60-Kilogram Little Japan? (Combined Chapter)

Halilhodžić stood in the technical area, constantly gesturing at the Japanese players on the pitch.

The former Yugoslav star was a specialist when it came to national teams.

He could always be seen commanding from the sidelines at World Cups.

No matter how weak the national team he coached, he could always lead them into the World Cup finals, earning himself the title of "Miracle Coach."

His most glorious battle was undoubtedly the 2014 World Cup Round of 16, when he led Algeria against the German National Football Team and fought them into extra time, becoming famous overnight.

Of course, he had once turned down a contract from the China National Football Team worth an enormous annual salary of eight million dollars.

"Don't hold onto the ball! Pass it!"

"Damn it! Why did you try to dribble past him?"

On the other side.

Del Bosque sat on the bench, looking sleepy. At his age, adjusting to the Asia-Europe time difference was a painful ordeal.

His assistant, Miñano, stood in the technical area.

It took him only a few minutes to go from flustered to composed.

After all.

The young Spanish players on the pitch did not really need much tactical direction from him.

They were all super talents from La Liga's elite clubs.

On the pitch.

Japan National Football Team came out attacking fiercely from the kickoff.

Takuma Asano roamed through the space between Spain's midfielders and defenders.

After Musashi Suzuki dropped into the middle to receive Wataru Endo's pass, he immediately moved the ball out to the right flank.

After controlling the ball, Takumi Minamino did not immediately push forward.

He had great confidence in his ability on the ball.

Facing Oliver's challenge, he constantly swayed his upper body while his feet flashed through a dazzling array of moves.

"Takumi Minamino is waiting for Masato Morishige's overlapping run down the flank."

"Halilhodžić looks a little angry on the sidelines. After taking over Japan National Football Team at the start of this year, he sounded the horn for reform and abandoning possession football."

Oliver did not rashly stick out a foot!

Masato Morishige surged forward from the outside!

Takumi Minamino was just about to push a diagonal pass through.

When the pressure beneath his feet suddenly vanished.

It felt as though a wild beast had slammed into him!

His whole body flew out over the touchline!

He did not even have a chance to counter-press on the spot.

Masato Morishige, who was closest to him, looked utterly confused. Minamino-san might be weak in physical duels, but there was no way he should have been sent flying that far, right?

Oliver was stunned too.

The cheers from the Japanese fans came to an abrupt halt.

The fans in China's livestream room erupted with excitement!

Takumi Minamino had been so arrogant in China a few days ago. Was this all he had?

"No foul! The defender got to the ball first, and the referee raises his hand to signal play on!"

"Leo Kang's tackle was timely and crucial!"

"The ball reaches Dennis! One touch! Deulofeu! Bellerín's forward run is perfectly timed too! Barcelona's coun—Spain's counterattack is here!"

Takumi Minamino climbed up from the turf and rubbed his shoulder in pain.

As he watched the Chinese teenager's back, he had no desire to provoke him at all.

If Leo Kang hit him like that again, his shoulder would dislocate, wouldn't it?

When Spain's formation began to press forward.

The entire match suddenly changed dramatically!

The ball moved faster and faster.

The young players' movement was exquisitely clever.

They seemed to possess the kind of understanding that could only be forged through years of playing together.

Every pass was one touch.

Their passing combinations flowed like water.

With Dennis linking everything together, they relentlessly tore apart Japan National Football Team's midfield screen.

"Seamless connection!"

"These young Spanish players from different top clubs across Europe's major leagues are playing the possession football of their predecessors!"

"Tiki-taka!"

".Guardiola and Spain's coaching staff have both denied that term."

Japan National Football Team's players kept sprinting back and forth as they pressed.

But no one could run faster than the ball. Combined with their opponents' incisive movement, they had no ability to fight back at all.

Halilhodžić grew anxious. He kept clapping his hands, swinging his arms with huge motions.

The forwards and midfielders' positioning contracted at the same time!

Dennis seemed to have been waiting for precisely this moment!

He sent a lofted pass from the right half!

The ball curved a rainbow through the air.

It sailed over the heads of Junya Ito and Yosuke Kashiwagi.

And dropped precisely at Leo Kang's feet!

No adjustment needed.

Leo Kang pushed with the inside of his right foot!

The ball rolled along the grass toward the flank!

Bellerín accelerated onto the pass.

He changed direction smoothly and skipped past Yuto Nagatomo!

"Beautiful! Leo Kang's ground pass has pierced straight through Japan National Football Team's right-side defense!"

"The weight on that pass was perfect!"

"It was as if Leo Kang had calculated Yuto Nagatomo's defensive run, making Bellerín's breakthrough so much more comfortable!"

"Bellerín of Premier League club Arsenal also came through La Masia."

