Chapter 371 Zidane
"Today, Rijkaard asked me if I had the confidence to suppress Lucio."
In the evening, in the gym of his villa, while receiving a therapeutic massage from Grant Downing, Su Dong talked to his personal trainers including Nuno Cruz and Vito Scala about what happened that morning.
Messi was also beside him and was very curious when he heard Su Dong's words.
"How do you answer?" Nuno Cruz asked with concern.
"I said, I believe I can do it." Su Dong looked at his personal trainer with determination in his eyes.
No matter if it works or not, he has to do it! Nuno Cruz looked at Su Dong, noticed the signal in his eyes, and nodded.
Vito Scala, who was standing next to him, shook his head and sighed, "This is difficult. Lucio is too strong."
"What do you mean?" Messi asked curiously.
In terms of fame, Lucio is not particularly famous. Not to mention compared with world-class central defenders such as Nesta, Cannavaro, Stam, Maldini in Serie A, even compared with Puyol, Lucio is much inferior.
But why does it seem that both Scala and Cruz think so highly of Lucio?
Scala glanced at little Messi, smiled and said, "It's hard for you to appreciate how strong Lucio is, because if you were to compete with him, your team would basically be finished. I believe Su will understand it better."
Messi immediately transferred the goal to Su Dong.
Su Dong nodded. "I am not as good as him in terms of physical strength. He is the first person I feel I cannot win against. I didn't have such a strong feeling even when I faced Stam that year."
Of course, he was talking about himself now, at the age of twenty.
When he encountered Stam, the Dutch central defender was actually no longer in his peak form, and Stam at that time had an obvious weakness, which was his slow turning speed. Su Dong's speed and flexibility came into play.
But Lucio is different, his body has almost no obvious weaknesses.
In the first round of the match between the two sides, Su Dong did not perform well in the first half and was basically dominated by Lucio. However, in the second half, he made one pass and one shot, regaining some ground, and the two teams were evenly matched.
But Su Dong knew in his heart that if he really had to compete tit for tat, he would probably suffer a loss.
"You're right to be concerned," Nuno Cruz took over.
"In terms of physical confrontation, Lucio is definitely one of the strongest players in the world today. I can't find a better central defender than him, including Stam. Since the 2002 World Cup, his defense has been improving rapidly, but his biggest problem is that sometimes he is too aggressive and always wants to solve the problem all at once."
"To be honest, Su, in terms of pure strength confrontation, you are still at a disadvantage."
What Nuno Cruz said is actually similar to Su Dong’s own feeling.
Data and personal feelings will not lie.
Messi was very surprised when he heard this. In his eyes, Su Dong was already an iron monster, but he was not as good as Lucio?
"My goodness, is that Brazilian central defender so strong?" Messi didn't quite believe it.
Scala smiled and reached out to touch Messi's head, but before he could touch it, the Argentine boy dodged it.
Too much!
It's fine if Su Dong touches him alone, but do others want to touch him too? "Boy, Lucio's physical fitness and athletic ability are definitely the best among professional football players. After landing in Europe, his personal defensive ability is also rapidly improving. He is definitely one of the top central defenders in Europe now. The main reason why people don't feel anything for him is that defense is never a one-person job, and he often has a brain that is out of tune."
Scala suddenly laughed. "I was thinking, apart from Su Dong, there are probably not many strikers in European football who can compete head-on with Lucio."
"Inter Milan's Adriano and Chelsea's Drogba count as two. Vieri is old, and Juventus' Ibrahimovic is a weirdo. He has amazing physical fitness, but he likes to play with his feet. He probably can't beat Lucio." Nuno Cruz analyzed with a smile.
Su Dong has competed with Lucio and has a very obvious personal experience. He trusts Nuno Cruz's judgment.
"What do you think?" Su Dong asked.
"Bayern Munich will definitely continue with the tactics used in the first leg. They will continue to defend tightly. At that time, your competition with Lucio will be in a narrow range, and you will be at a disadvantage in this regard."
Su Dong nodded. His advantages were all-round. His speed, explosiveness and flexibility were better than Lucio's. However, if he was trapped in the opponent's defensive formation, it would be difficult for him to play out his advantages. Lucio would get close to him at any time, which was very troublesome.
"However, confrontation is not just about physical strength. Skills and awareness also play a decisive role, such as the use of the body and how to quickly seize an advantageous position."
"In today's increasingly sophisticated football tactics, the higher the level of the game, the stronger the team, the less likely it is that you will be able to get the ball in a comfortable environment. If one person can't hold you down, two people will be on the field. No matter how strong a player is, can he stand his ground and get the ball when he is double-teamed by two defensive players?"
Su Dong shook his head.
