Master Tutoring Class

Chapter 276 Dreams Come True
Football is a sport that relies heavily on talent.

Van Nistelrooy was a very famous talent in their community; his ball control, technique, and so on were all extremely superb.

But Van Nistelrooy still can't forget that winter of 2021 when he came to the Amsterdam Atlético youth academy for a trial, accompanied by his parents.

On that day, snowflakes fell for the first time in a rare occurrence, and they completed a trial training session amidst the snow.

Of the 50 trial players, only two were ultimately selected.

With a pass rate of only 4%, most people were eliminated, and Fanny was one of them.

He didn't even know why he failed!
After that, he went to Elflåm and Eindhoven, but both ended in failure.

Swish!
Van Nistelrooy sprinted forward, stretching his toes out forcefully, but he was still a beat too slow.

Wei Lai stepped on the ball and pulled it to the left, dodging his own tackle and simultaneously passing the ball out.

Not to be outdone, Fanny charged at Wei Lai again.

But the latter can always complete the transfer with a single touch, before he arrives.

When did he conduct his observations?

How could he make a decision so quickly?
Why is he able to play so easily?

A series of question marks appeared in Van Nistelrooy's mind, and he could feel that, with Wei Lai's passes, Amsterdam Athletic's almost out-of-control rhythm was slowly being corrected.

boom!
Wei Lai flicked the ball with his toe, dodging Van Nistelrooy's outstretched foot once again. At the same time, he leaned forward, pressed down with his knee, and used the front of his shin to press the ball down, quickly pushing it to the ground and completing the breakthrough.

Fanny was panting heavily; he was struggling to keep up with Wei Lai's pace.

On the coaching bench, both Morton and Peschan looked slightly surprised.

"Just now, Wei's movements were very delicate."

Wei Lai's excellent control over distance, timing, and movements gives him a very stable presence in the midfield.

This is not the same one-touch passing style that Wei Lai used before. He has increased the number of touches, 2-3 times each time, accompanied by getting rid of or breaking through.

boom!
Wei Lai stood still, but his teammate passed the ball to the space in front of him. However, Wei Lai did not move forward, causing the ball to be lost.

Atletico Amsterdam has lost possession of the ball!
"mine!"

Substitute player Roland immediately raised his hand.

He was getting anxious.

He thought Wei Lai would move forward, but Wei Lai didn't.

"Tsk!"

Konrad Lehmann smacked his lips slightly and couldn't help but shake his head.

"Roland's tactical awareness is still too weak."

The spot where he passed the ball was indeed open.

But space can be divided into useful and useless.

Even if Wei Lai moves forward into this useless space, at most he can only make lateral passes and back passes, which not only fails to promote the attack but also increases the risk.

"The gap between the substitutes and the starters is still too big!"

Assistant coach Pescho shook his head.

Just like this simple combination, the starting players' understanding of tactics is on a completely different level compared to the substitutes.

In addition, tactical execution, teamwork, and stronger individual abilities widen this gap.

It cannot be said that the substitutes lack skills; in fact, their skills are quite good.

Unfortunately, their understanding of tactics was completely inadequate in terms of its contribution to the overall performance.

This highlights the importance of tactical thinking and discipline.

Regardless of whether an opportunity is seen, as long as the key player remains stationary, the first choice is to pass the ball to where the key player is located.

Of course, you can try it like Roland, but you must succeed!

But this time, Roland failed.

Wei Lai didn't say a word; he immediately turned around and joined the defense.

He wouldn't complain to his substitute teammates. As substitutes, they were already flawed, so Wei Lai wouldn't ask them to do anything more.

However, such a proactive mistake is indeed quite frustrating.

boom!
The fast boys' attack was contained, and the defense was able to intercept the ball and pass it to Wei Lai.

Wei Lai received the ball, turned around, and looked directly ahead.

His teammates ahead stared blankly at him, and none of them ran anymore.

Wei Lai was so angry that his nose was crooked.

"Run! What are you looking at?!"

Wei Lai roared, and only then did they begin to run again.

"slow!"

Wei Lai feinted past Van Nistelrooy's challenge, then smoothly passed the ball to the wing before finally letting out a complaint:
"What did you do early?"

