The camera’s lens remained firmly fixed on Ye Cheng.
Without a doubt, his hat-trick against the Japanese National Youth Team made him an overnight sensation.
At the same time, it also made people look forward to the next match against the Kangaroo National Youth Team.
This is the Youth Asia Cup. If the National Youth Team can qualify and then pass one more knockout round, then the National Youth Team will qualify for the World Youth Championship!
This is a very important event for Great Xia Football Association.
Any fan who understands even a little bit knows what an excellent center forward can bring to a team.
Everyone cheered Ye Cheng’s name.
For fans of Chinese football, who have been struggling at rock bottom, any emerging genius would be clutched desperately like a drowning man grasping for a straw.
Meanwhile, Ye Cheng opened the system.
He had basically understood the function of this system.
In addition to the attribute panel, the system also had a 【Skill Tree】 panel.
Many skills were currently grayed out and inactive.
The only activated skill was 【Pillar of the Penalty Area】, a typical center forward skill. After lighting it up, the three attributes of 【Strength】, 【Balance】, and 【Jumping】 each increased by 1 point.
Ye Cheng opened the attribute panel.
As expected, Strength increased from 【89】 to 【90】, and the other two attributes also improved.
In addition, this skill also came with a 【Knockdown】 skill characteristic.
Skills could also be upgraded using experience points.
And the way to obtain skills and experience was through the 【Task System】.
The Task System was divided into two parts: side quests and main quests.
Side quests were triggered randomly.
Main quests were directly related to matches, including match settlements, winning championships, and achievements for each match, all of which would yield corresponding rewards.
For example, Ye Cheng’s hat-trick comeback against the Japanese National Youth Team was part of the main quest.
In addition, there were also “Title System”, “Badge System”, etc.
Ye Cheng was thoughtful.
The 【Pillar of the Penalty Area】 skill he obtained was clearly to further strengthen his ability in the center forward position.
For a forward, characteristics are more important than anything else.
As long as there are characteristics, even if the overall ability is slightly inferior, opportunities can still be obtained – just like Ye Cheng’s header now.
In terms of overall strength, Ye Cheng was not worth mentioning.
But his heading was maxed out, which gave him great tactical value.
Evaluating the influence brought by a player is not isolated, but must be integrated into an appropriate tactical environment.
The purpose of designing tactics is sometimes also to leverage strengths and avoid weaknesses.
Therefore, for a forward, having a sufficiently long strong point is very important.
Although modern football is no longer the era where one trick can conquer the world, players with one outstanding trick are often more likely to get opportunities.
Thinking of this, Ye Cheng unhesitatingly spent 1000 experience points to upgrade 【Pillar of the Penalty Area】 to LV2.
...
【Pillar of the Penalty Area】: LV2 (0/2000) 【Max level lv5】
Skill Effect: Strength +2; Balance +2; Jumping +2; When physically colliding with an opponent, there is a 10% chance to trigger a 【Knockdown】 effect.
...
Ye Cheng closed the system.
He turned his head and glanced at Li Tie, whose face was gloomy.
Coach Li...
Next, it’s your revenge, right?
But this time...
You will definitely pay the price!
...
"...In yesterday's Asian Youth Championship group match, the China Youth Team's children, after falling behind by two goals to zero, scored three consecutive goals in the latter half of the match to reverse the Japanese National Youth Team, securing an opening victory in the Asian Youth Championship. Center forward Ye Cheng performed a header hat-trick!"
"...It is said that Ye Cheng has attracted the attention of many teams. To be able to perform a hat-trick against the Japanese National Youth Team, a top youth team at the Asian level, his strength is beyond doubt..."
The next day, media reports further amplified Ye Cheng’s fame.
Online, Ye Cheng’s name also became a hot topic on the internet.
Fans discussed enthusiastically.
"A hat-trick! Awesome!"
"How long has it been since a National Team player scored a hat-trick?"
"Who is this Ye Cheng?"
"He's so good, why didn't he start?"
"A tall center forward is always a backup..."
"Hope he can go abroad, to Europe!"
In people’s eyes, Ye Cheng had already become a rising genius player of Great Xia Football Association.
As for Li Tie, the head coach of the National Youth Team, his head was splitting now.
