green knight

Chapter 55: Learning Free Kicks

"I understand." Li Zihan replied.

He seemed to feel something warm flowing through his heart.Just like that nagging adoptive mother who would sneak up every night to cover him with the quilt that he kicked out of bed.

Pirlo patted him on the shoulder: "Okay, I'm sorry to preach to you. In fact, the problem of us like to preach to young players when we are old is almost a common problem of old players, as if we like to rely on It’s as if one’s own age and experience are based on old age.”

Li Zihan said: "That's not true. We have an old saying in China, 'If you don't listen to the old man's words, you will suffer in front of your eyes!' It means that if you don't listen to the old man's experience, you will stumble sooner or later."

Pirlo laughed loudly: "Haha. I like this old saying. Your country always has a lot of interesting words that make sense after careful consideration."

Speaking of Li Zihan, he gasped with pride. For today's young people, it seems that the only thing they can show off to their international friends is the thousands of years of Chinese culture that they are not very familiar with.

"That is, that is our ancestors, the most precious wealth left to our descendants!"

"Haha. Well, let's stop talking about this, let's talk about your training, this is the top priority."

Pirlo thought for a while and said: "You have been targeted by other clubs for your limelight, and they will definitely set up targeted arrangements for you. After all, your magical scoring rate will make them deeply afraid."

Li Zihan nodded, he still understood this, after all Conte had told him before.Moreover, the Chinese all know two sayings: "A tree is as beautiful as a forest, but the wind is better than destroying it!"

"In this case, for a fast striker like you, and you are a young man, the best tactic is to foul! Use fouls to limit your speed and fluency, and young people are very angry, and it is easy to be like a powder keg when they are often violated. Same thing. So fouls are their best tactic, so we have a lot of set-pieces."

"You don't have a big problem with penalty kicks. With your current ability, it is almost impossible to shoot a penalty kick. And there is no world-class goalkeeper in Serie A. There is only one world-class goalkeeper standing behind you, so you only need to take a penalty kick occasionally. Just practice and the first thing to do is the free-kick."

"But free kicks aren't your forte?" Li Zihan asked suspiciously.

As long as fans with a little knowledge know that Pirlo's name is on the list of free kick masters, and the ranking is not yet behind.

At present, there are only two free kick masters who are still active or playing in the five major European leagues.One is the well-known heartthrob David Beckham who has just joined the Ligue [-] giants Paris Saint-Germain this season, and the other is the one standing in front of Li Zihan, with a big beard and unkempt appearance. Andrea Pirlo.

Pirlo said with a smile: "Lee, I am 33 years old. Maybe after one or two seasons, I will go to a small team or a low-level league to play for one or two years and retire, or wait for my contract with the club." When it is full, you will retire directly.”

Li Zihan understood what Pirlo meant, he didn't want his best free kick arc to walk off the pitch with him.

"Of course, whether you can learn this depends on your own understanding." Pirlo said with a smile.

He believes that Li Zihan will definitely learn it, and maybe he will be better than him in the future, because he sees Li Zihan's "talent".

Pirlo picked up the ball and placed it 35 yards from the goal. This distance is a better distance to score directly from a free kick.You won't miss the arc because you're too close, and you won't lose your aim because you're too far away.

Pirlo stepped back, started a run-up, and kicked the ball with his feet.

Li Zihan saw the ball fly into the sky, then fall, drawing a beautiful arc, and finally landed in the goal so lightly.

Li Zihan swallowed a mouthful of spit, this was the first time he watched the free kick master's free kick from such a close distance.I have only seen it on TV before, but because of Li Zihan's miraculous performance, Pirlo has not had many opportunities to display his special skills in the two months since he came here.

After scoring the goal, Pirlo shook his head dissatisfied: "It seems that I am still old. If the ball could go directly into the upper left corner of the goal hanging from the crossbar and the post, even Buffon would not be easy to save such a dead corner. .But now the ball is too straight, and the arc of the fall is not good enough. If there is a goalkeeper, the ball will probably be picked by the goalkeeper."

Li Zihan admired him even more. Even such a good curveball is not good enough to act aggressively. If it was him, he probably wouldn't have a curveball that flew directly out of the baseline.

