Embarrassing

Finally, at around 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the grueling training session came to an end. The U21 teammates rushed into the locker room, eager to wash up and change, and then hurriedly left the training ground without looking back, wanting to forget this unforgettable training session.

However, two people stayed behind.

One of them was the unlucky comrade, Zhang Xu!

The other was none other than the constantly scolding old man, Philip!

After a whole day of training, despite getting scolded repeatedly, Zhang Xu had gained something.

Starting from 9 in the morning and lasting until 4 in the afternoon, with only a one-hour break at noon, Zhang Xu had trained for a total of 6 hours, earning 12 experience points. Coupled with the 9 experience points he had earned the previous night and his previous total of 86 experience points, Zhang Xu now had a total of 107 experience points. He was getting closer to the 200 experience points needed to reach level 2.

Furthermore, during today's 6 hours of real-world training, the system had provided additional benefits, adding a point each to his man-marking and positional sense attributes. His man-marking was now at 15, and positional sense was at 13.

"Hey there, what are you daydreaming about?" Philip set up the soccer ball, preparing to start Zhang Xu's special training. He noticed Zhang Xu had been standing there, lost in thought.

"Oh, sorry, Mr. Philip," Zhang Xu snapped back to attention, wiping away the drool that had formed at the corner of his mouth and putting on a serious expression.

"Alright," Philip didn't mind, he said seriously, "Today, we'll focus on man-marking for an hour."

"Only an hour? That's just 2 experience points, too little!" Zhang Xu muttered with his head down.

"What did you say?" Philip raised his voice. "If you have something to say, say it loudly, don't mumble!"

"Yes, sir, what I wanted to ask is, can we train for 2 hours instead?"

"Haha, good, it's great to see such enthusiasm for training. No wonder they say China is a hardworking country, and the Chinese are a diligent people. But, even if you're not hungry, I am. If you're not satisfied, you can do extra training on your own. Don't starve my old bones!" It was the first time Philip had encountered a player who volunteered for extra training, so he joked and praised Zhang Xu.

"Alright, enough chit-chat," Philip's expression turned serious. "Tell me, what's your understanding of man-marking?"

Zhang Xu scratched his shaved head and replied, "Man-marking is about sticking to one player and preventing them from breaking through your defense... Ouch!" He didn't finish his sentence before Philip gave his head a firm tap.

"Wrong!" Philip withdrew his right hand comfortably. "Man-marking refers to defensive actions like tackling, charging, and pulling shirts against attacking players."

"Man-marking can be divided into two types: man-to-man marking and zonal marking. Man-to-man marking involves each defensive player marking an opponent, as exemplified by the Italian catenaccio system of the 1960s and 1970s. It's outdated now and only used in specific situations."

"Modern football primarily employs zonal marking, where the entire team defends in layers, creating a comprehensive defensive system with multiple layers of marking and protection. In zonal marking, each player defends within their relatively stable area. The main task is to mark and defend against the opponent who enters their defensive zone. When an opposing attacking player crosses over to another defensive zone, our defenders and the defenders in that zone switch marking duties. Generally, we do not leave our zone to mark players, and we don't get easily dragged around by the opponent..."

Philip's explanation lasted nearly twenty minutes, and Zhang Xu was starting to doze off. However, just then, a notification chimed in his head, "Ding!"

Suddenly, Zhang Xu was wide awake because he knew it was the system providing rewards.

As expected, the system's voice came right on time, "After receiving specialized tactical instruction, the host gained insight, and the teamwork attribute has been increased by 1 point. The current teamwork attribute is 14!"

Seeing that he could earn experience points from lessons, Zhang Xu perked up and began paying close attention to Philip's lecture.

However, he was a bit disappointed because, by the time Philip finished his lecture, there was no additional reward from the system.

"Alright, kid, we've been talking for half an hour. Let's put it into practice," Philip gently kicked the football with his foot, assuming an attacking posture, and said, "No matter how much we talk, true skill only comes from experiencing it in practice. Now, I'll attack, and you defend. Let's start by working on your man-to-man marking!"

"Alright, Mr. Philip, I won't take it easy on you!" Defending against a 46-year-old man, Zhang Xu thought he shouldn't have any problems.

But what happened next?

Zhang Xu aimed for the ball and took a lunge forward... but the ball disappeared! Where was Philip? He was gone too! Zhang Xu turned around to see Philip making a disapproving hand gesture.

He was infuriated and determined, shouting, "Let's try again!"

And again, he took a chance... and missed!

"Once more!" ...and again, he missed!

