Chapter 46: Forgive Me for Being Unrestrained and Loving Freedom

The scene-stealer could not avoid a terrible fate.

Adriano didn't want to let Maicon steal the spotlight, so he unusually tracked back to midfield to win the ball.

The young Iraqi player in possession was either caught off guard or startled, and he carelessly lost the ball to Adriano.

Ignoring his teammates Baptista and Kaka on either side, Adriano went solo.

It's well known that skillful dribblers often emerge from the flanks, carrying the ball from one byline to the other, either on the left or right. However, such instances are rare in the central area. Even world-class modern midfielders renowned for their dribbling skills excel at turning and twisting within a certain range against defenders before delivering a sudden killer pass, but rarely do they dribble directly from their own half through the middle to the opposition's goal.

In this era, strictly speaking, only a handful of legendary figures like Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and Henry had the ability to create compilations of solo runs through the middle.

Many people call Adriano the closest thing to Ronaldo because not only does he possess an alien-like explosive power and goal-scoring ability, but he also has a razor-sharp ability to burst through the middle.

There has always been a debate about how Adriano at his peak compares to other players, but this is actually a paradox because Adriano never truly reached the theoretical peak he should have.

But now, Kaka caught a glimpse of the shadow of peak Adriano.

This guy seemed to not need to breathe, dribbling forward for over twenty meters in one go, changing direction twice, leaving the defenders stumbling around. Even if someone managed to keep up with his pace, they had no way to stop this rampaging beast.

Tireless long-distance dribbling and changing direction ability, excellent body balance, and freakish explosive power.

This is what they call visible natural talent.

There are many fast dribblers and many steady dribblers, but those who are both fast and steady are truly rare.

Of course, it's not to say that Adriano is perfect. At the very least, his ability to time runs and get into goal-scoring positions, which is crucial for a striker, is average.

This is probably one reason why, despite his outstanding ability, his goal-scoring statistics are embarrassingly poor.

The nickname "Video Game King" is not unfounded.

One key difference between casual and true football fans is that casual fans don't appreciate poachers because they appear to lack technical ability and are only good at tap-ins, while true fans understand the importance of off-the-ball movement and how precious the innate goal-scoring instinct is for a player.

But even with such an obvious weakness, Adriano remains one of the most promising young players on the planet.

After just a few seconds, Kaka had to admit that Adriano's solo ability was far superior to his own, which couldn't help but discourage Kaka, who had been sailing smoothly and leaving his peers in the dust since his debut.

"Adriano, Adriano, Adriano, Adriano... Poor Iraqis, I can no longer see any fighting spirit on their faces. They have no answer for Brazil's number 9. I can't imagine who could stop Adriano and Ronaldo if they were on the pitch together."

Maicon's performance was awe-inspiring, while Adriano's was stunning.

Unfortunately, this performance wasn't decorated with a goal, as his thunderous strike from the edge of the box narrowly missed, living up to his reputation of always looking fierce but never scoring much. However, anyone who witnessed that scene would never dare underestimate this promising Brazilian lad.

After his first fruitless attack, Adriano showed no signs of restraint. However, due to the opposition's focused defending, he didn't get another opportunity to go on such an unrestrained solo run. But this guy wanted to explode in this match, and until halftime, over 80% of Brazil's shots came from his feet.

Six shots, five on target, one into the net, and another scored by Robert after the goalkeeper parried his effort. The score was 4-0.

The various scouts present immediately became worried, even the Argentine "intelligence officers" who had been sharpening their knives.

However, Costanio, with a four-goal lead, couldn't find happiness in his heart.

For a player, the biggest insult is probably "even my grandmother could have scored that," while for a coach, the greatest humiliation is "with this lineup, even a dog on the bench could win..."

Due to the opposition's weakness, Costanio's tactical setup was simple and ordinary: defenders to defend, midfielders to link play, wingers to push forward, and strikers to seize chances.

The result?

The defenders charged further than the strikers, and the strikers dribbled more than the midfielders.

The head coach appeared angry during halftime, but he wasn't too concerned since victory was in sight, and it was a big lead.

However, authority still needed to be maintained, so while praising the team's excellent first-half performance, Costanio also issued a mild warning to the few troublemakers.

Maicon and Adriano, who had performed brilliantly but were subtly criticized by the coach, were disgruntled but became slightly more obedient. However, to their surprise, as soon as the second half began, the captain designated by Costanio started leading the rebellion.

Link play? Organize attacks? You're thinking too much...

If this match were a sitcom, the first episode would be "Maicon's Flamboyant Career," followed by "Adriano's Raging Footsteps," and finally, "Kaka's Stylish Life."

Almost identical to Adriano's approach, Kaka took the ball in midfield and went for a solo run.

However, compared to Adriano's unstoppable force, Kaka's dribbling had a touch of grace.

One was like a ferocious, rampant bear, unstoppable in its fury and rage, while the other was like a cheetah or tiger, possessing the speed of the wind and the sharp fangs and claws of a knife.

The Iraqi team was torn apart.

Kaka had been playing futsal (a small-sided variant of football played on a hard court), but he rarely used those street skills in official football matches, not because he didn't want to but because he couldn't. It wasn't until the final of the Sao Paulo state league, after using Bachio's "Ball Star Card," that he had a chance to show off his skills. The main reason was that the defensive level in professional matches was too high, making it difficult to execute many fancy moves.

But in this match, Kaka finally had a chance to be stylish again.

Step-overs, scissors, bicycle kicks, and various spins.

If the expressions of the Iraqi players were translated into words, it would probably be: "Forget about the football dream, I want to go home and let my mom beat the crap out of you..."

Even ignoring those random skill displays, Kaka's statistics were far more impressive than Adriano's one goal in the first half.

He assisted a goal, scored a long-range effort, and all three of his free-kicks were on target, with one finding the top corner.

Two goals and one assist, truly a stylish display.

Unlike the other wild kids, Kaka was a model student and a class leader, mindful of his image in the eyes of his teacher. He shouldn't have let himself go like that, but Maicon and Adriano's liveliness made his feet itch, and he accidentally went all out.

Sorry, boss, forgive me for being unrestrained and loving freedom...

(End of Chapter)