From the man behind the football king to the football king.

Chapter 629 Trust
As Bruno sat here reflecting on himself, his teammates came in one after another.

Ronaldo originally wanted to chat with him, but when he saw Bruno's look, he didn't dare to come up and disturb him.

The first half was very boring, and everyone knew that the problem was Bruno's. But the problem is that this cannot be blamed on Bruno. The opponent's tactics were too powerful. What can we do?
Many people came in and sat in their seats like Bruno, with their heads down and not saying a word.

They had experienced a first half of great joy and great sorrow, and they really didn't know what to say.

Santos was the last one to come in, and many people looked up at their head coach. At this time, the person they could trust the most was still the head coach, and they needed the head coach to tell them what to do in the second half. Even Bruno looked up at the head coach.

Although Santos once told him to use his brain when playing on the field, if the players themselves can solve any problem, what is the need for the head coach to do?
He is a player in the game, and his overall consideration is not as thorough as the head coach on the sidelines. At this time, he is like a lost child and needs the head coach to guide him.

Santos happened to glance at Bruno, and their eyes met in the air. Santos said nothing, his eyes naturally passed over Bruno's face, and Bruno also retracted his gaze.

………………

When Santos walked straight to the tactical board, the locker room fell completely silent, and everyone was waiting for him to make some adjustments to the team.

"In the first half, our opponents performed better than us, so they deserved to be ahead." This was the first sentence Santos said, and it sounded like a subtle criticism of the team. "First of all, I have to admit that I made a mistake. I didn't expect the French team to have such a tactic. This is not your problem, it's all my fault."

As he said this, he looked at Bruno.

"Now, let's adjust our tactics. Bruno."

Hearing his name being called, Bruno stood up and looked at his head coach expectantly.

"You play in the middle in the second half."

This statement surprised everyone present, including Bruno himself.

In this game, Portugal played in a 4321 Christmas tree formation. Although Bruno played as a front midfielder, his position on the field was on the left. If he was allowed to go to the middle in the second half, wouldn't that make Portugal's formation asymmetrical? Or did Portugal have to change its formation?
"Your problem in the first half was that you were too far away from the opponent's penalty area and goal, so your threat was naturally much smaller. So in the second half you played in the middle, getting closer to the opponent's penalty area. This way you can bring out your ability to pass threatening balls."

"But sir, I went to the middle, then the left side..." Bruno felt that the problem was still not solved, he spread his hands and asked.

Santos said without hesitation: "We will change the formation in the second half."

Then, Santos arranged personnel adjustments. Quaresma came on as a substitute, replacing Joao Mario, and Portugal also switched back to the most commonly used 433 formation, with Bernardo Silva, Ronaldo and Quaresma forming a front trident, Bruno playing as a front midfielder, and William Carvalho and Moutinho forming a double back midfielder.

………………

After arranging the team's tactics for the second half, Santos turned around and continued to talk about Bruno's tasks.

"I noticed that they were getting less and less polite to you in defense, committing a lot of small fouls. The closer you get to their penalty area, the more chances we have to get set pieces in dangerous positions. I thought why can't we take advantage of our free kicks?"

Bruno understood that by getting close to the opponent's center and penalty area, he could complete the task of organizing the attack with fewer passes, thus avoiding endless entanglement with the opponent. At the same time, he could also get many threatening set pieces, as Portugal had two top free kick masters, him and Cristiano Ronaldo. As long as he used set pieces to threaten the French team's goal a few times, they would naturally reduce the number of fouls against him, and the pressure on him would be reduced a lot. He would have room to move again. In the position close to the penalty area, even a very small space for movement might bring about very different results.

This adjustment is really great.

"Okay, I'll listen to you, sir." After Bruno figured out Santos' adjustment intentions, he knew what to do, and he answered a little louder.

"Don't be impatient, I haven't finished yet." Santos made a calm gesture and continued, "When you are closer to the opponent's goal, it means you have more shooting opportunities. My advice is - if the time is right, then boldly try a long shot."

