Soccer: If they're using these kinds of cheats, what's the point of training?

His partner, Xu Yang, sat next to him with a thick stack of documents in front of him, all of which were pre-match analyses of the Auxerre and Sedan teams.

"The highlight of today's match is very clear – it's Auxerre's Chinese striker Zhang Kuang," Liu Jianhong said to the camera. "This is the first time CCTV-5 has broadcast Zhang Kuang's match, and it's also the first time many Chinese fans have watched this young player's live performance in its entirety."

"That's right." Xu Yang continued, "After Zhang Kuang joined Auxerre, he played two league games. He scored a hat-trick in the first game and a brace in the second game, for a total of five goals in two games. This statistic ranks first among players in Ligue 1 during the same period."

Today in the French Cup, he faces Ligue 2 team Sedan. Whether he can continue his hot scoring form remains to be seen.

The director in the studio switched to the frenetic warm-up footage.

In the video, Zhang Kuang is wearing a white training vest with the number 33 and is stretching on the sidelines. Sunlight shines on him, and the profile of his face is presented to all viewers through the high-definition lens.

And online forums have already started flooding with posts about it.

"Holy crap, that's so cool!"

"With that face and that physique, he could easily be a male model or a movie star. I don't think there are any male celebrities this handsome in the film and television industry, right?"

"When have Chinese players ever had this kind of looks?"

"Isn't that Kaka? Why is he playing as a striker now?"

"Kaka my foot! He's obviously more handsome than Kaka, and Kaka is Brazilian, this is Chinese!"

"Stop arguing, let's watch the game!"

"..."

Liu Jianhong and Xu Yang could not see the comments on the online forum, but they could feel the attention this match received—the broadcast time originally allocated by the station was from 4 pm to 6 pm, but due to the large number of inquiries, it was temporarily postponed by half an hour to allow more time for pre-match hype.

"Xu Yang, what do you think of Zhang Kuang's technical characteristics?" Liu Jianhong asked a routine question.

Xu Yang flipped through the data and said seriously, "Based on the video analysis of the previous two matches, Zhang Kuang's technical characteristics can be summarized in three points:

First, his physical attributes are exceptional. His ability to compete in physical duels is top-tier in Ligue 1, and it's extremely rare for someone eighteen years old to have such physical attributes.

Secondly, he has a very versatile shooting style. He can score with headers, long-range shots, and close-range shots inside the penalty area. Of the five goals in the first two games, two were headers, two were long-range shots, and one was inside the penalty area, which shows that he is not the kind of "functional" striker who can only use one type of attack.

Thirdly—and what I personally find most valuable—his mental fortitude is exceptional. In his debut, he dared to perform the same flamboyant celebration as Siu, and in interviews, he dared to say, "I want to win the Golden Boot," "I want to win the championship." This isn't arrogance; it's genuine confidence. This is precisely the kind of mentality that Chinese players lack most in Europe's top five leagues.

Liu Jianhong nodded: "Well said. Let's connect with our reporter on the ground and hear the latest news..."

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The competition started promptly at 3 PM.

Sedan, though a Ligue 2 team, is by no means a pushover. In 2006, they were a Ligue 1 team and reached the Europa League semi-finals that same year—although that was four years ago, the team's foundation and tactical sophistication were still far superior to those of typical Ligue 2 teams.

Their head coach has clearly done his homework on arrogance.

Just two minutes into the game, Sedan's defensive midfielders began to employ a close marking strategy against Zhang Kuang—not one person, but two.

With one player in front providing cover and the other behind offering protection, the density and intensity of the double-team was even higher than in the previous match against Nice.

"Sedan's defense against Zhang Kuang is very targeted," Xu Yang said in the studio. "The two defensive midfielders hardly participate in the attack, focusing all their energy on limiting Zhang Kuang's ability to receive the ball. This defensive approach is rare in Ligue 2, which shows that the Sedan coach attaches great importance to Zhang Kuang."

But even the most robust defenses will have cracks.

11 minutes.

Pedretti launched a long pass from the backfield, the ball flying towards the left side of midfield. Zhang Kuang dropped back to receive the pass, with Sedan's defensive midfielder Cani closely following behind him.

