Super Marshal

On September 20, 2009, at 13:30 in the afternoon.

Manchester Old Trafford Stadium.

Ben Foster, the Manchester United goalkeeper in a yellow jersey, stood in front of the goal line, looking up at the sky very reverently, reaching out his forehead and chest, and praying eloquently in his mouth.

He is already twenty-five years old.

He made his career in Stoke City, but he never played for Stoke City for even a minute. During those three years, he was loaned to five teams and wandered almost every six months. Until 2005, he was loaned to the Wrexham team in Wales.

In Wrexham, he met a man who completely changed his life.

His teammate, the son of Manchester United coach Ferguson, Darren Ferguson.

He will never forget that night at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales four years ago.

It was one of the few games that Ben Foster played for Wrexham. In that game, he was in very good form and staged many wonderful saves, helping Wrexham defeat his opponent by 2-0 and win the championship. .

After the game, Ferguson personally came to the locker room to visit his son Darren, but also met Ben Foster.

Three months later, Manchester United bought Ben Foster from Stoke City for two million pounds.

But it is not easy to gain a foothold in the Red Devils. Ben Foster was loaned to Watford just after joining.

In the first season, he was the main goalkeeper to help Watford succeed in the Super League, and he stood firm and performed very well, and in the summer of 2006, he was unexpectedly selected for the England and Germany World Cup squad, which made Ben · Foster became famous in one fell swoop.

After returning from the World Cup, Ben Foster continued to play for Watford to further enhance his strength. With his excellent performance, he was selected for the national team many times and even became the national team's starting goalkeeper. After the season, He also logically ended the experience of the outside world, returned to Old Trafford, and officially began the new journey of succeeding Van der Sar.

But the two years at Manchester United are undoubtedly lonely.

The old and strong Van der Sar firmly controlled the position of Manchester United’s main goalkeeper. The fierce competition gave Ben Foster little chance. In two years, he only got three league exercises. This is for a player who is in urgent need of game experience. For the goalkeeper, it is undoubtedly a very painful thing.

But this is not the most terrifying thing, but the long-term lack of competition has made him lose that kind of keen reaction, and the long-term stay away from the game makes him unable to adjust his situation skillfully.

Many people simply can’t understand that as a goalkeeper, especially Manchester United’s goalkeeper, most of the time in the game is standing alone in front of the goal. Especially in the cold season, the whole body seems to be stiff, but it can be used as an opponent. When entering halftime, he must react as soon as possible.

These two extreme conditions are a huge test for any goalkeeper. Only experienced goalkeepers know how to adjust themselves in the game, so that they can stay in the best condition anytime and anywhere, and deal with the sudden attack of the opponent. .

At the beginning of March, Ben Foster performed well in the League Cup, and in the final penalty shootout, he saved a penalty kick from a Tottenham Hotspur player and finally helped Manchester United win the League Cup.

After the game, Ferguson personally led the contract extension with Ben Foster, raising his weekly salary to 25,000 pounds, and appointed him as Van der Sar’s successor, and promised him a long Ten years in the future.

In early August, Manchester United was invited to participate in the Audi Cup, but in the final, Bayern Munich midfielder Vidal’s powerful volley contused Van der Sar’s left hand, causing a broken finger in his left hand. He had to undergo surgery and was suspended for at least two months. .

For Ben Foster, this is undoubtedly great news, and it can be said to be a godsend opportunity.

You know, Van der Sar is thirty-eight years old. Although his condition is very good, as long as Ben Foster can show the ability to replace the Dutch goalkeeper in these two months, he will Instead, Van der Sar, to secure the throne of Manchester United's main goalkeeper, that is a matter of course.

But I don't know if it was because of this, he put a little pressure on himself instead.

During Van der Sar’s injury, Ford was firmly established as Manchester United’s main goalkeeper. He played five league games this season and conceded three goals. The data is not ugly, but Foster has made a total of three fatal errors. As a result, he has been questioned by the outside world this season, and many people believe that his strength is not up to Manchester United's requirements.

You know, he was compared with Edwin Van der Sar!

That is a near-legendary figure in European football!

Foster felt that this comparison was very unfair to him, but he still tried to prove himself, he had to prove it to everyone, he, Ben Foster was worthy of the position of Manchester United's main goalkeeper.

He played well before playing Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. I hope he can continue this good momentum in this game against Manchester City.

…………

…………

"Well, the game has started!"

Giggs, wearing the captain's armband on the field, clapped his hands vigorously and called out loudly to his teammates around him.

In the absence of team captain Gary Neville due to injury, the deputy captain Giggs serves as the team's captain and is responsible for directing teammates on the court to play.

"Be careful, they are coming up."

As the whistle of the game sounded, Manchester City, who played away in the away game, rebelled against the guest and pressed on, showing the momentum to suppress Manchester United from the beginning, and also made Manchester United's entire midfielder like a big enemy.

But the game has just begun. Just after the first wave of Manchester City's attack, Manchester United broke the ball and passed it back to the back line. Ferdinand was responsible for the ball.

