Batty Goal

A Star Ability Card allowed its host to gain one particular ability of a certain star player.

Among the Star Ability Cards in the Shop, the one that attracted Su Dong most was that of his idol, Ronaldo.

Ronaldo had many ability cards, including his shooting, dribbling past defenders, and even his Pendulum Dribble.

Different Star Ability Cards represented different abilities of Ronaldo.

However, possessing an ability card did not mean that Su Dong's abilities would improve by leaps and bounds. An ability card merely granted him an ability, while the level of its effectiveness depended on Su Dong's own strength.

For example, after obtaining Ronaldo's signature Pendulum Dribble, how much of its effect Su Dong could bring out depended on his speed, Explosive Power, dribbling, agility, and ability to change speed and direction.

If all those abilities were weak, then even with the Star Ability Card, Su Dong would still be unable to use it effectively.

At most, he could bluff some laymen.

There was another very important point: Star Ability Cards were charged for on a tiered basis.

The first Star Ability Card cost 100,000 King of Football Points, but the second cost 500,000, and the third cost 1,000,000. The price continued to rise from there.

In addition, the system would provide extra rewards at certain special moments or important milestones.

For example, this time, when Path to the King of Football upgraded to Ball Trunk, the system opened the Shop and gave him a Star Ability Card as an extra reward. It was somewhat like a grand opening promotion.

Taking the circumstances of the Star Ability Cards into account, Su Dong had to clearly identify his own characteristics and strengths, then purchase Star Ability Cards around those strengths, making sure to use every King of Football Point where it mattered most.

After thinking it through, Su Dong immediately began to consider the matter carefully.

At present, his strongest attribute was speed, which had reached 51 points. It also had the highest potential, while his Explosive Power stood at 46 points, with a potential of 71. Clearly, as a player, speed was his strength.

But should he choose a speed-based Star Ability Card?

Su Dong did not think so, because he knew very well that speed was not his advantage.

Not to mention comparing himself with a player as fast as Rony, even Jose Semedo was faster than him. Sporting Portugal was hardly short of players with excellent speed.

Trying to compete through speed under those circumstances would be extremely unwise.

What Su Dong needed most now was a Star Ability Card that could produce an immediate and obvious effect. His goal was very clear: to remain in European football.

And on a football pitch, no ability was more attractive than scoring goals.

More importantly, shooting was Su Dong's second-highest attribute after speed, reaching 47 points. Though its potential was only 64, with enough time, he could raise that potential completely.

There were many shooting-related Star Ability Cards: left-footed shooting, right-footed shooting, Heading. From Pele to Maradona, from Van Basten to Ronaldo... There were far too many attractive Star Ability Cards before Su Dong.

Su Dong now felt like an emperor choosing a consort. With three thousand beauties in the harem, each one an unmatched beauty, whom should he choose?

It was truly a headache.

No matter how he chose, it felt as if he would be losing several million.

In the end, however, Su Dong still made his choice.

Batty Goal!

Batistuta, the God of War, was also a superstar Su Dong liked very, very much. He fully embodied a kind of violent aesthetic, making fans feel the exhilaration of scoring goals with abandon and experience the thrill of turning sheer power into miracles.

But Su Dong's reason for choosing Batty Goal was not merely that he liked it. Batty Goal also placed considerable demands on physical strength, and strength happened to be Su Dong's weakness.

Then why choose Batistuta?

As an Argentinian player, Batistuta's technique was not delicate. He had no flashy dribbling moves and no particularly intricate skills. He was more like a massive iron sword—simple, powerful, and without ornament.

Batty Goal's greatest strength lay in his powerful shots near the edge of the penalty area, his thunderous strikes after shrugging off defenders, and his turning shots after receiving the ball with his back to goal.

Su Dong's technique was not strong. The shooting techniques of Ronaldo, Van Basten, Van Nistelrooy, and the others were all extremely polished, but they required a very solid technical foundation, even delicate footwork, such as controlling the ball.

By comparison, Batistuta's technique placed relatively lower demands on the player.

As for lacking strength, that was not impossible to train. In fact, strength could be improved rather quickly.

Once he understood this, Su Dong stopped hesitating and directly chose the Star Ability Card [Batty Goal].

"Congratulations! You have obtained the Star Ability Card [Batty Goal]!"

As a system message appeared, Su Dong felt a warm current surge into his mind before rapidly spreading throughout his body. A very special sensation spread through him, but he could not yet figure out exactly what it was.

