Starting with playing defensive midfield for Evergrande

Chapter 119 In adversity, look to Su Hao; in desperate situations, look to Supeer Qin!!!
"Go China!!!"

"Go China!!!"

"Go China!!!"

The Argentinians' attack continued at the Workers' Stadium, while the more than 50,000 Chinese fans in the stands repeatedly encouraged the national team players who were gritting their teeth and persevering on the field with their most enthusiastic shouts.

For the Argentinians, coming to China to play a friendly match against the Chinese team was purely to demonstrate their strength to Asians and, incidentally, to boost the confidence of their players.

However, after Su Hao's unexpected headbutt, the nature of the match suddenly changed.

How could the great Argentina have fallen behind?
Moreover, they were behind the weak Chinese team, which couldn't even qualify for the World Cup.
Even with Arsenal's key player, Suarez, in their squad, it is still a disgrace to Argentine football!

"To the left! Watch your position, don't rush to kick!"

"Brother Sheng, push forward!"

"Ting-ge, stick with Higuain!"

As the only true core player for the Chinese team right now, Su Hao relied on these constant shouts and reminders to help his teammates on the national team barely keep up with the Argentine team's attacking rhythm for more than 20 minutes.

He himself focused all his energy on marking Messi.

Yes, Messi is very strong, strong enough to easily get past him.

However, this includes Su Hao, Zheng Zhi, Qin Sheng, and even Yu Hanchao and Hao Junmin on both sides!

As soon as Su Hao gets past him, all the Chinese midfielders will immediately swarm Messi, and Su Hao will then fill the gaps created by the encirclement.

This combination of encirclement and reinforcement weakened Messi's crucial passing ability, which was essential for drawing the opponent's defense.

Even in the 42nd minute of the match, it was thanks to the all-out defense of Su Hao and his old teammates from Evergrande that the Chinese team miraculously scored another goal.

China's half!

After Messi used his skillful dribbling to get past Zheng Zhi, Hao Junmin, and Qin Sheng in succession.

Just as Messi was about to pull off a spectacular dribble, Zhang Linpeng and Feng Xiaoting both swarmed around him.

It was Zhang Linpeng's defensive cover that allowed Messi to spot Di Maria's sudden burst of speed.

A superb lob pass!

The ball instantly flew from Messi's feet toward the direction Di Maria was heading.

Messi saw the opening in front of Di Maria, and with the top-tier experience of a thirty-year-old in his panel, Su Hao naturally sensed Messi's intention the moment Messi looked up.

Without any hesitation, the instant Messi passed the ball, Su Hao immediately sprang to his feet and charged toward Di Maria with his long legs!

Both players had a 50/50 chance, and Su Hao easily used his strong physique to push past Di Maria and steal the lob pass from Messi!
"Wow! Beautiful!"

"Su Hao's prediction was spot on!"

"what is this?"

"This is the defensive awareness that only world-class stars possess!"

"Su Hao!"

"It's coming!"

"China's counterattack is coming!"

After being pinned to the ground and humiliated for more than 30 minutes, the Chinese team finally had a second chance to counterattack.

Yu Hanchao on the left wing charged towards the Argentines' backfield like a madman, while Gao Lin in the middle was also gritting his teeth and sprinting.

In order to create space for Su Hao to attack, Hao Junmin rushed diagonally to the right flank immediately after Su Hao completed the counter-attack.

Of course, as the Chinese team pressed forward relentlessly towards the Argentine team's backfield, the entire Argentine team also hurriedly began to retreat back to their own side like a receding tide.

However, during those thirty-odd minutes, the Argentinians had become accustomed to their high-ground siege, and even their center-back Demichelis would occasionally rush across the midfield line and into the heart of the Chinese team's backfield. Therefore, Su Hao's sudden interception and extreme counter-attack made it difficult for the Chinese team to win.

Argentina's backline currently consists of only three players: Demichelis, Garay, and Mascherano.

Mascherano lunged at Su Hao the instant Su Hao crossed the center line with the ball.

That save completely left Argentina's backfield empty.

Before Mascherano could get close, Su Hao had already sent the ball out with his top-class pass of 92!

Gao Lin!

Although Chinese fans often see Gao Lin as a player who frequently misses easy chances, it's worth noting that even Japanese fans are incredibly envious of him.

Gao Lin's absolutely top-notch playmaking ability allows him to pair with strikers of any type.

Just like now, when I saw Su Hao pass the ball and Hao Junmin suddenly cut into the penalty area from the right wing!
Gao Lin immediately turned around, and while doing his best to hold off Demichelis, he deftly flicked Su Hao's pass to his left with his right foot!
With Gao Lin's flick, the ball instantly flew to Hao Junmin's feet, who had already rushed into the Argentine penalty area.

Facing the onrushing Argentine goalkeeper Romero, Hao Junmin did not hesitate and pushed with the instep of his foot!
The ball sailed past Romero, who was lying on the ground trying to block it, and plunged deep into the net behind him.

"Beep!!!"

The referee blew his whistle and pointed to the center circle with both hands, indicating that the goal was valid!
"pretty!!!"

"pretty!!!"

"The ball went in!!!"

"The ball went in!!!"

"the second!"

"the second!"

"My God!"

"2:0!!"

"2-0!"

"China leads Argentina 2-0!"

"Can you believe it?"

"In this friendly match before the World Cup, which was definitely a mismatch between the two teams!"

"China is actually leading Argentina, one of the world's top teams, 2-0!"

"Su Hao's header and interception sparked an incredible counter-attack!"

"China is leading 2-0?"

"Although the Chinese team was on the defensive for more than 2 minutes in the first half, they seized their only two opportunities and dramatically took a 2-goal lead over Argentina!"
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[Holy crap! This is a fixed match, isn't it? China 2-0 Argentina? And this is Argentina with their full-strength lineup?!]
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[The key point is that the Chinese team executed this counter-attack beautifully. Su Hao's interception, Gao Lin's pass, and Hao Junmin's shot—it looked exactly like an Arsenal counter-attack!]
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[Haha, the Chinese Football Association definitely paid Argentina. Do you know the current betting odds? If Argentina loses this match, I wonder how many people around the world will jump off buildings!]
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[That must be it. The Argentine Football Association probably placed a bet too, otherwise how could the Chinese national team be leading Argentina by two goals?]
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[Fuck you, did you even watch the game? Didn't you see how long Argentina was playing seriously? If it weren't for good luck and the whole team crowding the goal, China would have conceded a goal long ago!]
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[Su Hao is still awesome! That counter-attack was purely due to Su Hao's anticipation. But to be honest, Gao Lin's pass was really good, otherwise Hao Junmin wouldn't have had such a comfortable shooting opportunity!]

When Hao Junmin scored his second goal, Huang Jianxiang in the commentary booth naturally went into hysterical mode!

Meanwhile, in the stands of the Workers' Stadium, more than 50,000 Chinese fans celebrated wildly again after the referee blew his whistle.

Countless red flags fluttered, and countless Chinese fans cheered with raised arms!
Hao Junmin's goal completely set the entire Workers' Stadium ablaze with excitement.

For the fans, today's game was definitely a treat.

Before the match, they predicted that the Chinese team would be thrashed by five or six goals.

But the result?

With halftime approaching, how come they're in the lead?
And they are leading this World Cup favorite team 2-0?

The fans were celebrating with such passion.

The national team players on the field naturally rushed to Hao Junmin the moment he sent the ball into Romero's goal.

Press down on the third brother.
This is something that Qin Sheng, Feng Xiaoting, and their buddies love to do the most.

"Ah... slower, slower, it hurts!"

Of course, while the Chinese team was celebrating passionately, the Argentine players were all staring blankly at the big screen on the sidelines.

Another goal conceded?

After besieging the goal for more than 30 minutes, they actually... actually conceded another goal?

How...how is this possible?

All Argentinians were bewildered and at a loss.

Especially the number 10 standing in the center circle wearing the captain's armband.

Very disappointed!
Yes, after seeing that his own team's defense couldn't even stop a counter-attack of the level of the Chinese team, Messi even had a vague sense of despair.

Although it was indeed my pass that was intercepted, which led to the goal being conceded.

But if it's Barcelona!
Busquets and Pique will definitely intercept the ball!
But now?

When Mascherano pressed forward, there wasn't a single Argentine player around him ready to cover for him.

This kind of defense really comes to the World Cup.
Messi was the captain, but to be honest, at this point in his career, Messi truly lacked the responsibility and ability to be a captain.

There were no inspiring shouts, nor any passionate reminders!

He silently took on all of Argentina's attacking duties, and it was precisely this silent approach that caused the Argentine team to lack the most crucial piece of the championship puzzle: team cohesion!
A team cohesion that elevates a team to another level!
"Haha, this match was so much fun!"

Halftime.

As soon as he entered the locker room, Qin Sheng laughed loudly and immediately picked up a bottle of mineral water and poured it over his head.

"Hmph! That Biglia is really annoying. Whenever there's a chance to fight, he resorts to all sorts of underhanded tactics!"

Qin Sheng exclaimed how exhilarating it was, while Gao Lin, who had been tug-of-war with Biglia countless times in the first half, took off his socks and started complaining about the Argentine defensive midfielder who had been annoyed by Qin Sheng so early on.

"Alright, alright! Come here, everyone!"

Just as Lao Qin was thinking of teaching Gao Lin a few South American greetings that could be used in the second half, Fu Bo gathered all the players together with the tactics board.

"Qin Sheng, hold on for another twenty minutes. Don't worry about your physical strength. If you're really tired, then come down!"

"And Lao Zheng, you too! The Argentinians will probably be going all out in the first twenty minutes of the second half!"

"Everyone back! Forget about offense, just defend!"

"If we can defend even just one goal, we'll consider our goal achieved!"

"Just like in the first half, Xiao Hao, you keep shouting! For offense and defense, just follow Xiao Hao's commands!"

"Let's grit our teeth and fight for these last forty-five minutes!"

"We were able to beat France properly before, so we can beat Argentina too!"

As the acting head coach, Fu Bo was genuinely excited to be leading Argentina by two goals at halftime.

Keep in mind that the Football Association was holding meetings during this period to discuss the final selection of the head coach.

Because of the impressive results he has achieved under his leadership, there are already many voices within the Football Association calling for him to remain in his position.

If they beat Argentina again today...
He's absolutely guaranteed to be the official head coach of the national team!
In the home team's locker room, Fu Bo was happily giving his players a pep talk.

Meanwhile, in the away team's locker room not far away.

Argentina's current head coach, Sabella, frowned as he considered whether to initiate substitutions right now.

To be honest, Sabella really didn't expect to be down by two goals against a weak Chinese team.

Although he was well aware that Argentina's biggest problem was its defense, he didn't expect it to be this bad.
Substitution
This would definitely solve the problem immediately, but the question is, if Argentina has to rely on substitutions to solve problems even when facing the Chinese team, what will the Argentine newspapers say about themselves tomorrow?
The worst Argentine coach in history?
The Chinese team forced them to make substitutions at halftime to end the game.
After much deliberation, Sabella selfishly chose to continue using the same lineup against the Chinese team.

Although he knew that the Chinese player on the other side had already exploited Demichelis's fatal weakness of turning too slowly.

However, Sabella still chose to gamble that Messi could step up in the second half.

After all, their own team is far stronger than the Chinese team.

If Messi can seize just one opportunity, then overtaking or crushing the opponent by a large margin after the opponent is exhausted in the second half will not be difficult!
"Leo! Keep trying your individual breakthroughs in the second half!"

"The Chinese team is very weak. They can only contain you by sheer numbers. Of course, when you have the opportunity to pass the ball out, you can also pass it out according to your own ideas!"

"."

Sabella, as always, placed all the burden on Messi.

The rest of the team listened quietly to Sabella's tactical instructions, as if they were already used to it.

Yes!

Just as Sabella said, their opponents were really too weak. The two goals they conceded were simply due to bad luck.

As long as we continue our offensive, catching up, or even overtaking and decimating the score, is not a problem.