Manchester City's trident in the front court pressed very tightly, rushing towards Manchester United's defense, especially Benzema, and directly rushed towards Ferdinand who took the ball, and the speed was still very fast.

Ferdinand felt the threat, turned around to protect the ball, and passed the ball back to the goalkeeper Foster.

Unexpectedly, Benzema did not slow down, passing directly beside Ferdinand and chasing the ball.

What's more terrible is that Ferdinand's pass was a little weaker. After Foster was taken aback, he resolutely abandoned the goal and took the lead to clear the siege, but Benzema still flew up and wanted to use his body Block Foster's path.

With only a bang, the ball hit Benzema's back firmly and bounced towards the goal.

The whole Old Trafford stadium screamed, only to see Benzema quickly chasing the ball, but Foster was so shocked that he almost lost his soul. He hurried to a step faster and took the lead with a big foot. Kicked off the boundary, Manchester City's out-of-bounds ball.

After dealing with this, Foster felt that his back was straight and cold, and his whole heart was beating out of his voice.

But there was a huge boo from the stands at Old Trafford, and many fans were booing Foster.

This made Ben Foster, who was on the court, very depressed. He looked at Ferdinand again, but the big guy in the locker room of the team still looked nonchalant, as if the ball just hit him. It doesn't matter.

But it was obviously that his passing power was weak, which led to the passive Foster who received the ball. How did it become a goalkeeper problem?

"Just concentrate, they're here again!"

Manchester City quickly issued a foul ball. Sanchez ran to the right after receiving the ball and picked a pass to the penalty area. Benzema blocked Pepe in the penalty area and dexterously stopped the ball before turning around and kicking the goal.

Foster was shocked, flew forward and hugged the ball under him.

Fortunately, Benzema was interfered by Pepe, this kick failed to hit the force, otherwise, Foster would not be able to pounce, which made the Manchester United goalkeeper secretly squeeze a cold sweat.

After getting up from the ground, Foster looked up and saw that Manchester City's players did not retreat in a big way, but still formed a pressing force against Manchester United. It was a sign of taking advantage of the start to eat Manchester United in one bite.

One minute, one shot, one out-of-bounds, this Manchester City offensive is getting sharper and sharper.

Foster’s powerful goal kick sent the ball directly to Manchester City’s halftime. Harvey Martinez took the lead and headed the ball to Sabaletta. The latter rushed ahead of Rooney and stabbed the ball. Harvey Alonso.

Manchester United began to put pressure on Manchester City's midfield and backcourt. After Harvey Alonso got the ball, he made another big foot and sent the ball directly to the frontcourt, falling to the left of the Manchester United penalty area.

Benzema and Ferdinand started at the same time and chased the ball.

Ben Foster also decisively abandoned the goal, he was closer than the others, and the ball was already under his control, so Ferdinand did not catch up, but slowed down. Only Manchester City’s Benzema Continue to put pressure on the goalkeeper.

It can be seen that putting pressure on the goalkeeper is also one of the tasks assigned to him by the coach.

But just when everyone thought Foster would get the ball, they didn't expect the Manchester United goalkeeper to make a mistake.

He wanted to stand in the penalty area and wait for the ball to roll in, and then bend over to pick it up. Unexpectedly, the ball was sticking to the penalty area's white line to the left and did not enter the penalty area.

According to the rules, once the goalkeeper is out of the restricted area, he can no longer use his hands.

This made Ben Foster a little astonished. He changed his mind in a hurry and decided to use his feet.

But at the moment he changed his mind, the ball reached him, but Benzema, who suddenly accelerated, also arrived.

The Old Trafford Stadium screamed again, everyone yelled in disbelief.

Ben Foster himself was taken aback and hurried to hook the ball, but Benzema reacted faster than him. He stole the ball continuously and stabbed the ball before Foster kicked the ball. open.

The sudden change made the entire Old Trafford stadium shocked. Ferdinand rushed towards Benzema for the first time, blocking Benzema and the goal, but the French left Foster behind. After catching up with the ball, he did not choose to hit the goal himself, but passed the ball to the center.

I saw Cristiano Ronaldo from the top of the arc into the penalty area like a bolt of lightning, and easily pushed the empty goal.

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!"

"In just two minutes, Manchester City took the lead in breaking Manchester United's goal!"

"Goal from Cristiano Ronaldo!"

"This is also his seventh goal of the season~www.NovelMTL.com~ Oh my God, Manchester City played a wave of fierce offensive after the opening, and Manchester United made two major mistakes in a row."

"Goalkeeper Foster and central defender Ferdinand didn't seem to be in good shape in this game. There was already a pass back just now and Benzema almost made a threat, but I didn't expect it to happen again."

"It should be said that this is also a major drawback of Manchester United, especially the central defender and goalkeeper."

"Van der Sar’s absence has really had a considerable impact on the Red Devils Manchester United. It now appears that Ben Foster, who was ridiculed by fans as a butterman, has no ability to guard Manchester United’s goal, and Ferdinand’s state since this season is also impressive. worry."

"One to zero, Manchester City broke the deadlock on the court!"