Chapter Fifty: Dare to Make a Move (Please Bookmark)

"Old Wei! Let's up the intensity right away!"

While warming up, Yang Fan reminded him, "Foreign matches are different from domestic ones. They press extremely hard right from the opening whistle. If you are slow to get into the game, you'll easily find yourself led by the nose!"

Yang Fan was still somewhat worried about Wei Lai.

He knew that Wei Lai possessed strong tackling and interception abilities, but since this was his first match abroad, he might struggle to adapt to the tempo.

Once Wei Lai failed to establish that midfield defensive barrier, the backline would be the first to suffer.

Wei Lai nodded. "Don't worry, I understand!"

At this moment, Wei Lai was also feeling a bit nervous. After all, it was his first time playing an international match; even though it was against players of the same age group, he still had some anxiety about his performance.

*Smack!*

He Chaochao patted Wei Lai on the shoulder. "No need to be nervous. Just play your usual game, and you'll adapt in no time!"

Wei Lai nodded again.

Among this group, he was the only rookie with no prior international experience.

Soon, everyone donned the red jerseys of the Green Lion Cubs.

The starting lineup was as follows:

Goalkeeper: Kovacic (Sinsheim U16)

Defenders: Santos (Valencia U15), Jacob (Sinsheim U16), Sunny (Sinsheim U16), Yang Fan (Villy Football Academy U15).

Midfielders: He Chaochao (Villy Football Academy U15), Chen Shaojie (Guangfa Youth Training U15), Yu Jiahe (Guangfa Youth Training U15), Wei Lai (Villy Football Academy U15), Xiang Ming (Green Lion Cubs).

Forwards: Luo Xiang (Guangfa Youth Training U15).

Liu Baoguo and others would start on the bench and come on in the second half.

This could be considered the foreign-aid-enhanced version of the Green Lion Cubs, currently their strongest possible lineup.

Their opponents were a local youth team called the "Mexican Wanderers," primarily composed of players of Mexican descent, mixed with a few Spanish players.

"Brothers, let's take this first friendly match and start off with a bang!" Yang Fan said loudly.

He believed this lineup was very strong and wouldn't be intimidated at all, even when facing top-tier foreign youth academies.

Hearing this, the rest of the players responded loudly in chorus.

"Let's go!"

"Take the match!"

"Come on!"

"Auf geht's!"

The morale of the Green Lion Cubs was soaring.

*Beep!*

Accompanied by the shrill sound of the whistle, the friendly match officially began.

The moment the game kicked off, the Green Lion Cubs surged forward to press high up the pitch.

Seeing this, the Mexican Wanderers' defensive midfield line immediately dropped back to support.

The ball was shifted out to the flank, where the Mexican number 3 full-back stepped on the ball, feinted with his right foot over the top of the ball several times, and dragged it with quick, mincing steps while wearing a mocking expression on his face.

"Damn it!" Xiang Ming gritted his teeth. "Bloody foreigner!"

He rushed forward instantly, but the Mexican Wanderers' number 3 smoothly pushed the ball past him along the touchline. As Xiang Ming collided with him, the guy puckered his lips, spread his hands, and flashed an even more derisive grin.

The live streaming chat was filled with righteous indignation.

*What the hell! What's with the attitude?*

*Go get him!*

*Up the intensity! Slam into this son of a bitch!*

For these fans, they could easily tell the difference between a legitimate dribbling move and a taunting gesture.

Most of these antics were useless showboating aimed purely at provoking and mocking the little lions.

The Green Lion Cubs also sensed that the atmosphere had turned sour.

Compared to a normal friendly match, these guys were mostly just treating it as a joke.

Wei Lai narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Time to up the intensity a bit!"

The ball rolled toward the right-front area, and Yu Jiahe immediately moved to press.

"I've got him!"

Wei Lai roared instantly while gesturing for Yu Jiahe to cut off the passing lanes.

Wei Lai sprinted right in front of the opposing number 7.

The same expression, the same movement—a provocative step-over and ball-roll.

