The perfect midfield: It starts with never passing the ball to Ronaldo.

"Just because he performed a little better in the trial, how come Mario has become the tactical core?!"

"Is this guy the coach's favorite son? He gets unlimited firing rights!"

"This is so unfair to the veteran players! Let's go to the chairman and complain!"

"No, he's really good. Let's give him a try."

"Yeah, if we don't win the game, I'm definitely going to make a scene with the coach. I really want to perform well and get into the U21 team as soon as possible!"

"To be honest, the pass he gave me in the last scrimmage was pretty good, but unfortunately I missed it."

"While he's not quite as unobliged to pass the ball to Ronaldo as he claims, he certainly has some talent."

Oliveira is very efficient, and the team's tactical drills have begun to revolve around Mario.

Although some players complained slightly, their amazing performance in the scrimmages made the changes generally acceptable.

To get everyone to agree willingly, you need to let the victories and impressive statistics speak for themselves.

The youth team competition arrived as scheduled, and with strong individual abilities and tactical adjustments, a personal show was about to unfold.

Mario, confident and calm, nodded to his uncle in the stands and said nothing more.

His eighteen-year-old face still retained the features of a teenager, but his deep brown eyes already burned with a flame beyond his years.

The first step to becoming a superstar starts with youth training team matches!

Meanwhile, Oliveira, concerned about meeting her performance targets, continued to chatter on and on.

"Have you memorized all the pre-match instructions?"

"Run for him, create space for him, and then enjoy the fruits of victory."

"Mario, don't let your teammates and me down!"

"Play to your strengths, and believe me, you're a true genius!"

"The hunt begins now!"

Oliveira pointed to the blank area between the opposing center-back and defensive midfielder on the tactical board and gave his final shout.

The watered turf gleamed with a deep green sheen, damp but not wet, moist but not slippery.

Mario, standing on the green field, took a high kick and opened up his body.

With the referee's whistle, the match officially began. The youth team's match did not involve much probing; both sides immediately engaged in close combat after taking their positions.

Just one minute into the game, the opponent's number 6 gave Porto's new core player a hard time, displaying his powerful muscles with physical confrontation like a peacock spreading its tail.

It was dark and hard, with a good attitude but a bit slow.

Mario rubbed his shoulder and retreated to the vicinity of the center line, whereupon his opponent immediately closed in.

Standing at 1.9 meters tall, his sharply defined muscles exuded an imposing presence, but Mario remained composed.

The way to deal with this kind of guy is to use skill, which can also be considered as evasion and confrontation.

Mario chose to meet the ball with the inside of his right foot, while leaning his body slightly to the right.

Worried that he would be wiped out in the opposite direction, the big black guy quickly shifted his center of gravity to defend.

In a split second, Mario flicked the ball to the left front with the outside of his left foot.

The subtle changes in rhythm translated into actual action at that moment; the rapid shifts in left and right directions and the sudden bursts of speed made the defender feel as if they had been frozen in place.

Before the aircraft carrier could even turn around, Mario began to accelerate like a destroyer!

With a sudden burst of power from his thigh muscles, he had already pulled away from the defender by two body lengths in three steps.

Ahead, the deep-lying striker João perfectly executed the coach's instructions, moving to the left flank and drawing the opposing right center-back towards the sideline.

A vacuum zone has appeared at the top of the arc!

The opposing left-back realized something was wrong; the gap was too large, and the opponent's number 10 was already within shooting range.

In the half-second of hesitation of the left-back, the right winger Thiago suddenly cut inside!

This clever run finally drew the left-back's attention.

Without hesitation, Mario had already stepped onto the top of the arc.

The opposing center-back, who was covering for the defense, was still sprinting at full speed from three meters away, with grass clippings flying at his feet.

No adjustments are needed.

While running, his left foot dug into the grass like a nail, and his body leaned slightly to the left to maintain balance.

The right leg was drawn out like a fully drawn bow, and the calf muscles were clearly defined under the tight pants.

The strength of the waist and abdomen drives the thighs, which then transmits to the pointed instep.

The ball's position was already in his mind, half a step directly in front of his right foot.

boom!

He struck the bottom of the ball hard with the instep!

The sound was deep and full, and in slow motion, you could see the ball being squeezed and deformed in an instant.

It then transformed into a sharp blade and flew towards the upper left corner of the goal, the perfect force causing the black and white ball to barely spin.

Even though the goalkeeper reacted quickly and made a diving save, it was to no avail.

The fingertips that barely grazed the ball did not change its trajectory.

In the blink of an eye, the net shook violently, the upper right corner suddenly rose up, and then fell heavily back down.

The ball, whose motion had been altered, spun three full rotations in the net before finally coming to a stop, unwilling to give up.

Within just five minutes of the start, the numbers on the scoreboard had already been changed!

1:0

Mario turns and runs, pointing his right index finger at the team emblem on his chest.

Of course, having only been with the team for a few days, he didn't feel a strong sense of belonging. What was more important was to present himself to the executives and fans who might be in the stands.

Show loyalty to superiors!

Repay the fans with your performance!

In the stands, his first cheers continued.

"The new core member is really strong!!"

"Was he promoted from the U17 team?"

"That long-range shot was fucking awesome to watch!"

"Ahhh! So handsome and strong, I think I'm in love!"

"Ines, I think you're just lusting after his body, you're despicable."

"I don't understand, this kind of handsome and young potential is very rare~" The 18th-tier Portuguese actress adjusted her sports bra and nodded seriously.

Although I was indeed a little attracted to his looks, I was more interested in finding a potential football star to become a socialite on the pitch and increase my fame.

At that time, each party will get what they need: he will provide the fame, and she will provide the emotional value.

He's doing well, and so am I.

Women tend to overthink, while Oliveira on the sidelines is much simpler.

"Cool!"

"The feeling of tactics working is so satisfying!"

"The next Villas-Boas, no, the next Mourinho is me!!"

"Keep moving forward, the show has only just begun~" Oliveira's lips always had an undisguised smile.

The same curve appeared on Vitor Pereira's face; his cousin had indeed learned from his mistakes and strived for improvement.

The month-long intensive training has yielded good results, and hopefully this perfect start will help him have a wonderful time in Porto's youth academy.

As for Oliveira's constant talk of genius?

How is that possible!

Sporting Lisbon's youth team coaches aren't blind; how could they dismiss a true talent?

They're both shady shops, so why would they kindly give away their hard-earned money?

Pereira shook his head.

The unfamiliar opponent, the team's tactical setup, and a stroke of luck during the shot were the main factors behind this goal.

Kid, watch out for your opponent's adjustments later. If they exploit your tendency to dodge and fight, you're in big trouble!

Mario's experience of being arbitrarily dismissed by Lisbon made his uncle unconsciously put on a biased view.