Check out advanced chapters on P@treon: [email protected]/CosmicKaminari
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In the 2012-2013 season, Bayer Leverkusen successfully advanced to the Champions League group stage by finishing 3rd in the Bundesliga.
They could skip the qualifying rounds and directly participate in the group stage.
When the Champions League draw took place, Lance was still struggling to make it onto the substitute list for the DFB-Pokal and Bundesliga matches.
He temporarily hadn't considered the possibility of playing in the Champions League.
At 16 years old, he would have been content with one or two cup appearances for the first team.
The Champions League? Don't even think about it!
So, Lance didn't pay much attention to the Champions League group draw.
But now it's different!
In less than a month, Lance had continuously seized opportunities and delivered phenomenal performances.
He became famous with a single goal, an overnight sensation!
Lance had already proven his value to the team.
The match was in four days, and the starting lineup might be decided tomorrow.
With two matches in a week, Lance couldn't guarantee he'd start.
At the very least, getting a spot as a substitute shouldn't be difficult, right?
Every professional player would find it hard to resist the allure of the Champions League!
"Group list, where was the group list again…?"
The Champions League group stage draw results had been released half a month ago.
At the time, the news was full of discussions about it, but Lance had been focused on training and hadn't had time to check.
He quickly found the club's email notification in his phone's inbox, which contained the Champions League schedule.
"Got it!"
—
Group A: Manchester United, Bayer Leverkusen, Shakhtar Donetsk, Real Sociedad
Group B: Real Madrid, Juventus, Galatasaray, FC Copenhagen
Group C: Paris Saint-Germain, SL Benfica, Olympiacos, RSC Anderlecht
Group D: Bayern Munich, Manchester City, CSKA Moscow, FC Viktoria Plzeň
Group E: Chelsea, FC Schalke 04, FC Basel, Steaua București
Group F: Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, SSC Napoli, Olympique de Marseille
Group G: Atlético Madrid, FC Zenit Saint Petersburg, FC Porto, FK Austria Wien
Group H: FC Barcelona, AC Milan, AFC Ajax, Celtic FC
—
As the Champions League approached, analyses of the 2013-2014 Champions League group stage emerged endlessly.
Group F and Group H were considered the "groups of death" in this Champions League.
In Group F, the teams were relatively evenly matched, and anyone could qualify.
As for Bayer Leverkusen's Group A, Manchester United would undoubtedly secure one qualification spot.
Next, Bayer Leverkusen, Ukrainian powerhouse Shakhtar Donetsk, and La Liga strong contender Real Sociedad would compete for the other Champions League spot.
"Hiss… this won't be easy."
Neither Shakhtar Donetsk nor Real Sociedad were pushovers.
Bayer Leverkusen also had to face Premier League giants Manchester United, making it very difficult to advance from the group stage.
Therefore, Bayer Leverkusen's focus this season was still on the Bundesliga.
The club hadn't given the team a strict mandate; how far they would go in the Champions League depended entirely on the team's performance.
With home and away matches in a double round-robin format, they would play six matches against three teams in total.
After playing the six matches, each match would bring in nearly 4 million euros in broadcast revenue, plus over 3 million in group stage prize money.
Each victory also earned an additional 1 million euros, and a draw brought 500,000 euros.
So, for many smaller teams from less prominent leagues, just breaking into the Champions League was considered a victory.
They didn't expect to go far, or even to advance from the group stage.
Simply appearing in the Champions League was enough for these small clubs to thrive.
Bayer Leverkusen was a somewhat larger club with a relatively stable financial situation.
But the several million euros from the group stage were still a significant source of income for the club.
The team's most expensive signing this year, Son Heung-min, only cost 10 million euros.
If there was a chance to reach the knockout stage, there would be not only 3.5 million euros in Champions League prize money but also nearly 10 million in broadcast revenue.
The coach's initial goal for the team was—to try their best to reach the knockout stage!
Ding ding—
The phone rang; it was a mass text from Sascha Lewandowski.
"Training resumes tomorrow, preparing for the Champions League. Morning tactical meeting, gather in the conference room at 09:00. Anyone late will be suspended for one month and sent to the reserve team."
Four days later,
Bayer Leverkusen was about to face their first opponent, Real Sociedad, at home.
The coaching staff had already analyzed the opponent's characteristics in advance.
Since they had been preparing for Bayern Munich, and Bayer Leverkusen's tactics hadn't changed much, there was no need for too much specific training in advance.
