The God of Football starts with passive skills

Chapter 41 Showing Off Muscles, Snatching a Starting Position! Wang Shuo: Coach, I really want to score! [Long chapter of 10,000 words, please subscribe!]

Wang Shuo arrived at the training ground at 5:30 a.m. and began a day of intensive training.

He first underwent a series of basic technical training sessions.

The God of Football System brought Wang Shuo not only passive skills, but also an understanding and appreciation of football.

Or rather, he knows better how to play football now.

Those so-called fancy moves are nothing but empty show.

On the football field, the most threatening opponents are often those with the simplest and quickest attacks.

Remember when Robinho joined Real Madrid? He was hailed as the new Pelé, and many people had high hopes for him, believing he could rival Messi at Barcelona.

Looking back now?
Does this young cyclist really have such a good effect on the football field?

Wang Shuo might not have noticed it before, but now he feels that Robinho's fancy moves make his bicycle kicks too sluggish.

If you slow down, who can you fool?
If all unnecessary movements and body swaying could be eliminated, the speed at which the entire cycling motion could be completed would definitely increase significantly, and the threat level would also rise sharply.

Therefore, Wang Shuo repeatedly practiced these most basic movements in order to simplify the complex.

Moreover, this kind of basic training requires repeated practice day after day.

Once you get on the court, you can use it with ease.

During training, Subotic will act as Wang Shuo's "opponent" and accompany him for one-on-one training.

The other role is to pass the ball in various ways, simulating situations on the court, allowing Wang Shuo to adapt to the circumstances and try to break through the opponent while receiving the ball.

Subotic is now a center-back favored even by the German national team; his individual ability is undeniable.

The benefits Wang Shuo gained from training with such a defensive player are self-evident.

Of course, Subotic and Schürrle also benefited greatly from this simulated combat training.

Subotic, in particular.

Although they had held internal scrimmages during training before.

But Subotic could clearly sense that Wang Shuo was now stronger and faster.

Sometimes, just when he felt he had made the right judgment and had a chance to steal the ball, Wang Shuo would suddenly change his actions and fool him.

However, Subotic is no pushover either.

Deceiving someone doesn't mean you've made a breakthrough.

Forced into a corner, Subotic had no choice but to get serious and use every trick and dirty trick he had ever used on his opponents on Wang Shuo.

"Hey, Nevin, that move of yours is disgusting, it's definitely a foul." Schürrle couldn't stand it anymore.

"Foul my ass, the referee can't see it anyway," Subotic laughed and cursed.

If I don't resort to some underhanded tactics, I won't be able to suppress him at all.

This kid is getting more and more difficult to deal with.

But Subotic also learned a lot in this contest, such as how to use his body to suppress opponents.

This is Wang Shuo's most obvious weakness.

Wang Shuo, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy it immensely.

In this contest, he benefits the most.

Moreover, he also wanted to push himself to his limits through these challenging tasks.

……

After two hours of extra training, all three players were drenched in sweat.

Although the league is suspended, the youth teams, especially the junior youth teams, continue training as usual.

Therefore, the club's restaurant remains open.

The three of them ran into Jürgen Kramny while they were having dinner at the restaurant.

He was accompanying a tall, thin German man on a tour.

“Hey, Jürgen.” Schürrle waved excitedly at Kramny.

Wang Shuo also quickly got up to greet Kramny.

Kramny has now been officially promoted to the first team, and his first task with the first team is to receive special training from Wang Shuo.

He will be Wang Shuo's sparring partner for the next month or so.

"You all arrived so early?" Kramny asked, somewhat surprised.

According to the schedule, Wang Shuo's morning training session starts at 8:30 a.m., and he goes directly to the gym to report to Axel Busenkel.

After a 90-minute gym workout, we started practicing with the ball outside.

"Coach, we arrived at 5:30," Schürrle said, his voice trembling with a sob.

"5:30?"

Not only was Kramny startled, but the tall, thin German was also taken aback.

"You've been practicing on your own for two hours already?"

Schürrle nodded sadly and pointed at Wang Shuo.

If we're brothers, there's no need to say anything. The culprit is right here; drag him out and shoot him!