The center position is the most difficult position on the court, and it is also the position with the most intense competition and the highest technical requirements.
Many people think that it is easy for forwards to score goals, but they don’t know that this is a big mistake.
Who can easily hold the ball in the opponent's most densely defended area and create a chance to shoot? Su Dong fully agrees with Nuno Cruz's analysis. Going head-on with Lucio is definitely asking for trouble.
Confrontation is not just a test of physical strength, but also of wisdom.
"I also think that I shouldn't fight him to death. My flexibility, balance and body agility, as well as my speed and explosiveness are all better than his. Why should I use my weaknesses to challenge his strengths?"
After a pause, Su Dong asked again, "The key is, how can I play to my strengths amidst Bayern Munich's dense defense and Lucio's relentless pressure?"
"I suggest you watch some videos of Zidane's games."
"Zidane?" Su Dong was a little surprised.
He is a center forward and Zidane is an attacking midfielder. Can the two be the same?
"Zidane has been receiving professional judo training since he was six years old. He has been training judo and football for a long time. His body is indeed very strong, but his strength is not so strong that it is amazing. However, he can often hold the ball under the opponent's pressure and clamping, relying on the balance and flexibility of his body, especially the first blocking, which is simply amazing!"
"Zidane's outstanding flexibility and lower limb strength allow him to hold the ball even when he is half-tilted, even when he is not as strong as his opponent in physical confrontation. This is his greatest strength."
After Nuno Cruz said this, Su Dong actually remembered some things about Zidane.
It is said that his family has a tradition of practicing judo, and one of his brothers is a professional judo athlete, so much so that some people say that Zidane is a judo genius who was delayed by football.
When it comes to holding the ball and protecting the ball, Henry's level is also very high, but the two are completely different.
Henry is more agile and he needs space. If he is in a small area, his ability to protect the ball will be greatly reduced. On the contrary, Zidane's ability to protect the ball is superb in a small area or in the case of physical confrontation with the opponent.
This is also why Henry is more accustomed to playing on the wing, while Zidane can survive in the middle.
Of course, Henry's advantage is speed, while Zidane can only pass the ball.
…………
…………
After saying goodbye to the private coaching team, Su Dong returned to the room, took a hot shower, lay on the bed, and directly entered the Road to King of Football system. He went to the store to look for Zidane's star ability card.
Due to their positions, the players that Su Dong had previously focused on were always forwards.
From Batistuta, Romario, Kluivert, Vieri, Klose, to Maradona, Ronaldo and Henry, only Maradona was an attacking midfielder, but Su Dong used the ability of his left foot, not anything else.
This made Su Dong never pay attention to Zidane's star ability card.
But now it seems that Zidane's ability to stop the ball, take the ball and protect the ball in a small area and in a static state is unique, and Su Dong, as a center forward, is often in the area where the opponent's defense is most intensive, especially when facing the opponent's tight defense.
This ability of Zidane is crucial to him.
At least, in this match against Lucio, Sudong really needs Zidane's ability.
Sure enough, in the Star Ability Card Store, Su Dong quickly found the one he wanted from among Zidane’s many Star Ability Cards.
As still as a mountain!
This name is very appropriate for Zidane's abilities and characteristics.
After entering the details of the star ability card, Su Dong carefully read the introduction of the star ability card. After confirming that it was what he wanted, he used the redemption voucher and exchanged it for a Zidane star ability card.
"Congratulations on obtaining the Star Ability Card: Unmovable as a Mountain!"
With the system's prompt, Su Dong felt as if he was bathed in warm sunshine, feeling extremely comfortable.
Before he knew it, he fell into a deep sleep.
He had a strange dream. He dreamed that he was like a towering mountain, falling from the sky and pressing heavily on Lucio's head.
Lucio, with his upper body naked, revealing his amazing muscles, was carrying this huge mountain, refusing to let it fall down. He truly had the spirit of the mighty King of Western Chu.
But in the end, Su Dong's mountain was finally pressed down, directly pressing Lucio to the foot of the mountain.
This guy had been suppressed for who knows how many years, but he finally broke out and protected Mourinho, the Portuguese madman who was the best in the world and threatened to poke a big hole in the sky, and he defeated demons and monsters along the way and won the Champions League trophy.
Among the monsters killed by Lucio were Drogba and Ibrahimovic.
When Su Dong woke up the next morning, his head was full of confusion.
What is this all about? How can Lucio and Mourinho appear in my dream at the same time when they are not related at all? And what about Drogba and Ibrahimovic?
While washing his face, Su Dong slapped his face hard several times, shook his head and smiled bitterly in self-mockery.
With such a big imagination, it would be a shame if you didn’t write a novel!
(End of this chapter)
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