Soccer: If they're using these kinds of cheats, what's the point of training?

Zhang Kuang stood up from the bench, high-fived his teammates, and celebrated with the coaching staff.

He walked onto the field to celebrate with his teammates. Although this match had used up all the health points he had painstakingly accumulated recently, winning was enough.

He did everything he could in this match.

Grenoble's Japanese international Daisuke Matsui stood in the center of the field, hands on his hips, panting heavily. His jersey was covered in mud and grass clippings, and sweat dripped from his forehead onto the turf.

He lost the game.

But his performance was far from bad – one assist, one goal, and several crucial tackles on the defensive end. From any perspective, he was one of Grenoble's best players in this match.

But his arrogant behavior was even more terrifying.

Matsui Daisuke stood there, looking at the arrogant man not far away. The Chinese man was ten years younger than him, half a head taller, a whole size stronger, faster, jumped higher, had a better header, a better long-range shot, and his dribbling skills were beyond his reach.

Most importantly: Zhang Kuang has an unlimited future, while he is about to reach the end of his career.

Throughout the match, Daisuke Matsui was trying to prove one thing—that he, as a Japanese player of genius caliber, was no less talented than Chinese players of genius caliber.

But when the competition ended, he discovered the harsh reality: arrogance was something he couldn't match at all.

He took a deep breath and walked towards Zhang Kuang.

Zhang Kuang was talking to Grihidin when he saw Matsui Daisuke walking over and paused for a moment.

Matsui Daisuke walked up to him, took off his jersey, and handed it to him with both hands.

"Exchange jerseys?" His French had a distinct Japanese accent, but every word was clear.

Zhang Kuang looked him in the eye, nodded, took off his number 33 jersey, and handed it over.

The moment the two exchanged jerseys, Matsui Daisuke bowed deeply.

A standard Japanese bow.

It's not the kind of polite bow where you just nod and lift your head; it's the kind of bow where you bend your waist more than 90 degrees and hold it for more than two seconds.

Zhang Kuang was stunned.

He didn't expect Daisuke Matsui to do this.

Exchanging jerseys is a common courtesy on the football field, but bowing—especially to opposing players after a loss—is extremely rare in professional football.

It was a deep-seated respect.

Matsui Daisuke straightened up, looked at Zhang Kuang, and said, "You are the pride of Asia. Keep it up and become a superstar like Ronaldo and Messi, so that we in Asia will also have football superstars."

Zhang Kuang nodded after hearing this; he understood the look in Matsui Daisuke's eyes.

Zhang Kuang reached out his hand to him.

Matsui Daisuke grasped his hand.

"If it weren't for historical reasons, perhaps we could have become friends. Good luck to you."

Matsui Daisuke gave a standard smile, nodded, turned around, and walked into the players' tunnel...

Meanwhile, Chinese fans went wild online.

"I cried. Matsui Daisuke bowed to Zhang Kuang. Japanese national team players bowed to Chinese players. This is a scene I never thought I would see."

"Zhang Kuang defeated the Japanese national team player with his strength. He didn't just defeat one person, he defeated the pride of an entire nation."

"To be honest, when I saw Daisuke Matsui bow, I felt that all the grievances that Chinese football has suffered over the years were worth it."

"Daisuke Matsui is a player worthy of respect. He accepts defeat without arguing or making excuses, and even bows in respect. That's true sportsmanship."

"Arrogance is awesome! Chinese football is awesome!"

"Don't bring up Chinese football. Zhang is arrogant, but Chinese football is still Chinese football. Zhang may be arrogant and impressive, but Chinese football is still Chinese football."

"No matter what, I'm proud today. Not proud of Chinese football, but proud of Zhang Kuang."

"What's the reaction from Japanese netizens? Has anyone shared this?"

The online scene in Japan is equally explosive.

"Matsui-kun bowed to that Chinese man..."

"Why? Why bow? Did we lose? Did we lose three to five? Yes, we lost, but was it necessary to bow?"

"Matsui-kun is expressing respect for the strong. This is sportsmanship, not admitting defeat."

"That Chinese player was indeed strong. Three goals and two assists, he was involved in five goals all by himself. Matsui-kun had one goal and one assist, which was already a very good performance, but that Chinese player was on another level."