The tall, thin German man also looked at Wang Shuo with great surprise.

He had already guessed that the young man from the East in front of him was Wang Shuo, who had recently risen to fame.

But I never expected Wang Shuo's training to be so rigorous!
"Coach, who is this...?" Subotic asked, looking at the tall, thin German man with some curiosity.

"Oh, this is Thomas Tuchel, the head coach of the U19 youth team for the new season."

Then Kramny introduced Wang Shuo, Subotic, and Schürrle to Tuchel.

Wang Shuo and Subotic will most likely play for the first team next season, but Schürrle may return to the U19 team to play in the league, where he will play under Tuchel.

But it seems that Tuchel is more interested in Wang Shuo.

"Isn't it a bit early to start strength training at 17? What aspects do you plan to focus on first, and what kind of results do you want to achieve?"

Tuchel asked the last question while looking at Wang Shuo.

The U19 youth team is like his own home, and Tuchel is the head coach of the youth team, so he is like family.

Wang Shuo felt a sense of closeness upon seeing him and, without thinking twice, immediately replied, "All of it."

"all?"

"Yes, muscle structure, body fat, size, resistance, flexibility, explosiveness, strength... I want it all!"

Tuherton was stunned.

Isn't this a bit greedy?
Or perhaps they simply don't understand the difficulty of physical training?

But Wang Shuo's counter-question left Tuher speechless.

"I'm a striker, so I should practice all of these things, at least improve them a little, so I can't fall behind."

Tuher's language.

Because he also felt that what Wang Shuo said made a lot of sense.

Looking back, if I had had this awareness when I was young and had been able to persevere, I wouldn't have been unable to play for the German U19 national team.
Oh, by the way, Tuchel played as a center-back.

Standing at 1.9 meters tall, he's as thin as a bamboo pole, which puts him at a significant disadvantage in strength contests.

They belong to the type of players who have neither the strength advantage of tall players nor the speed and agility of short players.

Therefore, his professional career was also a complete mess.

The only advantage is that he's quick-witted.

Having a brain but no body is useless.

Thinking about this, Tuher actually felt that what Wang Shuo said made a lot of sense.

"Well said, keep it up, I support you!" Tuher gave the spirited young man a thumbs up.

When they saw off Kramny and Tuchel, Wang Shuo, Subotic and Schürrle talked about the new U19 coach.

The only impression I have is that he supposedly did well with the Stuttgart youth team and led Augsburg II to excellent results last season, which is why he was able to coach Mainz U19.

“I’d always heard that he had a terrible temper, but now he seems alright,” Schürrle said, shaking his head.

Wang Shuo and Subotic both agreed wholeheartedly.

……

Busenkel arrived at the gym right on time at 8:30 a.m. as always.

He has always had a strong sense of time and is never late or leaves early.

Although this special training was specifically prepared for Wang Shuo, Subotic and Schürrle are also young players on whom the club has high hopes, so Busenkel also paid attention to them.

Gym workouts start with some simple warm-up exercises.

Next came push-ups and sit-ups, along with some stretching exercises.

The real intensity began with 20 minutes of cycling training, followed by weightlifting, and finally a 30-minute running session on the treadmill.

Finally, there's the recovery process after training.

The entire training program was very tightly scheduled, with a break time allotted between each activity.

Even Wang Shuo was trained to the point of screaming.

Because he hasn't drawn any passive skills that buff his body yet.

He now completely understands why everyone hates gyms so much.

Since Mainz does not have a swimming pool, Busenkel suggested that Wang Shuo and others go outside to learn to swim.

Swimming is also very beneficial for football players.

This put Wang Shuo in a rather difficult position.

Because he grew up in the mountains, he was a landlubber and couldn't swim at all.

"Then let's sign up for a training course and learn!" Busenkel thought to himself with a smug satisfaction.

We've finally found Wang Shuo's weakness!

After finishing their workout at the gym, Wang Shuo and his two companions rested briefly before going outside to find Kramny.

Kramny's special training focus was on Wang Shuo.

It's not just about helping Wang Shuo improve, but more importantly, about teaching him more competition skills.

Another aspect is to improve some of his shortcomings and mistakes in movement.

