svetikya Chapter 2: He was just taking a stroll and the ball went in?!
Chapter 2: He was just taking a stroll and the ball went in?!
Liu Yi's expression froze.
Jesse Lingard?
There are ancient languages:
The combined potential of Pelé, Maradona, and Messi and Ronaldo is no greater than that of Lingard in a slump.
—Zheshi Woshuode
However, even a football legend like Jesse Lingard couldn't break through China's defense at the World Cup!
Lingard was so excited that the first thing he did was hand the controller to Liu Yi.
"Okay, this one's a bit tough, I'll leave it to you."
Too difficult? Just lower the difficulty level.
Liu Yi skillfully opened the settings and selected the difficulty level.
Current difficulty: Beginner.
Liu Yi: ...
※※※
Lying in bed, Liu Yi silently looked at his control panel.
On the left are my current basic data:
进攻意识90；射术75；射门力量60；头球40；任意球50
Ball control 75; Dribbling 60; Passing 50
Speed 70; Combat 60; Stamina 60
Defense 20; Goalkeeping 10
Overall rating: 65!
None of the attributes are particularly outstanding, but the offensive awareness stat is as high as 90.
The system's explanation of this thing is quite mysterious; it seems that miscellaneous aspects such as positioning, reaction, and composure are all included in this attribute.
On the right is the silhouette of a small, dull, silver figure.
Below the silhouette are two black, equipment slot-like objects.
After studying it for a long time, Liu Yi still couldn't figure out how to allocate skill points.
Outside the window, the sky was gradually darkening.
Lingard yawned and turned off the television.
"Come on, let's go eat. I'll take you to the Manchester United canteen."
Most of the first-team members are on vacation, so there aren't many people in the cafeteria.
Inside the television, the deafening noise of the vuvuzela filled the air as the South African World Cup was in full swing.
The Three Lions suffered a "goal-line mystery," being sent home by their old rivals, Germany.
The young players from each team turned their heads in surprise.
They had all heard that a Chinese man had joined Manchester United's youth academy.
Liu Yi remained unmoved, his eyes quickly scanning the plates.
Britain is known as a culinary wasteland, but the Carrington base canteen offers a relatively wide variety of dishes.
Sancho was on the verge of tears.
Not allowing team members into the cafeteria is indeed a rather severe punishment.
(Guys, finally we can eat a hot meal in the cafeteria!)
※※※
Silent all night.
The next morning, after undergoing the medical examination arranged by the club.
In the afternoon, Manchester United's U18 youth academy players gathered.
Tony Whelan, beaming with pride, introduced his new teammates to the young players.
"Welcome to the Red Devils, Liu!"
The teammates gave a perfunctory two claps.
The gaze directed at Liu Yi contained suspicion, vigilance, and hostility.
Carrington's first training session was not very intense.
Even someone as physically weak as Liu Yi was able to barely complete it.
The "Three Obediences and One Big Principle" still have some use.
Youth academy director Tony and youth academy director and U18 head coach Brian McClair remained silent.
Aside from his relatively good ball control, Liu Yi has almost no other commendable qualities.
The last event of the first training session was a group scrimmage.
Liu Yi was new to the team and was naturally assigned to the reserve team.
Brian McClair gave a few instructions as usual, and then began distributing the yellow vests that symbolized the starters.
Lingard put on the yellow vest, but when he noticed that Liu Yi's hands were empty, he hesitated for a moment, ran over and whispered to McCree, and then took off the yellow vest.
"You're new here and don't know anyone yet. How about this, I'll be on your team, and I'll pass the ball to you."
Lingard knew Liu Yi played as a striker, and patted his chest.
It means: bag or package.
Liu Yi never expected that he had such a lot of influence with the coach.
"Because I'm the absolute key player for this team. To be honest, there are only two players on this team with more talent than me, but unfortunately they're not here today."
Lingard looked arrogant.
Liu Yi was deep in thought.
What? God also has priests and brothers?
One is Bang, and the other is Deft?
One of them is surnamed Yang, and the other is surnamed Xiao?
"Beep!"
The 40-minute training match began.
Liu Yi stood between two burly center-backs, feeling somewhat out of place.
