Chapter 68 Of Course You Are Strong

"Thank God Soford United didn't win their last league match, otherwise they'd have pulled away from us by now... The gap was thirteen points before we lost to Clayton Athletic, and now it's only fourteen..."

"Ah? Still fourteen points? It feels utterly hopeless just thinking about it. I remember the gap between us and them was sixteen points five rounds ago... Although we lost a game now, we've won four straight, and yet we've only managed to narrow the gap by two points..."

"Hey, narrowing it by two points is already decent. At least we didn't fall further behind by another two, right? Besides, fourteen points sounds like a lot, but really, it's just a matter of five matches..."

"You make it sound so easy. We have to keep winning, and we have to rely on every team ahead of us in the standings, including Soford United, losing consecutively... As if that's ever going to be easy!"

As Sunny Dean walked through the dining hall, he overheard his teammates discussing the situation in the league table in low voices.

They weren't focusing on Shushelow, who sat in seventh place, but on Soford United, currently sitting fourth!

So they were discussing the possibility of the team securing a Champions League spot for next season...

Had it been the old Dean, he would have likely scoffed inwardly with scorn upon hearing such ridiculous chatter.

Now, however, he simply walked past calmly.

He didn't enthusiastically join in like Vitini, nor did he mock them in his heart.

He walked straight up to Wang Lie's table and said to him, "Eight o'clock tonight, table tennis, winner takes all!"

Wang Lie looked up at him without a word.

Dean scoffed, "What? Scared? Run away just because you won once? Let me tell you, no way in hell..."

Wang Lie interrupted him, "Fine. Don't go crying when you lose."

Dean smiled, "I should be the one saying that."

Seeing that Wang Lie had agreed, he turned and walked back, looking as though he couldn't bear to stay there a second longer.

***

At 9:03 PM, the entertainment center at Northumberland Football City was still lively, practically described as bustling with noise and excitement.

All the players selected for tomorrow's matchday squad gathered around the table tennis table, watching the Second "Sino-British Table Tennis Challenge"—a name coined by Hugo Gouduz.

He felt the match would feel more official if it had a proper name.

And so, he took it upon himself to dub the second table tennis showdown between Dean and Wang Lie precisely that.

Why the second edition, and what about the first?

The first edition, of course, was the one later exposed by the media as an internal rift...

No one expected that after losing to Wang Lie last time, Dean would actually still want to win it back.

After all, Dean hadn't uttered a single word about it for the previous several weeks, leading everyone to believe he had merely been running his mouth at the time and would soon forget all about the unpleasantness over table tennis with Wang Lie.

Not to mention that incident had been hyped up by the media as evidence of team discord.

Perhaps Dean should have kept a low profile and avoided opening a can of worms.

Yet, right after dinner, Dean actually arranged to challenge Wang Lie to table tennis once again!

Everyone grew interested. Once dinner was over and the appointed time arrived, they all rushed over to watch the two players' match.

"Wang! Come on!"

"Hold your ground, Dean!"

Katic, acting as the referee, stood behind the scoreboard, his head swaying left and right with the flying ping-pong ball, his eyes locked onto the small white sphere.

This was the fourth game of the match. In the previous three, Wang Lie led Dean by a score of two to one.

Now it was match point for Wang Lie; just one more point would secure his victory in their second encounter.

Wang Lie had smashed several shots in succession earlier, all of which Dean had managed to defend.

So Wang Lie changed his strategy, deliberately floating the ball over to create an attacking opportunity for Dean, planning to defend and drain Dean's stamina.

Seeing an opening to attack, Dean indeed perked up.

He unleashed several smashes, eager to put the rally away.

Yet Wang Lie steadily defended every single one.

Unable to break through after sustained attacking, Dean grew visibly impatient, swinging even harder with his smashes.

On several occasions, he jumped into the air, swinging his paddle with all his might to smash the ball down.

Wang Lie, however, noticed instability in Dean's footwork during the defense and knew his moment had arrived.

So when Dean smashed the ball over once more, Wang Lie suddenly swung his paddle horizontally, changing from a block to a chop!

This was a technique he had learned from the high-level table tennis coach hired by Clement!

