Time flies, and a month has passed in the blink of an eye.
As the end of June approaches, the day for the team's training camp draws nearer.
Werder Bremen's training for the new season is scheduled to commence on July 3. Prior to that, the players need to make their way from various locations to gather with the team.
The first one to arrive is definitely Lucas himself. After all, he has been training alone at the base for over a month.
During this training period, he has fully adapted to the various skills of Prime Messi.
In the future, when using Messi's various techniques, it won't feel so awkward.
Not only that, but his height has increased by one centimeter, reaching 173 centimeters.
His weight has also increased from 65 kg to 67 kg.
The increase in height and weight has given his previously slender body some additional strength.
His physical confrontation abilities have also improved, and he has become stronger at retaining possession of the ball.
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Swish!
With a crisp sound, the football drew a beautiful arc, sailing high over the wooden wall, then descended rapidly and found its way into the goal from the upper left corner.
On this day, Lucas arrived at the training ground early, only to discover that someone had arrived even earlier than him.
It was a young player, approximately 1.8 meters tall with blond hair.
Unaware of Lucas's presence, the player continued practicing with his head down.
Observing from the sidelines, Lucas realized that the player was working on his free kicks.
However, rather than calling it practice, it seemed more like he was venting his frustration.
With each kick, it appeared as if the football had a personal grudge against him.
Nevertheless, despite the tremendous force behind his strikes, the ball accurately found its way into the goal from the most challenging angle.
One must admit, this guy's footwork is exceptional.
Having observed this, Lucas already had an idea about the player's identity.
This should be Kevin De Bruyne, a player on loan from Chelsea.
Clap clap!
Lucas applauded the opponent's marvelous footwork.
Upon hearing the applause, De Bruyne stopped and turned back to look at him.
Seeing that they were both wearing the same team uniform, De Bruyne nodded in acknowledgment as a greeting.
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After exchanging greetings, he immersed himself in his training, showing no intention of greeting Lucas.
Aware of De Bruyne's taciturn and introverted nature, Lucas didn't pay much attention to his behavior.
If De Bruyne were to approach him enthusiastically and greet him, it would raise suspicions in Lucas's mind about something being amiss with De Bruyne!
Since he didn't want to disturb De Bruyne's training, Lucas went to the equipment room to retrieve the training gear, selected a different location for arranging the training facilities, and began practicing on his own.
After about half an hour of practice, Lucas sensed someone watching him.
He glanced towards the sidelines and noticed that De Bruyne had ceased training and was now standing on the sidelines, observing his practice.
Upon catching Lucas's gaze, De Bruyne felt awkward and averted his eyes.
He felt as though he had been caught doing something wrong and felt a little embarrassed.
"What's the matter?"
Observing De Bruyne's embarassed face, Lucas couldn't help but laugh.
He had always heard people mention that De Bruyne was quite shy, but he never expected him to be this shy.
"Ahem, um, nothing!"
De Bruyne responded with a hint of embarrassment, as if it took him great courage to utter those words.
It truly was a challenge to get him to say a full sentence!
(Also De bruyne - Let me talk, Let me talk hahaha )
Seeing that De Bruyne had nothing more to say, Lucas simply disregarded him and resumed his training.
However, as he continued, he noticed that De Bruyne remained on the sidelines, refusing to leave.
Therefore, Lucas had to stop once again and repeat his earlier question, "Are you sure you're okay?"
Silence ensued.
"Hi, my name is Kevin De Bruyne. It's nice to meet you. Are you practicing your breakthrough skills?"
Lucas walked over, extended his hand, and shook hands with him in a friendly manner.
"Hello, my name is Lucas. As you can see, I am currently practicing dribbling skills.
How about joining me? Are you interested in practicing together?" De Bruyne excels in the frontcourt position, which requires exceptional dribbling and extraordinary skills to evade defenders and find better passing options.
At the age of 21, De Bruyne's technical finesse and delicacy are not fully developed yet.
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His playing style is free-spirited and his technique is somewhat raw, which doesn't align well with Chelsea's requirements.
Consequently, he couldn't secure a spot in Chelsea's team and was compelled to go on loan to the Bundesliga for further development.
The marketing efforts of Bundesliga teams, particularly the less prominent ones, are not very strong, resulting in lower club revenues.
Despite having one of the top football markets in Europe, the Bundesliga lags behind the Premier League and La Liga in terms of commercial growth.
In order to manage costs, the lower and mid-tier Bundesliga teams generally have lower salary expenditures and tend to adopt a more cautious approach to signings.
This provides young players with opportunities to showcase their skills on this stage.
For De Bruyne, playing in the Bundesliga is certainly a better option than languishing on the bench at Chelsea.
Having experienced the disappointment of joining a wealthy club only to be cast aside, De Bruyne became increasingly dissatisfied with his own abilities.
He yearned to improve his skills quickly and demonstrate his capabilities on the field, proving to Chelsea that it's not his lack of talent but their failure to give him a chance.
Therefore, when faced with Lucas's invitation, he eagerly accepted.
Unbeknownst to Lucas, De Bruyne welcomed the opportunity to train together and easily agreed. Lucas wanted a partner who could provide real competition, helping him further acquaint himself with Messi's various breakthrough techniques.
Thus, the two of them struck up a rapport and engaged in intense training sessions.
"Shall I start, or would you like to go first?" Lucas asked with a smile as he held the ball, gesturing towards De Bruyne.
Observing the football at Lucas's feet, De Bruyne slightly lowered his center of gravity and positioned himself defensively in the core area at the top of the penalty arc.
Although De Bruyne's defensive abilities are not exceptional, he still possesses the fundamental defensive skills.
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However, when defensive players face offensive players one-on-one, they are in a passive position, while the offensive player has at least two possible breakthrough routes to choose from.
Therefore, the defenders can only select to block the most threatening route and force the opponent towards the other side.
De Bruyne opted to block the inside and conceded the outside, allowing Lucas to have the wing. This is a common choice made by most defenders when confronted with a wing breakthrough.
De Bruyne's intention was to give Lucas a chance to overtake on the sideline., When he will try make a breakthrough with the ball he will rely on physical confrontation to disrupt Lucas's rhythm and pace, ultimately causing him to lose possession of the ball.
This strategy seemed reasonable, but the issue was that Lucas was not going to cooperate obediently.
He controlled the ball vertically while carefully monitoring De Bruyne's movements.
De Bruyne's center of gravity was on his back foot, indicating his readiness to chase laterally.
Unexpectedly, Lucas leaned forward and made a fake forward stroke of the ball. Recognizing the change in the opponent's center of gravity, De Bruyne instinctively took a step back without hesitation.
As a result, Lucas swiftly pulled the ball to the right, employing a simple body feint that enabled him to break past De Bruyne.
De Bruyne was left rooted to the spot, astounded by how effortlessly he was bypassed, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
However, the question remains in his head: why did Lucas can pass himself in simplest way without any effort?
(End of this chapter)
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