"The ball was played through, and if one of the three players further forward in the center—Viana, Drogba, or Kai—receives it without tight marking around them, then the attack immediately jumps straight into ninth gear. That's the ideal outcome."
"Average players are satisfied with turning seventh gear into sixth."
"Core-level players pursue changes at seventh gear or attempt long-range shots when they're confident."
"But the truly top players are those who can see the opportunity to reach ninth gear."
The camera captured the scene.
To outsiders, Triguera shaking his head looked like he thought Matthäus had made the wrong pass.
But Maxa seemed to realize something else.
That being said, Drogba himself was completely confused by the pass.
Golden Ball master, you can chase the highest level of passing all you want, but I'm not a top-level receiver.
I'm probably about to get roasted for this first touch.
Just as Drogba was hesitating, a voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Don't touch it, I'll take it!"
The voice moved from the back-right toward the right side rapidly. Clearly, the speaker was sprinting at full speed and charging forward.
This was...
Triguera's tactical assistant, the king of Alcochete Academy, Sporting Lisbon's interim sporting director during the transfer window... Brother Kai!
Drogba had originally intended to stop the ball, but after hearing the shout, he instinctively chose to trust him. He raised his right leg and lifted his left.
The most crowded defensive area centered around him instantly opened up a hole in the middle, almost like blasting apart a wall during a free kick.
The football rolled straight through toward goal.
Boom!
Kai, who had been hiding behind Drogba all along, burst forward early and met the ball with a simple push using the inside of his right foot.
Using the instep risks the ball flying away.
A push, however, suppresses the original momentum of the ball and adds control to the shot.
The explanation is similar to table tennis.
Whether it's topspin or backspin, looping or slicing, no matter what kind of spin the ball has, as long as your force is overwhelming enough, you can smash through it with one strike and ignore the spin entirely.
This is what they call overpowering technique with brute force.
Whoosh!
The football pierced the net like a beam of white light, sending the net billowing violently.
The goalkeeper didn't even have time to react.
From the pass, to the dummy, to the finish, the entire move flowed in one seamless motion. It was practically the essence of high-level teamwork.
Did Drogba count as part of the combination play?
"Ga! Three to zero! Another magical pass from Matthäus! People say through balls are like scalpels, but Matthäus's pass was more like a fucking Tomahawk missile!"
"Although Drogba's movement looked clumsy, like an elephant dancing, the result was outrageously effective!"
"No wonder even Swedish genius Zlatan Ibrahimović has been benched. Drogba's simple style is incredibly effective. Even if he doesn't score, he helps everyone else score!"
"Kai and Matthäus seem to have telepathy... uh... why does Kai always seem to have telepathy with everyone?"
"This young Sporting Lisbon side is going to make its first European campaign a successful one!"
After the restart, Gaziantepspor had clearly made tactical adjustments.
Their defensive actions became much rougher, and it looked like the head coach had absolutely blasted them during halftime.
Fifty-fifth minute.
Quaresma dribbled past multiple players consecutively before getting wiped out by a flying tackle.
The opponent received a yellow card, but Quaresma also seemed to pick up a minor injury.
To be safe, Triguera substituted Quaresma and brought on former Benfica legend João Pinto.
Sporting Lisbon's right-sided attack immediately lost its sharpness.
It wasn't that João Pinto was weak—after all, he was one of the representatives of Portugal's golden generation.
The problem was simply that his style differed from Quaresma's. He couldn't dribble and break through with the same fluidity and freedom.
Sporting Lisbon gradually shifted their attacks toward the left side.
Sixty-second minute.
Triguera simply waved his hand and substituted Viana, who had also been knocked down several times, replacing him with Pepe. Pepe then swapped positions with Matthäus, allowing Matthäus to move further forward.
Sixty-fifth minute.
Pinto dropped deep and acted as a wall pass option.
Kai played a one-two with him before threading the ball toward Drogba.
Drogba leaned against the opposing center-back, used his physical advantage to flick the ball on, and nodded it into the penalty area.
Viana's earlier movement wide had opened up Ronaldo's lane, and Ronaldo suddenly surged forward near the edge of the box.
Gaziantepspor's defenders simply couldn't bear watching their team concede again, so one of them directly reached out and dragged Ronaldo down.
But he forgot one important thing.
This was inside the penalty area.
Beep!
Penalty and yellow card combo package!
Ronaldo stared at the ball reluctantly.
To him, a penalty kick was basically a guaranteed goal!
He couldn't bear giving it up.
But that damned Matthäus hadn't been substituted today.
Matthäus???
Matthäus enthusiastically grabbed the football and walked toward the penalty spot.
Then he calmly buried the penalty, making it 4-0.
He had scored twice personally now. It felt fucking fantastic.
Seventy-third minute.
As Matthäus pushed further forward, Gaziantepspor's defenders could no longer ignore him.
That was the terrifying pull of a Ballon d'Or winner.
Kai found himself with more space and frequently drifted to the right side, allowing João Pinto to cut inside and operate in the areas he was more comfortable in.
Seeing Drogba's desperate desire to score, Kai whipped in a cross.
Drogba's intentions were way too obvious, and he failed to win the header.
After the opponent cleared the ball, Deschamps collected it outside the box.
He passed to João Pinto on the right edge of the penalty area.
Pinto split the defense and surged forward.
It looked like he was preparing to receive the ball near the baseline.
Earlier in the first half, Kai had linked up with teammates in exactly this area, putting on a beautiful show from the baseline before eventually delivering an assist.
Pinto's movement dragged away the defender.
At the same time, Kai delivered a first-time cross from the wing.
Extremely fast.
In other words, Kai hadn't decided against passing to Pinto because he thought Pinto lacked a chance.
From beginning to end, he had never intended to pass to Pinto at all.
This was simply thinking one step ahead.
Boom!
Another driven cross, hit with tremendous power.
Before Drogba could even jump in the penalty area, the ball had already flown over the back of his head.
The landing point wasn't in front of him.
It was behind him.
In that instant, Drogba suddenly felt as if he'd awakened Observation Haki, a chill running down his spine.
The moment he landed, he immediately bent down and covered his head.
Boom!
A missile blasted through the space where he had just been standing.
If he hadn't ducked, his head might've exploded.
"Ga! Incredible! Hat trick! Matthäus charges into the box and scores with a direct volley!"
"What power! Nobody can stop a shot like that, even with twenty years of training!"
"Who would've thought Kai's second cross wasn't meant for the aerial threat, but for the late-arriving Matthäus charging in from deep!"
"Drogba reacted incredibly quickly. If he hadn't ducked, he would've blocked the shooting lane!"
"It seems Drogba and Matthäus have developed great chemistry!"
Drogba???
You call covering your head and running for your fucking life chemistry?
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