"Do you want to draw a random player card?"
"Yes!"
"Drawing random player card..."
"Draw complete!"
As the system's female voice sounded, Mark saw a card glowing with white light, bearing only a large question mark, appear out of thin air.
Immediately after, the card spun wildly, eventually erupting into an incomparably brilliant golden light.
"Hmm... a golden legend!"
The next second, an exquisite card, emitting a faint golden glow, materialized.
The image on the card was a man with deep-set eyes, wearing a white jersey.
"Card Name: King of Free Kicks"
"Card Effect: Free kick accuracy greatly improved!"
"Card Owner: Juninho Pernambucano"
It was none other than the famous "Free Kick Master" Juninho Pernambucano!
The man who treated free kicks like penalties?!
This was a huge gain!
Who was Juninho Pernambucano?
He was the midfield core of Lyon's seven consecutive championships, widely recognized as a historic free kick master in football!
His free kicks combined accuracy, aesthetic appeal, attack range, and attack distance!
The most exaggerated aspect was the immense range of his shots.
One could say that once past the halfway line, it was within his free kick range!
Thinking of this, Mark almost drooled.
It must be said, this player card came at the perfect time!
One must know that, as an explosive winger, although he could tear open opponent defenses with his extraordinary footwork,
the lack of finishing ability made his goal-scoring more difficult than a top-tier winger.
But now, having obtained Juninho Pernambucano's free kick card, he possessed another reliable method of scoring goals!
As the card transformed into a stream of light and entered his body, Mark's mind was instantly filled with countless techniques and essentials for taking free kicks.
Of course, possessing the [King of Free Kicks] card did not mean he could take free kicks like penalties, like peak Juninho Pernambucano.
His free kick accuracy was also affected by a series of attribute values such as [Free Kick Accuracy], [Finishing], [Curve], and [Shot Power].
It was just like when he obtained the [Samba Elf] card; he couldn't immediately dribble past opponents like peak Ronaldinho.
However, even so, this player card enriched his arsenal.
He was already eager to see what level his free kick ability would reach with the enhancement of this [King of Free Kicks] player card...
As the League season drew to a close,
that evening, the Volkswagen Group also held a simple banquet at Wolfsburg's most luxurious hotel to celebrate the team's excellent performance this season.
That night, Mark attended the banquet in a casual outfit of a black hoodie and jeans.
He sat at a table with De Bruyne and Malanda.
It's worth mentioning that De Bruyne and Malanda both brought their girlfriends.
Only Mark was alone, playing the role of a single man.
The first thing Head Coach Hecking did when he came over with his wife to greet Mark was to inquire about Mark's relationship status:
"Why didn't you bring your girlfriend?"
At these words, Mark was instantly confused.
"Huh? Girlfriend?"
"Didn't you go on a date with that fitness influencer before? It was in the news."
Hearing this, Mark finally realized: "Oh, you mean Pamela? She's just my friend."
After Hecking left, De Bruyne's girlfriend, Michele, rolled her eyes and suddenly spoke:
"Hey, Mark, do you want me to set you up with a girlfriend?"
Michele had a reason for doing this.
If Mark had a girlfriend, he wouldn't come looking for De Bruyne to play games so often.
This way, she and De Bruyne could have more time together!
To win back her boyfriend from Mark, Michele was truly putting in a lot of effort...
Of course, Mark didn't know Michele's inner thoughts; he just thought she was very enthusiastic.
"Sure!"
"So, what type of girl do you like?"
"I don't really know. I make friends based on feeling. If the feeling is there, maybe it's right."
"I see... Well, then wait for my good news!"
Mark just smiled, taking her words as polite conversation.
The next morning.
After washing up at home, Mark eagerly drove to the team's training ground.
Upon arriving at the changing room and putting on his training kit, he went to the equipment room, grabbed a few human wall boards and several footballs, and headed to the outdoor training pitch.
After measuring the distance and arranging the human wall boards in a line, sticking them into the grass at the edge of the penalty area, he took the footballs to an area about thirty meters from the goal and placed them down one by one.
Then, he aligned himself with the ball and retreated a certain distance for his run-up.
Finally, after looking up to observe the two top corners of the goal, he suddenly accelerated and charged towards the ball!
He took rhythmic steps, leaning slightly backward, and his right instep, like a whip, struck the middle of the ball with a 'thwack'.
At the moment of contact, his calf followed through with a forward motion.
The next second, the ball 'boomed', like a cannonball flying straight up into the sky, soaring over the human wall, then rapidly plummeting!
Duang!
The ball accurately hit the junction of the crossbar and the post in the top right corner of the goal, bouncing away.
"Too bad, just a tiny bit off!"
He had aimed for the top right corner, but hit the junction of the corner; however, the difference was not significant. Before acquiring the [King of Free Kicks] card, he couldn't have shot such a free kick that went over the wall and then dipped.
After taking several shots and finding his rhythm, Mark quickly mastered the techniques for shooting knuckleballs and curved shots.
And with each shot, the ball easily cleared the human wall and flew towards the goal.
Shot after shot, after finishing one round, Mark would run to the goal to retrieve the balls, then start a new round of practice.
As the sweat on his body soaked the lining of his long-sleeved training shirt, his free kick accuracy became higher and higher, and he became more and more addicted. Especially when he saw his free kicks directly nestling into the top corner of the goal, a sense of accomplishment surged within him.
It was as if he was one step closer to Juninho Pernambucano...
After two hours of experimentation, he also reached a conclusion:
Although his free kick accuracy couldn't reach Juninho Pernambucano's near-perfect level, and the ball speed wasn't fast enough,
within a thirty-meter range, his accuracy was sufficient to shoot free kicks with tricky angles and extreme threat!
If peak Juninho Pernambucano's free kick ability was a ten, then his own free kick ability was already a seven!
As long as he further strengthened his shooting technique and shot power, making the ball speed a bit faster and the angle even trickier, then even in the Bundesliga, or even the entire football world, few goalkeepers would be able to keep his free kicks out!
During his extra training, Mark had a sudden thought:
"A significant increase in free kick accuracy, does it mean that in addition to shooting accuracy, my free kicks can also accurately find teammates?!"
"Also, what if I take a free kick after coming on as a substitute? Will the accuracy become even higher?!"
The effect of the [Super Sub] card is a significant increase in shooting technique when coming on as a substitute.
Shooting technique, of course, includes the accuracy of taking free kicks.
Unfortunately, Mark couldn't verify this immediately.
Because the Bundesliga season had already concluded.
Perhaps in the upcoming German Cup final, he would have the opportunity to verify these conjectures in his mind...