What kind of football player is handsome?

Chapter 1: World-Class Above the Neck!

Sir Alex Ferguson chewed his gum, looked at the last player report in his hand, and fell into deep thought.

Name: Liu Yi

Age: 17 years old

Height: 184CM

Location: ST/LW/RW/CAM

Strengths: Very calm and composed, excellent first touch and shooting feel, possesses a natural shooting instinct, strong learning ability, and can quickly grasp tactical intentions.

Weaknesses: Average speed, weak physical strength, negligible jumping ability, poor stamina, often just strolling around on the field.

Assessment: World-class from the neck up!

Sir Frederick pondered for a moment.

Why does this assessment sound so familiar?

After a while, he closed the player report and asked Tony Whelan, the youth training director beside him.

Are you familiar with this child's situation?

Old Tony nodded: "This kid has already shown promise in China's second division, his skills far surpass those of his peers. It's just that their youth coach said Liu's physical condition is somewhat lacking, and he can't adapt to the intensity of the Chinese Super League..."

Ferguson was speechless.

Is the Chinese Super League (CSL) really more intense than the English Premier League (EFL)?

Old Tony added, "More importantly... this is someone David strongly recommended."

Upon hearing this, Ferguson snorted coldly.

Clearly, business considerations outweighed the choices based on competition.

Using a meaningless youth team spot to solidify influence in the vast Chinese market is a deal that couldn't be more worthwhile.

Are there still spots available in our U18 team?

"Yes, boss, yes, we're just missing a fourth striker."

The fourth striker.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, his total playing time per season will likely be less than 90 minutes.

Purely a mascot.

"Alright, I'll go check on the child."

※※※

Ferguson was practically the king of the Carrington training ground.

And now, he's on the sidelines, watching Manchester United's U16 youth team's internal training match.

The U16 players were very nervous.

Opportunities to appear in front of Sir Alex Ferguson are few and far between.

You must seize this opportunity to make a name for yourself!

Everyone was exceptionally active and eager to compete.

Apart from……

"Damn it, it's just a trial, what's with making me play soccer with a bunch of little kids? Ugh..."

Liu Yi ran diagonally, just about to receive the ball, when his position was pushed away.

He turned his head.

A large, black center-back was glaring angrily.

Sixteen years old? Did he grow up eating Arginfenwa?!

Some staff members watching the game at the scene were discussing it animatedly.

Even a kid a year younger than him can't beat him in a collision; his physique is just too average.

[I heard their skills are pretty good; maybe they're here for a trial to expand into the Chinese market?!]

[Hmph, do we at Manchester United really need to expand our market?]

It seems this kid is still considered a problem youth in China. Although he's a Chinese citizen, he's never been called up to the national youth or junior teams.

Ferguson frowned.

The gap between each level of the youth league is quite large.

Those who can skip grades and be promoted to higher-level youth training teams are basically all bright stars and prodigies.

Conversely, if a player cannot defeat opponents who are one or two years younger than him, it means that his talent is nothing special.

Moreover, this dark-eyed boy with slightly curly black hair didn't immediately launch a counterattack; instead, he strolled around the field as if nothing had happened.

This rotten apple will tarnish the great Manchester United DNA!

The lord lost all interest and decided to stay for another two minutes before leaving.

One and a half minutes later.

The black-haired youth who was strolling on the field suddenly sprang into action, stabbing into the gap in the ribs.

The next moment, the ball appeared at his feet.

The young black man attacked again, trying to use his physical advantage to overpower the opponent and seize possession of the ball.

In the blink of an eye.

The black-haired youth stopped the ball by stepping on it.

Little Black lost his balance and missed.

He then dunked again, shaking off the second player who was covering for him.

"Good handling, very calm!"

Tony Whelan's eyes lit up.

There are no fancy techniques involved.

Gently push the far corner with the inside of your foot.

The ball speed wasn't too fast, but the angle was tricky.

The goalkeeper could only watch helplessly.

Sparse applause rang out from the audience.

Ferguson stroked his chin.

The scouting report is true.

His years of coaching experience allowed him to sense something unusual about Liu Yi.

For some reason, Ferguson was reminded of a former favorite Dutch player.

Ruud van Nistelrooy, known as the "King of the Penalty Area".

Although Liu Yi looks more like a completely weakened version of Van Nistelrooy.

Ferguson paused and watched for another five minutes.

During those five minutes, Liu Yi spent most of the time taking a walk.

For a small portion of the time, I was being chased by the little black guy.

They only got the ball once in total.

But this time, it was the same operation again.

He dribbled past the young black man, broke into the penalty area, and scored a precise shot into the far corner before the goalkeeper could come out.