Kramny played as a right winger and had strong attacking abilities. He was a national team player from a young age and almost made it into the German national team.

As a player trained in the rigorous German youth system, his technical movements must be the most standard.

Non-standard movements not only easily cause injury, but more importantly, they fail to achieve the desired effect.

For example, Wang Shuo's shot.

The reason why it is easy to lack strength and lose accuracy is not only due to insufficient muscle strength, but also due to problems with one's own movements.

Some of my kicking techniques are just wrong, so I often can't generate enough power.

Kramny intends to completely correct Wang Shuo's problems this summer.

At the same time, we also need to teach him how to compete better.

Being a good child puts you at a disadvantage on the soccer field.

Making good use of the rules, and using every means possible within those rules to defeat your opponent, is what all professional players do.

For example, how to make better use of both hands.

While you can't use your hands to play football, your hands are an indispensable weapon on the football field.

And the buttocks.

Don't laugh.

When protecting the ball, the buttocks can play a very important role.

The youth training Wang Shuo received in China was actually very lacking in terms of competition experience.

This is also the biggest weakness in the youth training program at Huai Ren Football School.

After arriving in Europe, Wang Shuo studied a lot and learned a great deal through competitions.

Now, Kramny has given him a fairly complete and systematic review.

Although it was just a short lesson, and only about some hand movements when protecting the ball, it was packed with useful information.

He was also keenly aware that even though he was a leader in domestic youth training and had introduced advanced European youth training concepts, there was still a significant gap between him and Europe in many details.

For example, in terms of competition experience and skills.

Wang Shuo also decided that he must call back to China tonight and have a good talk with Coach Gao about this matter.

Next, the players from Huai Ren Football School will go abroad for trials to learn more skills, which will be more helpful for them to stay in Europe.

Wang Shuo also hopes that all his teammates will have the opportunity to play football in Europe.

Because of this, Wang Shuo studied very diligently, and he would immediately ask questions whenever he encountered something he didn't understand.

Kramny also really liked Wang Shuo, and he would patiently explain and guide him every time, sharing everything he knew without reservation.

Wang Shuo benefited greatly from the morning's training.

But it also made us more clearly aware of the huge gap between Chinese football and European football.

The senior team is merely the result.

The real gap was already widening at the youth training level.

……

The most important match before the European Championship was the Champions League final in Moscow.

Ferguson's Manchester United vs. Grant's Chelsea.

After the departure of the "Special One" Mourinho, Chelsea actually made it to the Champions League final.

That's really interesting.

Wang Shuo took a special night off just to watch this Champions League final.

Right from the start, he noticed a very interesting phenomenon.

“You see, Ronaldo played on the left wing in this game, partnering with Evra, which seemed to be Manchester United’s main attacking direction. But actually, Rooney and Wes Brown on the right wing were more active.”

After Wang Shuo said that, Subotic also saw through the situation.

“Essien is at right-back, and Grant has made specific defensive moves on that side.”

In particular, I witnessed a Manchester United throw-in where Ronaldo was caught in a crossfire by Drogba and Essien and brought down in the attacking third.

Cristiano Ronaldo is still complaining to Drogba.

But the two superstars seem to have a decent relationship.

Rooney then delivered a long diagonal pass from the right wing, and Ronaldo made a rapid run down the left wing to launch a counter-attack, creating a very threatening attack.

"Cristiano Ronaldo is too fast!" Schürrle exclaimed repeatedly.

He is also a speed-type player.

“We can also play this kind of game, and Wang has a great speed advantage, but we lack passers.”

Subotic shook his head. "Rooney can make those long diagonal passes, do you think Baljak can do that?"

Wang Shuo and Schürrle both smiled wryly.

Tactics are all executed based on the players' abilities.

Ultimately, it was an attack down the right flank by Manchester United that led to Wes Brown assisting Cristiano Ronaldo's header to give United the lead.

Wang Shuo stared wide-eyed, exclaiming, "Cristiano Ronaldo is just too perfect!"

"You're not bad either!" Schürrle patted Wang Shuo's shoulder forcefully.

"In terms of looks, you're just as good as him; you're Mainz's Cristiano Ronaldo."