"Admit it, Zhang Kuang is the strongest player in the history of Asian football, without a doubt."

"Don't say that. He's only played a few games. Let's see if he can maintain that level for half a season."

"A few matches are enough; he's shown a lot of his abilities. Have you ever seen an Asian player perform like that in Ligue 1? Creating five goals by himself? Even Hidetoshi Nakata hasn't done that."

……

These are all off-field comments. Zhang Kuang and his teammates went to the away fans' section to thank them, but along the way, many female fans threw notes at him.

"Zhang, Fuck, Fuck, Call me, Call me!"

"Zhang, look, look!" A female fan forcefully squeezed her breasts and displayed her weapon to Zhang.

"open……"

Zhang Kuang wore a wry smile. Although he was thick-skinned, he couldn't show anything now, so he could only put his hands together in greeting to these people and then quickly leave.

Afterwards, Zhang Kuang was informed by the staff that he had once again won the MVP award.

This marks his fourth consecutive MVP award.

He held the game ball—and handed it to his teammates so they could sign it—

As he reached the entrance to the passage, a familiar figure appeared before him.

Marina Durand stared at him with a resentful look, as if she wanted to devour him.

She was wearing a black business suit, her blonde hair was draped over her shoulders, she was holding a microphone, and a cameraman was following behind her.

"Zhang!" Her voice carried a strange enthusiasm. "Congratulations! A hat trick! Three goals and two assists! You were involved in five goals all by yourself!"

"Thank you." Zhang Kuang nodded politely.

"Could you do a post-match interview with us?"

Zhang Kuang glanced at the camera lens, then at Marina's eyes that were shining under the lights.

"Of course, who could resist TF1's beautiful reporter?"

Marina walked up to him—standing very close, so close that Yang Kuang could smell her perfume.

"First of all, congratulations on your hat-trick. How many hat-tricks have you scored since joining Auxerre?" she asked.

"The fourth one," Zhang Kuang said. "The third in the league, and one in the French Cup."

"Five games, four hat tricks!" Marina's voice held an exaggerated astonishment. "That's insane! What do you think was your best performance today?"

Zhang Kuang thought for a moment and said, "I stepped up when the team was in its most difficult time."

"You were down 0-2 in the first half, and after you pulled one back, you were down 1-3 again. What were you thinking at that moment?"

"I'm thinking, we can't lose." Zhang Kuang said quickly, "No matter what it takes, we can't lose. If we want to be strong, we must have the spirit of a strong team and the team's genes to turn the game around."

Marina nodded, then changed the subject: "Today you showcased many techniques we've never seen before in the match—stepovers, wing breakthroughs, and consecutive dribbling past opponents. Were these techniques something you already possessed but hadn't showcased, or did you only recently develop them?"

Zhang Kuang remained silent for a second.

"I've always had these skills," he said. "It's just that I'm a bit lazy. After all, being a center forward only requires heading the ball near the penalty area and kicking it to solve the problem. Why bother being a winger and making long runs? Running is tiring, so I'd rather not run if I can avoid it."

"Huh? You play center so you don't have to run long distances like a winger? That's... pretty lazy."

"One last question, how would you rate your opponents and teammates today? What made it so difficult for you?"

Zhang Kuang: "Well, to put it simply, our teammates weren't very enthusiastic today. It's probably because after playing for more than half a season, the players' nerves were a bit tired from being so tense. Plus, we were playing against the bottom-ranked team today, so everyone completely relaxed, and as a result, we almost capsized."

If our team wants to compete for the championship, I think our teammates need to overcome this mental fatigue, because a championship-contending team cannot afford to lose a single game.

As for our opponents, I would say they deserved the victory today. Their tactics successfully countered ours, their players performed far better than ours, and considering their unity and the home advantage, they truly seemed more like the winning side.

Marina: "It's a pity they ran into you today with such a stellar performance. Well, thank you for the interview."

She gestured for the camera to turn off, then tilted her head slightly and lowered her voice, "Zhang, are you free tonight? I'd like to do a more in-depth interview."

Zhang Kuang glanced at her: "I definitely have time. Any new ways to play?"

Marina smiled, a smile that contained the politeness of a professional journalist, but also something else entirely.

"I guarantee you'll be satisfied. Okay, I'll contact you."