Chapter 5 The Dignity of Youth Training
The substitute team came up to take the free kick. This was the first chance for the team to score into the opponent's half since the start of the game, except for the serve from the center circle.
But the ball was intercepted by the main team before it was passed a few times.
This time, Steve did not hesitate at all. He sprinted directly towards the substitute team's half and ran without the ball. The main team defender who had the ball also understood what he meant and made a long pass in the direction of Steve.
Chen Xiaoliang followed closely!
He aimed at the landing point and jumped up hard, but Steve, who also jumped up, gently pushed the ball behind him with his head, and then kicked it away with ease.
"Damn it! My jump and header are too low! I can't get the ball from him in the air!
And the time I stole the ball, I was slower than him, and he caught up with me before I could even take a few steps!"
Chen Xiaoliang secretly groaned in his heart. He realized that the only thing that could determine his future was the steal attribute with a full value of 20, so he had to try his best to avoid mistakes caused by any other actions.
Steve still didn't take Chen Xiaoliang seriously.
"This guy must have been really lucky just now, because he kicked the ball away carelessly. I'm going to shake him a few times and make him fall flat on his face!"
Steve thought about it and started to show off his fake moves, constantly switching the ball from his left foot to his right foot, and then gradually advancing with high-frequency steps, eroding the defensive space behind Chen Xiaoliang.
Seeing that he was getting closer and closer to the penalty area, Steve suddenly moved the ball from his right foot to his left foot, leaned to the left and pretended to break through to the left, and in a flash he led the ball with his left foot, and the ball returned to his right foot that had already stepped out.
Quickly pass the ball with both feet and change direction to break through!
This is the signature move of legendary stars Laudrup and Iniesta!
This move is called "fried meatballs" by the Red Country fans. It is simple and unpretentious, but absolutely practical!
Steve looked up again and found the space to cut inside and shoot. He was just about to support himself with his left foot, create distance and shoot with his right foot, but he felt his left foot kick someone's leg, and he lost his balance and fell to the ground!
"Referee! Foul!" Steve quickly stood up and shouted.
Unbelievably, the referee shook his hand at him and put his finger to his lips in a gesture of silence.
"What?! This isn't even a foul?!" Steve realized that he had a yellow card. Even though he wanted to, he resisted the urge to go up to the referee and argue.
At this moment, Chen Xiaoliang, who had intercepted the ball, did not stop at all. He swung his right foot and kicked the ball to the front court with all his strength.
The football flew high and directly passed over the heads of the four main team defenders who were defending the substitute team's half.
The three frontcourt players of the substitute team did not hesitate at all. They had been hiding for most of the court, waiting for such an opportunity!
This was also the counterattack tactic Ryan Mason had arranged for them in the half.
In the blink of an eye, the three of them had rushed into the main team's half!
In an instant, a strange scene was born!
The goalkeeper of the main team and the three forwards of the substitute team were running after the ball in the air!
But no matter how weak the substitute team is, they will never miss the opportunity of three against one.
The substitute team's striker took the ball and passed it across the middle. Another striker who arrived on the scene dribbled the ball and deceived the main team's goalkeeper who was rushing over. At the same time, he passed the ball to the third offensive player who was lying in ambush on the side, and scored directly into the empty goal!
1 to 1!
The score is tied!
The players on and off the substitute team burst into cheers!
The substitute players still in the backcourt surrounded Chen Xiaoliang in disbelief.
"Chen! Beautiful cut!"
"This ball is so fucking exciting!"
Looking at Steve who kept waving his hands and complaining, the substitute players felt even more incredible.
The game once again returned to the center circle for the kick-off.
Although most of the players on both sides were still in a daze, Ryan Mason and Steve clearly realized that things had changed.
Chen Xiaoliang came prepared today.
He didn't come here to talk about martial ethics at all, but to seek revenge on Steve!
If in the Premier League, a core midfielder kept sticking to the ball and was intercepted, which directly led to the loss of the ball, it would definitely be a "super super huge" mistake!
Although Steve didn't know when the Red Country kid in front of him had developed such a steady, accurate and ruthless awareness of stealing the ball, he knew that if he was intercepted by him again, let alone winning Mourinho's favor, even whether he could continue to stay in the youth training team in the future would be a big question mark.
But the more I thought about it, the worse it got.
Mourinho's low-key arrival with a hood and Ryan Mason's deliberate concealment were both performances of experienced competitive sports practitioners.
The young players are full of passion and fighting spirit, and are always thinking about showing themselves, but the greater the attention means the greater the pressure, and the more afraid they are of making mistakes, the less they dare to let go.
How many geniuses have lost themselves in excessive praise after becoming famous at a young age.
In order not to make mistakes in front of Mourinho, Steve became restrained, which made the main team's offense no longer smooth.
In order to avoid being intercepted again, he paid more attention to Chen Xiaoliang who was following closely behind him, and greatly reduced the time he spent observing other players on the court. His receiving and passing of the ball also tended to be short, flat and safe .
The failure to suppress the opponent in attack naturally gave the substitute team a lot of space to organize a counterattack. The successive counterattacks forced the main team to retreat continuously to prevent the embarrassing situation of a big kick passing all the defenders.
Gradually, the substitute team's ball possession time increased significantly, and they also organized several attacks in a proper manner.
Ryan Mason saw it and was shocked. He understood that the change in the offensive and defensive situation on the court came from Chen Xiaoliang's mad dog-like man-to-man defense.
Although there is a gap between the players of the main team and the substitute team , this gap does not necessarily determine the outcome of the game.
Just like in the World Cup, traditional strong teams may have the upper hand, but they may not necessarily be able to defeat second- and third-rate teams.
In his eyes, the pair of players with the biggest difference Steve and Chen Xiaoliang, turned out to be completely reversed!
Several clean steals not only equalized the score, but also made Steve lose the threat brought by breakthroughs and direct passes.
"Could it be that... he has been deliberately hiding his strength in the past three months?"
Ryan Mason couldn't help but wonder.
“Impossible, absolutely impossible. Although Steve is only a youth player, even if the first-team defensive midfielder and England international Harry Winks were asked to defend, he couldn’t be so clean and tidy and not be fooled by fake moves.
Chen Xiaoliang is like an old player who has been through many battles and has intercepted countless opponents' balls! "
As a football coach, Ryan Mason was also happy with Chen Xiaoliang's performance, but he didn't want his beloved disciple to miss this great opportunity to perform.
He returned to the main team's bench and replaced two full-backs and a defensive midfielder at once.
This action made Steve understand all of a sudden that the coach was telling him not to worry, because even if he lost the ball, there would be new players to get it back for him!
He couldn't help but glance at the stands on the other side of the stadium. Seeing that Mourinho had stood up, his heart tightened again.
Seventy minutes have passed! I only have twenty minutes left to show my talent!
"Steve, what are you waiting for?!"
Thinking of this, Steve ran faster.
He wanted to rely on his physical advantage and use running to wear down Chen Xiaoliang.
In this way, the twenty-two people on the court magically formed three pictures.
Two goalkeepers, eighteen players playing normal football, and Steve and Chen Xiaoliang running around the field like cat and mouse.
Chen Xiaoliang also saw Steve's motive, but at this moment he no longer had any distracting thoughts in his mind. What system, what task, whether to stay in the team or not, and Mourinho whom he didn't even see, all distracting thoughts had been thrown behind his mind.
He just wanted to kill this foreigner who was humiliating him!
I have been waiting for three months just for an opportunity. I want to fight for it, not to prove how great I am, but to tell others that I must get back what I lost!
This kind of thing is dignity!
