Master Tutoring Class

Chapter 235 Warm-up Match Begins

vomit! vomit! vomit!
The entire training ground was filled with the sound of vomiting.

This is the result of physical training.

Most of the players who vomited were either promoted from youth academy or were newly signed players like Diego Ruma.

They showed extreme discomfort when faced with oxygen-barrier masks.

Training in that oxygen-deprived environment, with your lungs compressed and your heart pounding, gives you a feeling of wanting to die but not being able to.

Even Conrad Lehmann's lips were pale, and he looked extremely pained.

The physical training at the beginning of each season is like a nightmare.

"The overall data is still not up to standard, and some individual players are even below the required level."

Pechamp coldly announced the results.

In order to prepare for the upcoming new season, which involves competing in both the league and the Europa League, they must ensure that the first team has sufficient physical fitness.

"Reyes, Hendrick, and Wei—these three performed the best!"

Reyesa was physically fit and had prior training experience, so she adapted easily.

Needless to say, Hendrick was known for his physical fitness at Manchester City, and this is a result of his decline. In the past, he would never have flinched.

As for Wei Lai, that's yet another pleasant surprise.

An oxygen-blocking mask compresses the cardiopulmonary system, allowing a small amount of oxygen to enter the muscles, thus creating a high-pressure physical training mode.

The purpose is to improve the efficiency of the heart and lungs and enhance endurance.

Initially, Wei Lai's data was normal, and he did experience some discomfort.

But starting the next day, it was as if his body had switched on some kind of switch; his cardiopulmonary capacity suddenly increased, and his overall athletic performance increased exponentially.

"It's not a sudden increase in cardiorespiratory capacity." Old Master Morton looked at the data in his hand and shook his head. "Did you see Wei ever show signs of exhaustion in last season's games?"

Pechamp shook his head.

Although Wei Lai played in several matches, he never seemed to be exhausted or physically drained.

Mr. Morton stroked his chin: "His cardiopulmonary ability is very good, at least at the highest level in the Eredivisie."

On the sidelines, Wei Lai took off his oxygen-blocking mask and gasped for breath.

Wei Lai also appeared to be in pain, but not as badly as Diego Ruma and other youth academy trainees.

In fact, Wei Lai's endurance was even better than that of Conrad Lehmann and others.

All of this is thanks to the hellish training of the hair dryer coach.

"Eredivisie standards?"

Wei Lai was both amused and exasperated.

Nobody told him that the hair dryer coach's standard was top-tier physical fitness in the Dutch Eredivisie!

His numerous cycles of heart and lung explosions have earned him the top-tier physical fitness in the team.

"How do you have such good stamina?"

Konrad Lehmann collapsed to the ground, too weak to even move a finger.

Wei Lai, supporting himself on his knees and panting, said, "I've practiced before!"

After saying that, he shook his head again; it was a past he didn't want to recall.

The daily training was tedious and painful.

Wei Lai could only find some solace in intra-team training matches.

Musar's guidance to him continues, and he constantly reminds Wei Lai during the match.

Of course, such reminders are rare.

It is more necessary for Wei to take the initiative to observe Musar.

Unlike a simulated classroom, this is reality, and here you'll find real teammates.

Wei Lai had to carefully observe and think about why Musar made each passing and receiving decision.

Sometimes, when he didn't have time to observe, he would ask the coaching staff for game footage.

By reviewing the video, he observed the game again, identifying which decisions were good and which were bad.

Meanwhile, Wei noticed and remembered some of Musar's details.

From that day on, Wei Lai developed the habit of watching game videos.

For this reason, he also bought a laptop.

It's worth mentioning that Elante Roy's agency has already assigned Wei Lai an agent named Mendy, who has not been in contact with the club.

He stated that it was not appropriate to negotiate with the club at this stage, and advised Wei Lai to continue playing well and wait for the club to contact him before engaging in negotiations.

Mendy and his agency are confident that Atlético Amsterdam will discuss the contract with Wei Lai again.

At the latest, it will be in the first half of the new season. After all, according to the information revealed, they can clearly feel Morton's high regard for and cultivation of Wei Lai.

With such a promising talent, Atlético Amsterdam won't give anyone else the chance to reap the rewards.

