Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

"CCTV, CCTV!"

"Viewers, you are now watching the live broadcast of the men's football final of the 29th Summer Olympic Games, China vs. Argentina!"

The match officially began with the opening remarks from the CCTV commentator.

Having won possession of the ball in the coin toss, the Argentine team didn't waste time testing their opponent's chances; they launched an offensive against the Chinese team as soon as the match began.

The match had just begun when Argentina started a combination play in the middle. Messi dribbled forward and broke through the defense before Lin Feng and Zhou Haibin could close in, penetrating deep into the heart of China's formation.

However, Zheng Zhi and Zhao Xuri reacted quickly, blocking his path forward.

Instead of going for the ball recklessly, Messi seized the opportunity to pass it to Aguero on the front line.

Aguero displayed the potential of a top striker in handling Messi's pass. He made a beautiful diagonal run, creating distance between himself and Li Weifeng, the Chinese center-back who was tracking back, making it impossible for the opponent to block him immediately.

At the same time, he blocked the path of full-back Sun Xiang, causing Sun Xiang to lose his defensive position and be unable to interfere with his shot immediately.

Fortunately, Wang Dalei reacted quickly and blocked Aguero's shooting line in time, thus averting the crisis.

But the opponent's first attack after the start of the game gave Chinese fans a real scare.

Argentina is a truly different opponent from any other we've faced before.

Argentina is so strong! No wonder they're the defending champions!

[Although they were opponents, I have to commend Aguero for his handling of the ball earlier; his receiving and positioning were top-notch. It's just that his final shot was a bit weak!]

[That was because Wang Dalei defended well. If Wang Dalei hadn't rushed out to block the shooting lane, Aguero definitely wouldn't have had such a rushed shot!]

The Chinese players need to be more focused and not let Messi break through so easily!

The fans' palms were sweating with tension. The Argentine team put so much defensive pressure on the Chinese team right from the start, making them very worried about whether the Chinese team could withstand it.

On the field, the Argentine team, which had the upper hand, played with great composure.

Utilizing Messi's dribbling skills and Di Maria's speed, they created numerous dangerous situations near the Chinese team's penalty area.

At this time, Messi had a very descriptive nickname: Little Flea.

There are only wrong names, not wrong nicknames.

He really was like a flea, jumping and bouncing in and out of the Chinese team's defensive players.

Their swift footwork, agile movements, and ability to find openings made life extremely difficult for the Chinese team's defensive players.

Although the Chinese team adopted a defensive tactic in this match, the players retreated to their own half after the start of the game, forming a very dense defensive formation with little space between the players.

But for a top dribbling master like Messi, that amount of space is more than enough for him to perform.

In the first few minutes of the game, Messi's several breakthroughs almost single-handedly disrupted the Chinese team's defense.

Although the Chinese players had heard of Messi's reputation before the match and knew that he was a dribbling master who was very good at breaking through and getting past opponents, they made some preparations in advance.

But when they actually faced their opponent on the field, they realized that the opponent's dribbling skills were even more exaggerated than they had imagined.

Against this guy, almost all of their usual defensive techniques were useless.

Messi's pace is too fast. If you make one move, the opponent can make two or even three. This makes every move he makes seem like a feint, but every feint can turn into a real one.

It's almost impossible to stop this guy one-on-one, and even two-on-one might not be enough to stop his attack. Sometimes you have to resort to fouling tactics to stop him.

In the 9th minute, Messi was brought down by Zheng Zhi while dribbling past defenders in front of the penalty area, giving Argentina a free kick in a very good position.

Riquelme and Messi both stood behind the ball, and just as everyone was guessing who would take the free kick, Messi started his run-up first.

However, while everyone's attention was drawn to Messi, he stepped away from the football.

At that moment, Riquelme made his move!
With almost no run-up, Riquelme swung his foot and kicked the ball hard.

The football soared into the air, flew over the wall of players, flew over the goal, and landed on the track behind the goal.

"Damn, what kind of place is this? It looks like a vegetable garden!"

Riquelme, who had fired the anti-aircraft gun, blushed and shifted all the blame to the poor field conditions. He even stomped on the grass a few times, as if to flatten the uneven surface.

