Chapter 42 - Rhythm (2/2)
In the seventeenth minute of the second half, Shu Guang’s team managed to equalize the score with the front players’ tacit cooperation.
…
Xiao Zhang was still in shock. “That ball just now… Where did Kaka come from? And from Zhang Jun’s angle, there was no way to see it coming at all!”
“This is tacit understanding; it’s in their heart and soul.” While Chen Huafeng appeared to be talking to Xiao Zhang, at the same time, he also seemed like he was talking to himself.
“No wonder Liang Ke didn’t want the four to play in the warm-up matches. In truth, he trusted his team and he trusted their tacit understanding. Having such a good team and a coach who trusts them deeply, Shu Guang’s future possibilities are endless!”
…
After the score was even, Kai Ta ran out of ideas to defend anymore. They would not win if they stuck to offense. The opponents had An Ke so, their chances of winning were slim.
Thus, the competition returned to how it was 17 minutes ago. Both teams were mutually exchanging places and the match was becoming intense. But An Ke and Shu Guang’s back defense line remained stable. As Liu Peng was someone who knew how to defend but not attack, they had to keep the score at 1: 1.
…
“Is the No. 5 from the opponent’s team that powerful? Even the person with the best skills such as Ren Yu De has no way to counter him.” Su Fei frowned.
“Su Fei, have you heard of the phrase, ‘no rhythm’?” Liang Ke replied.
…
“No rhythm?” Xiao Zhang was in doubt as he looked at Chen Huafeng. He did not understand what it had to with the question he just asked.
“Correct. Everyone’s familiar with the word ‘rhythm’ and it’s mostly used in music. But rhythm isn’t just for music, there are many other things that have their own frequency and rhythm. They’re either obvious or too weak to notice.
“There’s rhythm whenever someone’s walking. Many people can judge whether the person’s familiar or not from his or her walking―that’s the use of rhythm. It’s the same for soccer players. For example, if I can’t see the player’s appearance or number, how would I know if it’s Beckham or Giggs?
“We can find out based on their movements. But, it’s also because their own rhythm has been accommodated into their movements. Each person’s rhythm is different and it’s the same for their movements too. The young players who are playing on the field have their own rhythms too or else, how would Liu Peng steal his opponent’s attacks? This is because he’s able to see his opponent’s rhythm. As long as you clearly observe them, you can naturally grasp onto your opponent’s every movement. So if he steals the ball at the right moment, the ball will be his.”
“Wow, so powerful! Doesn’t that make him invincible?”
“That’s not true. There’s someone who can render Liu Peng useless when he faces him,” Chen Huafeng replied.
“Who?”
“Zhang Jun!”
“Him?” Disbelief was written all over Xiao Zhang’s face.
“No rhythm, don’t you understand?” Chen Huafeng looked at him.
“Is it tho―”
“To those who can grasp another person’s rhythm, there’s nothing more troublesome than someone who has good skills but no rhythm. There is no fixed rhythm for Zhang Jun when he plays; the way he plays is very mysterious. Logically speaking, a person who doesn’t have rhythm can’t properly play soccer because he may not have the intelligence for soccer. However, Zhang Jun has a special talent―he can play soccer outstandingly without any rhythm. For others players, as long as Liu Peng sees them taking the lead and running with the ball, he’ll be able to catch their rhythm. But no matter how Zhang Jun moves, Liu Peng can’t predict what he’s going to do next. Just like what happened just now, Liu Peng thought Zhang Jun was going to take a shot instead, Zhang Jun passed the ball. Actually, in the soccer industry, they aren’t able to create many professional players without rhythm. There’s so little of them that there couldn’t be any less. Because, in the professional soccer training system, the ones who have no rhythm are usually eliminated whenever they recruit new people or discover new ones.”
“So, even the professional soccer players…” Xiao Zhang suddenly remembered the bet he made with Chen Huafeng before the match. He was full of regret now. The person in front of him already knew the outcome of the match, yet he still foolishly made a bet with him!”
Chen Huafeng did not notice Xiao Zhang’s change of expression. He was still talking to himself. “Even professional players are unable to do the same. Zhang Jun, everyone’s really excited to see how you’ll fare in the future…”
Yang Pan took the ball and got rid of Yuan Gang. Shu Guang’s cheerleaders were beginning to shout, “Long shot! Long shot! Long shot!”
