Chapter 31

With his hands covering his head, Jiba completely ignored the pain in his head. He stared at the field with wide eyes, not blinking for a moment.

Starting from the center line, that white figure left a trail of afterimages on the field!

Behind him were two Guarani defenders struggling to keep up!

Football is not a track and field event; speed alone is not enough...

These words echoed in his mind, but now they were filled with irony.

In this situation... isn't it a race?!

"Oh, oh, oh, oh! Here it comes! Here it comes! Rong! São Paulo's number 33! Rong!" Galvão Bueno shouted excitedly, as if he were a São Paulo supporter, but in fact, this was just his style... As long as one heard such passionate commentary, they knew it had to be Bueno behind the TV.

"His speed is incredible! This is what we want to see—when it comes to dribbling, he's even worse than the goalkeepers on both sides, but when it comes to speed... no one on this field can match him!"

Luís Fabiano saw Rong Guang running hard forward and followed to support him, hoping to receive the ball. But after just a few steps, he realized his efforts were in vain—he couldn't keep up with Rong Guang's speed. To expect him to support Rong Guang, Rong Guang would have to stop and wait for him...

But if he did that, the ball would definitely be intercepted by the opponents.

Chasing Rong Guang? He knew from team training that it was impossible.

He continued to run, but not to support Rong Guang's pass. Instead, he prepared to take a shot. If Rong Guang scored, he would celebrate with him.

***

"Fabiano can't keep up..." Assistant coach Mauro frowned when he saw this scene.

"Then we can only hope for Rong Guang's shot," said Oswaldo. "A week of training, isn't this the moment we've been waiting for?"

He thought about Rong Guang's astonishing progress during training.

If it were anyone else, he might have no confidence at all.

But now, with Rong Guang, he felt a bit of confidence, thinking that maybe Rong Guang wouldn't let him down...

He stood up from his seat, but unlike Jiba, he didn't bump his head, because he wasn't surprised by this moment. This was exactly what he wanted to see!

He walked to the sideline, focusing intently on the field.

Jiba had just been mocking São Paulo for playing track and field, not football.

But he never imagined... that he was actually right!

In this match, São Paulo was using a track and field strategy!

For football, speed is not everything, but in this game, speed is everything!

He clenched his fists.

***

When Rong Guang saw Lugano kick the ball with a long pass, he turned and started running forward.

He immediately left the two Guarani defenders behind him.

Then he began to accelerate, accelerate, accelerate—this kind of unrestricted running was his favorite!

Because it made him feel like he was flying. He could run over mountains and valleys, over farmlands and villages, over cities and factories... to a place where he could live a good life.

Now he was flying over rivers and seas, to Brazil.

He wanted to spread his wings and fly!

Fly to a new world filled with colorful banknotes!

Rong Guang ran with all his heart, completely ignoring the opponents around him, focusing on the ball.

The ball landed in front of him, bounced, and moved forward, slightly slowing down.

But Rong Guang's speed didn't decrease. He swept through Guarani's half like the wind, then caught up with the ball!

"He caught up—!" Bueno shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Critical moment! How will this rookie Rong handle the ball?" Caffer also paid attention, pointing out the key issue.

How would this rookie Rong, who can't dribble, continue the attack?

Guarani's goalkeeper Edvan had planned to come out and intercept the ball or clear it before Rong Guang could get to it.

But after just a few steps, he saw Rong Guang's sprinting speed...

Then he hesitated, retreated, and strongly doubted that he could get to the ball before the Chinese kid. So he chose to stay in front of his goal.

After all, this kid can't shoot!

***

The ball bounced on the grass, gradually slowing down, and Rong Guang caught up from behind.

By this time, the ball was already in front of Guarani's penalty area.

Lugano's kick was really far... It seemed he was afraid Rong Guang would need to dribble. After seeing Rong Guang's speed, to avoid another blunder, Lugano kicked the ball directly to the front of the penalty area!

As for the two Guarani defenders, one of them gave up halfway through. He couldn't keep up with Rong Guang's speed. Rong Guang's legs moved twice as fast as his. What could he do to catch up? So he stopped running—speed isn't my strong suit, I'm out!

Only one of them continued to struggle, but he couldn't catch up either. This only showed his determination to not give up...

Rong Guang began to slow down.

Because if he didn't, he would run past the ball...

The ball rolled forward on the grass, but not very fast.

This feeling reminded Rong Guang of the training sessions where Coach Rocha passed the ball to him from behind...

What should he do next?

Right, first, observe the goalkeeper's position!

He looked up and saw Guarani's goalkeeper Edvan come out, but he didn't rush forward. Instead, he came out halfway and chose to block the angle.

Because the ball was slightly off-center, Edvan was not in the middle but slightly to the right.

If the goalkeeper blocks the near post, what should he do?

Aim for the far post!

Rong Guang's gaze fell on the far post of the goal. Compared to the near post, there was more space there.

Next was the shot...

Rong Guang lowered his head, looked at the rolling ball, stabilized his body, and placed his left foot parallel to the ball as a support. He swung his right leg, brought it down, and as he did, he straightened his foot, pointing the toes downward, perpendicular to the ground, and then struck the upper middle part of the ball with the top of his foot!

Thud!

Grass and mud flew out from the cleat gaps, scattering everywhere.

The ball shot forward along the grass!

At first, goalkeeper Edvan didn't take Rong Guang's shot seriously, as he was certain Rong Guang couldn't shoot. But when he saw that Rong Guang's shot was well-controlled and heading for the far post of the goal!

He quickly lowered his center of gravity and dived to save the ball!

But the ball's trajectory was very close to him, making the save more difficult than a far post shot. Not only did he have to lower his body, but he also had to pull his arms inward, increasing the time and difficulty of the save! Goalkeepers fear such ground shots that are close to their bodies. If the ball were farther away, he could just dive out to the side...

When his hand barely touched the ball, the ball slipped through his fingers and continued rolling without slowing down!

All he could do was lie on the ground, looking back as the ball rolled farther and farther, eventually hitting the inside of the far post and deflecting into the goal...

"Goal—GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO