After Paris Saint-Germain was removed from the list, I led England to victory!

After the match, amidst the boisterous celebrations, several Portuguese players gathered together.

Pepe and Cancelo, two key Arsenal defenders, have joined their national team mentor, Juventus legend Cristiano Ronaldo.

"Chris!" Pepe opened his arms and gave Ronaldo a firm hug, his face bearing a victor's smile and a deep respect for his captain.

"That was a beautiful shot, captain! That long-range effort almost went in!"

Pepe was referring to Cristiano Ronaldo's knuckleball shot that Martinez brilliantly saved.

Cristiano Ronaldo patted Pepe on the back, expressing his approval of his former teammate.

"Pepe, I never expected to face you this time. You're still as tough as ever, your defense was excellent." Then, he turned to look at Cancelo beside him.

"João, how are you playing for Arsenal? You're very sharp on the wing."

Cancelo smiled shyly and nodded vigorously:

"Thank you, Captain. I will continue to work hard."

At this moment, Yan Yuan also came over.

He had just finished a brief interview with reporters on the sidelines, and hadn't even had time to wipe the sweat off his body.

He walked over to the Portuguese stars and extended his hand to Cristiano Ronaldo, saying, "Mr. Cristiano, it's an honor to compete against you again."

Cristiano Ronaldo recognizes Yan Yuan, and Yan Yuan also recognizes Cristiano Ronaldo.

The two have faced off before, and have also interacted many times online.

Cristiano Ronaldo looked at the young man who was shining brightly in the game with a complex expression.

There is respect for the opponent, a critical eye for the younger generation, and reflections on one's own performance.

This is a trait possessed by highly competitive people.

Cristiano Ronaldo reached out and shook hands firmly with Yan Yuan.

"You played very well, Yan, your performance on the field was outstanding." His tone was full of sincere appreciation. "Your speed, your breakthroughs, and that assist were brilliant."

The assist Ronaldo mentioned was the deadly through ball Yan Yuan delivered to Aubameyang after he dribbled past Chiellini.

Yan Yuan felt the strength of Ronaldo's hand and the recognition from the top superstar, and a warm feeling welled up in his heart: "Thank you for your praise, sir. Every match against a legend has been very rewarding."

Cristiano Ronaldo's gaze fell on Yan Yuan's forehead, where there was a scar from stitches left at the Bernabéu, and he suddenly remembered something.

He asked Yan Yuan.

"By the way, about your injuries at the Bernabéu last time, the one around your eyebrow and your leg, are they all healed? No lasting effects?"

Yan Yuan subconsciously touched his brow bone and laughed heartily, "It's all better now, I'm completely fine, thank you so much for your concern!" His tone was relaxed, full of youthful vigor.

Cristiano Ronaldo nodded.

"That's good. For professional players, physical condition is always the most important thing," he said. "We'll have a good match next time in Turin."

"Definitely! I look forward to facing you again in Turin!" Yan Yuan replied with a smile.

Cristiano Ronaldo then looked at Cancelo, his tone carrying the air of an older brother offering words of advice.

"João, play well for Arsenal and stay in shape. The national team needs you." Cancelo's expression turned serious, and he nodded vigorously: "I understand, captain, I will!"

"And Pepe, give João lots of pointers. He's still young, and his experience is nowhere near yours," Ronaldo added to Pepe's instructions.

"That's for sure, Captain. João learns things very quickly. He was a bit of a troublemaker when he first arrived, but he's much better now." Pepe answered while giving Cancelo a squeeze on the shoulder.

After exchanging brief pleasantries with a few people, Ronaldo prepared to leave.

At this moment, Yan Yuan took off his red Arsenal number 7 jersey, which was covered in grass clippings, and handed it to Cristiano Ronaldo.

"Mr. Cristiano, may I exchange jerseys with you?"

"Oh! Of course! I almost forgot because we were chatting for so long."

Cristiano Ronaldo paused for a moment, then smiled and took off his black and white striped Juventus jersey, handing it to Yan Yuan.

"Here you go, kid."

The two exchanged jerseys.

Yan Yuan took the Juventus jersey, which still retained Ronaldo's body heat and sweat, and felt that it was quite heavy.

This weight doesn't refer to the physical weight, but rather the significance behind the jersey.

Cristiano Ronaldo took Yan Yuan's number 7 jersey in his hand, patted him on the shoulder, nodded to Pepe and Cancelo, and then turned and walked towards the players' tunnel.

His back was still upright, but his steps seemed to carry a hint of fatigue after the great battle and regret for not winning.

Watching Ronaldo's departing figure, Yan Yuan was filled with mixed emotions.

He looked down at the Juventus No. 7 jersey in his hand, which seemed to still carry the aura and fighting spirit of Cristiano Ronaldo.

The system notified me.

[Player Cristiano Ronaldo's interaction level reaches 100%, gaining the attribute: Heading, with a compatibility rate of 75%]

[Attribute Description: The 'Heading' attribute represents a player's overall ability in aerial duels, headers, and header passes. It encompasses jump height, hang time, anticipation of the ball's trajectory, header power, accuracy, and the skill in utilizing physical contact.]

Cristiano Ronaldo's heading ability is at the S+ level. Given the current compatibility with the host, his heading attribute is upgraded to A+ level. He can reach S+ level by achieving 100% compatibility.

[Heading Attribute: B+ → A+]

Upon receiving the system notification, Yan Yuan almost instinctively "recalled" his attribute panel in his mind. His gaze quickly locked onto the "Heading" section.

The value that was originally displayed as [B+] has now been transformed into a dazzling [A+].

There were two things Yan Yuan hadn't considered.

The first thing he didn't expect was that he would be so lucky to copy the attributes again.

The second thing was that he didn't expect Ronaldo's heading ability to be so top-notch.

(The novel is set in 2018, while Ronaldo's incredible 2.45-meter header occurred in 2019, so Yan Yuan was unaware of how formidable Ronaldo's heading ability was at that time.)

In Yan Yuan's impression, Ronaldo's greatest strengths are his positioning and finishing ability.

Header.

This has always been Yan Yuan's relatively weak point.

Although he possesses superb footwork, incredible speed, and accurate shooting, he has never been considered top-tier in aerial duels or headers.

This is why, even though he had previously obtained Maguire's [Air Domination Area] skill through the system.

However, its basic heading attribute (B+) is not top-notch.

In actual matches, especially against world-class center-backs like Chiellini and Ramos, the power of the [Aerial Dominance Zone] skill cannot be fully realized.

He relies more on speed and positioning to get into scoring positions, or on his footwork to solve problems; headers have never accounted for a large proportion of his goals.

And now.

The heading attribute jumped directly from B+ to A+.

This is a qualitative leap.

This means that his aerial abilities have undergone a dramatic transformation.

What kind of synergy will occur when the A+ level heading attribute is combined with the [Aerial Dominance Area] skill?

Yan Yuan simply couldn't imagine it.

He stood there, clutching Ronaldo's jersey tightly in his hand, feeling that new and surging sense of power in his mind.

"Yan! What are you daydreaming about! Let's go! Let's go thank the audience!" Ramsey's voice pulled him back to reality from his ecstasy.

His teammates were already urging him to go and thank the fans in the stands.

Yan Yuan took a deep breath, suppressing his excitement, held Ronaldo's jersey in his hand, and a bright smile returned to his face as he ran towards his teammates.

He joined the celebrations, waving to the wild fans in the stands, basking in the glory of victory.

But deep down, the ecstasy of breaking through his heading ability was like a volcano about to erupt, filling him with boundless anticipation for the future.

……

Back in the locker room at Kearney, the party continued.

Champagne was sprayed, and the singing was loud and clear.

Yan Yuan and his teammates celebrated their hard-won victory.

But as the noise gradually subsided, everyone began to shower and relax.

Yan Yuan didn't go to take a shower first, but instead went to find assistant coach Boulder.

"Mr. Boulder," Yan Yuan said earnestly, "I would like to ask you, along with the strength and conditioning coach and technical coach, to help me develop a customized training plan."

