Ronaldo Step-over

"Are you sure?" Zax asked mechanically.

Yang Yang nodded heavily, "Yes, I'm sure."

Zax didn't say anything more as he saw the starlights and shadows that had originally surrounded the court suddenly dimming, as if all the light had converged on Ronaldo's body as he became extremely dazzling at the end.

Ronaldo's step-over!

This was a decision Yang Yang made after careful consideration.

Speed is his biggest advantage at the moment. Basically, his 100-metre sprint is about eleven seconds. With more professional training, it is not difficult for him to break that record and run 10 seconds or less, so he is thinking about how to maximise his advantages.

But anyone who has ever played football knows that when a player is running at high speed, his technical movements are very difficult to control and his speed is greatly reduced because he is trying to control the ball.

It's also difficult to control the ball when there's a lot of pressure on you and when the physical energy consumption is very high.

Yang Yang chose Ronaldo's step-over because Ronaldo's high-speed breakthrough, his dribbling skills with his step-over, his ability to change direction quickly and accelerate are all in line with Yang Yang's style of play.

In addition to Ronaldo's step-over, there is another star skill that is very suitable for Yang Yang, and that is Henry's finishing.

As the name suggests, this is the best way for Arsenal star Henry to score goals. He starts with the ball on the left and uses his blistering pace to beat defenders and shoot with the inside of his foot for a finesse goal. However, compared to Ronaldo's step-over, Henry's finishing is limited by the pitch.

As for Van Basten's finishing, although it is also very practical, it is not Yang Yang's first choice. After all, he is not the team's main striker, let alone a scoring a goal, and I am afraid I will have no chance of getting close to the net.

After careful consideration, Yang Yang felt that Ronaldo's step-over was the most suitable for him.

Suddenly, Ronaldo's figure became extremely dazzling and seemed to explode, turning into a beam of light and hitting Yang Yang's forehead.

Yang Yang had a thought, and suddenly, the movements of Ronaldo's high-speed step-over that he had seen before were all clearly displayed in his mind, but not just the movements, even the muscles required, the change in rhythm between acceleration and deceleration, the body feint, and all that he needed to do to perform like Ronaldo. It was only at that moment that he understood what a miracle the Dream training system was.

When Yang Yang opened his eyes again, there was already a defensive player in front of him and a black and white ball at his feet. It was time for his special training tonight.

"Considering the time is limited, I suggest you temporarily practice the step-over, body feint, and quick change of direction of Ronaldo," Zax suggested.

"Step-over?" Yang Yang was a little surprised, but that was Ronaldo's signature move.

"Ronaldo's skill set requires explosive acceleration, balance, and good flexibility, you need to be able to change direction at high speed, master feints, body shifts, and subtle touches to throw a defender off balance. But all this puts a strain on the body, so we will pay more attention to your body mechanics and you will learn more about feints and body shifts.

The star's signature move is not impossible for others to pull off. The step-over has been used by many people, but why is it not the same as Ronaldo's?

The reason is that doing the step-over as he does puts too much emphasis on physical attributes and Ronaldo, who did it with such speed and sudden changes of direction, was plagued by knee injuries.

So Zax made a change to Ronaldo's skill set, adding more feints and body shifts so that Yang Yang could rely less on his physical attributes to beat a defender. He also needs to do more agility and plyometric training, strengthening his core and lower body to avoid knee injuries.

After thinking about it, Yang Yang was eager to try.

"The strength of the defender in front of you is set according to the average level of the Dutch fourth division. I think if you play tomorrow, the level of the defender you will face should not exceed that.

The team that ROC Flevoland cooperated with plays in the fourth division, so I believe that the defensive strength of their youth team should be inferior.

"Can I start?" Yang Yang asked.

"Anytime," Zax replied.

Yang Yang looked at the dummy in front of him, estimated to be about 20 metres away, and thought about what he had just learned, Ronaldo's step-over and body feints before breaking through the defender. He wanted to try it too.

He gave the ball a gentle nudge before kicking it forward and running after it at top speed, and before long he was in front of the defender.

As he was about to do a step-over for a breakaway, the defender stepped in front of him and forcefully kicked the ball under his foot before he was knocked to the turf with a little shoulder-to-shoulder challenge.

It seems that this fourth division defender also knows how to play hard and without mercy.

As Yang Yang lay on the ground, his body was uncomfortable, but he was even more shocked.

He was trying to complete the move with his greatest skill and fastest speed, just as he had seen Ronaldo do in his mind, but he didn't expect the defender to see it before he even played it.

He is very fast, but his basic skills and ability to control the ball with his feet were very poor. However, after several weeks of special training, his basic skills have improved considerably. He's still not at the level of a player like Henk Dimer.