Xiao Zhang could not help but scream as well, “Score a goal! Use your long shot!” This resulted in him being knocked on the head by Chen Huafeng.
“A reporter must be objective and fair. How else will you write a good analysis in your articles?” Chen Huafeng displayed his place as a senior again.
At last, Yang Pan did not shoot the goal. Rather, he passed the ball to someone who had a higher chance of scoring a goal, and that was Zhang Jun.
After Zhang Jun received the ball, he started to take the lead. The big mountain, Liu Peng was in front of him. Zhang Jun slowly took control of the ball, and Liu Peng trailed after him.
Zhang Jun did not move and this made Liu Peng afraid to extend his legs. He really could not see what Zhang Jun was going to do next, so he stayed put.
Seeing that they had to retreat from the restricted area, Liu Peng decided to take a risk. He tried to stop him, but Zhang Jun made the first move. He made a turn with his left foot then went back to his original position. It followed then by another turn with his right foot.
“A fake?”
As soon as he dropped his right foot, the ball suddenly moved to his left and he charged forward!
Liu Peng was an excellent middle defender; he quickly took one step and followed Zhang Jun.
“It isn’t easy keeping up with Zhang Jun’s speed!” Liang Ke praised.
Zhang Jun raised his left foot, attempting to score a goal!
“This has to be a fake move! You think you can trick me… You’re not going to score!” Liu Peng stopped his movement and waited, ready to steal the ball.
However…
This time, it was not a fake move. Zhang Jun was near the penalty spot and he dashed to score a goal! He was pretty sly; the ball went into the goalpost as soon as the goalkeeper could not defend!
Goal! 2: 1! Shu Guang was now in the lead!
“That was too good! Goal!” Chen Huafeng screamed and jumped. “What a beautiful goal! Clean and tidy!”
Xiao Zhang who was next to him was not that excited. He muttered, “Only the strong can decide, the weak could only follow.”
Zhang Jun was not very excited after he scored a goal. He only waved his fist gently. After he defrauded his best friend to score a goal, he did not want to celebrate it. He was afraid of hurting his best friend’s feelings. Although it was only a game, he still thought about his friend’s feelings despite the goal.
On the other hand, Su Fei was overwhelmed with joy. She leaped out of her chair and screamed, expressing the joy that was in her heart. It was what she had hoped to see from Zhang Jun. Once he stepped onto the field, no one could stop him.
Yang Pan gestured towards Yuan Gang and mocked him. However, Yuan Gang ignored him, his face was expressionless.
Twenty minutes remained and the score was 2: 1. Shu Guang was now in the lead.
…
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
P.S.: I’ve recently read a lot of book reviews from my friends and they all say that these two chapters are very depressing. Many feel that Zhang Jun, the main protagonist of the story is weak and doesn’t stand out very much. I would like to explain this. In my opinion, it’s not that Zhang Jun doesn’t have character or that his character stands out a lot. He’s only mediocre. During the match with Kai Ta, he expressed that friendship is extremely valued, but it also attracted a few resentments. Honestly speaking, when I wrote these two chapters, I never expected such a huge reaction. Hehe, they were all against how weak Zhang Jun was. That’s not true at all. Actually, I think that Zhang Jun’s behavior defined his heavy emotions and of course, there were some exaggerations. But, art comes from life and it’s higher than that, hehe! Exaggerations can amplify his contradictions.
The main protagonist isn’t perfect. From the many reviews, you can see that not many like him. Some felt like he didn’t have character while others felt like he wasn’t as outstanding as Yang Pan and the rest on the field. Some even felt like he was too weak. They aren’t completely wrong, but why can’t they see his character development from another perspective? Hehe! Zhang Jun’s character and his struggles to reach his goal will gradually build up during these times.
He still has college and the professional league is still waiting for him. There will be more severe challenges waiting for him too. This period of growth in high school will give him a lot of help. He’s starting to grow now (Hehe, a few main characters from the Japanese comics are the same too). That’s why, he has a lot of deficiencies and he behaves unsatisfactorily in some situations. He will also be confused, jealous and make mistakes. There will be some scenes where people will find unacceptable but this is a true portrayal of his growth.
So, I hope that you and I will witness his growth and play the role of his mentor for his growth. Wouldn’t that be a better approach? Who’s perfect from the beginning? Don’t people always grow step by step? Therefore, I sincerely hope that everyone can put forward good opinions and suggestions for his growth. When we see him all grown up, we will all be very happy too!