Boulder was somewhat surprised: "Oh? In what aspect?"

"Heading." Yan Yuan pointed to his head. "Well... there's also related training to improve my jumping ability, hang time, core strength, and neck strength. I want to improve my heading ability."

Boulder raised an eyebrow, looking at Yan Yuan's serious eyes, and understood what he meant.

As the coaching staff, they were certainly aware of Yan Yuan's relatively weak heading ability, which was already evident from his performance during his time at Hoffenheim.

Yan Yuan's initiative to strengthen training clearly shows that he is aware of this and determined to make up for his shortcomings.

"Good lad!" Boulder patted Yan Yuan's shoulder forcefully, his eyes full of approval.

"Ambitious? No problem, leave it to us! We'll tailor a highly scientific and efficient heading training program specifically for you, based on your physical characteristics and match requirements! We guarantee to turn your head into a new battering ram!"

Yan Yuan answered with a smile.

"Thank you, sir. Thank you for your trouble."

Upon returning to the club, Boulder told Wenger about it, and Wenger agreed and made new adjustments to Yan Yuan's training schedule.

In the following days, in addition to the regular tactical drills and physical recovery at the Kearney training ground, there was an extra activity.

In the weight room, Yan Yuan was undergoing more targeted core strength training under the guidance of the strength and conditioning coach.

Examples include plank variations, Russian twists with weights, lower limb explosive power training such as box jumps and weighted squats, and neck muscle strengthening exercises.

He gave it his all in every training session, his training clothes soaked with sweat.

At the training ground, the technical coach set up a special heading drill for him:

For example, regarding training landing point judgment and take-off timing.

The assistant coach throws or lobs high balls from different angles, heights, and speeds. Yan Yuan needs to accurately judge the landing point while moving and choose the best time and position to jump.

There is also training in competitive aerial duels.

This exercise involves strong center-backs or tall defenders from the team simulating opponents, engaging Yan Yuan in close-quarters header drills to hone his balance and power generation skills under physical contact.

Peipei put a lot of pressure on Yan Yuan during this segment, but she also helped him a lot.

The most crucial element is the accuracy of headers.

During this training, crosses are delivered from different positions in the penalty area by wingers or set-piece coaches in a manner that simulates corner kicks and free kicks.

Yan Yuan needs to complete different types of headers, such as flick headers, diving headers, and stationary headers.

His target was every corner of the goal.

There was also practice on how Yan Yuan could accurately pass the ball to a better-positioned teammate after a header, using them as a fulcrum for the attack.

These are all new training materials for him.

With each leap and each powerful header, Yan Yuan was completely focused.

He could clearly feel the improvement brought by the A+ heading attribute, his jumps were more rapid and powerful, his judgment of the ball's trajectory was more accurate, and his control over the power of his headers was more effortless.

Combined with Maguire's heading skill, which increases his success rate in aerial duels and provides a boost to his ability to contest headers.

During training, he frequently outmaneuvered his practice partners, heading the ball into the corner of the net!

Yan Yuan's teammates were surprised and impressed by his progress and dedication in heading training.

"Yan, your heading ability has improved incredibly fast," Saka exclaimed.

"Kid, I feel like you're jumping higher and higher, like you've got springs in your body," Aubameyang exclaimed.

Pepe, as a sparring partner, felt this most deeply.

"Yan, your timing for contact and jumping is getting better and better. If you keep practicing like this, I feel like I won't be able to defend against you anymore."

Pepe was telling the truth.

After all, he's already 35 years old, and his physical condition is definitely not what it was during his peak at Real Madrid.

Although Pepe's sparring partners are of high quality, she is still limited by her physical strength.

Heading ability is one of the important offensive skills of forwards.

However, to transform it into a deadly weapon on the field, Yan Yuan still needs to practice hard day after day and hone his skills in actual combat.

Even though the attribute matching degree is only less than 20%, it is not easy to bridge this gap.

Yan Yuan is arming himself with brand-new aerial weapons.