Team Spirit

Chapter 146 One-Legged Fried Dumplings, Scott Makes a Great Contribution

[Ding! You led your team to a successful season, earning:]

[Continuous Wall Pass - Silver: Your passing animation is improved. Your consecutive passes will not reduce accuracy.]

[Single-Leg Fried Dough Twist - Gold: Your dribbling ability has been improved. Step frequency adjustment +2. You can now complete the fried dough twist independently using your supporting leg.]

[Waltz Turn - Gold: The player's balance and agility are enhanced. You can gracefully execute many incredible ball control maneuvers, like a dancer on the field.]

[High Pressing - Special: Enhances the effectiveness of the team's high pressing tactics]

[Passing pre-pass animation: 65+3]

[Cadence adjustment: 75+2]

Dribbling: 80+2

[Balance and Flexibility: 81+2]

Lu Kai watched the news while making preparations for battle.

The "continuous wall-hitting" technique is very effective, but it requires teamwork. While your passing accuracy is guaranteed, you still need to have good chemistry with your teammates.

Currently, there aren't many players at Dartford who can match Lu Kai's ability to perform consecutive one-twos in a real match.

Ashley Young, Madeira, and Barton—basically, it's just the three of them.

【One-Legged Fried Meatball】Sounds impressive, and it's even more impressive to use, but the average person can't quite understand it.

His effect is similar to that of a cow's tail, but the cow's tail is instantaneous and looks very dazzling.

While the one-legged fried meatballs may seem much slower, if you're purely looking at the results, they are actually more effective.

Because the bull's tail is swung out suddenly, the other party may or may not fall for it. If the other party is slow to react, they may not be fooled by your sway.

Essentially, it belongs to one of the "circus" kicking styles.

The single-leg frying technique allows the user to decide whether to fry the meatball or not, and in which direction, based on the other person's reaction.

For example, if I've already started a volley and you haven't caught up, then I don't need to keep volleying; I can just dribble past you.

If you catch up, then I'll blunder and change direction to go the other way.

It's a breakthrough method that only acts when there's a clear objective.

It is also one of the signature moves of the "ball feel" style.

The two have different cores.

As for the "Waltz Turn," it's a case of the fake meeting the real deal.

I don't know which is better, the official version or the genuine one.

It sounds like a turning technique, but it's actually a combination of ball control and turning.

Bergkamp's strength in turning lies in his ability to stop the ball in any desired position, especially his "turn of the century" in 2002, where he received the ball from the right side with his left foot, sent it flying to the left and back, and then turned to the right to complete the nutmeg.

Not only is it gorgeous, it is also quite illogical and physics-defying.

However, Lu Kai will likely find it difficult to use this tactic against Arsenal, as he will have to focus on defense.

It's important to understand that this current Arsenal team under Wenger has reached its peak in terms of strength.

Starting ten days ago, they were already the invincible Arsenal team with a 49-game unbeaten run in the league!
Red Spear Mastery!

Green Gun has no choice but to play it safe first and then steal.
The television was also broadcasting news related to the match.

Sky Sports: "A derby within a derby in the FA Cup! Can the revenge guns finally deliver the real revenge?"

The term "derby of derbies" refers to the fact that this matchup has so many derbies to speak of.

Red Guns vs. Green Guns: A Gunners' Derby.

Yaya Toure, who plays for Dartford, versus his older brother Kolo Toure, who plays for Arsenal – the Toure derby!
In addition, Lu Kai was abandoned by Arsenal's youth academy, and Akinfenwa rejected Wenger's trial invitation because of Liverpool.

Madeira spent a summer trying out for Arsenal with Eastwood, only to be rejected.

Yaya Touré was deeply hurt by Wenger's well-intentioned but polite refusal.

Before Ashley Young broke his leg, Arsenal and Manchester United were vying for him. After the break, Manchester United at least made a show of it, but Arsenal simply backed away without any pretense, clearly having developed a stress response to the player with the broken leg and avoiding him at all costs.

The so-called "gun of revenge" only has so many grudges when facing Arsenal.

"Lu, something bad has happened!" Alfred rushed over. "Kasper... he was injured during training!"

This news surprised Lu Kai.

The competition is tomorrow.

Today, the team simply warmed up as usual to maintain their form, with minimal training.

