Wolf of the Penalty Area

In a soccer match, each player had the ball for an average of only three minutes. So the most important thing was: what did you do during the eighty-seven minutes when you didn't have possession? That determined whether you could become a good player.

This was a classic saying from Barcelona godfather Cruyff, and everyone in the soccer industry treated it as gospel.

There was only one ball, but twenty-two players. What to do without the ball was far more important than anyone imagined.

It could be said that no head coach, no team, was willing to accept a player who contributed nothing without the ball, even if that person was a super genius once he got it.

Su Dong had a very clear understanding of his own strength.

Right now, his ability on the ball was on the weak side. Without the ball, he was willing to throw himself into the match actively, and his stamina was decent, too. His endurance had reached 61 points, barely climbing over the passing line for a professional player.

For a seventeen-year-old player, that was already quite good.

Under these circumstances, rather than pursuing improvements to his on-ball ability, he might as well raise his performance without the ball.

For example, movement.

The ability card Su Dong had set his sights on came from Brazilian superstar Romario.

Wolf of the Penalty Area!

If the ability Batty Goal had given Su Dong Batistuta's nose for Shooting and the ability to receive the ball with his back to goal, turn, and shoot, then Romario's Wolf of the Penalty Area was an improvement to his instincts for movement.

Like a starving wolf that hadn't eaten meat in a long time, its eyes were bloodred and filled with hunger.

Someone once said that Romario's greatest skill was scoring goals, but he was very lazy.

How lazy?

So lazy that after playing a match, when the players' running distances were calculated, he was only a little higher than the goalkeeper. You might even wonder whether he had broken a sweat at all. Or had he merely been taking a leisurely cruise around the pitch?

The media had once accused Romario of being outrageously lazy. "Even if you held a knife to his neck, don't expect him to obediently listen and take a few more steps on the pitch, even if those few extra steps might very well let him score one more goal."

There were two meanings to that. First, Romario was lazy, extremely lazy.

Second, his efficiency was incredibly high.

A few extra steps might mean one more goal. From that alone, one could see Romario's astonishing efficiency in off-ball movement.

Looking back over Romario's career, perhaps most people remembered that he scored goals as easily as cutting grass. Some should also remember his dribbling breakthroughs, or else worship the various world-class moves at his feet...

But the nickname the Brazilian superstar was universally recognized by was: Lone Wolf!

A lone wolf in the wind.

His eyes seemed able to see through everything. He could catch the thoughts of defenders and goalkeepers, see into their minds, and then use his rock-solid individual ability to toy with them as he pleased.

Perhaps for him, this was too easy, so he often disdained doing it.

That was why he looked lazy.

But when he got serious, he was absolutely the most terrifying and deadly killer in the world.

Under these circumstances, nothing suited Su Dong better than Romario's [Wolf of the Penalty Area].

A hardworking version of Romario!

Just thinking about it filled Su Dong with anticipation.

With that thought, he no longer hesitated and directly exchanged for [Wolf of the Penalty Area].

"Congratulations, you have obtained the Star Ability Card [Wolf of the Penalty Area]!"

At the same time as the system sent him a message notification, Su Dong felt as if his entire body were bathing in a warm current. It shot straight from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, finally gathering in his mind, and a tingling, numbing sensation quickly spread through his whole body.

When Su Dong opened his eyes again, he found that the world seemed no different from before, yet also seemed a little different.

As for exactly what was going on, he could not figure it out for the time being.

"What happened?"

Seeing Su Dong keep his eyes closed in rest for a long while, then suddenly open them and look around, Rony was somewhat surprised.

Su Dong shook his head. This was the deepest secret in his heart; of course he would not tell anyone.

"I was thinking that even if I went to Sporting Lisbon, I still wouldn't be able to be teammates with you," Su Dong said with a smile.

During this past stretch of time, Rony had said plenty of good things about Sporting Lisbon in front of Su Dong.

For example, he had praised Sporting Lisbon more than once for being good at developing young players, and for being willing to invest resources as well. That was what had allowed Sporting Lisbon's first team to produce so many talents over the past few years.

From Figo to Simão, from Quaresma and Marcelino to Rony, they were all quite outstanding players.

Of course, they all shared one trait: the flanks.

Unlike Benfica, who only shouted slogans, Sporting Lisbon was also poor as a church mouse, but when it came to cultivating young players, they truly spared no effort. Players like Quaresma, Marcelino, and Viana had all appeared for the first team.

Rony was getting closer and closer to the first team. If Su Dong joined Sporting Lisbon at this point, then they definitely would not be teammates.

"What's the big deal?" Rony still very much hoped Su Dong could come to the team he played for and fight side by side with him. "With your strength, and your rate of improvement, I believe it won't be long before you can make the first team too. Then wouldn't we be teammates?"

But Su Dong still shook his head. "But I don't really want to be teammates with you."

