Chapter 228: [228] "GETTING READY FOR CÔTE 2"

Gabriel Assis turned and sprinted backward, tracking the overlapping run. But his reaction was a fraction of a second too late. The hesitation born of his offensive mindset cost him the necessary yard.

The reserves winger slipped a pass to the overlapping fullback, who whipped a curling cross into the penalty area before Gabriel could close the distance.

Pinto stayed rooted to his goal line.

Amadou Fall threw his body into the air, managing a desperate header that barely cleared the box.

The whistle shrieked.

"Stop!" Henri yelled, marching onto the pitch. "Gabriel, what are you doing! The moment the ball leaves the center, you must be in full sprint toward your own corner flag. Reset!"

The drill reset.

This time, the reserves attacked the left flank. Dário Ferrão recognized what to do immediately. As the long ball sailed through the air, the Portuguese winger abandoned his advanced position and sprinted backward, matching the overlapping run of the reserve right-back.

Zack Florez stepped up to engage the ball carrier. Dário arrived in time to cut off the overlap. The two-versus-two was established. The reserve winger, finding no passing lane and facing a double-team, was forced to turn his hips and play a safe pass backward to his central midfielder.

"Good!" Henri shouted. "That is the standard!"

But Luc, watching the sequence unfold from his high central position, noticed the immediate flaw in the tactic.

When the reserves played the ball backward, Klaus intercepted a sloppy pass. The interim captain looked up, ready to launch a counter-attack. But Dário was sixty yards away, hovering near his own corner flag. Gabriel was equally deep on the opposite side.

Luc was isolated against two center-backs.

There was no outlet. The rapid transition that SC Valois relied upon was completely neutralized because their wingers were pinned in their own defensive third.

Klaus was forced to hold the ball, allowing the reserves to reset their defensive shape.

"We lose our edge by doing this," Luc murmured to himself, analyzing the pitch. Protecting Pinto meant sacrificing their offensive lethality. They were essentially playing with a back six during the defensive phase.

The drill continued for another grueling twenty minutes. The physical toll of the relentless sprinting began to show. Gabriel was gasping for air, his hands resting on his knees between repetitions.

Dário’s tracking runs grew slightly slower, his acceleration fading as fatigue built up in his legs.

Henri refused to lower the intensity. He demanded perfection.

Minute forty-five of the transition drill.

The reserves orchestrated another switch of play, driving a flat pass out to the main eleven’s left flank. Dário Ferrão, completely exhausted from a previous offensive sprint, was caught ten yards too high.

He turned and ran, but it was obvious he wasn’t going to make it in time.

The reserve right-winger received the ball. The reserve right-back overlapped instantly, creating a clean two-versus-one isolation against Zack Florez.

Luc braced for the inevitable cross. Pinto shifted nervously on his line.

But Zack Florez did not panic.

The eighteen-year-old left-back possessed a quiet, understated intelligence that often went unnoticed beneath the flashy brilliance of the attacking youngsters. Zack didn’t lunge at the winger or opt to commit his hips to the overlapping fullback.

Zack executed a masterclass in jockeying. He backpedaled at an angle, deliberately opening his body to invite the pass to the overlapping fullback, while simultaneously positioning his center of gravity to explode outward.

The reserve winger took the bait. He pushed a short pass toward the overlapping runner. But the exact millisecond the ball left the winger’s boot, Zack snapped. He stepped across the fullback’s path, shielding the ball with his torso and absorbing a heavy shoulder charge without losing his balance.

Zack emerged with possession, unbothered, and immediately zipped a grounded pass up the touchline to Dário, who was now perfectly positioned to launch a counter-attack because he hadn’t tracked all the way back.

The whistle blew.

The manager stood silently on the touchline, staring at Zack Florez.

The entire squad paused, breathing heavily, waiting for the coach’s critique.

Henri walked slowly onto the grass, pointing his laser-focused gaze at the young left-back. "Do that again. Reset the scenario. Dário, stay high. Zack, handle the overload."

The reserves lined up. The ball was played wide. The overlap began again.

Once again, Zack found himself isolated in a two-versus-one. He replicated his past action flawlessly. He manipulated the distance, baiting the winger into indecision.

When the winger attempted to cut inside rather than pass, Zack dropped his left shoulder, stepped in with clinical timing, and stripped the ball cleanly from the attacker’s laces.

Henri blew the whistle yet again.

The manager turned to his assistant coaches, then looked back at the pitch. The rigid framework Henri had spent the entire morning drilling suddenly reformed in his mind.

"Dário," Henri called out, his voice echoing across the complex. "You do not track back on the left flank anymore. You stay high. You hover around the halfway line."

Dário blinked, confused by the sudden reversal. "Coach?"

"Zack does not need your help," Henri stated plainly, offering a rare compliment to a defender. "He can manage on his own. He reads the overlaps perfectly."

The tactical implications rippled through the squad. Luc’s eyes widened as he processed the adjustment.

If Zack Florez could solo-protect the left-back area, SC Valois did not need to drop both wingers into a defensive wall. They could operate asymmetrically. The right winger would still double-team on the right, providing Kévin Aubert the necessary cover.

But Dário would remain advanced.

When a midfielder wins the ball in the midfield, they wouldn’t have to hold possession and wait. They would have an immediate outlet on the left side to launch the counter-attack. The offensive transition was restored.

"Asymmetrical cover," Klaus murmured to Baini, nodding in approval. "It balances the structure a little at least."

Zack Florez simply nodded at the manager, his expression remaining stoic, though a faint flush of pride colored the back of his neck.