Kaspartha...

That's just pure bad luck.

When Lu Kai arrived at the stadium, Kasper's eyes were already red.

The atmosphere within the team was quite somber.

It must be said that although Kasper still has a lot of room for improvement, he has made people forget about Anqi this season and has performed very well.

His out-of-bounds runs, in particular, practically give the team an extra center-back.

In contrast, Joe Hart's fundamentals are still flawed.

Scott has limited talent and no outstanding abilities. Moreover, the goalkeeper training he received was outdated and barely fits the current stage, but it does not meet Dartford's requirements.

His performance was not good when he played for the team.

Who should play tomorrow?
We can't possibly send Lu Kai, can we?
Although Lu Kai twice played as a makeshift goalkeeper for the team and saved penalties on both occasions, he was ultimately not a proper goalkeeper.

They were impressive in amateur and semi-professional leagues, but in professional leagues, they gradually fell behind the level of real goalkeepers.

Ten Hah had been keeping a close eye on Lu Kai's movements. He didn't say anything, but he was amazed in his heart: What a man who remains calm even when Mount Tai collapses before him!

With that unwavering composure, he surpasses not only the younger players on the team, but even veterans like himself.

"It's alright, Casper, don't blame yourself too much. Nobody could have predicted this kind of sudden situation." Lu Kai comforted Casper for a while, after all, the other person was only a 1.9-meter-tall kid.

Lu Kai then called Scott into his office alone.

Joe Hart's eyes held both disappointment and relief.

Clearly, Lu Kai chose Scott over himself.

But... that's the FA Cup final! It's the highest-level competition Dartford has ever participated in. If a goalkeeper can't hold on and gets completely thrashed, his career can be over before it even begins.

"Sit down. Actually, I've been hesitating about whether to start Kasper or you in this match..."

Lu Kai's words startled Scott, who was about to sit down, so he jumped up instantly: "Huh? Me? I can't do it... How could I possibly do it... I can't pounce as well as Caspar... His skills are so comprehensive, it's simply..."

Lu Kai watched Scott ramble on for a while, then stared sharply into his eyes and said, "You're scared!"

Scott abruptly stopped.

After a long silence, he sat down and said in a low voice, "Actually, I was never cut out to be a goalkeeper. I started playing this position because there were no other positions available for me on the field."

"In fact... to stay on the team, my family even used connections and spent money to change my age by three years."

“I wasn’t born in 1985, I was born in 1982, and I’m already 21 years old this year.”

At 21, even if he's not a goalkeeper, he's still considered a young player, let alone a goalkeeper.
Scott has no reason to underestimate himself.

But Dartford is different; Lu Kai is still not eighteen years old.

The team has a plethora of sharp players under the age of twenty.

The goalkeeper is incredibly young.

Kasper is not even seventeen yet!
Joe Hart just turned sixteen last month!

However, the former's ability is definitely superior to Scott's, while the latter is improving rapidly and is expected to take away most of the remaining game share from Scott in Caspar next season.

Whether you have talent or not makes a huge difference.

Scott was probably just a semi-professional goalkeeper to begin with.

Lu Kai shook his head: "Don't underestimate yourself, Lafite."

Scott: "My last name is Carson."

Lu Kai didn't care: "That's not important. What's important is that you are indeed more suitable to be in this game than Casper."

“Joe Hart is too young, a latecomer to the field, and there are still many things he hasn’t corrected.”

"Arsenal's top stars can keep an eye on him every minute."

"Kaspar is very capable, but we only had the role of defense in this game. His coming out of the box didn't really fit with our defensive formation."

"On the contrary, your weakness of not being good at taking action has become an advantage at this time."

"Looking at goal-line technique alone, you're no weaker than Casper. You've taught them so much, and you've been reflecting on your own progress; your abilities are actually improving, it's just that you haven't focused on yourself."

"I think you can do it, Jason!"

Scott: Really?

Scott stopped correcting Lu Kai. What Lu Kai's name was no longer important. What mattered was that Lu Kai believed he could do it!
After Scott left in a frenzy, Jiang Mengyun came in through another door and asked with a strange expression, "You really intended to start him from the beginning?"

Lu Kai shrugged.

of course not.

These words were meant to comfort Scott.