The short 15-minute halftime break ended quickly.

After the players from both teams switched sides, the game resumed with the referee's whistle.

For the first twenty minutes after the start of the game, the situation was exactly as Fu Bo had described during halftime.

The Argentinians launched a frenzied attack as soon as the whistle blew.

Messi completely dominated all the live broadcast shots during this period.

Moreover, Messi, at the peak of his career, did not disappoint his supporters.

Less than 10 minutes into the second half, Messi ignited the first cheers from the Argentinians in the Workers' Stadium.

The 53th minute of the game.

After pulling to the wing and using a series of shoulder-dropping changes of direction to get past Yu Hanchao and Gao Lin, Messi had already brought the ball into the heart of the Chinese team's backfield.

Seeing Messi about to break into the penalty area, Su Hao abandoned Di Maria, whom he had been marking, and strode towards Messi.

However, just as Su Hao lunged at Messi and stretched out his right leg to try to hook the ball away from Messi's feet...

Despite having already changed direction three times in a row, Messi managed to perform a fourth change of direction right in front of Su Hao, a change of direction that was almost beyond human limits.

Stomp your left foot, then tap your toes!
Messi just nutmegged Su Hao like that.

That's outrageous!
So exaggerated that even Su Hao, a cheat code user, stared blankly at Messi who had already passed by him!
Under Su Hao's watchful gaze, Messi, having dribbled past Su Hao, decisively raised his left foot and slammed it into the football.

"boom!"

There was a loud bang.

No miracle will happen again!
The football skimmed past Zeng Cheng without any obstruction, hugging the grass, and finally disappeared into the corner of the net!

"Beep!!!"

The referee blew his whistle and pointed to the center circle with both hands, indicating that the goal was valid!
It was this piercing whistle that made it so loud!

After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, the hundreds of Argentine students and the hundreds of Chinese fans in blue uniforms in the stands finally erupted in excited screams.

On the field.

Despite feeling that the match was meaningless and stressful before the game, Lionel Messi opened his arms in celebration after the team had been trailing for so long, especially after Suarez, the Chinese player, was humiliated by him crawling between his legs.

Although deep down he felt that celebrating for scoring a goal against the Chinese team was a bit beneath him, Messi simply couldn't control himself at that moment!
Especially after seeing that Chinese Soviet stare at him with wide eyes!

"Oh! Goal!"

"There's no way around it! Messi is just too good!"

"Four changes of direction in just a few seconds!"

"A goal like that, let alone our Chinese team lads, anyone would concede a goal if they encountered it!"

"Leo Messi!"

"Less than ten minutes into the second half, they helped Argentina pull one back!"

"1:2!"
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Wow! Messi is truly amazing! That change of direction, especially that final nutmeg, Su Hao was completely helpless against him!
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[That's why I said Su Hao still has a lot to learn. Look at Messi's dribbling and goals, that's the performance of a football king!]
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The Chinese national football team still has a lot to learn. As a weak team, we need to learn humbly. Many of our people have become too arrogant because of those stupid, angry young people online. In fact, not only in football, but in many other aspects, we need to put aside our pride and learn from other countries.
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Yes, that's right. My friend said he went to Japan, and the cleanliness of the streets there is incomparable to what we have in China. He said the drainage ditches in front of Japanese houses are so clear you could drink directly from them!
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[What the hell? When did our fan comment section get so many sycophantic Western dogs? Are you all blind? China 2-1 Argentina! And you're all talking about humbly learning? What the hell?!]

Workers' Stadium fell silent after a signature solo goal.

With a two-goal lead, the Chinese fans in the stands seemed to be getting a little cocky.

Many people even fantasize that these young Chinese footballers could defeat Argentina in front of them.

It was only after Messi's godlike goal that everyone realized that standing in front of their national team players was Argentina, one of the strongest teams in the world!
Having pulled one back, Argentina's morale soared, and they completely took over the rest of the game.

Especially Messi.

To Messi's fans, their idol was performing the most dazzling dance repeatedly in the Chinese team's backfield just to please them.

The 64th minute of the game.

