Chapter 45 Isn't This Just the National Youth Team?

"Idiots! The pass was so slow, are you waiting for them to intercept?"

"What are you daydreaming for? Go and press! That was your ball!"

"Run! Idiots!"

"Get off the field!"

Wei Lai walked off heavily, panting, and looked up at the time with a wry smile.

"I lasted seven minutes! That's progress!"

Wei Lai no longer dared to hope for avoiding scolding; he only wished he could play a bit longer without being substituted off so early.

He had to ensure he wouldn't be subbed off first, and then slowly figure out a way to make the hair-dryer coach shut his mouth!

Now he finally understood why it was called a long-term quest.

This thing couldn't possibly be completed in the short term!

At the very least, looking at it now, it was a completely distant dream!

Santuario's Hearts playing in the U18 division?

I am playing in the Premier League!

Even if he could only last for seven minutes, what he was playing was still the Premier League!

"Again!"

The hair-dryer was roaring!

Wei Lai was apologizing!

He had already developed a conditioned reflex for apologizing. There was no helping it; the scolding was simply too fierce!

Apologizing might buy him a little more time on the pitch as a sign of a good attitude.

If he didn't apologize, five minutes was his absolute limit!

In the morning, Wei Lai woke up in a daze, mostly still groggy from the previous day's scolding.

The eternal, unchanging routine of morning jogging plus early practice!

He had to train not only in the virtual arena but also in reality to guarantee actual progress.

This time, with the guidance of so many people and his talent supplemented by the system... he absolutely could not repeat the mistakes of the past.

"Are you practicing your ankles?"

Wei Lai turned his head, facing the morning sun, and saw Xiang Ming holding a ball and looking at him.

"You're up so early!"

Wei Lai nodded. "You're up pretty early too!"

Xiang Ming looked at Wei Lai and repeated, "Are you practicing your ankles?"

Wei Lai nodded.

Xiang Ming said, "Ankles are something you're born with. Some people just can't squat down all the way!"

Wei Lai replied, "I can squat down!"

"Huh?" Xiang Ming was momentarily stunned.

Then he pointed at the wall and said, "Go and try a lunge stretch!"

Wei Lai walked up to the wall, assumed a standard lunge stretch position, and pressed his ankles down with plenty of depth, indicating good ankle flexibility and lack of stiffness.

Wei Lai said, "See? I can go down, but my flexibility is just not quite enough!"

Xiang Ming looked at Wei Lai and said, "It's not that your flexibility isn't enough; it's that your ankle strength isn't enough!"

Wei Lai froze for a moment.

Xiang Ming continued, "If your ankle strength isn't enough, how could you possibly press down properly?"

Wei Lai muttered, "That... actually makes sense! How do I train it?"

Xiang Ming replied, "Calf raises! Start with double-leg calf raises, then switch to single-leg. Once your strength reaches a certain level, add weight and train with resistance, and your strength will improve quickly."

Wei Lai nodded. "Thanks a lot!"

"Don't mention it!" Xiang Ming smiled and waved his hand.

Wei Lai looked at Xiang Ming and asked, "Do you train this early every single day?"

Xiang Ming turned his head with a smile and said, "I love playing football, purely because I love it. I love the feeling of having the ball under my control!"

Xiang Ming's smile was pure and natural, warming the heart like the spring sunshine.

However, the future Xiang Ming would lose that kind of smile.

What were the labels attached to Xiang Ming in the future?

The Dancing Elf!

That was his most widely known nickname.

After that came negative evaluations like "nightclub regular," "party animal," "scandal king," "lazy," and so on.

He slowly transformed from a teenager who purely loved football into that kind of person.

Of course, this was partly due to achieving fame at a young age and the corruption brought by an influx of vast sums of money.

At the same time, it was also because he continuously encountered vicious fouls by opponents on the pitch, gradually growing to resent football.

In a future interview, Xiang Ming had explicitly stated, "Playing football can no longer make me feel happy!"

At the time, this caused a massive uproar.

It formed a sharp contrast with the earliest days when a young child Xiang Ming held a ball, flashed an innocent and pure smile, and declared, "Football is a part of my life."