*Again? Damn it! Destroy him!*

*Take him down! Show some backbone!*

*Crush this punk!*

The viewers in the live stream were practically boiling with anger.

Wei Lai, however, remained unfazed, his eyes locked firmly on the opponent's legs.

Seeing that Wei Lai was hesitant to lunge in, the opponent circled his left foot over the front of the ball and immediately pushed it away with his right foot to accelerate.

The exact moment he accelerated, Wei Lai shifted his hips sideways and forcefully wedged his body in.

"Oh no!"

Surprised, the Mexican Wanderers' number 7 immediately tried to lean his shoulder into the challenge.

Yet, when he exerted maximum force, he found he couldn't budge him at all.

Instead, Wei Lai absorbed the impact, braced his core, and slammed backward with a ferocious bump, directly sending the guy crashing onto his backside.

The Mexican Wanderers' number 7 was left completely bewildered by the collision.

*Holy shit! What a physique!!*

*The little foreigner got flattened!*

*What a beast of a defensive midfielder! That's the kind of physical contact we want!*

*Give him a taste of something heavy, and this guy won't dare act cocky anymore!*

*Well done, Wei Lai!*

The fans in the live stream instantly felt a surge of satisfaction.

At this point, Wei Lai had gained control of the ball, shielding it with his back to the touchline, yet instead of passing it away, he waited.

As the Mexican Wanderers' number 7 scrambled up in a rage and rushed straight at him, Wei Lai dragged the ball backward with the sole of his right foot. The ball smoothly slipped right between the opponent's legs, and Wei Lai executed a reverse spin to complete a nutmeg.

*Exquisite! Now that's technique!*

*Wei Lai has that in his locker too?*

*He can do the dirty work, and he can pull off the fancy stuff? Are you a box-to-box midfielder or what!*

Wei Lai distributed the ball outward, feeling a rush of satisfaction inside.

Kagawa Shinji had once said that you must dare to attempt moves, and sure enough, it had paid off.

"Awesome, Old Wei!"

Yang Fan shouted excitedly. If Wei Lai had been beaten, he was already prepared to slide tackle and hand out a harsh lesson to the opponent.

But Wei Lai, acting as this massive midfield barrier, proved to be thoroughly reliable.

Even his foreign teammates' eyes lit up as they shouted praises in approval!

"Wei Lai has pretty good technique!" Tong Xianfeng said, his eyes brightening as he offered a word of praise.

Beside him, Liang Xu looked somewhat dazed.

Was Wei Lai's technique poor?

It didn't seem so anymore!

Wei Lai was known for being steady, usually playing one-touch passes and never lingering on the ball.

Occupying the role of a defensive midfielder, he naturally left people with the impression of a rough-hewn bruiser.

But was Wei Lai's technique really rough?

At least judging by this nutmeg, that didn't appear to be the case.

After all, this guy had trained at the Villy Football Academy for all these years; his fundamentals must have been rock solid—he just hadn't felt the need to show them off until now.

Liang Xu cleared his throat and said, "Wei Lai is a very well-rounded player. It's just that his defensive work is particularly outstanding, which tends to give people the impression that he's a raw brawler."

Tong Xianfeng nodded and turned his gaze back to the pitch.

Wei Lai's interception had directly triggered a counter-attack for the Green Lion Cubs.

After a brief calculation, Yu Jiahe decided to spray the ball out to the right flank.

Right now, what they needed was to boost their morale. While Xiang Ming's dribbling was certainly sharp, what could possibly feel better than scoring?

When He Chaochao received the ball, he once again dribbled horizontally along the edge of the penalty arc. After creating shooting space with a step-over fake, he whipped his left foot back and unleashed his signature curling shot with his left foot.

*Bang!*

The ball traced a gorgeous arc through the air toward the far post. Accompanied by a crisp metallic *ping*, the ball struck the upright and rebounded directly into the back of the net.

Having completed the goal, He Chaochao whipped his ponytail around and sprinted toward the corner flag, leaping high and thrusting his fist in celebration.

Three minutes into the match, the Green Lion Cubs led the Mexican Wanderers 1:0.