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Substitute, scored in 5 seconds.
Substitute, scored a brace in 3 minutes.
Substitute, scored a hat-trick in 10 minutes.
When Hamburg head coach Josef Zinnbauer appeared at the post-match press conference, the middle-aged man looked like a disheartened victim of a mid-life crisis, crushed by life, with vacant eyes and a numb expression.
"I can't explain this match with common sense."
"If not for a player like Lance, I believe Hamburg could have secured 1 point at home and fought to avoid relegation."
"Unfortunately, our opponent was Lance..."
After thinking for a long time, Josef Zinnbauer didn't know how to describe Lance, just as he wouldn't know what words to use to describe God.
As for the two Bayer Leverkusen head coaches, Sascha and Hyypiä couldn't suppress their smiles throughout the press conference. They tried their best to maintain serious expressions, but their pride was evident.
"To be honest, we were prepared to drop points away from home."
"The 3 points were a complete surprise."
"It's still the same old saying, the best decision Bayer Leverkusen Football Club ever made was signing Lance last summer."
When Lance once again rescued the team as a super sub, preventing Bayern from widening the point gap, and his legendary feat of scoring 5 seconds after coming on as a substitute was being wildly praised by the German media, Lance's attention was only on his fusion value.
[Fusion Value: 92%]
After defeating Hamburg, his fusion value increased again. This meant he was one step closer to 100% fusion and drawing the next template.
However, based on the system's usual behaviour, the new template would definitely not be from real-world football; it would probably find a character from some obscure work. Lance could only look forward to it with the mindset of opening a blind box.
Later, he scoured all the manga, and even contacted Japanese player Shinji Kagawa when he played against Dortmund. Shinji Kagawa didn't expect Lance to look for him for such a strange matter.
"What? Lance-san wants to find a manga?"
"Yes, I'm sure it's one of your manga. Have you heard of characters like Nagi Seishiro, Bachira Meguru?"
"No, not at all. But I'm not a hardcore otaku, so there might be some niche works I don't know about. I'll help you ask around."
In the past two days, Shinji Kagawa sent another message.
"Lance-san, I've asked around my classmates and friends, and even entrusted someone to go to Kodansha, to ask the editors of 'Weekly Shonen,' and there really isn't such a work, nor have I ever heard of these two characters."
Lance's request left Shinji Kagawa utterly confused. This matter could only be dropped for now; Lance estimated that the work had not yet been released around the 2014 timeframe.
There weren't too many football manga to begin with, and aside from those completely fantastical works like "Inazuma Eleven," widely circulated works were not numerous. The most famous one was "Captain Tsubasa."
Could he draw a character from "Captain Tsubasa"? The characters in that were also very fantastical, like protagonist Tsubasa Ozora's "overhead kick," Kojiro Hyuga's "Tiger Shot," and Jun Misugi's "Rebounding Thunder Shot" were all quite outrageous.
No matter whose template he obtained, Lance would be able to greatly solve the problem of insufficient attacking power against world-class teams.
[Next Week's Schedule: November 8th, Bundesliga Matchday 11, home vs. Mainz]
[November 11th, DFB-Pokal Round 2, away vs. Magdeburg]
[November 13th, Champions League Group Stage Matchday 6, home vs. Liverpool]
[Squad list has been finalised, please download and view it yourselves]
[Remaining League Fixtures:]
[November 22nd, Bundesliga Matchday 12, away vs. Hannover 96]
[November 29th, Bundesliga Matchday 13, home vs. Cologne]
[December 7th, Bundesliga Matchday 14, away vs. Bayern Munich ☆☆☆]
[December 13th, Bundesliga Matchday 15, home vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach ☆☆]
[December 17th, Bundesliga Matchday 16, away vs. Hoffenheim ☆]
[December 20th, Bundesliga Matchday 17, home vs. Frankfurt]
Every weekend, the Bayer Leverkusen coaching staff would routinely email the players, reminding them of the upcoming schedule and giving them an idea of their opponents. This included WhatsApp group notifications and paper schedule announcements on the locker room notice board.
Lance felt it was like the slogans written on the blackboard during the college entrance exam, such as "XX days until the college entrance exam," constantly reminding players not to let one or two losses or wins affect their mood, as the season is a long process, not a sprint, but an endurance race.
There are many teams in football that start the season like fierce tigers, looking like they're going to win on multiple fronts. However, shortly after the season's halfway point, just as spring arrives, these teams suddenly falter and collapse, ruining great situations and leading to years without a championship.
We're talking about you — (please imagine it yourself)!
Lance briefly looked at the upcoming schedule. After qualifying for the Champions League as group winners, the pressure on Bayer Leverkusen significantly decreased.
After enduring a hellish October, the November schedule was relatively much easier. Most of these were matches that could be won if they didn't make mistakes, plus cup matches for training.
However, by December, approaching the winter break, several tough matches were still very important. Not to mention the tough matches against Borussia Mönchengladbach and Hoffenheim, these two teams were both amongst the top-ranked, and it would be easy to stumble if they weren't careful.
Just considering the big boss of Bundesliga Matchday 14, it was probably the most important match of the season so far! Bayern was still leading by 6 points for now, and winning away meant Bayer Leverkusen still had a chance to compete for the championship.
If they lost away, and the gap widened to 9 points, with Bayern's dominance and stability in the league, Bayer Leverkusen would basically be out of the title race.
"A 6-point match" was no longer enough to describe the importance of this game. So much so that the coaching staff specifically added three "☆☆☆" to highlight it in the schedule.
How did Bayern Munich perform in the 2014-2015 season? Lance remembered that although they were eliminated from the Champions League, at least the Bundesliga was as stable as an old dog, winning the championship several rounds in advance.
In his prophetic dreams of the Bundesliga, starting from the 2012-2013 season, for nearly 10 years, the Bundesliga champions were all Bayern! Their dominance continued until 2023!
Bayer Leverkusen's ability to break historical law and win the championship last season could be said to be an unexpected event. Guardiola's Bayern, he believed, would not let such an accident happen again.
In the next few days of preparation, the coaching staff did not set their sights on the opponents of the next few rounds, their goal was always Bayern Munich. Sascha emphasised more than once:
"Forget the fact that you beat Bayern twice last season, forget your previous achievements!"
"Approach this with a serious mindset!"
Lewandowski's addition to Bayern completed the final puzzle piece. The attack had a super all-around striker Lewandowski, Müller, Götze, on the wings there were healthy Robben, Ribéry, in midfield there were Schweinsteiger, Xabi Alonso, Lahm who transitioned to defensive midfield, Thiago, in defence there were Boateng, Dante, Benatia, Alaba, and in goal there was Neuer.
Lance could already imagine Götze, Robben, and Müller combining to tear apart Bayer Leverkusen's defence, making Maguire and Rüdiger run in circles, with Lewandowski ultimately finishing.
"Hopefully, we can hold on then!"
Lance's "midterm exam" was less than a month away! Bayern might still have a chance, Bayer Leverkusen had no retreat!