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For Bayer Leverkusen fans and Chinese fans, this recent period has clearly been the happiest.
Bayer Leverkusen has been winning streak after streak, first shocking the world with two 3-0 victories over Real Madrid.
Then, they continued to chase Bayern in the league, and in the German Cup semi-final, they even managed a 2-1 comeback against Borussia Dortmund, securing a last-minute spot in the final!
Following that, there was the ultimate test against Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, and the two ultimate bosses, Barcelona.
Fans were nervous and excited, but the players were having a tougher time.
After the German Cup match, as the Bayer Leverkusen changing room erupted in celebration, with teammates revelling in their victory over a strong opponent, Julian Brandt was blasting DJ electronic dance music from a Bluetooth speaker, and everyone else was enthusiastically dancing with uncoordinated moves.
Not far away, in the coaches' lounge, Sascha and Hyypiä furrowed their brows, looking at the head of the medical team, Pink Nathan Aké.
"Boss, you must pay attention to Lance's condition; let him rest for a longer period."
"The immediate post-match test wasn't too optimistic. Lance has muscle tension in his left posterior thigh, with a high risk of muscle strain."
"Knee joint ultrasound showed some effusion, accompanied by synovial swelling."
"If he continues to maintain the current intensity of training and matches, it may lead to joint inflammation."
"At the same time, his right quadriceps tension is too high; if he plays the full next match, it's highly probable that his knee joint will compensate for the stress during the game, increasing the risk of joint injuries…"
Lance was a key monitoring subject for Bayer Leverkusen. Before the match, 30 minutes after the match, 24 hours after the match, and 48 hours after the match, he underwent comprehensive tests at every time interval.
Sascha looked grimly at the data on the tablet, many indicators were marked in red, indicating they had reached critical values, and Lance was constantly on the verge of injury.
The last time Lance was tackled and injured, Sascha was almost scared to death.
Anyone in the team could get injured, but not Lance.
Multiple comparative experiments proved that if he didn't play, Bayer Leverkusen was completely unrecognisable.
So, even though they knew Lance had a high risk of injury, the Bayer Leverkusen coaching staff didn't dare to easily remove Lance from his position.
Lance himself was also dedicated enough, and lucky enough, having virtually no major injuries in his two-year professional career.
Seeing this medical data, Sascha was still very worried.
"How about we let him rest for this match against Bayern?" Hyypiä suggested from the side.
When he first recruited Lance to Bayer Leverkusen, he overcame all objections to bring him to the first team.
This was no longer just the care of an ordinary coach for a player.
Hyypiä looked at Lance as if he were watching his own junior grow, hoping he could reach the theoretical maximum potential of his professional career and create countless miracles.
Even if this season yielded no trophies, his professional career could not be gambled away.
"This…" Sascha, who was more concerned with the team's performance, hesitated.
"Whether he plays or not, the player's own opinion is also very important, right?"
"I knew you'd say that, you bastard!" Hyypiä frowned and grumbled.
"You know he'll definitely ask to start and play the full match."
"Since Lance wants to play the full match, why stop him? Anyway, the indicators are just suggestions for now; in extraordinary times, we grit our teeth and persevere."
"Everyone else in the team is very tired; Lars Bender even played with an injection."
"Everyone is fighting hard; there's no need to make Lance feel regretful."
"But, do you really dare to take the risk? Sascha, actually, you didn't care about Lance from the beginning, did you?"
"Nonsense!! You're right, the first day Lance came to the team, I didn't think highly of him."
"But what time is it now!"
"Anyone can see how high Lance's potential is; how could I have any issues with him? I cherish him too much!"
"Then you'll let him take the risk?"
"Wouldn't you regret losing the championship? We're just one step away from the championship!"
"Winning against Bayern means the effort of the entire season!"
"Sascha, you're a pig!"
"I think you're the pig!"
"You two… I'm right here!"
Lance watched the two coaches argue, feeling like elementary school students.
When they got heated, they looked like they wanted to wrestle on the ground.
They were almost 100 years old combined, yet still so childish.
This was the trouble with a dual-coach system; theoretically, both had authority.
It was fine when they agreed, but if there was a disagreement, neither would yield.
For a highly centralised, autocratic system like Guardiola, Ferguson, or Wenger, such problems simply wouldn't exist.
Of course, being headstrong also has its drawbacks, but let's not dwell on that for now.
Seeing the two of them arguing childishly, Sascha and Hyypiä both felt rather embarrassed.
"No, we're just having a normal disagreement."
"Yes, we're always like this."
"Who's 'always like this' with you?"
Lance: …It vaguely felt like watching parents argue, and the parents pretending to be amicable, saying "we won't divorce" and "we both love you."
"Alright, alright, I'm very clear about my physical indicators. For the upcoming championship decider against Bayern, I still hope to start."
Lance, of course, had nothing to fear.
Previously, he had drawn two [Substitute Paper Man] items from the silver coin prize pool.
Each item could block 3 injuries, totalling 6 chances.
Recently, due to physical fatigue, increased injury risk, and injuries from competitive play, Lance had unknowingly used 4 of the paper men.
He still had 2 chances left, which was enough for Lance to be reckless.
Hyypiä sighed softly, it seemed difficult to stop Lance from starting.
Unexpectedly, Sascha suddenly changed his tone.
"No, Lance. The coaching staff has decided that you will be a substitute and rest for the next match, and your training volume will be reduced for the next two weeks."
"We want to help you recover as quickly as possible."
"Coach, I'm fine…"
"This is the unanimous decision of the coaching staff; you have no room for discussion." Sascha's tone was firm.
"Exactly, exactly! Lance, listen to the coach. The championship is important, but your professional career is more important."
"Don't you trust your brothers?"
"This…"
Lance ultimately compromised. After all, the coaching staff's decision was paramount, and players generally had no room to resist.
Normally, Lance was already considered a "privileged class."
Otherwise, for any other player, like Kießling or Julian Brandt, the coach wouldn't even discuss it; it would always be an order.
When match day arrived, the BayArena was already filled with the unified chants of Bayer Leverkusen fans.
Lance could only wear his training kit and join the substitutes, watching enviously as Julian Brandt, De Bruyne, Son Heung-min, and his other brothers started in their match jerseys.
"Hahahaha, Lance, you finally got benched."
"Jealous? I can finally make fun of you, big brother."
"You bunch of idiots, get lost!"
Lance kicked out irritably.
Julian Brandt, accustomed to it, laughed and dodged the sneak attack.
De Bruyne was a good brother, patting Lance's shoulder.
"Get some more rest. Trust us; sit on the bench and wait for us to get 3 points."
"Why does that sound like a jinx?"
"What jinx?" De Bruyne looked bewildered.
Lance, however, had a bad feeling in his heart.
Sure enough, 30 minutes later, Duan Xuan's wail came from the CCTV5 live broadcast room.
"The goal is in again!!! Lewandowski!! A header from a scramble in the box!"
"Leno couldn't react!"
"Playing at home, Bayer Leverkusen is temporarily trailing Bayern Munich 0-2 in the first half!"
"On the live standings, Bayer Leverkusen has already been pulled 8 points behind! They are very likely to lose their qualification for this season's championship race!"
"The director has cut the camera to Lance… Perhaps it's time to look to Lance in this desperate situation again!"
"Can we expect the saviour to come on in the second half?"