Chapter 72: Chapter 72 The First Golden Skill!
"These people are really too annoying! I don’t even care to listen to the things they say behind my back!"
"Talk about how Sergio is bound to become a big shot, saying he’s at the level of the top five leagues."
"Or how you’re just a beneficiary of the team system, having match stats but no match ability."
"They might as well be assistant coaches, each one of them a know-it-all!"
"It’s just jealousy!"
Jiang Yunzhu stood up for Deng Kai.
She now found Deng Kai’s younger brother, ugh... she found this younger brother incredibly likeable.
"It’s normal, even the European media have always been skeptical about my data and performance. It’s not their fault, I’m just too outstanding," Deng Kai laughed, "After watching my matches, they should change what they talk about."
"You’re really... I could cry!" Jiang Yunzhu felt that Deng Kai was just too cool, he was only thirteen or fourteen years old, but why did he seem to possess the charm of a mature man?
However, as soon as Jiang Yunzhu left, Deng Kai sent messages to his teammates: "Proceed with the plan for tomorrow’s match!"
His teammates responded one after another: "OK!"
For this friendly match, the teammates initially planned to just play for fun.
But not anymore.
Young Master Kai has spoken!
Whoever slacks off won’t think about starting in the second half of the season!
Never doubt Young Master Kai’s influence on Maxa.
Though Maxa tried to hide it, after half a season, everyone noticed that his tactical arrangements, on-the-spot commands, and substitutions were heavily influenced by Deng Kai’s suggestions.
After all, coming from a janitor background, Maxa’s professional capabilities were not much stronger than those of the young players in the team.
After hanging up the phone, Deng Kai looked out the window, deep in thought.
Why did Deng Kai want to help the Wahaha team?
There are many reasons, but one important factor is that he needed... to raise his own value.
Whether it’s the domestic football media or fans, for various reasons, they often find it hard to take an objective standpoint when looking at their own players.
Some people overemphasize their achievements and think every young domestic player possesses the qualities of Mei Luo.
Others are too insecure, feeling that domestic players couldn’t even match a foreign player’s leg hair.
This complex sentiment, when it comes to Deng Kai, manifests as... criticism.
First is the doubt whether a Chinese player deserves to be the core of the team, or if it’s all a sham?
The underlying logic of this doubt is "Chinese players can’t possibly be that amazing."
Then there’s the doubt about how Deng Kai, with such poor data, could become the core? If he can be the core, then can’t I? Every one of us at Wahaha could be the core!
The underlying logic of this doubt is "There are many domestic players better than Deng Kai."
These two underlying logics are absolutely opposed, yet they come from the same group of people.
This complexity is the distortion of human nature!
This kind of distortion is common everywhere.
If you always respond to this distortion with the same attitude, whether too aggressive or too passive... neither works, and the result will not be good.
You need to balance strength and gentleness, be flexible yet firm!
In previous meetings and training sessions, Deng Kai acted politely and ignored the criticisms, showing enough gentleness.
So now... it’s time to take a firm stand.
...
The next day, the friendly match was about to begin.
Both teams’ young players entered the dressing rooms to make their final preparations.
Deng Kai sat on the bench, engaging in exchanges.
In the two matches before the winter break, he performed exceptionally well, earning a lot of training cones, sports drinks, and various shards.
In particular, he had enough gold superstar shards.
"Ding! You have used 20 gold shards to obtain a gold superstar skill, Iniesta Fried Meatball Star!"
"Iniesta Fried Meatball Star: Let me tell you a joke, Iniesta in Pro Evolution Soccer doesn’t do backheel drags! Iniesta redefined this move and showed the world what true fried rice is, the simplest yet the hardest!"
"Your ball control+3, dribbling+3, burst+3, step frequency+3, agility+3."
"There is a certain probability of causing the defending player to enter a frozen state. There is a certain probability of winning a free kick. There is a smaller probability of drawing a yellow card. The effect is better when facing multiple defenders, proportionally to the number of defenders. After a fried meatball move, there is an enhancement in acceleration, passing, and shooting within the next three seconds. There is a smaller probability of consecutively triggering this skill, with the skill effect reduced by fifty percent compared to the previous time, which can stack infinitely!"
Dang!
Deng Kai is stunned!
What’s the situation here?
The description is almost too big for the screen!
It’s Iniesta’s Fried Meatball move!
That’s amazing!
This is a divine skill for midfielders!
An increase of fifteen points in basic attributes!
Deng Kai’s training for a little over two months might not even achieve this much improvement.
And this is the least impressive enhancement the skill provides.
The real power comes later.
"Causing the defender to enter a frozen state," "a certain probability of winning a free kick," "a smaller probability of drawing a yellow card" - these are effects many dribbling skills and feints possess.
The difference probably lies in the phrases "a certain probability," "a smaller probability."
But not all skills get better when there are more people; this one does.
That’s where the skill’s true power lies.
Many good flank players falter when they’re in crowded places or faced with a double team; they can be targeted.
But some top midfielders can easily weave through a crowd and create chances out of nothing when there seems to be no opportunity.
The latter is clearly more impressive.
Additionally, like the Backheel Drag, the Fried Meatball move grants a status boost for three seconds after use, but it’s way more than twice as powerful as merely adding speed!
It boosts speed, shooting, and passing all at once!
The most, most, most incredible thing is that this skill can trigger consecutively.
If you pull off two Fried Meatball moves in a row, the effect instantly increases by one hundred and fifty percent.
Three Fried Meatball moves, one hundred and seventy-five percent!
Four Fried Meatball moves, one hundred and eighty-seven point five percent!
The only regret is that this stacking happens after the effect has been halved from the previous use.
It’s not stacking fifty percent each time but diminishing.
If it stacked fifty percent each time, then Deng Kai would truly be invincible.
He might keep pulling off Fried Meatballs forever, even crazier than those with a knack for bicycle kicks.
From now on, everyone might as well call him "Meatball Boy."
"What are you laughing at, let’s get going!" Ronaldo patted Deng Kai on the shoulder from behind; the players ahead had already gone to the player’s tunnel ready to start the game.
"Don’t forget our plan." Deng Kai said, grinning ear to ear.
"Don’t worry, just wait in the open space. After I fake out the goalkeeper, I’ll make sure to pass you an easy ball," Ronaldo reassured his teammates, "We’ll make sure you perform well in front of your hometown friends."
"Fortune not returning to one’s hometown is like luxurious clothes beneath..."
"It’s called stealth wealth!" Deng Kai was at a loss for words. Then he turned to Veloso, "I feel like you’re going to have a lot of interceptions today. Remember to find me first thing!"
Veloso nodded with a smile.
He had joined Sporting Lisbon U15 for quite a while, training with everyone regularly, but he hadn’t been able to play in the games because he wasn’t registered.
This friendly match against Wahaha was Veloso’s first official game after joining the team.
He had been waiting for this day for a long time.
He wants to show Benfica that he’s definitely not a bad player!
In addition, since Veloso played in the same position as Sergio on the field, many fans didn’t understand this replacement.
Even if looking for a substitute, shouldn’t they find someone more fitting?
At least it should be a midfielder, right?
What does it mean to replace them with a dismissed center back?
Veloso hopes that after this friendly match, at least Sporting Lisbon’s fans would dispel these doubts.
