Awakening the Messi template, Florentino Pérez begs me to join Real Madrid

Three days after the system upgrade was completed, the quarter-final matchups for the AFC Champions League were announced.

Guangzhou Evergrande vs Al Ain

A powerhouse in the UAE and a traditionally strong team in West Asia.

But what caught his attention most was a familiar name on the opposing team.

Number 10, Omar Abdulrahman.

"Gulf Messi"

Wu Shi's memory was pulled back to a few months ago, to the quarterfinals of the Asian Youth Championship.

In that match, the Chinese youth team fought hard to win in extra time, but Omar single-handedly disrupted the entire midfield.

After the match,

Takeshi once asked Gin about the comparison between himself and Omar at that time, and the systematic evaluation was:

"At the time, technically, he was more refined than you; in game reading, he was more mature; in physical duels... you were slightly stronger, but you were still like a bean sprout. But he was the 'Gulf Messi,' and you were the 'China League One Messi,' understand?"

Now, more than a year later, the two meet again on an even bigger stage – the AFC Champions League quarterfinals.

"You all saw that, right?" Lippi's voice pulled Wu Shi back to reality. The old man pointed to Omar's name with a laser pointer. "Number 10, Omar. Their absolute core, everything in their attack revolves around him."

"His characteristics: extremely refined technique, top-tier ability to break free in tight spaces in Asia, deceptive yet deadly passing, and adept at creating scoring opportunities in the middle and flanks."

Lippi turned off the projector. "The weaknesses are also obvious: average physical strength, low defensive involvement, speed is not an advantage, and... a bit selfish. When they're on a roll, they're like magicians; when they're off, they're prone to losing their temper."

He glanced at the players in midfield, his gaze finally settling on Wu Shi:

"In this match, you need to contain Omar. Cut off his connection with the forwards and force him away from danger zones."

"Understood." Wu Shi nodded.

The night before departing for the UAE, Wu Shi activated the "Dynamic Defense Pressure Simulation Chamber" in his apartment.

The image of "Silver" floated to the side, still wearing that slightly mocking expression: "What, meeting an old friend ahead of time?"

"Retrieve Omar Abdulrahman's match data and generate a simulated opponent," Wu Shi said directly.

"As you wish." Silver snapped his fingers, and in the center of the training field, a virtual player wearing an Al Ain number 10 jersey gradually took shape.

"Generated based on data from the last 15 matches, with 85% simulation accuracy. Includes his habitual dribbling routes, passing preferences, and shooting hot zones. Note that he won't act exactly according to historical data; he will learn and try to break down your defensive habits—just as you would," Yin explained. "Training objective: In a ten-minute simulation segment, successfully limit his key passes to no more than 2 and complete at least 1 effective tackle. Begin."

Wu Shi took a deep breath and stepped into the arena.

The virtual Omar receives a pass from his "teammate" and turns around. Wu Shi immediately steps forward, maintaining a distance of one and a half steps, and lowers his center of gravity.

Omar looked up at him—the expression he made was incredibly lifelike.

Then, the feet began to move.

He started by slowly dribbling the ball laterally, then suddenly changed his rhythm, flicked the ball to the right with his left foot, and pretended to break through to the right!

As soon as Wu Shi shifted his weight, Omar deftly flicked the ball back to his left foot with his left ankle, and at the same time, he slipped through the gap left by Wu Shi's movement like an eel!

A clean and efficient rhythm that surpasses others!

"Too hasty." "Silver's" voice rang out. "When dealing with a master of rhythm like this, falling for feints is a major no-no. Keep your distance, block the lines, don't rush in for the ball."

Wu Shi got up, gritting his teeth. He knew Omar was skilled, but he hadn't expected that such subtlety and deception would be amplified in the simulator.

The second time, Wu Shi learned his lesson and stopped making hasty tackles. He simply positioned himself between Omar and the penalty area, constantly adjusting his position with small, quick steps.

Omar wasn't in a hurry. He dribbled laterally near midfield, occasionally looking up to observe. Just as Wu Shi relaxed his guard slightly, wanting to see which way he was going, Omar unexpectedly delivered a low through ball with the outside of his right foot!

Like a scalpel, the ball pierced through the tiny gap between Wu Shi and another virtual defender, precisely finding the advancing virtual striker!

"Beautiful! That's his pass! You only covered the front, but missed the passing angle!" Silver commented. "To defend him, you have to pay attention to the ball, his man, and all his possible passing lanes simultaneously. Multitasking, understand?"

Training continued. Wu Shi was repeatedly beaten and his passes were repeatedly exploited. Omar's virtual avatar seemed to be performing an elegant dance, while Wu Shi was merely the clumsy supporting character.

But he did not lose heart. With each failure, he observed and memorized.

Omar has a habit of feinting to the left before breaking through to the right? Then next time he should block the right flank in advance.

Does Omar like to suddenly flick the ball with his heel while dribbling to change direction? Then he won't get too close, giving himself time to react.

Gradually, he went from being completely outmaneuvered to being able to disrupt their movements, and eventually to being able to occasionally break up passes.

After the ten-minute simulation ended, Wu Shi was soaked in sweat and panting heavily.

"Statistics: Successfully limited 1 key pass (2 targets), 0 effective steals (1 target). Failed."

"Silver" reported the result, but there seemed to be little blame in his tone. "However, your defensive choices in the second half improved. At least you know how to use your brain instead of brute force."

"Let's do it again." Wu Shi wiped his sweat.

"The simulation chamber time has reached the critical value today."

UAE, Al Ain, Haza bin Zayed Stadium.

The match kicked off at 8 p.m. local time.

The stadium, which can hold more than 20,000 people, was packed to capacity.

As expected, Omar started the game, positioned in the forward midfield position. During warm-up, he saw Wu Shi, nodded in greeting from afar, and wore a faint, polite smile.

Compared to the initial indifference the other person showed when they first met, at least now the opponent acknowledges him.

Wu Shi nodded in response.

The referee blew the whistle, and the game began.

Al Ain, taking advantage of their home ground, attempted to control the tempo from the start. Almost 80% of their attacks passed through Omar's feet.

The first head-on confrontation occurred in the 6th minute.

Omar dropped back to midfield to receive the ball, and Zheng Zhi immediately marked him closely. Omar leaned on Zheng Zhi, turned with a light pull-back, seemingly trying to get rid of him, but at the moment Zheng Zhi exerted force to defend, he passed the ball back to the supporting defensive midfielder, while he himself quickly moved forward.

Following the tactic, Wu Shi immediately switched positions and followed.

Omar received another pass at the right edge of the penalty area. Wu Shi quickly closed in, maintaining a step's distance, blocking his path to cut inside.

Omar, facing Wu Shi, did not rush to make a move, but slowly dribbled the ball sideways while observing Wu Shi's footwork and center of gravity.

Suddenly, he gently flicked the ball to the right with his left foot, his body leaning to the right in sync.

Another change of direction? Wu Shi focused intently, taking small steps to move sideways, preparing to block.

But Omar's rightward lean was just an extremely convincing feint!

His left foot instantly snapped the ball back, and at the same time, he darted through the gap on the left side left by Wu Shi's shift in weight!

The rhythm was almost identical to that in the simulation training, but even more fluid and unpredictable!

Wu Shi was completely wiped out!

After getting past Wu Shi, Omar didn't continue his advance. Instead, before Feng Xiaoting could cover, he delivered a curving cross with the outside of his left foot!

The ball wasn't fast, but its curve was tricky, bypassing Feng Xiaoting's defense at the near post and accurately finding the Al Ain striker making a run at the far post!

A header!

Score

"1 to 0!"

The ball went straight into the net!