Chapter 1 The Beginning

Bayern Munich Club.

In a large conference room, only five middle-aged men were seated.

A Dortmund vs. Leverkusen match was playing on the large screen.

Matthias Sammer, with a large cigar in his mouth, frowned and said, "Li Kang's transfer fee and salary are too high... um, there are still many shortcomings, especially his ball control skills, and he's not German."

No one questioned him.

Because Sammer was the last "libero" in German football, a legend recorded in football history, and his eye for talent had never been wrong!

"This Leverkusen won't be a problem for Bayern. Guardiola has many ways to limit Li Kang!"

"If his transfer fee and salary were cheaper... I mean, if his ball control skills were better!"

"We need to use our personal charm to conquer him!"

.......

Westfalenstadion.

The stadium was filled with a deafening roar.

All Dortmund fans believed that the crisis had been resolved.

Tuchel stood with his arms crossed, his expression relaxed.

He was full of confidence in his players' defense in tight spaces.

'Unless Maradona, Messi, or Cruyff possess him! Otherwise, Li Kang can't escape this cage!'

Toppmöller and Dino looked serious.

Leverkusen's number 10 was surrounded by five players!

The opponents weren't the fragile Little Ones, nor the Koreans!

Even Weigl, whose defensive ability was the worst, had a 71% interception success rate!

Not to mention Papa and Hummels!

It wasn't possible to create a shooting opportunity with just physical advantages!

.....

Inside the penalty area.

Papa moved first!

He stretched out his long legs from behind Li Kang, lunging for the ball!

Next.

All of Dortmund's defensive players seemed to execute a chain of control, making defensive moves perfectly synchronized with the timeline!

No feints or openings appeared in Li Kang's vision.

He gently pushed the ball with his left foot.

The ball seemed to become a part of his body!

It dodged Papa's outstretched foot at an incredibly slow rolling speed, but didn't completely escape the control of Leverkusen's number 10.

Hummels slid in to tackle, following the path of the rolling ball.

Ginter took two steps forward, tightly blocking Li Kang's position!

Perfect coordination!

This was the defensive trait Tuchel had instilled in Dortmund!

Weigl was already planning the long pass for a counterattack, as Leverkusen's defense was wide open at this moment!

The next scene.

Made everyone hold their breath.

Ginter stumbled.

Li Kang tapped the side of the ball with his left foot!

Then raised his right foot, making a passing gesture!

Weigl rushed to block!

But he saw an extremely shocking scene!

A turn?

A turn!

The turn that amazed the world more than forty years ago!

Leverkusen's number 10 gently hooked the ball with his right foot!

The ball rolled back behind him to its original position!

Hummels' tackle missed completely!

Papa lost his balance, blocking Weidenfeller!

....

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

Tuchel's pupils contracted!

Toppmöller and Dino were dumbfounded!

More than 80,000 fans in the stadium showed horror in their eyes!

The Dortmund penalty area was a mess!

The only one standing was Leverkusen's number 10!

An open goal!

An absolutely open goal!

The fluid movements didn't stop for even a moment!

That incredibly agile left foot!

Before the ball stopped rolling!

Danced again!

Creating a beautiful arc!

Dortmund's net was lifted high!

0:2!!!

Westfalenstadion, the most terrifying home stadium in Europe, suddenly fell silent.

....

"Cruyff turn!"

"Li Kang! He single-handedly took on five Dortmund defenders!"

"An unbelievable classic moment!"

"Who said his ball control skills were bad!"

"His golden left foot! Made the devil tremble!!! He conquered North Rhine!!! Conquered countless viewers in front of the TV!"

"A great turn!"

"Li Kang helped Leverkusen extend their lead!"

Duan Xuan and He Wei couldn't contain themselves!

Before the game, many viewers complained that their commentary wasn't objective enough, favoring Li Kang!

But in this situation, not restraining themselves was the most objective way to commentate!

.....

Dragon Country live broadcast room.