In terms of physical attributes alone, Casper and Joe Hart already far surpass Scott.

Even without considering his ability to come out of his goal, Kasper is far better than Scott when it comes to making spectacular saves.

That alone is enough to disqualify Scott.

Think about which players Arsenal have!
Henry, Bergkamp, ​​Pires, Ljungberg, Vieira...

But now that things have come to this, we have no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it.

“But there’s one thing I didn’t lie to him about.” Lu Kai took out the goalkeeping instruction materials that Scott had handed over. “He did summarize a lot of useful things, and this kind of summary is also an improvement for himself.”

“He really improved himself by helping Kasper, Joe Hart, and the youth team players.”

Teaching is also a way of learning.

This is why some veteran goalkeepers, after reaching their thirties, suddenly achieve a peak in their skills and experience a second spring in their careers.

The same applies to other positions, but other positions require much higher levels of athleticism, which inevitably declines after the age of 27, leading to a drop in overall performance.

However, the decline in athleticism is not as noticeable in goalkeepers.

Although Scott has reached his limit, and may be at his absolute best, he has the advantage of reaching his peak ability at least ten years earlier than expected.

At the peak of both physical condition and ability, he might actually be stronger than Casper at this stage.

……

May 17th, the day of the FA Cup final.

Cardiff Millennium Stadium was packed with 74,000 fans.

Arsenal fans undoubtedly make up the majority.

But Dartford is no longer the obscure team it once was.

Several green and white square formations in the stands resembled long spears, piercing into the massive red and white square formation.

The players from both sides, who had entered the field early to warm up, gradually stopped, preparing to finish their warm-up and return to the locker room, ready to start the game.

Lu Kai looked at the stadium.

Yesterday, the FA Bottle and FA Trophy matches were held here.

Fifth-tier Carlisle United defeated Cambridge United to win the FA Trophy.

As for the FA Cup... with fewer than two thousand spectators, it would be difficult to even find out who the champion is.

"So when we won the FA Bottle, nobody in the FA Cup final the next day cared about us, right?" Ashley Young saw through Lu Kai's thoughts, and he was equally excited.

Patton exclaimed, "Who would have thought we'd be competing on the second day!"

Duff: "Who won the FA Cup that time? Chelsea!"

"And then the following year it was Liverpool!"

"It was Arsenal last year!"

Madeira laughed and said, "No repeats, so it's our turn this year!"

Kylo, ​​standing to the side, smiled knowingly. As a Dartford veteran, he had never imagined this day would come.

He glanced at Arsenal in the other half of the field and still found it unbelievable: "That's Bergkamp, ​​my idol!"

"Henry, Pires, Wiltord... Arsenal's three French musketeers!"

"Vieira, the world's best defensive midfielder!"

"David Seaman, England's number one goalkeeper." Competing for the championship with a player like him—that's real football!
In comparison, although Dartford had already played Manchester United in the EFL Cup final, how much strength would the Red Devils have without Beckham, Scholes, and Van Nistelrooy?

Besides, back then, with news of the flying boot incident flying everywhere, everyone's attention wasn't on football.

And now... all the major leagues have ended, so if you want to watch football, you have to watch England, and if you want to watch England, you have to watch the FA Cup final!

Akinfenwa: "Here we come for the final game of the 2002-2003 season!"

From the stands, the fans also took in the situation of both sides:

Arsenal fans: "A bunch of bumpkins, they've never played football before!"

A casual fan commented: "Um... actually, Dartford is the team that has won the most titles at the Millennium Stadium so far... you heard right, earlier and more than Arsenal!"

Arsenal fans: "Look at them, they all seem so unsettled, they collapse as soon as they step onto the pitch!"

"Exactly! Our star player is the one who stays composed; that's what you call someone who's seen it all!"

"World Cup, European Championship, Premier League... what kind of champion players don't I have? The FA Cup is nothing! A piece of cake!"

Green Gunners fan: "You don't have a Champions League winner in your team."

Arsenal fans: ...

Everyone was heading towards the players' tunnel.

when!
Lu Kai started hitting the crossbar.

He went to a nightclub a few days ago.

when!
when!
Three consecutive shots knocked the goalposts off balance.

The Arsenal players looked over, but showed no reaction.

