Chapter 83: Chapter 83 Maxa Really Understands Soccer
"Nonsense! These media do not understand football at all!"
Ronaldo angrily threw a newspaper onto the table.
The headline read, "Netherlands versus Portugal, a comparison conclusion between two great wing superstars, Robben is stronger than Chris!"
Deng Kai picked up the newspaper and took a detailed look at the arguments inside.
You can’t deny, they are actually quite fair.
Ronaldo is fast.
But Robben is just as fast.
And compared to Ronaldo’s slightly mechanical and electrifying style of dribbling, Robben’s dribbling is full of spirituality and very smooth.
Although Ronaldo has a certain physical advantage, Robben’s physique is not bad either.
As for injuries and physical condition, the media can’t see it.
Apart from Deng Kai, nobody knows that Robben will become a ’glass man’ in the future. But even as a ’glass man’, Robben is still a top superstar, which proves again his talent is indeed very high.
"Ronaldo, you need to work hard," Deng Kai said with a laugh, "Look at all those talented players we meet in the Youth Champions League, each of them seems to have more talent than you."
"It seems in the public’s perception, saying that you could match them fifty-fifty would already be a compliment."
Ronaldo glared at Deng Kai, "Who wants to match them fifty-fifty? I’m going to beat them! I’m stronger than all of them! I am the strongest!"
Deng Kai nodded, "I admire your boundless confidence! Did you know that your player card has less likes than mine?"
"Get lost! Didn’t you say I could keep eating twice-cooked pork if I stayed at your place? Get this damned chicken breast out of my lunch box!" Ronaldo opened his lunchbox and had a breakdown on the spot.
It was all lies, Deng Kai’s promises were all lies.
These healthy foods are even harder to swallow than junk food.
"You’re supposed to become a player who surpasses both Robben and Fan Peixi, if you don’t eat these, do you want to watch yourself become a glass man?" Deng Kai also started to eat his grim healthy lunch.
Chinese cuisine has some very sophisticated and healthy combinations, but that’s something only Imperial chefs would consider.
Ordinary Chinese cuisine, especially the oily and spicy Sichuan dishes, is indeed not very friendly to athletes.
Deng Kai and the others could only eat it occasionally.
After a series of recent matches, Deng Kai had accumulated enough blue fragments again.
He got a "Master of Ball Control."
Ball control is a very common action in football matches.
Controlling, dribbling past opponents, passing, shooting, it’s useful for all of them.
Although it doesn’t have any special effects, its wide application itself makes it a good skill.
...
February 19th.
The Youth Champions League Round of 16 officially kicked off.
And CCTV Sports Channel, through Sports Weekly’s Jiang Yunzhu, obtained the rights for a free broadcast of the match.
Considering that there were no important events like go, curling, pommel horse, fishing, or chitchatting that day, Channel 5 broadcast the match as scheduled, relieving the domestic fans who followed Deng Kai and Wu Xudong.
After all, the Sports Channel’s understanding of "important" has always been different from that of the public.
Huang Jianxiang often wondered if sometimes the change to broadcast fishing at the last minute was because some elderly person had a sudden urge to watch it, and with just one phone call, it was arranged?
"Dear radio listeners, hello there! Welcome to the broadcast... We’re now looking at Netherlands’ rising star Arjen Robben. He’s a true super talent who showed amazing aptitude for chess at the age of seven."
"At nine, he took up tennis, and by eleven, he had won the championship for his age group, with the Dutch national tennis team’s assistant coach repeatedly persuading him to pursue tennis. But he ultimately chose football!"
"Some say he is even better than Feyenoord’s Fan Peixi and Ajax’s Sneijder, Van der Vaart, and others! The only thing he lacks compared to them is the club."
Huang Jianxiang speedily recited the basic information he had found on foreign websites.
"Okay, let’s quickly introduce Sporting Lisbon as well. The three forwards are Ronaldo, Lorenzo, and Marcelino."
"The midfield three are Veloso, Deng Kai, and Semedo."