While madly controlling the ball with his chest, he lightly tapped it with the instep of his left foot, transferring the ball directly to his right foot from the air—a move he had practiced no less than two hundred times during his extra training this week.

Before Kane could close in, Zhang Kuang flicked the ball sideways with the outside of his right foot and turned around in the process.

Carney missed his target.

Zhang Kuang dribbled wildly forward, and Sedan's defense quickly retreated. Zhang Kuang glanced up at the goal—

About thirty meters.

Within the range of long-range shooting.

"Zhang Kuang received the ball in midfield—without passing—he dribbled forward—with thirty meters to go—and shot directly!"

"Bang—!"

The sound of that shot was so powerful you could feel it even through the TV screen.

The ball, like a cannonball, flew with almost no spin, trailing a straight trajectory towards the top left corner of the goal. The Sedan goalkeeper didn't even have time to make a save before the ball slammed into the net.

1: 0.

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL——!!!"

At the commentary booth, the French local television presenter's voice suddenly rose, almost shouting.

"A world-class goal! Another world-class goal! Zhang Kuang scores with a long-range shot! A powerful shot from over 30 meters out! The Sedan goalkeeper had no chance at all—the ball was too fast! This is Zhang Kuang's first goal in the French Cup!"

"Siu————!"

In the corner flag area, his flamboyant, signature celebration was staged once again. His roar upon landing was clearly captured by the camera, his young face radiating an arrogant and overbearing arrogance.

The comments section is going crazy.

"What kind of shot was that?! That was incredible!"

"Swinging it from thirty meters away isn't kicking a ball, it's firing a cannon!"

"The Sedan goalkeeper was dumbfounded, haha!"

"I hereby declare that from today onwards I am a crazy, brainless fan."

"An 18-year-old fan of Zhang's arrogance has shown up uninvited!"

"Upstairs, you were a fan of him 18 years ago when he was just born. You were already a fan back then? And you knew he would become a football star?"

"That's a long-time fan of embryonic embryos!"

"..."

When the Sedan coach saw Zhang Kuang score, he shook his head helplessly. He had taken it seriously enough, but in the end, he realized that he still hadn't taken it seriously enough!

He had no choice but to keep shouting from the sidelines to stick close to Zhang Kuang's defense, and he would shout nervously whenever Zhang Kuang received the ball.

29 minutes.

Pedroti intercepted the ball in midfield and quickly passed it to Olic on the wing. Olic dribbled past his marker and laid the ball off to Zhang Kuang at the edge of the penalty area from the right side of the box.

This time, Sedan's defense was flawless—Kani and another defensive midfielder simultaneously closed in, with Kani even reaching out to try and push Zhang Kuang aside with his body.

But he couldn't squeeze through.

Zhang Kuang turned his back to the two players, pulled the ball back with his right foot, turned around, and pushed with the instep of his left foot—the ball passed between Cani's legs and rolled towards the left side of the penalty area.

Yellen surged forward and unleashed a powerful shot.

The ball was saved by the goalkeeper.

But the ball wasn't cleared far enough.

Zhang Kuang's second acceleration at the edge of the penalty area was faster than anyone else's. He rushed into the penalty area and, at the moment the ball bounced off the ground, raised his right foot—not to shoot, but to control the ball.

The ball seemed glued to his foot, stopping perfectly in front of him. He then used his body to block the chasing defender, cut inside with his left foot, and fired a shot with his right.

2: 0.

"The second one! Zhang Kuang scores his second goal!" Liu Jianhong's voice was already hoarse. "A calm shot after getting rid of the defense in the penalty area!"

The ball handling was superb—the control, shielding, dribbling, and shooting were all executed flawlessly in one fluid motion, without any unnecessary adjustments!

"I have to say something, brothers," Xu Yang added from the side, his tone unusually excited, "quite a few Chinese players have scored in Europe's top five leagues. Sun Jihai has scored, Shao Jiayi has scored, Yang Chen has scored."

But I've never seen this level of individual ability and competitive spirit in a Chinese player before – facing a double-team, forcefully turning and nutmegging the ball, then accelerating into the penalty area to score on the rebound.

"Never." Xu Yang emphasized again.

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