Pirlo signaled Li Zihan to pay attention to his movements. He pointed to his ankles and said: "You must pay attention to the flexibility of your ankles when kicking a curve ball. , and finally use your ankles to throw the ball vigorously. When throwing the ball, you must pay attention to your ankles, and then draw an arc in your heart between two points inside the goal and your own position. If you think this way in your heart, your brain will Send your commands to your nerves, and your feet will try to kick like that."

"When you touch the ball, you must be quick. If you let the goalkeeper know that you are an upward falling ball, then he will prepare for the high-altitude ball in advance. You have to catch him by surprise, and don't give him thinking and observation. The rest is a lot of practice, you see, kicking a free kick is as simple as that." Pirlo finally spread his hands.

Li Zihan rolled his eyes, is this simple?Some people just like to call things that others can't do simple. In China, this kind of behavior is called "pretending to be forceful"!
Damn, if I said that scoring a goal is also very simple, I will probably be chased by Mirko tomorrow and hide in the Alps behind.

Then Pirlo took the ball back and motioned Li Zihan to do it again.

Li Zihan took a deep breath, then ran up, Lunjiao played ball bang!
The ball, the ball, the ball broke through the sky and flew directly to the runway outside the stadium.

Pirlo comforted: "It's normal to masturbate for the first time, just practice more. You must know that nothing can be learned at once."

Li Zihan nodded, took the ball basket not far away, and continued to practice.

bang. bang bang bang. bang.
After all the balls in the basket were kicked away, Li Zihan innocently looked at Pirlo who was sitting next to him on the grass.

Pirlo yawned: "It's okay, take your time, now get the ball back, and continue to practice, don't be discouraged, just keep going."

Li Zihan nodded, and pulled the ball basket to pick up the ball.

Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.
"Lee, use your ankles, ankles, don't shoot from long range."

Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.
"Ankle... Pay more attention to the arc of the ball in the air, and imagine the arc you need in your heart."

Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.
"Pay more attention to flexibility, don't stretch your thigh muscles too much, and lean your body moderately."

Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.
One and a half hours later
Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.
"Li, ankle. Ankle" Pirlo obviously felt that his voice had changed.

After kicking the basket, Li Zihan walked over.His sweaty face was flushed red. I don't know if it was the residual heat from the exercise or because he felt embarrassed.
"I'm sorry, Andrea. It's been so long, and I haven't even kicked an arc." Li Zihan didn't have the nerve to say that he had been training for so long, and there was no change at all before and after training.
"It's okay, it's just the first training. No one can improve so fast. Take your time. The most important thing in football is hard work and persistent training." Pirlo himself felt that his words were far-fetched.

At this time, he had to admit that, among many things, talent was really important.

"Well, it's not early today, so let's stop here. I will often stay with you to practice more in the future. Anyway, I don't like to hang out with those boys in bars and nightclubs. I don't have anything to do after get off work, so I come to accompany you You practice free kicks," Pirlo said.

"That's so embarrassing, it's too much trouble for you, my sister-in-law won't blame me."

When Pirlo was about to say no trouble, Li Zihan hurriedly said: "Then I will trouble you later, and I will definitely treat you and sister-in-law to dinner when I succeed. Otherwise, I will be embarrassed."

Pirlo's face twitched visibly, and he thought, are you still embarrassed?He put his arms around Li Zihan's shoulders and said with a strange smile: "Hey, the boy has made rapid progress, and he knows how to seize the opportunity so quickly."

He grabbed Li Zihan's hair which was not too long.

Li Zihan said with a dry smile: "Isn't that what you taught me just now, you should think about the old team members learning more."

Pirlo smiled: "Yes, yes. Then it's settled, I have to go back and see Li tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow, Andrea."

When Pirlo walked into the parking lot and was about to drive, he heard the sound of "bang, bang" coming from the big wall of the training base.

He smiled and shook his head, this unlucky boy, he really worked hard.However, it is good to be young, full of energy!

Then started the car and went home.

And Li Zihan in the training base was tirelessly practicing free kicks, and at this time a voice came: "Hey, Li, why are you still training so late tonight?"

Li Zihan turned his head and saw Giaccellini wiping his wet hair with a towel, it was obvious that he just took a shower.

[Although today's unprecedented company issued a double-break notice (it has always been a single break), it is Xiao Qi's turn to be on duty tonight. Sadly, when you read this chapter, Xiao Qi is still in the company office.A rare weekend! ! 】