Batty Goal

Star Ability Cards allow the host to possess a specific ability of a certain star player.

When Su Dong entered the Star Ability Card section of the shop, the one that caught his eye the most was his idol, Ronaldo.

Among them, Ronaldo's ability cards were numerous, including his shooting, dribbling, and even his Pendulum Dribble.

Different Star Ability Cards represented different abilities of Ronaldo.

But this didn't mean that after obtaining an ability card, Su Dong's skills would skyrocket, because the card only granted him an ability—how effectively that ability performed depended on Su Dong's own strength.

For example, with Ronaldo's signature move, the Pendulum Dribble, how much of its effect Su Dong could unleash depended on his speed, explosiveness, ball control, agility, and ability to change pace and direction.

If these attributes were weak, then even with the Star Ability Card, Su Dong wouldn't be able to make it work.

At best, it would fool a casual observer.

Another important point was that Star Ability Cards used a tiered pricing system.

The first card cost 100,000 King of Football Points, the second cost 500,000, the third cost 1,000,000, and so on.

Additionally, at certain special moments or key milestones, the system would give extra rewards.

For instance, this time, when the Path to the King of Football upgraded to Ball Trunk, the system unlocked the shop and gifted a Star Ability Card as a bonus—kind of like a grand opening promotion.

Considering the situation with Star Ability Cards, Su Dong had to clarify his own traits and strengths, then buy cards centered around those advantages, making sure every King of Football Point was spent where it mattered most.

Once he figured that out, Su Dong started thinking it through carefully.

As things stood, his strongest attribute was speed, at 51 points, with the highest potential, while explosiveness was 46 points, with a potential of 71. Clearly, as a player, speed was his advantage.

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

Su Dong didn't think so, because he knew speed alone wasn't a winning edge.

Not to mention comparing himself to a speedster like Rony, even against Jose Semedo, Su Dong's speed wasn't dominant. In Sporting Portugal, there were plenty of fast players.

Going all-in on speed in that situation would be very unwise.

What Su Dong needed most right now was a Star Ability Card that could deliver immediate, visible results, because his goal was clear: to stay in European football.

And on the pitch, nothing was more appealing than the ability to score goals.

More importantly, Su Dong's shooting was his second-highest attribute, right after speed, at 47 points. Although its potential was only 64, with a bit of time, he could fully raise it.

There were many shooting-type Star Ability Cards too—left foot, right foot, headers—from Pele to Maradona, from Van Basten to Ronaldo... So many cards were laid out before Su Dong, each incredibly tempting.

Su Dong felt like an emperor flipping through name cards, with three thousand beauties in his harem, each a stunning woman—who should he pick?

It was a real headache.

No matter what he chose, it felt like losing millions.

But in the end, Su Dong made his decision.

Batty Goal!

The warrior Batistuta was another superstar Su Dong deeply admired. He fully embodied a kind of violent aesthetics, letting fans feel what it meant to score a thrilling goal and experience the joy of raw power creating miracles.

But Su Dong didn't choose Batty Goal just because he liked him. In fact, Batty Goal also demanded considerable physical strength, and strength was precisely Su Dong's weak point.

So why pick Batty?

As an Argentinian player, Batistuta's technique wasn't refined. He didn't have flashy dribbling or delicate skills; he was more like a heavy, unadorned iron sword.

Batty Goal's strongest points were his shots near the edge of the penalty area, his powerful strikes after shaking off defenders, and his turn-and-shoot when receiving the ball with his back to goal.

Su Dong's technique wasn't strong. Players like Ronaldo, Van Basten, and Van Nistelrooy all had excellent shooting skills, but they required solid technical foundations, even very delicate footwork, like controlling the ball.

In comparison, Batistuta's demands on technique were relatively lower.

As for lacking strength, that could be trained, and it could improve fairly quickly.

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

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

With a system message, Su Dong felt a warm current surge into his mind, quickly spreading through his whole body. A strange sensation spread, but he couldn't quite figure out what it was yet.

After redeeming the Star Ability Card, Su Dong bought a few more things in the shop.