"Keep going!" Zhang Xu refused to be discouraged, even though he was failing miserably against a 46-year-old man, and he felt utterly embarrassed.

"Zhang Xu," at this point, the system's enchanting voice chimed in, "When you're defending, you have five issues. First, your intent to tackle is too obvious; second..."

"Kid, why have you stopped? Are you afraid of an old man like me?" Philip, noticing that Zhang Xu had lowered his head and was not moving, called out loudly.

"Of course not!" Zhang Xu lifted his head, a glimmer of determination in his eyes.

"Ding! Congratulations to Zhang Xu for gaining insight into tackling. Tackling attribute +1. The current tackling attribute is 24!"

Philip seemed to sense a change in Zhang Xu, giving him a curious look but finding nothing unusual. He just shook his head and continued to attack Zhang Xu with the football.

As Philip approached Zhang Xu, he feigned an attack from the right side.

In the past, Zhang Xu would have hurriedly attempted to tackle Philip when he made such a move, but this time, he resisted the urge and instead moved proactively to stay close to him.

It was getting interesting!

Philip approved inwardly and smoothly transitioned from the feint to a Marseille turn, a 180-degree spin using his left foot to flick the ball.

A Marseille turn!

Philip executed the move with such fluidity that it didn't look like something a 46-year-old man would do.

However, Zhang Xu wasn't entirely fooled. When Philip's left foot was about to flick the ball away, Zhang Xu executed a clean sliding tackle, catching the ball with the tip of his foot. Although he didn't manage to steal the ball cleanly, he succeeded in taking it out of Philip's control.

"Not bad, you're improving!" Seeing Zhang Xu's progress, Philip gave him a thumbs-up.

"It's not enough, Mr. Philip!" Zhang Xu quickly got up, retrieved the ball, and placed it in front of Philip. "Let's go again!"

"Haha, alright, kid, here I come! Be careful!" Philip chuckled and continued the practice.

....

"Ding! Congratulations to Zhang Xu for gaining insight into man-marking. Marking attribute +1. The current marking attribute is 16!"

"Completion of one hour of practical training. Automatically awarded 2 experience points! Current experience points: 109!"

...

Time flew by, and before he knew it, an hour of specialized training had passed.

In the following half-hour, Zhang Xu went from being unable to touch the ball or stop Philip to learning the essence of tackling and man-marking. Although he still couldn't cleanly dispossess Philip, he figured out the basics and made several successful tackles.

"Phew, I can't go on anymore. Continue practicing on your own!" Philip stopped the ball, bent over, and gasped for breath, waving his hand at Zhang Xu.

"Okay, Mr. Philip!"

"Oh, one more thing. I'll find some reference points for you; otherwise, you won't know how to practice your tackling and man-marking effectively." Philip set up several human-shaped reference objects in front of Zhang Xu, mimicking an attacking formation.

"These objects represent attacking players. They are positioned in various attacking formations with different patterns. Your goal is to practice intercepting any potential attacking patterns that might occur in a real game. Understand?"

" I understand!" Zhang Xu replied, scratching the back of his head, with a vague idea of what to do.

"Hehe, figure it out yourself! If you manage to grasp it, you'll definitely improve," Philip grinned mischievously before leaving the training ground.

"Zhang Xu, the Super Midfielder Training System is here to offer you premium service at any time!" Just when Zhang Xu was feeling puzzled, the system's voice suddenly rang out.

"Oh, right, if I can't figure it out, it shouldn't be a problem with the system." Zhang Xu had a sudden realization and quickly asked the system, "Can I simulate the opponent's attacking patterns using these specific reference objects?"

"Of course, it's possible!" The system was indeed powerful and answered with certainty.

"Simulating attacking patterns... Simulation successful. A total of 32 attacking patterns simulated! Would you like me to display them one by one?"

"32 patterns? That's amazing! Display them? How do you display them? Show me one first." Zhang Xu asked in confusion.

"Alright! I'll show you one immediately."

As soon as the system responded, Zhang Xu saw the human-shaped reference objects come to life, moving towards him in a specific attacking pattern.

"Stop!" Zhang Xu was startled and quickly shouted to stop the simulation. Then he opened his eyes to find that the reference objects were still standing motionless in their positions.

"Is this your demonstration? It feels so real!" Zhang Xu couldn't help but praise and then excitedly commanded the system, "Okay, show me one pattern at a time, and I'll try to intercept their attacks!"

With the help of the Super Midfielder Training System, Zhang Xu began his solo practice...