But against a defender from the Dutch fourth division, he has no chance of even trying to make a move. Is it true that the players in the fourth division are that strong?

What's going on?

"Do you know what your problem is?" Zax asked coldly.

Yang Yang stood up and shook his head without answering.

If he had been arrogant earlier, this failure had brought him back down to Earth.

"Then try again," Zax said.

Soon, Yang Yang was standing 20 metres away from the defender.

This time, he studied the whole process of Ronaldo's step-over, slowing down every movement and watching it frame by frame. It really made him pay attention to a detail he had previously ignored.

In the beginning, Ronaldo's speed was very stable. Every step he took was close to the same distance. He can easily judge his next step, but after approaching the defender, he has a very obvious change in speed. The frequency may increase or decrease, and his stride length may be adjusted depending on the defender's reaction.

"Do you want to try again?" Zax asked.

"Come again."

Yang Yang stared at the defender in front of him for a while, then rushed with the ball again with a sudden acceleration, trying to disrupt the rhythm of the opponent, as Ronaldo had shown, then tried a body feint with his right shoulder, but at that moment the defender suddenly approached and decisively snatched the ball from him.

Although he had the ball for a while, he wasn't able to make a step-over before the defender snatched it away.

"What's going on?" Yang Yang asked desperately.

"As I said, it's easy to learn, but hard to use, and now it's just training. In real games, the opponents will be more difficult and varied." Zax reminded him.

Yang Yang exhaled heavily. He began to realise that Zax was telling him the truth with facts. Although the Dream Training System is a miracle, it is not a superpower that will directly make him the best player in the world, but a tool that can help him achieve that dream.

"Let Ronaldo show you again"

The words were barely out of his mouth when Ronaldo reappeared on the training pitch.

I saw that after running with the ball, he arrived directly in front of the defender. As I've already seen, his initial speed was normal. He made several quick steps-over pretending to go to the right, before suddenly accelerating and going to the left, kicking the ball with his left foot and passing the defender, who had no time to react and was left stunned. The whole process was very concise and clean.

After that, Ronaldo showed it again several times, each time passing with ease, without any difficulty, leaving the defender completely helpless in front of him.

"I also lowered Ronaldo's level. Basically, he is also at the level of the Dutch fourth division. The speed is the same as yours, but the effect... you have also seen it."

Yang Yang nodded, he was truly shocked.

"The same set of actions, it's time for you to defend and then see clearly."

As soon as Zax finished speaking, Ronaldo rushed towards Yang Yang with the ball at high speed.

Yang Yang's attention was drawn to Ronaldo.

As mentioned in the demo, Ronaldo's speed was very stable at the beginning, and Yang Yang could see Ronaldo's movement at the beginning, but as he approached, he suddenly increased his speed with the ball, so that his overall speed also increased.

Although he had been mentally prepared, Yang Yang was a little panicked by all the steps Ronaldo was taking as he approached, especially when he suddenly saw Ronaldo's right shoulder drop, with his head going to the right as if his whole body was really going there. Instinctively, he also blocked to the right, but unexpectedly, Ronaldo did a step-over with his right foot before pushing the ball to his left, breaking through Yang Yang.

Yang Yang was beaten!

There was no hint of difficulty, no physical contact and he didn't even touch Ronaldo's clothes.

It was over, just like that!

Why does this happen? Why is the move so frightening when it's Ronaldo doing it? Is it because Ronaldo is so powerful? Or is it because of his speed and explosiveness?

No, Yang Yang can be sure that the weakened Ronaldo's acceleration and speed are not so terrifying.

But why can such a simple technique produce such a different result when it's him?

"Look at that."

As soon as the image changed, four running footprints appeared in front of Yang Yang.

"The top two are yours, the bottom two are Ronaldo's, the football mark is the position of each foot, do you see anything?"

Yang Yang took it very seriously and looked very carefully.

He found that the top two footprints were very disorderly and there were no rules at all. The distance between each step was large or small. The main reason was that his first touch was too strong, so he had to catch up with a big step. The aim is to be able to perform feints, step-overs and body shifts, so he has to start with small touches.

But the following two are obviously different. The previous stages of the two footprints are almost exactly the same. Each step, each foot landing, is very close.

"The same series of actions, even if you let Ronaldo try it again a hundred times, the distance between each step and the timing of each touch will basically not make much difference, because this is the pace that suits Ronaldo best."

"If you think about it carefully, why do you know that Ronaldo is faking to the right, but you are still fooled?"

Zax's quiet questions made Yang Yang wonder.

Yes, I know that the first move to the right is a fake, but why can I be fooled?

"Because you were fooled by your instincts!"