Mr. Morton shook his head slightly and turned to look at the substitutes' bench again.

"Lehman, go warm up!"

The pace has stabilized, but a finisher is still needed to end the game quickly.

While Wei Lai can pass the ball, his finishing ability is not strong enough.

No matter how many passes you make, if you can't score, it's all for nothing!
Konrad Lehmann came on as a substitute in the 65th minute.

This means Amsterdam is about to end the match.

Konrad Lechmann's appearance sent the crowd into a frenzy of cheers. As a key player for Atlético Amsterdam, his presence was almost a guarantee of victory.

In the 69th minute, Wei Lai had the ball in the right half of the field and made a symbolic advance of a few steps.

But he noticed that no one came forward to rob him.

"Are they going to defend?"

Wei Lai blinked, and then boldly began to move forward.

The Quick Boys players followed closely, making disruptive moves, but their pressing wasn't as intense.

Or rather, their main defensive players have all been compressed into the backcourt.

The moment Wei Lai reached the edge of the penalty area, Konrad Lehmann suddenly charged forward from the vertical.

"Give me!"

Wei Lai turned his head.

As the two looked at each other, the latter suddenly glanced at the person in the back.

"Push forward!"

Wei Lai decisively passed the ball.

But he didn't start it immediately; he waited a moment.

When the ball reaches Konrad Lechmann's feet, and everyone's attention is focused on Lechmann, that's the time for him to make his forward run.

That's right!

The importance of timing!
Swish!
Wei Lai immediately initiated a forward run, at which point all attention was focused on Konrad Lehmann.

The latter stepped on the ball and suddenly flicked it with his foot.

The ball crossed the defensive line and fell towards the area behind it.

There, Wei Lai had already moved into position.

He looked up at the ball.

The words of the football king's coach echoed in my ears.

"You have to have 'desire' to shoot. When you see the goal, you have to be greedy. It's not just about completing a technical move, but about ending an attack!"

Wei Lai interprets this as "If not me, then who!"
Wei Lai suddenly swung his right leg, making a shooting motion.

The goalkeeper of the fast boys immediately rushed to the acute corner of the left side of the six-yard box, crouched down, and spread his arms to expand the defensive area as much as possible.

But the moment the ball hit the ground, Wei Lai tensed the arch of his right foot. He didn't strike the ball, but instead used the arch of his foot to press down on it, stopping the ball about two meters in front of him.

"Damn it!"

The goalkeeper of the fast boys cursed under his breath, scrambled on all fours, turned around, and stretched out his arms as far as he could.

But Wei Lai had already caught up with the ball and gently pushed it with his left foot at a small angle.

The ball rolled smoothly into the goal.

Swish!
The ball bounced into the net.

Wei Lai smiled broadly.

"A shot is not about power, but about angle and timing!"

"Goal!!!!!!!!!"

Dutch commentator Van Gaal exclaimed in admiration:

"A brilliant passing and running combination! With all attention focused on Lehmann, Wei Cheng became a sharp knife, their combination tearing apart the Fast Boys' defense and scoring the winning goal!"

"Athletico Amsterdam has taken the lead again!"

Snapped!
Wei Lai gave Conrad Lehmann a high five.

That's right!

This kind of teamwork is just right!
Conrad Lehmann casually hooked his arm around Wei Lai's neck and laughed loudly, "Goodness, you faked a shot and then slammed it in! Where did you learn that trick?"

At that moment, he thought Wei Lai was going to shoot directly.

Unexpectedly, Wei Lai remained calm and chose to dribble past the goalkeeper instead of blindly shooting.

In fact, the probability of Wei Lai shooting directly is not high. The goalkeeper has already taken his position and opened up his stance, so the shooting angle is almost completely blocked.

Wei Lai laughed and said, "Someone is giving me special training!"

Konrad Lechmann nodded without saying anything; he was already used to Wei Lai's progress and the speed at which he was improving. The rest of the time was practically garbage time.

Wei Lai repeatedly controlled the ball, and with Konrad Lehmann threatening in the attacking third, the fast boys dared not push forward too much.

Until the 85th minute of the match, the Fast Boys refused to give up and gambled their fate on one last attack.