Subotic couldn't help but chuckle.

Wang Shuo was speechless. "I was talking about ball skills."

I'm referring to appearance.

"Goals, dribbling, headers, free kicks... there's nothing he can't do, and the key is that he's also so good at physical confrontations."

Wang Shuo felt that this was the goal he wanted to strive to achieve!

"For a superstar of his caliber, his back-to-goal play and ball control are still a bit lacking, so he can't play in the middle. I know how to defend against him," Subotic said confidently.

Chelsea equalized the score shortly afterward.

Drogba charged forward, disrupting Manchester United's center-backs, and Lampard seized the opportunity, scoring past Van der Sar.

This is the role of a center!

Wang Shuo admires Drogba, but he pays more attention to Tevez.

This Argentine beast is not tall, but rather stocky, and has good back-to-the-basket strength and power.

Of course, Tevez mostly moves into open spaces to receive the ball, unlike Drogba, who often prefers to engage in close-quarters combat with opposing center-backs.

These are two different kicking styles, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.

Players like Drogba directly threaten opponents, but are plagued by injuries, almost constantly.

For a top-level competition like the Champions League final, fans may see intensity and excitement, but Wang Shuo and others see cruelty.

For example, Vidic's cramps in the final moments.

In the penalty shootout, Ronaldo hesitated and missed his fifth penalty.

"The pressure is too much!"

Wang Shuo could not imagine the immense pressure that Cristiano Ronaldo carried.

When he tried to fool Cech but failed, Wang Shuo knew that the ball was likely lost.

In the psychological game, Ronaldo lost.

He lost to himself and Cech!

The Portuguese set too high a standard for themselves and carried too much pressure on themselves.

"It seems like all great players have to go through something like this," Wang Shuo said with a wry smile.

Fortunately, the Manchester United players took the penalty very well afterward, and Terry missed his.

Van der Sar lunged in the wrong direction, but Terry hit the post himself.

At this point, the outcome of the match was actually quite clear.

Manchester United then scored two goals in quick succession, but Anelka missed another penalty.

The French striker has never been a particularly strong-willed person.

The instant Anelka missed his penalty, everyone at Manchester United erupted in wild celebration on television.

The three people watching TV, including Wang Shuo, also breathed a sigh of relief.

They have the utmost respect for all the players from the two major clubs participating in the competition.

This group of people are the world's top football stars!
"Do you think we have a chance to stand on the Champions League final stage like them?" Schürrle asked with anticipation.

"I want to play in the Champions League final, and then represent Germany in the World Cup and the European Championship!"

Wang Shuo noticed that Subotic's face darkened when Schürrle mentioned the World Cup and the European Championship.

This irritated him.

If you want to play in the World Cup and the European Championship and achieve good results, then joining the German national team is the best option.

But Wang Shuo could sense that Subotic was unwilling.

If he didn't mind, he wouldn't be so conflicted.

"I don't have that many thoughts. Just like Nedved said, the Champions League is my World Cup!"

"My country has never qualified for the World Cup finals. For me, the World Cup is destined to be out of reach."

Subotic knew that Wang Shuo was trying to comfort him.

Even if Serbia is bad, it's still much better than China, right?

"If Germany extends an olive branch to you, will you seize it?" Subotic looked at Wang Shuo with concern.

Wang Shuo felt that he actually had the answer.

I just wanted to seek some recognition.

"will not."

"why?"

"Because my parents, my relatives, my friends, and my teachers are all in China." "Look at my skin, it's yellow; my hair is black; my eyes are black. I was born and raised in China. From my bones, from my blood, from my soul, I am Chinese!"

"Chinese football is indeed very bad right now, but I believe it will definitely get better, and I am willing to do everything I can to help it get better!"

At that moment, Wang Shuo thought of his teachers and predecessors, such as Gao Huai Ren, Ma Yong Cheng, and Jiang Peng Ju.

They may bear infamy or remain unknown, but they have always been working diligently and trying to make changes little by little.

It was because of them that Wang Shuo had the opportunity to leave Lingshan County, leave Quanjiang City, and leave China!
We should never forget those who dug the well when we drink the water.

