Chapter 44: Santuario

"That kid's pressing is so precise!"

Tong Xianfeng watched as Wei Lai made interception after interception inside the rondo circle.

Even when he occasionally let a player slip past, he would direct Chen Shaojie to force the ball carrier into a tight trap and then decisively shut them down.

"His ball-winning ability is beyond reproach, and during matches, his interception efficiency is remarkably high!" Liang Xu nodded in agreement.

As an administrator in charge of the U15 squad, he was very familiar with Wei Lai's performance and statistics.

Naturally, he also knew just how outrageously strong this little guy was.

Liang Xu turned his head. "Are we leaving for Spain next week?"

Tong Xianfeng shook his head. "We're leaving the day after tomorrow!"

"The plan changed?" Liang Xu was slightly stunned. According to the original schedule, it should have been next week.

"There are still four overseas loanees in Spain, and they can't come here. The training camp has to be held in Spain!"

Had it been before, he wouldn't have had any strict performance expectations, so getting the basics roughly ready would have sufficed.

But this time, with strong reinforcements like He Chaoyue, Yang Fan, Wei Lai, and Chen Shaojie joining the Green Little Lions lineup, it would be inexcusable not to achieve some sort of results.

"Tomorrow, I've arranged for a China League One youth team from Tongcheng to play a training match with us. Consider it an early warm-up!"

Liang Xu asked, "Won't we be short on players? We only have ten in total, counting everyone."

Tong Xianfeng nodded. "We can just throw anyone in to fill the goalkeeper position."

Out on the pitch, the rondo drill was coming to an end.

"Getting pressed like that gives me a headache!"

Zheng Yang rubbed his temples and spread his hands. "How can anyone press that fiercely?"

"Get it now?" Yu Jiahe grinned. "I've been targeted like that before!"

Zheng Yang replied, "My condolences!"

At that moment, Xiang Ming was buzzing around Wei Lai like a gnat.

"How on earth did you read my passing lane?"

"My delivery was well-concealed, wasn't it?"

"My body feints looked pretty realistic, right?"

Wei Lai looked at Xiang Ming and said, "Shaojie blocked one side, and you made a passing feint toward it—I didn't need to pay attention to that. Besides, your gaze feints were far too frequent. Do it a few times too often, and anyone can figure it out."

Xiang Ming scratched his head. "Is that so?"

Wei Lai continued, "One-touch passing also limits you. If you were given enough touches, you'd have far more options."

Xiang Ming nodded. "True!"

Then, with a spark of enthusiasm, he suggested, "One-on-one, wanna try?"

Wei Lai looked up. "Just the two of us?"

Xiang Ming immediately nodded. "I attack, you defend!"

Wei Lai thought about it for a moment. "Let's do it!"

The rest of the players quickly gathered around.

"They're actually going one-on-one!"

"In a one-on-one, Xiang Ming is afraid of no one!"

"Old Wei is no pushover either!"

"Xiang Ming's vertical breakthrough ability is exceptionally strong; Wei Lai might not be able to hold him off!"

Tong Xianfeng and Liang Xu also witnessed the scene.

Tong Xianfeng raised an eyebrow. "They're doing a one-on-one!"

Liang Xu smiled. "Young people, full of competitive spirit. Perfectly normal!"

Tong Xianfeng asked, "Who do you think will win?"

Liang Xu pondered for a moment. "Hard to say!"

On the pitch, Xiang Ming stepped on the ball and pointed to the sideline. "Starting from here, a five-meter horizontal width is my space to break through."

A one-on-one inherently favors the attacker, so to keep things fair, Xiang Ming restricted his own operating space.

Wei Lai nodded, lowering his center of gravity slightly. "No problem!"

Xiang Ming smiled. "Here I come, then!"

The next second, Wei Lai lunged forward abruptly, closing down Xiang Ming instantly.

Xiang Ming was taken aback; he had never seen anyone press so decisively.

He began rolling and stepping over the ball, retreating in an attempt to create some distance.

Yet Wei Lai pressed forward step by step, refusing to give an inch.

"Can't shake him!" Xiang Ming felt a pang of anxiety.

