Chapter 145: Son Heung-min Is the Wind-Chasing Boy, Xia Qi Is the Boy Chased by the Wind
English football hooligans are notorious across Europe.
Don't be fooled by Arsenal's softer playing style — their fans rank third in Premier League hooliganism.
A team's playing style is determined by the coach's temperament, while a club's temperament is shaped by its history.
Arsenal came from an armaments factory background, so don't expect too much elegance or refinement from that heritage.
In the Premier League, ranked by number of arrests and people arrested, Arsenal is third; first and second are Liverpool and Newcastle respectively.
Tottenham, Arsenal's "historic foe," ranks fourth.
But in terms of "fighting ability,"
neither Arsenal nor Tottenham ranks highly!
Arsenal: plays well but lousy at fighting, a bunch of weaklings. Commonly called: crap and loves to play.
Tottenham: neither good at football nor at fighting, commonly called: a bunch of wimps.
In England, the most violent fighters are Millwall in the Championship and then West Ham United's Hammers in the Premier League.
Those two clubs: no good at much, but number one at fighting. (One is the Championship's top, the other the Premier League's top.)
Their matches are called the "Dockers' Derby"; even a friendly between them could be deadly. It's the most explosive derby in England — explosive off the pitch.
Thank goodness Millwall can't get promoted to the Premier League, otherwise…
In short, Arsenal and Tottenham's hooliganism belongs to the "loudmouth but weak" category — all show.
When the riot police enter, those fans ripping out seats and lighting fires toss away their tools and scatter.
But the police aren't going to let them off. In groups of three or five they swarm and surround the fans who didn't get away in time.
Under water cannons, batons and shields the riot is quickly suppressed.
However, in the stands:
"Fuck you cops, you idiots! Come on then!"
"Shit. If I weren't worried about point deductions, I'd beat you so your mother wouldn't even recognize you."
"Brothers, don't be scared! Kill these cops! If we're as fierce as the Hammers, these sons of bitches will be afraid…"
Those who shout such words are the same ones ducking into the crowd as they shout.
That's the characteristic of Arsenal and Tottenham fans: big mouths!
So Chelsea fans look down on them.
…
In the south stand, Xia's father held Xia's mother tightly. Xia's mother struggled and cried, "Our son, our son — little Qi… "
Xia's mother wasn't so much worried about her own safety as she was terrified of her son — Xia Qi — getting into a fight on the pitch.
Through sobbing she kept asking her husband whether their son would be all right.
Xia's father kept reassuring her.
On the pitch the players' skirmish was over quickly — in this era of huge money in football, fans are often more passionate and more loyal than the players…
You only need to separate the players who've momentarily lost their heads and the conflict subsides fast.
Why should workers beat other workers?
Today the opponent, maybe tomorrow a teammate — Iker Casillas and Carles Puyol even "came out" as friends; are there really enemies among players?…
Seeing captain Thomas Vermaelen sent off and still indignant, and seeing Arsène Wenger and Pat Rice and other coaches on the touchline anxiously and energetically urging fans to calm down,
Xia Qi handed Vermaelen a stepladder: "Captain, let's help Boss calm the fans, otherwise we'll get points deducted."
Vermaelen and the others were stunned, then rushed to their section of the stands…
The coaches' and players' appeals had effect; many fans sat back down. Seconds later the Arsenal anthem rose again…
…
Vermaelen finally calmed completely. He took off the captain's armband and personally placed it on Xia Qi's arm.
"Captain, the vice-captain is the second captain."
"Xia, you saved Theo in the Champions League — now please save me. We must win this game."
Mikel Arteta walked over, patted Xia Qi on the backside, said nothing, and helped seat the armband on Xia Qi's bicep.
In an instant,
a strong fighting spirit spread through Xia Qi's chest. He nodded hard: "Mm!"
The captain's armband handover was immediately snapped by pitchside photographers; countless camera flashes lit up and more fans noticed…
A huge cheer rose over the Emirates…
Stadium DJ: "Welcome Arsenal's youngest captain in club history — Xia… Xia…"
Arsenal fans screamed hysterically: "Qi… Qi…"
The broadcast camera swung to Arsène Wenger on the bench. There was a trace of surprise on his face.
Fans at home and in the stands immediately knew this wasn't Wenger's decision; some booed.
Wenger heard the boos and gave a helpless smile…
…
After the referee consulted both coaches and the fourth official, he signaled to continue play…
"Ding dong"
"Host, please choose 'Training' or 'Match' mode."
