Chapter 15: Straightforward
The fans in the stands also noticed the new player Chen Yingxiong - his size was so eye-catching!
"When did Zenit get a big guy?"
"Yellow skin and black hair? Could he be Asian?"
Like the reporters, the fans were also talking about it.
Chen Yingxiong faced his teammates, raised his hand and grinned, saying hello to them. "Hi, guys."
He used English, and everyone could understand this sentence, which was just a greeting to them.
Then he ran straight to the forward position.
The players of Tomsk Youth Team were all looking at the newly-appeared Chen Yingxiong. They were unfamiliar with this person. They had played against Zenit in the first half of the season, and at that time, Zenit did not have such a big man. If there was, with Chen Yingxiong's eye-catching figure, he would definitely leave a very deep impression on people. How could it be possible that they only knew such a person now?
When Sergey Pavlov, the coach of the Tomsk youth team, saw that the Zenit youth team sent out such a centre forward, he knew that the opponent was going to use a highball tactic.
He quickly called two central defenders, Maxim Davydenko and Alexandr Raschitaev, to his side and asked them to work together to defend the new centre forward of Zenit Youth Team.
Why two people were needed to defend? It wasn't because Pavlov knew that Chen Yingxiong was very good at heading the ball, but because his two central defenders were not tall. If they were asked to defend Chen Yingxiong alone, they would probably lose miserably...
Davydenko is slightly taller, reaching 1.81 meters, while his central defender partner Raschitaev is only 1.78 meters... It was indeed difficult for such a person to defend Chen Yingxiong, who is over 1.9 meters tall. Only two people can come together.
After seeing who his opponents were, Chen Yingxiong was a little disappointed. He couldn't wait to fight against the masters and test the power of his header in actual combat...
Looking at the two "dwarfs" in front of him, he curled his lips.
…
Raschitaev swore that he was definitely not confused. He had clearly seen a look of disdain on the face of the big oriental man opposite him!
This expression made him very angry! He was the main central defender of the Tomsk Youth Team. No player in the Youth League had ever dared to make such an expression to him...
But he saw it!
He grabbed his partner Davydenko.
"That guy is looking down on us." He pointed at Chen Yingxiong's back and said to his partner.
Davydenko was stunned for a moment, thinking he had misheard. A newbie looking down on him? This was the first time I met him, and we had no grudges against each other, so why would he look down on me?
He thought of Chen Yingxiong's height and nodded. "He must think that he can beat us in high balls because of his height."
"We'll teach him a lesson!" said Raschitaev, clenching his fists.
"How?" asked Davydenko.
In the youth team, Raschitaev is the absolute main force, and there are even rumours that he will be transferred to the first team soon.
"You are taller than me, so use your body to interfere with him. And I will fight for the header!"
Davydenko did not object.
He was 1.81 meters tall and weighed 83 kilograms, so he was indeed very strong. And Raschitaev's header was very good.
If the two of them joined forces, they still had a chance of defeating this behemoth.
…
After seeing Chen Yingxiong come onto the court, the players of the Zenit Youth Team knew very well what they should do - the team had been practising this tactic for the past week, crossing the ball from the wing and feeding high balls to Chen Yingxiong.
In fact, this tactic does not need to be practised in depth. Who can't cross the ball from the wing? Popovich arranged so many training sessions to practice this mainly to give Chen Yingxiong a chance to run in with the team, let him get familiar with the team's cross style, and also let the team get familiar with Chen Yingxiong's running position.
Even so, his cooperation with the team was still somewhat out of sync.
The time was really too short... Popovich sighed in his heart.
Popovich did not tell Chen Yingxiong the story behind this game, as he was afraid of putting too much pressure on this kid and causing him to perform poorly. Chen Yingxiong could not be careless in this game...
As soon as Chen Yingxiong came on the court, Zenit's tactics immediately became simple - after launching an attack from the backcourt, the midfielders would quickly distribute the ball to the flanks, and then no matter whether it was the wing forward or the full-back, as long as they got the ball, they would pull to the flank and make a cross, and they would only pass high balls, allowing Chen Yingxiong to compete for the header.
Even his partner on the forward line, Migiorgio Mozgovoi, frequently moved to the wing to pass the ball to him.
This team really listened to the head coach. It seemed that Popovich enjoyed a very high reputation in the team. These young teams all respected him and did whatever he told them to do.
…
Chen Yingxiong decided to try out today's game first to see how it felt.
Seeing the football being passed to the wing, he raised his arms high, signalling his teammates to pass the ball to him.
The opponents naturally knew what the other side was going to do.
"Watch him! Be careful of their crosses!" Tomsk youth team goalkeeper Nikolay Tsvetkov pointed at Chen Yingxiong and shouted.
