Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

In the 29th minute, Brazil was awarded a free kick.

After being frustrated for almost 30 minutes, Ronaldinho finally had a chance to show off his skills.

Lin Feng has already scored, and Ronaldinho, also a Ballon d'Or winner, is naturally unwilling to fall behind.

Ronaldinho got into position, his eyes fixed firmly on the goal, seemingly ready to shoot directly.

"We have to be careful with this ball. Ronaldinho's free kicks are very powerful. He has scored many goals from free kicks in club and national team matches!"

Seeing Ronaldinho's serious attitude, the two commentators in the commentary booth were a little nervous and worried.

They were afraid that the lead that the Chinese team had worked so hard to gain would vanish after the opponent scored a free kick.

China's starting goalkeeper today will be 19-year-old Wang Dalei.

In such a crucial match, Klaus Toppmöller did not choose the older Liu Zhenli, but instead placed his hopes on the young player Wang Dalei, which shows his trust in Wang Dalei.

Wang Dalei clearly didn't want to disappoint the coaching staff and the fans. He put in his best effort, carefully directing his teammates to form a human wall, while he himself stood guard on the left side of the goal frame, his eyes fixed on Ronaldinho not far away.

He studied Ronaldinho's free kicks and discovered that the opponent liked to use his right foot to shoot to the left side of the goal, so he deliberately moved a little to that side so that he could make a save at any time.

Come on, Ronaldinho, let me see the skill of you, the world's top free-kick master!
Wang Dalei was young and fearless, because he was often dragged by Lin Feng to be his sparring partner during training and was often tortured by Lin Feng.

But as he continued to struggle, Wang Dalei gradually mastered some techniques for saving free kicks.

Now is the time for him to showcase the results of his daily training.

Ronaldinho didn't take this greenhorn seriously; all he could see was the goal and the wall of players on the edge of the penalty area.

For him, getting the ball around the wall was even more difficult than scoring directly.

Taking a deep breath, and under the watchful eyes of tens of thousands of fans, Ronaldinho began his run-up.

Many Chinese fans in the stands held their breath in tension, while Brazilian fans had their eyes shining and were already poised to celebrate.

One step, two steps, three steps...

Ronaldinho quickly completed his run-up, swinging his arms out and stretching his body to the extreme while tilting to the left and swinging his right leg forcefully, striking the bottom of the ball heavily.

With a muffled thud, the ball flew out, bypassing the towering wall of players, and spun towards the top left corner of the goal.

nice shot!

Seeing the quality of this free kick, the Brazilian team's coaches and substitutes on the sidelines, as well as the Brazilian fans in the stands, couldn't help but be impressed.

However, the free kick, which they considered to be of extremely high quality, was saved by the Chinese team's 19-year-old goalkeeper!

After successfully making the save, Wang Dalei roared and stared wide-eyed at Ronaldinho, the captain of the Brazilian team.

The latter looked somewhat dazed, as if he couldn't believe that his free kick had been saved by the opposing goalkeeper, who was an unknown young man!
This is simply a shame!
"Well done, Xiao Wang!"

"Wow, Lei, you saved that shot!"

"Did you see that confused look on Ronaldinho's face? You're going to leave a deep impression on him!"

When his teammates saw Wang Dalei withstand the pressure and make the incredible save, they all went up to congratulate him.

Wang Dalei himself was also very excited. Although he had done a lot of preparation beforehand, even he himself felt somewhat incredulous when he actually saved Ronaldinho's shot.

"Hahaha, from today onwards, I am also the man who has defeated a Golden Globe winner head-on!"

He's the kind of goalkeeper who gets really into it; the more excited he is, the better his performance and form become.

Now, Wang Dalei feels like he has inexhaustible strength all over his body, and he is not afraid of anyone who comes!
He wasn't exaggerating; the spurred Ronaldinho seems to have recovered quite a bit.

In the following ten minutes, under his leadership, the Brazilian team launched wave after wave of attacks.

However, all of these attacks were neutralized by the Chinese team's concerted defense and Wang Dalei's outstanding saves.

At halftime, the score remained 1-0.
The Brazilian team tried for nearly thirty minutes but gained nothing, and instead wasted their energy.

