Lin Hai Ting Tao

Chapter 496 "Magnet"

The South Korean Olympic team's ganging up and pressing strategy against Zhou Yi was intended to contain him, but it objectively caused an excessive concentration of Korean players around him, resulting in insufficient control in other areas of the field.

As long as Zhou Yi could protect the ball under such circumstances, he could attract a large number of Korean players, giving his teammates more open spaces and opportunities.

It sounds simple enough, but it's actually quite difficult to execute. Because when a player is surrounded, simply protecting the ball is already very challenging, let alone getting the ball to where it needs to go.

At this moment, the dribbling skills Zhou Yi had diligently practiced for a season came into play. Although he didn't need to dribble past opponents in this situation, practicing dribbling also involves practicing ball control. All technical movements, at their core, are about controlling the ball.

Shielding the ball is also a form of ball control.

Through dribbling training, Zhou Yi's feel for the ball improved, and he became more adept at controlling it while twisting and turning.

Even under the close pressing of one or two players, he was confident in protecting the ball. As for passing the ball after shielding it, that was the easiest thing for Zhou Yi, who possessed the "Eagle Eye" talent.

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In the sixty-sixth minute, after receiving the ball in midfield, Zhou Yi didn't immediately pass it. Instead, he faked a pass to the right, and Ki Sung-yueng, who was defending him, had to react. But Zhou Yi only feinted before shifting the ball to the left, and then dribbled past him!

Zhou Yi's dribbling breakthrough immediately turned him into a large "magnet," attracting all of the South Korean team's defensive attention.

At least two South Korean defenders lunged at him. Generally, in this situation, he should pass the ball, but Zhou Yi didn't. He continued to dribble forward, seemingly unafraid of the defenders.

At the same time, Ki Sung-yueng, who had been fooled at first, chased after him from behind, and was quickly about to sandwich him from the front and back.

Facing the three South Korean players rushing at him, Zhou Yi slowed down and dribbled toward the sideline, a clear indication that he was trying to get away. It looked like his dribbling breakthrough had been stopped by the South Korean team.

If the South Korean players could force him to the sideline, he would have much less room to maneuver, and his threat to the South Korean goal would naturally be much smaller.

Zhou Yi's deceleration and change of direction gave Ki Sung-yueng and the other South Korean players a chance to surround him. Soon he was trapped.

Now, forget about passing a killer ball. Just being able to protect the ball and prevent it from being stolen was considered impressive.

He was forced to the sideline, with his back to the attack. It seemed that this attack had reached a dead end...

Both the South Korean fans in the stands and those in front of their televisions cheered.

The South Korean commentator exclaimed, "The Chinese team's attack is bogged down! Zhou Yi should have passed the ball in time, but now he's been surrounded! If we can intercept the ball, we can take advantage of the opportunity to launch a counterattack!"

The South Korean players surrounding Zhou Yi on the field thought the same thing.

Koo Ja-cheol, the South Korean forward who had been tracking back, reached out to steal the ball at Zhou Yi's feet.

Zhou Yi, who was grappling with the South Korean player behind him, pulled the ball back with his foot, causing the pulled-back ball to hit the tip of his supporting foot, making the ball bounce up.

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While Zhou Yi was trapped, Wu Lei ran up to support him, but He Ying did the opposite—instead of supporting Zhou Yi, he broke away from Zhou Yi and ran forward.

He had seen an opening, a very large opening. He believed the South Koreans had seen it too, but they didn't care because they didn't think this opening posed any threat.

Indeed, think about it, Zhou Yi was surrounded by the opposition on the sideline, with his back to the attack. Even if there was an opening, could he pass the ball there?

Generally, what people would think to do at this time is to run to support Zhou Yi, get as close to him as possible, and help him get the ball out.

He Ying didn't do that, partly because Wu Lei was already doing it, so there was no need for him to join the fray. The other reason was that he believed in Zhou Yi. Based on his understanding of Zhou Yi, he always believed that Zhou Yi could do things that ordinary people thought impossible...

So he ran over there.

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As He Ying ran toward the opening, Zhou Yi was still "grappling" with the South Korean players surrounding him—the ball bounced up after hitting the tip of his supporting foot, and then Zhou Yi immediately juggled the ball again.

The ball was skillfully lifted, completely avoiding Koo Ja-cheol. However, this high ball would only make it more difficult for Zhou Yi to control.

So, when everyone saw the ball flying up, they all squeezed toward Zhou Yi, intending to fight for the ball.

