Chapter 56: Is Rakitić a Rotating Substitute?

The Rome fans at the Olympic Stadium held up their signs high.

"NOTOTTI, NOPARTY!"

They firmly believed that the great Rome Wolf King would change the course of the match.

Too bad.

Totti is old.

When he again received the ball in the rib area, preparing to reorganize the attack.

Suddenly, Lewokusen's number 10 surged forward and blocked his pass.

"A clash of the two number-10 jerseys!"

"Totti's ability to elude defenders in place is still top-notch... ah!"

Totti shielded the ball with his side, then lightly flicked it with his heel!

Trying to shake off Lewokusen's number 10's press.

His movement speed was far worse than before.

Li Kang leaned back, stepped forward with his left foot, and quickly poked the ball with the sole of his foot!

Totti missed a step, staggered, and knocked the Chinese‑heritage player to the ground.

The noise at the Olympic Stadium gradually faded.

The Rome fans seemed unwilling to believe what they were seeing.

"Oh no! Possession has returned to Lewokusen's side!"

"Li Kang's challenge this time was still not a foul!"

"The ball has come to Son Heung-min's feet!"

"Lewokusen's counterattack!"

-【Is Totti too weak?】

-【He's old, his body can't keep up with his mind; his dribbling and ball control were strong when he was young! Now he can only bully weaklings.】

-【It's not entirely for this reason; aside from the midfielders of Real Madrid, Juventus, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea, anyone else who faces Li Kang will find it a bit unpleasant!】

-【What's unpleasant? Haven't you seen that 39‑year‑old Totti can still physically match up with 17‑year‑old Li Kang?】

Lewokusen's counterattack opportunity was cut off by Rüdiger.

The ball bounced out of bounds.

Totti stood up and pulled Li Kang to his feet.

He friendly patted the back of the Chinese‑heritage genius's head.

The Rome Wolf King has always protected young players; in his career, he has only ever beaten Inter Milan's Balotelli.

He gazed at Lewokusen's number 10.

For a moment, his thoughts were tangled.

At the edge of the field.

García hesitated for a moment, then made a downward pressing gesture toward Rome's defensive players.

Rome had to limit the number of attackers to prevent Lewokusen's counterattacks.

This was only the first round of the group stage.

On the other side.

Dino exclaimed in surprise, "Boss, did you see that Li Kang just used the sole of his foot to trap the ball?"

Tuopu Laotou stroked his chin and mused, "He's kicked another bad habit from La Masia youth training! He no longer simply likes to touch the ball with his instep and arch."

Brandt on the bench twitched the corner of his mouth: "Damn, can they really force a link to La Masia?"

Match time ticked by second by second.

Lewokusen's players expended great stamina on the defensive end.

Only then did Li Kang understand the benefit of the "Green Tangerine Fizzy Candy".

A sweet tangerine flavor occasionally lingered in his throat.

This kept his focus consistently high.

It seemed the candy maintained his mental state by deceiving the brain.

The cheers at the Olympic Stadium gradually faded.

Beep! Beep-beep~

When the head referee blew the whistle signaling the end of the match.

Tuopu Laotou and Dino rushed excitedly onto the pitch!

"Congratulations, Lewokusen! They secured their first victory of the season in the Champions League group stage!"

"Chinese‑heritage prospect Li Kang contributed one goal and one assist, helping the team defeat Rome 2‑0!"

"The official UEFA player ratings have also been released! As expected, Li Kang earned MVP of the match!"

Dragon Kingdom livestream.

Colorful barrage comments flooded the screen.

-【What does this prove? It proves that we, the people of Dragon Kingdom, can also play football well—we just lack the big environment and the soil!】

-【I estimate that before the group stage even finishes, Li Kang will crush Manchester United's former Park Ji‑sung in goals and assists!】

-【Don't hype him up too much—Li Kang still has to go to Camp Nou to face Barcelona in the second group‑stage match! It won't be that easy; he's only 17, but as long as he stays injury‑free and maintains form, he will eventually break the Asian player record in the Champions League.】

-【I still remember that year when Barcelona beat Lewokusen 7‑1 in the Champions League, and the away fans were reduced to tears!】

The lingering sweetness that Li Kang kept savoring faded as the match ended.

He couldn't help but let out a yawn.

Under the entourage of his teammates.

He swayed, as if he could fall asleep on the ground at any moment.

The coaching staff and teammates hadn't noticed this at all.

Reporters and media also swarmed past security, rushing onto the pitch and thrusting microphones toward the Leverkusen head coach!

"Mr. Tuop! I am Seguir from Marca. How do you view the upcoming away group-stage match at Camp Nou?"

"Mr. Tuop, what magic did you use to turn a Barcelona castoff into this season's most watched Champions League prodigy?"

Marca?

Why doesn't this toilet-paper paper pay attention to La Liga teams' Champions League matches and instead come to Rome?

"Tuop Laotou could no longer hide it, he muttered: "I didn't do anything; Li already had the ability to control matches when he was in Leverkusen's youth team..."

He paused.

"No matter who the opponent is! Nothing can block Leverkusen's path to advancement this year!" he said solemnly.

Totti loudly encouraged the disheartened Roma teammates.

Pjanic got up, brushing grass off his backside.

He and Li Kang had agreed beforehand to swap jerseys.

Although in this match I was knocked down three or four times by the Asian kid.

But it won't affect the post-match mood.

"Li!"

Pjanic moved closer to the Leverkusen crowd, took off his jersey, revealing a full slab of abdominal muscles.

Li Kang smiled.

Reporters and media raised their cameras, capturing the moment the two midfield geniuses swapped jerseys.

"Jerry, that's a shame, isn't it? I'd rather have gotten a photo of Li Kang and Totti swapping jerseys!"

"Tom, Totti's era is over! The future of European football belongs to these two styles of midfielders!"

The Leverkusen players returned to their hotel.

Li Kang lay on the bed, and as soon as he closed his eyes, he fell asleep.

In his mind echoed the system's notification...

"【Ding! Congratulations, Host, on completing the mission...】"

Son Heung-min helped him tighten the blanket.

He quickly changed into his travel outfit, wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses, and a mask.

Brandt excitedly asked: "Where are you going? Take me along! I heard Rome and Naples have the best pizza! Plus mozzarella soft-cheese pastries…

Bendtle tossed over a game console, saying sternly: "Just play games in the room; we're not going to a kids' playground!"

Brandt was about to retort.

Kramer laughed: "Send me a message telling me what you want to eat! I'll help you pack it back!"

He said.

The three sneaked out of the hotel room.

Their destination.... was Via Marco Street in Rome!

Meanwhile.

Barcelona played away at the cold banks of the Berezina River.

With a squad of substitutes, they easily beat BATE Borisov 3–0.

No Messi.

No Yinniesita.

Coach Enrique was surrounded by microphones from all media outlets.

He didn't seem to be enjoying the victory's joy, calmly saying:

"Leverkusen beat Roma? I wasn't paying attention to that match! After the game I'll find time to watch the replay."

"Yes, in the next round we'll face Leverkusen with our full starting lineup!"

"Li Kang! I've watched his match footage; he's a very promising young player, and if he's willing to return to Barça, he could become Rakitić's rotational substitute!"

"You know, Barça faces multi-front pressure every season..."