Chapter 1 The Straight Pass

That straight pass from Zhou Yi nearly pierced the defense of La Masia Youth B, but it failed to garner the attention of the La Masia Youth B players.

Because the last time they faced off, the Chinese team also had an excellent opportunity right from the start. He Ying dribbled past defenders and took a shot, the ball almost flying into the goal.

That attack was more threatening than this one.

But what was the result?

The facts proved that the attack was just a fluke; their strength was simply not worth mentioning.

The final score of 12:0 perfectly demonstrated this point.

So this time, this through ball from China didn't give the La Masia Youth B players any special feeling.

※※※

The throw-in was made, and Zhou Yi turned and passed the ball to He Ying.

This time He Ying wasn't facing away from the direction of attack, but facing Muneesa.

This center-back who had just ruined his good opportunity was maintaining a very appropriate distance from him.

He Ying thought of what Zhou Yi had said before the match, that Muneesa had just recovered from a serious injury and was afraid of being injured again…

Thinking of this, He Ying didn't pass the ball out again, but suddenly started dribbling, charging towards the penalty area of La Masia Youth B.

Muneesa didn't expect his opponent to try to get past him one-on-one, so he quickly moved to meet him.

But just as the two were about to make contact, He Ying suddenly stopped abruptly, using the outside of his right foot to push the ball to the outside, changing direction!

Muneesa followed the change in direction.

He Ying hooked the ball back with his right foot!

Muneesa followed and changed back again.

This time He Ying didn't change direction again, directly dribbling and forcibly breaking through.

Muneesa sped up to stick to He Ying.

Finally, under his interference, He Ying's shot went high.

Another round of applause sounded from the sidelines.

Of course, the applause wasn't for He Ying, but for Muneesa.

"Successful defense! Beautiful!" the onlookers shouted.

He Ying ran back, and Zhou Yi came up to him: "How is it?"

"Very agile."

"That's his characteristic, but his knees will be under a lot of pressure if he keeps turning and changing direction so frequently. If you keep trying to break through him like this, he'll either get injured or give up on guarding you," Zhou Yi said.

He Ying nodded.

Zhou Yi sped up and ran back to his position.

※※※

On the Barcelona side, La Masia technical director Garcia was also very satisfied with Muneesa's performance. Not long after the match started, Muneesa had already made two very successful defenses.

This kid is another masterpiece of the La Masia youth training camp. Garcia believed that Muneesa, who had recovered from his injury, would soon get on the fast track, improve rapidly, and be promoted to the U17s. After performing well in the U17s, he would go to the U19s, and then the Barcelona B team. After accumulating enough experience in a few years, he could be promoted to the first team and learn from Puyol, so that when Puyol retired, they wouldn't lack a successor in the center-back position.

In Garcia's mind, he had already sketched out a wonderful blueprint for Muneesa's future.

※※※

In the following match, because of their underestimation of the enemy, the situation didn't become La Masia Youth B pressing the Chinese team so hard that they couldn't even lift their heads.

On the contrary, the Chinese team and they had back-and-forth attacks.

In the Chinese team's attacks, Zhou Yi repeatedly sent the ball to He Ying's feet.

Letting He Ying go one-on-one against Muneesa.

At the beginning, Muneesa had the upper hand.

But He Ying's persistent attempts to break through him also began to make Muneesa feel the pressure.

Because this He Ying wasn't simply dribbling and breaking through, but would constantly change direction, trying to shake him off.

Muneesa didn't let others come to help; he felt that he was enough on his own. The several successful defenses at the start gave him this confidence.

But constantly retreating while constantly changing direction in defense also gradually made Muneesa feel strained.

After all, he had just recovered from his injury, and his body hadn't returned to its best condition.

He Ying also felt the change in his opponent in front of him.

Before, no matter how he changed direction and broke through, Muneesa would stick to him.

But in these last two times, he noticed that Muneesa's steps were a little slower, a slowness that was difficult for outsiders to see.

But He Ying, as the opponent facing him, could feel it.

He thought of Zhou Yi's words again.

That kid is simply prophetic…

※※※

When the match reached the twentieth minute, somewhat unexpectedly, the score was still 0:0.

Everyone thought it was normal that the Chinese team hadn't scored, but it wasn't very normal that La Masia Youth B hadn't scored either…

La Masia Youth B was still very threatening when attacking, but why hadn't they scored?

Because the Chinese team's defense had been performing very well.

