He was afraid that if he did not understand, he would lose his chance to play.
"Remember, go and mess up their defense." Li Ang looked at Benzema deeply.
"Yes, coach." The French boy nodded vigorously. He almost patted his chest and promised.
Li Ang saw that the boy was full of confidence and suddenly felt relieved. This was Benzema, who later became a member of the BBC. He should be able to rest assured.
"Go!" Li Ang slapped Benzema's back.
The game went on for 75 minutes. The fourth official raised the substitution sign on the sidelines. Sporting de Gijón requested a substitution. No. 9 Maiquel Pihra was replaced by No. 17 Karim Benzema.
*****
Benzema ran into the field. It was a set piece by Sporting Gijón in the front field. The French boy ran into the penalty area of the RCD Espanyol, ready to participate in the set piece attack.
The Spaniard's goal was just below the visiting fans' stands, and he could clearly hear the jeers coming from the stands.
"Hey. Little brat! Your mother is calling to go home.
"Brat, come into Uncle's arms
"Brat, your leg will be broken!"
Benzema seemed to turn a deaf ear to these words. His expression was serious.
"I didn't expect this kid to be so calm." Assistant Manager Banderas said. Beside him, Scotteri also nodded.
Li Ang smirked and said, "Benzema still doesn't understand Spanish."
Banderas and Scotteri were petrified.
The RCD Espanyol manager, Lautina, looked at Sporting de Gijón's substitution. He turned to his assistant and said, "This is the French boy." When he received Sporting de Gijón's 18-man roster, he also knew that there was a 16-year-old French boy on the Sporting de Gijón's bench. It was said that this was the boy's first time on the roster. However, Lautina did not pay attention to him because he did not think that the boy would play, or that he would be a threat to his team.
But now, he saw that the China manager had actually been replaced by the French boy.
*****
"Karim Benzema, French, plays as a striker, 16 years old, a player that Sporting Gijón brought in from France Ligue 1 this summer."
Lautina pursed his lips. Such a young boy. Ha, could it be that the China manager of Sporting de Gijón was delusional enough to rely on a kid to change the situation?!
The RCD Espanyol manager, Lautina, turned to look at the Sporting de Gijón manager, Li Ang, who was also standing on the sidelines. The China man's face was expressionless. He was very calm.
Logically speaking, Sporting de Gijón, who was playing on their home ground, should not be satisfied with the current score of 1: 1. However, Li Ang seemed to be able to keep his composure better than Lautina.
Didn't they say that the China man had a bad temper? Lautina thought to himself.
"The 16-year-old Karim Benzema is coming on as a substitute. First, the Argentinian Diego Milito left the field with an injury. Then, the substitute Maikol Pihela was also injured and replaced. Manager Li Ang can only field a 16-year-old French boy …" The commentator shook his head vigorously when he saw this scene. "Does Manager Li Ang intend to rely on this boy to break through the RCD Espanyol defense line?"
Many Sporting de Gijón fans could not understand why Karim Benzema was brought on. They thought that Li Ang might have given up on the game. Otherwise, why would he bring on such a boy?
However, there was still some applause from the stands. No matter what, this was the French boy's first appearance at Sporting de Gijón. There was always applause.
*****
Then, Sporting de Gijón's set piece was kicked out by Albertini. Benzema tried to fight for the header in the penalty area, but he was firmly suppressed by the RCD Espanyol center back, Luobo, who easily headed the ball out of the penalty area.
Then, De la Pena's pass was knocked out of the sideline by Carlos. Sporting de Gijón did not even get a sideline ball in front of the RCD Espanyol's backfield.
"Benzema was completely suppressed by Luobo. The French boy could not pose any threat to the RCD Espanyol's goal. I don't understand why Manager Li Ang brought him on. Is this to boost the confidence of the opponent's center back?" González said sarcastically. Although he often praised Li Ang and Sporting de Gijón in his commentaries, his mouth was also very poisonous when it came to insulting people.
The camera panned to the Sporting de Gijón manager, Li Ang, who was on the sidelines.
Li Ang's face was calm. It seemed that he did not care about the scene just now.
PS: I went hiking today. I'm exhausted. Fatty can't afford to be injured. There's one more chapter after this. There are quite a lot of heavyweight matches tonight. I can't watch the battle of the century. I'm typing.
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