Messi started dribbling from midfield, once again making a solo run past four players and charging into the heart of the Chinese team's backfield.

Left with no other option, Qin Sheng could only resort to a foul sliding tackle, bringing Messi and the ball down onto the grass.

Of course, Qin Sheng's sliding tackle was aimed at the ball.

He never intended to injure Messi before the World Cup!

Even though Qin Sheng had already pulled his leg back, the entire Argentine team still rushed towards him as if their sore spot had been touched.

Especially Biglia, who had a conflict with Qin Sheng before.

Biglia, who was at the very least, stretched out his right hand, looking as if he was about to grab Old Qin by the neck.

“xxxxxx!”

Not only did Biglia extend his hand, but he also greeted Qin Sheng, the most cunning player in the Chinese national football team, in his native language!

At that very moment, Lao Qin suddenly remembered Fu Bo's words during halftime, telling him to persevere for twenty minutes, plus Biglia's countless extremely annoying little tricks throughout the first half.

Old Qin fell backward the moment Biglia's hand touched him.

Not only did he fall to the ground, but Lao Qin also clutched his neck, prematurely initiating what would later be known as a death roll-style screaming performance.

"Beep beep beep!!!"

The moment Lao Qin's exaggerated movements and screams appeared.

The referee, who had just been checking on Messi, who was also lying on the ground clutching his right leg, immediately turned to look at Biglia and Qin Sheng.

In the referee's eyes, Qin Sheng was still rolling around while clutching his neck, while Biglia hadn't even had time to put his hand down.

In this situation, the referee naturally took a preconceived notion and walked directly toward Biglia.

And as he walked, he pulled a red card out of his pocket!

Such malicious retaliation caused his opponent to tumble so miserably; he must show his impartiality!

"Biglia is really wicked!"

"This is directly a grab, cough cough!"

In the commentary booth, Lao Huang, who hadn't seen the whole thing, was about to criticize Biglia's despicable move when the slow-motion replay revealed what appeared to be his own Qin Sheng.
Of course, as the most staunch and biased commentator in the country, Lao Huang promptly stopped describing the actions.

"Such a retaliatory action deserves a red card!"

On the field!
When that bright red card appeared in front of him, Biglia immediately went berserk.

As a member of the Argentine national team and a key player for Lazio in Serie A!
Biglia truly could not tolerate being shown such a clearly unprofessional red card by a mere Chinese referee in a football wasteland like China.

"what?"

Completely blinded by rage, Biglia looked as if he were about to confront the referee head-on.

Fortunately, upon seeing his utterly irrational action, Mascherano immediately grabbed Biglia, preventing Biglia from completely losing his chance to qualify for this World Cup.

"Referee, that guy is an actor. Biglia didn't even touch him!"

"Mr. Referee!"

Perhaps they realized that being down to ten men at this point would truly be a Waterloo for their great Argentine glory.

At that moment, the Argentine players, who had previously been arrogant, suddenly became humble.

They surrounded the referee, trying to persuade him to reverse his decision.

However, in this era without VR, once the referee's decision is final, all explanations and struggles are in vain!

As for Lao Qin, who completed the comeback, after the team doctor came on the field to give him emergency treatment, he successfully helped the Chinese team achieve an incredible comeback with 10 against 11 at the cost of a yellow card!
However, it was precisely Lao Qin's somewhat unsportsmanlike red card that ignited the tension of the match.

The 71th minute of the game.

After Qin Sheng intercepted Di Maria's long-range shot that was positioned too straight, Su Hao, who had just received Zeng Cheng's long pass near the center circle, was tackled to the ground from the side and behind by Mascherano before he could even turn around.

Mascherano's kick was clearly a retaliatory strike against his partner Biglia.

As the kick came down, Su Hao's older brother Zheng Zhi naturally stepped forward without hesitation and head-to-head with Mascherano.

This time, Old Qin, who had a yellow card, wisely chose not to get close.

Everyone else gathered together.

Higuain and Gao Lin went head-to-head, while Demichelis faced off against Zhang Linpeng!

"Beep beep beep!"