"The attacking space has been torn open!"

"Japan National Football Team's back line is in danger!"

By the pitch.

Del Bosque remained seated on the bench, his expression calm. His eyes were half-closed, as though he did not care about the result of this match at all.

Miñano's entire body trembled.

This was his first time directing a team!

He had not expected the young players to seize such an enormous advantage on the pitch!

Images of world-famous managers commanding from the sidelines flashed through his mind.

Conte was like a madman.

Guardiola looked like a Parkinson's patient.

Löw was handsome. Was he supposed to imitate him by picking his nose?

In the end.

Miñano did not dare make any rash moves.

He was afraid that one wrong gesture from him would ruin this attack.

Bellerín drove the ball down near the byline!

That shooting posture clearly showed he was about to cross!

Before they could close him down, Japan National Football Team's back line immediately collapsed into the penalty area.

Bang!

It was not the expected cross from the byline!

The Arsenal prodigy delivered a cutback!

Deulofeu had arrived at the right side of the penalty area!

Despite Junya Ito's interference.

He still managed a one-touch pass!

The ball rolled toward the left side of the penalty area!

Leo Kang suddenly took two big strides.

Wataru Endo, who had been marking him, stumbled and fell onto the turf!

"Leo Kang is going to shoot!"

"Here it comes!"

Tomoaki Makino, the closest defender, threw himself in to block.

But Leo Kang knocked the ball sideways and quickly darted into the six-yard box.

The broadcast camera nearly failed to keep up!

The ball rolled to the edge of the penalty arc!

Dennis charged in!

Maya Yoshida was still in front of him!

Yet he did not shoot!

With a graceful flick of his left foot!

The ball became like a mischievous sprite!

It sailed over the Japanese center-back's head!

And dropped onto the right side of the six-yard box!

"Deulofeu! Here he comes!"

"Is this going in?"

Japan's goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa had long noticed Deulofeu's run!

He lowered his center of gravity and sealed off every shooting angle!

He was about to dive down and smother the ball!

Unfortunately.

Deulofeu did not choose to shoot himself.

He raised his left foot high!

And pushed the ball just before it hit the ground!

Leo Kang appeared on the left side of the six-yard box.

He lightly swung his foot.

Smack!

The ball slowly bounced into Japan National Football Team's net.

0:1!!!

Ajinomoto Stadium fell silent.

The Japanese fans were stunned.

What was this?

These Spanish kids had passed the ball into our goal?

The director was exhausted too!

He kept wanting to cut to close-up shots, but these young Spanish players simply refused to shoot!

Why were they even more cautious than the Germans?

Did they have to pass the ball into the goal?

By the pitch.

Del Bosque smiled and applauded.

Miñano clawed at the air a few times, wildly waving his arms in excitement!

Spain's substitutes and coaching staff also cheered madly.

Morata stood up and shook out his legs. Japan National Football Team was that weak? If I got on the pitch, I'd definitely tear them apart!

In China's livestream room.

Seeing Leo Kang score.

Duan Xuan and He Wei felt inexplicably excited.

"It's in!"

"That was beautiful!"

"This is the charm of the Matadors' possession football!"

"They played a breathtaking attacking combination!"

"I never expected to see this kind of silky understanding among Barcelona's young Spanish players too!"

"Deulofeu with the assist, Leo Kang slots it home! Spain National Football Team takes the lead!"

"According to the available information, these young players have not had much time to train together. Most of them have been called up to the national team squad for the first time!"

The online viewers were excited too.

[That's called a placed shot? I could've scored that if I were on the pitch!]

[Leo Kang is insane! He's the core at Bayer Leverkusen, and he can still poach goals for the Spain National Team!]

[Match-fixing, right? Japan's starting defense can't stop these Spanish youngsters? Morata is still on the bench!]

[Take a look at which clubs these Spanish kids start for: Arsenal, Everton, Bayer Leverkusen, Villarreal, Benfica, Manchester United. I don't even want to keep counting. And not a single one is from Barcelona.]

[Looking at it that way, scoring one goal is normal—no, wait! It's terrifying. Every one of them has such incredible technique and vision.]

[What's going on? Why are Japanese fans applauding Leo Kang and the others?]

Leo Kang did not have time to retrieve the ball from the net.

His teammates had already surrounded him.

They wildly ruffled his hair.

Dennis was the most enthusiastic. "If it had been Asensio, he would've shot from outside the box!"

Bellerín also gave him a rough pat. "Without that pass from you, we might've spent ages passing the ball around!"

Deulofeu hurriedly pulled everyone away and patted Leo Kang's butt. "If it were my club teammate Lukaku, that ball might've flown over the crossbar."

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Thunderous applause suddenly erupted from the nearby stands.

The youngsters were dumbfounded.