There are plenty of skilled players who can outplay them in street freestyle football, but when they actually play on the field, they're nothing but amateurs. Scoring three goals against a team of these players in ten minutes is no problem!

Lu Kai is indeed skilled with free kicks, and hitting the crossbar before the match was a signature move. But if he wants to use such fancy footwork to affect the invincible Arsenal, well…

Ok?
The Arsenal players were all stunned.

Because after Lu Kai received the football, he juggled it repeatedly towards the center circle, and then...

boom!
A lobbed shot from the center circle... Clang!

It hit the crossbeam again.

Henry and the others clearly had anger in their eyes.

During the warm-up phase, each team plays in their own half of the field; that's the rule.

What do you mean by "You're shooting at my goal"?
This is the biggest provocation!

Lu Kai smiled at Arsenal and the others, then gestured towards his own goal, indicating that they should invite him to play.

You you on the line!

Could Henry tolerate this?

But Bergkamp grabbed him and shook his head.

First, it is unnecessary.

Secondly... Henry probably couldn't hit the crossbar repeatedly either.

Moreover, as everyone saw in the FA Cup semi-final, after being spurred on by Lu Kai's pre-match shot that hit the crossbar, Zola, Petit, and Lampard all hit the crossbar with free kicks, resulting in a massacre.

It's hard to say whether this has been affected.

If those three goals had gone in, the result of the game might not have been a loss!
Arsenal players returned to the locker room.

When Wenger heard about this, he didn't take it seriously and began to explain the day's tactics and tasks to the players again.

But in the stands, Ferguson, who appeared discreetly, shook his head: "Arsenal's morale is exhausted before the battle even begins!"

Everyone believes that Arsenal, having failed to win the Premier League title at the last minute, are furious and determined to win the FA Cup, their only remaining trophy, to salvage their reputation this season.

But they overlooked one point.

This isn't the first time Arsenal has lost a title at the last minute!

This also means that the players won't be as angry as they were after losing the title the first time.

They're getting used to losing the title!

At the same time... the FA Cup isn't that important to them. When you lose what's most important to you, can you still muster the energy to compete for the second or even third best thing?

Most people would choose to quit.

I've lost all motivation!

Although the Arsenal players tried to hide it, their eyes didn't lie.

They were generally not excited enough during warm-up and didn't get into the zone.

Lu Kai's provocation at the last moment further exposed this point.

Do it all at once, second time tired, third time exhausted.

Champions League, Premier League, pre-match warm-ups... how much spirit can Arsenal still muster?

……

"Hello, son, this is Huang. Send a text message immediately!" Huang Jianxiang was the commentator for this heavyweight match. "Today, Arsenal can be said to have fielded an exceptional lineup! This is the level they'd play in a Champions League final... although they haven't reached a Champions League final yet under Wenger's leadership!"

Henry, Bergkamp

Pires, Gilbert Silva, Vieira, Ljungberg
Ashley Cole, Keown, Luzhni, Lauren

希曼
-

Dartford, on the other hand, made the following arrangements:

Beckford, Akinfenwa

Patton, Lu Kai, Toure

Shore, Li Weifeng, Williams, Duff, Williams
Scott

-

Madeira and Ashley Young were sitting on the bench with their feet on the ground!

Huang Jianxiang was extremely excited: "After An Qi, another Chinese player has stood on the stage of the finals of a top league! And as a starter!"

"A tree dies when transplanted, but a person thrives!" Li Weifeng, who couldn't get playing time at Everton, quickly became an important member of the Dartford team after joining.

“You could say that Lu Kai was giving him special treatment, but he also proved himself with his abilities.”

"Those fans who said Li Weifeng was embarrassing outside and should hurry back are probably going to be disappointed. I heard that Dartford completed the contract renewals for most of their players in April."

"Li Weifeng has received a five-year contract! This is enough to prove that the team has high hopes for him! We hope that he can play in European competitions and the Premier League for Dartford, and then return to China to contribute his remaining energy after he turns thirty!"

Huang Jianxiang is very familiar with Dartford's tactics: "The Green Guns' formation today has already been given a special name in the industry: the battering ram tactic!"

"If Akinfenwa starts, the goal is the same: to wear down the opponent's defenders."

"And Beckford and Akinfenwa together are like a double battering ram! This is a huge test for Keown and Luzhni!"

