THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME-Chapter 545 Deadlock

The referee's whistle sounded again, and the Juventus players went into action. Andrea Pirlo smashed the ball from the corner spot and sent it on a curling trajectory toward Genoa's already chaotic box.

Within the area, the players of both teams had long started a messy battle of pulling, grabbing, and shoving each other. As the corner ball descended toward the box, there seemed to be the smell of gunpowder around the area. The scramble was a fight for aerial superiority blown out of proportion. As such, the eyes of all the competing players glittered with indomitable fighting spirit as they all struggled to outwit their opponents and meet the corner ball.

"Whoosh..."

Leonardo Bonucci, the Juventus center-back, was the first to overpower an opponent and leap off the ground to meet the corner ball. But under the entanglement of another opponent, his head missed the ball by mere inches, and he could only dejectedly watch it continue toward the direction of the far post.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh..."

A second later, players of both teams continued towering high into the air to connect with the ball. But their attempts were all futile, and the ball flashed barely above their heads as it continued on its teasing trajectory toward the area beyond the far post.

The next instant, right as the ball was about to float out of play, a silhouette finally connected with it. It was Carlos Tevez, who had long camped in the area just beyond the far post. The center-forward reacted like a Ninja and contorted his physique to throw himself at the ball. He headed it back toward the middle of the box before it could head out of play.

Another chaotic scuffle followed as the players of both teams pounced after the returning ball like hungry hyenas going after a helpless rabbit. But eventually, it was Arturo Vidal, the Juventus midfielder, who came out on top to send the ball past an opponent and toward the goal with a raised boot. His luck seemed to smash through the heavens, and by some miracle, his attempt flashed through the spaces 'in between' a hoard of players before finding the back of the net.

"GOAAAL..."

Being his usual eccentric self, Arturo Vidal immediately roared like a madman and started racing toward the corner flag to celebrate the goal. But right after taking a few strides, he seemed to realize that something was off about the situation and stopped dead in his tracks.

The next moment, he reflexively glanced toward the referee and noticed that the man was already pointing his arm toward Juventus' side of the pitch. Everything was then clear to Vidal. The referee had already blown the whistle to cancel the goal and then offered a free-kick to Genoa. 𝗯𝗲𝐝𝐧𝗼𝐯𝗲𝐥.𝗻𝗲𝐭

"Motherfuc..."

Arturo Vidal used every ounce of his willpower to stop himself from going berserk as he raced toward the referee. His acceleration was impressive, and he was in the referee's face within no time.

"Ref!" He said with narrowed eyes akin to a predator eyeing its prey. "What did I do wrong? I went for a fair ball and tapped it into the back of the net without touching an opponent! So, tell me why you canceled our goal and offered the opponents a free kick. Are you kidding me?"

"Raised boot!" The referee said lightly and stepped away from Vidal. "The goal will not stand as your actions lacked unprofessionalism. You were just inches from kicking Facundo Roncaglia in the head with your boot studs. Had he not stepped back to avoid your lunge, he would now be lying on the ground with a head injury. So, Vidal! Tell me why I should allow a goal scored in such a manner to stand?"

Vidal was incensed after hearing the referee's explanation. "Football is a man's game," he said. "How can you cancel a goal simply because a defender playing in the Italian Serie A, which happens to be one of the top football leagues in the world, was scared to make contact with the ball? Your actions don't make any sense!"

The referee smiled and said, "I have already given my explanation. The goal will not stand. Step away and let the opponents take the free-kick."

"But..." Arturo Vidal was about to continue arguing. But right then, the other Juventus players, including Andrea Pirlo, Carlos Tevez, and Patrice Evra, swooped in. They pulled the anguished Chilean midfielder away and stopped him from further angering the referee.

Of course, the other Juventus players were also unsatisfied with the referee's decision. But they remained disciplined and handled the situation calmly to prevent the worst-case scenario from happening. They wanted to ensure Vidal wouldn't get a pointless red card that early in the game.

*FWEEEEEEE*

A minute later, after the situation on the pitch calmed down, the referee blew the whistle. The game restarted with a Genoa free-kick. But after only a dozen or so seconds, the Genoa players lost possession, and the Juventus players took advantage of the opportunity to continue dictating the game's tempo.

The Juventus players were sure on fire. They continued arraying themselves in their 3-4-1-2 formation while launching attack after attack against Genoa's defense. They played splendid football throughout the rest of the first half and came close to scoring on numerous occasions. But again and again, their efforts always fell short when they reached the final third, and they couldn't find the back of the net. As such, the score remained deadlocked at 0:0 as the players matched down the tunnel for the half-time break.

After the fifteen-minute break, the game resumed with a bang. The Juventus players, who had just listened to Coach Max Allegri's pep talk, continued playing like they were on steroids. From the very 1st minute of the second half, they started dominating proceedings with their neat midfield play while sometimes attacking from the wings to mount pressure on Genoa's defense.

Everything that followed was only natural. The Genoa players couldn't match Juventus' individual brilliance and teamwork. As such, the players in red and blue jerseys fell back into their own side of the pitch to defend. Their strategy was straightforward. They arrayed themselves into a bizarre 3-6-1 formation, with all bodies back in their own half to 'park the bus' and weather Juventus' increasingly terrifying attacks.