But his mind had never been so clear.
Based on the positions of the players on the field, Liu Yi also adjusted his own running position.
Occasionally, a green line with an arrowhead might even appear in the field of vision.
For example, right now.
The green line points to the gap in the rib area!
Liu Yi darted along the green line, subtly making a waving gesture at the same time.
Opportunities are fleeting.
Lingard understood immediately.
Snapped!
A stylish no-look pass through ball!
The Yellow Vest team's defense was torn apart in an instant.
Liu Yi stretched out his leg and brought the ball to a steady stop.
"Good running, and good passing!"
Brian McClair's eyes lit up; he had finally spotted a tiny bit of talent in Liu Yi.
"Your ball control is also good!"
Two tiny highlights.
Take a deep breath.
Liu Yi raised his right leg.
A fake shot.
That's really stingy!
The team's center-back, Michael Keane, arrived just in time.
I didn't eat anything.
Instead, he directly pushed Liu Yi aside, causing him to lose his balance.
"Come on!"
Bigfoot cleared the danger zone, and Michael Keane roared, pounding his chest like a gorilla.
He wanted to establish his authority over the newcomers.
Liu Yi felt a chill run down his spine.
Sure enough, the U18 center-backs are much harder to deal with than the U16 brutes.
"That touch was a bit slow; it would have been better if he had just shot directly. Actually, the opportunity had already arisen."
Tony Whelan shook his head with a hint of regret.
Brian McClair, however, disagreed.
Shoot the ball without stopping it or after a brief pause without making any further adjustments.
"Among Manchester United's U18 attackers, only Lavel Morrison has this ability."
After losing possession of the ball, Liu Yi pretended to chase after it.
Being new to the team, failing to counter-press at all and making no defensive contributions is not conducive to winning the coach's trust and the support of teammates.
However, the coaches from Manchester United's youth academy were all seasoned veterans, and they saw through Liu Yi's intentions at a glance.
"His stamina is terrible. He can't even run as fast as Dimitar from the first team..."
Even in this 40-minute training match, they conserved their energy so much.
I can't even imagine a 90-minute official match!
Whether it was the early 4-4-2 formation where "Giants and Rooney flew on the wings, I still remember it to this day."
Later, after Cristiano Ronaldo arrived at Old Trafford, the team switched to a 4-3-3 formation.
Even after the Portuguese superstar left, they were forced to switch to a 4-4-1-1 formation.
Ferguson's tactics were unpredictable, but what remained constant was Manchester United's requirement for high-pressing strikers.
The two youth training coaches are conducting an evaluation, and Liu Yi is also making adjustments on his own initiative.
After a while, Lingard controlled the ball and tried to break through the middle.
This breakthrough successfully disrupted the main team's defensive strategy.
This time, without the green line, Liu Yi also spotted a gap in the defense.
After getting past one player, Lingard was surrounded and lobbed the ball out just before the encirclement was about to close in.
That pass wasn't good.
The ball was passed almost right between Michael Keane and Liu Yi.
A contest of speed without the ball!
Liu Yi has a slight advantage over the clumsy Michael Keane!
But... there was no time to make any more adjustments for Liu Yi.
In that instant, courage triumphed over instinct. Liu Yi felt his blood boiling and a switch called desire was quietly turned on in his heart—not Pandora's box symbolizing disaster, but an endless ambition to leave a significant mark on the history of football.
It's impossible to stop the ball!
Raise your leg!
boom!
A crisp sound of a ball being struck rang out.
The ball was originally flying to one side, but suddenly changed direction the moment it touched the outside of Liu Yi's foot.
The whole process was as smooth as Dove chocolate.
Michael Keane stretched out his leg as much as he could to increase his defensive coverage.
In the end, they only managed to scoop up air.
The football whistled through the air.
They bypassed the outstretched fingers of the team's first-team goalkeeper, Sam Johnstone.
Snapped!
It hit the bottom of the crossbeam.
It bounced into the net!
The stadium was completely silent.
Brian McClair's pupils dilated in shock, and his mouth formed an "O" shape.
Tony Whelan, standing nearby, couldn't resist adding with a smile, "Now there are two people with that ability."