In fact, the standard two-striker configuration is one tall and one fast, which is effective whether playing positional warfare or counter-attacking.

But Dartford now has one tall and one strong player, two big men, who are clearly not good at counter-attacking.

This is a complete tortoise shell; not even a single thorn is placed at the front.

Many people think Dartford lacks backbone.

Some also believe that Dartford made strategic mistakes.

Beckford, Akinfenwa, Ashley Young, and Madeira should be a good fit together.

This way, the forward line always has a focal point and always has speed.

Now that there are two points of support, who will lead the charge?

With two players launching attacks in the second half, who can withstand them?
In terms of fan atmosphere, team lineup, and tactics, Arsenal won three games in a row before the match even started.

Dartford only managed to pull one back with a lob shot from Lu Kai against the crossbar.

Three to one!

This might be the possible score for this match.

beep!

With a whistle, the game officially began.

Dartford made it clear from the start that he wanted to use the toilet.

In the fourth minute, Arsenal won a corner kick.

Pires kicks the ball away.

Beckford clears the ball with a header.

Ljungberg, positioned outside the penalty arc, unleashed a powerful volley, sending the ball flying into the stands.

It clearly lacks a good feel for the feet.

In the ninth minute, Vieira received the ball and made a forward run, but was marked by Toure, who pulled him repeatedly and was called for a foul.

Arsenal were awarded a long free kick in the attacking third.

Pires lobbed the ball into the penalty area.

The players from both sides were vying for the ball.

Despite being double-teamed by Williams and Toure, Vieira still managed to head the ball, demonstrating his clear physical advantage.

Unfortunately, it hit the wrong spot.

In terms of physical attributes, Touré is currently a level below Vieira.

Williams, on the other hand, is a level below in terms of physique and athletic ability.

In the 17th minute, Arsenal besieged Dartford. Henry broke into the penalty area from the left and received a pass from Pires before chipping the ball to the far post.

Li Weifeng jumped with all his might and headed the ball, causing it to change direction, but he did not actually clear the ball.

The football flew to the back point.

Vieira, who had made an early run forward, was tricked and changed direction by Li Weifeng, preventing him from creating an opportunity to attack.

The ball hit Vieira's shoulder and bounced backward. After turning around and catching up with the ball, Vieira was unable to shoot and could only pass it back.

Ljungberg unleashed a powerful shot from the right side of the penalty area.

The momentum is strong and sinking.

Hit the near corner!
If Scott had reacted quickly and dived for the far corner immediately, the ball would have gone in.

Because you need to move in advance to aim for the far corner, you need to anticipate the move.

But by the time you see the ball actually flying towards the far corner, it's too late.

Or, if Scott lands quickly, he might hit a half-high ball, which would still go in easily.

This falls under the category of game theory.

This kind of shot, aimed at the near post, seems like a good angle, but when the shooter and goalkeeper are face to face, it's not as easy to score as everyone thinks. It requires both players to calculate and think carefully.

But Scott stood there dumbfounded, and only when the ball was right in front of him did he half-jump up and use his left hand to tip the ball out of bounds.

Arsenal were all ready to celebrate, but ended up empty-handed.

"Fake!"

Scott immediately stood up and celebrated wildly, giving Li Weifeng a high-five, hugging Williams and Duff, and jumping up and bumping chests with Williams!

Joe Hart traveled a long way to the corner flag area to cheer for his mentor!

Alfred excitedly pumped his fist... Beautiful!
It turns out Scott really could do it!

He really made a high-quality save against Arsenal!
The commotion at Dartford has completely baffled Arsenal.

You saved our first shot on goal, making it look like we scored!
The camera panned to the Arsenal fans in the stands, many of whom had tears in their eyes, genuinely believing their team was losing.

When the score was checked, it was 0-0.

Looking again at the restricted area, it belongs to Green Guns.

This……

"Um, Dartford's defense was very aggressive! Their celebration after saving the goal can effectively dampen Arsenal strikers' shooting confidence!" Huang Jianxiang defended the Green Gunners.

But you know what, Ljungberg's gradually finding his rhythm was really shattered by Dartford's "humiliating celebration".

"I might not be a good shot today." Ljungberg unwittingly labeled himself.

(End of this chapter)