Chapter 22 The Era in Memories

There are only 3 days left before the opening of the league, and during this time Arsenal is still the topic of the whole Europe.

With the bonus of two championships before the season, Arsenal continues to be in excellent form this season, especially those teams that have watched Arsenal's games, they are also full of worries, after all, from the process of the game, they can see Arsenal's control over the entire game.

That kind of feeling that is almost impossible to compete.

This puts many teams that are about to face Arsenal in an extremely passive and helpless state.

Facing Arsenal, there is a high probability of losing.

This has exceeded the problem of home and away games, after all, Arsenal is still unbeaten at present.

When? Who will break Arsenal's unbeaten record has also become the most concerned topic at present.

Of course, there are not many teams with this ability. Except for several giants in the Champions League and the Premier League, the rest of the teams have almost no chance.

It cannot be ruled out that Arsenal's sudden state is poor, but the probability of this is too small.

After all, with Arsenal's current combat readiness, the probability of this problem breaking out is too low.

This would never happen if they strengthened their positions and expanded their substitutes, and won two championships in a hot state.

At the same time, Arsenal's training base was also conducting the last pre-season training camp.

In the stadium, players were conducting special training based on their positions.

Goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards all had their own training programs.

The goalkeeper coach was training Martinez, and Buffon was standing aside, occasionally picking up the ball.

Buffon looked at Martinez's vigorous body movements and quick reactions, and his eyes couldn't help but reveal a trace of envy.

After getting older, let alone other things, the reaction speed has become visibly slower.

Many shots that could be easily reacted to before are now frightening every time.

Many times, Buffon has to rely on experience to make up for this defect, but he can't deny the problem of his declining state.

After all, reactions are something that will decline significantly with age, which is something that cannot be disobeyed.

For this reason, Buffon saw many of Martinez's reactions and saves, and secretly envied him in his heart.

"Okay, let's practice the saves on the ground next!"

The goalkeeper coach wiped the sweat off his face and immediately looked at Buffon next to the goalpost.

A trace of thought flashed in his eyes, and he said; "You can go and rest, and I will call you when I train later."

Buffon agreed, but he couldn't help feeling disappointed.

Buffon used to be the world's top goalkeeper. He has a transcendent status both in the national team and in the club.

And now for the Champions League championship, he has gone far away from home, and some gaps can be seen from the treatment.

But these are all unavoidable things.

When he chose to come to Arsenal, he had already made this preparation.

After all, he was not in Arsenal's transfer plan, and it was the result of self-recommendation.

Buffon grabbed the ball and came to the sidelines, practicing the gesture of grabbing the ball alone.

When he was waiting bored, Lucky suddenly ran over.

"You don't need to train now, right?"

Buffon nodded immediately in response to Lekai's question.

"Help me guard the goal!" Lekai pointed to the empty training ground next to him and said, "It's just right that you can practice saving shots."

Buffon immediately became interested after hearing this.

After all, this kind of training cannot be done by one person, and he would be happy if someone was willing to train with him.

The two of them came to the next court with a net of balls.

After Lekai scattered the balls, he said, "My shot may be a little heavier, so be prepared."

Buffon smiled secretly.

Heavy force!

These modern players probably haven't felt the power of the Brazilian heavy artillery in the past.

He is a player of the same era as Roberto Carlos, and he has saved that guy's heavy artillery shot, so he has a certain degree of confidence.

Lekai wants to practice fixed-point free kicks.

If this kind of thing is not practiced, the state and foot feel will fade, so he has to find a few days a week to train specifically.

Put a few partitions near the penalty area line to act as a human wall.

Lekai stood near the right side of the goal.

In this position, Lekai's set-piece accuracy was not high. Compared with the left side, he was not good at free throws on the right side.

For this reason, he often practiced.

It was strange.

Although Lekai did not have a weak foot, he was right-handed, but his left foot was more accurate and powerful in free throws.

On the other hand, his right foot was a bit weak.

In sports shooting, the right foot is more handy.

Standing at the penalty spot, Lekai prepared to take a penalty in a near dead corner.

Buffon was also ready.

Lekai took a run-up and shot!

The ball flew around the wall and headed for the near dead corner.

The flight trajectory was very good.

However, at the moment when the ball approached the goal, Buffon quickly moved sideways and easily caught the ball in his hand.

"The ball speed is too slow. You can pursue the angle, but this speed of the ball can be quickly reacted to by many goalkeepers."

After Buffon finished speaking, he threw the ball back again.

When Lucky took his second free throw, the ball flew directly over the goal post.

From here, Buffon probably also judged that this penalty spot was not a position that Lekai was good at.

The two practiced ten balls in a row.

Among them, Lekai scored three goals, 5 of which hit the goal frame, and the remaining 5 were all kicked away.

Then, Lekai turned to the left again.

Now, the hit rate of free kicks has risen sharply.

In ten free throws, Lekai scored 6 goals, 9 of which hit the goal frame, and only one was kicked away.

And in these saves, Buffon clearly felt that the strength, ball speed and angle have become more tricky.

And as Lekai said before, the strength has increased a lot.

However, compared with the heavy artillery of Roberto Carlos, it is still a little distance, but it is more tricky and pursues angles.

If Buffon were to evaluate, he would rather face Carlos's heavy artillery than Lekai.

Mainly because the hit rate is too high and the angle is too tricky.

Sometimes, even if he reacts, his body can't make a move in the first time, which means he misses a good chance to save the ball.

"Do you want to practice more?"

Buffon asked with anticipation.

Lekai nodded and said, "This is just the beginning. I can help you practice saving shots later."

After that, the two of them started training.

This training is the best experience since Buffon joined Arsenal.

After a long time, the two sat down and began to rest.

"You seem to always be able to judge the direction of my shot."

In the previous single-shot training, Buffon's save rate was very high.

Many of them were Buffon's ability to make some unexpected saves for Lekai, and his choice of route and blocking angle also played a role in making it difficult for Lekai to play.

"When I attack and block, I don't pay attention to the opponent's body movements."

Buffon smiled and pointed to his eyes and said, "As a player, the body is the most deceptive."

"If you don't stare at the opponent's body, where should you stare?" Lekai asked puzzledly.

Buffon: "Eyes!"

"At this time, even the top players have to look up to observe the position information between themselves and the goal, and this time point will expose the position they want to shoot."

"Generally speaking, the first direction you look at is the shooting position, unless the opponent wants to pass me, of course there is one person."

Lekai asked curiously; "Who?"

Buffon: "Ronaldinho, that guy is a real genius, his footwork and ball sense are unparalleled. Before he shoots, he won't even look up, so it's hard to make a judgment based on this."

Lekai nodded. He always heard the names of the stars of that era from Buffon.

That era of stars.

Zidane, Ronaldo, Beckham, Raul, Lampard, Gerrard, Drogba, Robben, Kaka, etc.

Buffon's tone is inevitably nostalgic.

After all, these names also represent his peak era.

In that era, there were no peerless duos, only stars competing for the throne and fighting against each other.

Compared to today's polarized era, it was a more exciting, chaotic and passionate era.