He was only 1.82 meters tall, but in youth team matches, he often faced off against those tall center-forwards, and his way of dealing with them was his own unique set of skills. When he realized he couldn't win the header, he would use every possible method to disrupt his opponent, causing their headers to lose accuracy.

It was the same when dealing with Ethan Brooks.

Just like this time...

Savelyev waved to his teammates, signaling that he would handle the big guy himself this time—do we really need two or even four people to deal with someone a level below us? I can handle it alone! This is the perfect opportunity to showcase my abilities in front of the first team assistant coach, Mr. Latysh. If he could defeat this big guy on his own, he was sure to leave a deep impression on Mr. Latysh...

※※※

The ball was sent into the penalty area again.

Ethan Brooks intended to jump for the header, but when he noticed a defender at his side, perfectly positioned between him and the ball... to get to the ball, he had to deal with this guy in front of him first...

He was already familiar with this guy after so many encounters. Although he didn't know his name, Ethan Brooks had memorized his face.

There was no time to get around the defender and fight for the drop point, so Ethan Brooks jumped straight up.

He charged right at Savelyev!

On the sidelines, a CSKA Moscow coach shook his head.

Such a foolish move—how could he possibly win the header?

The professional coaches could tell at a glance what Ethan Brooks was trying to do.

He wanted to knock his opponent aside and then head the ball at goal.

That was an obvious foul... Besides, even if it wasn't a foul, such a direct attacking style would be easily shut down in a real match. Where would you get the chance to fight for the ball? They all saw that Oleg Savelyev was using Ethan Brooks to showcase his defensive skills, especially his ability to defend against high balls. He wanted to win the coaches' favor.

But none of the coaches stopped him, especially Nikolai Latysh, the initiator of this contest.

A smart striker would use feints to confuse the opponent. For example, if he planned to attack the near post, he wouldn't rush there directly. He would pretend to attack the center, luring the defenders marking him to follow into the middle, then suddenly change direction and dart to the near post!

At that moment, the defenders wouldn't have time to react and could only watch helplessly as he escaped and jumped at the near post. If his judgment of the drop point and timing was accurate, it would be a very threatening near-post header.

Clearly, that big guy didn't seem very smart...

There was another person on the sidelines shaking his head and sighing, but he wasn't one of CSKA Moscow's coaches. He stood outside the wire fence, just like an ordinary spectator, except he seemed more invested and serious than anyone else...

※※※

Savelyev wasn't paying attention to Ethan Brooks at all; he kept his eyes on the ball.

As the ball flew over, he jumped in place, intending to head it away—after beating that big guy several times in a row, he didn't take Ethan Brooks seriously at all. He naturally assumed he would win again this time.

But just as he jumped, human instinct made him sense danger approaching...

At that moment, a dark shadow came crashing toward him!

Before Savelyev could react, he felt as if he'd been hit head-on by a heavy truck...

He lost all balance, the world spinning!

Falling flat on his back, Savelyev saw that the figure of that Eastern boy in the air looked so imposing...

He was high above, his huge shadow completely enveloping him!

He had never seen anything like this before.

There was only one thought in his mind: How is this possible?!

Having knocked aside his defender Savelyev, this should have been a perfect chance for Ethan Brooks to score, but after knocking Savelyev away, he also lost his balance and only barely managed to head the ball, sending it way too high—the ball flew straight over the crossbar...

※※※

On the sidelines, Owen Brooks clutched his head with both hands, tugging at his hair. He felt regret for his son once again—so many times, so many times, and this was the closest chance to scoring!

But he headed it too high.

Now he felt that CSKA Moscow was definitely not a place where his son could stay, and he no longer hoped for him to play for this team. All he wanted now was for his son to score a goal in this special match! To show those Russians who looked down on his son that he wasn't bragging, he wasn't lying, his son really... had the ability!

Ethan Brooks felt the same regret as his father. After landing, he looked in the direction the ball had flown, panting.

The whistle blew, and the temporary referee Mayukov rushed over to signal that Ethan Brooks had committed a foul for charging!

Ethan Brooks ignored him; right now, his mind was filled with only one thing: scoring, he had to score!

Although he hadn't scored in that last attack, he suddenly realized something from it.