The Little God of War

Brazilian veteran Emerson was the defensive core of Madeira United.

He had once been a starter for a Portuguese Super League team, but as he grew older and the team was relegated, he gradually declined as well, eventually coming to Madeira United to wind down his career.

This was the fate of many professional players.

But in the end, he had once been a starter in the Portuguese Super League, a hard man who had gone toe-to-toe on the pitch with giants like Porto and Benfica. Even after coming to Madeira United and playing in the Portuguese Second Division South Group, for him it was more like punching down a level.

This was also why Madeira United could temporarily sit at the top of the table this season.

The thirty-one-year-old Brazilian veteran led a twenty-two-year-old youngster. This center-back pairing had been the best-performing combination in the Portuguese Second Division South Group this season, and the youngster Fabio Elvos had come out of Porto's youth academy.

The two had partnered for more than four months and had long since built up a good understanding. They had also done their homework before the match.

Away against Sporting Portugal, the biggest threat was undoubtedly the opponent's young center forward, Su Dong.

The seventeen-year-old was a rookie who had risen rapidly this season and secured the starting center-forward position in one stroke. This was very common in the lower leagues: players rose quickly, but fell just as fast.

Perhaps Su Dong would be like the vast majority of rookies, hyped up for a while before quickly crashing down.

After the match began, the visiting Madeira United kicked off first.

This team had been able to occupy the top spot because of their defense. Their own strength was not especially outstanding, not as good as a powerful side relegated from the Portuguese League like Olhanense, and when they played Sporting Portugal, the run of play was evenly matched.

In the opening ten minutes, neither side could do anything to the other, nor could they create any chances.

Su Dong ran very actively, but the midfield could not get the ball out, so most of the time he mainly dropped back to receive and link up passes.

That made him look not particularly threatening.

But in the thirteenth minute, after Baru on the right flank received the ball, he tried to burst forward down the right, only for the opposing left-back to be prepared and take up position in time.

Just after Baru crossed the halfway line, he pulled the ball back and passed it horizontally toward the middle.

Canelas came up from behind and, before the defender could get there, poked the ball to the left, carrying it diagonally forward, while the defender stuck close to him every step of the way, trying to force Canelas to pass back.

Su Dong prowled up front.

At first, he wanted to move over to support Baru, but when he saw Baru carry the ball past the halfway line and then pass sideways instead of accelerating, he followed him toward the middle.

The opponent's two center-backs, one old and one young, kept him sandwiched between them the entire time, giving him no easy chance to receive the ball.

But just as Canelas got to Baru's horizontal pass first and carried the ball diagonally to the left, Su Dong noticed a gesture from the two opposing center-backs.

The older center-back reached a hand behind him and beckoned to the young No. 4 center-back, while the No. 4 center-back shouted for no apparent reason.

After hearing the shout, the older center-back was clearly shifting to the left.

In an instant, a thought surfaced in Su Dong's mind.

The older center-back wanted to move the defensive line to the left while also pushing his position a little farther forward, telling the young center-back to pay attention and move with him, ensuring they could control Su Dong in time.

Almost at the same moment, Su Dong thought of a possibility.

Without almost any hesitation, he followed beside the older center-back, ran two steps to the left, and shouted toward Canelas.

As the two moved at the same time, not only was the older center-back Emerson a little surprised, the young center-back Elvos panicked even more. And after Canelas heard Su Dong's shout and reacted, he went with the flow and sent a diagonal pass into the space ahead of him.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. At the scene, almost no one even clearly knew what had happened.

They only saw that, after Su Dong shouted, he suddenly started beside Madeira United center-back Emerson, darting diagonally behind him at great speed, while Canelas also understood and delivered a diagonal pass.

The ball dropped quickly toward the left side of the penalty area, and Su Dong arrived at full speed.

Madeira United's goalkeeper was the thirty-two-year-old Brazilian veteran Adriano Facchini. He had once played for Santos and reacted extremely quickly, rushing off his line before anyone else.

Although he had yet to receive the ball, when Su Dong saw the goalkeeper come out and noticed his running route and gestures, he immediately understood the other man's intentions completely.

He wants to force me to the left along my momentum, so the No. 4 center-back can get back in front of goal in time.

This was also Su Dong's most reasonable choice at the moment, because he had been sprinting toward the left to begin with.

But after understanding the other man's intentions, a voice in his subconscious was telling Su Dong: Don't do that!

The instant he received the ball, Su Dong suddenly came to an abrupt stop. After cutting off the football with his right foot, he lightly nudged it behind him, steadied himself, and quickly turned.

This sudden change left goalkeeper Facchini badly startled.

He had originally thought Su Dong would take the ball to the left with his momentum, but he had not expected him to stop abruptly and turn.

In his panic, Facchini also came to an abrupt stop, but he was reacting in too much of a hurry. His body failed to stabilize its center of gravity in time, and he lost his balance. Su Dong had poked the ball behind him, and although it was a little heavy, after turning, he quickly chased it down and blasted a shot directly with his right foot.

The ball shot at tremendous speed into the unguarded empty net!