The referee blew his whistle for a while before finally separating the two teams.

Mascherano received a yellow card, and Zheng Zhi voluntarily issued one as well.

The game was completely thrown into chaos.

Messi is Argentina's darling, but for the other players on the national team, Su Hao is their only hope for the next twenty years.

Since Mascherano dared to make such a direct tackle on Su Hao, the other Chinese players naturally stopped being polite to Messi.

The 75th minute of the game.

Messi received the ball on the left and had just started to accelerate when Hao Junmin also kicked him from behind without hesitation.

"xxxx!"

After hurling a tirade at Hao Junmin, Enzo Perez grabbed Hao Junmin by the collar.

Seeing his third brother being bullied, Su Hao strode over and grabbed Enzo Perez.

The two teams reunited.

And this time!
The referee was completely pushed to the limit.

No more sentimentality.

Su Hao received a yellow card, while Hao Junmin, who made a reckless tackle on Messi, received a straight red card.

As for Enzo Perez, who directly attacked, the referee also issued him a red card and sent him off.

Messi, clutching his leg, slowly stood up only after the referee questioned him countless times.

Seeing that Messi might miss the World Cup if he stayed any longer, Argentina's coach Sabella on the sidelines naturally did not hesitate to quickly substitute his own Messi.

Not far away, Fu Bo also didn't dare to delay and replaced his precious Su Hao.

From this point on, all the key players from both teams were substituted off the field.

After Argentina had two players sent off, they faced a Chinese team with only nine players, who had all retreated to their own half.

"It's quite unexpected that this friendly match has developed to this point!"

Three players sent off in quick succession, 5 yellow cards in total!

"The only good news is that we seem to be in the lead!"
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[Oh no! This is incredibly embarrassing for the Chinese team, daring to tackle Messi! Fans all over the world are probably going to be furious with them!]
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[Exactly! Messi is like a rare, protected animal on other people's pitches; even the referees are extremely careful. Now, he's putting on such a show for us in China, and we, his national team players, tackle him like that. I'm too embarrassed to travel abroad anymore!]
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[What was Hao Junmin thinking? You could have just pulled him up! Why did you have to shove him like that? If you do that, the whole world will be cursing him tomorrow!]
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[Are you all out of your minds? Didn't you see Mascherano tackle Su Hao? They tackle Su Hao, we tackle Messi, isn't that just common sense? Are you all blind? Couldn't you see Mascherano's tackle?]
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[Yeah, what's wrong with the world these days? Our national football team is indeed weak, but in today's match, I didn't see what our lads did wrong. Wasn't the tackle on Messi because they tackled Su Hao first?]
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[This is just how people get used to kneeling. And they even say other teams' stadiums are like endangered species! Haven't you guys seen the highlights of Messi getting tackled? This was only twice! Look at his matches against Real Madrid! Or against Brazil!]

The game is a mess!
Both teams were completely engrossed in all sorts of flying tackles!

There are also those who, despite not speaking the same language, engage in head-to-head verbal battles, with one person saying "Is this a draft?" and the other saying "xxx"!

Anyway!

After focusing entirely on how to deal with the opponent, the score remained unchanged.

It was a strange match that ended abruptly without even any added time.

2: 1!

The Chinese team can be said to have pulled off the second biggest upset of this century, apart from their 1-0 victory over France.

But
This unexpected choice is full of controversy.

Even after the match ended, the two teams lingered together. Argentine coach Sabella, somewhat distraught by the defeat, even pushed over Qin Sheng, the Chinese national team's MVP and the key figure in the game's turning point!

PS: I'm really busy with work, so I won't go into details. As you all know, mixing noodles is a part-time job. This is to make up for yesterday's post. Today's update will either be late tonight or tomorrow morning.

Furthermore, I didn't insult Messi or specifically smear him. In fact, in my novel, Messi is a top player that even the protagonist with cheat codes can't beat. Why is there such a big reaction, with some even sending private messages to personally attack him and insult his family? I'm speechless!
Sigh, I'm begging for monthly votes to soothe Mianmian's wounded heart!
(End of this chapter)