"Match."
"Host, please choose pitch position: A Forward, B Midfield…"
"B."
"Detected the host is in a predicament. Matching [Pirlo Rhythm]…"
"Please choose 'Autonomous Mode' or 'One-click AFK Mode'."
"Friendly reminder: during AFK the system will automatically perform all required actions."
"One-click AFK!"
…
Arsenal: Vermaelen sent off, Santi Cazorla injured and off — nine men remain on the field.
(Aaron Ramsey, replacing Cazorla, must wait for a stoppage in play to enter.)
Two men down, the new captain Xia Qi led the team into defense.
For Tottenham, of course they wanted to take advantage of Arsenal being two men short.
Because Capoue had fouled, possession went to Arsenal.
A free ball from the back — Arteta played to Theo Walcott and Tottenham pressed furiously.
Christian Eriksen intercepted and fed Son Heung-min out front.
With the ball, Son raced forward like a horse spurred.
Arteta found it difficult to stop Son. One turn and Son had gained a yard.
But Son was a little too arrogant too soon.
Xia Qi quickly accelerated in and cut off Son's inside cutting lane.
Son, a little excited — he'd been waiting for this Asia Derby — pulled the ball to the outside.
However, the outside overtake that usually worked didn't work this time!
The outside lane is the outside lane; you can't get past — Xia Qi kept pushing him toward the touchline.
"Xia Qi squeezes Son Heung-min to the touchline. Last season Xia Qi contained Bale — so defending Son should be no problem."
Seeing the touchline approaching, Son grew anxious…
If he didn't force it, all he'd get would be a corner.
That was unacceptable to proud Son.
He suddenly braked hard!
He planned to make Xia Qi run past and then cut in from behind into the box.
But when he stopped, Xia Qi stopped too.
It was as if they had rehearsed it.
Son was surprised!
His sudden stop was an impromptu idea — how had Xia Qi read it?
No time to think, Son started again, thinking now he'd catch Xia Qi by surprise.
But Xia Qi continued shadowing him, staying inside and pushing him out.
Along the way Son tried to muscle past Xia Qi several times but hit a brick wall; apart from bruising his shoulder and chest, he gained nothing.
Near the touchline, unwilling to accept just a corner, Son decided to run to the very line and then slip in from there.
At the line Son arrested the ball, feigned to kick at Xia Qi's ankle as if seeking a corner.
However,
Xia Qi didn't dodge — he made the fake real and slid in with a decisive tackle.
Xia Qi's tackle was committed; as if he knew Son wouldn't flick the ball past,
Now,
Son panicked.
Mind: slam the ball past so it bounces out for a corner.
Body: tick-tock! tick-tock! Like an old pocket watch, sluggishly executing the previous command.
The mismatch between mind and body meant Son watched in disbelief as Xia Qi slid and hooked the ball clean onto his foot.
Shit!
So humiliating!
And it was a tackle that retained the ball!
Son's mind flashed images of disappointed Korean girls covering their mouths: "Oppa!"
A real man can't let girls down, so he revived at full power and immediately turned to win the ball back.
But he had clearly underestimated how quickly Xia Qi would get up.
By the time he turned, Xia Qi had already finished getting to his feet and shielded the ball.
He left no chance.
"A beautiful bit of defending — a third-year in the Premier League teaching a first-year a lesson."
"Xia Qi has skill and courage. A tackle that keeps the ball — normally you just destroy the ball and call it a win."
"Hope Son Heung-min doesn't develop a psychological scar…"
Winning the ball from Son wasn't a huge feat, but a tackle that retains possession is real ability — and also a bit of disdain…
The Emirates rang with Arsenal cheers and Tottenham jeers aimed at Xia Qi.
On the pitch,
Capoue and Eriksen charged at Xia Qi, trying to form a pincer with Son.
Xia Qi wouldn't let them. He threaded the ball out of the gap.
He accelerated past Eriksen.
Mousa Dembélé hurried to cover Eriksen. Xia Qi chased down the ball but didn't try to outmuscle Dembélé; instead he passed to Theo Walcott.
Xia Qi kept running forward.
"Ding dong, [Telepathic Synchrony] attribute activated."
Walcott didn't take a touch; he immediately played a through ball behind Tottenham left-back Danny Rose.
