Chapter 472: Chapter 472
Huang Kaiwen casually juggled the ball a few times with his foot.
"Bale’s" ball control might not reach the top level, but it’s certainly good enough.
What’s important is his physical fitness, especially his explosive speed.
Today, he, the Yellow Ball King, was about to turn Vicente Calderon Stadium into an F1 race track!
After warming up, players from both sides returned to the tunnel.
Torres and Aguero both kept an eye on Huang Kaiwen.
The last thing they wanted was Huang Kaiwen asking them again if they wanted to join Real Madrid or AC Milan.
But when it was time to head out, Huang Kaiwen made no move.
Torres felt he’d performed okay, so why wasn’t he being asked if he wanted to switch teams anymore?
Could it be that his recent performance had declined, and he hadn’t noticed it himself?
With a head full of thoughts, Torres followed the officials out of the player’s tunnel.
"The match is about to start."
"The atmosphere at Vicente Calderon Stadium today is extraordinary. The Atletico Madrid fans have raised their banners early, not to cheer for their own team, but to target Huang Kaiwen. ’Who is Kevin’ is what’s written in Chinese on them; they really went out of their way."
"Yes, but isn’t this getting a little overconfident? Huang Kaiwen is no ordinary player; I have a feeling he’s going to perform very well in today’s match."
"Hehe, let’s wait and see during the match. Now, let’s take a look at the starting line-ups for both teams."
Atletico Madrid 442 with double defensive midfielders:
Goalkeeper: Leo Franco,
Defenders: Antonio Lopez, Luis Pereira, Ze Castro, Setaridis,
Midfielders: José Jurado, Petar Lucin, Maniche, Juan Valera,
Forwards: Torres, Aguero.
Real Madrid 433 with a single defensive midfielder:
Goalkeeper: Casillas,
Defenders: Carlos, Pepe, Ramos, Salgado,
Midfielders: De Jong, Gago, Guti,
Forwards: Huang Kaiwen, Raul, Cassano.
"Capello’s selection is somewhat unexpected, the youngster Gago as the lone defensive midfielder, De Jong and Guti pairing up as dual attacking midfielders. Today, Real Madrid has no number ten."
"Guti’s position can be pushed up. In contrast, Atletico Madrid’s Valera, set to match against Huang Kaiwen, is plainly a full-back. They’ve positioned two full-backs on the right, showing just how much they’re focusing on Huang Kaiwen."
After the coaches shook hands,
Capello walked to the front of the coach’s bench.
He started preparing.
Through TV shows, he had discovered that impressive characters need to recite something to highlight their presence.
As a confident man, Capello felt he needed to say a few words too.
Capello positioned his feet into the Seven-Star Step, his hands forming the Nine Character Seal, muttering to himself: "Ride the wind with the sword, exorcise demons between heaven and earth, life is merry with wine, without it, I’m still mad..."
Raul went up for the coin toss.
After winning, Real Madrid got to kick off first.
Raul started the game with a back pass, and Juan Valera immediately went after Huang Kaiwen, a right-back who could be assigned to play as a winger, if not for the sole purpose of focusing on defending against Real Madrid’s key player?
For Valera, the surprise starting opportunity wasn’t all that pleasing.
Although the media had been hyping up a slump in the performance of the number 10 from Real Madrid, he could still easily score two goals. Was he, an Atletico Madrid substitute, capable of defending against such a player?
Guti passed the ball to Carlos on the left.
Taking the momentum, Carlos tapped the ball forward with his left foot, passing it right in front of Huang Kaiwen.
Huang Kaiwen turned swiftly, surged forward, and nudged the ball out more than three meters, easily leaving Juan Valera behind.
The Atletico Madrid fans near the left stand saw it clearly: Valera had already fallen half a meter behind Huang Kaiwen when both turned, and by the time Huang Kaiwen touched the ball again, he was two meters ahead of Valera.
The distance between them was still increasing.
Valera might not be exceptional, but anyone able to play as a full-back possesses a certain amount of speed.
With Valera as a point of reference, the nearby fans in the stand could vividly sense just how fast Huang Kaiwen was!
Striding forward like a meteor, with a gust of wind under his feet!
Maniche and Setaridis both recognized the danger.
The two men, one from midfield and one from the defense line, hurried toward Huang Kaiwen.
Maniche, feeling that Huang Kaiwen was too fast, chose to go for a sliding tackle.
Huang Kaiwen tapped the ball with his left foot, accelerating past Maniche in the blink of an eye.
"Wow, Huang Kaiwen’s speed is really incredible."
"Setaridis is nearer to the ball, but it’s Huang Kaiwen who rushes up to take it, just like that he darts into the box... and shoots!"
"Huang Kaiwen’s shot glides past the goal. He’s still pursuing too much angle."
Raul stood outside the box, staring blankly at Huang Kaiwen, asking, "Seriously, how can you be so much faster?"
Huang Kaiwen asked back with a tilt of his head and a grin.
"It’s just much faster than the last match!"
Raul said with exaggeration.
He rarely used such a tone.
But today, Huang Kaiwen’s performance was just too different.
Carlos was already fast, and after passing the ball, he kept running forward. Now, Carlos was still a fair distance from the penalty area while Huang Kaiwen had already completed shooting inside the box.
It was just too astounding!
"It’s no big deal, just that I’m in a really good shape today."
Huang Kaiwen said with a smile.
"Then Atletico Madrid is doomed."
When Huang Kaiwen was in form, the opponents never had it easy.
Raul thought that today’s minimum should still be five goals.
Without even realizing it, Raul had subconsciously come to believe that if Huang Kaiwen was in good form, it meant a minimum of five goals.
Atletico Madrid’s coach, Javier Aguirre, shouted from the sidelines: "You all better pay attention, damn it! Are we going to let them break through right from the start?"
Valera looked toward Setaridis.