"Alright, that's enough. I don't want to keep watching the old man take his walk."

Ferguson's face turned bright red, and he waved his hand.

Tony Whelan immediately stopped the practice game.

The young players gathered nervously, awaiting Sir Alex Ferguson's comments.

A single word... or even a single action, could rewrite their Manchester United career.

However, Ferguson did not comment on the match.

The real geniuses of this U16 group are not included.

He only told Tony Whelan one thing.

"Let's keep that Chinese kid and let him play with the U18 team for a while. If that doesn't work out, we can sell him back to China."

※※※

"Congratulations, Liu, you are now a member of Manchester United's youth academy."

Tony Whelan smiled and patted the dark-haired boy on the shoulder.

Liu Yi breathed a sigh of relief.

It wasn't because he had gained Sir Frederick's approval.

But...

He finally completed the beginner tasks assigned by the system.

A line of small, golden characters appeared before his eyes.

At 16 and a half, you broke the record for the youngest goalscorer in the China League One, a record previously held by Wang Song for many years.

At 17, he refused to be called up for the National Games due to injury and was subsequently benched by the team.

[With three suspensions in six months and no systematic training, you ultimately had no choice but to go overseas and begin a long trial period.]

[Gold always shines! You've successfully landed your first offer and joined Manchester United's youth academy!]

[New player quest completed: Manchester United star template (rookie)!]

Hmph, he was sidelined after refusing to be called up for the National Games due to injury?

It's just an excuse.

Everyone in the team knows that I, Liu, give calendars as New Year's gifts.

It was one of those things you found for two yuan at a street stall.

The system is assigning a template based on the host's specific situation...

[Analyzing in progress, please wait...]

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained: Berbatov Template (Cut-down Version)!]

Could it be that—

Bulgarian artist.

Messi was previously the spokesperson for health-conscious football.

The Emperor Who Walks Against All Odds

The creator of the shortest running record in football history.

"The Cool Guy"—Berbatov?!

On the panel that only Liu Yi could see, a flash of silver light disappeared.

A grey shadow covered Berbatov's silhouette.

What's even harder to maintain is...

Right now, Berbatov himself happens to be with Manchester United's first team!

Liu Yi was both amused and exasperated. The adult team had a walking emperor, and the youth team had a child walking emperor.

Sir Alex Ferguson, known for his strict military discipline, is likely to have a major headache.

"Hey Liu, don't get distracted. I know you don't like hearing this, but you have to follow these rules."

Tony Whelan thought Liu Yi was daydreaming, so he waved his hand in front of him repeatedly.

"Unless it's an away game or visiting family, you must be back by 10 p.m. every night. Lights out at 10:30 p.m. and you must be in bed by 10:45 p.m. You can't bring any women into the dormitory. You can't enter Manchester city centre after 9 p.m. and you're not allowed to enter any nightclubs or bars in any area."

"Don't think it's harsh. These rules have been in place since the Busby era. The greatness of Manchester United's DNA comes from these rules."

Liu Yi blinked: "Are we allowed to bring our phones?"

"Electronic products are not restricted, but they are not allowed to be used after the lights are turned off. Any violation will be dealt with seriously."

That's it?

Compared to high schools across four provinces, Carrington's so-called rules and regulations are utterly insignificant.

cell phone?

They won't even let us use it; they'll confiscate it if they see it.

Is the distance between male and female students less than five centimeters?

Too much intimacy, early romance!

"There's still one bed available in room 203. Your roommate is a really interesting guy, and he'll help you integrate into this big family quickly."

Old Tony smiled broadly.

※※※

The door to dormitory 203 in the youth team building was ajar.

Liu Yi knocked on the door twice.

No one responded.

I knocked lightly and pushed the door open. A figure was rubbing a joystick in his hand.

Clearly, this is Liu Yi's roommate.

The game on the screen was Call of Duty.

"WTF, he's dead again. That Makarov is so hard to kill!"

My roommate dejectedly put down his headphones, then turned around as if he had noticed something.

They made eye contact.

After a brief silence.

My roommate suddenly jumped up.

Liu Yi saw his face clearly: he was a black man with a brownish skin tone, not very dark, not tall, and looked like a primary school student, with some Chinese features between his eyebrows.

(Fun fact: these three are the same age.)

At this moment, the person's style of drawing is a bit off.

"You scared me to death! Where did you come from? Why didn't you knock before coming in?"

"My name is Liu Yi. I just joined Manchester United's youth academy. I'm your new roommate."

"Oh, hello, hello."

My roommate smiled broadly, revealing two rows of neat teeth, and extended his hand to introduce himself.

"Hi there, my name is Jesse Lingard, you can also call me 'The Cheshire King'!"