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Bayern Munich training ground.
"Hurry up!"
"Pass it!"
"Here, here!"
Beep—
A shrill whistle sounded, and the Bayern Munich players couldn't help but shiver.
Just thinking about being scolded by the bald Pep Guardiola, the expressions on the faces of these world-class star players on the training ground were like elementary school students about to be called on in class, their bodies tense and their faces filled with panic.
In front of the media, Guardiola was a refined, tactical coach.
In the locker room, however, he was a great demon king!
He was a tyrant!
Sure enough, Guardiola stormed onto the training ground in a rage, heading straight for the tall center-forward, Mario Mandžukić.
"Mario!! What were you doing just now?"
"I wasn't doing anything," Mario Mandžukić said, bewildered.
"Look me in the eye and tell me, what were you doing just now?"
Guardiola was relentless, his nose almost touching Mario Mandžukić's face.
"I, I... I just felt it was a good opportunity and wanted to take a shot."
"Is that so? Just what you felt?"
Guardiola sneered twice and looked back at the other players.
Anyone who met his gaze couldn't help but lower their heads and avoid eye contact.
"Do you think the shooting opportunity just now was good?"
"..."
"Speak up!"
"N-not very good."
It was captain Philipp Lahm who stepped forward.
Just now, Mario Mandžukić had forced a left-footed shot while being marked by defender Daniel Van Buyten; it was decent but a bit off target.
"If we're trailing in the Champions League final, with one minute left, and only need one goal to equalize. Did your choice just now, the shot you missed, miss a goal? No!! It missed the Champions League!! Do you understand?! The Champions League!!"
After being subjected to Guardiola's hairdryer treatment, Mario Mandžukić felt a bit embarrassed.
He was somewhat of a well-known star, and even former coach Jupp Heynckes had never yelled at him like this.
"There's nothing wrong with trying," Mario Mandžukić muttered softly.
"What did you say?" Guardiola's eyes became even more terrifying.
He directly spoke to him in Spanish.
"Trying a shot is always better than just passing the ball around outside and wasting time, right...?"
Mario Mandžukić went all in.
What's a forward in the box supposed to do when he finds a shooting angle if not shoot?
"Alright, alright, so that's your understanding of football, is it?"
Guardiola's gaze was sharp as he pointed to Thomas Müller on the right.
"When you shot, did you pay attention to your teammates!! Before you shot, did you observe!"
"Uh..."
Mario Mandžukić had just taken the shot in the heat of the moment and hadn't really noticed.
Looking back, Thomas Müller was in a better position, and he could have easily passed the ball.
"But..."
"Still trying to argue?"
Guardiola turned and scanned the entire Bayern Munich team.
"Remember! Before making a decision, always observe in advance! Observe in advance! And observe in advance!"
"Pay attention to your teammates' positions! The speed of a pass is always faster than a person! Teammates in better positions can do so much more!"
"We are a fucking team! We are a champion team! Not just some random people on a fucking pickup game!"
Guardiola yelled loudly in his English with a Catalan accent.
In just a few sentences, "fucking" appeared more than once; the F-word content was extremely high.
"Again!! Continue the drill for another 45 minutes!"
"Huh?"
The Bayern Munich players were stunned.
Their next opponent wasn't Borussia Dortmund, nor FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, Chelsea...
Their next opponent was just Bayer Leverkusen.
An opponent they could crush with their eyes closed.
Double-killing Bayer Leverkusen these past few years had become commonplace, and the Bayern Munich players were used to it.
Guardiola was perhaps a bit overly cautious.
But only Guardiola knew that Bayer Leverkusen was not easy to deal with.
Especially after watching their recent matches, Guardiola had an ominous feeling.
He wasn't afraid of that 16-year-old prodigy; the world-renowned coach Guardiola didn't need to be afraid.
He was just worried that if the team underestimated them, if their lead wasn't big enough, they might actually be overturned.
This season, Guardiola had joined with the halo of a "sextuple winner."
Bayern Munich was already a "treble winner," already successful enough.
He had to be even more successful!
He had to lead them to defend the treble and achieve another sextuple.
With multiple competitions, Bayern Munich couldn't invest too much energy in the Bundesliga; they needed to focus on defending the Champions League.
They needed to have a sufficient points lead in the Bundesliga.
The only result for the next round against Bayer Leverkusen was three points!
Three points at home; Bayern Munich would not allow any other result!
The players on the field still hadn't grasped his tiki-taka philosophy, and no one understood the pressure he was under.
Guardiola only felt that the task ahead was immense.
Leaving FC Barcelona for Bayern Munich was precisely to prove that he could build a dynasty even outside of the Barcelona system.
Could he truly achieve that with this group of Bayern Munich players?
Guardiola didn't know the answer.
...
"Munich! Munich! Munich!"
On the bus heading to Munich, the Bayer Leverkusen players were a bit excited.
Any professional player likes to play against strong teams.
Even if they get thrashed, even if they're defeated by Bayern Munich with a large score, it doesn't matter.
As long as they can perform well in the match, their market value will increase.
If they accidentally lead the team to victory against Bayern Munich, then next season, their agent could propose a big contract to the club.
They wouldn't be afraid of the club not offering a price.
Dare to be stingy? I'm leaving!
A star player who leads his team to victory against Bayern Munich won't have trouble finding a team.
They might even be poached directly by Bayern Munich, just like Mario Götze, and Robert Lewandowski who would follow.
Lance, who usually liked to joke around with everyone, was much quieter today.
He just quietly watched the bus travel along the road they had taken to get here.
He had originally taken a scout's Volkswagen along the same highway to Bayer Leverkusen, and he hadn't expected to be back so soon... as an opponent!
"After the game, are you staying for a day?"
"I'll ask the coach then; if we win, we get a holiday, but if we lose, we have to go back to training."
"Okay, no worries, we can always find time to visit you anyway."
On WeChat, his father, Lu Yongping, was very happy to hear his son was returning to Munich.
Their restaurant in Munich city was thriving, so busy every day that they couldn't find time to visit their son in Bayer Leverkusen.
Only when Bayer Leverkusen had a match would they broadcast it on TV.
This made the local Munich diners quite puzzled.
Why are they watching Bayer Leverkusen matches every day?
This time, the two of them also found it difficult to attend in person, so they could only broadcast Lance's match in the restaurant.
"Go for it, you can definitely win!"
Hopefully...
Lance wasn't entirely sure himself.
He was confident that once he was on the field, he could use the system to create some opportunities.
However, one person's strength is very difficult to change a significant difference in overall ability.
If the team's overall midfield and defense were at a disadvantage, and he couldn't receive the ball up front, he still wouldn't have a chance to shoot.
He would just have to see how things played out on the field.
The good news was that the team had already finalized the starting lineup before they left!
Lance would be starting again in such an important match!