'Holy crap! Il Grande Zlatan!'
'That's a picture-perfect scorpion kick!'
'Riding the spring wind with swift horse hooves, Zlatan Ibrahimović!'
'Why are you being so flashy? You're a center forward!'
'Zlatan is a f*cking center forward too!'
Seeing Tendou cushion the ball to his right like he was kicking a shuttlecock, and then knock it behind Nagi with a slick scorpion kick, many people thought of Ibrahimović, the man who calls himself the God of football.
Why?
Because Ibrahimović is a man who can turn the scorpion kick into a highlight reel.
Standing at a full 195cm, Il Grande Zlatan's physical impact wasn't world-class. At least compared to Haaland, Ibrahimović's impact was a level weaker, if not more. But Ibrahimović had an ability that all center forwards dreamed of. His body's flexibility was simply BUG-like, as if it were made of rubber.
Miracle goals that others might have a chance to score only once a year were just an occasional occurrence for Ibrahimović. His height advantage was too obvious. At a full 195cm, he could rank in the top five among all forwards in history. With a casual stretch of those long legs, the area he could cover was suffocatingly large. Coupled with his yoga-level body flexibility, it allowed him to always score goals and get past opponents with unpredictable movements when they least expected it.
Just as slick as his goals was his flamboyant personality.
I've forgotten the exact time, but back then, Arsenal was still managed by Wenger. As a Premier League powerhouse, Wenger had taken a liking to Ibrahimović and invited him to a trial at Arsenal. But the Swede, upon hearing this, refused on the spot. He said, "Zlatan doesn't do trials. You either want me, or you don't." You have to know, at that time, Ibrahimović was not yet famous, while Wenger and his Arsenal were perennial top-4 contenders in the Premier League.
This flamboyant personality has been consistent throughout Ibrahimović's entire professional career, even in his later years. At that time, he had accepted an invitation from the MLS and went to play in Los Angeles. When my man LeBron learned of this, he, with the air of a king, gifted Ibrahimović a signed jersey. And then, Ibrahimović, in return, signed his own name on the jersey and gave it back to my man LeBron. At that time, the expression on James's face was truly a sight to behold.
But I digress...
Speaking of body flexibility, Tendou was not bad in this aspect either. In the world of Kuroko's Basketball, his body's flexibility and balance were second only to that freak, Aomine. This ensured that Tendou could complete many incredible movements on the field. It's just that his advantages in speed and physical confrontation were too obvious, and most of the time, he didn't need to be flashy. A simple kick and run forward could solve the problem. So, he didn't play flashy, not because he couldn't, but because he didn't need to.
So when he made this incredibly creative dribble, he immediately won praise from everyone. This was a brilliant move that was enough to make Tendou's fans die happy.
With a turn, Tendou quickly burst out from the two-man pincer like a ghost. The feeling was as if Nagi and Barou were still playing in slow motion, while Tendou had suddenly switched to normal speed. The difference between slow and fast highlighted the beauty of Tendou's speed to the greatest extent.
At this moment, Isagi's team's defensive line was in a state of alarm again. The ninja, Otoya, silently appeared on Tendou's flank. In some ways, he was too similar to Kuroko, especially this kind of sudden, ghostly appearance.
"But you've found the wrong opponent."
His Six Eyes could, at all times, observe the movements of everyone on the field. The actions of his opponents, including his teammates, could not escape his perception.
Otoya was fully concentrated, but suddenly saw Tendou decisively start to do step-overs. This was different from the Tendou that Isagi and the others remembered. Today's Tendou was playing with a bit too much flair.
"You guys didn't tell me he could play like this!"
Otoya cried out in misery. Their tactic for this match was to strictly defend against Tendou's impact. Because once Tendou got up to speed, they would be in for a world of hurt. But now, Tendou had suddenly started playing flashy, and for a moment, they were all caught off guard.
Otoya knew he couldn't rashly stick out his foot. That pair of eyes was the best punishment for impulsiveness.