"Time to gamble!"

He dragged the ball horizontally while simultaneously cutting across it with the outside of his boot, pausing his steps for a fraction of a second.

The very moment he intended to burst forward, with a sharp tap, the ball was poked away.

Xiang Ming panted, "...Again!"

Wei Lai returned to his starting spot.

Xiang Ming took a deep breath, his expression turning significantly more serious.

"I have to create space. I can't let him get close!"

"Begin!"

As the word was spoken, Xiang Ming shoved the ball forward fiercely.

At the same time, Wei Lai closed in rapidly.

Observing Wei Lai's movement, Xiang Ming immediately pushed the ball laterally. Following the lateral touch, he stepped forward with his whole body to shield the ball, while pulling it back with his trailing foot, intending to bypass Wei Lai on the side.

Right at that instant, however, a hand pressed against his chest, and a split second later, a blocking resistance met his foot.

The drag-back failed entirely.

Xiang Ming stumbled a step, turned around, and asked in astonishment, "How did you know I was going to drag it?"

Wei Lai replied, "You left me the space!"

Third attempt.

Xiang Ming launched forward once more, flicking the ball with the outside of his boot.

Wei Lai instinctively took a lateral step to block, but at that exact moment, Xiang Ming snapped the ball back with the sole of his foot.

"What the hell!"

"A *El Tornado*?"

The surrounding players gasped in shock.

The ball drilled right through Wei Lai's legs, and Xiang Ming smoothly completed his breakthrough from the other side.

"Yeah!"

Having beaten his opponent, Xiang Ming pumped his fist vigorously.

"Smooth!"

"This guy's ball control is truly second to none!"

"That elastico was gorgeous, and so natural too!"

The onlookers praised admiringly.

Wei Lai sniffed, turned his head, and asked, "Again?"

Xiang Ming said excitedly, "Bring it on!"

Fourth attack!

Bam!

Wei Lai executed a ferocious sliding tackle, startling Xiang Ming into leaping straight up.

Xiang Ming turned around, staring in horror.

Wei Lai slowly rose to his feet. "An elastico looks cool, but it's also dangerous!"

Xiang Ming grinned, noticing that Wei Lai's gaze looked like it wanted to devour him whole.

*You're the dangerous one here!*

Still, the timing of Wei Lai's slide tackle was impeccable.

Xiang Ming had never seen a youth player hone a slide tackle to such a sharp edge.

"No more! No more! Let's go grab dinner!"

Xiang Ming immediately waved his hands, knowing when to stop.

There was no need to force a definitive winner; if they kept playing, tempers might genuinely flare.

"Santuary Youth, we've got to get our revenge this time!" Xiang Ming said.

"What did they do to you?" Yang Fan asked while eating.

"We played against them when we were thirteen, and we lost after conceding three goals!" Xiang Ming pursed his lips. "To be honest, that match was incredibly tough. We could barely find any attacking opportunities, let alone equalize."

Zheng Yang chimed in, "Their number 10 put immense pressure on us!"

Yao Zizhi added, "That number 10 is named Hertz, though it seems he's playing for Sanctuary's U18s now."

Yang Fan exclaimed, "Holy crap! Skipping three age groups—playing U18 level at 15!"

Wei Lai ate his meal in silence.

Santuary, meaning 'Sanctuary' in Spanish.

The professional football club affiliated with this youth academy was none of other than the world-top powerhouse, Madrid Football Club.

The three major football giants of Spain were the capital's Madrid Football Club, Barcelona Athletic, and Valencia CF!

These three giants were located in different cities, echoing and competing with one another from afar.

"The prestige of this tournament is exceptionally high. Two of the three La Liga giants are coming, three of the Seven Sisters from Serie A, two from the Premier League... Aside from those, the youth teams from other European leagues shouldn't be underestimated either!" said Yao Zizhi.

Yang Fan asked, "Are you guys that badass now? You can get invited to tournaments like this?"

Xiang Ming rolled his eyes. "We paid an entry fee!"

While they possessed some reputation, they were far from reaching the level where they could receive direct invitations to tournaments of this caliber.