Blown to Ruins (Happy Holidays, Everyone!!!)

Mateo could only pass the ball back to Ferreira.

But that effectively marked the end of the attack.

Because Ferreira did not possess strong playmaking ability.

At Chelsea, he was less of an attacking midfielder than a shadow striker!

He occupied the attacking midfield position while doing a striker's job.

Exactly like Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes.

But the problem was... when you actually asked him to play as a striker, he could not shoulder the burden of leading the attack.

He could only rely on the team's system, feeding off both the midfield and the forward line.

That was why players like him usually had decent numbers, with plenty of goals and assists.

But they were never the core of an attack, nor the ones who delivered when the team needed saving.

Tactically speaking, they could only add icing to the cake.

Mateo's style of play was, fundamentally, very similar to this.

Argentinians had once called Ferreira the second Mateo.

But... the difference was that Mateo had honed and unleashed his individual ability to the absolute limit.

That was what allowed him to transform from a parasite feeding off both midfield and attack into an independent blade that provided enormous support to both.

Both operated outside the system. Players like Ferreira depended on the system and sucked its blood.

But once Mateo had grown powerful enough, he became another entity outside the system, creating the impression of two teams playing against one.

By himself, he was a team.

Lu Yang was the same kind of player. Mateo relied on dribbling and beating defenders, while Lu Yang relied on endless running and flashes of inspiration.

Mateo made several more attempts after that.

But when he realized that Lu Yang would often track back as well, he gave up on trying to