Wang Shuo has no doubt that when the time is right, he will also choose to return to China and become the next generation of well diggers!

But now, his top priority is to play football well.

Just as Gao Huai-ren told him the night before he left the country.

The better he plays in Europe and the greater his influence, the more he will help Chinese football!
……

Subotic ultimately declined Löw's call-up.

Mainz felt very sorry about this, but also respected it.

In the period that followed, Wang Shuo trained even harder.

Apart from eating, sleeping, and taking necessary rest, he devotes all his time to training.

This insane training even frightened Kramny.

They even considered stopping the special training at one point.

However, after a thorough examination of Wang Shuo's body and confirming that he was alright, they allowed him to continue.

U19 youth team head coach Tuchel also frequently comes to watch training, and occasionally, when he feels itchy, he personally goes on the field to replace Subotic and take on the task of defending Wang Shuo.

Despite being retired for many years, he is still quite skilled at playing football.

He is, after all, a center-back for the German national youth team.

Through this almost insane intensive training, Wang Shuo's improvement was obvious.

Especially in one-on-one training sessions with Subotic, Tuchel, and others, Wang Shuo constantly pushed his potential to its limits.

As he gradually mastered the three passive skills [Ball Sense], [Swiftness], and [Opportunity], their synergy resulted in a dramatic increase in power compared to his previous individual efforts.

It's like the simplest way to stop a ball.

With the advantage of initiative, Wang Shuo is confident that in a 1-on-2 situation, he can grasp his opponent's every move, make predictions in advance, and then use his regional-level ball sense to accurately stop the ball in the position he has predicted, making it easier for his next move.

[Swiftness] allows him to move faster than the defender, giving him an edge over his opponent.

If you stop the ball faster and increase the frequency of your movements, you'll be much faster overall.

Even later, during training, when Tuchel and Subotic were both on the field at the same time, it was difficult for them to contain Wang Shuo.

Breathing is the most basic thing, providing Wang Shuo with stronger running ability and more abundant physical strength.

Once, after training, Wang Shuo offered Tuchel a drink of water. This German coach, who was known for his bad temper, jokingly said, "We should really dissect you and see how so much energy is stored in your body, which is not even 18 years old?"

This is of course a joke.

But Wang Shuo's exceptional qualities are also obvious.

From the end of May to the end of June, more than a month of intensive training transformed him completely.

His overall strength has completely reached a new level!
This gave Wang Shuo a deeper understanding of the passive skills of the Ball God System.

He still has a passive skill card, which was a reward for helping the team get promoted to the Bundesliga.

But he doesn't plan to use it for the time being.

He wanted to wait until the preseason friendlies, especially to get familiar with the intensity of Bundesliga matches, before deciding whether to strengthen his current passive skill or draw a new one.

……

By the end of June, Klopp, Buvac, and others had all ended their vacations and returned to the club to begin preparations for the new season.

Seeing Wang Shuo and others training so enthusiastically, Klopp and Buvac, both former professional players and coaches, would occasionally step onto the field themselves.

On the contrary, analyst Kravitz, who is not a professional player, mostly observes from the sidelines.

In his words, he was debugging a new set of equipment.

The club spent a lot of money installing cameras around the training ground. The analysis team was able to capture footage of the players training through these cameras, analyze it, and obtain various data.

Of course, Wang Shuo is not yet clear on what the specific data will be used for.

But it sounds pretty awesome.

The German national team fought their way through the European Championship and eventually reached the final.

Löw's team faced Spain, coached by Aragonés.

Klopp believes this is a victory for team football!
"The four semi-finalists in this year's European Championship—Löw's Germany, Terim's Turkey, Hiddink's Russia, and Aragonés' Spain—all played team football!"

"Just like Rehhagel's Greece four years ago!"

Tuher wholeheartedly agreed.

However, he disagreed with Klopp on the European Championship final.

Tuchel believes Aragonés will win because Spain has a stronger passing and ball control ability, which is the future trend.

Klopp, on the other hand, supports Löw's Germany.

And so, the Mainz first-team coach and the newly arrived U19 coach agreed to a fight.

