Croqueta, So Delicious (Seeking Collection and Recommendation)

"Croqueta!"

"Iniesta!"

"My god, am I seeing this right?"

Not only did Koeman, the head coach on the sidelines, instinctively cover his forehead with his hand, but even the players on the pitch were stunned.

Especially those who had once fought side-by-side with Iniesta; their eyes were filled with shock.

The "Croqueta" dribbling move, which treats a player's two legs like chopsticks and the football like a meatball, is a very vivid description of the technique, as if one were flipping a meatball with chopsticks.

Many players have used this way of dribbling; in fact, it is just a very concise and practical two-footed maneuver, using the left and right feet to coordinate, utilizing speed and narrow gaps to bypass the opponent.

But for such a simple dribbling move, it requires an excellent feel for the ball, and only after tens of millions of repetitions to build muscle memory can one use this ability with such proficiency.

Yet Li Mingyu's execution was exactly like the Iniesta everyone remembered—without a trace of effort, flowing like clouds and water, as if he were simply walking down a morning street as he bypassed Umtiti.

Umtiti felt a chill in his crotch and hurriedly pulled his right leg back, but while his brain registered the move, his body couldn't keep up, and so, Umtiti simply sat down on the ground.

Well, in his first touch of the game, Li Mingyu had bypassed three people, brushing past one and shaking off two; the entire Barca substitute lineup was thrown into disarray by Li Mingyu alone.

After passing Umtiti, Li Mingyu faced the goalkeeper directly; the three-man defensive line had failed to stop him, and the other defenders were left staring in a daze, unable to recover in time.

Neto, the substitute goalkeeper, felt as if he were facing a formidable enemy; the Huesca goalkeeper had left a deep impression on him yesterday.

Li Mingyu, who had descended like a divine soldier, quickly arrived near the edge of the penalty area, and Neto couldn't just stand in the goal waiting for his doom, so he had to bite the bullet and come out to narrow the shooting angle.

Li Mingyu's right foot brushed lightly over the ball, and Neto couldn't help but shift his center of gravity, only to immediately realize that Li Mingyu's move was a feint.

Damn it!

Li Mingyu used the Pendulum Dribble again; Neto actually knew in his heart that it was a fake, but his body simply wouldn't listen to his brain's commands.

Brain: Don't move, it's a damn fake!

Body: I know, but I can't control myself!

Neto let out a miserable cry in his heart and sat down on the ground, watching as Li Mingyu gracefully glided past him and tapped the ball into the empty net.

What a terrifying guy!

After scoring, Li Mingyu hurriedly turned back and reached out to pull Neto up, a shy look on his face as he said, "Sorry!"

Damn, why does this feel so heartbreaking?

Neto could only squeeze out a bitter smile and reply, "It's fine!"

On the sidelines, Koeman was beaming like a flower. Haha, this Li, he actually kept this trick up his sleeve, I like it.

Messi, from the substitute lineup, also ran over, looking at Li Mingyu with pleasant surprise, and said, "Li, I didn't expect you to know the Croqueta, impressive!"

In fact, Messi could also perform this move, and quite skillfully at that, but compared to Iniesta, it felt like it lacked that ethereal quality.

To describe it in the language of martial arts, Iniesta's Croqueta had reached the realm of perfection.

Having received praise from his idol, Li Mingyu was grinning from ear to ear, scratching his head as he said, "I don't know, it just happened!"

That was a classic humble-brag!

The training match restarted.

In today's training match, the substitute defensive line suffered heavy pressure from Li Mingyu, and due to the concerted efforts of the defense, Li Mingyu no longer had that unstoppable momentum.

But with all the defensive focus on Li Mingyu, Griezmann and Dembele were having a field day, drawing their bows and firing arrows, kicking and heading the ball until the substitute goalkeeper Neto was practically in tears.

Damn it, are you guys targeting me?

Are these two not being marked at all? It's all one-on-ones!

After the training match ended, head coach Koeman gave the substitute defensive line a severe tongue-lashing.

At this point, all the players saw the true prowess of Li Mingyu.

This was Barca, after all; even the substitute lineup could go head-to-head with the starting lineups of some other teams.

Yet, under Li Mingyu's impact, they were helpless.

After criticizing the substitute lineup, Koeman did not heap excessive praise on Li Mingyu, merely patting him on the shoulder as a sign of encouragement.

Young man, you can't praise them too much, or they'll get carried away!

Messi watched the high-spirited Li Mingyu, his heart filled with excitement.

In truth, Messi already had thoughts of leaving Barca; he watched as Barca stepped into a quagmire, and he himself slowly transformed from Barca's darling and savior into Barca's tumor.

If Messi wasn't sold, Barca couldn't rebuild.

Such rhetoric was rampant, which caused Messi great pain.

Since he was 13, Messi had held an unknown wish in his heart: to end his career at Barca.

It could be said that without Barca, there would be no successful Messi today.

But Li Mingyu's sudden emergence ignited a thick hope in Messi's heart once again.

Perhaps, he could give it one more shot.

He could be like Ronaldinho back in the day, willing to play the supporting role.

However, the prerequisite was that Li Mingyu had to demonstrate strength convincing enough to win him over.

In Messi's eyes, Li Mingyu's current skills were simply not enough.

After training ended, everyone left the training base one after another, but only Li Mingyu stayed behind in silence.

This was because he lived in the dormitory behind the training base.

Once everyone had departed, Li Mingyu went to the gym and began his specialized training.

Host: Li Mingyu

Attacking Ability: 80 (85)

Ball Control: 80 (85)

Dribbling: 75 (90)

Speed: 88 (99)

Shooting: 85 (90)

Passing: 70 (75)

Heading: 70 (75)

Explosive Power: 80 (85)

Strength: 75 (80)

Physicality: 70 (80)

Stamina: 70 (75)

Defensive Ability: 40 (50)

Tackling: 50 (60)

Looking at his attribute panel, a faint smile appeared on Li Mingyu's face.

With these attributes, he should be considered above average among the forwards in La Liga.

His greatest advantage was his speed; although he possessed Ronaldo's Absolute Speed, his current physical condition could not fully unleash the speed of this "Alien," requiring a massive amount of training to bridge the gap.

His weaknesses were glaring: dribbling, passing, strength, and stamina were all areas that needed improvement.

Although he had Iniesta's Croqueta, it only served to enhance his ability to break free in tight spaces.

The biggest constraint remained his stamina; a rating of 70 meant he couldn't complete a full match. If he couldn't resolve his stamina issues, he would never secure a starting position.

After all, no coach would entrust a starting spot to a player who could only perform well for half a game.

In the next match, Barca's opponent would be Sevilla.

Although Sevilla's current goal tally didn't compare to the top three teams, their goals conceded ranked second-to-last in La Liga, only two more than the first-placed Atletico Madrid.

This was a team with an incredibly tenacious defense.

This match would be the true litmus test for Li Mingyu.