nucmednet Chapter 16 Di Maria!
Chapter 16 Di Maria!
Li Jing bent his knees slightly, lowered his center of gravity, and stared intently at the football at Messi's feet.
He was calculating in his mind: as long as he blocked Messi's path to cut inside, with his current explosiveness, he could definitely take a shot and clear the ball before the opponent could make a move!
The defensive strategy has been finalized.
come on!
Messi began to dribble closer.
There were no fancy cycling moves or exaggerated feints.
It's an extremely simple shoulder-lowering movement.
Li Jing's world-class reaction speed immediately detected this subtle change. His brain judged that the opponent was about to break through from the left!
Li Jing's center of gravity shifted instantly to the left.
But at that very moment, something unexpected happened.
Messi subtly touched the ball with the inside of his left foot, then cut it back!
The cadence was so fast it was almost inhuman.
Li Jing's retina clearly captured the trajectory of the football's change of direction, and his brain immediately issued the command to forcibly shift his center of gravity.
However, his world-class power, at this extreme moment that defied human ergonomics, directly became a poison that backfired on his body.
The conflict between immense inertia and the forceful exertion of power is intertwined.
"Snap!"
A sharp, chilling sound.
Li Jing felt a piercing pain in his ankle.
He lost control and crashed heavily onto the grass.
Lying face up to the sky.
Pain! Excruciating pain!
In his view, Messi's back had already deftly slipped into the penalty area, and he calmly completed an extremely elegant chip shot over the goalkeeper.
The ball went into the net.
The system ruthlessly ruled: [Defense failed.]
Li Jing lay on the grass, panting heavily.
so horrible.
No matter how good your physical attributes are, you can't beat the ultimate control of rhythm by a football king. That's all-around dominance.
Fortunately, it seems that this is only the first time the system has allowed Li Jing to try this.
Then it turned into a normal simulation, but it would only show pain!
One hundred hours have passed.
Two hundred hours have passed.
The 323 hours were quickly used up.
You've fallen countless times on the Camp Nou pitch. Each time, the pain was the same, each time, the despair was the same.
However, after countless defeats, you gradually figured out a trick, and your body began to make extremely subtle anticipatory resistance the moment Messi lowered his shoulder.
Your pace is barely keeping up with Messi's!
"Ring ring—"
The alarm clock on the bedside table went off incessantly.
Li Jing suddenly opened his eyes and exited the simulator, drenched in sweat.
His muscles were aching all over, especially his ankles, where he could still feel the lingering stinging sensation from the virtual world.
He leaned against the headboard and pulled out a tissue to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
But Li Jing's eyes shone with an astonishing brightness.
Because he has realized that this higher quality training has actually made more efficient use of his training hours!
This defensive technique, specifically designed to counter left-footed players and predict their center of gravity, was not fully mastered with only over 300 hours of training and is still insufficient against a peak Messi.
But what if we use it to deal with Di Maria, who also likes to cut inside with his left foot, in Real Madrid's squad?
Maybe that's enough.
Li Jing grinned.
Angel Di Maria.
Gonzalo Higuaín.
Are you ready to receive a gift from your fellow Argentinians?
……
early morning.
Madrid-Barajas International Airport.
The entire Atlético Madrid team gathered in the VIP waiting room.
Most of the players were wearing matching black club jackets and were gathered in small groups.
Because of the upcoming match against Real Madrid, the atmosphere in the locker room was noticeably more tense than usual.
No one was joking loudly.
Li Jing walked in, dragging her suitcase.
Gabby was holding an iced Americano when he saw Li Jing and immediately waved.
Li Jing walked over, pulled out a chair, and sat down.
"How did you sleep last night?" Gabby put down his coffee cup, his tone somewhat heavy.
"To be honest, last night I couldn't sleep well because my mind was full of defensive tactics when I was thinking about facing Xabi Alonso and Benzema's group."
Li Jing rubbed his temples: "It's alright, I had a rather unpleasant dream."
Being shaken and knocked over hundreds of times in my dream was definitely not a pleasant experience.
"I feel a little tired."
Falcao frowned when he saw Li Jing's fatigue.
"Li, as your senior, I must remind you that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit." Falco said calmly without looking up.
"Even if you're young, you can't squander your body the day before a competition."
Li Jing was taken aback, but then clearly understood.
"Go away, I'm just tired. I didn't do anything else..."
The group joked with each other.
Just then, the glass door of the waiting room was pushed open.
Yang Fengying, wearing a long khaki trench coat, strode in.
The trench coat was tied very tightly at the waist, perfectly outlining her outstanding figure.
Her chest heaved with her rapid steps, swaying from side to side, drawing furtive glances from several young players nearby.
She walked directly to Li Jing's table with several printed documents in her hand.
"Li Jing, here's your boarding pass." Yang Fengying handed him a card.
"I'm your team leader this time!"
Li Jing nodded. It wasn't too strange that people from the propaganda department would accompany him to the Middle East.
Thanks.
Yang Fengying didn't leave immediately. She glanced around and lowered her voice.
"Insider information: Real Madrid is taking this friendly match very seriously."
Yang Fengying moved a little closer.
"Mourinho brought his full-strength squad. They want to use this match to practice new tactics."
Li Jing raised an eyebrow:
"Are you being so accommodating?"
"How come your reaction is exactly the same as Coach Simeone's...?"
Yang Fengying turned to a page of the document and pointed to a name on it.
"I got their pre-match interview transcripts from Madrid. Di Maria spoke out to the media."
"What did he say?" Gabby leaned closer and asked.
"His exact words were—'This is just a friendly match, but we'll play it like a real game. I saw the starting lineup, and there's an unlikable guy in it. I'm sure we'll score a lot of goals, as a gift to the fans after the winter break.'" Yang Fengying said, looking at Li Jing.
Gabby slammed his hand on the table, causing the liquid in his coffee cup to splash out.
"They're acting like they've already won before the game even starts," Gabi gritted his teeth. "They're this arrogant before the game has even begun!"
Li Jing stared blankly at Di Maria's photo in the document.
He twitched his facial muscles and smiled.
I'm not afraid of your arrogance, I'm afraid of your indifference.
The more emotions you have and the desire to resist, the higher the standard the system will use to judge your misconduct.
"Let him say what he wants." Li Jing pushed the documents back to Yang Fengying. "What he says is useless on the field."
Yang Fengying was somewhat surprised by Li Jing's calm reaction.
She thought Li Jing would swear on the spot, after all, this guy was the kind of person who would directly resort to violence at the training ground a few days ago.
Yang Fengying blinked, seemingly becoming increasingly curious about Li Jing.
"Alright, just keep that in mind. The flight is about seven hours, so get some rest on the plane."
Yang Fengying put away the documents and turned to distribute credentials to the other players.
……
Seven hours later.
The plane landed smoothly at an international airport in the Middle East.
The sweltering heat was extremely unsettling for the players, who were used to the cool air of Madrid.
The bus was already waiting outside the tarmac.
The entire team went directly to the competition venue for acclimatization training.
After a few hours of rest, night fell.
The modern stadium, built with substantial funding from sponsors, was brightly lit.
……