69novels Chapter 60: A True Free Kick as a Penalty Kick
Chapter 60: A True Free Kick as a Penalty Kick
"Goal!"
"The 64th minute of the match!"
"4-0!!"
"Mbappe accelerated, outpaced the defender behind him, and then fired a long-range shot into the net."
"And this goal was still initiated by Jiang Ming from the backfield with a long pass, and he completed his hat-trick of assists."
"This is his second hat-trick of assists since the match against Tottenham!"
"Although Monaco were behind in terms of the game, they completely dominated the score."
……
Sidelines.
Yaldin shook his head with a smile on his face.
He also made tsk-tsk sounds from time to time.
He was satisfied to see that the tactics he had tested had worked.
cool!
With Ginger sending the ball forward from the backfield, Kylian was desperately chasing after it in the front.
With this combination of punches, who can stand against them?
……
On the field.
"Well done, Killian!"
Mbappe is celebrating in the corner flag area.
Suddenly, I heard Jiang Ming's voice behind me.
Although he could tell that the sentence was meant to be encouraging.
But why does this feel so strange?
Suppressing his doubts, he turned around and gave Jiang Ming a high five.
"Spread the word!"
His Monaco teammates followed closely behind to celebrate.
……
The Lorient players all had their heads down and hands on their hips.
Only Guerrero raised his hand, urging everyone to cheer up.
Everyone else remained silent, completely losing interest in the game.
The match is in its 65rd minute.
Monaco made the first substitution.
Jiang Ming and Moutinho were substituted.
Firstly, it was to conserve the players' energy, and secondly, it was to prevent Lorient's players from getting impatient and resorting to dirty tricks.
After all, this is their home turf.
If Jiang Ming had stayed on the field, he might have scored in the final moments, pushing his opponent to the limit and causing an injury, which would have been a huge loss.
"Good, go and get some rest."
Yaldin patted Jiang Ming's butt.
He was secretly delighted.
This kid played for almost 70 minutes, and he didn't look tired at all.
My physical condition is so much better than it was a month ago when I had just recovered from my injury!
It seems like we can consider letting him play the entire game from now on.
……
"Beep~ Beep~ Beep—"
The referee blew the final whistle.
This one-sided massacre has now come to an end.
4-0.
In the final moments, Lorient lost his will to fight, and Monaco didn't press their advantage any further.
Both sides have compromised.
Although Monaco's withdrawal is practically meaningless...
……
Post-match press conference.
Reiber's face turned ashen, and he let out a long sigh into the microphone.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with the team's tactics; we should have won the game."
These words immediately caused an uproar among the reporters in the audience.
Is Rebol aiming for a post-match comeback?
"Don't disbelieve me, if we seize the opportunity in the first ten minutes, we can start the game with a score of 2-0."
"Who knows, we might just win this last game 4-0."
"But unfortunately, that's just how unlucky I am."
"Maybe the linesman made a mistake and called the goal offside."
"We will continue to play this attacking style, hoping to achieve a good ranking in the league..."
After saying that, Reiber got up and left his seat.
Two minutes later.
Yaldin strode in with a dashing gait.
The lights flickered for a moment.
Yaldin was full of vigor and high spirits.
"My idea is indeed to have Jiang play as a defensive midfielder."
"I studied Lorient's tactics in advance, and I think that if Jiang stays in the attacking midfield position, there is a high chance that he will be restricted."
"If he drops back into the backfield, he can use his creativity to break through Lorient's high defensive line."
"That's true. In this game, Jiang launched many long passes from the backfield and created three assists."
"My tactics and Jiang's abilities complement each other; we're both very strong!"
The audience erupted in applause.
……
The away team's locker room.
The crowd began to cheer and celebrate.
Jiang Ming did not choose to join them.
Instead, he sat down quietly and opened the system.
[Ding! Overall performance score has been calculated!]
[You started and played 65 minutes in this match, providing three assists, completing 4 out of 7 dribbles, achieving a 92.3% pass completion rate, and a 78% long pass completion rate...]
Overall rating: 9.5 points
[Ding! Congratulations on completing your daily task: Your post-match rating for this game is 8/9/10.]
Jiang Ming thought to himself that it was a pity he still didn't get 10 points.
During this time, he also figured out the system's rating system.
It seems to be similar to the ratings of those data websites abroad.
To get 10 points, you'd need a performance at the level of a football king.
Jiang Ming looked into the game data that could reach 10 points.
For example, Barcelona's 6-0 victory over Granada in 2014.
Messi started the game and played 90 minutes, scoring 2 goals, providing 2 assists, and successfully dribbling 4/4 of the way.
Or perhaps it was Real Madrid's 9-1 victory over Granada in 2015.
In that match, Ronaldo started and played 90 minutes. Although he didn't dribble past any players, he still scored five goals in a single game.
Only such explosive performances can earn a score of 10.
"Sigh, it's a pity Granada is in La Liga, otherwise I might have been able to rack up some points against them..."
Jiang Ming sighed and began to check the rewards.
[Reward: Special Skill - Juninho's Kick Shot; 5 attribute points can be freely allocated]
[Shots 90-92]
[Long-range shots 89-91]
[Juninho's Knuckleball: When taking a free kick, he shoots a ball with almost no spin, which flies over the wall and dips rapidly, its trajectory unpredictable]
[Note: This is a true free kick being taken like a penalty kick!]
That familiar feeling surged up, and a series of memories began to flood Jiang Ming's mind.
The run-up distance, the point of contact with the ball, the footwork used to strike the ball...
Juninho Jr.'s entire experience with free kicks in training and matches flashed through his mind like a movie.
After a long while, Jiang Ming rubbed his head.
After recovering from the shock, he was overjoyed again.
"Juninho's knuckleball technique!"
Although Ronaldinho's free kicks are already quite strong, ranking among the top five in football history.
But Juninho the Younger is different.
This man is truly the greatest free-kick master in history.
His free kicks can no longer be simply described as having good footwork.
The unpredictable trajectory of the fall, the visual impact of suddenly plummeting after passing the human wall.
It's like turning a free kick into a regular scoring method.
It's important to understand that a free kick is not the same as a penalty kick.
Wall blocking, goalkeeper positioning, shooting angle, power generation...
Even the slightest deviation could send the ball flying.
During the match, it was difficult to score even one of the dozens of direct free kicks.
Even those superstars who came later.
He scored a goal from a free kick, which was even jokingly referred to by fans as a "guaranteed minimum" goal.
In the realm of pure free kicks, Juninho Pernambucano is the true GOAT.
Jiang Ming was already imagining how spectacular it would be if he could unleash a dragon-like maneuver when facing teams that parked the bus.
Whether it's Carlos's long-range cannonball or Juninho's dipping free kick from close range.
I now have more ways to break through dense defenses.
I then casually added another 5 attribute points to Endurance.
Endurance 46-51
The level of rotation players in the Chinese Super League!
In addition, there's his own Big Brother Iron Man module.
He can reliably play the entire match against weaker opponents!
Beautiful!
After putting away the system panel, Jiang Ming got up and began to tidy up his personal belongings.
He then ignored the interviews in the mixed zone and boarded the bus back with his teammates.
……
On Dongqiudi (a Chinese sports betting platform), the top news about Monaco came out.
Chinese fans immediately understood and clicked to check.
Monaco thrashed Lorient 4-0 away from home!
Jiang Ming scores another hat-trick of assists! He has become the new core player of a top European team!!
Video Highlights: A Chinese boy who seems to have combined the best of Pirlo and Riquelme into one!
Fans were thrilled to see this news.
Jiang Ming's recent performance has been absolutely phenomenal.
Firstly, this kid has brought honor to Chinese football in Europe.
Secondly, with him around, China's chances of qualifying for the World Cup are getting bigger and bigger.
Two good things happening at once almost overwhelmed the fans.
We Chinese football fans have been here since 2002.
When have I ever been this happy?
Many people left messages under the official account of the Chinese football team.
@Huaxia Football Team, this promising talent definitely deserves to be selected next time!
……
the other side.
England.
Liverpool.
On the Manchester United team bus on their return trip.
The carriage was noisy as Rooney and Fellaini discussed their set-piece tactics.
De Gea leaned against the window, closing his eyes to rest. Liverpool's 17 shots had exhausted him.
Van Gaal sat in his assigned front seat, the blush on his face still lingering.
One hour ago.
The team secured three points at Anfield thanks to Rooney's goal in the 78th minute.
Manchester United defeated Liverpool twice in the league this season.
After the match, Van Gaal received accolades from the media, and the smile on his face hasn't faded since.
He took out his phone, intending to see how the mainstream media were praising him.
The first headline to pop up was from the Manchester Evening News: "Double victory! Van Gaal's Manchester United crushes Klopp's Liverpool!"
Then came the Daily Mail commentary: "Victory at Anfield! Van Gaal's defensive tactics left Klopp helpless!"
As Van Gaal watched all this, the smile on his lips grew increasingly difficult to suppress.
These damn media outlets have finally gotten the hang of football.
Manchester United's previous performances were too boring, and their attack was also constipated.
The media and fans all criticized him for ruining Manchester United.
But now, they've defeated Liverpool twice this season...
This proves that his tactics and his reforms were correct!
