Chapter 260: [260] "LUC OFF"

The fans chanted his name, their voices cutting clearly through the muting atmosphere of the home crowd.

Luc raised a hand, applauding the traveling supporters in return.

He reached the touchline and crossed the white chalk. Idriss Konaté stood waiting.

Luc slapped the striker’s hand, pulling him into a brief embrace. "Bro, the center-backs. Do not let them step up into the midfield. Keep them exactly where they are."

"I have them," Idriss confirmed, sprinting onto the grass to take his position at the top of the formation.

Hadj replaced Kévin Aubert. The massive center-back ran directly toward Amadou Fall and Leo Hernandez, immediately barking positional adjustments as he slotted into the defensive line.

Luc walked toward the dugout. Henri did not step forward to offer a congratulatory hug or a theatrical handshake. The manager kept his eyes locked on the pitch, adjusting his suit jacket.

"Ice yourself immediately," Henri commanded without turning his head. "Your shift is done."

"Understood, Coach," Luc replied.

He passed the manager and took his seat on the substitutes’ bench. Gabriel Assis sat two seats away. The Brazilian winger had a thick towel draped over his head and an ice pack strapped to his right thigh.

A member of the medical staff approached Luc instantly, handing him a water bottle and a bag filled with crushed ice. Luc took the bag and put it securely around his right knee. He leaned back against the plastic seat, exhaling.

"Did you see the replay on the monitor?" Gabriel asked, his voice muffled slightly by the towel.

Luc looked up at the small television screen mounted inside the dugout. The broadcast was currently running a slow-motion replay of his goal from an angle positioned behind the C?te d’Azur net.

"I felt it," Luc said simply.

"The velocity was clocked at crazy kilometers per hour," Gabriel muttered, pulling the towel back just enough to look at Luc. "With your forehead. From twenty yards. The center-backs on this team are going to be terrified of you in training."

"That is the general idea," Luc smirked, turning his attention back to the live action on the pitch... knowing fully well that it was one-off.

The referee blew the whistle, and the match restarted.

FC C?te d’Azur initiated their possession. The home side immediately recognized the personnel changes SC Valois had made during the stoppage. They attempted to analyze the new shape Henri had deployed to protect the 3-1 lead.

The Valois structure was now a bit different.

With Aubert off the pitch and Hadj introduced, Henri had abandoned the traditional back four. Hadj, standing six-foot-three and built like a heavyweight, slotted into the right-sided center-back position. Amadou Fall anchored the middle. Leo Hernandez shifted to the left-sided center-back position.

It was a rigid back three. Seemingly impenetrable.

Zack Florez, who had spent the first seventy minutes solo-defending the left flank from the fullback position, was pushed higher up the pitch. The LB stepped into the midfield line, operating as a left-sided midfielder alongside Klaus Becker, Cillian Doyle, and Hugo Blanc.

The midfield four created a dense, horizontal wall across the center of the pitch.

Up top, Idriss Konaté occupied the central striker role, flanked by Dário Ferr?o on the left and Bachra Goza on the right. Because the back three and the midfield four provided massive defensive stability, Henri granted total offensive freedom to the two wingers. Dário and Bachra were no longer required to execute exhausting recovery sprints into their own defensive third. Their sole directive was to stay high, isolate the C?te d’Azur fullbacks, and exploit the spaces left behind by the desperate home side.

Minute seventy-two.

C?te d’Azur tested the new formation. The veteran playmaker received the ball in the center circle. He looked out toward his left flank, attempting to locate the winger who had tormented Aubert in the minutes leading up to the Valois substitutions.

The playmaker drove a lofted pass into the wide channel.

The C?te d’Azur left midfielder sprinted forward to collect the ball, preparing to drive toward the penalty area.

Hadj stepped out of the backline.

The newly introduced Valois center-back did not bother jockeying the attacker or waiting for support. He recognized the flight of the ball, closed the distance with terrifying aggression, and launched his massive frame into the air.

Hadj won the header cleanly, driving his forehead through the ball before it could even reach the winger’s chest. The clearance sailed twenty yards back up the pitch, landing directly at the feet of Klaus Becker.

The home crowd groaned. Henri had completely sealed the wide channels. If C?te d’Azur attempted to cross the ball, they now had to go through three center-backs instead of two.

Klaus trapped the clearance and immediately pushed a grounded pass forward to Zack Florez.

Zack received the ball in his new midfield position. He was instantly pressed by a C?te d’Azur central midfielder. Zack utilized his center of gravity, dropping his shoulder to absorb the physical contact, and slipped a neat pass down the touchline to Dário Ferr?o.

Dário collected the ball in acres of space. The Portuguese winger drove at the C?te d’Azur right-back, utilizing a rapid sequence of step-overs before cutting sharply inside. He reached the edge of the penalty area and unleashed a low, curling shot toward the far post.

The C?te d’Azur goalkeeper dove at full stretch, parrying the ball wide for a corner kick.

"The new shape is perfect," Luc noted from the bench, adjusting the ice pack on his knee. "Zack steps up to handle the midfield pressure, and Dário gets to attack a retreating fullback without worrying about tracking back."

"Henri’s game management is insane," Gabriel agreed, watching Hugo jog over to the corner flag to take the set-piece. "They have no way through that back three."

Hugo raised his arm, signaling the routine. He whipped an in-swinging cross toward the penalty spot.

Amadou Fall and Hadj attacked the delivery simultaneously. The sheer physical presence of the two Valois center-backs overwhelmed the C?te d’Azur marking scheme.

Hadj made contact, directing a powerful header toward the crossbar. The ball skimmed the top of the net, landing on the roof of the goal for a goal kick.