On the day of the final, under pressure from Klopp and Tuchel, Wang Shuo had to suspend training and watch the live broadcast with them as a witness.

Spain ultimately defeated Germany 1-0 thanks to a goal from Torres.

Wang Shuo was not surprised by Spain's victory; on the contrary, he was very interested in some of Tuchel's ideas.

However, what he was truly moved by was Torres.

I'm so damn happy!

Iniesta, Fabregas, Xavi, David Silva, Xabi Alonso...

So many passers are feeding him the ball!

Wang Shuo, think about Mainz again...

"Coach, I really want to score a goal!"

Everyone burst out laughing.

Klopp couldn't help but laugh and scold, "Don't worry, it's already underway. We'll definitely bring in a passer this summer!"

"But we have a deal. If you can't score with a passer, don't blame me for putting you on the bench."

Wang Shuo patted his chest and guaranteed it.

After special training, he felt his strength had improved and was more confident about the new season.

But harsh reality dealt a heavy blow to the unfortunate Mainz.

Besides Zidane from Hamburg, Klopp's top signings are Bosnian midfielder Misimovic from Nuremberg.

This guy made 28 appearances in the Bundesliga last season, scoring 10 goals and providing 3 assists.

The season before that, he made 30 appearances, scored 7 goals, and provided 10 assists.

He's adept at both scoring goals and providing assists.

But the result?

Mainz managed to raise the 400 million euros that Nuremberg wanted, despite scrambling to do so.

As a result, Misimovic went to Wolfsburg.

Why?

Wolfsburg is a big club; they can play in the UEFA Cup.

Mainz and Hamburg have not yet reached an agreement on Zidane's transfer.

Hamburg said, "I bought it from you a year ago for 650 million."

Although its performance was poor, it didn't depreciate as much a year later.

The asking price is 400 million euros.

Mainz refused, deeming it too expensive and only willing to offer a maximum of 200 million euros.

Hamburger, I'm totally speechless!

Those who play in the German second division are all a bunch of poor bastards!
So, as the summer training camp was about to begin, the passer Klopp had promised was nowhere to be seen.

……

The tragedy of small teams is that they are really poor.

But being poor doesn't mean you have to accept your fate.

This summer, Mainz raised a large sum of money in order to sign Misimovic from Nuremberg.

The deal fell through.

Zidane's transfer has also stalled.

Bayern Munich are unwilling to loan Toni Kroos.

Ultimately, Mainz spent €125 million to sign 28-year-old Hungarian midfielder Tomas Hajnal from Karlsruhe.

According to Schürrle, Mainz offered Hainaul an annual salary of 200 million euros in order to sign him.

In other words, after joining the team, Hajnal became the highest-paid player in the Mainz squad.

But he deserves it.

In last season's Bundesliga, Hajnal made 32 appearances, scoring 8 goals and providing 9 assists, delivering an outstanding performance.

而在06/07赛季，他更是以32场7个进球11次助攻，帮助卡尔斯鲁厄从德乙升入德甲。

This actually reflects a characteristic of the current German professional league.

The difference in strength between the top teams in the 2. Bundesliga and the bottom teams in the Bundesliga is not that significant.

Therefore, players like Hajnal, who performed well in the 2. Bundesliga, still did quite well after moving to the Bundesliga.

Currently, Hainaul's market value is 400 million euros, but due to the expiration of his contract, he was only sold for 125 million euros.

Correspondingly, Mainz offered relatively higher salaries.

Klopp was in high spirits after signing Hajnal.

The team finally has a passer!
In the summer transfer window, Borja ultimately failed to secure a contract with Mainz.

The performance of this Ecuadorian striker in the second half of last season was truly disappointing.

Most importantly, aside from scoring goals, he couldn't offer the team much more help.

Besides Borja, attackers such as Jovanovic, Dam, and Diakité have also left the team one after another.

Markov and Landeka, both left-backs, also chose to leave the team on free transfers.

Because they didn't get a chance last season.

Klopp preferred to use Demetraz rather than let them play.

However, Marco Rose tore his ligaments, and after surgery, his recovery is far from over.

Therefore, Mainz opted to sign 32-year-old Belgian veteran Peter van der Heyden from Wolfsburg.