"What exactly is going on? This match... wasn't it supposed to be two-nil?"
On the other end of the phone, the voice of Cheng Xuyuan, the current General Manager of the Great Xia Football Association, came through.
Li Tie was sweating profusely in a hurry: "General Manager Cheng, I don't know either... This kid has such ability. If I had known, I wouldn't have recruited him into the team in the first place!"
"What do we do now? Can the next match still be controlled?"
"Yes, absolutely!" Li Tie guaranteed.
This match caused the big shots to lose money.
The next one must not go wrong.
"This kid is an unstable factor, don't let him play in the next match!" The voice on the other end said, "But... with public opinion so strong now, if he doesn't play in the next match..."
"Don't worry, this kid definitely won't be able to play in the next match. I'll arrange it." Li Tie blew on his hair, nodding and bowing.
...
On the training ground, it was the last internal scrimmage before the match against the Kangaroo Nation.
The players were divided into two groups, and without surprise, Ye Cheng was on the main team.
On the sidelines, Li Tie, with a whistle hanging around his neck, hands in his pockets, and a serious expression, occasionally blew on his hair.
He looked genuinely focused on the match.
On the field, the team’s center-back, Yang Wei, glanced at Li Tie.
Li Tie nodded slightly.
Yang Wei’s face revealed a fierce expression.
He was promoted into the National Youth Team by Li Tie himself.
He was considered Li Tie’s “direct subordinate” in the National Youth Team, and their relationship was very close.
Moreover, Li Tie also told Yang Wei that after this Asian Youth Championship, Li Tie would get a head coach position at a Chinese Super League club.
At that time, he would bring Yang Wei to join this Chinese Super League team, which had received investment from a certain real estate consortium, allowing Yang Wei to earn big money.
Just at this moment, Ye Cheng received the ball.
Yang Wei seized the opportunity and launched a fierce flying tackle, aiming for Ye Cheng’s ankle.
I want to make a name for myself!
I want to earn big money!
Yang Wei’s eyes gleamed fiercely.
As for Ye Cheng… he didn’t care at all.
So many players get injured every year.
So many players retire due to injury.
Who could blame him, Yang Wei?
Opportunities were so rare.
Having a “patron” like Li Tie, Yang Wei felt extremely lucky.
He wanted to seize the opportunity and play in the Chinese Super League!
In Yang Wei’s view, Ye Cheng, caught off guard, would definitely be brought down by this extremely fierce tackle.
In this way, Ye Cheng’s foot would be broken or crippled!
In another timeline, Yang Wei succeeded.
He caused Ye Cheng to suffer a comminuted ankle fracture, turning him into a cripple.
But now, Ye Cheng was well prepared for this.
As Yang Wei tackled him, he suddenly jumped up.
Although Yang Wei’s foot still hit his shoe, it was a mid-air collision and not enough to injure Ye Cheng.
But even so, Ye Cheng’s body was tackled sideways in the air.
On the sidelines, a hint of coldness appeared on Li Tie’s face.
Kid, don’t blame me.
If you must blame someone, blame your bad luck...
All of this happened in a flash. After seeing Ye Cheng being tackled and flying out, Li Tie picked up his whistle, ready to stop the match, and then feign concern for Ye Cheng’s injury...
However, the scene that followed stunned Li Tie.
Ye Cheng, who had rolled a few times on the ground, suddenly sprang up with a carp jump.
He stared at Yang Wei; it was this person who had kicked and broken his leg, causing his family to be ruined.
He suddenly sprinted, then leaped up, and flew-kicked towards Yang Wei, who had just stood up!
Yang Wei was somewhat smug.
He knew Ye Cheng had dodged this flying tackle.
But could he dodge it once, twice, three times, four times?
There were plenty of opportunities!
Let’s see if you can still dodge it!
Just as he got up from the ground, intending to pretend to care for his teammate and help Ye Cheng up, he saw the other party rushing towards him with bloodshot eyes.
Is he going to kill me?!
That fierce gaze made Yang Wei’s scalp tingle.
The next moment...
Bang!
A solid flying kick sent Yang Wei flying two meters away, and then he clutched his chest and fell straight to the ground.
The training ground was silent.