Chapter Twenty-Nine: The First Opponent

Goat Brother, seeing his followers fixate on Guangfa, immediately stepped forward to grab the focus.

He approached a fifteen-year-old boy wearing the red training kit of Guangfa. Compared to the other sun-tanned young players, this boy looked slightly fairer-skinned. He had a particularly charming smile—a textbook eight-tooth grin. The boy faced the camera with composure, clearly not his first time doing so.

"Hello, Goat Brother!"

Goat Brother draped an arm over Chen Shaojie's shoulder, aiming the camera at both of them. They weren't strangers; they had met back when Chen Shaojie was playing in Italy, where Goat Brother had traveled to cheer him on.

"Nervous?" Goat Brother began to build the atmosphere.

Chen Shaojie smiled. "It's alright, though there is a bit of pressure!"

Goat Brother nodded and grinned mischievously. "Out of the thirty-two teams in total, which one poses the biggest threat?"

Chen Shaojie thought for a moment before answering, "Hongyun is the most stable overall, Weili has the strongest offense, and the Bohai Port Third Middle School cannot be underestimated. Coach Sun's Cuju Youth Academy is also a threat. I can't name one specifically; we just need to play every match well and try our best to secure the win."

"I heard you were originally going to join Little Lions as a guest player?" Goat Brother continued.

"Yes!" Chen Shaojie said with regret. "But the organizers in the Netherlands suddenly canceled the event, so we had to disband!"

Thinking about missing out on the Dutch tournament still left Chen Shaojie feeling very disappointed. After all, he had been looking forward to the chance to compete against European teams.

"Of course, Future Star also has strong competitive potential, and I will bring my best performance," Chen Shaojie added with a smile, shifting the tone.

Goat Brother smirked slightly. He knew Chen Shaojie was just buttering up the organizers; after all, he couldn't very well participate in this season's tournament and say it was nothing. Still, they both knew the Dutch tournament held much more weight. It was truly a pity to have missed it.

"I hear that Yang Fan is on the Weili Football School team this time. His presence will surely solidify their backline. Will that make it harder for you to attack?" Goat Brother asked.

Chen Shaojie nodded. "Yang Fan is indeed a very powerful fullback, especially since he matches up perfectly against our main attacking route. It will cause us some trouble, but... we will still try our best to win!"

Seeing a blue bus pulling in from the corner of his eye, Goat Brother immediately said, "Alright, thank you for the interview, Shaojie. I wish you great success in this tournament!"

"Thank you!"

After a brief greeting, Goat Brother ran toward the blue bus. This was one of the highlights of the event: the bus for the Jiaozhou Weili Football School.

"Gosh! It's like a furnace out here!" As soon as Yang Fan stepped off the bus, he started complaining about the heat.

Guo Fan also grimaced, "It feels like an air conditioner's outdoor unit is blowing right at me!"

Yuan Kai nodded. "I can barely breathe, it's too hot!"

Wei Lai, however, didn't feel much. Having lived here for a while in his past life, he had spent time delivering food under the scorching sun. Even though it was hot, he had already mentally prepared for it.

"Yang Fan! Yang Fan!" A young man ran over, waving his arms directly toward Yang Fan.

"Uncle Goat?"

The young man's smile stiffened. He grinned, "I'm only twenty-five!"

Yang Fan blinked. "I'm fifteen!"

The young man sighed toward the sky. "Fine!"

Seeing Yang Fan, the comment section exploded.

'Yang Fan! A real man just goes for it!'
'Go for it! Fight to the death!'
'The daredevil Yang Fan, if you aren't convinced, just fight!'

Yang Fan looked at the comments, laughed, and clenched his fist. "Fight them—"

Goat Brother quickly covered Yang Fan's mouth. If that word came out, his stream would be flagged.

"Take it easy!" Goat Brother sighed.

Yang Fan rolled his eyes. "Then don't interview me! This is just my personality."

Goat Brother grinned. "I just interviewed Chen Shaojie..."

"That flashy—"

Goat Brother was quick to cover his mouth again. Giving him a warning look, he asked, "What is your goal for this tournament?" He decided to simplify the questions, mainly because this guy was too unpredictable.

Silence followed.

"Say something!"

"Mmph!"

"Ah, sorry!" Goat Brother finally let go. Yang Fan rolled his eyes, passionately clenched his fist at the camera, and shouted, "Just go for it!"

'Just go for it!'
'It had to be you, Honey Badger!'
'Yang Fan is truly a fighter! Offense and defense in one, I love these attacking fullbacks!'
'With Yang Fan here, Guangfa and Hongyuan are going to have a tough time!'
'Don't forget Guo Fan, that guy is like a cheetah, his speed is just insane!'
'Speed is useless if you only know how to kick the ball forward; one block and you're done!'
'That's only if you can keep up!'

Wei Lai watched Yang Fan's interview from behind with a hint of curiosity. After all, this was his first time encountering a live stream for a youth tournament. He was very familiar with Goat Brother, as he was one of the top bloggers in the football scene.

"Just watch!" Yang Fan waved vigorously before returning to his team.

At this moment, Zhao Xiaotang had already received the battle plan from the organizers. Their first match would be at 4:00 PM against the Cuju Youth Academy.

...

"Weili Football School... what kind of draw is this?"

Sun Chengtao, founder of the Cuju Youth Academy and one of the representative players of China's "Old Golden Generation." He had played in the 2002 World Cup and was now dedicated to grassroots youth football training. However, compared to established traditional academies, his training camp had been around for less than two years and had limited foundations. The kids were also still in the early stages of training, and their overall strength was not high. Although they came mainly to experience the atmosphere, he still hoped to play more than one match. Who would have thought they would run into Jiaozhou Weili Football School—one of the favorites to win the title—in the first game?

At the B2 football field, Zhao Xiaotang and Sun Chengtao led their respective teams onto the pitch.

"Brother Sun!" Zhao Xiaotang initiated the handshake.

"Xiaotang, long time no see!" Sun Chengtao reached out with a laugh, and the two began exchanging pleasantries.

"How is Old Man Chen's health lately?"

"Same as always! Still throwing tantrums everywhere!"

"Hahaha! The old man definitely has a temper!"

After a pause, Sun Chengtao gestured with his chin. "Why is Yang Fan here?" He remembered Yang Fan belonged to a Class A team.

Zhao Xiaotang grinned. "He made a mistake and was demoted!"

"I see!" Sun Chengtao knew Yang Fan had a fiery temper and could sometimes lose control. He was slightly familiar with top domestic talents like Yang Fan, He Chaoyue, Xiang Ming, and Chen Shaojie.

"With Yang Fan here, your defense must have gone up a notch!"

Zhao Xiaotang waved his hand. "It has nothing to do with Yang Fan; we actually reinforced our defensive midfield position!"

"Defensive midfield?" Sun Chengtao raised an eyebrow. He didn't recall Weili Football School having any outstanding midfielders.

The two were a few years apart in age, but they had a good relationship. Zhao Xiaotang scratched his head and said, "Brother Sun, let me give you a heads-up: watch out for our counterattacks. Our defensive midfielder is a master at winning the ball!"

Since they were close, he didn't want Sun Chengtao to lose too badly. He was confident in this team; they could go toe-to-toe with Class A teams to a certain extent. If Guangfa and Hongyuan played their full-strength rosters, it might be a different story, but with the current lineup, Weili Football School was a cut above. As for the Cuju Youth Academy, they really wouldn't be able to hold them off!

"A master at winning the ball?" Sun Chengtao looked a bit puzzled but nodded to show he understood.