These guys will definitely tie Wei Lai down with a contract.

The new season is crucial; once Wei Lai's performance meets the club's requirements, they will renegotiate his contract.

After all, a weekly wage of 5000 euros is currently the team's minimum wage. Once Wei Lai performs well, this will not match his value.

It wasn't that they were willing to provide Wei Lai with this money.

Rather, they were afraid that if Wei Lai performed well, he would be poached by other clubs.

In the evening, Wei Lai went to sleep early.

Diego Ruma glanced at the time; it was only 8 p.m., but Wei Lai had already gone to bed.

During this time, he also continued to learn about his Chinese teammate.

But the more he learned, the more alarmed he became.

He reviewed Wei Lai's initial performance in Amsterdam, and compared to now, he was practically a different person.

Wei Lai achieved all of this in less than a year.

When Diego Ruma first joined Atlético Amsterdam, he was full of confidence and ambition.

He believes that with his talent, he will be able to quickly adapt to the first team, put on a good performance, and then use the Netherlands as a springboard to enter the top five leagues.

That's right!

Diego Ruma has no respect for Atlético Amsterdam.

He believed that his future lay in the top five European leagues and in those elite teams.

He will become one of the top players in Europe.

But reality dealt him a heavy blow.

He is still trying to adapt to the first team and has not yet found a sense of belonging.

But Wei Lai, who is the same age as him, has not only adapted, but has also basically become a starting player for next season.

That's right!

Based on the information released by the coaching staff, that's exactly the case.

Even his teammates said that Musar's arrival was to teach Wei to play a good midfield position.

All of this indicates that the coaching staff is making great efforts to develop this Chinese teammate.

But what about himself?
They are still struggling!

"come on!"

Diego Ruma gritted his teeth, put on his clothes, and walked out of the dormitory with the ball in his arms.

"I can!"

He wanted to take advantage of Wei Lai's sleeping time to train more.

Only in this way can we narrow the gap!

In a mock course, Wei Lai returned to the Premier League pitch.

But what should have been a familiar match scene had undergone some changes.

Before me lay nothing but endless darkness.

Unbeknownst to them, a glimmer of light appeared in the distance ahead.

The light slowly approached and expanded, and suddenly a burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the silence.

boom!!!!!!!!!!--

Wei Lai suddenly woke up and saw that he was standing in the players' tunnel.

The light in front of you is the entrance to the stadium.

At this moment, the passageway was filled with teammates wearing that familiar red jersey, but there was a sense of unfamiliarity about them.

They stood on either side, but turned their heads to look at themselves.

There were two people standing at the entrance.

One of them, wearing a number 7 jersey, is standing on the left.

Another one, wearing the number 10 jersey, stood on the right.

Their faces were shrouded in mist, but Wei Lai knew they were looking at him.

Why focus on yourself?
Wei Lai turned his head again to observe his surroundings.

He noticed that this place was somewhat different from the Manchester United players' tunnel he remembered.

Looking up at the beam, I saw the words "The Theatre of Dreams" written on it.

However, yesterday it was a white board with black lettering.

Now it has been replaced by a black background with brown text LCD screen.

Moreover, the teammates around him were also complete strangers.

He was certain that these were not the same people from yesterday's class.

Perhaps seeing Wei Lai standing there for so long, the people at numbers 7 and 10 on either side of the door exchanged a glance and spoke in unison:

"Boss, it's time for us to warm up!"

Boss?

What's so great about old?

Wei Lai turned his head to look, but he couldn't find Keane.

Who is the boss?

"Hey!"

Wei Lai turned his head and looked over, exclaiming in surprise, "Giggs!"

It felt like seeing an old acquaintance in an unfamiliar environment.

but
"How come you've gotten so old?"

Giggs shrugged: "Dude, I'm 31!"

Wei Lai was stunned.

The other person continued, "It's the 2006/2007 season now!"

He patted the captain's armband on Wei Lai's arm and laughed, "Let's go, it's time for us to head to the battlefield!"

After saying that, he pushed Wei Lai out of the players' tunnel first.

The others followed Wei Lai's footsteps and filed in.

what!
Early in the morning, after getting up, Wei Lai sat on the bed for a long time without getting up.

