Pendulum Dribble

"Beautiful!"

Dick Van Pool shouted from the sidelines.

He hadn't held any hope for Yang Yang at first, purely treating it as a desperate gamble, but he never expected that after Yang Yang came on, Baken Academy's right-side defense would stabilize, repeatedly blocking the opponent's fierce attacks.

Van Pool could fully imagine that regardless of the match's outcome, this substitution of his would earn praise from everyone after the game.

But he still severely lacked confidence in Yang Yang's ability, especially on the offensive end—his fundamentals were just too poor.

"Pass it out quickly, give it to Henk Dimer," Dick Van Pool yelled loudly.

Yet Yang Yang on the pitch seemed to have no such intention at all, nor did he hear his shout, charging forward with the ball at high speed, crossing the center line in the blink of an eye, closing in on the Omnibus left-back's defensive zone.

"Pass it now!" Van Pool was shocked.

Don't miss the opportunity, just pass it.

Although Henk Dimer had made many mistakes in this match and performed extremely poorly, he was still the team's midfield core. Even at this moment, in the minds of Van Pool and everyone else, he was still infinitely more reliable than the rookie Yang Yang.

With that preconceived notion, passing became Yang Yang's obvious and only choice.

But on the field, Yang Yang still kept his head down, dribbling toward the defender in front of him.

Over the past period, he had been training on the simplest, most basic drills, and last night in the Super Training Ground, he had specifically practiced [Ronaldo's Rush], mastering the Pendulum Dribble. Combined with several successful defensive plays after coming on, it gave him strong confidence—he longed to test his Star Skill against an opponent.

Failure? Then just hurry back on defense.

When everyone saw Yang Yang dribble past the center line, they finally confirmed he didn't want to pass—he wanted to break through.

Dick Van Pool was stunned, and even a bit reproachful. In his view, Yang Yang's dribbling breakthrough couldn't possibly succeed. In nearly a year of training, he had never shown such ability, so how could he do it on the pitch?

Not just Van Pool, but John Rep, the Dutch Middle-aged Man on the sidelines, and even many fans showed expressions of disbelief, as if to say, why not just stick to defending well? Why embarrass yourself?

If you don't have the skill, don't take on the job.

The closer he got to the defender, the calmer Yang Yang became. He slowed down slightly, but his eyes were locked onto the opponent.

Clearly, the Omnibus left-back, like everyone else, thought Yang Yang would pass, but when he didn't, it caught him off guard, leaving his positioning a bit too inward.

An opening!

Yang Yang made up his mind, continuing to dribble steadily toward the defender while silently calculating the distance in his head.

Closer, closer and closer.

The defender was experienced too, not rushing in recklessly but retreating step by step, waiting for the right moment.

But just as he backed off, he saw Yang Yang suddenly glance toward the outside, then accelerate abruptly, dropping his right shoulder with a clear deceptive arm movement—this was definitely a sign of forcing a breakthrough from the outside.

I can't let him through, even if I have to foul!

The defender, already positioned a bit inward, reacted without hesitation, charging forward to block.

But the moment he stepped in, he saw Yang Yang not breaking through from the outside as expected. Instead, a blur of movement—Yang Yang, who had been leaning right, suddenly cut the ball and changed direction, charging through the inside.

Not only was the Omnibus left-back caught off guard, but even the fans on the sidelines were stunned. In the blink of an eye, Yang Yang had used a feint to shake off the left-back, cutting inside to break through, leaving the overcommitted defender behind as he sped away.

Only then did an explosion of cheers and applause erupt from outside the pitch.

"Pendulum Dribble?!" the Dutch Middle-aged Man exclaimed.

John Rep in the Baken Academy coaching box stood up from his seat, staring in disbelief at what had just happened on the pitch. If he hadn't seen Yang Yang still charging forward with the ball, he would have thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

He had once been a famous right winger in Europe. Though he hadn't seen the breakthrough clearly, he could still piece together the whole sequence in his mind, and the name that popped into his head was the same as the Dutch Middle-aged Man's: "Pendulum Dribble!"

"What?" Dick Van Pool was startled.

You've got to be kidding me?

The Pendulum Dribble was Ronaldo's signature move. For Yang Yang to use it in a match was simply unbelievable.

"Is he really Yang Yang?" Van Pool muttered to himself in disbelief.

John Rep could only force a bitter smile, at a loss for words.

The surprises Yang Yang had brought them today were too many, almost too much to handle.

On the pitch, Yang Yang didn't stop because of everyone's shock. He quickly dribbled to the right side of the opponent's penalty area. With the left-back beaten and the midfield unable to recover in time, the left center-back had to come over to cover.

What to do next?

Everyone's eyes were fixed on Yang Yang, waiting for his next move.

The defense and breakthrough up to now were brilliant, but if he mishandled the next step, it would all be for nothing.

