Chapter 3: Growth Template, Destructive Midfielder!

Chapter 3: Growth Template, Destructive Midfielder!

The game resumed.

Team A took the kickoff at the center circle.

Despite being behind, there was no massive pressing from Team B.

Instead, they initiated a well-structured, three-dimensional elastic attack.

It had to be said that, in this timeline's German youth training system, they highly emphasized team cohesion.

The formation and structure of Team A's frontfield changed rapidly.

Team B's defensive coverage in the backline also constantly adjusted according to the positions of the opposing attacking players.

In the development of modern football up to 2015, it was quite complex, and every player, in order to establish themselves in top-level European football, or even secondary and tertiary leagues, had to play the game with their minds.

Havertz shouted to Lee Kang and made a rectangular hand gesture.

Lee Kang nodded.

What happened next left Top and the assistant coaches in shock.

The black-haired boy on the field seemed to have the view of a god.

He consistently appeared in the most suitable positions, collaborated with teammates to thwart the opponent's progress, and cut off the opponent's passing lanes!

At the same time, his positioning, along with the teammates in the midfield and defense, formed a rectangular defensive setup!

"This damn sense of positioning! Did he really never receive German youth training? Just because of Havertz's gesture, he completely understood the team's approximate defensive intentions?"

"His vision and awareness, his understanding of space and time, are all at the level of a La Masia graduate!"

"If it weren't for his poor tackling and speed, he would have had countless opportunities for counterattacks long ago!"

"Oh, that's another bad habit left over from La Masia. Did you see it? After a successful defensive move, he always wants to keep the ball at his feet instead of clearing it in the safest way immediately! Not many teams play technical defensive strategies anymore!"

"He's shining brighter on the field than Havertz!"

"Or maybe that deep-rooted bad habit from La Masia, I don't know how their youth development director trained him. This style of play is too ball-dominant."

"The template seems to be La Masia's number 4 position, but his skills and overall abilities, except for passing, are too weak."

"No, with this style of play, he won't be able to play in the first team! Let's record it accurately and submit the report to the first-team coaching staff."

"Damn, is it possible that players from the Dragon Kingdom just aren't cut out for football? Lee Kang obviously has the football intelligence, but his technical skills are so garbage!"

Twenty minutes later, the assistant coach blew the whistle to end the training match.

Team B won 3-0.

Lee Kang's young teammates crowded around him.

"We've faced Barcelona in the Youth Champions League, but we've never seen you before! You're much smarter than them!"

"With Son Heung-min, we now have two Asian players on the first team!"

"Next week, we'll definitely crush Borussia Mönchengladbach's youth team, those idiots!"

Lee Kang just smiled lightly in response.

He had never felt such enthusiasm in La Masia.

Because of his poor passing skills, he couldn't fit into the team and rarely made the squad for reserve matches.

A moment later, the young players remembered something: he's a mute.

The assistant coach clapped his hands to disperse the crowd and pulled Lee Kang aside.

Top scratched his explosion of hair and said seriously, "Lee, I need to give you some advice. At Bayer Leverkusen, you don't have those La Masia teammates. German football emphasizes teamwork. No matter how crazy Voller gets, he won't build a team around you playing like you're the core of a sissy system!"

"Even the youth team won't! You won't get to play too many youth league games with us!"

"You need to make changes quickly!"

He paused, lifting the corner of Lee Kang's jersey and sighed, "Well-proportioned muscle structure. Keep your training attitude as it has been."

The young team's head coach couldn't bear to say the next part: in the world of football, physical attributes mattered too much.

Lee Kang nodded earnestly.

He recognized the explosion-haired old man before him.

In his previous life, he had seen him in newspapers during the era of Leverkusen's "Three Asian Kings."

The youth team had a long lunch break.

After lunch with his teammates, Lee Kang returned to the dorm alone.

It was the Bundesliga mid-season break, so there weren't many staff members in the first-team dormitory.

Only a few security personnel warmly greeted him.

Bayer Leverkusen's first-team stars didn't stay in the dorms.

Lee Kang went back to his room.

In his mind, there was a sudden mechanical electronic synthesized sound.

"Detecting that the host is about to embark on the journey of the German league!"

"Triggering the Growth Template, adapting from 1% to 50% to 100%!"

"The best template has been selected: Destructive Midfielder!"

"Significantly increase training effectiveness in speed, ball control, physical strength, tackling, and stamina!"

