Chapter 18: The Match (3)
As the match continued, Acosta, another midfielder on the red side, quickly took the throw-in and was pressed to link up with his team-mates, and although the La Liga season was not yet over, Sevilla FC had already booked the new star in advance.
The 20-year-old is a rising star in the Argentine Liga in the past two years and a regular of the Argentina Under-20 national team, winning the World Youth Championship in Canada with players such as Sergio Aguero. In the Argentine domestic media, Acosta has the characteristics of both Messi and Aguero, and it is because of him that Real Madrid striker Higuain was not selected for Batista's Argentine Olympic team.
However, in the face of media praise, Acosta said: "I am not Messi, and I don't want to be Aguero, I have my own style. ”
After linking up with Zabaleta, Acosta kept the ball firmly at his feet, and in the face of the team's big brother Riquelme's raised hand for the ball, the genius did not choose to pass the ball and launched an attack with the ball himself. Seeing this scene, Riquelme was a little dissatisfied but did not attack, and immediately ran forward from the other side to meet his teammates, such a desire to show and win is a quality that every young player will have.
With only a dozen players on the pitch, after leaving Di Maria behind, the area from the second half to the midfield immediately revealed a lot of space, and it was obvious that this defensive vacuum area had become Acosta's performance stage at this moment
"Stop him !!" For this talented attacking midfielder, the players on the yellow side will not take it lightly, and someone rushes up to intercept it without warning. But it is a pity that Banega, who rushed towards him, was left behind by Acosta in a playful manner, seeing the embarrassed appearance of the dead friend, Santhiago immediately rushed forward while secretly scolding the stupid donkey in his heart, although the age difference between the two is not much, but the semi-successful experience of traveling in Europe has given Santiago enough experience to deal with this situation.
"Come on! Let me see what it takes for you to stay in Milan for three years!! Acosta saw that Santhiago was leaning towards him, and instead of gritting his teeth and increasing his speed as fast as possible to get rid of Santiago, he slowly weakened and waited for Santiago, obviously wanting to come one-on-one.
Seeing the situation in the field, coach Battista smiled noncommittally, even after a relatively successful season in the A-League, Acosta's unconvinced character has not changed at all! But this time, Batista didn't blame him for going his own way, but looked at the calm-eyed Santiago with interest, and he wondered if Santiago could surprise him.
"Are you coming!?" As he caught a glimpse of Santhiago getting closer, Acosta held the ball between his legs, even when he was running. But just when he was about to make a passing move, San Tiago suddenly squeezed over, which was completely unexpected by Acosta, this San Tiago actually wanted to eat himself with his physical advantage!?
Almost instantly, he sensed Saint-Tiago's intentions, and the battle intent in Acosta's eyes immediately disappeared without a trace, replaced by infinite anger! Why can you Santiago be so confident! Everyone is a midfielder, there is not much difference in age and size, why do you dare to be so confident in such a situation! Are you looking down on me?
The phoenix that falls into the grass is not as good as a chicken! What's more, you, Santiago, are now just a pheasant that no one wants, and I, Lautaro Acosta, am a phoenix that is about to soar for nine days!
The psychology of not admitting defeat made Acosta not choose any way to deal with it, but knocked the ball forward and began to fight with Santiago at the same time! It's not that he didn't see the losses that Riquelme suffered before, but Acosta just thinks that today's Argentine midfielder is no longer Riquelme's era, so just because you Riquelme can't fight doesn't mean I can't fight!
Acosta had fierce eyes and didn't let go of San Tiago, but at the moment when the two of them were on top of their shoulders, Acosta was bounced out as if he had hit a wall, and Acosta collapsed in the shocked eyes of the players around him, and fell to the turf in embarrassment.
"Wow!" Everyone was in an uproar, who would have thought that this confrontation that seemed like Mars hitting the Earth would be one-sided?
On the other side, Saint-Tiago, who successfully completed the interception, did not say anything in the surprised eyes, and immediately after kicking the ball out of bounds, he turned to Acosta and stretched out his right hand to pull it up, without any smug expression on his face, only concern for Acosta.
It turned out that San Tiago had begun to constantly adjust his breathing while intercepting Acosta diagonally, mobilizing his muscles to prepare for the attack, and this kind of precaution also allowed him, who was already physically more physical than the opponent, to gain the situation he wanted.
Seeing Saint-Tiago's sincere eyes, Acosta, who was still a little angry, felt ashamed, he looked away, and said to Saint-Tiago with some embarrassment: "I'm fine, but Saint-Tiago's body is really hard!" ”
Acosta showed a convincing expression when he said this, but Santiago's body really surprised him! Everyone is a young man and a compatriot, although he will be angry in such a confrontation, but he will not bury hatred, not to mention that there are indeed very few Argentine players of the same generation who know him who have such a body, especially in the midfield, so that Acosta can accept his defeat for a while.
"No, Lautaro, you're wrong! My body is not outstanding in Serie A, otherwise I wouldn't have fallen to this point! Santiago smiled helplessly at Acosta's admiration, and after the initial highlight season, teams quickly found a way to deal with him, which was the shortcoming of South American midfielders, his body. It's a pity that I didn't think about it so much at the beginning, but I was still obsessed with my own technology, and I didn't wake up until recently...... Thinking about it this way, doesn't Acosta, who is even weaker than his own body, have to suffer the same loss when he goes to La Liga?
"Maybe after going to La Liga, you should think about strengthening your body."
Messi's success with the likes of Sergio Aguero is no accident, as Messi was diagnosed with a developmental hormone deficiency, also known as dwarfism, at the age of 11, a condition that prevents him from growing taller because of his bones. Although this terrifying dwarfism is not incurable, the cost of growth hormone injections is as high as $900 a month, and the family's financial conditions cannot afford the cost of treatment for Messi Jr., and his parent team Newell's old buddy is unwilling to pay for a child with an uncertain future, and even the River Plate team, which once coveted Messi, has dismissed the idea of poaching after learning of his stubborn illness.
In this situation, Messi was taken to Barcelona in 2000 by coach Kuka, where he was trained and treated, so his body is not as weak as the traditional South American players. And now the center forward Aguero who plays for Atletico Madrid also went to Spain at the age of 18, and when he was in China, he was a player who relied on his physical eating, which is why Atletico Madrid was willing to break his own record for the highest transfer fee at that time and brought it in.
Coincidentally, even defensive player Mascherano made few appearances after his first two seasons in the Premier League on loan at West Ham United and his move to Liverpool, and after a long period of training and observation, he gradually gained trust. Therefore, the major clubs in European football have already had a consensus that South American players are physically weak, Serie A, La Liga is not bad, you really go to a place like the Premier League to know that it is amazing! Isn't Peron a prime example?
However, at this moment, the young generation of Argentina, the players who are just about to go abroad are almost still immersed in the pursuit of personal skills, although this is inseparable from the style of the Argentine League, but it still makes Santhiago sigh. I started to exercise my body slowly after suffering a loss, but what about Acosta? What about the other players?
They have long regarded Riquelme's popularity as the supreme myth in their hearts, and everyone wants to be a master like him, but they ignore the rapid changes in the world of football. Even Gago, who has now successfully transferred to Real Madrid, may have been fascinated by the name of "Redondo II" and forgot his physical shortcomings!