Baken Academy's forward was sprinting forward, while Omnibus's right-back dropped back into the box to coordinate with the right center-back. But the area to the right of the Penalty Kick spot was wide open, and Henk Dimer was charging forward from midfield, ready to enter that space.

Did Yang Yang, head down as he dribbled, see the gap?

Earlier, Henk Dimer and the others hadn't wanted to pass to him—would he be willing to pass now?

Under everyone's gaze, Yang Yang charged all the way to the right side near the end line outside the penalty area. Facing the opponent's left center-back blocking him, he first faked a cross, then suddenly stopped and cut the ball, quickly sending a backheel pass with his right foot, delivering the ball to the right of the Penalty Kick spot.

And at that moment, Henk Dimer finally reached that position. He stopped the ball with his left foot, then followed up with a low shot with his right, sending the ball into the far corner of the goal.

He saw it!

Unbelievably, he had actually seen it!

John Rep and Dick Van Pool were both stunned, unable to believe their own eyes.

Even the Dutch Middle-aged Man standing on the sidelines had a flicker of brilliance in his eyes. He hadn't expected that Yang Yang would actually spot that gap. Had he grown eyes in the back of his head?

That was certainly impossible.

The only reasonable explanation was that he had been observing all along and possessed an exceptional ability to read and anticipate the game.

BEEP!

When the Main Referee's whistle sounded, a thunderous roar of cheers erupted from all around the stadium.

It was the most fervent round of applause and cheering since the match began.

"Chinese kid, I'm starting to like you!"

"That assist was absolutely beautiful. Keep it up."

"I'm rooting for you, Chinese kid!"

Henk Dimer, the goal scorer, stood frozen in place, forgetting to celebrate his goal. The fans' cheers rang in his ears, but they weren't for him, the one who scored—they were for that waste he had always looked down on.

If this had been before, he would have been furious, even thrown a tantrum, but now he couldn't muster any anger at all.

Because this waste, whom he had always despised, had just delivered him a brilliant assist, helping him score a goal.

With this goal, everyone would forget his terrible performance in this match.

In a way, it was that Chinese guy who had saved him.

How could he possibly harbor any hatred?

Not only did he not hate him, but he even felt a bit of shame. Earlier, he had told his teammates not to pass to him.

Yang Yang's thoughts weren't that complicated.

He had indeed been dribbling with his head down just now, but [God's Perspective] gave him a complete understanding of everything happening on the pitch.

Both forwards in the penalty area were in positions unfavorable for receiving the ball; passing to them would likely result in a clearance. Instead, there was a larger gap to the right of the Penalty Kick spot, and Henk Dimer was charging forward, able to take a direct shot upon receiving the ball. So, without overthinking, he simply passed it.

To him, the grudge with Henk Dimer was an internal team conflict, but with the team trailing by two goals, it was time to set aside internal disputes, unite against the external enemy, and do everything possible to take down the opponent and secure the win first.

Of course, he hadn't forgotten Henk Dimer's humiliation of him. So, after seeing the goal, unlike his other teammates who rushed to celebrate, he quietly walked away.

But the cheers from the sidelines were almost all for him, which caught him by surprise.

With that first successful breakthrough, Yang Yang grew more confident, especially in his understanding and application of the Pendulum Dribble.

Omnibus seemed to have sensed the threat Yang Yang posed as a substitute. After conceding the goal, he immediately substituted their number one attacker, number seven, who had exhausted his stamina, and brought on a substitute player to focus more on defense.

With the pressure on the right flank eased, Yang Yang began to participate more actively in the attack.

He had always seen himself as an attacking player, only forced to defend diligently due to his position in the team.

As Yang Yang let loose, both John Rep and Dick Van Pool, as well as the Dutch Middle-aged Man on the sidelines, began to notice his movement.

No matter how the situation on the pitch changed, Yang Yang always managed to find open space. But even after his outstanding performance just now, his teammates still hadn't caught on and still weren't passing to him.

John Rep couldn't stand it from the sidelines and reminded Van Pool, "Tell them to pass more to Yang Yang. Once the right flank opens up, the middle will come alive."

Dick Van Pool's eyes lit up. Wasn't that the truth?

Hadn't it been Yang Yang's successful breakthrough on the right that created the gap in the middle, allowing Henk Dimer to seize the opportunity?

The only concern was Yang Yang's fundamentals, but at this point, they couldn't afford to worry about that.

With the Head Coach's order, everyone, even Henk Dimer, had to comply.

Yang Yang soon received a pass from the center-back and once again advanced with the ball along the right flank. But this time, the one blocking him at the halfway line was the left midfielder Omnibus had just brought on as a substitute.

Still one-on-one.

Should he try to break through again?

Yang Yang was brimming with confidence, and with the Head Coach's approval, he didn't care about anything else. He decided to go for it, consequences be damned.

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