However, reality was not something he could control just by not moving. Tendou, while doing his continuous step-overs, suddenly flicked the ball with the outside of his foot, making a move to change direction to the right. But if you looked carefully, you could see that his shoulder did not dip excessively. But Otoya didn't see it. The immense pressure of the matchup prevented him from being able to pay attention to more; he could only stick out his foot towards the ball.
As was to be expected.
Tendou immediately pulled the ball to his left and then shot past Otoya's left side.
A team of only 4 people, and now 3 of them had already been passed by Tendou. This slick dribble made the audience extremely excited, the screen full of bullet comments like "holy crap." This was a completely different kind of beauty from when Tendou was sprinting at full speed. It lacked the straightforwardness of European football but had the flair and elegance of the South American Latin style.
Swish!
A finesse shot from over twenty meters out. Tendou pierced the opponent's goal for the second time.
2:0!
Less than ten minutes into the game, Isagi's team was already two goals behind.
At this moment, Isagi did not regret choosing Tendou's team. He was just unwilling, unwilling that the distance between himself and Tendou didn't seem to have shortened at all. He had originally thought that by devouring the abilities of the mediocre talents and integrating them, he could compete with Tendou.
In fact, he had done it. Barou and Otoya, who were ranked higher than him, were snatched over by him just like that. He was walking on the path of football by "devouring."
It was just that... Tendou was different. He was an existence that couldn't be described by the simple word "genius."
In the world of football, every once in a while—ten years? Twenty years? Thirty years or even longer? Anyway, every once in a while, a few freaks who can't be treated with common sense will emerge. For example, that Loki who, at the age of 18, played with his team, shone brightly in the World Cup, and won the championship.
For such an existence, "genius" is not enough to describe them. The fans and media have a word for this kind of person; they will use the word "prodigy."
Referring to the "dual pride," if a few such monsters appear in an era, it is a tragedy for other players.
The match continued. Isagi's team kicked off for the fourth time. He had thought about whether to tighten the formation and play a 1-3 formation directly. One person at the top, and the remaining three pulled back to neutralize Tendou's threat. But this thought was quickly thrown to the back of his mind. The more they defended, the less chance they would have of winning.
Isagi did not lose his reason or become anxious because he was behind. On the contrary, he was very rational, his mind constantly thinking of a strategy to defeat the enemy. This was his strength.
He still looked for Otoya. But to avoid Tendou, they had to pull the opponent's defensive line in advance. Karasu saw this and had no choice but to go and deal with this old opponent himself.
The two of them, like Saiyans, were emitting different colored lights. Under the audience's gaze, the two figures, one blue and one green, engaged in a fierce confrontation on the wing. Otoya knew that if he couldn't shake off his old teammate in front of him, it would be very difficult for them to score.
This time, he didn't pass again. With a tenacious fighting spirit, he broke free from the defense. A nutmeg got him past Karasu. This is football. A high fighting spirit might not create a miracle, but without a high fighting spirit, a miracle will definitely not happen.
He quickly went down the right wing. After attracting Tendou's defense, he sent in a high cross. Tendou was human, not a god. He couldn't just appear in front of the opponent in an instant and clear the ball.
At this moment, in the penalty area, Isagi and Barou had already made their forward runs. Just when everyone thought this ball was going in, "Karasu" suddenly appeared, a hand blocking Isagi's path, preventing him from gathering power to shoot.
"Karasu?"
"Impossible! He was still behind me!"
Isagi's eyes widened. He clearly remembered that Karasu was still on the right wing. He looked closely and then discovered that the person in front of him was not Karasu at all.
When the disguise was shed, the figure of the 70 billion yen young master, Mikage Reo, appeared in front of him.
Chameleon!
Mikage Reo had once again imitated Karasu's skill pack and had defended against Isagi.
"That look in your eyes, as if the problem can be solved just by pulling Tendou and Karasu away, really pisses me off!" Reo locked Isagi down tightly and finally added, "I will prove to you that Nagi choosing to go with you was a mistake!"
...
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