"Damn Ma Zeben, why didn't he just shoot at the open goal and be done with it?"

Hearing this warm and intimate greeting.

Xu Yun instinctively looked in the direction from which the voice came.

He saw that the speaker was a middle-aged scholar in his forties, not tall, with a small beard.

His clothing was relatively plain, and he looked quite ordinary, with nothing special about him.

The scholar was standing about two positions behind Xu Yun, no wonder his words could be heard so clearly.

Seeing Xu Yun looking at him, the scholar, feeling he had misspoken, hastily cupped his hands toward Xu Yun to show his apology.

Xu Yun also politely smiled back at him, without expressing any complaint.

Having witnessed numerous local Jing-Hu derbies as a fan, he had experienced plenty of fan dramas in later years.

In fact, such incidents were not too bizarre domestically; some derbies abroad were truly thrilling, requiring a large contingent of riot police, sometimes even sparking riots.

After all, it was just a bit of excitement, given the strong Cuju atmosphere during the Song Dynasty, it's normal for the Capital Imperial Guard to have some die-hard fans.

Therefore, Xu Yun didn't pay much attention to it, turned back, and continued watching the match.

Seeing that the Capital Imperial Guard he supported conceded a point, Zhang San, beside Xu Yun, was no longer as relaxed as at the start.

He was seen gripping his betting slip tightly, shouting with other surrounding fans:

"Score one, score one!"

"Quickly equalize!!"

In this tense atmosphere, the Capital Imperial Guard restarted the ball at the midline.

Perhaps after some communication following the loss.

Compared to the previous play, this time the Capital Imperial Guard's actions were much more streamlined.

A standard all-out attack, with great openings and closures.

Within just five minutes.

The Capital Imperial Guard organized three more attacks, each closer to the goal than the last.

"Oh, just a little bit off!"

After Ma Zeben failed with a header attempt, Zhang San was a bit frustrated but also notably more optimistic:

"Brother Wang, if they keep playing like this, I'm sure the Capital Imperial Guard will soon equalize."

But to his surprise, Xu Yun shook his head slowly:

"I don't think so."

Zhang San, after all, had a child's temperament, and since Xu Yun never put on airs in front of him, he was a bit unconvinced, and asked back:

"Brother Wang, what do you mean by that?"

Xu Yun pointed his chin towards the Capital Imperial Guard's backfield and indicated several positions:

"The coordination between Zuo Peng and Zheng Jia seems somewhat out of sync, especially Zuo Peng, who has repeatedly lost possession under the opponent's double-teams.

If it weren't for the other players covering positions, the offensive might have been cut off long ago.

As for Zheng Jia...

He looks tall and strong, good at defending, but he's quite slow when moving, while the Western Army's Ball Head and ball worker are very fast.

If the opponent uses quick and agile tactics... there might be some unforeseen events."

After speaking, Xu Yun shook his head, with a less than optimistic expression.

The Zuo Peng he mentioned referred to the player mostly stationed in the backfield among the ball workers.

His role was more defensively oriented, but he couldn't use arms to block opponent players like the regular and vice guards; his main function was to serve as a transition from defense to attack.

According to the functions of later football roles, it was about fifty percent similar to the role of a 'defensive midfielder.'

Defensive midfielder, as the name implies.

Its importance is akin to that of a person's waist.

If your waist is straight.

Your whole body can stand tall, move freely, and swiftly.

But if your waist is weak.

Your whole body will become listless, even losing mobility.

In Xu Yun's view.

The Zuo Peng of the Capital Imperial Guard seemed technically somewhat disjointed, which means he's unable to protect the ball; when pressed, he could only quickly pass it away.

As for the other Zheng Jia...

This person reminded Xu Yun of the later Manchester United player Niu Kui'Er.

Tall and burly, turns as slow as if in 0.25x speed, likened to an aircraft carrier turning.

So, adding these two positions together, there existed a possibility of losing possession under high pressing, allowing opponents to play behind the defense.

After hearing Xu Yun's analysis, before Zhang San could respond, a voice of admiration suddenly came from beside him:

"What a quick and agile!"

Xu Yun looked over and was immediately amused—the speaker was none other than the middle-aged scholar.

Seeing Xu Yun's gaze on him, the middle-aged scholar cupped his hands again toward him, but this time with a much more formal attitude:

"This young master speaks concisely, yet every word hits the nail on the head. I spoke abruptly earlier, and I beg for your forgiveness."

Xu Yun quickly smiled and returned the gesture.

From a fan's perspective, having one's opinion accepted by others is always a comforting thing, both in the past and present.

The middle-aged scholar seemed interested in befriending Xu Yun and began to speak:

"May I ask, sir..."

Before he could finish, another burst of exclamations erupted on the field.

Qiaoqiu Gao Shu from the Capital City Team had just received the ball and was about to organize an attack when two aggressive enemy ball guards appeared in front of him, with a look that said they were going to topple him.

Seeing this, Gao Shu had no choice but to kick the ball to the backfield, preparing to coordinate scheduling through Left Friend Shen Wenyao.

However, just as the Cuju was rolling towards Zuo Peng.

Several players from the Western Army sped up, recklessly heading towards the Western Army's Zuo Peng, clearly intending to close in and attack.

The Zuo Peng of the Capital Army was startled by this, quickly transferred the ball to his more backed-up Zheng Jia.

As a result, due to great pressure, Zuo Peng made some errors in strength and accuracy when passing, forcing Zheng Jia to turn back to retrieve the ball.

Meanwhile, in the stands.

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