"Exchange condition: Significantly inhibit the reward dopamine secretion!"

Lee Kang was slightly taken aback.

Four years ago, he had exchanged for "God's Perspective" using his language ability.

But what exactly was this reward of inhibiting dopamine secretion?

He took out his phone and searched for the keywords.

After a moment, Lee Kang took a deep breath, as if he had made an important decision.

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Growth Template: Destructive Midfielder!"

In front of him, a three-dimensional model of a human body suddenly appeared.

In the model's brain area, there were two small black shadows. The shadow limiting language ability was twice the size it had been four years ago.

Lee Kang looked at the numbers floating around the model.

"Dribbling: 69; Passing: 81."

"Shooting: 60; Heading: 59; Set Pieces: 50."

"Curving: 64; Speed: 58↑; Ball Control: 57↑."

"Jumping: 66; Physical Contact: 68↑; Stamina: 69↑."

"Defending: 68; Tackling: 64↑; Goalkeeping: 30."

"God's Perspective."

"Rui Costa's 'Super God Through Ball' module (Incomplete)."

By the standards of the national team, weren't these attributes quite decent?

The small arrows afterward indicated that "the training effectiveness would be significantly improved."

The afternoon training intensity wasn't high.

After a brief practice, Lee Kang and his teammates headed to a classroom.

An overweight man with black-framed glasses drew complex lines on the chalkboard.

"Conte and Tuchel have led the trend of the back-three system!"

"Today, we will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of this tactical system!"

The content that followed opened Lee Kang's eyes wide.

The chubby man drew lines, moved magnetic flags, and analyzed in great detail.

There were up to 16 formation variations.

This was a teaching method that Lee Kang had never encountered at La Masia.

Because of Cruyff's rule that La Masia players weren't allowed to be introduced to tactical aspects too early.

Lee Kang couldn't afford to be distracted and diligently took notes.

Only when the chubby man paused to take a sip of water did Lee Kang start to reflect on situations he had faced on the field. Relying on the God's perspective, many tactical details that he couldn't understand before gradually unfolded a glimpse of the intricacies.

Deep inside, he couldn't help but wonder, "Is modern football this intricate?"

The young man focused on every word the coach was saying, trying to absorb as much as he could, even though it was a lot to take in.

After the tactical lesson, it was time for training to conclude, and the young players made their way back to the dorms.

The Bundesliga had entered a mid-season break, so the first-team dormitory was relatively empty. Only a few security personnel greeted them as they entered.

Bayer Leverkusen's first-team stars, like many top clubs, had their separate accommodations.

Lee Kang returned to his room, a sense of purpose filling him. He couldn't help but wonder about the message he'd received earlier and the "reward dopamine secretion" part.

He pulled out his phone and searched for information on dopamine and its role in the brain.

As he read through the results, his eyes widened. It was a neurotransmitter linked to pleasure, motivation, and learning. Suppressing it would likely affect his emotional and motivational state.

However, there was a trade-off. Suppressing the release of dopamine could potentially lead to improved learning, training, and performance. In essence, it would help him focus and adapt more rapidly to the "Destructive Midfielder" template.

Lee Kang took a deep breath, realizing that he was about to embark on a new chapter in his football journey. He had made a significant decision to embrace this template and unlock his potential as a Destructive Midfielder.

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Growth Template: Destructive Midfielder!"

In front of him, a three-dimensional model of a human body appeared once more. This time, it wasn't just the numbers that changed. The model's attributes showed a significant boost:

"Dribbling: 75; Passing: 88."

"Shooting: 75; Heading: 70; Set Pieces: 68."

"Curving: 77; Speed: 72↑; Ball Control: 70↑."

"Jumping: 74; Physical Contact: 78↑; Stamina: 77↑."

"Defending: 80; Tackling: 78↑; Goalkeeping: 50."

The changes were remarkable, reflecting the potential that would be unlocked as he pursued the path of a Destructive Midfielder.

With this new template in mind and enhanced attributes, Lee Kang was ready to continue his journey in German football. He knew he had to make the most of every opportunity, and the tactical lessons he had learned today would be instrumental in his development.

As the Bundesliga season resumed, Lee Kang was prepared to showcase his newfound skills and adapt to the demands of the German game. The world of modern football was intricate and ever-evolving, and he was determined to carve his path as a Destructive Midfielder.