Chapter 28: Second Half – Cracks in the System
De Kuip Stadium, Rotterdam – Preseason Friendly vs Feyenoord
Didn’t look at them.
Just muttered to himself, steady and low—
"Let’s see if they remember how they scored."
The whistle clipped the air like a thread snapping.
Players jogged back into position. Shirts clung tighter now, sweat lines down spines, hair damp at the temples. Across the pitch, Feyenoord’s captain leaned toward the dugout, nodding once at his coach’s quick hand gestures. Not encouragement—correction. Something had changed.
Demien clocked it before the restart. Front line dropped. One forward sank into the half-space, narrowing the vertical lane between Bernardi and Cissé. The wingers no longer pressed high. Instead, five red shirts compacted like a vise—midfield packed, shoulders touching, angles sealed. They weren’t chasing Monaco anymore. They were waiting.
"They’re dropping off," Michel murmured beside him, hand braced on his thigh.
Demien didn’t nod—just shifted his stance. "They want us wide."
Zikos took the kick-off. Simple. Lateral. Squillaci rolled it to Rodriguez, and the center-backs traded it back and forth like a pendulum trying to hypnotize an audience that wasn’t looking anymore.
Feyenoord didn’t step. Didn’t flinch.