"Absolutely terrible!"

How I was a good captain at Manchester United?

Who knows what got into the old man, making himself the team leader.

After playing in these simulated matches for a while, he felt really bad. Even though he knew it was fake, he still felt terrible.

As captain, he can't play like he used to.

As the captain, he needs to motivate his teammates.

As the captain, he must know how to lead the charge.

But to be honest, Wei Lai isn't that kind of person; he doesn't think he can be a good captain.

After a match, the pressure of being a good captain is greater than the match itself.

In the past, he could shirk responsibility and remain invisible.

There are plenty of people in the team who can take the lead; it's not his place to stand out.

But it’s different now!
As captain, he has to set an example, and besides the competition, he also has to take care of other things.

With the outcome of the match, his responsibility became even greater.

For example, we lost six out of ten simulated matches last night.

The coach didn't say a word, and neither did his teammates.

But Wei Lai knew he was really upset!
He's the captain, but he's also a complete newbie.

But he couldn't adapt at all!
He vaguely understood the significance of the second phase of the course.

Perhaps it's to cultivate one's sense of responsibility and commitment.

But suddenly making himself the captain is a bit too much, isn't it?

"Forget it, let's take it slow!" Wei Lai shook his head.

If it feels awkward, then it feels awkward!
Anyway, he has the opportunity to try and fail.

Just because you're not playing well now doesn't mean you'll continue to do so in the future.

The morning exercise team finished their training.

Felix looked at Wei Lai; "Are you ready? We're leaving this afternoon."

"I am ready!"

Wei Lai said something casually, then lowered his head and started eating.

On July 31st, Atlético Amsterdam will begin their preseason friendlies.

A total of three warm-up matches were scheduled, and the opponents were all very strong.

The first match is between Italian Serie A powerhouse Atlético Torino.

The second match was between Premier League giants Manchester City.

The third match was against Wolfsburg, a mid-to-lower table Premier League team.

Of these three games, apart from Wolfsburg, the other two were very difficult.

In particular, Atlético Torino boasts top players such as Dieter, Quaredo, Hemes, and Barli, and has now won the Serie A title three times in a row, and is now aiming for the Champions League.

Their ability to outmaneuver Milan FC, which boasts top stars like Simeone and Rafael, demonstrates just how formidable they are.

Manchester City's situation is relatively worse. This Premier League powerhouse was once a world-class team with fans all over the world, and was hailed as the most commercially successful team.

Currently, the overall situation is rather bad, with a significant drop in team atmosphere, match performance, and so on.

One is a god, the other a demon!
When they were at their best, they could put up a good fight against Spanish giants Madrid.

When things were bad, they would lose to third-tier teams in the FA Cup.

This unstable situation continued for two years until the meritorious head coach Forlán recovered and returned to his former position. Only then did he begin a vigorous campaign to find the mole, clean up, and reorganize the team, after which they slowly regained their form.

Atlético Amsterdam has a very good reputation in European football.

Therefore, they can easily arrange matches with strong teams when scheduling warm-up games.

However, this time Morton raised the intensity considerably.

Atlético Amsterdam has also made some changes to its tactical approach for the new season.

Morton didn't say anything explicitly, but he had already hinted at a lot.

First and foremost is the defense. Kakabanja will definitely be the starting center-back, and his experience will stabilize the backline.

Secondly, there's the forward line, with Konrad Lehmann still the core player.

However, thanks to his outstanding performance in the second half of last season, Felix has essentially secured his starting center forward position.

But the biggest changes are in the midfield!

From the second half of the training camp onwards, Morton consistently paired Wei Lai with Mussal in the game.

When the two of them are paired together, the rate of offensive and defensive transitions is extremely high.

Both of them are players who use their heads to kick the ball; they both use the simplest methods to deliver ammunition to the front lines.

In this situation, forwards like Konrad Lehmann were somewhat overwhelmed.

Sometimes, they simply can't handle the barrage of attacks delivered by the midfielders.

The last remaining position became a purely defensive position.

Currently, Hendrick and Reyessa are competing for the title.

Hendrick had his opinions on this, but couldn't say anything.

Can he compete with Mussal for the organization?
That's impossible; the two are not the same type.

