Chapter 77: Technique (Early Morning Update, Asking for Votes)

The conflict in the classroom did not escalate; both parties involved tacitly agreed not to mention it again—just as Liu Lin had said, fights among students were not unheard of in previous years, and whenever one grew too serious, the school would respond immediately, handling matters according to their severity. The most severe punishment was expulsion, which, for these aspiring professional athletes, was the gravest penalty imaginable; none dared risk it.

Yet the ripple effects of this clash lingered. During both classes and training, the two groups began to ignore each other, treating one another as strangers. Long Bisheng felt uneasy, believing it was his fault that discord had arisen among classmates.

His roommates, Dai Guangming and Ning Xi, had tried many times to console him, insisting the incident was solely caused by Chen Yongjun’s senseless actions, but Long Bisheng could not let it go.

For Long Bisheng, the only way to ease his unease was to train even harder. Besides pulling Li Jie into drills for confrontation and jumping, he often asked Dai Guangming, Zhou Wei, and Zhang Yi to teach him how to break through, shoot, and quickly pass the ball to better-positioned teammates. However, these training sessions did not yield great results.

He failed to realize he had stepped into a trap. Dai Guangming, Zhou Wei, and Zhang Yi were indeed skilled at breakthroughs, passing, and shooting, but they were midfielders—if they played forward, it was as wingers, not his type. More importantly, they possessed the speed Long Bisheng envied most; their methods for breaking through and dribbling past opponents were rooted in their speed. Learning from them was like imitating the walking style of Handan—he would end up neither one thing nor another.

Ding Yu observed all of this but did not intervene. Just as lessons learned from failure require time to digest, Long Bisheng was at a bottleneck; he knew where he lacked, but did not know how to make up for it. For Ding Yu, this phase was a process of “tempering the eagle.” When Long Bisheng was almost ready to burst from frustration, and once he discovered the way forward, he would surge ahead on the right path like a mountain flood.

Ding Yu firmly believed that Long Bisheng’s current struggle would become the fuel for his future transformation. A high striker who only knows headers and physical confrontations has limited prospects. In modern football, with positions becoming less rigid, players must be more versatile: forwards must learn to retreat and defend, defenders to join in attack. The rise of all-around fullbacks has rendered traditional wingers almost obsolete. In this context, Ding Yu did not expect Long Bisheng to single-handedly defeat an entire defensive line like a world-class striker, but at the very least, he should possess basic skills in ball handling, breakthroughs, and passing.

There was still plenty of time; no need to rush his training. For now, let him learn from Dai Guangming and the others. Even if this learning would not yield great results, it would at least expose him to different attacking styles, which could only benefit him.

Besides, Long Bisheng wasn’t especially outstanding in positioning and aerial duels; he relied mostly on his height and jumping ability. Once he gained more experience and his growth in this area plateaued, then it would be more effective to train other skills.

In Ding Yu’s view, Long Bisheng’s attempts to master the dazzling dribbling moves of Dai Guangming and the others would have little effect; at most, he would gain an understanding of these techniques. Even with his perseverance, after a period of fruitless study, he would naturally give up and return to focusing on the confrontational skills and headers most useful to him.

Unfortunately, Ding Yu seemed to have underestimated Long Bisheng’s resolve and tenacity.

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Long Bisheng dribbled the ball. Li Jie stood in front of him. Long Bisheng dipped his left shoulder and pushed the ball to the right, striding forward to chase it, but Li Jie was prepared. He stepped sideways, blocking Long Bisheng’s path, then stretched his foot out to poke the ball away.

“It’s still not working,” Long Bisheng said, a bit discouraged. “I can never get past you with this move. I’m too slow—you can always get in front of me.”

“That’s not entirely true,” Li Jie replied, bringing the ball back. “I’m only a little faster than you, and my legs aren’t as long. Even if we run together, I might not outrun you. The reason I can intercept your ball is that I can anticipate your breakthrough direction—your feints aren’t deceptive enough, so it’s easy for me to read your real route.”

“Is that so?” Long Bisheng swayed his upper body a couple of times, doubtfully. “I thought I was already pretty convincing.”

