Chapter 4: Body Transformation

Chapter 4: Body Transformation Completed, Skill Soars!

That evening, when Luis returned home, he had just laid down on his bed when he heard the voice of the system:

[System: Body transformation initiated!]

[System: Estimated time: eight hours!]

Without giving Luis any time to consider, a wave of fatigue hit him, and he immediately entered deep sleep.

He slept for a full eight hours, and upon waking up, he felt refreshed and energized.

Had the system completed the body transformation? Luis examined himself from head to toe, and his height hadn't changed.

He measured himself and found that he was still the same 1.72 meters tall as before.

He had been worried that the system's modifications would make him as tall as Messi, but it seemed he had been overly concerned.

However, Messi's sharp breakthroughs and dribbling skills were closely related to his height.

Messi's fast stride frequency, combined with his natural ball sense, allowed him to touch the ball faster and more frequently than others.

As a result, while others could only perform two actions in the same amount of time, he could complete three actions.

Therefore, by utilizing changes in rhythm, Messi could bypass most defenders.

This was Messi's greatness, taking the variation in rhythm to the extreme.

A unique move can conquer the world, and yet you can't do anything about it.

You know he's going to pass you, but your body can't keep up with your mind, leading to situations where Boateng trips himself.

Therefore, Luis was worried that an increase in height would affect his breakthroughs, dribbling, and other skills.

Is a 1.72-meter Messi still Messi? No, he had to go to the football field and try it out! So, Luis eagerly grabbed the football, hopped on his bike, and headed towards the football field.

"Why is this kid up so early? Isn't the youth team training supposed to start at 9:30? It's not even 6:30 yet!" Seeing Luis's figure rushing away, Serra said to Guardiola with some confusion.

Guardiola, lost in thought, recalled his conversation with Luis yesterday.

The kid had grown up and had his own ideas now. By training seriously at this time, he was probably preparing to leave Barça.

Thinking this, Guardiola decided to use his connections to help Luis find a good team.

If he really wanted to leave Barça, he should at least be sent to a better team, so as not to hinder his professional career.

...

Luis arrived very early, and apart from the security guard at the training base, there was no one else to be seen.

After greeting the security guard, Luis eagerly rushed onto the training ground and couldn't wait to start practicing with the ball.

He really wanted to experience how it felt to play like Messi.

Before touching the ball, Luis didn't notice anything unusual.

But as soon as the ball reached his feet, he immediately felt the difference.

He clearly felt that his stride frequency was much faster than usual. If before he could only take two steps in a second, now he could take at least three or even four steps!

In addition to the increased stride frequency, he clearly felt that his ball control had improved a lot.

Once he had the ball, it seemed like it was glued to his feet. Every touch allowed him to precisely control the ball within a distance of less than half a meter from his body! This distance meant a lot, especially for a midfielder like him!

When Messi dribbles, it's difficult to steal the ball from him for two reasons.

First, his touch frequency is so fast that he can almost touch the ball with every step, allowing him to take the ball away from the opponent before they can reach it.

Second, his ball sense is exceptional, and he always keeps the ball at a distance that makes it difficult for defenders to steal it.

So, the best way to deal with Messi is simple: don't let the ball reach his feet! After some experimentation, Luis was pleasantly surprised.

The damn system actually delivered this time and truly replicated Messi's attributes in himself!

Next, he tried several of Messi's signature dribbling moves, such as chip dribbling, inside and outside foot feints, ball control and turn, nutmeg, and continuous fake shots.

These moves were not exclusive to Messi, but because of his exceptional ball sense and fast touch frequency, he posed a greater threat when using these moves compared to other players.

"Hey, Luis, why are you here so early?" After practicing on the field for an hour, having breakfast at the cafeteria, and taking a shower in the locker room, Luis finally saw Deulofeu and the others arrive.

Seeing Luis alone on the field, Deulofeu was somewhat surprised.

This guy wasn't particularly diligent in his impression, so why did he come so early today? Seeing him covered in sweat, it was evident that he had been training for a long time.

"I want to play for the first team!" Facing Deulofeu's question, Luis answered seriously.

"What? Are you joking? You're only sixteen this year, not even seventeen. How could you establish yourself in the first team at this age?"

Deulofeu had made a substitute appearance in the 11th round of last year's La Liga match when Barça won 5-0 against Mallorca.

But when he came on, the score was already 4-0, and Messi had already scored three goals in the first 30 minutes, putting the match to rest early.

So Guardiola had put him on to experience the atmosphere and give young players some exercise.

However, during the few tens of minutes he played, Deulofeu keenly felt the huge gap in strength between the first team and the youth team.

This made Deulofeu deeply aware of the gap in ability between himself and the first team players.

He still needed to continue working hard, improving his skills and abilities, or else he wouldn't be able to establish himself in the first team.

Deulofeu was a year and a half older than Luis, and he felt that even he couldn't establish himself in the first team.

So Luis, who was younger and had a slimmer build, had even less chance.

"Of course, I'm not joking, and I didn't say I have to establish myself at Barça!"

"You want to leave Barça?"

Deulofeu was shocked. Players who came to La Masia dreamed of staying here and dreaming of one day stepping onto the Camp Nou to play.

But Luis, a true Barça person, actually wanted to leave Barcelona, which surprised him greatly.

"Of course, if I don't leave Barça, how can I play for the first team? Besides, La Masia youth players are in high demand outside, so I won't have trouble finding a team!"

"I think you should consider it too if you don't have to stay at Barça!"

Deulofeu had struggled during his time at Barça, coming in and out multiple times, and in the end, he couldn't make it.

Luis gave his good friend a reminder, but whether he listened or not was not his decision to make.

Just like some people who dream of playing for Real Madrid from a young age, with Barça's increasingly glorious results, many young players have developed a Barça dream, dreaming of playing for Barça.

Deulofeu was one of them.

At this moment, the youth team coaches approached and waved for the players to move the equipment and prepare for today's training.

In five days, they would be playing away against Almería, their league opponents.

The opponents currently ranked seventh in Segunda División, while the Barça youth team ranked eighth.

Although there was only one place difference in the rankings, the opponent had 14 more points than them, indicating a significant difference in strength.

However, the team had suffered two consecutive defeats, with the previous match resulting in a humiliating 4-1 loss to Celta Vigo, causing embarrassment for the Barça club as a whole.

As a result, the club had given them a strict order to win against Almería at all costs and end the two-match losing streak.

This placed tremendous pressure on the youth team coaching staff, and they attached great importance to the upcoming match.

Therefore, they planned to hold an internal training match and bring the best-performing players to participate in the away game.

Such training matches had been conducted before, and as the team's starting central midfielder, Luis usually wore a blue vest symbolizing the starting lineup.

But today, the assistant coach gave him a yellow vest to wear as a substitute.

What did this mean? Luis looked at the youth team's head coach, Enrique, and saw him engaged in a friendly conversation with club president Rosell.

Was it Rosell's doing?