Can he oust Wei Lai?

Even less likely, Wei Lai represents the future!

The coaching staff wouldn't do that!

Therefore, he had to compete with Reyessa for the bodyguard position.

However, Reyesa excels at the simplest bodyguard duties.

The reason is simple: Reyesa is willing to humble himself and do the dirty and hard work for Wei Lai and Musar.

But Hendrick couldn't lower himself; he was a former Manchester City captain. They could reduce his touches, but they couldn't completely take away his possession of the ball.

Morton didn't want to distribute possession of the ball among three players, so Hendrick was relegated to the bench.

The current fixed midfield is basically a combination of Musar and Weil, with Reyessa as a bodyguard.

Wei Lai and Musar share possession of the ball and are responsible for organizing, connecting, and transitioning between offense and defense.

Musar was the leader, with Wei Lai as his assistant.

Morton also took a very tough stance against Hendrick.

Stop messing around, or I'll get rid of you.

Anyway, he's not a Dutch captain; the captain's armband has now been passed down to the second captain, Dennis Zier.

As for Diego Ruma, the little guy isn't even on Morton's tactical map.

He still needs to prove himself.

Perhaps when the time is right, he might take over from Robinson for a few games, and if he performs well, he'll get more playing time.

But it's almost impossible for him to replace Conrad Lehmann.

Around noon, inside the bus.

Pechamp stood at the front, relaying Morton's message.

"When we arrive at the airport, there might be media reporters. Remember! No interviews are allowed. Everyone, please go to the waiting area obediently, understand?"

The crowd responded loudly:

"understand!"

This time, Pessan turned to the driver and said, "Let's go!"

Amsterdam Airport was indeed bustling with media reporters who had already been waiting there.

They can get their hands on information about the Amsterdam Athletic's warm-up matches, even down to the exact travel dates.

Yao Chaoyang was among the crowd.

However, unlike these Dutch journalists, he had no sources of information.

He would see the schedule of the warm-up matches and wait at the airport two days in advance.

Today is his third day at the airport. Seeing the large number of reporters pouring in, he knew that the Amsterdam Athletic was coming.

Soon, a bus arrived at the airport entrance.

The staff unloaded the luggage one by one; most of it was training equipment, and the substitutes were also helping to move it.

Wei Lai didn't have much luggage, just one suitcase.

As soon as they entered the airport terminal, they were immediately surrounded by a swarm of reporters.

"What preparations have you made for the new season?"

"How is Musar adapting?"

"Who will be the casualty of the midfield substitutions?"

The reporters swarmed around asking questions, but the Amsterdam Atlético players remained silent.

Furthermore, the airport has deployed security personnel to maintain order, ensuring they are not disturbed by these reporters.

Wei Lai silently followed the crowd.

Suddenly, he heard a familiar language.

"Wei Lai! Wei Lai!"

Yao Chaoyang squeezed into the crowd and immediately handed over the microphone.

Wei Lai grinned and slowly shook his head.

"Can't you give an interview?" Yao Chaoyang asked.

Wei Lai nodded.

Will you play in the warm-up matches?

Wei Lai smiled and blinked.

Yao Chaoyang: "Has Mussar's arrival affected your position?"

Wei Lai smiled again and shook his head gently.

Then, he pointed ahead and waved his hand.

I can't say any more!

Yao Chaoyang nodded, watched Wei Lai leave, and slowly exhaled.

Wei Lai said that the location was not affected, which is good news.

After the Amsterdam Athletic players left, Yao Chaoyang also planned to go back.

Suddenly, several foreign colleagues stopped him.

"Hey buddy, what did Wei say?"

They noticed some subtle movements by Wei Lai, which must have meant he was answering some questions.

But they couldn't understand what Yao Chaoyang was asking.

Yao Chaoyang rolled his eyes.

Why should I tell you?

These guys hadn't told him when he was going to leave, so he ended up waiting at the airport for three days.

In the waiting area, Pei Shang walked up to Wei Lai and said seriously:

"This will never happen again!"

Wei Lai scratched his head awkwardly.

He knew that Pechamp was referring to the little trick he had just used.

He immediately nodded, indicating that he understood.

(End of this chapter)