Before playing Real Sociedad, Bayer Leverkusen used three days to implement a targeted defensive strategy, and then they could play in the Champions League.
At that time, they would still need to adapt to the opponent's tactics in real-time during the match.
The coaching staff couldn't create an overly detailed plan.
In many matches, two teams that rarely meet would start cautiously, slowing down the tempo and using probing attacks to gauge each other's reactions.
Once they understood the opponent's habits and matched them with their pre-match preparations, they could launch a full-scale offensive according to the coaching staff's plan.
During the morning's gym session, Lance's mind was completely occupied with the upcoming Real Sociedad match.
In the afternoon, it was time for his tutoring session. As he pushed his bicycle, preparing to go to school, and fantasized about his first Champions League experience, he almost ran into trouble again.
Screech—
A sharp braking sound echoed, and Lance saw the familiar Porsche again.
"Why is it you again?"
"Uh… I'm sorry, I'm really so sorry. I got nervous just now and stepped on the accelerator."
Coincidentally, it was an old acquaintance who almost hit him again.
The familiar Porsche stopped just 10 centimeters away from him.
Chloe, the sweet girl, got out of the car and quickly apologized.
Lance intended to push his bike across the road and then ride to school from the other side.
At that moment, the pedestrian crossing light was green, so Lance was proceeding normally.
Chloe had seen Lance from a distance and intended to slow down quickly, but in her excitement, she stepped on the accelerator. She only realized at the crucial moment and slammed on the brakes to stop.
"It seems you need to find a coach and learn properly; this won't do."
"I-I'm sorry…"
Chloe's face was flushed as she lowered her head and repeatedly apologized.
This left Lance a bit flustered; this girl was truly two different people online and in real life!
He thought about yesterday's text message.
After the last-minute winning goal against Bayern Munich, Chloe had sent several messages on iMessage, showing how excited she was.
The girl's face was red, so Lance didn't say much more; he still had to rush to class.
"It's okay, thankfully it was me. Be careful next time, relax, don't be so nervous."
"O-Okay… Are you going to school?"
Chloe asked, mustering her courage.
"Yes. Class starts soon."
"How about I give you a ride? I'm going to class too."
"Alright."
Riding a bike would take at least 15 minutes, while driving would take at most 5 minutes.
Lance simply handed his bike to Hans, the apartment security guard, and got into the passenger seat of the girl's Porsche.
Wow, it truly was a young girl's car.
It was filled with unique plush toys, and the whole car was permeated with her faint perfume scent.
Just as he buckled his seatbelt, Lance was about to chat with her.
Vroom—
Under the roar of the 3.0T twin-turbo engine, a strong push-back force hit!
The car instantly shot far ahead!
"Holy crap!"
Driving so wildly?
He thought she was a novice, but it turned out she was a hidden race car driver!
The estimated 5-minute journey took only 3 and a half minutes to reach the school gate.
Lance's heart rate had probably reached 150, still shaken.
Even the bicycle kick against Bayern Munich yesterday wasn't this thrilling.
He turned to look at the German sweet girl beside him, who looked like a Barbie doll, and Chloe was still apologizing in a soft, cute voice:
"I didn't dare to drive too fast just now, it shouldn't… it shouldn't… affect your class, right?"
"No, no."
Lance hastily unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the door, and got out.
He was afraid this girl would suddenly step on the accelerator and drive him into the teaching building.
"Lance!"
After walking a few steps, the girl mustered her courage, pulled open the car door, and quickly ran in front of Lance, panting, her chest rising and falling.
"Um… after school this afternoon, could you… could you pick me up?"
Normally, being pursued by such a beautiful fan with angelic looks, Lance would be more than willing.
But with an important Champions League match approaching,
Lance didn't want to appear in the next day's news reports because of a car accident.
"Sorry, after class, I plan to catch up on my missed lessons, and then I also need to go to the training base for extra practice to prepare for the Champions League, so I won't trouble you. Thank you very much today, goodbye."
Lance casually made up an excuse to brush her off, waving goodbye.
Only the girl, Chloe, remained standing there, her sapphire eyes looking slightly forlorn.
She had thought she and Lance were already good friends.
Now, it seemed their relationship wasn't that close.
"Okay… Sigh! Then I'll just silently cheer for you. Lance, you work so hard, you'll definitely become a world-class football star!"