The clueless Messi peeked at the grass at his feet, but didn't see any potholes!

Before Riquelme took the shot, Chinese fans were on tenterhooks, fearing that the inexperienced Wang Dalei would be tricked by the opponent's coordinated attack.

But when they saw Riquelme's shot go high and wide, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and began to applaud and cheer for the Chinese team's defense.

The applause from the stands reached Riquelme's ears, making him very angry.

It was as if the applause was deliberately meant to humiliate him!

In the 11th minute, China's attack failed, and Demichelis cleared the ball in the penalty area before heading it to Riquelme in the middle.

Riquelme started his show after getting the ball!
He slowly turned around, dodging Zhou Haibin's challenge from the side, and after observing the positions of his teammates on the field, he passed the ball to the right wing.

Argentina's full-back Zabaleta has moved up to the attack, and after receiving a pass from Riquelme, he makes a long pass to the other wing.

On the left, Di Maria has already begun his sprint.

Zabaleta's long pass was brilliant, bypassing both the midfield and back lines of the Chinese team's defense. The quality of the pass was also very high, allowing Di Maria to control the ball in a comfortable position.

However, Sun Jihai, the experienced right-back for the Chinese team, suddenly made a physical challenge on Di Maria when Di Maria was about to control the ball, and subtly bumped into him.

This sudden movement disrupted Di Maria's balance, causing him to lose control of the ball, which was quickly cleared by Wang Dalei who rushed out.

"That guy fouled!"

Di Maria was furious and immediately reported to the referee that Sun Jihai had committed a defensive foul.

However, the referee ignored him, clearly believing that what had just happened was a legitimate physical confrontation.

As the host country, China should be given some preferential treatment while ensuring fairness.

You can't exactly blow the whistle of an away game on the host country's turf, can you?
If he really dares to do that, he'll have to be careful about his personal safety after the competition ends.

He Wei: "We can't let Riquelme play so comfortably, we have to limit him!" Although the Chinese team thwarted the opponent's counterattack, seeing Riquelme complete the pass so calmly and almost create a goal, He Wei couldn't sit still.

Duan Xuan: "Coach Klaus Toppmöller is a very capable and renowned coach. He should make the appropriate adjustments."

Although Messi and Di Maria were very active in the attacking third during this period, Riquelme was still the biggest threat in the Argentine team. His vision and passing directly dominated the direction of Argentina's attack.

If even the commentators could see the problem, there's no reason why Klaus Toppmöller wouldn't have noticed it.

Sure enough, the next time Riquelme got the ball, Lin Feng came up to him.

Lin Feng had been observing Argentina's tactics and style of play, trying to figure out who their key player was.

After observing for more than ten minutes, he had his answer. Although Messi was stealing the show in the attacking third and throwing the Chinese team's defense into disarray.

But the true core of this Argentine team is not him, but Riquelme, who is in midfield.

Without Riquelme supplying the ball from the back, Messi's performance in the attacking third wouldn't have been so outstanding.

Then it becomes clear who should be targeted.

Riquelme didn't take Lin Feng's forward defense seriously, because Argentina's formation was very high up the pitch, and he was surrounded by teammates who could receive the ball.

No matter how strong Lin Feng's interception ability is, it's impossible for him to steal the ball from Lin Feng's feet under these circumstances.

So even though he knew he was facing Lin Feng, Riquelme still went his own way, slowly stopping the ball, controlling it, and observing, as if Lin Feng was invisible.

This was incredibly disrespectful, so Lin Feng rushed up and tried to snatch it from him.

Riquelme remained calm, shielding the ball as he turned and passed it back to his teammate behind him.

After passing the ball, he even turned around and glanced at Lin Feng, his expression seeming to say: You're still too green to fight me!
Lin Feng glared back at the other party without any politeness. So what if he called for reinforcements?

You have teammates, but I don't?
When the Argentine player passed the ball to Riquelme again, Lin Feng, who had already figured out the opponent's intention, rushed up to steal the ball before he could stop it.