Unfortunately, this attack was thwarted by Atlético Amsterdam's effective zonal defense.

Wei Lai's unleashed crescent-shaped kick created a one-on-one situation for Conrad Lehmann.

Without any suspense, a simple first change of direction created shooting space, and the ball was as deadly as a bullet.

The ball went straight into the corner.

Amsterdam Sporting 3-1 Fast Boys, winning the round of 16 of the Dutch Cup.

"Pretty strong!"

Wei Lai stretched his shoulders. During the game, these guys had used their bodies to pressure him quite a bit, hoping to gain possession of the ball.

But Wei Lai still managed to maintain control.

It must be said that, as a team in the Dutch third division, their fighting spirit in battling with Atlético Amsterdam until now is quite impressive.

After the match, Atlético Amsterdam shook hands with the Fast Boys and exchanged jerseys.

January 20th, Eredivisie Round 18 matches.

Atlético Amsterdam still did not field their full-strength squad, instead implementing a rotation system.

There is no way!

There are too many fronts in the second half of the league.

They need to play in the league, the Dutch Cup, and the Europa League.

If we rely solely on our main lineup to fight, it's only a matter of time before we collapse in the later stages.

First, Mr. Morton separated Wei Lai and Musar, assigning them to be in charge of different events.

Currently, Atlético Amsterdam only has these two minds, and he must make a good plan.

In the 18th round of the league, Wei Lai was rested, and Musar took over as the starting playmaker, helping the team defeat their opponent 4-1.

In the 19th round of the league, Musar was rested and Wei Lai took over as the starting playmaker. Facing the challenge from NEC Nijmegen, the two teams scored eight goals in 90 minutes, eventually drawing 4-4.

In the 20th round of the league, facing PSV Eindhoven again, Atlético Amsterdam chose to field both Wei Lai and Musár, but against PSV Eindhoven's relatively solid defensive strategy, they ultimately managed a 1-1 draw away from home.

In the 21st round of the league, Musar started the game, and Wei Lai came on in the 70th minute. When they were down 1-2 to Heerenveen, they relied on Felix's pivot role to help Robinson break through and score twice, turning the score around.

After four rounds of matches, Atlético Amsterdam has two wins and two draws.

They currently remain at the top of the standings, and thanks to the rotation system, they have preserved some of their strength to prepare for the upcoming Europa League matches.

On February 17th, the Europa League knockout play-offs kicked off.

There are a total of eight matches, with sixteen teams competing against each other.

They finished second in all eight Europa League groups and third in all eight Champions League knockout groups.

They will compete in a knockout round, and the winners will join the top teams in their respective Europa League groups to form the Europa League Round of 16, where they will begin the official knockout stage of the Europa League.

With each game starting and ending.

Ultimately, the sixteen teams for the knockout stage were determined.

Sporting Amsterdam (Eredivisie), Brighton (Premier League), Glasgow (Scottish Premiership), Sporting Lisbon (Primeira Liga), Strømsgodset (La Liga), Taurhamlesc (Premier League), Bergamaska ​​(Serie A), AC Milan (Serie A), Belgrade (Serbian Super League), Bayer Leverkusen (Bundesliga), CSKA Moscow (Russian Premier League), El Salvador Lisbon (Primeira Liga), Lyon (Ligue 1), Bakuspor (Argentina-Serbia Super League), Sporting Prague (Czech First Division), Frenkie SV (Bundesliga).

A total of 16 teams assembled for the draw ceremony.

"The overall quality of this year's Europa League knockout stage is so high!"

Felix watched the lottery ceremony taking place on television.

The logos of the sixteen teams were projected onto the big screen; with the exception of a few, almost all of them were strong teams in European competitions.

Among them are local powerhouse teams such as AC Milan FC, Atlético Amsterdam, and the two Lisbon clubs.

"It feels like it's going to be hard to play against whoever I draw!" Robinson frowned.

Mussar: "That's how European competitions are. Once you get to the knockout stages, the intensity rises rapidly, and the matches become much more intense. We find it difficult to play, and similarly, other teams find it difficult to play against us!"

"At the moment, it seems like we only need to avoid Milan FC, Taurhamletz, and Stryon, which would be quite good!"