Faced with this situation, Zhou Yi leaned back, relying heavily on Ki Sung-yueng's body. Then, using Ki Sung-yueng as a wall, he confidently leaned on Ki Sung-yueng and cushioned the falling ball with his buttocks.

The ball slowed down slightly and continued to fall. Zhou Yi shifted his body to the side, letting the ball fall.

Just as the ball fell to about knee height, Zhou Yi suddenly slammed his foot into the ball.

The struck ball didn't fly back to the backcourt, nor did it pass to Wu Lei, who was coming up to support him. Instead, it flew out of the gap in the encirclement, straight toward the back of the South Korean defense, that huge opening!

He passed the ball with his back to the field, without even turning his head!

At the same time, He Ying ran toward that spot. The coordination between the man and the ball was as smooth as flowing water, without the slightest pause, the timing was just right!

"He Ying moves forward! Eh, beautiful! Beautiful pass!" He Ping, in the commentary box, shouted excitedly.

The Chinese fans in front of the television also cheered. Almost all of them could foresee what would happen next, and this prospect excited them.

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He Ying rushed toward the ball, not even paying attention to the linesman or the referee. As long as he didn't hear the whistle, he wouldn't stop his actions.

Of course, he couldn't hear the whistle right now, because the stadium was engulfed in a huge wave of sound, with cheers from the Chinese fans and screams and boos from the South Korean fans.

Especially the boos. In the second half, the South Korean team was playing with the support of their own fans. Behind their goal was the stand where the South Korean fans were gathered, and these fans were now frantically booing, hoping to interfere with He Ying.

But who is He Ying? He is a player who won the Silver Boot in the Spanish Second Division. He is best known for his calmness and composure. No matter what the situation, he remains unusually calm as a striker.

How could such a small amount of booing affect his mind?

He answered those South Korean fans with a steady stop, and then he took the ball into the penalty area.

Facing South Korean goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong, who rushed out, He Ying feinted, fooling him, and then pushed the ball into the empty net.

The ball rolled into the goal without any suspense!

"Goal!" He Ping shouted, raising his arms. "Goal! Goal!!! The Chinese team has taken the lead again! Beautiful! He Ying!"

This goal came without any warning. Before Zhou Yi passed the ball to He Ying, everyone thought that this attack by the Chinese team had come to an end.

Unexpectedly, it turned into a goal in the end. The Chinese fans in front of the television went from shock to excitement, and many excited posts appeared on the internet.

He Ying didn't seem so excited after scoring. Although he had a smile on his face, he wasn't so excited that his face was distorted. He smiled and turned to run towards Zhou Yi, pointing at him, signaling him to come and celebrate the goal.

Before scoring, he was confident that Zhou Yi would definitely send the ball into the open space. The facts proved that Zhou Yi had not disappointed his trust. He had this feeling when he participated in the reality show filming.

It's great to have teammates who can be trusted and fought alongside.

He Ying smiled and greeted Zhou Yi, as if running towards an old friend.

The two embraced.

"Nice pass!" He Ying said, patting Zhou Yi on the back.

"Nice run!" Zhou Yi replied, patting He Ying on the shoulder.

Wu Lei then rushed up, shouting excitedly, "How did you see that and do that!"

He was asking Zhou Yi, as he had run to support Zhou Yi, his eyes were on Zhou Yi, so he saw it very clearly.

Zhou Yi never looked back from beginning to end. In fact, he couldn't have had the chance to look back. At that time, he was surrounded by South Korean players wearing red jerseys. He was almost submerged in red. Wu Lei could only worry outside, but couldn't rush in to rescue Zhou Yi.

Without looking back, he naturally couldn't know the situation behind him, didn't know there was an opening there, and even more couldn't know that He Ying would run there, but he passed the ball so decisively, in a way that no one had expected, passing the ball to the opening behind him.

When Zhou Yi passed the ball, Wu Lei was stunned - he thought Zhou Yi kicked it casually, but when his sight followed, he realized that He Ying actually appeared at the ball's landing point!

At that time, countless question marks in Wu Lei's heart converged into one sentence: "Is that even possible?!"

Zhou Yi smiled and said, "I knew He Ying would definitely run to that opening, so I passed the ball there!"

He said this with confidence, full of trust in himself and his teammates.

The other Chinese players swarmed in, surrounding them and celebrating wildly under the stands where the South Korean fans were gathered.