Why were these Japanese fans cheering them on?

Were they crazy?

Shusaku Nishikawa helplessly punched the turf.

Hearing their manager's roar, Maya Yoshida and Tomoaki Makino were also so ashamed they wished they could disappear into the ground.

Though it was only a friendly, not a crucial tournament clash.

Being toyed with by Spain's young players on their own turf was simply too humiliating.

Halilhodžić stood at the touchline and roared furiously:

"Why are you imitating someone else's possession game? It's like a mule trying to learn how a stallion goes into heat!"

"Fuck! Stop dwelling on the ball! Move it faster!"

The old man had coached Japan National Football Team for more than half a year and had been trying to reform their tactics, but there had yet to be any real results.

The match restarted from the center circle.

Takuma Asano kicked off and passed back to Junya Ito.

Then he exploded forward at tremendous speed toward Spain's half.

Though his name sounded very similar to Takumi Minamino's.

Their personalities were completely opposite.

He was humble and had excellent sportsmanship.

He had not been a professional player. His family had been extremely poor when he was young, with seven siblings. He had never received any formal youth training, but fortunately, a school team adviser had recognized his potential. He shone in the National University Football Tournament, charging all the way to the final and winning the Golden Boot.

He had only become a professional player two years ago.

China's Happy Beans football fans surely remembered the havoc he had wreaked in the J League. He was practically Japan's Cristiano Ronaldo.

J League Rookie of the Year.

Wenger's admiration.

Rumors linking him with Arsenal.

All of it showed that this Japanese prodigy striker had a bright future ahead of him.

Japan's attack was especially fierce.

Takuma Asano received Musashi Suzuki's layoff in the forty-meter area.

Just as he was about to accelerate.

The ball was intercepted!

"Beautiful!"

"Leo Kang again!"

"He's injected a hard edge into this Spain side!"

"The aggression he's showing is nothing like that of a technical midfield player."

At Ajinomoto Stadium.

Cheers inexplicably rang out in waves.

Some Japanese fans began calling out the name on the back of Leo Kang's shirt.

"LEE!!!"

"LEE!!!"

"LEE!!!"

Leo Kang suddenly felt that the system mission was incredibly difficult to complete.

Crush the pride of the Blue Samurai?

But these fans were cheering for him like lunatics! How was he supposed to crush them?

He pushed the ball to Deulofeu.

Before he had taken more than a few steps.

The ball was back at his feet.

In God's Perspective.

Takumi Minamino and Wataru Endo had already closed in to double-team him.

Takuma Asano was also tracking back, trying to win the ball again.

Dennis was being tightly marked by Junya Ito.

Oliver and Castillejo were too far away from him.

Spain's possession football was not the answer to every problem.

Leo Kang did not choose to compete with the three Japanese players in foot speed.

He carried the ball toward Takumi Minamino's side.

At the instant his opponent stretched out a foot.

He drove his shoulder into him!

Takumi Minamino instantly felt an enormous force slam into him!

His standing leg could no longer support him.

His tackling motion twisted out of shape.

He was sent sprawling!

Wataru Endo followed right behind, launching into a sliding tackle!

He had badly misjudged Leo Kang's burst of speed!

He wasn't that fast!

Leo Kang had just knocked the ball ahead!

He took a huge stride!

Wataru Endo's flying tackle caught his left leg!

The entire stadium gasped!

"Ah!"

"That was a very dangerous challenge from the Japanese player!"

"Oh! Leo Kang got through!"

At Ajinomoto Stadium.

The crowd did not see the pileup they had expected.

Leo Kang merely stumbled, then stepped over Wataru Endo, who was lying on the ground after his sliding tackle!

Nani?!

What kind of physical strength was that?

How was he completely fine?

Why was their Endo-san clutching his calf in pain instead?

Japan's relentless press.

Was not over yet!

Takuma Asano's explosive pace was also outrageous!

He quickly caught up with Leo Kang.

Unfortunately.

Leo Kang reached the ball first!

Takuma Asano got carried away.

Halilhodžić's furious rebuke also echoed in his ears.

He decisively put his hands on him.

Wrapping his arms around Leo Kang's waist.

He tried to use a tactical foul to break up Spain's terrifying possession attack.

At the instant their bodies made contact.

A flush rose to his face.

It felt like climbing onto a tractor on the way home from school as a child!

Leo Kang dragged him across the turf for some distance.

The entire stadium was stunned!

"Takuma Asano weighs sixty kilograms, yet even pulling and dragging with all his might, he still couldn't stop Leo Kang!"

"This is terrifying!"

"Unbelievable strength!"

"An absolute physical mismatch!"

"Three Japanese players! None of them could stop him!"

I'll thank everyone for the votes and tips in the next chapter. I need to hurry to work now.