These three teams are all strong contenders in the top five European leagues.

With Simeone's departure, Milan FC's attack has become somewhat weak, but Rafael's presence still allows the team to maintain a decent fighting spirit.

Stryon is superior to Taurhamletz in combat.

Don't be fooled by the fact that these are teams eliminated in the Champions League group stage; that's still within the Champions League level. Once they move down to the Europa League, their fighting power will be extremely strong.

"I'd really like to play for AC Milan FC!"

Wei Lai muttered something.

It's not Milan FC, it's just that I want to compete against Rafael in a match.

However, from the perspective of the team's interests, this is probably not a good option.

"coming soon!"

All eight first-round draws have concluded. Since there was only one Eredivisie team, there was no issue of avoiding teams from the same league; whoever was drawn would be the team they would be drawn against.

The key point is that, so far, AC Milan, Taurhamletz, and Stryon are still in the draw pool.

Everyone held their breath and stared at the television.

As UEFA officials conducted the draw, a team logo came into view.

The team emblem is an oval shape with red and white stripes, and seven stars are printed at the top.

Each star represents a Champions League title, and this club has won the Champions League seven times in its history.

Milan FC, the Italian powerhouse!

Swish!
Felix, Lehman, Mussal, and the others almost all turned to look at Wei Lai.

Wei Lai blinked and immediately raised his hand: "It's none of my business, I'm just muttering something."

"You crow mouth!"

"Look what you've done!"

"Why is it Milan FC?!"

They were drawn against one of the three toughest teams to beat.

what!
Old Master Morton and Pechamp exchanged a glance, then couldn't help but sigh, turning around and clapping their hands.
"Alright, the team is confirmed, we should start preparing for the Europa League match."

In the first round of the Europa League knockout stage, Atlético Amsterdam will face FC Milan.

"La la la la~~~"

On the training field, Wei Lai hummed a song as he skipped and hopped towards the hoop, pulled out the ball, tossed it into the air, and started juggling it, all the while still making noise.

"La la la la~~~"

As Wei Lai hummed a song, he dribbled the ball, feeling the rhythm of the beat, trying to keep each juggle in sync with the rhythm.

He seemed very happy!

Musar looked at Wei Lai and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

Next week, they're playing against FC Milan.

Hendrick looked at Mussal: "You don't know?"

"What should I know?"

Hendrick laughed, "Wei is a Rafael fan; he likes Rafael!"

Musar suddenly realized, "So that's how it is."

He said that Wei Lai had been extremely proactive and excited during this period.

It turns out that the upcoming competition with one's idol can indeed ignite a young person's passion for the game.

"But now, Raphael's condition is not as good as before!"

Musar shook his head.

It's hard to imagine that Raphael's form dropped so quickly in just one year.

You can't say he played badly.

However, compared to his peak performance, he has declined considerably.

As we age, our concentration, physical fitness, muscle mass, and other abilities decline.

“He’s become a bit lost since leaving Madrid!” Hendrick shook his head.

Rafael played for Madrid for ten years, giving his peak years, honors and everything to the club, but in the end he was kicked out.

As players, they understand Madrid's intention to maintain the team's competitiveness and to select young players.

But this was not the right way to deal with such a veteran player. Besides, Rafael had already announced that he was willing to accept a pay cut to stay with the team, but Madrid still sent him away and gave the number 10 jersey to Spanish midfielder Fernando Cabrera.

What's most frustrating is that Madrid continues their winning streak in the Champions League, and Cabrera's performance is outstanding, leaving Rafael fans, who previously criticized Madrid, with nowhere to vent their frustrations.

"Raphael!"

Wei Lai admires Rafael for his elegant playing style, his composure under pressure, and his courage to take responsibility when facing difficulties.

For a long time, in Wei's view, Raphael was the dream he had been pursuing, but which was always out of reach.

But at the moment of the draw, their footprints miraculously intersected.

nervous?
Do not!
It's more of a tremor of a dream coming true.

He is no longer a blank name.

It's not the blurry figure in the video either.

It's not a jersey from a past match that's in a museum.

A week later, he will be standing alive in front of him.

This artist who defined modern football – competing on the field!

(End of this chapter)