Soccer Coach 2004

Chapter Twenty: Extra Time

The final whistle blew. John had done it. His Inter Milan side had beaten Barcelona by three goals to two. They were in the final.

"You came just in the nick of time," John said, "If not for you I wouldn't have considered adapting my tactics to accommodate a youth team player, even one as talented as Messi."

Jamie just grinned back at him.

"I was worried for a moment when Larsson scored that late goal. But here we are, in the final, all thanks to you."

John was pleased at his own tactical maneuvers too, especially how he exploited van Bronkhurst's weak side in the first half. He finished off his bottle of water, suddenly aware at the amount of perspiration that had come out of him during the match. He had just finished gulping down the last gulp of water when he noticed a short bald man approaching.

"Congratulations on your win. Your last win of the tournament, I'm sure."

John looked Zach Bernardo up and down, he remembered his underhand tactics back in the conference room, and his fake support beforehand. He clenched his teeth, trying to hide his emotions.

"You see John, despite all your huffing and puffing, you are still just a tactical dinosaur; football has moved on John, you have been left behind."

"We will see about that when I beat you in the final. I've overcome far bigger obstacles in the last few months," said John, the anger building up inside, "Beating you will be nothing."

"You still haven't learned from the Ajax game have you?" Zach said, his smile hinting that John's misfortune was no accident, "You see, a good manager is one who can manage his resources, even those resources off the pitch."

John lurched forward, his right arm already swinging back ready to power forward and hit Zach Bernardo squarely on the chin. He felt something grab at his arm and something else reach around his chest. Jamie was holding him back, trying his best to stop John's anger turn physical.

"How much did you pay him?" John shouted at Zach, "How much?"

He struggled to break free from Jamie.

"Good luck in the final," said Zach, walking away, "Trust me, you'll need it."

"It's not worth it," cried Jamie as Zach closed the door. John's strength had finally got the better of him but the kid was now using his weight to stop John from opening the door and pursuing Zach down the corridor. "Just calm down, he's playing mind games, trying to make you lose focus."

John breathed deeply, trying to gain a hold of his senses.

"We can beat him in the final John," Jamie said, "We will beat him."

Manchester United started the final more strongly, creating chance after chance, but they couldn't finish. Saha had missed possibly the easiest chance of his career, and Rooney's shooting seemed to be calibrated to hit row Z. Jamie and John stared at the screen in shock and terror. John knew that if this barrage continued, then it would lead to Inter Milan conceding sooner rather than later.

"We need to stop their wide-men," said John, "Especially Ronaldo."

Jamie agreed, "It's a bit early in the game, but I think we need to make a change."

John looked at his substitutes bench. Thanks to Jordan Black's attempt to maim his entire team, the only first teamer on there was Emre. He decided to bring off Vieri and double up on the wing, hoping to overload that side of the pitch and force Neville to play more defensively.

The tactic worked and almost immediately Emre picked up the ball in a dangerous position and floated in a cross to Martins, who headed against the crossbar.