"What do you mean?" Rony jumped up at once.

"I want to become your opponent!" Su Dong pointed at Rony provocatively and laughed.

"Just you?" Rony threw back his head and laughed, shaking his head with a look of utter disdain.

Su Dong wore the expression of a man of few words and ruthless intent. He did not answer. He simply pointed across at the pitch, as if to say, Cut the crap. Let's get started.

The weekend came again, and more than two thousand Sporting Portugal fans sat in the stands on both sides of Tapadinha Stadium.

Part of it was because the team had been in good form lately, drawing more fans to the ground. More importantly, though, today's opponent was Madeira United, the team from the Madeira Islands currently sitting top of the Portuguese Second Division South Group.

The team might not have been famous, but it carried the name of the Madeira Islands, shared the same stadium as Portuguese Super League powerhouse Maritimo, and had always been one of the toughest strong teams in the Portuguese Second Division South Group.

Whether it was earlier against Maritimo's reserve team or later against Olhanense, Sporting Portugal's results against strong opponents had been far from ideal, but that did not stop the fans from placing high hopes on this match.

Mendes's recent business focus had been in Lisbon. As Su Dong's agent, whenever he had time, he would appear in the stands to watch Su Dong's matches and keep a close eye on the progress of this Chinese player.

Sitting beside him was his partner, Jorge Manuel.

Watching Sporting Portugal fans continue to arrive in the stands, the two of them could not help but feel disappointed.

Even though attendance was already quite high, it was still only around two thousand people. Compared with those Portuguese Super League powerhouses, it was not even a fraction.

This was the bottleneck of a lower-division team.

"He still has to join the Portuguese Super League as soon as possible. This place, and this league, can't satisfy him anymore," Mendes murmured to himself.

Just then, Manuel beside him gently nudged him and pointed into the distance.

Mendes followed his gesture and looked over, only to discover two familiar figures.

"Belenenses' Technical Director, Jorge Carlos, and Figueiredo, the scout specifically in charge of the Lisbon area. Both of them showing up at the same time means Belenenses are starting to get anxious too," Manuel said with a smile.

Mendes smiled and nodded. "I said before that once they saw us accept Benfica's invitation and go watch a match, it would be strange if they didn't get anxious. Now it seems their efficiency has improved a lot."

Generally speaking, when a Technical Director and a dedicated scout both came to the scene to inspect a player, that basically meant it was already the final step.

As long as nothing unexpected happened, they would start taking concrete action next.

"Look across the way."

At Manuel's reminder, Mendes noticed the opposite stand.

It was a little far away, but he could still make out clearly that two people Mendes knew very well were sitting there.

Benfica executive Vieira and scout Abel Silva.

"Of Lisbon's three strong teams, two have shown signs of impatience. Among the fans here today, there must be scouts from other clubs too, like Setúbal, Maritimo, Leiria, maybe even Porto."

All of a sudden, Manuel felt a ridiculous, unbelievable sensation.

In just a few short months, Su Dong had gone from an unknown young player on a lower-division team to a coveted prospect attracting the attention and favor of many strong teams in Portugal. The change had really been too fast.

"This is professional football, Jorge," Mendes said with a laugh. "To put it bluntly, competition in football is competition for talent, and also competition of capital."

Su Dong's transfer fee was not high right now, but the potential he had shown was astonishing, especially the speed of his improvement.

"A one-meter-ninety center forward with speed no worse than shorter players, plus skilled footwork. Players like that are extremely rare. If he really keeps developing like this, what do you think he'll turn into?"

No one could answer Mendes's question, but...

"I'm very much looking forward to it," Manuel said.

"So am I."

Su Dong knew there were plenty of people from other teams in the stands who had specifically come to scout him.

Before the match, head coach Gorba had specifically reminded him to give everything he had.

To him, this was no different from an exam.

After thinking it over for a long time, Su Dong entered the system shop and exchanged for four potions in one go.

The Swiftness Potion to increase speed, the Energy Potion to improve stamina, the Titan Potion to boost strength in physical contests, and the Troll Blood Potion, unlocked in the shop after he upgraded to Ball Three, which could speed up a player's physical recovery for two hours.

Su Dong had used it before. Both Bull Drink and Troll Blood Potion could speed up stamina recovery, but the former worked during rest periods, while the Troll Blood Potion could take effect during matches and training.

That was what made the Troll Blood Potion so valuable, and also why it sold for such a high price.

After drinking all four potions and going into battle fully buffed, Su Dong felt much more confident.

He was also looking forward to trying it out in the match. Just how much power would Romario's [Wolf of the Penalty Area] unleash when paired with Batistuta's [Batty Goal]?

I saw everyone in the comments discussing height, so let me explain. In my setting, the protagonist's peak should be a devilish fusion of Ibrahimovic and Adriano, and he's also very fast. Just imagine that beautiful picture...