One Man Blows Up an Entire Defense Line

On the sidelines, the coaching staff, including assistant coach Branca, were impressed by Lin Quan's brilliant breakthrough just now.

Especially the way he dribbled past his opponent, which was strikingly similar to Messi, prompting them to discuss it eagerly.

"That move really looked like Messi!"

"Yeah, he maximized the power of that quick shift and drag!"

"Raphinha made the right choice—if he hadn't moved laterally, the opponent would have blown past him on the left!"

"Exactly, Lin Quan's feint was too convincing. That shoulder drop combined with the shift in his center of gravity was incredibly deceptive. Not just inexperienced young players, even seasoned veterans could easily be fooled!"

"To defend against Messi, you can't be tricked by his feints; you need strong anticipation to have any chance of stopping him one-on-one!"

They chatted enthusiastically, but as the conversation went on, it drifted from Lin Quan to Messi.

Lin Quan's dribbling move just now was actually a fairly common technique—plenty of players could do it.

But to execute it as well as Messi, with that level of deception, there were only a handful in the entire football world who could pull it off!

In the coaching staff's eyes, Lin Quan's move was almost exactly like Messi's, at least seventy to eighty percent of his ability.

"Heh, Messi's influence on young players is huge. Not just in the youth team—across the entire La Masia Youth Academy, there are tons of kids imitating his style!"

"Yeah, there are a lot of Messi imitators, not just at La Masia, but a wave of Messi copycats has sprung up worldwide."

"You know, recently a lot of young players from different countries have joined La Masia, and when they come in, they all have almost the same nicknames—Japanese Messi, Korean Messi, stuff like that."

One coach in charge of youth development said with a smile:

"If these Messis from various countries could reach seventy to eighty percent of his level, they'd already be superstars!"

"Haha, that's impossible. There's only one Messi in this world; no one can reach his heights!"

Messi was a product of La Masia, and many of the coaches present had trained him before, leaving a deep impression.

His unique playing style was built on his extraordinary talent—only someone with that gift could pull it off.

Without Messi's natural ability, no one else could truly replicate it.

That was precisely why Lin Quan's breakthrough caught the coaches' attention.

Many people imitated Messi, but very few did it so convincingly that it felt like Messi himself was on the pitch.

The match continued. After successfully getting past Raphinha, Lin Quan was now approaching the edge of the penalty area.

The main team's center-back, Baniak, didn't dare let him get any closer to the box, so he immediately stepped up, positioned himself on the inside, and forced Lin Quan toward the byline, preventing him from cutting inside for a shot or pass.

Inside the penalty area, there was only one attacking player from the substitute team, but three defenders.

Plus, the substitute team's striker was only 175 cm tall, while the defenders marking him were all over 180 cm.

If Lin Quan was forced all the way to the byline, his cross would likely be harmless and easily cleared by the defenders.

He didn't want to waste this opportunity, so he immediately dribbled toward Baniak while scanning for nearby teammates, making a motion as if to pass.

This move earned praise from several coaches on the sidelines:

"Lin plays smart. He knows his ability to shake off defenders isn't strong, so he can't hold the ball too long and needs to pass quickly."

"Right, the main team's defensive midfielder isn't far from him and is already closing in from behind. If he delays his pass, he might get double-teamed and lose the ball."

"But it looks like the substitute team's players are a step slow—there's no one nearby to support him. Baniak and the other defender covering have blocked his passing lane to the striker."

"It seems like his only option is to pass back, but if he does, this attacking chance is wasted!"

"Passing back wastes the opportunity; not passing back likely means losing the ball and giving up a counterattack. Relatively speaking, passing back is the better choice!"

"Heh, why are you all so conservative? He just made a brilliant breakthrough—why not do it again?"

A younger coach clearly had a different view. Compared to the others' caution, he was more aggressive.

If Lin Quan could successfully get past Baniak, he'd create a two-on-two situation. Then the remaining two defenders would have to split off to intercept him.

That would break the double-team on the substitute team's striker.

At that point, he could either take the shot himself or pass to the striker, giving him more options.

"So, what will he choose?"

The coaches were all curious about Lin Quan's decision!

Lin Quan chose to go for the breakthrough!

Although Baniak was a young player born in 1995, his defensive experience was solid.

He didn't lock his position or recklessly charge in. Instead, he held his ground, kept a proper distance, and slowly retreated, forcing the attacker to slow down.

The distance wasn't too far—if the opponent tried to shoot, the defender could stretch out a leg to disrupt or block when the attacker adjusted his stride.

This made it highly likely the ball would be deflected.

Moreover, if the attacking player fell into his rhythm and was forced to decelerate, his threat would drop significantly.

Without speed advantage, getting past a stationary defender was tough.

And with the other defenders sprinting back at full speed, once the attacker slowed down, he'd be caught immediately.

So Lin Quan couldn't fall into the trap—he couldn't slow down, and he definitely couldn't stop.

To deal with a defender like Baniak who drops back, Messi has a useful trick in his arsenal: the fake shot followed by a change of direction.

Taking advantage of Baniak lifting his left foot to retreat, Lin Quan nudged the ball to the right.

This move reminded the coaches on the sidelines of his earlier breakthrough, and they thought he was about to repeat the same tactic.

"Oh no, a mistake—he pushed the ball too far!"

Seeing the ball roll a bit too far, the coaches felt a pang of regret.

At that distance, the defender could intercept directly.

Sure enough, spotting what looked like a 'mistake,' Baniak immediately extended his raised left foot to poke the ball away.

But just as he thought he'd reach it first, a foot struck the ball faster, knocking it to the other side.

Baniak stared in disbelief—how did he do that?

Could it be that the mistake wasn't a mistake at all, but a trap aimed at him?

After touching the ball twice in rapid succession with his right foot, Lin Quan's left instep lightly sliced across it.

The ball came to Baniak's right side, but with his left foot still in the air, he couldn't move his right foot at all. He could only watch as Lin Quan used his left instep to knock the ball again, changing its direction, and it rolled forward.

Lin Quan slipped past Baniak, glanced up to assess the defenders' positions, and decisively took a shot.

The shot was so sudden that the two defenders behind couldn't close in, and the goalkeeper didn't expect him to create an angle for the strike.

By the time the keeper saw Lin Quan's shot and dove to save it, it was too late.

The ball, not particularly fast, flew into the top-right corner of the goal, grazing the junction of the crossbar and post before nestling into the net.

It was a theoretical dead angle—even if the goalkeeper had been ready, saving it would have been extremely difficult.

The score on the field became 1-0, and the substitute team had actually taken the lead.

After a moment of stunned silence, the substitute players swarmed Lin Quan like madmen.

Startled, Lin Quan tried to flee, but there was no escape!

He was tackled by a crowd of substitutes, buried beneath them as they piled on.

The main team players stood with their hands on their hips, expressions complicated.

They had watched Lin Quan's entire run from the sideline to breaking into the box and scoring. Aside from central midfielder Raphinha, who might have been caught off guard and easily beaten, none of the other players had made a mistake.

Yet he had scored an unreasonable goal, leaving them unable to even blame their teammates.

Back in his office, Enrique, who had retrieved the files, was studying which team to send Lin Quan to, completely unaware of what was happening on the pitch.

Please vote for recommendation tickets, thank you all!