Normally a wall-pass sequence would have Walcott return to link with Dembélé, then pass behind Dembélé — the two one-twos would be the expected flow. But under [Telepathic Synchrony], Walcott trusted Xia Qi and "saw" the opportunity, putting the ball straight behind Danny Rose in one move.
"Holy shit! That wall-pass was way too long!"
"Can Xia Qi catch that?"
Seeing Walcott make such a pass, everyone's heads filled with question marks — they didn't know whether Walcott had supreme confidence in Xia Qi or simply looked down on Danny Rose.
On the touchline Wenger suddenly stood up — he realized Walcott's pass was brilliant!
This wasn't a mistake but a masterful through ball!
Two wall-passes are safe but blunt; this through ball cut the Spurs defense open…
Marvelous!
Under Wenger's gaze, Xia Qi sprinted forward with absolute confidence.
Son's mouth hung open. He was shocked to find Xia Qi running faster than him.
He instantly understood why Xia Qi had been able to match him in defense — Xia Qi had been effortless in guarding him.
Realizing this, Son's face flushed.
Arsenal fans in the stands saw Xia Qi heading on a long run to punch through Spurs' defense and cheered him on, indifferent to whether Xia Qi and Walcott had underestimated Danny Rose.
"Xia, go!!!"
"Xia, push! You're the best — Bolt's no match for you!"
Spurs fans booed harshly, but their boos sounded less like attempts to disrupt and more like fear — fear that Danny Rose turning back wouldn't be faster than Xia Qi.
On the pitch, Danny Rose was a bit closer to the ball's landing spot — his recovery turn wasn't slow, but next to Xia Qi he looked like a snail.
His speed worried Spurs fans, and some impatience broke into curses: "Danny, you useless soft-footed shrimp!"
On the sidelines Pochettino went from disbelief to panic: "Fuck — get back! Now!"
The usually genteel coach swore, showing how stunned he was by Xia Qi.
He had planned a quick attack while Arsenal were down two men; instead they were being countered — Pochettino felt sick.
Danny Rose closed in and was only a step behind Xia Qi.
Seeing Xia Qi about to poke the ball away, Danny Rose resorted to a tactical foul, shoving hard at Xia Qi.
But,
Xia Qi stuck his leg in first to flick the ball, then twisted his body and slipped sideways, running out along the touchline and then cutting back inside.
"Outside-lane overtake! Danny Rose's tactical foul failed."
Fans behind the advertising boards roared.
Different from the TV view, behind the boards they had seen Xia Qi's evasive movement like a fish in water, and on the sideline he planted his feet and launched off at full power.
The mud splashed on their faces witnessed Xia Qi's agility and strength.
"Go Xia Qi!"
"Go Xia Qi!"
Wenger clenched his fists and watched the pitch. He'd judged correctly: Walcott's extremely long through ball was a stroke of genius.
In Penguin's live feed Zhan Jun shouted excitedly: "Son Heung-min is the wind-chasing boy, while Xia Qi is the boy the wind chases. He may not be the fastest in the world, but he's definitely the fastest on the pitch…"
On the field, there were two Spurs players who could get back in time.
One was Michael Dawson, the other Jan Vertonghen.
Vertonghen was smart; he covered behind Dawson.
Dawson got in Xia Qi's way.
Dawson didn't rush in; he watched Xia Qi's feet like a cat, crouched low.
When Xia Qi went past Dawson's left side and dribbled, Dawson triggered to block the shot.
But Xia Qi didn't shoot.
He nudged the ball to the right,
then shifted direction to cut into the box.
In a flash Dawson lost balance and his left foot swung for the ball but missed the rolling ball.
Like lightning, Xia Qi sped past Dawson's flank.
At that moment, Jan Vertonghen — hidden behind Dawson — pounced.
As the proverb goes, a mantis stalks the cicada while a oriole awaits behind!
However, at that moment Xia Qi suddenly pulled the ball back, retreating, ball and body moving backward until his back hit the recovering Dawson.
Xia Qi's retreat was inhuman!
Humans normally run with the ball toward goal.
But,
this backward move
opened up the field instantly.
Dawson was blocked behind Xia Qi, Vertonghen the oriole had missed and also disrupted goalkeeper Hugo Lloris's judgment.
Most deadly was that Xia Qi's retreat left the space ahead utterly empty!
In an instant,
Xia Qi struck toward the far corner.
The ball flew past Lloris's view and into the net.
3–2!
Tottenham tried to exploit Arsenal being short-handed with an attack, but their attempt backfired…
(END CHAPTER)
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