Chapter 69 Igniting the Arena (Seeking Favorites)-Aulas de Mestre(Selo de ouro)

"Again! I'm on fire right now!"

After getting back to his feet, Xiang Ming waved his arms and shouted loudly.

This attack!

This goal!

It instantly ignited the morale of the Green Pitch Little Lions.

Xiang Ming called out to his teammates, "I'm carrying this game!!"

"Awesome, Lao Xiang! Hahaha!"

"Fierce! We're counting on you!"

"Show them what you've got!"

The match resumed, but contrary to Porto's pre-match tactics, their midfield was now completely restricted.

The reason was simple: they were being led around by that number 10!

Yet somehow, they just couldn't win the ball back!

In the 12th minute, Xiang Ming once again nutmegged Porto's full-back and drilled a low cross into the box, but no one was there to finish it.

In the 16th minute, Xiang Ming staged a comeback, advancing with the ball through the midfield all the way to the edge of the penalty area before laying it off horizontally to He Chaoyao, whose shot was blocked.

In the 19th minute, Xiang Ming's imaginative dummy sent Luo Xiang through one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but Luo Xiang flubbed the sitter!

"I'm sorry!"

Luo Xiang loudly confessed, "My bad!"

Chen Shaojie laughed and scolded, "Why are you shouting so loudly?"

The others didn't hold it against him, after all, the momentum had already swung entirely in their favor.

In the 24th minute, Xiang Ming skinned his opposing full-back once again. The Porto youth academy full-back was practically being dribbled into a daze by him.

"Absolute demolition! Running riot out there!"

Yang Fan grinned, almost feeling pity for the opposing full-back.

Playing in the same position, he knew what a massive blow to confidence it was to be dismantled like that time and again.

Still...

"Lao Xiang is amazing!"

At this point, Xiang Ming was completely in the zone. His form was skyrocketing, and his entire being was buzzing with energy.

In the 30th minute, Xiang Ming received the ball once more.

The moment he collected it, the spectators outside the barrier began jeering and egging him on in unison.

"Dribble past him!"

"Go on! Beat him!"

"Take him on!"

"Show them what you can do, kid!"

With his already blazing momentum further stoked by the crowd, every cell in Xiang Ming's body seemed to be boiling.

Xiang Ming abruptly raised his head to look at his opponent.

As their eyes met, the Porto U15 full-back felt his heart skip a beat.

"What is he planning?"

Xiang Ming advanced with the ball, his mind entirely filled with the single thought: 'Beat him.'

As the two closed in, Xiang Ming planted his left foot forward while keeping his right foot behind, hooking the ball with the arch of his trailing foot while continuously tapping the ground forward with his left.

"A hesitation move! It's a hesitation move this time!"

The spectators on the sidelines cried out in pleasant surprise.

The Porto full-back's eyelids twitched violently. Seeing Xiang Ming drawing closer and closer, he gritted his teeth inwardly.

"I'm gambling on it!"

He lunged forward, but at that exact instant, Xiang Ming straightened his body, sharply nudged the ball laterally, and slipped past from the side like an eel.

Wooooooo~~~~~~~~!

The cheers erupted into an even higher crescendo!

Followed immediately by thunderous applause!

Both the applause and the cheers were tributes to Xiang Ming's brilliant performance.

As Xiang Ming drove laterally, Luo Xiang made a cross-run.

When the two crossed paths, the two opposing central defenders converged, naturally widening the gap between the central defender and the full-back.

A curve of a smile formed at the corner of Xiang Ming's mouth as he cushioned the ball with the instep of his foot.

The leather sphere pierced vertically through the defensive line, while He Chaoyao, having burst into motion early down the flank, looped around to overlap.

Trailing right behind He Chaoyao, the opposing full-back gave chase.

However, He Chaoyao gave his opponent no chance to interfere. Without taking any time to adjust, he met the incoming ball and poked it forward with the toe of his boot.

The speed of the toe-poked shot was blistering and urgent.

The Porto goalkeeper flinched, completely failing to make a save in time.

The ball had already drilled straight into the back of the net.

In the 37th minute, Green Pitch Little Lions 2:0 Porto!

Roar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!——

A violent wave of cheers surged upward.

By this time, a massive crowd of fans had gathered around Pitch A2, far outnumbering the spectators at any of the other fields.

All of them had been drawn here by Xiang Ming.

"Such exquisite technique!"

"This kid is incredible!"

"It feels like he's dancing out there!"

Some spectators even thrust their arms through the gaps in the isolation barrier, reaching out onto the pitch.

"Kid! Keep it up! Crush them!"

"Keep dribbling past them!"

"Give me five!"

Xiang Ming trotted along the touchline, slapping his hand hard against the outstretched palms one by one.

Smack!!!

Amidst the crisp sound of high-fives, that particular spectator—no, that fan now—

Seeing his slightly reddened palm and feeling the burning sensation, this fan turned to his companion in excitement and said, "I'm rooting for this Asian team from now on! I'm backing this number 10, they have so much personality!"

Immediately, more and more arms reached through the barrier.

Xiang Ming turned none of them away.

Smack!

"Keep it up!"

Smack!

"Keep breaking past them!"

Smack!

"Your performance is amazing!"

Smack!

"Hey! You are so cool!"

Xiang Ming waved both hands vigorously from bottom to top, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Let's get hyped!!!——"

Roar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!——

The surrounding cheers rose by several more decibels, reaching an almost deafening level.

Yang Fan: "Oh mother! What kind of atmosphere is this?!"

Wei Lai also gazed at Xiang Ming with a piercing, intense gaze.

That was just the kind of player Xiang Ming was; he could always elevate the overall atmosphere. His visually striking array of skills and high aesthetic impact easily ignited the passion of the stadium.

In the future, Xiang Ming could very well be the kind of player who forces even the rival fans to stand up and applaud him!

Tong Xianfeng's face flushed slightly with excitement. He slowly let out a breath and smiled as he looked at the astonished Liang Xu beside him.

"During the knockout stages of an international invitational, crowd numbers double. They are all drawn in by the brilliance of youth matches... and in this environment, if you just play quietly, they won't back you!"

"Players with personality, eye-catching displays, brilliant dribbling, visually appealing techniques..."

"Not coming from a heavyweight youth academy background, starting the tournament unknown, and having an unremarkable group stage run, but then a sudden explosive contrast coupled with visually stunning technique—all these elements combined have created the current situation!"

Tong Xianfeng said proudly, "Look! This place has turned into our home turf!"

Xiang Ming！！！——

Whether it was some fan who caught the name from the team booklet and shouted it first, soon everyone else joined in.

The synchronized cheers swept wildly across the pitch, causing even the players competing in nearby matches to turn their heads in curiosity.

Wei Lai looked at Xiang Ming's back, a trace of envy in his eyes.

"He truly is an extraordinary guy!"

Yang Fan: "Lao Xiang is really going all out today!"

Chen Shaojie: "Two goals up in the first half, Lao Xiang completely blew up the flanks!"

Zheng Yang: "Blown up is an understatement! Advancing the ball, linking up the attack—it's all his handiwork! He's literally hard-carrying us!"

He Chaoyao looked at the boiling stadium, then shifted his gaze to Xiang Ming at the center of the celebration.

For a brief moment, he felt a twinge of envy toward Xiang Ming's peerless ball sense and seamless integration with the ball.

Yet... he and Xiang Ming were different types of players.

Xiang Ming had Xiang Ming's path.

He had his own road to walk.

He Chaoyao turned around, his ponytail swishing behind him.

"Tch! I wasted one scoring opportunity, otherwise we'd be leading by three goals!"