Van der Heyden is very experienced; since joining Wolfsburg in 05, he has been a key player on the left flank for the club.

He lost his place last season due to injury, and with his age, he became a free agent after his contract expired this summer.

Mainz also signed 29-year-old Hungarian left-back Löw Zesolt from Hoffenheim, who are also newly promoted teams.

This player was Hoffenheim's starting left-back in the 2. Bundesliga last season and performed well.

But now, Rangnick has more faith in Austrian international Ibertsberger, who joined the team in January 2008.

With only one year left on his contract, and due to issues with playing time, he couldn't reach an agreement with the team to renew it, so Hoffenheim sold him to Mainz for 20 euros.

With Van der Heiden, Löw, and Demetraz, Mainz will have three decent left-backs for the new season.

Most importantly, I haven't spent much money yet.

In the forward line, after losing players such as Borja and Jovanovic, Mainz signed 25-year-old Burkina Faso center forward Alibond Bensé from Metalist Donetsk in Ukraine for 75 euros.

As an African center forward, Bansey possesses an outstanding physique.

Standing at 1.92 meters tall and weighing 90 kilograms, he possesses solid footwork skills, but most importantly, his physical strength and aerial advantage are very obvious.

This player rose to fame at Lokeren in Belgium, scoring 15 goals in a single season, and was then scouted by Metalist Donetsk in Ukraine.

But in Ukraine, he has consistently failed to perform at his usual standard.

今年1月被顿涅茨克冶金租借到了德乙的奥芬巴赫，拿出了10场比赛4球1助攻的成绩单，但同时还有2张黄牌和1张红牌的履历。

Some say that Offenbach was relegated from the 2. Bundesliga because Bansey got into a fight with an opposing player during a match against Borussia Mönchengladbach, resulting in a red card.

He was subsequently given an additional five-match suspension.

Therefore, if Mainz signs him now, he will not be able to play in the first two rounds at all.

With the signing of Bansey, Mainz now has Wang Shuo, Bansey, Baljak, and Montenegrin striker Bogavac, who was brought in on a free transfer from Paderborn.

Bogavac is only 1.69 meters tall, but he is very fast and has good footwork. He can play as a striker or on the right wing.

In addition, Florian Heller, a 26-year-old local player signed from Aue, is a versatile player who can play as a right winger, right midfielder, and right back, and can even fill in as a left back and midfielder.

This player performed well in the 2. Bundesliga last season.

After Offenbach's relegation, Mainz also signed their 21-year-old center-back Nico Bungert.

This is a center-back who plays for various German national teams at different levels.

Last season, Klopp went to great lengths to promote young players from the youth team, but only four of them ultimately remained.

Wang Shuo goes without saying.

Roman Neustädter, son of Schürrle, Kirchhoff, and Peter Neustädter, the second team coach.

Roman Neustädter plays center-back and has performed quite well.

Looking at Mainz's summer transfer activity this year, Wang Shuo has only one comment.

Be thrifty!

Christian Haider was quite capable.

Spend a little money and do big things.

After all that fuss during the summer transfer window, Mainz's squad actually looks pretty good.

Goalkeepers: Vitklo, Ischdonat, Timo Wach;
Defense: (Right) Hoglund, Demetraz, (Left) Marko Rose, Löw, Van der Heyden, (Center) Subotic, Nico Bungert, Nowitzki, Roman Neustädter, Bo Svensson;
Midfielders: Hajnal, Calhanoglu, Pekovic, Gunkel, Kirchhoff, Damir Frančić, Mario Frančić;

Forwards: Feulner, Elgin Soto, Heller, Amri, Schürrle, Baljak, Bogavac, Bansey and Wang Shuo.

……

On the day the team's training camp opened, the training ground on the north side of Bruchweg Stadium returned to its usual bustling state.

With the team returning to the Bundesliga, the media and fans are naturally paying extraordinary attention.

As the players arrived one after another in the morning, a large number of media and fans had already gathered outside.

As a key contributor to the team's promotion to the top league and a player that Mainz is currently focusing on developing, Wang Shuo's appearance drew enthusiastic cheers from the fans at the scene.