The moment the football was passed, Chen Yingxiong felt it very clearly, the same feeling he had during training... His heart was suddenly filled with joy, and he knew he was going to show his power!
Davydenko followed Raschitayev's arrangement and jumped up first, right in front of Chen Yingxiong, and rushed towards Chen Yingxiong!
After Chen Yingxiong jumped up, he felt the opponent's interference, but he didn't care at all. He kept his eyes on the football and rushed straight towards Davydenko.
…
Popovich could hear a burst of laughter coming from behind him, very clearly.
He knew it was Porter who made the noise. However, he was not angry, but understood Porter's reaction, because he also had the same reaction when he first saw Chen Yingxiong compete for the header.
Any professional coach would have the same reaction when seeing Chen Yingxiong do this because Chen Yingxiong's header looked too "amateurish".
If the opposing defensive player is a wall, he will simply crash into the wall... Is that a good thing?
But he knew that Chen Yingxiong's seemingly clumsy and amateurish move could create miracles...
…
Just as Coul Porter sneered at Chen Yingxiong's actions, Pavlov, the head coach of the Tomsk youth team, also laughed.
He was not mocking Chen Yingxiong, but showing a relieved smile. This big guy looked scary, but he was an inexperienced rookie. How could he go for the ball like this? Aren't you letting the defensive player play into your hands?
Can't even find the gap... There is no better defence than this!
He suddenly felt that he had "overreacted" by asking Davydenko and Raschitaev to defend this man. He shouldn't have been scared of this big guy.
…
Davydenko was happy when he saw Chen Yingxiong rushing towards him because it would be easier for him to defend. Maybe he didn't need Raschitayev at all, he could kill this big guy by himself!
But he soon found out that he was wrong and quite wrong at that!
Before he could crash into the other person, the other person was already pressing towards him!
Human instinct toward danger made Davydenko want to hide, but now he was hanging in the air, where could he hide?
Just at this moment, Chen Yingxiong came rushing down with a roar!
It's like a mountain falling on one's head!!
The ball flew over Davydenko's body and into the Tomsk team's goal...
…
"Wow!!" A huge exclamation came from the stands.
Although there were only a few hundred people in the stands, the enclosed indoor stadium easily amplified the shouting, so it suddenly sounded as if there were a thousand people sitting there.
Chen Yingxiong could feel there was someone under him, but he didn't bother to see who it was. He just had to press the opponent and push the ball into the goal. As a centre forward, his mission was accomplished.
Raschitayev stood on the ground, looking up at the scene happening right before his eyes...
He was waiting for Davydenko to cause some trouble to the big guy, and then jump up and head the ball away. Although he was not tall, he had a good jumping ability and had good explosive power, often being able to head the ball away after starting. As a central defender who was less than 1.8 meters tall, he relied on this skill to gain a foothold in the Tomsk youth team.
However, Davydenko was defeated without any warning before he even had a chance to display his skills!
He was completely suppressed by the big guy and couldn't stop the opponent's header at all!
…
When Popovich saw Chen Yingxiong head the ball into Tomsk's goal, he ignored everything else and jumped up, raised his arms and cheered.
Just like the Zenit youth team substitutes around him.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
Chen Yingxiong's performance reassured him.
The cheering Popovich turned his head and looked behind him. He wanted to see what the expressions of Advocaat and Porter were at this moment...
…
Porter stared at the court with his eyes wide open. His mouth was open, but no sound came out. It was as if the sound was stuck in his throat. Then his throat moved, swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and his mouth closed.
Advocaat, who was beside him, was calmer than him, but the surprise on his face was obvious.
…
The smile on Pavlov's face seemed so stiff - while he was still maintaining his confident smile, Chen Yingxiong had defeated Davydenko in the air with the force of a mountain pressing down on his head and then headed the football into the goal.
Goalkeeper Zvetkov had never expected that the opponent's header would come so easily. He didn't even make a save and watched the ball go into the goal...
…
Chen Yingxiong, who had landed, let out a long roar towards the sky.
He was very satisfied with his goal.
Yes, that's the feeling I want! Anyone who dares to stop me - must - die -!
...
AN: Seeing how the Powerstone System works, I decided to implement my own. Seeing how many we got so fast, I think an easy schedule to start with would be.
Saturday - Free
Sunday - Free
Bonus Chapter #1 - 10 Powerstones
Bonus Chapter #2 - 20 Powerstones
Bonus Chapter #3 - 30 Powerstones
Bonus Chapter #4 - 40 Powerstones
Bonus Chapter #5 - 50 Powerstones
From now on I will be posting ANs begging for Stones, gimme gimme gimme