Wei Lai took a deep look at Xiang Ming and said, "I hope you can always maintain this mindset!"

"Of course!" Xiang Ming smiled, picked up the football, and kissed it. "I would never abandon my best partner!"

...

In the afternoon, a large bus slowly drove into the Taihu Training Base.

A group of teenagers wearing red training kits stepped down from the bus.

"Is this the Taihu Training Base?"

"Look! It's real grass!"

"The environment here is so nice!"

"Let's all push harder today. The Green Little Lions are strong, but we aren't weak either!"

"That's right! Aside from Xiang Ming, there's no need for us to be intimidated!"

"Let's go, guys!"

The youngsters communicated excitedly; they had been looking forward to this match for a long time.

The coaching staffs of both sides met first, and the match time was quickly finalized.

Ten minutes later, these once-excited youngsters were completely dumbfounded.

They gazed at the opposing lineup, and the world seemed to spin around them.

"You've got to be kidding me?"

"Aside from Xiang Ming, He Chaoyue, Yang Fan, and Chen Shaojie are all here?"

"Is this the national youth team lineup?"

"Isn't this too overpowered? How are we supposed to play?"

The youngsters, who had been eager to flex their muscles just moments before, had their morale completely crushed by the opposing lineup.

"Ensure our defense first, then think about counterattacks!"

"Remember, you are a collective. The forwards have defensive responsibilities, and the defenders have offensive responsibilities. Understand?"

After giving his instructions, Tong Xianfeng put on his goalkeeper gloves and walked onto the pitch, playing as a guest goalkeeper for this match.

Green Little Lions + Reinforcement Version (4-2-3-1):

Goalkeeper: Tong Xianfeng.

Defenders: Liu Baoguo, Zheng Yang, Yao Zizhi, Yang Fan.

Midfielders: He Chaoyue, Chen Shaojie, Yu Jiahe, Wei Lai, Xiang Ming.

Forward: Luo Xiang.

With the formations of both sides laid out, the Tongcheng Youth Training side had already lost in terms of momentum.

The opposing lineup was virtually the national youth team itself, complete with all their midfield and offensive cores.

He Chaoyue, the super striker, was also on the roster. Whether they could withstand the opponent's attacks was a question in itself.

Beep!

The whistle blew.

Tongcheng Youth Training kicked off first.

The Green Little Lions immediately pressed forward aggressively.

"Don't pass around at the back, just kick it long forward!"

The Tongcheng No. 8 midfielder directed his teammates.

They didn't dare to play with fire in their own half. With the abilities of He Chaoyue and Xiang Ming, losing possession in that area was practically equivalent to conceding a goal.

Thud!

Sure enough, the opposing center-back cleared the ball directly with a long boot.

"Fight for the first ball!"

The Tongcheng Youth Training forwards waited for the football to drop.

At that moment, however, a figure suddenly soared into the air.

Wei Lai jumped high, meeting the descending football and flicking it on with a header.

Thud!

Chen Shaojie steadily brought the ball down.

"Nice~~~"

Wei Lai landed and looked at Chen Shaojie with a strange expression.

Not far away, Yang Fan, who was providing defensive cover, curled his lip. "Are you trying to gross me out with that fake gentle voice?"

After collecting the ball, Chen Shaojie didn't rush to pass it forward. He waited until someone approached before passing it ahead to Yu Jiahe.

Yu Jiahe received the ball, turned, and directly distributed it to He Chaoyue on the flank.

He Chaoyue received the ball and, the moment he made contact, completed his preparatory movement for a lateral run, directly dribbling horizontally along the edge of the penalty area.

Xiang Ming spotted the opportunity and made a run forward.

"Slip it through to me!"

Thud!!

The football drew an arc, curling straight into the far corner.

Swish!

The net rippled.

Only two minutes into the match, the Green Little Lions opened the scoring.

He Chaoyue scored with a curling shot!

After scoring, He Chaoyue gave Xiang Ming a thumbs-up. "Great decoy run!"

Xiang Ming turned his head and curled his lip in response.