The big screen replayed the entire goal.

The screen was filled with comments.

-[Li Mingdeng is so handsome! In a static, confined space, he took on five players!]

-[Yaya Toure's "Cruyff turn" had a lot of space and was only against four players!]

-[My school's PE teacher taught me this move, but it's not as complicated as Li Kang's.]

-[There are many highlight reels, but Li Kang's is the most perfect, with gorgeous footwork and perfect physical flexibility!]

-[The golden left foot isn't the key to ball control, but it's used to support the turn!]

-[If any of Dortmund's defensive players had been half a beat slower, Li Kang's turn would have failed!]

-[Makes sense...]

....

Li Kang didn't celebrate immediately.

He looked at Brandt, who was bleeding from the nose, and waved to the sidelines!

Dino and Toppmöller were about to celebrate, but after seeing this scene, they immediately called for the team doctor to come onto the field.

"Boss, why is Brandt bleeding from the nose?"

"Didn't see clearly, seems like Ginter's clearance..."

"Who cares! We have to complain! Get the referee to give him a yellow card!"

"Yeah!"

With that.

The master and apprentice rushed to the fourth official...

On the other side.

Tuchel was stunned for a few seconds, but quickly calmed down.

He waved again to summon Weigl and Kagawa Shinji, quickly making gestures.

.......

Dortmund fans weren't so easily intimidated!

Not to mention being two goals behind, even if they were three goals behind, they believed the team could equalize!

The mighty momentum of Westfalenstadion rose again!

Hummels patted his partner's shoulder and said, "From now on, you mark that kid closely! Treat him like Messi!"

Papa's expression was a bit complicated. His famous battle came from the World Cup match between Greece and Argentina, where he accidentally grabbed "Little Messi" hard with his hand during a defensive interception.

The great Eastern country gave him a resounding nickname: "Ball Grabber."

If Messi hadn't successfully become a father later, the Dortmund center-back would have felt guilty for the rest of his life.

.....

The game restarted in the center circle.

Dortmund changed from an aggressive attack.

The defense and midfield left huge gaps, as if waiting for Son Heung-min, Brandt, and Kießling to slip in.

The speed of the ball passing was also extremely slow!

Schmelzer retreated.

Ginter moved forward.

Tuchel revealed his signature formation in the face of adversity.

A three-center-back system!

All the players' running information filled Li Kang's mind.

At this time.

He couldn't judge Dortmund's general direction of attack at all!

The God's perspective isn't omnipotent in the face of increasingly innovative tactics.

Otherwise, Barcelona, who had the peak of Xavi + Messi in the 2012/13 season, wouldn't have been bloodbathed 7:0 by Bayern.

.....

Dortmund's organizing core gradually shifted to Weigl.

In the eyes of European coaches.

If Weigl's future didn't encounter major injuries and he strengthened his physical training.

He would definitely grow into the most sought-after defensive midfielder.

At less than 19 years old, his various data crushed Bayern's Alonso.

The highest running distance in the Bundesliga!

The highest effective pass success rate in the Bundesliga!

The highest interception and tackle success rate in the Bundesliga!

...

The game ticked away minute by minute.

Dortmund slowed down the pace of passing.

Leverkusen didn't dare to relax.

Reus, Aubameyang, and Mkhitaryan frequently switched positions, harboring hidden dangers.

What about Kagawa Shinji?

This guy always intentionally or unintentionally got close to Li Kang on the offensive end.

With Weigl's sorting and dispatch.

Gaps gradually appeared in Leverkusen's defense.

It's normal for gaps to appear!

Even if 50 people played against 11, gaps would still appear!

But top defensive players can make exposed gaps disappear in an instant.

Leverkusen's defensive players obviously didn't have that ability.

The number of exposed gaps became more frequent, and the stagnation time was also longer.

Weigl, who was dragging behind in the backcourt, was very patient and didn't launch a fatal attack.

As Van Gaal said: Football isn't an individual sport.

