The little guy’s speed isn’t slow, and his coverage is vast. Almost every time Morici passes, the little guy is a disruptive factor.
Moreover, one second he’s bothering Morici, and the next he’s pestering another player.
The key is this little guy is quite sharp-headed.
Not to mock him for being bald, but rather to say he has great football intelligence.
The thoughtful approach Morici has for players receiving passes, this little guy is also very skilled at.
This results in every pass Morici makes becoming exhausting because before you only had to think two moves ahead, but now you have to think three, even five moves!
In just over ten minutes, Morici felt like he was losing hair.
No wonder the little guy is bald, it’s definitely from overthinking.
"Aren’t you tired?" Morici asked the little Engel Cainte beside him after a pass backward, "Your running distance is probably the highest on the field now! Even Lu from our team isn’t as willing to run as you are!"
The little guy smiled slightly, showing his white teeth: "If the moon doesn’t sleep, I don’t get tired, I’m the bald little darling!"
Morici nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.
666!
So you’re actually a rapper, with freestyle coming in, a beautiful one-liner!
Because of Cainte’s presence, both teams’ first-half attacks were a mess.
Isn’t it a bit strange?
San Remo’s failed attacks are understandable because Cainte froze Morici’s passing and control in a way that shadowed the football.
But what about Ness?
Similarly, because of Cainte, their attacks weren’t smooth.
"Cainte intercepts, beautifully! Cainte passes, oh... not a good pass again!"
This was the most said phrase by the commentator in the first half.
Cainte played a big role in defense, but he doesn’t have the ability for immediate passing after intercepting.
His long pass is terrible, which made Boe furious at times.
If only someone reliable were in place, Boe could at least have two more one-on-one chances.
Of course, that’s just what Boe thinks, believing his speed could overpower San Remo’s aging central defender duo.
But even if Bernulin isn’t fast, his predictive defense is quite impressive, just not needed now.
On Ness’s side, after a few misplaced passes by Cainte, he faced criticism from his teammates, his dark face blushing with embarrassment, not daring to pass again.
Each time after an interception, Cainte could only pass to the nearest teammate immediately.
This made his interceptions lose their polarizing effect.
The first half ended dully at zero-zero.
Back in the dressing room, Morici first found Lu, expressing his frustration: "Can’t anyone do something about that little guy? With him around, I can’t control the field at all!"
Lu almost couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Finally, Morici is calling someone else a little guy.
No wonder he played like crap in the first half but wasn’t particularly angry; turns out, he found satisfaction in this.
"He’s a very special defender; he’s extremely smart, with a high football IQ!" Lu and Morici began a serious discussion, "If we only talk about defense, he’s an upgraded version of me!"
"His coverage range is the same as mine, able to cover the entire field."
"Moreover, he’s very willing to run, always chasing the football, practically a libero."
"His front-facing interception ability is strong, very precise, basically intercepting whenever he makes a move. Bai Zhami, Fernandez, including you, find it hard to face him head-on and get past him."
"But what’s truly freezing our offense is... his interception ability!"
Morici and Lu were well aware of this.
Cainte doesn’t frequently intercept Morici’s passes, but when the ball gets to those receiving Morici’s passes, there’s a significant chance of being intercepted by Cainte.
Many times, Cainte even cleverly uses his teammates to restrict the ball handler.
Generally, shorter players are defensive weaknesses, that’s conventional thinking in football.
But this little guy could very well be redefining the concept of a defensive powerhouse.
However, because players like him haven’t appeared before, it seems... Ness’s teammates don’t highly regard the little guy.
At least, after Cainte’s misplaced passes in the first half, almost everyone was criticizing him.
He doesn’t have a high status within his team.
Unlike Lu, who can give his all but also demand complete control and respect, perhaps because of personal experiences, Cainte only knows how to quietly contribute, yet never speaks up to explain or demand anything.
Because for many once-impoverished young black boys, to have no worries about food and clothing means they shouldn’t ask for more!
They don’t realize that constantly showing goodwill and giving can sometimes lead to losing their value.
"How about we try this?" Lu proposed his idea.
Though skeptical, Morici thought it was worth trying.
But this tactic might be... a bit devious.
For that little guy, it might be a huge blow.
This sort of tactic appears more often on basketball courts.
But on the football field... it’s really... a hit to someone’s self-esteem!