The chopped ping-pong ball spun violently, drawing a very distinct arc through the air as it flew back to Dean's side of the table.

Dean's reaction was also quick.

He had been waiting at the far end to continue smashing, but the moment he saw the change in Wang Lie's arm movement, he instantly realized what the old scoundrel was up to.

Thus, he quickly lunged back toward the table to retrieve the ball.

Only, the trajectory of the heavily spinning ping-pong ball upon bouncing off the table was entirely unpredictable.

He practically threw his entire body across half the table, barely managing to reach the ball, but his paddle deflected it straight toward the referee, Katic!

Katic rapidly ducked and pulled his neck in, barely avoiding getting hit in the face by the ping-pong ball...

By the time he stood back up from behind the table, the area around the ping-pong table was already engulfed in cheers.

"Hooray! Wang wins!!"

"Brilliant, Wang!"

"OLE! OLE! OLEOLEOLE!!"

"BRAVO, Wang! BRAVO!"

Vitini was the first to rush over and embrace Wang Lie in celebration.

Everyone else was similarly thrilled by Wang Lie's stunning final chop shot.

***

"It's like I just watched an Olympic match!"

"Gorgeous! What a magnificent point!"

Everyone crowded around Wang Lie to cheer, and someone excitedly lifted a chair into the air, yelling, "Ooh-ooh-ooh!"

Elliot Goetz, feeling somewhat concerned about Dean's feelings, walked over to comfort him, "You played really well too, Sunny..."

With a stern expression, Dean stared at Wang Lie and muttered, "How is he even better than last time?"

Goetz decided his worry might have been entirely unnecessary...

Then Dean pointed at Wang Lie, who was surrounded by the crowd, and shouted loudly, "Don't celebrate too early, Wang! I'm going to keep challenging you!"

Wang Lie offered a faint smile and replied, "You're welcome anytime."

At the same time, he resolved in his mind that his one-on-one table tennis lessons needed to be renewed...

The eve of Tyne's home match against Wolverhampton passed by in just such a relaxed atmosphere.

***

Paul Cody, manager of Wolverhampton, stood on the touchline, watching the pitch.

Fifty-one minutes had been played, and the two sides remained deadlocked.

He was extremely satisfied with his team's performance.

Although the score was 0:0 and they hadn't taken the lead, this was Tyne's home ground. Given Tyne's hundred percent win rate at home recently, the current scoreline looked quite lovely.

Before the match, Paul Cody had thoroughly studied the video of the match between Clayton Athletic and Tyne.

From it, he had gained valuable experience and inspiration.

Rayane Cochea, the French manager of Clayton Athletic, hadn't focused all his attention solely on Wang Lie like everyone else did, but rather grasped the fundamental problem.

He believed that the lack of overall quality in Tyne's squad as a whole was their biggest issue.

Therefore, restricting Wang Lie by restricting the entire Tyne team had proved remarkably effective.

Although the scoreline was a narrow 3:2 victory, that final conceded goal was entirely due to Clayton Athletic's players losing focus in the dying moments of the match after taking a two-goal lead—human nature, not a tactical flaw.

Moreover, Wang Lie's goal had an element of luck to it, as Tommy Higgins's pass deflected off a Clayton Athletic player's leg and somehow rolled right to Wang Lie's feet...

Setting aside those lucky little details, Rayane Cochea's tactical mindset in that match was truly worth emulating.

He was truly a legendary manager who had led the French national team to a World Cup victory at the age of forty-two!

To be able to lead a club like Clayton Athletic—possessing neither top-tier superstars like Arthur Ilone nor Ronald Nascimento—to dominate the Premier League.

As a fellow fifty-year-old manager, Paul Cody felt he was still far behind Cochea, completely incomparable. He treated Cochea as an object of study and emulation.

As luck would have it, he had been studying Cochea, and right after Cochea's team defeated Tyne, it was his own team's turn to play them. These tactical insights felt as fresh and fragrant as newly baked bread.

Though Wolverhampton currently sat thirteenth in the table, below Tyne, Paul Cody had never believed that represented the true gap between his team and Tyne.

He believed Tyne's higher ranking was merely due to sheer blind luck, picking up a massive bargain during the winter transfer window...