………………

Bruno nodded vigorously. He had no objection to the coach's arrangement. Long shots were indeed an important means of scoring for him. As long as there was a suitable opportunity, Bruno would naturally not fail to use it.

Santos was very satisfied with Bruno's attitude. Then he turned around and said to the whole team: "I know your performance in the first half was not your true level. I also know that you must have felt very frustrated in the first half. But it doesn't matter. Everything will be reversed in the second half. We will attack in the second half..."

"I remember saying this before the game, but unfortunately we didn't do it in the first half. We have to attack in the second half, there is no other way, if you still want to win the championship."

"I hope everyone adapts to this quickly. Remember this is the final and we only have 45 minutes left."

"I heard that there are 100,000 fans coming from Portugal. Do you want them to be disappointed after the game? Our performance in this World Cup has been very good. You are their pride. I hope they can still think so after the game!"………………

During the half-time break, many fans left their seats and went to places where drinks and food were sold to replenish their energy so that they could continue to cheer for their team in the stands in the second half.

Of course, in order to prevent fans of both sides from fighting after meeting each other, security in these areas is also very strict.

Fortunately, not many people will bring the grudges on the court to the court.

Unlike the excited French fans, the Portuguese fans seemed a little quiet during the half-time break.

They had a good start in the first half and thought they could take advantage of the momentum to defeat the French team. However, they didn't expect that they had no chance at all in the subsequent games and were suppressed by the French team and could not make a comeback.

The leading advantage did not last long, and now the leader has become the laggard. This psychological gap is unbearable for many people.

When the players from both teams ran onto the field, all activities in the stands were interrupted and everyone returned to their seats and sat down, waiting for the second half of the game to begin.

………………

Bruno, who came on the field, counted and found that everyone was on the field, so he waved for everyone to gather around.

After everyone gathered around, he stood in the middle and said to his teammates: "I have an idea to change our poor performance in the first half, but I need your support and help."

"Just tell me, Bruno, what do you need us to do?" As Bruno's good brother, Cancelo always follows Bruno's lead.

"I thought carefully about the reasons why we didn't play well in the first half. The fact that I was closely marked by the opponent was a major factor, but our entire team was too far apart and we didn't run actively. I think we can do this..." He pointed at himself, "Let me be the center of the field, and make sure there are a few people around me. When I want to pass the ball, it should be easy for me to find you, and the distance should be short."

When assigning tasks, Bruno was not polite to them and was not humble at all. He told them what to do in an almost commanding tone.

"No matter where I am, it should be like this around me, just like it is now." He pointed at everyone and himself, he was in the middle and everyone was surrounding him outside, forming a circle.

This makes perfect sense, and the teammates all nodded.

………………

No one questioned whether Bruno was qualified to command them, or whether he was right to do so.

Bruno has conquered all his teammates with his stable performance in the past few years, especially when Portugal won the European Cup two years ago and the Confederations Cup last year, almost all Portuguese players knew Bruno's strength and ability. Everyone would listen to what he said on the court because he never let them down.

This is trust.

"This will make it difficult for the opponent to defend. I hope everyone will pass the ball quickly and try not to let the ball stay at your feet for too long, because everyone has seen their tactics. Once the ball stays at your feet for too long, you will be pressed by them. In order to tear open their defense, we must be fast!"

He raised his index finger and said solemnly: "Remember, guys, we have to be fast in the second half!"

Everyone nodded.

"If we lose the ball, we must fight back. Don't cherish your energy. We are behind now and there is nothing to cherish." Bruno continued, "If we can't steal the ball, we must interfere with them. It's okay to foul them. Anyway, we can't let them hit our quick counterattack."

"Our offensive pattern is a little small, but it doesn't matter. As long as they are confused by us and relax their defense, we will immediately make a long pass and catch them off guard!" Bruno punched the palm of his hand.

"Good idea!" Ronaldo exclaimed after hearing the whole plan.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's do it!" Cancelo also shouted.

No one else had any objection, so Bruno's battle plan was implemented.

(End of this chapter)