Chapter 45

When Rongguang intercepted the ball from Robinho, the entire stadium was shocked!

No one could remain calm in the face of this scene.

In front of the São Paulo coaching bench, Osvaldo and Mauro exchanged glances, both seeing the disbelief in each other's eyes.

They knew Rongguang was fast, but they never expected him to be this fast!

After losing the ball, he turned and chased, covering almost the entire length of the field, a distance of fifty to sixty meters! He was single-handedly countering the fast break of the entire Santos team, racing against the ball!

In the end, he actually caught up!

At the moment he surpassed Robinho, Osvaldo felt his heart almost stop beating—his coaching career at São Paulo was saved!

If this ball had been lost, it might have been his last match leading São Paulo!

Mauro, on the other hand, thought of the rookie who ran faster than the ball three months ago...

A complete outsider who didn't even understand the rules of football had, in this moment, become the savior of São Paulo!

Just a few seconds ago, he had lost the ball, almost pushing São Paulo into the abyss, and now he had redeemed himself!

He had lost the ball and then won it back!

Such a plot... it was simply too crazy!

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In front of the Santos coaching bench, Celso Roth stared at the field with wide eyes, his eyeballs almost popping out of their sockets, but he showed no sign of restraint.

When Santos launched their attack, he thought it was the moment for Santos to come back to life.

Who would have thought that just a few seconds later, Santos would be dragged back to hell by the rookie Rongguang!

He was stunned by Rongguang's speed. He couldn't fathom how Rongguang could catch up to Robinho and intercept the ball!

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In the stands, Godo jumped up and waved his arms in excitement when Rongguang poked the ball away from Robinho.

His obesity did not affect his ability to perform this action. When he jumped, his entire body jiggled!

It was as if his skin was filled with water rather than fat...

He was cheering for Rongguang's brilliant defensive play.

When Rongguang lost the ball, he was very worried, his heart almost jumping into his throat, as if it would fall out of his mouth if he opened it!

But then he saw Rongguang turn and chase, his speed terrifying.

After witnessing the entire process of Rongguang making up for his mistake, he could finally cheer for Rongguang's defense.

São Paulo did not lose the ball, and Rongguang did not push himself into hell!

A perfect solution!

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Including Godo, everyone felt relieved and excited, or even shocked, by São Paulo's narrow escape and Rongguang's brilliant defense...

Even the São Paulo players on the field probably felt a sigh of relief.

But one person did not stop there.

He was thinking of using this opportunity to launch a counter-attack against Santos!

This person was... the rookie Rongguang!

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Rongguang chased from the front of the field to the back, finally catching up to Robinho and intercepting the ball he had kicked.

This scene stunned everyone.

Many people, faced with Rongguang's unimaginable speed, lost their ability to think.

São Paulo's captain and goalkeeper, Ceni, was one of them.

When Rongguang intercepted the ball and poked it to him, Ceni instinctively lifted his foot to stop the ball Rongguang had passed.

Next, he saw Rongguang waving to him and shouting, "Pass the ball back, Captain!"

Ceni, still in shock, almost reflexively kicked the ball back.

The ball brushed past Rongguang and rolled behind him...

Then Ceni saw Rongguang suddenly stop in his high-speed run!

He then turned and changed direction!

This action almost made his body parallel to the ground... making people worry that he might slip.

But he didn't. Rongguang's cleats dug deep grooves into the grass, even flipping up some turf, but he managed to stand firm and maintain his balance.

His legs bent, his thigh muscles bulging, his feet like nails firmly planted in the grass, helping him stabilize his body and maintain his balance!

He twisted his body and pushed off with his right foot, using his left foot to kick!

His entire body shot forward like an arrow from a bow!

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When Rongguang chased after the ball, Ceni's brain finally responded—Did I actually pass the ball back to him?!

God!

What am I doing!

How could I pass the ball back to him?

This is the backfield!

If he starts dribbling...

Ceni recalled the moment when Rongguang had kicked the ball directly to Alex, realizing he had made a huge mistake!

So he hurriedly retreated to the goal, waving to the still stunned Lugano and shouting, "Lugano! Snap out of it! Get back on defense!!"

He planned to reorganize the defense, and if Rongguang lost the ball, he would immediately block Santos' attack!

Just as he shouted this, he saw Rongguang meet another Santos forward, Ricardo Oliveira (who later played for Valencia, Real Betis, and AC Milan).

