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Chapter 233: Here We Go, Let's Get This Show on the Road
Fabrizio gave a casual smile, then quickly turned and slipped away.
He made his way toward the substitutes' bench, where players and coaching staff from both sides were taking their seats.
Wearing a staff uniform, he went unnoticed—after all, the media's work was about to begin.
But secretly, he took out his phone, edged closer to the far end of Spain's bench, and whispered softly, "Su... Su... Su Hang, Su!"
Hearing the voice, Su Hang turned and spotted a staff member who looked far too young to be there.
The name tag on the boy's chest read—The London Globe.
Oh? One of ours?
"Can I take a picture with you? I'm your fan," Fabrizio asked, summoning all his courage.
That had been his biggest goal for this World Cup.
"Of course!" Su Hang stood up and made his way around to the back of the bench, earning cheers from nearby fans.
Taking Fabrizio's phone, he leaned in beside him and posed for a big group photo with the crowd behind them.
"Are you planning to post it on social media?" Su Hang asked afterward.
"Is... is that okay?" Fabrizio asked nervously.
"Why not? What's your name? I'll follow you when I get back," Su Hang said.
"Fabrizio Romano," he replied.
Uh…
Su Hang froze.
It was him!
The future superstar of football journalism—the most sought-after transfer expert in the world.
Mentored by Di Marzio, yet destined to surpass Di Marzio, Piers Morgan, Schira, Pedulla, Falk, Crudeli, and others—a true media giant.
His breakout story would be Icardi at Inter, his masterpiece Bruno Fernandes at Manchester United, and his crowning moment—Mbappé at PSG.
"How about I post it for you?" Su Hang offered.
Romano nodded eagerly, opened his social media, and uploaded the photo.
Su Hang typed the caption himself: "I'm Su Hang, this is Romano, and we're at the World Cup… Here we go!"
Romano stared blankly at his phone as the likes and notifications flooded in.
He kept repeating the words Su Hang had typed: "Here we go!"
As Su Hang was about to leave, Romano suddenly remembered what had happened earlier in the stands.
"Oh, Su, there's something you should know… Some Argentine fans took the seats of three Chinese supporters earlier. They…"
He finished quickly, then added, "Oh, and that guy didn't look like your fan. He was wearing Argentina's number 19 jersey."
"But in the end, he put on the Spain number 23 jersey I gave him."
Su Hang grinned. "Good taste!"
Romano smiled. "Yeah, that was your jersey."
Su Hang chuckled. "I mean, anyone who liked Messi this early on has good taste."
That kind of fan was much better than the victory chasers who only jumped on after Messi had won three Ballon d'Ors.
Because once you became a Messi fan then, you'd find yourself surrounded by plenty of "teammates" whenever you criticized someone.
Tempting, isn't it?
By comparison, Ronaldo's bandwagon fans were far fewer.
After all, Ronaldo didn't win as often—uh, wait…
Ronaldo: ???
Ronaldo: Typical little hater, showing your bias again!
Narrator: Nonsense, I'm a die-hard Ronaldo fan!
Ronaldo: Then why do you mock my finishing?
Narrator: …
It wasn't really about Ronaldo winning less. His bold attitude and constant controversies simply made casual fans hesitate to support him.
Once you became a Ronaldo fan, you had to be ready to face far more criticism than others.
...
By the time Romano left, the match had already been underway for a couple of minutes.
Spain's formation today was a bit bolder than usual—still a 4-3-1-2, but with a tweak in midfield.
Fabregas, who had impressed in previous matches, was in the starting lineup.
Their starting eleven:
Villa, Raúl
Luis García
Xavi, Alonso, Fabregas
Mariano, Ibáñez, Puyol, Sergio Ramos
Casillas
=
Argentina, on the other hand, lined up in a diamond 4-4-2 formation. It looked similar to Spain's setup, but the roles of the wide midfielders were quite different.
Crespo, Saviola
Cambiasso, Riquelme, Rodríguez
Mascherano
Sorín, Heinze, Ayala, Scaloni
Abbondanzieri
=
Both sides had formidable options on the bench.
For Spain: Su Hang, Torres, Senna, Albelda, Iniesta, Reyes, Joaquín.
For Argentina: Tévez, Messi, Cruz, Aimar.
From the opening whistle, both sides fought to control the tempo.
Spain relied on their passing.
Argentina relied on their fouls.
In the fifth minute, Argentina's defense—too focused on physical play—made a costly error.
A weak back pass gave Raúl the chance to steal the ball in front of the defender.
Villa followed up with a fierce strike, sending the ball straight into the net.
1–0!
Spain took the lead.
After the restart, Argentina's tackles grew even rougher.
The referee, however, seemed to let play continue, which worked in Argentina's favor.
For a team built on possession like Spain, that was a serious disadvantage.
But that's the unspoken rule of big tournaments.
Once there's an early goal, referees almost always lean toward the team that's behind—not necessarily out of bias or match-fixing, but to keep the game exciting.
A match that loses suspense too early never becomes a classic.
Usually, referees only let go of that control around the 70th or 80th minute—
That's when the real showdown begins.
You could call it unfair, but while referees were meant to uphold fairness, in modern commercial football their main job is to keep the spectacle alive.
To keep the game going—not to be fair.
That's business. No one escapes it.
Under relentless pressure, Argentina began creating chances.
In the ninth minute, Rodríguez lofted a clever pass into the box, and Crespo volleyed it home—equalizer!
The Argentine fans erupted in wild celebration.
After scoring, Crespo ran behind the goal to celebrate with the die-hard supporters—blowing kisses into the crowd!
The fans behind the net nearly fainted with excitement.
One man even ripped off his shirt and waved it wildly, earning himself a moment on the big screen.
Not far away, in one corner, Ryan Zhang—wearing Spain's number 23 jersey—was fuming.
That damn Argentine.
That was his seat!
And instead of being punished, the guy was being celebrated by the home crowd.
Ryan Zhang was so furious, he felt like he might explode.
...
(35 Chapters Ahead)
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