I Just Wanted to Play Soccer, But I Became a Hollywood Heartthrob

After knocking down the arrogant Kunlan, Gu Ran continued his sprint, chasing down the through ball sent by Belvard. He controlled the ball effortlessly and, before Kunlan could recover and counterattack, immediately turned and passed it back to Mianbao, who had dropped to the edge of the penalty arc to support.

As soon as Mianbao got the ball, he launched a long pass toward the front field. In an instant, the crisis for the Bucks Ironhorns was defused, and they had transitioned directly from defense to offense. The Wild Boar Dukes were forced into a rapid retreat. The pace of the match was dizzying.

Just a minute ago, Belvard had orchestrated a defensive-to-offensive transition, and now Gu Ran had bulldozed Kunlan, reversing the momentum back in his team's favor. The tempo had taken on the intensity of a high-level duel.

After clearing the danger, Gu Ran quickly returned to his position, working with his teammates to maintain the formation and press forward. As he moved back, he noticed a white training bubble appearing at the spot where Kunlan had been toppled—10 hours of dynamic passing and receiving training.

It was a solid training bubble. Any training tagged with "dynamic" meant one-on-one, professional-level drills. But Gu Ran decided not to pick it up just yet. He still had two pickup slots left for the day, and it was best to save them in case a blue skill bubble appeared later, especially if it came from Belvard, the semi-professional player.

His eyes locked onto Belvard, who happened to glance back at him at the same time. Their gazes met briefly before breaking apart.

On the field, the game remained in constant flux. Despite their quick counterattack, the Bucks Ironhorns found themselves locked in midfield by the mature defensive structure of the Wild Boar Dukes.

Holding the ball, Shuimen was immediately surrounded by three central midfielders from the opposing team, making it difficult to break through or even distribute the ball to the flanks. These central midfielders positioned themselves higher up the field, resembling the role of classic playmakers, yet functioning differently.

Unlike a single advanced playmaker, this formation utilized three midfielders in parallel with the attacking line, distributing the responsibilities of playmaking, defensive pressing, and offensive coordination among them. This division of labor increased efficiency in transitions and allowed them to smother any developing attacks before they could fully form.

The primary offensive strategy of the Bucks Ironhorns was to funnel the ball to Shuimen, allowing him to orchestrate attacks from the front. However, the Wild Boar Dukes' 3-midfield-2-defensive-mid setup was a direct counter to this approach. Unless Shuimen was overwhelmingly superior in a 1v3 situation, this tactical mismatch would be impossible to overcome.

Carter stood on the sideline, barking commands, urging his players to move and create space more quickly. The Bucks Ironhorns worked tirelessly to stretch the defense, but the Wild Boar Dukes were too disciplined and experienced.

Compared to Carter's intense shouting, the opposing coach sat calmly in his seat, exuding arrogance.

He had already dissected Carter's "crude and simple" 9.5-position strategy. As long as his team stuck to their game plan, dominated midfield, and suffocated Shuimen, the three points were in the bag.

Against a weak team, how could they not win at least 3-0?

On the field, the midfield battle continued in a scrappy back-and-forth.

After a chaotic exchange of passes and tackles, Belvard suddenly surged forward, using his physical strength to shove Shuimen aside.

This was the second time Shuimen had lost possession in midfield—both times to Belvard.

Shuimen wasn't weak, but he simply couldn't withstand Belvard's challenge. He quickly got up, raising his hand in protest while simultaneously chasing back.

The referee, however, ignored his appeal. In English football, as long as there was no excessive use of arms or legs, pure body contact was considered fair play.

Shuimen pushed himself to sprint back, but Belvard was too fast.

This was expected—after all, Belvard was a semi-professional player from West Ham United's youth system. Once this national high school tournament was over, he would likely return to West Ham's U19 squad and become a fully-fledged professional.

From that perspective, Shuimen was indeed at a disadvantage in this matchup.

Gu Ran mentally estimated that, if measured by the system's ratings, Belvard's strength attribute would be at least 68, and his sprinting speed no less than 65.

Trying to go head-to-head with him physically wouldn't work. Even if it were barely possible, the energy cost would be massive, making it an inefficient strategy.

At this moment, Belvard was charging forward at full speed, nearing the 40-meter mark in the attacking third.

Meanwhile, Kunlan, the other key player of the Wild Boar Dukes, was sprinting toward the right half-space of the Bucks Ironhorns' defense, signaling aggressively for the ball.

In his mind, the only reason he had been knocked down earlier was that he had been careless, trying to show off with exaggerated high-knee running.

Now, he was serious.

Kunlan Bowman, when focused, was unstoppable.

Belvard, still in full stride, glanced up and hesitated for a fraction of a second before playing a diagonal through ball.

Another ball behind the defense.

However, this pass wasn't as clean as the first one.

Typically, a through ball behind the defense was a pass not directly aimed at a teammate but sent into the space behind defenders, allowing an attacker to chase it down.

When placed in the half-space, such passes were a nightmare for defenders. If a center-back turned too slowly—like an aircraft carrier trying to change direction—the entire defensive line could collapse.

From Belvard's perspective, this pass was riskier than the last one. Gu Ran was already positioned in the half-space and had moved early to block Kunlan's path.

With such a narrow passing lane, the ball was highly contestable.

Still, Kunlan had signaled for the pass, so Belvard played it.

He trusted Kunlan's speed and dynamic receiving ability.

More importantly, he didn't believe a Chinese player could defend against him.

As soon as the ball was played, Gu Ran accelerated toward the passing lane.

He and Kunlan met again.

Kunlan, exuding arrogance, didn't speed up this time. Instead, he slowed down, preparing to plant his feet and engage in a physical battle with Gu Ran.

Controlling the ball?

No, the goal would come eventually.

First, he wanted revenge.

He was going to body this black-haired kid into the ground.

He wanted everyone to see that Kunlan Bowman was—

Boom!

Gu Ran didn't hesitate. He sprinted over, dropped his shoulder, and slammed into Kunlan's half-turned body.

No internal monologue. No extra thought. Just action.

Speed, inertia, strength, collision mechanics, and football IQ—all perfectly combined.

Kunlan's arrogant smirk froze instantly.

For a brief moment, it felt like he had been hit by a truck.

He clenched his teeth, trying to push back, but Gu Ran never gave him the chance.

The moment their bodies clashed, Gu Ran kept accelerating, cutting off Kunlan's route to the ball and bulldozing him to the ground.

Kunlan instinctively reached out to grab Gu Ran—

Smack!

Gu Ran slapped his arm away.

At that moment, he was a beast.

Kunlan lost all balance and tumbled across the turf, rolling even more than last time.

He was completely dumbfounded.

What just happened?

How did I fall?

I lost again?

Why did I say "again"??

This Chinese kid… how is he so strong?!

Am I hallucinating?

Still on his knees, Kunlan stared blankly at Gu Ran as he calmly controlled the ball.

The Wild Boar Dukes' second counterattack attempt was dead.

The entire crowd at Tunbridge College was stunned.

Their two star players had just been shut down by a black-haired Chinese kid.

What happened to the scouting reports?

Wasn't the Bucks Ironhorns supposed to be a fourth-tier pushover team?

If Gu Ran was weak, then what the hell were the rest of them?

-------------------------------------

Join my patreon for 30+ additional chapters: patreon.com/FictionFan248