Just then, Van Gaal's finger suddenly stopped above a news article.
The person on the cover is that young Chinese man he's been following recently.
It seems that Monaco's match tonight ended an hour earlier than their Manchester derby.
So, just to take a look, Van Gaal clicked on it.
He ignored the media's hype and simply clicked on the video attached to the news article.
The video begins with Jiang Ming stepping on the ball and dribbling past Lorient midfielder Ndong.
When Van Gaal saw this, he couldn't help but click his tongue.
This kind of kicking style is still really annoying.
The next second, he frowned again.
In the video, Jiang Ming dribbled past his opponent but did not hold onto the ball.
Instead, they delivered a long, over-the-top pass.
This series of actions did earn Van Gaal's nod of approval.
"Although the playing style is similar to Riquelme's, the application is different."
After Riquelme's dribble past his opponent, he usually focuses on himself and continues to dribble forward.
If an individual holds onto the ball too much, it will slow down the team's offensive efficiency.
This was almost impossible for his Barcelona team at the time.
We cannot let one person slow down the team's offensive pace.
This is also where his disagreement with Riquelme lies.
"But this Chinese kid is different; he doesn't have that 'sticky ball' feeling."
"Stepping on the ball is just to create more space and change direction to get past the opponent," Van Gaal thought to himself.
The more Van Gaal read, the more his eyes lit up.
"In terms of attacking efficiency, this kid's approach is practically all about scoring goals and providing assists..."
This kid has an extremely high basketball IQ!
How terrifying!
……
The next day.
Latourby Training Centre.
The morning sun shines on the grass.
It rained last night, and the air was filled with the fragrance of earth.
"SIUUUUUUUU!!!"
Mbappe pointed his finger to the sky and leaped into the air.
He turned and landed, swinging his arms behind him.
"What are you yelling about when the ball didn't even go in?!" Jiang Ming couldn't help but complain.
Mbappe heard early this morning that Jiang Ming was going to practice free kicks.
He immediately became very enthusiastic and wanted to show off his kick first.
He stepped back, took a deep breath, and even perfectly imitated the fierce look in his eyes.
As a result, he kicked the wall of dummy figures directly.
"Oh, what's the big deal?"
Mbappe waved his hand: "I heard Cristiano also celebrated during training matches."
"I want to be like him, always maintaining my love and passion for football!"
Jiang Ming smirked: "Real Madrid has people specifically filming their training sessions for publicity, that's why Ronaldo is celebrating. The cameras were pointed at him the whole time."
"Who's going to film our little Monaco team? Why are you copying the camera's style of play?"
Ignoring Mbappe's resentful expression.
Jiang Ming placed the ball on the lawn without a second thought.
This is right at the edge of the penalty area.
It was about 20 meters from the goal.
Not too far, not too close—it's the perfect position for a free kick.
He took two steps back, trying to get a feel for the free-kick masters in football.
Mbappe stood to the side with his arms crossed, looking on with suspicion.
"Can you even get in? Otherwise, you'll just be another human wall of punishment."
Jiang Ming remained silent.
They simply gather their strength and sprint forward.
Turn your body slightly to the side.
Lock your ankles and swing your legs forward.
At that moment, it was as if he had kicked that ball thousands of times before.
There's no need to look at the ball at your feet.
The foot itself found the optimal point of contact with the ball—the lower center edge!
"Bang!"
The ball flew away right before Mbappe's bewildered eyes.
He watched the trajectory of the rising free kick.
I feel like it will be like my own time, crashing into the wall of dummies.
But the truth is, the ball barely grazed the top of the dummy wall.
It was like a perfectly calculated lobbed pass over the top.
But wouldn't that directly exceed...?
Before Mbappe could finish speaking, he saw the ball fly to the vicinity of the penalty spot and suddenly plummet downwards!
"What?"
Is this even possible?!
It's one thing to suddenly fall, but why does it also look like it's swaying sideways?
Immediately afterwards, the free kick grazed the bottom edge of the crossbar.
With a loud thud, the ball crashed into the goal.
Jiang Ming looked excited as he watched the goal.
As expected, you still need to have your own special skills!
He had never experienced this sense of mastery during his regular training.
Mbappe's facial expressions kept changing.
One moment I was shocked, the next I was doubtful.
Finally, he frowned, pouted, and carefully looked Jiang Ming up and down.
This kid poses a risk to my position as the Crown Prince of Monaco...
This child must not be allowed to live!
"How about it, little Mu? Want to learn?" Jiang Ming raised an eyebrow.
"Actually, I don't really want to, but if you insist on teaching me, then it's not impossible." Mbappe turned his head away, seemingly not caring much.
"Oh, then never mind."
"Wait a minute! We should learn as much as we can!"