Even if Li Kang could capture the loopholes in the defense through the God's perspective, he didn't have instant movement.

Defense relies on the whole.

"A space tug-of-war!"

"Tuchel's magic can not only weaken the core ability of his own players, but also weaken the core ability of the opponent's players!"

"It's difficult for Leverkusen to hold on. Weigl has a strong ability to hold the ball in the backcourt and isn't afraid of pressing!"

....

24 minutes into the game.

Toppmöller noticed something was wrong, rushed to the sidelines, and shouted, "Don't lose your position!"

As soon as he finished speaking, it was already too late.

Reus retreated, taking Jonathan Tah with him.

Mkhitaryan ran horizontally, pulling away Bender.

Leverkusen's defense was torn apart!

Aubameyang launched a sprint!

"A direct long pass to the back?"

"No!"

"Ginter!"

Weigl sent a long-distance diagonal pass!

Ginter cut in from the side to the right half-space to receive the ball!

Then pushed a through ball!

When all the Leverkusen players focused their attention on Aubameyang.

Mkhitaryan, who was running horizontally, slowed down, bypassed Bender, and then suddenly accelerated, breaking through the opponent's defense!

The ball happened to roll to his feet!

"Beautiful!"

"Aubameyang was just a feint!"

"The real killing intent is in Mkhitaryan's hands!"

Li Kang wanted to make amends, but it was too late. No matter how fast a person is, they can't be faster than the ball!

Mkhitaryan pushed a shot with a small swing of his leg!

Bang!

The Armenian during his Dortmund days wasn't a complete flop yet!

Leno reacted quickly! His judgment of the shooting angle was completely accurate!

The ball rushed to the lower left corner.

Eight yards from the goal, the ball bounced and changed direction!

The Leverkusen goalkeeper, who was on the ground, had no way to stop it and could only watch the ball pass over his body and fly into the net!

1:2!!!

Westfalenstadion erupted in a tsunami of cheers!

"A ground shot!"

"Mkhitaryan helped Dortmund pull a goal back!"

"Leno tried his best! Ground shots are the most difficult to deal with!"

"Dortmund hasn't given up! The problems in Leverkusen's defense are completely exposed!"

"Although Weigl didn't directly participate in the fatal blow, he's definitely the biggest contributor to this goal!"

.....

Live broadcast room.

-[Tuchel is awesome! With this, even the Chinese Super League knows how to play against Leverkusen!]

-[It's a bit like Mönchengladbach's tactics! Chinese Super League clubs can't play it. The requirements for the defensive organizing core's vision and passing ability are too high.]

-[And the off-ball running ability of the teammates in the frontcourt. Dortmund's goal is: pull out the gap → maintain the gap → then create a new gap → complete the finish!]

-[My Dortmund can play positional warfare this season, awesome!]

-[Has Li Kang disappeared?]

-[He hasn't disappeared. He can't teleport. If Kagawa Shinji is released, Dortmund's attacking methods will be even richer!]

-[Positional defense is the best way to reflect the teamwork of football. Li Kang is a person, not a moving wall.]

........

Sideline.

Dino said helplessly, "Boss, should we let Li go and limit Weigl?"

Toppmöller waved his hand: "No, Dortmund's attacking organization will shift back to Kagawa Shinji!"

There's no way around it, the defense is just at this level.

It's okay to meet weaker teams and Leverkusen, but when they meet a strong team with many explosive points like Dortmund, they're like thin paper.

The atmosphere on Leverkusen's bench was a bit heavy.

On the other side.

Tuchel didn't celebrate for too long.

Instead, he waved again to summon Weigl and Gündoğan, gesturing wildly.

How to resist Leverkusen's offensive in open play? The Dortmund coaching staff had already found the answer!

......

Leno kicked the goalposts hard twice and shouted, "Don't lose your position, don't be led by the nose! Watch the ball! As long as your reaction is a little slow, you won't be caught in the gap!"

Jonathan Tah was very frustrated.

