Chapter 324: European Legend vs South American Legend (Everyday Transition)

After the draw ceremony ended.

Qi Dan Ei broke free from the reporters' entanglement and hurried over to Li Kang.

"Li, I want to invite you to a charity match; Arsenal have already agreed."

"The time is five days from now, and the venue is London's Wembley Stadium."

Everyone suddenly understood.

It turned out that the Real Madrid head coach and the Arsenal head coach's whispered conversation downstairs was about this matter.

There is no scheduling conflict.

The location is in London, so there's no need to deal with jet lag.

Li Kang glanced at Wen Ge, who smiled and nodded.

Then the intensity of this charity match... is basically just a friendly exhibition.

He immediately also nodded at Qi Dan Ei.

"Then it's settled."

The Real Madrid head coach clapped his hands.

That night.

The FIFA website released the lineup for the Europe All-Stars vs. South America All-Stars!

Li Kang, Bu Feng, Mei Xi, and C Luo's names were prominently listed.

The comment section exploded instantly.

The server crashed instantly.

Major sports media platforms' homepages all reposted it.

-【Ke Lu Yin Fu is the Europe team coach, Bei Er Sa is the Americas team coach!】

-【Xiao Luo, Da Luo, Ka Ka... plus a Mei Xi, a historically unbeatable attacking lineup—what's the Europe team even playing for?】

-【Take a look at the Europe team's backline: Ma Er Ti Ni, Ne Si Ta, Ka Na Wa Luo, La Mu...】

-【Why isn't there Ba Lei Xi?】

-【Are you playing a game? Ba Lei Xi is almost sixty—he can't even move!】

-【The South America team's defense isn't bad either—Ka Luo Si, Ka Fu... and there's still a whole bunch of legends on the bench.】

-【The bench really is piled with stars—tears! My youth is gone forever.】

-【You guys need to notice the small print at the bottom: provisional.】

-【Looking at the combination of active and retired stars, this match probably isn't just a friendly—it's gotta rake in a fortune!】

-【The charity match—all proceeds are to be donated to children with cancer.】

-【Theoretically the strongest would still be the Africa All-Stars... De Luo Ba and crew are getting up there in age, yet still packed with exaggerated muscle—they could shatter the skeletons of Europe's old-timers and America's old-timers in a minute!】

-【Bu Feng: "How'd you all become old-timers?"】

After the UEFA banquet ended.

Li Kang and the Arsenal staff didn't linger, returning to London overnight.

On the plane.

Boerde flipped through the all-star match schedule, muttering: "Ke Lu Yin Fu actually doesn't need you to join the joint practice—what's he thinking... "

Wen Ge shook his head, cutting in: "Never try to guess what Ke Lu Yin Fu is thinking."

He gazed out the window at the clouds and stars, and unconsciously the image of that Dutch kid eating a burger while playing football surfaced in his mind.

Li Kang continued to hold his tablet, the screen still playing Chelsea's match footage.

The system notification sounded softly.

【Ding! Detected that the Host is about to enter the legendary lineup.】

【Mission triggered: Showdown at Wembley.】

【Mission description: A fight to the death! Earth's peak... well, just kidding, this is only a charity match.】

【Mission reward: All-Star·Bronze Chest.】

Bronze Chest?

This is a reward I only ever got back in the youth team.

Looks like the intensity of this charity match really isn't high.

Three days later.

Four hours before the match.

Li Kang arrived at Wembley Stadium, finally seeing the coaching staff of the Europe All-Stars team.

In the spacious locker room.

Head Coach - Ke Lu Yin Fu.

Assistant Coach - Fan Jia Er.

The two Ajax legends were staring at each other.

"We want to give Li the maximum freedom."

"Freedom? He's the perfect number‑four in the All-out attack-defense philosophy—I know exactly how to use him!"

"This isn't an exhibition match! We can't lose to the South America team!"

It's not that Fan Jia Er doesn't respect Ke Lu Yin Fu.

The grudge between the two has a long history.

Back in their playing days, the rich second‑generation Xiao Fan looked down on the poor‑background crazy youth Ke.

Pi Er Luo was about to step in to mediate, but Ha Wei grabbed him.

He whispered: "When those two meet, it's always like that; don't worry about so much, this is a charity match."

The latter then turned and waved at Li Kang.

"Li, let's go warm up!"

"Try to use your body as little as possible; those middle-aged Americans can't handle your rough play."

Over 100,000 fans poured into Wembley Stadium.

Banners supporting each legendary star fluttered from all sides of the stands.

English fans did not make up the majority.

Amid shouts like a landslide and tsunami, languages from all over the world were mixed in.

This star stadium was first built in 1923, torn down and rebuilt in 2000, completed in 2007, at a cost of 7.8 billion pounds.

With a diameter of nearly 300 meters, the circular pitch has stands 52 meters high and boasts the world's largest single arch, standing 133 meters tall, making it Europe's largest dedicated football stadium.

It has hosted the World Cup final, the Euro final, and eight UEFA Champions League finals, and is hailed as the holy temple of European football.

"ESPN! ESPN! Welcome to watching the 2017 FIFA-organized Euro-America All-Star Charity Match."

"This isn't just an ordinary Zidane friends team versus Ronaldo friends team!"

"We see many superstars in their prime also made the roster!"

"C Ronaldo and Messi are facing off on the same stage!"

"Zidane and Ronaldo are clashing again!"

"Can Italy's historic steel defense hold back the samba's fantastical onslaught?"

"Let's wait and see!"

Staff urged the players from both sides to finish their warm-up quickly.

The match is about to begin.

Harvey was surprised to discover: even without eye contact, he and Li Kang both knew what the other wanted to do on the field; then the question arose—how should possession be divided?

Should I treat Li as Nesta or as Busquets?

Pirlo seemed to see his rival's thought, saying: "You should consider yourself as Nesta or Busquets..."

The older guys burst out laughing.

Nesta gazed at Li Kang's back, inexplicably feeling a sense of closeness.

The South American All-Star team's locker room.

Maradona and Pelé loudly cheered on the teammates.

The two football kings held no positions in this charity match; they just got itchy feet and wished they could personally jump onto the pitch to play!

Normally I'd just treat this as a friendly match.

In this Europe-America showdown, how could we lose to the opponent!

Head coach Bielsa glanced at his watch and hurriedly urged the two to quickly finish the "chicken soup infusion."

He is the spokesperson for attacking football; in his coaching dictionary, the term "low defensive position" never appears.

"We can't limit any one of Harvey, Pirlo, Li, or Zidane!"

"Unless we can field fifteen players!"

"Attack!"

"The frail European old guard cannot withstand our assault!"

Ronaldinho had his arm around Messi's shoulder.

His smile was radiant.

"I'll pass you the ball, Leo! Come on!"

Messi stared blankly.

It felt as if he had returned to the night of his debut with Barcelona's first team...

In the corner, Tevez couldn't help but curl his lip.

The referee corps led the players from both sides out of the tunnel.

Wembley Stadium instantly erupted.

The fans shouted hoarsely, calling out each legend's name.

It seemed they were also shouting for their lost youth.