Yes, he felt Tyne's current position was entirely down to Wang Lie's individual brilliance.

Without Wang Lie, given Tyne's actual squad strength, they would at best be hovering just above the relegation zone in the standings.

Thus, as long as he could successfully shackle the collective functioning of Tyne's team, Wang Lie would naturally have no room to work his magic.

Following his tactical setup, the team had successfully contained Tyne's attacks in the first half and prevented Wang Lie from scoring.

This filled Paul Cody with immense confidence.

During the half-time break, he encouraged his players to keep playing this way in the second half, waiting for Tyne to grow anxious before launching counterattacks at the opportune moment.

Now, only six minutes into the second half, Tyne had indeed ramped up their offensive pressure.

As long as his side could withstand their onslaught, as time ticked away, a frustrated home team Tyne would inevitably grow more and more impatient.

They would push further forward, leaving more open space behind them.

And when that happened, it would be his time to strike!

Right at that moment, Tyne's attack in the final third was broken up by Wolverhampton, and the ball was booted out of play over the sideline.

Paul Cody stepped forward, one foot nearly crossing onto the pitch, and clapped his hands vigorously, loudly encouraging his players, "Keep it up! Well done, lads! Keep playing just like that!"

***

Pundit Connor Cowley also saw through Paul Cody's intentions:

"Cody has clearly taken inspiration from Clayton Athletic's victory over Tyne. He hasn't assigned a swarm of players to specifically man-mark Wang... instead, he's put all his effort into figuring out how to neutralize the entire Tyne team as a collective...

"Clayton Athletic has already proven this method works against Tyne. If Wolverhampton can also defeat Tyne using this approach, then perhaps going forward, all of Tyne's opponents will follow suit en masse!"

Chinese broadcaster Luo Jin also expressed some worry:

"After winning four matches in a row, Tyne's surging momentum seems to have hit a roadblock... Losing to Clayton Athletic could be attributed to a genuine gap in squad quality. But facing a relatively weaker Wolverhampton side, if they fail to take all three points at home, the situation is going to get quite tricky..."

In truth, Luo Jin couldn't quite articulate just how tricky it would get.

Logically speaking, Tyne's goal this season was relegation survival, and they currently sat on thirty-three points in tenth place.

They were a full eleven points ahead of eighteenth-place Portel FC, and those eleven points formed the safety buffer between Tyne and the drop zone.

Could Tyne possibly get relegated even with Wang Lie on the team?

That possibility was infinitesimally small.

Yet Luo Jin simply felt as though a Tyne defeat was unacceptable.

Perhaps it was because this Tyne team now featured Wang Lie, and Wang Lie was a man who despised defeat, causing Luo Jin to likewise find Tyne failing unacceptable.

Losing matches would only allow those who hated Wang Lie to become arrogant once more...

This left every single supporter of Wang Lie feeling thoroughly aggrieved.

After the defeat to Clayton Athletic in the previous match, the internet—especially overseas forums—had been filled with various discordant voices.

Fans of Clayton Athletic naturally mocked Wang Lie mercilessly, and even supporters of Clayton Athletic's rivals, the Scousers, didn't spare Wang Lie, acting as though Clayton Athletic had avenged them...

As a supporter of Wang Lie, one could still argue that because Clayton Athletic possessed superior overall squad depth compared to Tyne, even Wang Lie struggled to bridge the gap between the two teams.

But if they couldn't win this match either... they would simply have to endure the mockery and taunts of their enemies bare-chested.

***

When Vitini received the ball along the touchline, he was immediately confronted by a double-team of defenders.

This was the treatment he had frequently "enjoyed" over these past two matches.

Aside from Wang Lie, he was the most threatening player in Tyne's attack.

If marking Wang Lie had proven ineffective, what about marking him?

Clayton Athletic in the previous round had demonstrated to everyone that restricting Vitini was simpler and far more effective than restricting Wang Lie.

In this match, Paul Cody's Wolverhampton followed suit, targeting Vitini throughout their defensive scheme.

As Vitini received the ball, two Wolverhampton players converged on him—one applying tight pressure, the other assisting close by.

Vitini glanced toward the center, where Wang Lie was running to offer support.

Yet a Wolverhampton player was trailing right beside Wang Lie as well.