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

These cost him over 30,000 King of Football Points, draining his entire savings.

But there was no choice—tomorrow's assessment was crucial to him, and he couldn't afford any mistakes.

King of Football Points could be earned again, especially after Rony came back; farming them wouldn't be hard.

But if he failed tomorrow's assessment, he'd have to pack up and go home.

So, he had to go into battle with full buffs.

Sporting Portugal wasn't a strong team, but it was still a club with decades of history.

The pitch and training ground were right in the heart of Lisbon, not far from the docks, Belem Tower, and the Discoverers Monument.

Tapadinha Stadium is the name of Sporting Portugal's home ground. To its west stands a gymnastics center, and to its north lies an indoor swimming pool. Between the gymnastics center and the indoor swimming pool is a small-sized pitch.

This is where Sporting Portugal's youth training takes place.

Su Dong arrived at the training ground almost right on time. By then, quite a few youth players, coaches, and parents had already gathered on the field.

This is also a characteristic of Portuguese youth training—parents place great importance on it, and every training session attracts a lot of onlookers.

Although he wasn't late, Su Dong's leisurely arrival still drew the attention of many.

This was his first time stepping onto this field in over a month, to the point where even Sporting Portugal's coaches thought he couldn't handle the hardship and had gone back to his home country early.

"Hey, Su, come over here," the head coach of the youth team, Gorba, called out from a distance.

Su Dong felt the strange looks around him, but he didn't take them to heart and walked over quickly.

"Why haven't you been coming to practice lately?" Gorba asked.

After all, he had taken the money.

"I've been practicing at the park to the north."

"By yourself?"

"Yeah."

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

It sounded more like an excuse to slack off.

He probably went traveling, Gorba thought to himself.

Still, that kind of thing didn't matter much, and it had nothing to do with Sporting Portugal anyway.

"Well then, let's see what you've achieved from your training lately," Gorba said with an encouraging smile.

But the mockery in his eyes gave him away.

Su Dong noticed it, but he didn't let it bother him.

Most people at Sporting Portugal looked down on him, and that didn't surprise him.

He silently decided that he would make them all eat their words later.

That morning, he had still gone to Edward VII Park to practice at five o'clock, and the upgraded stats, along with the effect of Batty Goal, had left him very satisfied.

Besides, he was about to enter the match with full buffs.

Although Sporting Portugal was just a small club, there were quite a few players participating in the assessment.

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

The assessment itself was simple: a scrimmage match.

The scrimmage was a full eleven-a-side game, with the youth match lasting only sixty minutes—two halves of thirty minutes each. The coaches would evaluate each player's performance from the sidelines.

Before the scrimmage, there was a series of warm-up drills. Su Dong didn't go all out, and his performance wasn't eye-catching.

For example, passing and ball control, as well as ten-meter and thirty-meter sprint shuttle runs—he performed mediocrely in these events, even exposing some shortcomings in his passing.

Portugal had many players of African descent, and the fast-twitch muscle fibers of African players made their speed and endurance outstanding. In comparison, Su Dong's speed and explosive power were indeed unremarkable.

Head coach Gorba watched coldly from the sidelines.

At first, he was somewhat curious about Su Dong, but after watching a few warm-up drills, he couldn't help shaking his head.

This was a very average player.

Since Su Dong hadn't shown up for over a month, Gorba had already forgotten how he had performed before. Otherwise, a comparison would have revealed that Su Dong had actually improved significantly.

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

It was only natural to have no impression of an average player.

Among the initial assessment drills, only a handful left any impression on Gorba.

That's how youth training worked—if a training camp produced one or two standout players a year, that was already a stroke of luck.

As for Su Dong, Gorba had already written him off and put him on the cut list.

After the warm-up, the assessment officially began.

Based on their usual performance, the coaches divided the participating players into teams.

Su Dong was placed in the weakest team, the Yellow Vest Team.

It was a team that no one had any hope for, but Su Dong didn't mind.

During the new book period, I humbly beg for tips, collections, and recommendation votes! Thank you!