The No. 4 center-back Elvos had only just chased to the edge of the six-yard box and could do absolutely nothing.

"Whoa!!!!"

After scoring, Su Dong was so excited that he jumped high on the spot, clenching his right fist and pumping it hard.

He clearly realized the help that Romario's [Wolf of the Penalty Area] had brought him. It was not merely movement on the pitch, but also a keen sense for the situation, as well as the ability to guess the opponent's psychology.

The Sporting Portugal fans throughout the stadium were also cheering, and many people were shouting Su Dong's name.

Though there were only two thousand people, when they shouted in unison, the momentum was still considerable.

Su Dong charged excitedly all the way to the sideline, celebrating his goal with the fans in the stands.

One-nil!

"Beautiful!"

Like the excited Sporting Portugal fans around him, Benfica's Vieira also rose to his feet and shouted, unable to hide his excitement.

"His movement for that goal was very clever, and the way he handled it was extremely seasoned. He didn't look like a seventeen-year-old kid at all. He looked more like an old fox who had played football for decades," Vieira praised again and again.

Abel Silva kept nodding.

The goal might have looked fairly ordinary, and it was not especially spectacular, but there were a lot of details to handle. If even one part had been slightly off, the goal would have been impossible.

"He's improved again," Abel said in admiration. "Compared with the last time I watched him play, he's made very obvious progress again. This kid seems to improve with almost every match. Every time, he surprises you."

Vieira nodded.

Before this, he had only watched Su Dong's performances on video, but the image quality had been painfully bad, and there was a sense of distance. Now, watching him live, he had truly been swept up in it.

He was 1.90 meters tall, yet when he charged forward, he was still so fast. He was practically like a supersonic tank.

Especially that final furious shot. It was too powerful, too exhilarating!

In Vieira's memory, he had only seen this kind of shooting from one superstar: the God of War, Batistuta.

"No wonder they all call him the Little God of War!" Vieira said with a laugh.

But Abel smiled wryly and shook his head. "He doesn't seem to like that nickname."

"Oh? Why?"

"He thinks he isn't little."

Vieira froze for a moment, then reacted and burst into laughter. "What an ambitious kid. I like him!"

After Su Dong opened the scoring, Madeira United began to launch a counterattack.

Sporting Portugal had a one-goal lead, so when they saw their opponents come surging back, they naturally switched to playing more steadily.

The situation changed once again.

Su Dong still stayed right at the front. The opposition was clearly more wary of him than they had been at the start, with the two center-backs sticking to him every step of the way, giving him no chance at all.

Even on the few occasions when Su Dong found space, after he got the ball, there were no teammates around him keeping up in time. That made it very hard for him to create a threat, and he seemed somewhat isolated.

Anyone could see that Su Dong's ability had already surpassed that of the teammates around him. Sporting Portugal's players clearly could no longer keep up with Su Dong's pace, and this made everyone in the stands feel Su Dong's progress even more strongly.

One had to remember that just a few months ago, Su Dong had still been struggling bitterly in this team. But now, he already stood head and shoulders above the rest.

If this continued, what heights could he reach?

As the saying went, a thief might steal for a thousand days, but who could guard against a thief for a thousand days?

As Su Dong constantly tried to look for opportunities, Madeira United eventually could not hold him off.

Not long after the start of the second half, Madeira United tried to launch a fast attack, but Sporting Portugal goalkeeper Matello decisively left his line. After plucking the ball out of the air, he suddenly drove a huge kick straight into the front field.

Su Dong keenly read Matello's intention. At the moment the long pass was made, his positioning was almost level with Elvos.

The two started at the same time, but Su Dong was faster.

When Elvos stretched out a hand and tried to pull Su Dong back, he discovered that his opponent had already sped away.

Having successfully beaten the offside trap, Su Dong caught up with the ball outside the penalty area. With his right foot, he stopped it, knocking it ahead of him.

Goalkeeper Faccini came out to the edge of the six-yard box. Facing Su Dong as he advanced with the ball, he kept guessing at the other man's intention.

Su Dong suddenly dipped his left shoulder, looking as if he was about to pull the ball to the left. Just as he tricked Faccini into turning sideways to block, his left foot knocked the ball back to the right, and his right foot followed through with another furious shot.

Batty Goal!

The ball was blasted into Madeira United's goal once again at tremendous speed.

Once more inside the opposition penalty area, Su Dong raised his clenched right fist high, turned toward his teammates sprinting over, and let out a lion-like roar, venting the excitement in his heart.

At that moment, in the stands, Belenenses Technical Director Carlos had also risen to his feet in excitement.

"Sign him! You have to sign him for me!"

After a pause, he seemed afraid something might change, and turned to look at Figueiredo. "Go find Gorba right now. Tell him we want to sign Su Dong."

But he still felt uneasy.

"No, that still won't do. I'll go myself."

With that, he left his seat.

Collecting suggestions for Star Ability Cards. Please put your heads together. Using peak Ibrahimovic + Adriano as the template, what other star abilities do you think the protagonist still needs? Feel free to leave comments. Thank you!