When Oliveira stretched his foot toward the ball in front of Rongguang, Ceni's heart tightened; he was ready to defend with everything he had.

But in the next moment, he saw Rongguang kick the ball again!

He kicked it five to six meters away!

This was not a correct dribbling action, but it was very practical in the current situation!

Because Santos' counter-attack was very fast, their formation from the back to the front was stretched out, and the distance between each player was very large...

There was no better time for Rongguang to run!

Rongguang kicked the ball and then accelerated to pursue it.

In front of his speed, Oliveira's attempt to poke the ball was like slow motion!

He didn't even touch the ball or stop Rongguang.

Rongguang easily passed by him, leaving Oliveira behind.

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Ceni saw Rongguang get past Oliveira, but another Santos player also appeared in his field of vision.

It was Robinho!

After Rongguang turned, Robinho also quickly turned and chased after Rongguang!

He had already realized that Rongguang had chased him for fifty to sixty meters and intercepted the ball!

This was a huge humiliation!

Robinho was always confident in his speed, never thinking he would lose to a Chinese player!

He couldn't swallow this humiliation, so he immediately turned to chase and try to regain the ball!

He would use the same method to counter Rongguang!

Robinho knew about the Chinese player. He was a Chinese rookie, thoroughly studied by everyone, with no secrets.

He could pass, receive, and shoot, but that was all he could do.

He couldn't dribble, absolutely not!

This was why his performance had been getting worse and worse...

Now they were in São Paulo's half, and Rongguang's goal was surely Santos' goal. Unless he passed, he couldn't possibly bring the ball to Santos' penalty area by dribbling. If he dribbled, Robinho could intercept the ball!

So Robinho chased after Rongguang, planning to intercept the ball at the right moment.

In Robinho's view, this moment wouldn't take long...

Maybe Rongguang's next touch would be his chance!

He chased Rongguang, his eyes fixed on the ball.

Rongguang's legs, alternately swinging, didn't even exist in his vision.

The rookie was about to touch the ball!

He would either slow down or kick the ball far, either of which would be advantageous for Santos.

But Robinho hoped he would slow down, so he could catch up to Rongguang and personally intercept the ball, avenging the earlier interception.

He stared at the ball, expecting Rongguang to slow down, but...

Huh?

Robinho suddenly saw the ball kicked again, but not far, and most importantly... the Chinese rookie didn't slow down! His speed remained very high!

This made Robinho, who was about to accelerate to overtake Rongguang, lose his momentum, almost giving up!

At the same time, Rongguang increased the distance between them!

He had to catch up again...

What was going on?

Robinho was shocked—Rongguang's dribbling rhythm was perfect, his speed and the distance of each kick were perfectly controlled, allowing him to maintain his speed without slowing down, and still keep the ball at a suitable distance, ready for the next kick!

Was this really a rookie dribbling?

How could a rookie maintain such speed without slowing down or kicking the ball too far?!

Was it just a lucky guess, or had he really... learned to dribble?!

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Rongguang felt as if he wasn't dribbling in the Urbano Caldeira Stadium, but running on the lakeside park's shaded path.

He had a net tied to his feet, with the ball in the net.

The two-meter-long net was the maximum distance he could kick the ball.

Exceeding this distance, he would either trip over the rebounding ball or lose his rhythm.

Through repeated falls, he gradually figured out the optimal distance for his kicks, which allowed him to maintain his speed and control the ball. This distance was between 1.2 and 1.8 meters.

When each kick was within this distance, his speed was unaffected, and he could continue to kick with his right foot!

This feeling... was amazing.

He could run freely, as if there were no obstacles hindering him.

At the same time, he was indeed controlling the ball, keeping it within the range of his right foot.

He felt as if he and the ball had become one, and he could control the ball with his right foot at will.

This feeling had appeared intermittently on the lakeside park's path, and now it finally appeared on the field!

He dribbled and sprinted!

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Robinho followed closely behind Rongguang, trying to overtake and intercept the ball.

He ran hard, very fast.

But he never got the best opportunity.

Every time he tried to overtake Rongguang, Rongguang would kick the ball and accelerate, leaving him behind.

Robinho had to repeatedly accelerate and decelerate...

Just a few meters, but he felt exhausted and hopeless.

Because he couldn't catch up to Rongguang.

São Paulo's captain and goalkeeper, Ceni, watched the entire confrontation between Rongguang and Robinho in the penalty area, stunned!

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