Chapter 14: Asian Youth Games (Part 1)
"What the hell is this pass?! Who can receive it at such a speed?! Is he going to shoot or pass?! Liu Chunming couldn't help but curse out loud, but soon he suddenly stopped and stared intently at the opponent's penalty area. He saw an unremarkable figure dodging the opponent's defender like an arrow, swiftly entering the penalty area. In that instant, Liu Chunming felt time slow down, and saw the small player stretching out a leg in a reclining position, barely touching the ball with his toe, changing its direction. The opposing goalkeeper reacted too slowly, and could only watch as the ball flew into the net from afar..."
"Great!", Liu Chunming suddenly jumped up excitedly, although the national youth team was not highly valued, but if they could achieve results, it would be a valuable experience after all. Moreover, as long as someone liked football, seeing such a wonderful goal, they couldn't help but applaud!
"Did he really get it? Hasn't he been holding back his true strength all along?" Yu Hai was now more shocked than delighted, the goal that he thought he could surpass with a bit of effort now seemed somewhat out of reach. But soon, a smile reappeared on Yu Hai's face, "Anyway, tying is always good, and he's on our side, it's the other team that should be unhappy!"
After the score was tied, the Chinese team's morale was greatly boosted. 3 minutes later, Huo Jiamin started from the right and made a powerful pass into the penalty area. The opposing defender had prepared for this and kicked the ball before Gao Jun could reach it, but because the ball speed was too fast, his clearance was not handled well, and he directly kicked the ball into his own goal, an own goal!
Although Liu Chunming's ability is mediocre, he is a football coach after all, and at this time, he finally saw a bit of the door, "Such a high-speed and low-pass pass is originally difficult for the defender to handle, and it's not surprising that an own goal appears. However, under normal circumstances, the attacking player also finds it difficult to handle such a pass, especially for young players, and even touching it is not easy. Therefore, even if the defender does not clear the ball, most of them will directly fly out of bounds or offside. It's just that because High Military proved himself capable of converting this kind of pass into a goal earlier, the opposing player had to take risks to intercept and handle it, resulting in an own goal. This goal seems like a gift from the opponent, but after all, we have to thank that kid... really regret not substituting him in earlier..."
The opposing coach also realized this and immediately signaled for the two defenders to sandwich Gao Jun, one in front and one behind. However, this inevitably exposed gaps in other areas. When Gao Jun received a pass from his teammate with his back to the goal line at the edge of the penalty area, he did not force a turn around but instead unexpectedly used the heel of his foot to accurately send the ball to Yu Hai, who had made a run into the penalty area. Yu Hai met the ball with a volley and scored, changing the score to 3-1.
Trailing by two goals, the Yemen team was forced to push up all lines, but this led to their defense line being exposed, and China's speed advantage was fully utilized. Soon after, Yu Hai and Gao Lin scored a beautiful consecutive 2-1 counterattack, with Gao Lin scoring the final goal with a low shot. The score was finally fixed at 4:1, and the Chinese team beautifully turned defeat into victory, sending these "old men" who were unknown to be four or five years overage back home...
After advancing to the final, the opponent of the National Youth Team was the Korean team that had always been a thorn in the side of the National Football Team. However, these young players were not intimidated at all, because in youth competitions, the disadvantage of the Chinese team was not as large as that between national teams (Note 1). But just as the game began, China suffered a heavy blow. Under the siege of Korean players, a certain defender made an error in handling the ball and it was intercepted by the opponent. Although goalkeeper Tian Xu reacted quickly, he was unable to stop the Korean striker's solo shot, and the National Youth Team fell behind 0-1.
The Chinese team then launched a fierce counterattack, but due to the South Korean team's excellent defense on the sides, the Chinese team did not get many good opportunities. Even when Zhang Yuning used the powerful low pass that had been effective in the previous game, they still could not change the score.
Actually, even for Gao Jun, it's quite difficult to intercept that kind of pass, especially when his body is not fully developed yet, and he's shorter with shorter legs. When intercepting, he has to lean forward at least half a body length more than others. It was okay against the Yemen team which was careless and had a larger but less agile physique, but against the Korean team which has similar agility to the Chinese players and is experienced in defending against wing attacks, the effect is inevitably greatly discounted.
Of course, it's not completely ineffective, just the success rate is too low. Even if it's a quick reaction and high shooting accuracy like Gao Jun, continuing to play like this can only score one or two more goals. If lucky, they might even tie or overtake, but if unlucky, they would lose. This is naturally unacceptable for Gao Jun, who has always disliked gambling. So he quickly took the opportunity of a dead ball to discuss with several others in the front field and proposed changing to play through the middle, which is actually the way that the Korean team has always feared most.
Although the national football team is always scolded, but this period of national youth team's personal skills are generally very good, breakthrough madman Hao Junmin doesn't need to be said, even Yu Hai, who was injured for two consecutive years and didn't touch the ball much, now he can bring the ball up like a swift and fierce edge knife. The technique of forward Dilan Jiangying is also excellent, although he was ruined by his own bad personality and lifestyle in history, but before thoroughly degenerating, it cannot be denied that he still has great strength.
After finding a new way of playing, Yu Hai no longer simply passes the ball to the center, but frequently carries the ball inward to find opportunities for passing and shooting. In fact, his dribbling style is more suitable for cutting inside rather than passing from the bottom. Speaking of Yu Hai's dribbling style, it's quite unique, similar to the Chinese saying "small quick steps" (Lu Ben's nickname was because of this, not that his ability is comparable to Lu Ben). The advantage is that it's hard to lose the ball, the disadvantage is that the movement range is small, and once being defended by an opponent, it's hard to shake off, so it's more suitable for cutting inside rather than passing from the bottom...
Note 1: Actually, it's mainly the credit of overage players. Since we have physical advantages after surpassing the age limit, South Korea's pressing is not that powerful anymore. It's just like how South Korea has always been afraid of Iran, who also has a physical advantage. By the way, many Asian countries' youth teams have the phenomenon of overage players, especially in West Asia and smaller countries. Then there are China and North Korea... Compared to them, South Korea and Japan have relatively fewer overage players, but still not a small number...