"The backline consists of Araujo, Angelo, Manuel, and Duarte. The goalkeeper is Pilar."
"It’s worth mentioning that this is Duarte’s first match back from injury, replacing him for Sporting Lisbon’s campaign was Chinese player Wu Xudong."
"Let’s see if Wu Xudong will have a chance to play in today’s game."
"Alright, the match has begun, and the players from both teams have immediately thrown themselves into the game..."
Soon, domestic fans were drawn into the match.
It’s not just that Wu Xudong has come onto the field.
Rather, the standard of the Youth Champions League is very high.
The players’ dribbling, stopping, passes, shots, and physical challenges and speed are all very impressive.
This is something that the soft football of the domestic league cannot match.
Domestically, except for the brutal tackles that can injure players, which do reach world-class levels, everything else is subpar.
"Wow! This Robben is really strong. Araujo can’t stop him at all when he has the ball!"
"Goal! Robben scores the opener for his team."
"Amazing! The CD connection! Groningen only led for three minutes before Deng Kai delivered a superb through pass, assisting Ronaldo to score! The score is leveled!"
"Wow! Ronaldo is in form now. His dribbling is also very quick. Though it may not be as graceful as Robben’s, it’s just as effective."
"Foul! Ronaldo has won a free kick."
"Header! It’s in! Ronaldo scores his second! Sporting Lisbon takes the lead!"
"Unstoppable, Sporting Lisbon just can’t stop Robben... Penalty! Robben breaks into the box and wins a spot kick! In front of him, Araujo is nothing more than a traffic cone!"
"Penalty shot scores! Two-all! Robben also completes a brace! This match is so intense!"
"Okay, the first half is over. Both sides have put on a display of four goals in total for the fans, making it a fierce battle! Let’s all look forward to the second half."
It’s an evenly matched game at halftime, with both sides scoring goals.
Groningen’s Robben is unstoppable!
Sporting Lisbon’s Ronaldo is an immovable force!
In the locker room, Maxa is pumping everyone up with inspiring talk, light music, and massages.
"Pilar, pay more attention to Robben’s left foot in the second half..." Deng Kai, meanwhile, is going from player to player exchanging information he knows in an attempt to help everyone.
Ronaldo has taken off his football socks to relax; his calves are covered in bruises.
Groningen’s defense is not bad, especially in terms of intensity.
Ronaldo’s breakthroughs not only consume physical strength but also "bleed health bars."
In comparison, Robben’s breakthroughs cost less.
There, the main left back tasked with defense, Araujo, keeps rubbing his fragile ankle.
Deng Kai quietly approached Maxa and said, "Robben is too fast; Araujo can’t contain him. Not only that, to stop Robben, Araujo has made several abrupt stops and changes in direction in the first half, and his ankle is almost at its limit."
"He repeatedly showed movements similar to adjusting his ankle on the field, which are the preludes to an injury."
Maxa looked at Deng Kai and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Bring on Wu Xudong," Deng Kai said, "His speed is fast, and he can at least keep up with Robben."
Maxa nodded and then pretended to read from a tactical notebook to announce the decision, but in fact he hadn’t written any tactics in it, only Wu Xudong’s name, background, and introduction.
One section was underlined in red ink.
"Kai seems to value Wu a lot!"
That remark was even more highlighted than the note about "extremely fast speed."
Maxa understands China!
In the second half, Wu Xudong’s appearance brought consolation to Chinese fans thousands of miles away.
The fifty-second minute.
Robben’s high-speed dribble.
Previously, once he got into this mode, the defensive players were almost irrelevant.
But this time...
Bang!
"Oh! Wu Xudong goes in with a sliding tackle!"
"Robben is protesting for a foul! But the referee doesn’t call it!"
"That was a clean tackle, he got the ball first!"
"Wu Xudong made a beautiful defense!"
"Maxa really knows his football! His level of tactics must be at the master level! Wu Xudong is naturally a right back, but who would have thought he’d do so well on the left! This is the skill of the head coach!"