Vitini hadn't looked at Wang Lie with the intention of passing to him.

In truth, after the defeat to Clayton Athletic, Vitini had been angry too; it was just that his fear of disappointing Wang Lie outweighed his anger, which was why he hadn't shown it.

However, in the match against Clayton Athletic and again in today's game, being constantly targeted by opponents and having a frustrating time on the pitch—anyone would lose their temper, let alone someone as impulsive and hot-headed as Vitini.

Yet, after that brief glance at Wang Lie, Vitini's emotions didn't explode; instead, he remembered what his idol had once told him.

When you cannot control your anger, just take a look at him and use him as your switch.

So that glance wasn't a pre-pass observation of Wang Lie.

However, the supporting Wolverhampton defender clearly misinterpreted it.

Seeing Vitini turn his head to look for Wang Lie, the defender also shifted a step in that direction—figuring that if Vitini passed the ball over, he could join in to double-team Wang Lie.

Not focusing solely on defending Wang Lie didn't mean standing idly by and watching Wang Lie receive the ball right in front of him without doing anything.

Vitini sharply seized upon the flaw revealed by the double-team. He swung his right foot, feinting a horizontal pass to Wang Lie, but didn't actually release the ball. Instead, he rolled his ankle, hooked the ball with the inside of his foot, and simultaneously spun around!

Midway through his spin, he opened his ankle and pushed the ball forward!

The ball zipped right between the legs of the Wolverhampton player who had been tightly marking him from behind!

Simultaneously, Vitini completed his turn and accelerated past his opponent!

"Vitini! A gorgeous nutmeg!"

Accelerating away from his defense, Vitini chased down the ball and drove it diagonally toward the penalty area!

Wang Lie, who had originally come over to support him on the flank, instantly spun around and darted into the box upon seeing this.

Dribbling the ball to the edge of the penalty area, Vitini faced the central defender rushing out to stop him, wound up his left foot to feint a cross, but instead dragged the ball to his right.

At the same time, he executed a sharp stop and turn, adjusting his body orientation to cut inside!

He saw Wang Lie running toward the back post with his arm raised, calling for the ball.

This time, however, the fan had no intention of granting his idol's request...

If we always rely on Wang to score and solve our problems, what are we even here for? Just to satisfy the rule that eleven players must take the pitch?!

To prove that we aren't dragging Wang down, that we aren't his dead weight... I'm going to break the deadlock in my own way!

Vitini swung his right foot, ignoring the Wolverhampton defender charging in to block, and unleashed a fierce shot!

The ball flew straight toward the far corner of the net!

The Wolverhampton goalkeeper leaped into the air, stretching his arms as far as he could, but missed the ball entirely.

He could only turn his head and watch helplessly as the ball sailed into the back of the net!

"Wow!! Vitini!! What a shot! What a goal!"

"Vitini——!! Beautiful! 1:0! Tyne takes a one-goal lead!"

"Tyne has finally broken the deadlock! A brilliant individual performance by Vitini! He has displayed his raw talent to the absolute fullest!"

Waiting at the back post for Vitini to pass him the ball, Wang Lie watched it fly over—straight into the goal instead. He felt neither disappointment nor frustration, nor did he blame Vitini for not passing.

Instead, he raised his arm and cheered for Vitini's goal.

It was his habitual gesture to signify celebration.

Naturally, the haters would only claim that Wang Lie was raising his hand to signal that his teammate was offside...

Overjoyed after scoring, Vitini sprinted directly toward Wang Lie.

"Ahhhhhh! Wang——!" Vitini shouted with excitement, then leaped straight into Wang Lie's arms.

Wang Lie was fully prepared, bracing his stance to catch Vitini mid-air!

"Hahahaha!" Vitini laughed boisterously as he hung onto Wang Lie, "I did it! I did it, Wang! I'm not your dead weight!"

His smile fading slightly, Wang Lie gave him a firm smack on the head, "Who the hell said you were my dead weight?!"

Vitini winced slightly from the blow, but he didn't care in the least, grinning stupidly instead, "I'm good, right?"

"Of course you're good! You idiot..."

Before Wang Lie could finish his sentence, he was swarmed and submerged by his rushing teammates.