Riquelme frantically tried to pass the ball to a teammate in a safe position, but because he was too slow in handling the ball, other Chinese players had already closed him down from the front and sides, cutting off his passing lanes.

Having fallen behind in physical duels, Riquelme quickly lost control of the ball, and Lin Feng swiftly switched possession to the right flank after intercepting it, passing it to Hao Junmin who was making a forward run.

Hao Junmin, fearless like a newborn calf, received the ball, dribbled past Argentina's left-back Monzón, and charged along the flank towards the edge of the penalty area.

Demichelis rushed forward to cover, blocking Hao Junmin's path to break into the penalty area.

At the same time, the full-back who had been beaten quickly returned and blocked Hao Junmin's path.

Realizing there was no chance to break through, Hao Junmin decisively passed the ball back to his teammate in the middle. After stopping the ball, Lin Feng looked to the left and seemed to be trying to move the ball to the weak side.

Mascherano, who had fought alongside Lin Feng at the club, knew Lin Feng's strength very well. Seeing that the opponent hesitated, he quickly stretched out his leg to block the pass.

However, at the very moment he made his move, Lin Feng suddenly used his right foot to flick the ball past the reckless Mascherano.

This development caught the Argentine players off guard. Upon seeing this, Gao Lin, Zhou Haibin, and Hao Junmin all began to make runs, looking for suitable openings to receive the ball and shoot.

The Argentine players were well aware of Lin Feng's passing ability and focused their attention on the runs of the three Chinese players near the penalty area.

However, Lin Feng did not choose to pass the ball at all. After getting past Xiao Ma, a brief opening appeared in front of him.

After glancing at the goalkeeper's position while dribbling the ball, Lin Feng decisively took a long-range shot from 25 meters away from the goal.

This powerful shot was incredibly strong, with a very high speed and an extremely tricky angle.

Argentina's goalkeeper Romero used all his strength to barely tip the ball over the crossbar.

Seeing Lin Feng shoot directly, the Argentine defenders, realizing their mistake, all looked towards their own goal. Only after seeing their goalkeeper save the ball did they breathe a sigh of relief.

The coach was right; this guy is indeed the most threatening player on the opposing team.

When they saw Lin Feng about to shoot, the fans at the Bird's Nest stretched their necks, held their breath, and some even stood up involuntarily, as if they wanted to get closer to see more clearly.

When they saw the ball being saved by the opposing goalkeeper, a huge sigh echoed over the Bird's Nest.

"What a pity about that goal!"

"Lin Feng's shot was of very high quality, but Romero's positioning was excellent, and his save was also brilliant!"

Inside the studio, several commentators and the audience sighed together.

"Although we didn't score, we showed the other team that the Chinese team is not a pushover!"

"Yes, the Argentinians were a bit too careless, especially Riquelme. He shouldn't have held onto the ball in that situation!"

"However, if the Chinese team can continue to find a few more opportunities like this, we might actually be able to score a goal!"

Riquelme has little defensive ability; after losing possession, he didn't participate in the defensive effort at all, and practically just stood there watching.

Seeing that the opponent almost scored after intercepting his pass, Riquelme's expression turned grim.

If that ball had actually gone in, he would have been a sinner against Argentina.

China's attacking run was not over because the ball was saved by the opposing goalkeeper, so the linesman awarded China a corner kick.

Because the Chinese team is not tall enough, and they dare not commit too many players to the attack.

Therefore, Lin Feng did not intend to pass the ball directly into the penalty area. Instead, he chose to coordinate with his teammates to take advantage of the moment when the opposing players rushed outwards to create a contrast before passing the ball into the penalty area.

Unfortunately, when the ball was passed to the goal, neither Gao Lin nor Zhou Haibin, both standing at 1.85 meters tall, could reach it, and the ball was cleared by Argentine defender Garay.

The ball was headed out of bounds by the opposing team, so possession remains with the Chinese team.

"Can you throw the ball into the penalty area?"

When throwing the ball in from the outside, Lin Feng called Zhao Xuri over, aimed at the penalty area, and asked him a question.

"You can give it a try!"

"Alright, just have the people inside the restricted area, wherever we have the most people, throw the bombs there!" (End of Chapter)