章 7: Chapter 6: One Person Breaking Through the Entire Defensive Line
Chapter 6: One Person Breaking Through the Entire Defensive Line
On the sidelines, including assistant coach Blanca, the members of the coaching staff were impressed by Luis's brilliant breakthrough just now.
Especially his Messi-like dribbling style, which sparked discussions among them.
"That move just now really resembled Messi!"
"Yeah, he unleashed the full power of his feints and dribbles!"
"Rafinha made the right choice. If he hadn't moved horizontally, the opponent would have surely passed him on the left!"
"That's right, Luis's feints were so convincing. The shoulder drop combined with the change in center of gravity was incredibly deceptive. Not only inexperienced young players, even experienced veterans can easily be deceived!"
"To defend against Messi, you can't be deceived by his feints. It takes exceptional anticipation to have a chance of successfully defending one-on-one!"
The group engaged in a lively discussion, but as they chatted, the topic shifted from Luis to Messi.
Luis's dribbling just now, although a common technique, was performed by many players.
However, being able to execute it as skillfully and deceptively as Messi was a rare sight in the football world.
In the eyes of the coaching staff, Luis's move resembled Messi to a great extent, possessing at least 70-80% of Messi's abilities.
"Heh, Messi's influence on young players is truly immense. Not just in the youth team, but in the entire La Masia academy, there are countless players imitating his style!"
"Yes, many people imitate Messi. It's not just limited to La Masia, there's a wave of Messi imitators worldwide."
"You know, recently, many young players from different countries have joined our La Masia, and they come with titles like 'Japanese Messi' or 'Korean Messi'."
A coach responsible for youth training chuckled and said, "These 'Messis' from various countries, if they can reach 70-80% of Messi's skill, they would already become football superstars!"
"Haha, that's impossible. There's only one Messi in this world, no one can reach his level!"
Messi, a product of La Masia academy, had left a deep impression on many of the coaches present, as they had previously coached him.
Messi's unique style of play was based on his exceptional talent, something that others simply couldn't imitate successfully.
It was precisely because of this that Luis's breakthrough had impressed the coaches. There were many imitators of Messi, but there were very few who could make them feel like Messi was on the field.
As the game continued, after successfully breaking through Rafinha, Luis had already approached the edge of the penalty area.
The starting team's center-back, Baniak, didn't dare to let him get closer to the penalty area. He immediately stepped forward to block Luis's inside route, pushing him towards the end line to prevent him from cutting inside for a shot or pass.
Inside the penalty area, there was currently only one attacking player, but there were three defensive players.
Moreover, the substitute team's forward was only 175 centimeters tall, while the several defenders marking him were all over 180 centimeters tall.
If Luis were to be pushed near the end line, his passing would likely pose little threat, and the chances of the defenders clearing the ball would be higher.
He didn't want to waste this opportunity, so he immediately approached Baniak with the ball, while observing the positions of his nearby teammates, preparing for a pass.
This action earned praise from a few coaches on the sidelines:
"Luis played it smart. He knows his ability to shake off defenders isn't strong, so he can't stick to the ball for too long. He must pass quickly."
"Yes, the starting team's defensive midfielder isn't far from him. At this moment, he has caught up from behind. If he delays the pass, he may be surrounded and lose the ball."
"But it seems like the players on the substitute team are a bit slow. There's no one near him to receive the pass. Baniak and the other defender covering him have blocked his passing lane to the forward."
"It seems like a back pass is the only option, but if he does that, this attacking opportunity will be wasted!"
"A back pass would waste the opportunity, and not passing back would likely result in losing the ball to a counter-attack. Relatively speaking, a back pass is a better choice!"
"Heh, why are you all so conservative? He just made a brilliant breakthrough. Why not try it again!"
One young coach clearly had a different perspective and was more aggressive compared to the other coaches' conservatism.
As long as Luis could successfully break through Baniak's defense, he would create a two-on-two opportunity. The remaining two defenders would surely come to intercept him, rendering the double-team on the substitute team's forward ineffective.
At that moment, Luis could either shoot himself or pass to the forward, giving him more options.
"So, how will he choose?"
The coaches were curious about Luis's decision!
Luis chose to break through!
Although Baniak, born in 1995, was a young player, he had a wealth of defensive experience.
He didn't stand still or recklessly rush in, but maintained his position, kept an appropriate distance, and slowly retreated, forcing Luis to decelerate.
The distance between them wasn't far, and if Luis wanted to shoot, the defending players could interfere or tackle when he adjusted his stride.
Thus, the probability of the ball being blocked was extremely high.
Furthermore, if the attacking player entered Baniak's rhythm and was forced to decelerate, their threat would greatly decrease.
Without speed advantage, it would be difficult for them to get past a stationary opponent.
Moreover, the other defenders on the defending team were still sprinting back. Once the attacking player slowed down, they would catch up immediately.
Therefore, Luis couldn't fall into Baniak's trap. He couldn't decelerate or stop.
Against a retreating defense like Baniak, Messi had a move in his arsenal that worked well, and that was a feint combined with a change of direction.
Taking advantage of the opportunity when Baniak lifted his left foot to retreat, Luis tapped the ball to the right.
This move made the coaches on the sidelines think of his previous breakthrough; they thought Luis was going to use the same trick again.
"Oh no, it was a mistake. The ball went too far!"
Seeing the ball roll out a bit too far, the coaches felt a sense of regret.
At this distance, the defending player could directly intercept the ball.
As expected, seeing the opponent's 'mistake', Baniak immediately extended his lifted left foot, intending to poke the ball.
But just as he thought he could be the first to touch the ball, another foot quickly knocked the ball at a faster speed, deflecting it to the other side.
Baniak was dumbfounded. How did the opponent do that?
In an extremely short time, after touching the ball twice with his right foot, Luis lightly swiped the ball with the outside of his left foot.
The ball arrived at Baniak's right foot, but at this moment, Luis's left foot hadn't landed yet, and his right foot couldn't move. He could only watch as Luis once again knocked the ball with the inside of his left foot, changing its direction, and the ball rolled forward.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Luis evaded Baniak and, after glancing at the positioning of the defensive players, decisively shot the ball.
This shot was sudden, and the two defenders behind were too late to cover the position. Even the goalkeeper didn't anticipate that Luis could change his angle.
By the time he saw Luis taking the shot and tried to dive and save, it was already too late.
The ball flew into the top right corner of the goal at a not particularly fast speed, snugly between the crossbar and post, and entered the net.
That was a theoretical blind spot; even if the goalkeeper was prepared, it would be very difficult to save.
The score on the field became 1-0, and unexpectedly, the substitute team took the lead.
After a moment of shock, the substitute players rushed towards Luis like crazy.
Luis was taken aback and tried to escape, but there was no way to get away from the swarm of substitute players.
They piled on top of him, forming a human mountain.
The starting team's players stood in their original positions with their arms crossed, their expressions complex.
They witnessed Luis's entire process of breaking through from the sideline to scoring inside the penalty area. Apart from the central midfielder Rafinha, who may have been complacent and easily bypassed, the other players didn't make any mistakes.
But the opponent scored an unreasonable goal, leaving them speechless, unable to blame their teammates.
At that moment, Enrique, who had returned to the office to retrieve some documents, was studying which team to send Luis to, completely unaware of what was happening on the field.
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