For this match, Hao Dong had spent a week specifically practicing defense.

If they wanted to draw a relatively good-looking period at the end, they couldn't lose too badly, so defense was very important.

Guo Nu had performed well in the previous series of matches. Although he was still a little rough around the edges sometimes, his physical abilities made up for many problems.

His excellent explosiveness made his tackles quick, accurate, and ruthless. If an attacking player hesitated even slightly when receiving the ball, his foot would be there, and he would poke the ball away from the opponent's feet.

At the same time, because of his speed and agility, he wasn't at a disadvantage in one-on-one defense.

He was the team's first line of defense.

Behind him was Sun Pan.

Similarly, in these two months, his performance had gradually improved with the matches.

Like Guo Nu, Sun Pan himself also had very obvious problems, but his strengths were so great that they covered up his weaknesses to a certain extent.

Sun Pan's excellent reactions and his characteristics gave him a huge defensive range, ensuring that the team hadn't conceded a goal so far.

Not being able to score in twenty minutes also made La Masia Youth B feel the pressure.

They then felt that this opponent seemed somewhat different from the last time they faced off.

So they decided to exert their strength and take down this opponent in one fell swoop.

No matter how different this team was from the last time they faced off, one thing wouldn't change, and that was the ending.

They firmly believed that as long as they got serious, the Chinese team would definitely lose by a double-digit score again.

Because of their pressure, the Chinese team had to shrink back and defend first.

La Masia Youth B once compressed the Chinese team so much that they couldn't even get past their own half, making it seem like the Chinese team was really about to concede a goal soon.

With each attack of La Masia Youth B, the parents of those Youth B players on the sidelines would cheer and cheer for their children.

Zhou Yi must be familiar with this scene, because the situation on the sidelines was the same during the national finals…

Although the situation was indeed a bit critical now, Zhou Yi didn't panic. He was still constantly observing the situation on the field.

From the overhead view in his mind, Zhou Yi could see that the formation of La Masia Youth B was becoming more and more forward-leaning.

If the Chinese team got the ball at this time, it wouldn't be suitable to slowly pass and advance. They had to be fast and counterattack.

Now, Zhou Yi was waiting for an opportunity.

But first, he had to make sure that his goal wouldn't be conceded. He turned his gaze to Sun Pan.

※※※

Facing the stormy attacks of La Masia Youth B, Sun Pan didn't have a worried look on his face. On the contrary, he was very excited, which could be seen from the expression on his face—he always had a kind of excited smile on his face.

This was Sun Pan's characteristic. The stronger the opponent, the more excited he became. He belonged to the neurotic (病) type goalkeeper (a play on words, 病 (bing) means sick, and 神经病 (shen jing bing) means crazy or neurotic), who could rush out of the penalty area to participate in the defense, causing the rear to be wide open and the opponent to score into an empty net. He could also save shots that were very difficult and almost impossible to save.

He wasn't afraid of strong enemies, and his ability to withstand pressure was also super strong.

Although his basic skills were a little lacking, basic skills could be practiced, and those mental aspects were the necessary qualities to become a world-class goalkeeper.

※※※

La Masia Youth B broke into the Chinese team's penalty area and took a shot, but the ball was blocked out of the baseline by Guo Nu.

La Masia Youth B therefore won a corner kick.

As the opposing players ran to prepare to take the corner kick, Zhou Yi raised his arm and shouted to his teammates, "Prepare to counterattack, everyone!"

Xu Yang and Hao Dong on the sidelines both heard Zhou Yi's words. In addition to being surprised, they had to admire the decision Zhou Yi had made.

Their corner kick is indeed an opportunity for us to counterattack…

Zhou Yi shouted so loudly that he wasn't worried that their attacking strategy would be seen through by the opponent, because the opponent couldn't possibly understand Chinese.

After hearing Zhou Yi's shout, the teammates also turned to look at him. Seeing Zhou Yi's raised fist, some people looked towards the opponent's half and found that the opponent's half was very empty. Only two fullbacks and a goalkeeper were still in their own half, while everyone else had rushed to the Chinese team's half.

This was indeed a good opportunity to launch a counterattack.

Hearing this, He Ying didn't go back to participate in the defense either. He just waited on the center line.

Next, it was up to Zhou Yi.

※※※

After the corner kick was taken, Sun Pan shouted, "Rebound!"

Then he jumped high, stretched out his long arms, and directly picked off the ball that was still high in the air, not giving the La Masia Youth B players a chance to compete for the header at all.

