Chapter 27: Perfection

  The first update of 3600 words. The recommendations from classmates are very powerful, and for the first time, Xiao T saw the new book's historic approach to the homepage of the newcomer chart. As a football competitive new book, can it make it onto the homepage of the newcomer chart? Everything is up to you! Seeking votes, seeking points, seeking power! The second update will be delivered tonight!

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  He got up and crawled forward, Chu Jiang hugged the football and began to observe the situation on the field.

  Cosenza's players are retreating to defend, especially their two central defenders who ran the most. Just now when they were taking a free kick in the front court, those two central defenders both ran into the bull's penalty area to participate in the attack. So, they are still some distance from their own half-court at this moment. At this moment, there are only four people in Cosenza's half-court. Except for Cosenza's goalkeeper, there are only two full-backs who stayed behind to defend. There is also a player from Torino in Cosenza's half-court, who is Iwenko, the left winger. At this time, Iwenko is standing near the front line of the court, and next to him, the defender closest to him is also at a considerable distance.

  "This is an opportunity!"

  Chu Jiang hugged the ball and rushed to the edge of the penalty area, shouting loudly at the referee while running, complaining about the foul committed by the opposing player on Ogbanna during the previous defense. As soon as he reached the penalty area, Chu Jiang threw away the ball with a seemingly casual big foot, directly kicking it towards the front sideline, and then ran to the main referee to continue protesting.

  "It seems that our new team member is quite righteous. Seeing his teammates suffer in silence, he takes the initiative to stand up for them."

  Upon hearing the angry shouts and cries of Chu Jiang, the players on Cosson's team slowed down their pace, curiously watching as Chu Jiang pressured the referee. It can be seen that spectating is not just a hobby unique to Chinese people, but rather something that people from all countries are enthusiastic about.

  When everyone thought Chu Jiang's big foot was just to pause the game, so that his teammate could appeal to the referee, they didn't notice that Chu Jiang's foot, which seemed to be clearing the ball, actually landed very accurately in front of Ivanko. Ivanko subconsciously stretched out his foot and stopped the ball. He looked back at the referee and linesman, neither hearing the referee blow the whistle nor seeing the linesman raise the offside flag. After a slight hesitation, he took the ball and rushed towards Kosentza's goal!

  The player responsible for defending Ivankov also turned to look at the referee and linesman, and when he found that Ivankov had already started, it was too late to chase him!

  Single-blade ball!

  Yi Wenke dribbled the ball and sprinted away, with two Kosovo defenders desperately chasing him from behind. The match had already reached the 83rd minute!

  "Oh my, what a sly move! I have to admit, I was also deceived by that Chinese goalkeeper earlier. A kick that seemed to be going out of bounds turned out to be an accurate long pass. What seemed like a protest for his teammate's unfair treatment was actually a ploy to distract all the defensive players on the opposing team, creating a scoring opportunity for the Bulls! Such meticulous planning and precise passing, it's hard to believe it came from that young Oriental player with a baby face! It looks like we've all underestimated his abilities!"

  "Ivankov is still bringing the ball forward, while the opposing goalkeeper has chosen to abandon the goal! Can Ivankov seize this opportunity and bring a victory to the Bulls?"

  "Oh, oh, oh, foul! This is definitely a foul, no question about it! Just as Evanko made a breakthrough to the top of the penalty arc and observed the opponent's goalkeeper coming out, Jakimini, the defender who was chasing back, pulled Evanko from behind! This action is very obvious, absolutely a clear foul. Let's see how the referee Ostinelli will judge!"

  "Red card! Red card! Austin Nelli directly shows a red card and sends Giacomin out of the field. This is a tactical foul, no doubt, the referee made a very correct judgment! Cosenza paid the price for Torino's quick counterattack with a red card, and they will have to play with 10 men for the rest of the game. This red card almost dashed Cosenza's hopes of attacking, and they will definitely put more energy into defending. Maintaining the current score on the field will be their only hope and pursuit!"

  Leyel clenched his fists tightly. He was surprised by Chu Jiang's clever performance this time, disappointed that Ivanco couldn't create a successful attack, and satisfied with the referee's red card penalty. But the game wasn't over yet, it wasn't time to relax now.

  With only five or six minutes left in the regular time of the game, if there is no overtime, the Bulls don't have much time left. This free throw opportunity from the top of the arc may be the best and possibly the only chance for the Bulls to get something out of the remaining time!

  Who has the qualifications and ability to withstand that suffocating pressure and take this crucial penalty kick?

  Leyla is hesitating.

  Torino's players were also hesitant.

  Laywer glanced at Garofalo, the 25-year-old Italian left-back who was once the first choice for free kicks for the Bulls and had scored some direct free kicks for Torino. His free kick technique was second to none in the Bulls' lineup, but that was before Zhu Jiang joined.

  Chu Jiang showed off his exceptional free kick talent in every training session after joining the Bulls. His technique of taking free kicks was admired by all teammates and coaches, and he is recognized as a free kick expert in the Torino team.

  But training is just training. Now the Bulls face a regular season game and it's an extremely cruel elimination match.

  Winners advance to the next round; losers go home immediately!

  The last five minutes, the best scoring opportunity! If you score this penalty kick, you will be the hero who dominates the game; if you miss this penalty kick, you may become the scapegoat for the team's loss!

  Heaven or hell, God or devil, everything is just one step away!

  Such pressure, a 17-year-old kid, a rookie who has never played in an official match before, can he bear it?

