radicalducati Chapter 28 Rookie Wall
Chapter 28 Rookie Wall
Monaco, France.
In the office building of the Latourby training center, the players who had just finished training were noisily rushing towards the locker room.
The head coach's office was quiet, with the curtains half-drawn to block out some of the afternoon sun.
Yaldin sat behind his desk, tapping his fingers lightly on the surface, his voice low and deep: "Jiang, you're getting more and more in the news lately..."
This was the first time Jardim had taken Jiang Ming into his office for a private talk since promoting him to the first team.
"I suppose so?" Jiang Ming scratched his head.
It seems that Yardin also saw today's morning paper.
So now they want him to keep a low profile?
That's impossible. Your personal abilities are undeniable; you can't hide them even if you wanted to.
Seeing him frowning in thought, Yaldin waved his hand and softened his tone: "I'm not trying to criticize you, I just want to tell you something practical."
"Our next match is against Bastia. You know, teams that fight tooth and nail to avoid relegation play the most aggressively and will do anything to get points."
Yaldin said earnestly, "You've been too high-profile lately. In the next match, they'll definitely target you, and it wouldn't be surprising if they resorted to dirty tricks."
Jiang Ming paused for a moment, then suddenly realized: "You mean the Rookie Wall?"
"That's right, it seems you understand too." Jardim nodded. "The better a young player plays, the more likely they are to be targeted by opponents, subjected to dirty tackles, and malicious fouls."
"And the media will hype it up, exaggerating your achievements and putting you under psychological pressure."
He sighed, "Too many geniuses fail to overcome this hurdle and end up just another ordinary person."
"Like Bojan of Barcelona, wasn't he once hailed as a once-in-a-century genius, the new Messi of Camp Nou?"
"As soon as he emerged, his opponents targeted him relentlessly, and he couldn't withstand the media hype, which greatly increased his psychological pressure."
"Finally, last year they even left Catalonia in disgrace for a transfer fee of 180 million euros."
At this point, Jardim suddenly changed the subject: "And it's not just the Bastia game. We're playing Tottenham next week. Do you think they'll be idle? They've already sent scouts to camp out in the stands, just waiting to watch this game and study your playing style."
"In the next few matches, the pressure you will face will only increase, unlike the previous matches where your opponents didn't take you seriously."
"So, kid..."
Jardim leaned forward slightly and said in a deep voice, "This is why I called you here today. The upcoming matches will be tough, so don't let the pressure break you."
"Understood, boss." Jiang Ming nodded and replied, then turned and closed the office door.
Rookie Wall?
How could this happen to me?
He glanced down at the system panel in his mind, and his lips twitched involuntarily.
His role model is Ronaldinho!
In his first full season after officially joining Gremio's first team, Ronaldinho scored a staggering 22 goals.
After that, he moved to Ligue 1 and La Liga. When did he ever have a rookie wall?
Ronaldinho: I don't know anything about the rookie wall, I only know that the winner takes all.
……
12 p.m. local time in France on December 5.
In China, it was already 12 a.m. on December 6th.
The stadium of Armand de Cesar was brightly lit, and the 17th round of Ligue 1 matches quietly kicked off at a time when most Chinese people should have been sound asleep.
As expected, the starting lineup for this match was immediately featured on the homepage of Dongqiudi (a Chinese sports betting platform) as soon as it was announced.
Monaco makes significant rotations in preparation for Tottenham match; Jiang Ming and Mbappe both start!
The comment section exploded instantly, with fans who stayed up all night waiting for the game flooding the comments with messages:
"Here he comes! Jiang Ming is finally starting again! Staying up all night wasn't for nothing!"
"I'm hoping he buys a few more today. I bought a large 2.5-inch one, just waiting to collect the money!"
"What are you thinking, making such a big rotation and still betting on high-scoring games? Watch me go straight for low-scoring!"
……
In the away team's dressing room at the Armande-Cesari Stadium, the space was small, and the players sat in a circle, waiting for Jardim to give them tactical instructions.
"It's only been three days since the last game, and we've been working non-stop for the past two weeks."
"So in this match, we don't need to press forward and attack aggressively. We should conserve our energy and there's no need to fight tooth and nail against Bastia and their relegation-threatened teams."
Yaldin leaned against the tactics board, his tone light: "The first priority is to ensure your own health. Don't go head-to-head with them; it's not worth it."
"As for the game, let nature take its course. It would be great if we could win, but it's okay if we can't. Our goal is the tough game against Tottenham next week."
"The tactics are simple too. Everyone should control the ball and give it to Jiang. He will control the pace of the game and adjust the speed. You just need to follow his rhythm." He pointed to Jiang Ming as he spoke.
"Today, let's reward ourselves by playing a game like Barcelona's Tikitaka, just passing the ball around slowly."
As Yaldin recounted this, he couldn't help but laugh, finding his joke quite amusing.
He took a sip of water to moisten his throat: "Did you remember everything?"
The Monaco players all nodded.
"Okay." Yardin flung open the locker room door. "Everyone's on the field, stop dawdling."
……
"Welcome everyone to tune in to Lay's Sports for this Ligue 1 Round 17 match. I'm your commentator, Sun Chen." Sun Chen's voice came through the live broadcast.
"First, let me introduce the situation of the two teams. Bastia has 5 wins, 3 draws and 8 losses so far this season, with 18 points, ranking 16th in the league. They are only 1 point above the relegation zone, and the pressure to avoid relegation is at its maximum."
"Moreover, they are known for being strong at home but weak away, with 5 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses in 8 home games, accumulating a total of 16 points."
"Monaco is playing away from home, and Bastia is determined to avoid relegation, so this match is going to be tough."
"As for Monaco, we can see from their starting lineup that they have made significant changes, which means they are really focusing on their Europa League match against Tottenham next game."
After Sun Chen finished introducing the basic situation, the starting lineups for both sides were officially displayed on the live broadcast screen:
Bastia (4-2-3-1):
Goalkeeper: Leica
Defenders: Cioni, Pebelna, Modesto, Marang
Midfielders: Mostefa, Kahusac
Attacking midfielder: Ngando
Forwards: Danic, Laspentino, Palmiri
Monaco (4-2-3-1):
Goalkeeper: Subasic
Defenders: Almamy Touré, Wallace, Carvalho, Etcheil
Midfielders: Bakayoko, Fabinho
Attacking midfielder: Jiang Ming
Forwards: Dilar, Lachinar Traoré, Mbappé
As the DJ finished reading the player roster, the players from both teams lined up and walked out of the player tunnel, each with a caddie in hand.
Mbappe was so excited that he let go of the ball boy's hand and jumped around a couple of times.
Caddie: ?
Are you the caddie or am I the caddie?
Jiang Ming remained calm, carefully listening to the system notification in his mind.
[Ding! Daily task triggered: Achieve a post-match rating of 8/9/10 for this game]
[Scoring criteria: 8 points = Excellent performance, 9 points = Best player of the game, 10 points = Perfect game]
[Reward: Will be awarded based on your actual score]
Jiang Ming was immediately energized. He needed to prepare well for the next match against Tottenham and try to get a high score...