The others laughed. Zhou Wei shouted, “Come on, you tried to break through ten times and every single time your move was the same—fake left, then break right. Even a fool wouldn’t be fooled by that.”

“Really?” Long Bisheng scratched his head and asked Dai Guangming, “But isn’t this the move you taught me? If I don’t practice it enough, how can I use it in matches?”

“You’re not wrong, Long. First, the move must be practiced until it’s second nature, otherwise you can’t use it effectively in games.” Dai Guangming spit out the grass root he’d been chewing and sat up from the lawn. “But during a match, the dribbling move must be deceptive—the opponent shouldn’t know which way you’re breaking through. I’m faster than you, right? Li Jie, let’s try it. I’ll use the same move Long just did—come defend me.”

“Alright,” Li Jie nodded.

Dai Guangming approached with the ball, slowly, then dipped his left shoulder, pushed the ball to the right, and surged past Li Jie. His speed and agility far surpassed Long Bisheng’s; the two moves were fluid and graceful, exuding a certain beauty. But Li Jie quickly shattered that beauty, stepping sideways to use his body to block Dai Guangming from the ball, then poking it away.

“See? If your opponent knows which direction you’re going to break through, then even if you’re much faster, it won’t help—unless your speed is vastly superior,” Dai Guangming smiled at Long Bisheng after stopping. “Deceptiveness is key in dribbling and breaking through—use feints to make your opponent lose balance. Of course, some rely on pure speed, but that’s just preventing the opponent from reacting in time. Wherever you break through, the first thing is to make sure your opponent can’t guess your true intention, otherwise it’s all for nothing.”

“Oh…” Long Bisheng nodded slowly. “So you’re saying these dribbling techniques shouldn’t be forced; it’s better to practice them after mastering ball control and dribbling skills—is that right?”

“Exactly, that’s what I mean. The priority is to strengthen your fundamentals—your feel for the ball and familiarity with it. Only then can you perform moves at will. Zidane’s Marseille Roulette is adapted to the situation on the field—there’s no fixed routine.”

“That’s right, it’s like having no sword in your hand, but a sword in your heart—no move beats any move!” Zhou Wei jumped up from the lawn and struck a pose as if wielding an invisible sword.

“You’re just an idiot—the idiot and the person are one, the ultimate idiot,” Zhang Yi launched a sneak attack from behind, kicking Zhou Wei’s rear before sprinting away.

“Damn it! You’re the idiot!” Zhou Wei chased after him, the two of them running across the lawn as the rest burst into laughter.

After the laughter, Dai Guangming turned to Long Bisheng. “The tricks we use to beat opponents aren’t some secret. Even the moves of world-class stars aren’t exclusive skills—like Zidane’s Marseille Roulette or Ronaldo’s pendulum dribble. Any professional player can mimic them in training. But being able to use the right move at the right moment during a match—that’s what separates stars from ordinary players. I can do the Marseille Roulette smoothly, but in a game, I might end up making a mess of it.”

Dai Guangming’s words perfectly illustrated the difference between ordinary players and stars, but Long Bisheng still didn’t fully understand. “So you mean these flashy dribbling moves aren’t practical?”

“That’s not exactly it,” Dai Guangming was unsure how to explain it further. “Basically, if you lack the skill, you can’t use those fancy moves on the field. It’s better to use practical moves for better results.”

“So what kind of moves should I use?” Long Bisheng pressed on, like a child determined to get to the bottom of things.

Dai Guangming had nothing more to say and forced a smile. “If I could tell you, I wouldn’t be playing here—I’d be a coach! But I want you to know, whatever you do, practicing basic dribbling and passing is never wrong.”

Long Bisheng nodded, half-understanding. “Alright, I’ll focus more on passing and dribbling. I’ll learn those tricks too—they look really cool, especially the Marseille Roulette. You guys look amazing when you do it!”

Dai Guangming pictured Long Bisheng doing the Marseille Roulette and immediately shivered—a dancing elephant performing a waltz—what a terrifying sight!