  Garfield stood up.

  Standing in front of the ball, looking at the wall of people and the goalkeeper vaguely behind them, Garofalo was not confident. However, as the team's designated taker for set pieces, everyone else could shirk responsibility for this free kick, but he couldn't. Because of him, there was no escape!

  "Do your best!" he thought.

  "Let me!" At this time, Chu Jiang's voice sounded behind him, calm and firm!

  Enormous pressure may cause one to collapse; but as a professional athlete, bearing such pressure is a compulsory course, a necessary psychological quality.

  Chu Jiang didn't want to escape, nor could he escape! In his future career, he would face even more cruel and suffocating scenes than this match. To become a success, to become a great player, he must learn to adapt to such pressure, he must learn to overcome such pressure, he must learn to conquer such pressure!

  Moreover, he is a free kick expert. When the team needs him to stand out, he should come forward with his chest held high!

  "Are you okay with this? If not, don't force yourself." Galileo's kind reminder. It wasn't that he didn't trust Chu Jiang's skills, but the current situation was just too much pressure for a young person!

  "How can you know if you don't try? Don't worry, I've got this!" Chu Jiang smiled.

  It's impossible to say that he wasn't nervous, but Chu Jiang was confident in his free kick technique. As time went on, Chu Jiang's understanding of the "Goalkeeper System" deepened, and every ability set by the system was perfectly embodied in him, with the most notable being his incredible 20-yard free kicks! Baldi and Morrello couldn't defend against them, and Chu Jiang didn't believe that a third-tier league goalkeeper could stop them either.

  Confidence comes from strength, with such a high-level free kick skill, Chu Jiang is not afraid of anyone! In fact, Chu Jiang didn't know that the 20-yard free kick was not invincible either...

  "Oh my god! What am I seeing? That young goalkeeper is standing at the penalty spot?! Who can tell me, have my eyes gone bad?! As a seasoned fan, the last time I saw a goalkeeper take a free kick was... was... I don't even remember when! Even Chilavert, the iconic representative of goalkeepers taking free kicks, dared to do so at such an important moment at 17 years old?! Does that kid think he's stronger than Chilavert?! Oh my god!"

  "Hey kid, need me to kick it for you?"

  Fiore, who was lining up the wall, whistled. Fiore was a free kick expert back in the day, but at this moment, he wasn't really trying to help Chu Jiang; rather, he wanted to stir up the young man's emotions and make him lose his composure, thus missing the free kick.

  Chu Jiang glanced at Fiore and said seriously: "Watch your head!"

  Sprint, swing your legs, and complete the entire set of movements in one breath!

  "Huh?"

  Fiore hadn't even reacted when the ball sailed over his head. Immediately, the entire stadium erupted!

  "Gooooooool! What a wonderful arc, what a wonderful free kick! Absolutely impossible angle, the goalkeeper was completely powerless, he could only helplessly watch the ball enter the net! In the last five minutes of the game, Torino's goalkeeper scored a direct free kick, this goal almost sentenced the visiting team to death! This is a golden goal!"

  "Let us once again shout out in unison the name of our hero, Pig!"

  "Pig!" The whole field erupted in cheers again!

  At this moment, Chu Jiang couldn't care less about whether his pronunciation was standard or not. This was the first goal he had scored in an official match, it was a milestone that belonged to him alone, and he wanted to celebrate wildly!

  Chu Jiang sprinted quickly towards the baseline, where there was a camera. Facing the camera, Chu Jiang let out a loud roar. Immediately after, he turned around and pointed with both hands to the number on his jersey, 9-8! He seemed to be declaring to the world through his actions: "Remember this number, it will become a legend!"

  The Toros teammates rushed in like a tidal wave, instantly engulfing Chu Jiang. On the field, all the Torino players joined in the celebration, and even some substitutes rushed onto the field. On the sidelines, head coach Lyle Dyer and assistant coach DeStro hugged each other tightly.

  Chu Jiang's goal was unanimously recognized by all the people of Dalian, and at this moment, this collective seemed to truly begin to accept Chu Jiang, this still somewhat unfamiliar Chinese teenager!

  On the bench of Cosenza, the head coach was painfully clutching his hair. Just now, Cosenza was only one step away from scoring a goal; at this moment, they had to swallow the bitter fruit of losing the ball. The intense contrast made the entire bench sink into an suffocating silence, even the players on the field looked somewhat stunned.

  The Yangtze River's rear waves push forward the front waves, and the front waves die on the beach.

  Mo Fei looked at Chu Jiang with envy, thinking that he had also been so brilliant in the past. Unfortunately, that was a long time ago. Now, the brilliance belonged to that Chinese boy who was much younger than him. His future was boundless!

  After losing the crucial goal, Cosenza was forced to push up. After an attack was ended by Chujang, he quickly launched a long pass. This time, Belingheri, the frontcourt player of Bulls, did not disappoint Chujang's wonderful pass. He shot angrily from 20 meters away from the goal and pierced through Cosenza's goal again. After the goal, Belingheri ran wildly to the backcourt, carrying Chujang on his back to celebrate, and the Olympic Stadium became a joyful ocean once again!

  3: 1, Bulls lock in victory!

  One pass, one shot, three saves, all successful, and a brilliant diving save, this is Chu Jiang's performance in his debut, this is the answer sheet he handed over when he was substituted in an emergency! He completed all of this in just twenty minutes!

  Is there anything more perfect than this?