When the referee blew the whistle to end the first half, it wasn't the Chinese team, who had been under pressure, who breathed a sigh of relief, but rather the Brazilian team, whose stamina was severely depleted.

Looking at the players, who were covered in sweat and remained silent, Dunga's face showed a rare serious expression.

The players' performance made him realize that the second half would be tough!
……

Before Klaus Toppmöller even entered the locker room, he could hear the players singing, dancing, laughing, and playing around inside.

The old man's smile was almost forced; these guys had only played a good half of the game and were already getting carried away.

No, we have to remind them that the game isn't over yet.

Standing outside the locker room, Klaus Toppmöller coughed heavily.

After putting on a serious, unsmiling expression again, he pushed open the locker room door.

Upon hearing his cough, everyone stopped playing around and sat obediently in their seats, like well-behaved children waiting for class, all looking at him, their 'teacher'.

"What? Are you expecting me to praise you and say some nice things about you?"

Klaus Toppmöller almost couldn't control his expression and burst out laughing, but thankfully he managed to hold it in at the last moment.

"Doesn't our performance in the first half deserve praise?"

Inside the locker room, one of the players muttered something under his breath, clearly dissatisfied.

Klaus Toppmöller looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the one complaining was goalkeeper Wang Dalei, who had performed brilliantly in the first half. He immediately became quite rude.
"What? You think you've won? You think the game is over?"

"Let me tell you, the real battle only begins in the second half. No matter how well you, Wang Dalei, performed in the first half, if the opponent breaches your goal in the second half and causes the team to lose, then all your efforts throughout the entire game will be in vain. People won't remember your previous saves; they'll only focus on the shots you failed to save. Do you still think I should praise you now?"

Upon hearing this, everyone lowered their heads and remained silent.

They clearly realized that they were celebrating a little too soon.

With half the game still to go, a one-goal lead isn't a huge advantage, and we shouldn't get so carried away.

"Play well in the second half and try to win this game. Then, not only will I praise you, but fans all over the country will sing your praises!"

The German old man wasn't good at public speaking, so after saying that, he took out his tactics board and began to explain the team's tactics for the second half in a very methodical manner.

The situation in the Brazilian team's locker room was quite the opposite. Dunga harshly criticized the players who had performed poorly in the first half. "Robinho, why are you so obsessed with your stepovers?"

"Passing the ball at the right time is more meaningful to the team than showing off your skills on the wing. Remember, this isn't your exhibition game, this is the fucking Olympics!"

After criticizing Robinho, Dunga turned his fire on the inept Anderson.

"Anderson, what's wrong with you? After getting the ball, instead of advancing or passing to your teammates, you're just standing there trying to fight one-on-one with the opponent. Do you think this is a duel arena?"

"Stop your ridiculous competitive spirit. Even if you beat Lin Feng once, it doesn't prove you're stronger than him. Only by leading your team to defeat him head-on can you prove yourself!"

Anderson lowered his head in shame. He had indeed been inconsiderate, focusing only on showing off and neglecting the fact that football is a team sport.

"Pato, run more in the second half, make use of your speed and positioning advantage. Don't just stand there in the penalty area and try to fight the opposing defenders. That's reckless. You need to use your brain when playing football and play to your strengths, understand?"

Dunga unleashed a torrent of criticism, criticizing everyone from the forwards to the midfielders and the defense.

Even Ronaldinho, the team's veteran, couldn't escape being scolded, which made him feel embarrassed and ashamed in front of his younger teammates, causing him to harbor considerable resentment towards Dunga.

Actually, Dunga didn't want to lose his temper, but what could he do when their performance was so bad?
If we don't wake them up now, after we lose the game, there will only be more people criticizing them, and the criticism will be even harsher.

Brazilian football has not performed well in recent years, and there are signs of a decline.

As the leading young generation of Brazilian footballers, they carry the high expectations of countless Samba fans.

Dunga hopes to lead them to good results and meet the expectations of the fans, rather than leading them through another failure and deepening the negative impression that Brazilian football is declining.

Dunga, who captained Brazil to victory in the 1994 World Cup, has a long history and high prestige in the national team.

Even within the Brazilian national team, few dare to confront him head-on, let alone the Olympic team, which is mostly composed of young players.