Among them were quite a few female fans.

This made Schürrle and Subotic, who were traveling together, quite envious.

Men, huh...

"Hey, King!"

"Hello, Marcus."

After a wonderful month-long vacation, Feulner seemed to be in a very good mood.

“Your Majesty, you’ve gotten darker.” Karlhan walked over with a smile.

“You’ve become stronger too.” Wang Shuo smiled and hugged Calhan.

“I’ve heard that the three of you have been in special training for the past month or so, which has put a lot of pressure on us old folks.”

"More than a month of special training, really?"

"How come I had no idea?"

"As soon as the holiday started, you went on vacation with your girlfriend, of course you didn't know!"

"Haha, I've heard about it too. These three little guys are really giving it their all."

"I reckon they'll be vying for a starting position in the new season."

Small teams have their advantages.

That is, although there is competition among players for starting positions, it is not very intense.

Especially in teams like Mainz, where there's a good mix of experienced, middle-aged, and young players, the atmosphere in the locker room is quite nice.

However, the newcomers clearly struggled to integrate.

This is also normal.

The current core players are the same ones who fought hard in the German second division last season.

Wang Shuo has proven himself and gained recognition.

However, all the newly signed players, except for Hajnal, basically need to prove their abilities.

Upon hearing that Wang Shuo had been training for over a month and was determined to compete for a starting position, Bansey and Bogavac's expressions became noticeably more serious.

While Wang Shuo was training hard, they were all on vacation.

Ban Sai looked at Wang Shuo more carefully. He was not yet 18 years old. Although he had tanned a bit, he didn't have much muscle and didn't look very strong.

This reassured the African players considerably.

Even when changing clothes, he deliberately took off his shirt and pants, making an excuse to go to the restroom.

I have to say, this guy has an incredibly muscular and strong physique.

Wang Shuo was drooling!

"If I had muscles like that, I could dominate not only the Bundesliga, but even the Champions League!" Wang Shuo said to Subotic with great emotion.

Subotic laughed heartily, "That's a unique advantage of African players, something you can't envy."

"This guy is deliberately flexing his muscles. Did you see the expressions on Baljak and Bogavac's faces?" Schürrle chuckled, gesturing towards Wang Shuo with his lips and winking.

There's a saying that's true: when the eldest and second eldest compete, the third and fourth eldest are eventually killed.

Wang Shuo is a promising young player that Mainz is focusing on developing, while Bansey is a striker that Mainz has brought in.

The reason Baljak was able to be a starter last season was because the team had no other options.

That might not be the case for the new season.

Klopp even revealed to Wang Shuo that he was considering placing him in the winger position.

For young players, it's always good to try new things.

If Wang Shuo is moved to the winger position and Ban Sai takes over the close-quarters combat, then he can focus on positioning and attacking.

Of course, this idea is a bit opportunistic.

Wang Shuo disdained to do that!

Even in a fair competition, he was confident he could beat Banse.

Moreover, Wang Shuo also had his own ulterior motives.

The Bundesliga season starts on August 16, but the German Cup starts on August 8.

In the first round of the German Cup, Mainz will face Babersburg, a fourth-tier team, away from home.

As mentioned before, Germany underwent reforms this summer, moving down from the third tier of football. Barbesesborg, formerly a third-tier team, has now been relegated to the fourth tier.

But this team isn't too bad.

In the first two rounds of the league, Banse was suspended as a further penalty due to the red card he received last season.

What Wang Shuo wants to do now is to seize this opportunity and establish his own advantage in one fell swoop.

But it's not easy either.

The first round of the league is an away game against Wolfsburg, and the second round is a home game against Frankfurt.

Wolfsburg finished 5th last season and this summer signed Italian center-back Barzagli and Zaccardo, midfielder Misimovic and other stars, spending more than 30 million euros in net investment.

Mainz's investment is less than a fraction of what others have invested.

Frankfurt finished 9th last season and invested a significant amount of money.

Both of these teams are formidable and tough opponents.

But Wang Shuo also wanted to take this opportunity to test the results of his special training.

At the same time, it's also a good opportunity to see just how much I'm capable of now!
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(End of this chapter)