"Friends who really want to further develop their football skills can definitely join Sporting Lisbon's youth training camp. Or join the 'Marquesa Football Advanced Training Camp' that I invested in! The seven-day early adopter version only costs 998 euros! The 19-day long battery-life version costs 1,999 euros! There's also a superstar coaching course version. In addition to famous Portuguese Super League players, you'll also have the opportunity to meet world-class superstars!"
Good guy.
Maxa hadn't even become the head coach yet, but he had already become a damn camp commander.
But Maxa was very interested in this business partnership.
Because he didn't have much to do with the first team anyway, so making some side money sounded pretty damn good.
In fact, it was just gathering some unemployed football coaching staff and having them follow Sporting Lisbon's training methods.
At first glance, it seemed like a small project that couldn't make much money.
But... the core of Sporting Lisbon's cooperation projects in China was actually this kind of thing.
It was just on a larger scale, with more professional personnel and top-tier equipment.
Kai said this would be very beneficial for Maxa's future.
After realizing the deeper meaning behind it, Maxa cried for several hours.
Young Master Kai had actually paved the road for the next ten years of his life.
Father!
Sal had nothing to repay him with, so he could only personally offer a bowl of his favorite brown sugar glutinous rice cake!
…
On September 13th, the second round of the Portuguese Super League began.
Sporting Lisbon faced Leiria away from home.
Zlatan Ibrahimović, who had been in excellent form in the last match, earned a starting spot, while the rest of the lineup remained mostly unchanged.
However, after an intense first half, Ibrahimović's performance failed to meet expectations.
"He's too obsessed with showing off his footwork. He could handle the ball simply, but he insists on dribbling a few extra times."
"And his physical resistance isn't as strong as it looks. He's actually a bit thin."
"With his height, if he loses weight, it'll definitely affect his speed and agility, and then he won't be able to continue playing the style he likes."
At this stage, Ibrahimović was somewhat similar to the future beer-bellied winger Romelu Lukaku, except Ibrahimović was the luxury version.
During halftime, Triguera directly substituted Ibrahimović off.
Of course, he didn't harshly criticize him. There was no need to smash a heavy hammer on a light drum.
Besides, this wasn't a critical moment yet. There was plenty of time to slowly develop Ibrahimović.
And if he truly couldn't change, it wouldn't be unacceptable for him to permanently serve as Drogba's substitute.
After all, Drogba was ridiculously useful.
Ibrahimović: "Pfft!"
In the second half, after Drogba came on, the situation immediately changed.
At the very least, with the same number of chances, there was much less waste.
What kind of player are teams most afraid of?
Untalented players?
Definitely not.
Engineers are still useful no matter what. Just look at Deschamps.
The players coaches fear most are the "players who look amazing."
What does that mean?
They're the kind of players who dare to dribble past opponents, but their success rate is unstable. Once things stop going smoothly, they can't actively adjust themselves...
They constantly have flashy ideas when passing, but the success rate is low. It's not just that one pass is overhit occasionally—it's that sometimes the pass is too heavy, sometimes too soft, and sometimes it doesn't even come out properly...
They have good shooting technique, but poor shot selection or poor timing, or their intentions don't match the situation.
In short, they're the kind of players who look like a core player, but whose performances become unstable under pressure or against stronger opponents.
This kind of pseudo-core is often the key reason teams lose matches.
Take Ibrahimović in the first half as a simple example.
How did the football even reach his feet?
Through layer after layer of passing from the engineers in the back line, combined with unconventional passes from Quaresma, Kai, and Viana.
After the football has gone through so many processes to arrive at your feet, if you're an engineer-type player, the worst-case scenario is usually just passing the ball back. The football retreats from the seventh step to the sixth step. The loss isn't huge.
But Ibrahimović repeatedly tried to use flashy footwork to beat opponents or create something fancy.
Once the opponent disrupted him, the seventh step instantly became the zeroth step.
Sometimes the ball was even pushed all the way back to the seventh step.
For the team to recover the football and move it back into that dangerous position again took tremendous effort and time.
This doesn't mean chances can't be wasted. Every threatening attack inherently involves some level of risk and waste.
But not everyone is qualified to waste chances.
If anyone is going to spend recklessly, it should be the most reliable player—Quaresma, who has the highest success rate and rarely loses the ball badly even when he fails.
Or someone with a very special purpose—Cristiano Ronaldo, who tortures the opponent's ankles and stamina to prepare for the second half.
Ibrahimović?
That was pure fucking waste!
Many players who appear talented or gifted can only serve as substitutes or special weapons at top clubs for similar reasons.
This is also why core-type substitutes are far less likely to stand out than engineer-type substitutes.
If you become an engineer substitute, it only means your ceiling isn't high enough.
Even if the current core player isn't very good, the team will most likely search for a new core instead of trying to correct you.
But there are countless engineer-type players and workhorses available for correction and replacement.
Why would they specifically choose you?
During the Portugal vs Morocco match at the Qatar World Cup, one midfielder delivered about three through balls into the space between the right side of the penalty area and the corner flag.
At first glance, they looked like brilliant ideas.
Teammates could chase the ball near the baseline with no defenders around, then either drive into the box, cross it, or cut it back.
But every single one of those passes was overhit, and his teammates couldn't reach them.
That directly handed the opponent free goal kicks and opportunities to waste time, which hurt Portugal badly because they were already running out of time.
Honestly, it would've been more useful to simply recycle possession with a backward pass.
And this same situation had already happened two or three times before that match.
It wasn't an unfamiliar issue among the players.
It was purely a matter of the passer's own passing ability.
That player wasn't Bruno Fernandes, although Bruno also sometimes attempts similar passes from that area.
Can you say he performed poorly?
Not really. He was still better than many others.
But sometimes, it's better to recognize you can't make a pass than to force it because you think you can.
This "Eevee-like" skill set still needed improvement once opponents specifically targeted it.
Fifty-seventh minute.
The large-circle tactic advanced to Quaresma's zone.
Quaresma dribbled flamboyantly before passing to the advancing Kai.
Kai didn't stop the ball and immediately laid it off to Drogba ahead of him.
Drogba also didn't stop the ball and instantly redirected it into the open space on his right.
Kai burst forward and collected the ball.
The center-back behind Drogba quickly moved to mark Kai, but he was half a step too slow and could only barely catch up.
Still, he felt it was enough.
His body leaned into Kai, and upon contact...
Kai merely swayed slightly. The challenge barely affected his dribble as he reached the top of the penalty area.
Kai's physicality was nowhere near as weak as the defender had imagined.
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