So after Dunga's outburst, all the players in the locker room lowered their heads in shame and secretly vowed to play well in the second half and win the game.

……

The brief halftime break ended quickly, and the two sides switched sides to resume the game.

Perhaps Dunga's scathing rebuke had an effect, because the Brazilian team in the second half was a completely different team in terms of morale compared to the first half.

Shortly after the start of the second half, Pato dribbled into the left side of the penalty area and chipped a ball that looked like a cross but was actually a shot.

His teammates, who were trying to get to the ball, didn't seem to understand his meaning. No one went to contest the ball, and it grazed the right post and went out of bounds.

Although this attack did not result in a goal, it served as a wake-up call for the Chinese team.

Pato's position began to change; his range of movement increased, and his role on the field changed from a finisher to an assault player.

Pato wasn't the only one whose form improved; Robinho, Anderson, and even Ronaldinho have all shown signs of recovery.

Brazil's attacking lineup was indeed impressive. After the opponent regained their form, the stronger Brazilian team gradually took control of the game and put continuous pressure on the Chinese goal.

However, their luck seemed to be still bad, as they failed to score despite several consecutive shots.

But after seeing these, the Chinese team's head coach, Klaus Toppmöller, did not relax; instead, his expression became even more serious.

Ronaldinho's form improved significantly in the second half, and his passes into the penalty area were quite threatening.

If we continue to let things slide, it's only a matter of time before we concede a goal if they keep playing like this.

He quickly called Zhao Xuri, who had run to the sidelines to drink water, over and whispered some instructions in his ear.

Zhao Xuri nodded repeatedly, ran onto the field, conveyed the coach's instructions to Zheng Zhi and several other teammates, and then put down all his work to focus on Ronaldinho.

Like a piece of chewing gum, it sticks to the other person tightly.

Should I assign a dedicated defensive player to mark me?
Seeing this, Xiao Luo didn't care too much.

When he was at his peak, his opponents often devised such targeted tactics to deal with him.

Unfortunately, this tactic was not very effective.

Because Ronaldinho is not a traditional attacking midfielder. Although he can play as a number 10, he prefers to play in the left side of the attacking midfield.

The closer to the flank, the more space there is, and the less effective man-marking becomes.

Furthermore, the removal of one defensive player created more space in the opponent's middle, indirectly increasing opportunities for their teammates.

Leaving aside the potential problems in the middle lane, the issues on the flanks alone are already proving difficult to resolve.

In the 56th minute, Ronaldinho broke free of his defender on the left wing and entered the penalty area. Facing Feng Xiaoting, who came up to block him, he feigned a shot and then passed the ball to the front of the goal.

If Wang Dalei hadn't reacted quickly and rushed out to clear the ball, Pato, who was following up, would very likely have seized the opportunity and scored!

"mine!"

Zhao Xuri took the initiative to step in and shoulder the responsibility.

Although Ronaldinho wasn't tall or strong, his footwork was incredibly fast, creative, and deceptive. Zhao Xuri was caught off guard and fell for his tricks, and by the time he tried to catch up, it was too late.

"Sun, go up and assist Zhao Xuri, Xiao Chen will cover for Sun!"

Seeing that Zhao Xuri couldn't contain Ronaldinho by himself, Klaus Toppmöller asked Sun Jihai to help him defend.

With both players marking Ronaldinho, his threat on the left flank immediately decreased.

But after Sun Jihai left, the large area behind him was empty.

To prevent the opponent from exploiting this large space after Sun Jihai left, Klaus Toppmöller instructed Feng Xiaoting to move to the right.

After Feng Xiaoting left, there was a gap at center-back, so he had to have Zheng Zhi drop back to the back line to temporarily fill in as center-back.

But Zheng Zhi is a defensive midfielder, and his position is crucial. There was no other way but to continue the adjustment and have Lin Feng drop back to the defensive midfield position.

However, this meant that the national team's formation on the field became a single defensive midfielder, putting all the pressure on Lin Feng.

The key point is that Lin Feng's responsibilities are not limited to defense; he must also step up when the team is about to launch a counterattack.

This is truly being both a father and a mother! (End of Chapter)