After he landed, he didn't hug the ball and gloat over the fact that he had once again defended against the opponent's attack. Instead, he looked up to find Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi was just outside the penalty area, in an open space between the penalty arc and the center circle, where there wasn't a single La Masia Youth B player.

Sun Pan didn't have time to continue running forward. If he went around the players from both sides blocking him, he was afraid that the open space where Zhou Yi was would be gone. So he threw the ball directly to Zhou Yi over the heads of several players.

"Catch!"

Zhou Yi used his chest to cushion the ball thrown by Sun Pan. At the same time, without waiting for the ball to land, he kicked the ball horizontally to Yang Muge, and at the same time, he turned and ran forward.

After receiving the ball, Yang Muge didn't pass the ball to Zhou Yi, but passed it to Li Xiang on the wing.

Li Xiang dribbled the ball forward. This was the Chinese team's counterattack!

"Good!" Xu Yang on the sidelines shouted excitedly.

One of the two La Masia players who stayed in the backfield immediately rushed towards Li Xiang, blocking him. The other La Masia Youth B players were also quickly returning to defense.

"Li Xiang!"

Li Xiang, who was considering whether to get past the opponent or what to do, suddenly heard Zhou Yi's shout. He turned his head and saw Zhou Yi beckoning him in the center circle.

So Li Xiang passed the ball horizontally.

After passing the ball, he continued to run forward, rushing towards the La Masia Youth B player blocking him, making a gesture as if he was going to cut straight behind him.

The La Masia Youth B team's fullback hesitated and didn't go to the middle to assist in the defense, but instead followed Li Xiang and retreated.

Xu Yang and the others on the sidelines sighed when they saw Li Xiang's pass.

Because Li Xiang's pass was too far back. He didn't pass it to the front of Zhou Yi's run, but instead passed it behind Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi, who was running forward, had to stop, then turn around and receive the ball.

But if that was the case, how could they launch a counterattack?

Not to mention, the La Masia Youth B players were all quickly returning to defense. Wouldn't this pass be hitting the returning La Masia players head-on?

For example, their defensive midfielder Bakari Mendes was very close to the ball now. He sped up and rushed towards the ball. When he thought the distance was right, he let go and flew to tackle, tackling the ball.

Just when all the Chinese team's players and coaches on the sidelines thought that this counterattack was over.

Zhou Yi rushed to the back of the ball one step ahead, and at the same time stretched out his right foot to pull the ball towards his body.

Bakari Mendes' tackle happened to miss!

After pulling the ball, Zhou Yi did a *Marseille Turn* to offset the inertia of his body's stiffness, stepping on the ball and avoiding the aftermath of Mendes' flying tackle.

"Beautiful!"

Someone shouted.

Zhou Yi was still calmly using his skills to regain control of the ball in a very difficult situation.

In the situation where a quick counterattack could not be launched, not losing possession of the ball was already the best result.

The two La Masia defenders had already returned to their own half. Muneesa was running the fastest and had retreated in front of He Ying. This was also because He Ying hadn't let go and ran—when he saw that Li Xiang hadn't passed the ball well, he didn't continue to run, but instead looked back at Zhou Yi.

He had to wait for Zhou Yi to have a result before he could arrange his actions.

※※※

After Zhou Yi pulled the ball out with a *Marseille Turn*, he immediately passed the ball out again. This time he passed it to Yang Muge, who was coming up to meet him.

No matter what, Yang Muge was Zhou Yi's most trusted partner. In unfavorable situations, passing the ball to him could reduce his pressure and reorganize the attack.

After passing the ball, Zhou Yi moved to run forward.

Yang Muge also quickly passed the ball back.

At this time, there were no La Masia players around Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi, who had regained possession of the ball, didn't even look up to observe. As soon as he received the ball, he swung his foot again and sent the ball out.

This time he passed the ball to He Ying.

He didn't choose to pass the ball back or horizontally to stabilize the situation, but instead insisted on launching a quick attack.

Because even though Muneesa had returned to defense, there were still not many defensive players in Barcelona's backfield, and their defensive formation hadn't been stabilized after they had just experienced a burst of running to get into position.

It was still worth a try!

"Is it a little too hasty?" Xu Yang couldn't help but ask.

Hao Dong didn't answer him, because he couldn't spare the time to answer and think at this time.

He Ying had already received the ball. Now in front of him was none other than Mark Muneesa, who had ruined his shots several times before!