After exchanging for the Star Ability Card, Su Dong bought some other things in the Shop.

Several bottles of Bull Drink, a breakfast, a bottle of Titan Concoction, a bottle of Energy Concoction, and a bottle of Swiftness Concoction.

All of that cost him more than 30,000 King of Football Points, consuming his entire fortune.

But there was nothing he could do. Tomorrow's assessment was critically important to him, and he could not afford to fail.

Once his King of Football Points were gone, he could earn more, especially after Rony returned. Farming them would not be difficult.

But if he failed tomorrow's assessment, he could only pack up and go home.

So he had no choice but to fight with every buff active.

Sporting Portugal was not a strong team, but it was still a veteran club with several decades of history.

Its stadium and training grounds were located in the heart of Lisbon, not far from the harbor, Belem Tower, and the Discoverers Monument.

Tapadinha Stadium was the name of Sporting Portugal's home ground. A gymnastics center stood to the west, while an indoor swimming pool lay to the north. Between the two was a small-sized pitch.

This was Sporting Portugal's youth training ground.

Su Dong arrived at the training ground almost exactly on time. By then, quite a few Youth Team players, coaches, and parents had already gathered there.

That was also a characteristic of Portuguese youth football: parents took it extremely seriously, and every training session attracted many people.

Although he was not late, Su Dong's belated arrival still attracted quite a bit of attention.

It was his first time setting foot on this pitch in more than a month, to the point that even Sporting Portugal's coaches had assumed he could not endure the hardship and had returned to China early.

"Hey, Su, come over here." Gorba, the Youth Team's head coach, called out to him from a distance.

Su Dong sensed the strange looks around him, but paid them no mind and walked over quickly.

"Why haven't you come to training recently?" Gorba asked.

After all, he had been paid.

"I've been training in the park to the north."

"By yourself?"

"Yeah."

Gorba stared suspiciously at Su Dong for a while, clearly not believing him.

It sounded more like an excuse for slacking off.

He probably went sightseeing, Gorba thought.

But that sort of thing was not important, nor did it have anything to do with Sporting Portugal.

"Then let us see the results of your training later," Gorba said with an encouraging smile.

But the mockery in his eyes gave him away.

Su Dong noticed it but did not take it to heart.

Most people at Sporting Portugal looked down on him. That did not surprise him.

He secretly decided that he would make every one of them gasp in astonishment later.

That morning, he had once again gone to Edward VII Park Stadium to train at five in the morning. His upgraded abilities and the effect of Batty Goal had left him extremely satisfied.

Moreover, he would be taking part in the match with every buff active.

Although Sporting Portugal was only a small club, quite a few players had come for the assessment.

Most were players from summer camps and training classes, along with victims like Su Dong.

The assessment itself was very simple: a scrimmage.

The scrimmage was played eleven against eleven. The Youth Team match lasted only sixty minutes, thirty minutes per half, while the coaches evaluated every player's performance from the sidelines.

Before the scrimmage, they went through a series of warm-up exercises. Su Dong did not give his all, and his performance was not eye-catching.

For example, in passing and ball control, as well as the ten-meter and thirty-meter sprint shuttle runs, he performed rather ordinarily. He even revealed some deficiencies in his passing.

Portugal had many African-descended players, and the fast-twitch muscle fibers of African players made their speed and stamina particularly outstanding. By comparison, Su Dong's speed and Explosive Power were indeed nothing special.

Head coach Gorba watched coldly from the sidelines.

At first, he had been somewhat curious about Su Dong, but after watching several warm-up exercises, he could not help shaking his head.

This was a very mediocre player.

Because Su Dong had not reported to the team for more than a month, Gorba had already forgotten what his performance had originally been like. Otherwise, by comparing the two, he would certainly have noticed that Su Dong had actually improved tremendously.

But now, Gorba had only one impression: utterly ordinary.

It was only natural not to remember a mediocre player.

Among the first few assessment events, only a handful managed to leave an impression on Gorba.

That was youth training for you. If a youth academy produced one or two players a year, that was already something to be thankful for.

Su Dong, meanwhile, had been sentenced to death by Gorba from the very beginning and placed on the list of players to be cut.

After the warm-ups ended, the assessment officially began.

Based on their usual performances, the coaches divided the participating players into groups.

Su Dong was assigned to the weakest team, the Yellow Vest Team.

It was a team that inspired no hope whatsoever, but Su Dong did not care.