In past games, Li Kang was always able to help the defense resolve crises in advance.

But the current situation is difficult.

Reus, Mkhitaryan, and Aubameyang are all top off-ball killers.

If Kagawa Shinji is released again.

The consequences would be disastrous...

Pa!

The big black guy's shoulder was patted.

Jonathan Tah looked up and saw Li Kang.

"Li? Are you saying... let me come..."

.........

The game continued.

Dortmund gave up high pressing.

The formation gradually retreated.

Leverkusen's advance in the middle didn't encounter much resistance.

"Is this still Dortmund? Low-block, dense defense?"

"It's as if Tuchel customized a tactic specifically for Leverkusen!"

"Coupled with Aubameyang's speed, as long as Dortmund completes a counter-steal, Leverkusen's backfield will be easily penetrated!"

....

Brandt dribbled the ball to the thirty-meter area.

Dortmund's pressing began!

Mkhitaryan and Kagawa Shinji surrounded him at the same time!

One stretched out his foot.

One slid to tackle.

Borges cut inside, but his position was blocked by Ginter!

Brandt had no choice but to pass the ball back to Kramer!

Kramer was passing back to Li Kang, but saw the other party rushing to Dortmund's defense, while raising his hand to signal to continue passing back.

Pass back to the center-back?

Without thinking too much.

The ball rolled to Jonathan Tah's feet.

Tuchel suddenly frowned.

Toppmöller was stunned and shouted, "Hit Ginter!"

Although Jonathan Tah's defense was terrible, his ball-playing ability had reached the threshold of a top defender!

Bang!

The thick black leg slammed hard on the ball!

Accompanied by the exclamations of Leverkusen fans!

No need for technical content.

Just need strength.

The ball penetrated Dortmund's right half-space and rolled towards the baseline!

Behind Ginter, was broken through again!

Borges sprinted!

Stepped on the ball with his left foot!

Looked up to observe.

Made some adjustments.

Then sent in a cross!

"The quality of the pass is very high!"

"But there's not much of an advantage at the high point! There's only Kießling!"

"Oh! Li Kang has moved into the penalty area?"

"A famous scene! Is it coming again?"

.....

The famous scene didn't come.

No illusion of "Sky's Lament" appeared in Li Kang's vision!

But the physical flexibility and jumping ability passively improved by the module were terrifying!

After a long run-up!

He kicked off the grass with his left foot!

Leaning forward, he jumped towards the penalty area.

Weigl, who was following closely behind, was dumbfounded!

....

The ball spun and fell towards Dortmund's penalty area!

After predicting the ball's path, Weidenfeller didn't dare to attack!

The quality of this cross was too high!

The line was exactly in the gap between the goalkeeper and the center-back!

I have to say, the players on Leverkusen's defense aren't good at defending, but their attacking prowess is off the charts.

Kießling was about to jump, but was firmly blocked by Papa's butt!

Hummels jumped high.

About to clear the ball!

Suddenly realized that a shadow was blocking the spotlight?

Shifted his gaze upward!

He was dumbfounded!

It was Li Kang!

Leverkusen's number 10 flying in mid-air!

He didn't use his feet!

But his head!

....

Westfalenstadion.

83,000 fans were stunned!

In the devil's home ground, no player had ever breathed the air at that height on the green field!

"A diving header!"

"Van Persie's classic..."

"Oh! He missed it?"

The ball grazed Li Kang's forehead!

The ball changed direction!

Didn't blast into the goal.

Instead, it plunged sharply downwards to the right.

Bang!

The ball happened to hit the head of the Bundesliga header monster!

Bounced into the net.

Weidenfeller's eyes were dull.

Kießling looked dumbfounded.

1:3!!!

"Beautiful! Li Kang's header pass! Kießling used his best method to break down Dortmund's goal!"

"One person created three goals!"

"The advantage continues!"

"No one can defend anyone!"

"Attack, a non-stop attacking feast!"