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The bus sped down the motorway.
The Atlético Madrid players were all sprawled out, sleeping like logs.
Just 30 minutes earlier, they had been like students on a field trip, making a lively ruckus in the bus.
Lance's assessment was:
Just a bunch of kids.
Speaking of which, Atlético Madrid's average age isn't particularly young, around 26.5 years old. They have veterans like Godín, Juanfran, Gabi, and Torres, all over 30, anchoring the team.
They were relatively composed.
But Saúl, Griezmann, Ángel Correa, Robert Núñez, and others were completely childish.
Lance, amongst them, was surprisingly the most stable.
Leaning against the window with headphones on, listening to music, Lance's thoughts drifted back 10 years.
Lance had travelled the motorway from Brussels, Belgium's capital, to Genk many times.
The entire Atlético Madrid team first flew to Brussels, then took a bus to Genk.
The long journey was why his teammates fell asleep so quickly.
"Lance, what kind of city is Genk?"
Griezmann, sitting next to him, was very curious.
It was said to be the place where Lance grew up, and it had even produced world-class stars like Lance, De Bruyne, and Courtois!
Griezmann truly found it amazing.
"City? No, it's just a village."
It was just a small town of 60,000 people.
In China, a single town would have more than 60,000 people.
"Then your football atmosphere must be great!"
"So-so."
Genk's football atmosphere could only be described as recreation-focused.
He remembered a park football pitch next to the club where anyone could play.
Every Saturday afternoon, when there were no matches, children and old men would play together; it was far from professional.
Why it could produce so many world-renowned football stars, it could only be said that Genk's club investors had something special, willing to invest heavily in youth training.
Even in the youth enlightenment class, 8-year-old Lance had professional coaches, professional training facilities, and a training plan.
Lance's fundamentals were solid from a young age, otherwise, he wouldn't have been scouted by Bayern's youth academy.
As for Genk's first team, it had qualified for the Champions League several times before, and in the past two years, it had just been rebuilt, with team performance on the rise.
The team's average age was 22.7, making it the youngest squad in the Belgian First Division A.
The generation of De Bruyne and Courtois was long gone.
Lance didn't recognise any of the current first-team players.
It wasn't until he looked at the data that he recognised a few star players.
Leon Bailey, an 18-year-old Jamaican forward, was extremely fast, with good dribbling, breakthrough, and shooting abilities.
It was said that he had already been scouted by Bayern Munich.
Timothy Castagne, a 20-year-old Belgian rookie centre-back, was solid in defence. He would later move to the Premier League to play for Leicester City.
Wilfred Ndidi, a 19-year-old Nigerian midfield barrier, would later transfer to Leicester City, becoming a pillar of the Foxes and Kanté's successor.
Theoretically, Atlético Madrid couldn't possibly falter in this match.
It would be too humiliating for a title-contending team to be eliminated by Genk, stopping at the Round of 16.
Atlético Madrid isn't BLG!
Lance found it hard to believe; is future esports that absurd? He guessed it wasn't a prophetic dream, just an ordinary strange dream.
But if they did falter, only these three players could pose a threat to Atlético Madrid.
"Lance, do you think the Genk club will be proud of you? Will local fans ask for your autograph?"
Griezmann looked at Lance playfully.
"No way, I only spent a few years in Genk's youth team; I bet no one recognises me anymore."
...
The next day, the bus arrived at Genk's home stadium, the 24,000-capacity Luminus Arena.
The bus was almost blocked outside the stadium, with dense crowds of Genk fans in blue jerseys lining both sides of the road!
"Good heavens, the whole town is here!" Lance secretly gasped.
Normally, this small town was deserted, especially when going for a walk at night; it was almost a ghost town, empty of people, and always spooky.
But today, dense crowds of fans packed several streets.
Everyone had come to watch the game! They had come out in full force!
The 24,000-seat stands were definitely completely filled.
The big screen plaza outside the stadium also gathered over 60,000 people.
The most outrageous thing was that the Genk fans lining both sides of the streets were all holding the same banners.
"Welcome Home, Lance!"
"Our eternally adored Lu10!"
"The world's number one superstar to emerge from Genk!"
One might have thought Lance was on Genk's first team.
How could these fans boost the morale of an opponent and diminish their own team's prestige?
"It's understandable; a small club in a small city rarely experiences such a scene," Griezmann chuckled.
"Suppose my hometown's small team, Mâcon, could play in the Champions League, and Real Madrid or Barcelona came to play away. We'd definitely be even more excited, seeing so many world-class superstars for the first time."
It wasn't just the fans; Genk's official staff were also looking after Lance.
After all, Lance was a world-renowned super rookie, with popularity rivalling Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
In today's Champions League promotion, a giant banner poster was unfurled from above the stadium, with several Genk players relegated to the corners.
The opposing Lance, however, occupied the prominent centre position!
Griezmann pointed at the huge image of Lance on the stadium poster, laughing uncontrollably.
"I told you, they're definitely using you for publicity."
"Ugh! Focus on the game!"
This wasn't even the most outrageous part.
The most outrageous part was when the bus stopped at the stadium entrance and the entire Atlético Madrid team disembarked.
Simeone, Torres, and others entered the stadium normally.
When Lance got off the bus, several middle-aged men quickly surrounded him, and one middle-aged man with glasses and a grizzled beard enthusiastically shook Lance's hand.
It was as if a leader was on an inspection tour.
"Lance, the Genk club welcomes you back."
"Yes, Lance, you are the big star who came out of Genk."
"You are..."
"Apologies, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Peter Croonen, Chairman of the Genk club's board of directors."
"Lance, you forgot, I'm from the Football Association, Bart Verhaeghe."
Good heavens, one was the big boss of the Genk club, and the other was the Belgian Football Association's director.
Fortunately, they only exchanged a few pleasantries and didn't make things too awkward, otherwise, Lance truly wouldn't have been able to keep a straight face.
I'm just a passerby here to play a game!
He had met this Belgian Football Association director, Bart Verhaeghe, a few times during national team training camps.
If all went as expected, he would likely take office in the national team in 2025, becoming the national team's technical director.
These were just minor interludes; Lance returned to the changing room and was teased by his teammates and coach for a bit.
Today's key, however, was the first knockout match of the Champions League!
The first leg of the Round of 16 for the 2015-2016 season officially began!
Atlético Madrid did not underestimate their opponent due to the Genk club's strength, seriously fielding their strongest starting lineup!
They aimed to settle the battle in one leg!
Atlético Madrid 4-4-1-1
Goalkeeper: Oblak
Defenders: Juanfran, Giménez, Godín, Filipe Luís
Midfielders: Gabi, Koke, Saúl, Griezmann
Attacking Midfielder: Lance
Forward: Torres
Today's formation was 4-4-1-1, or 4-2-3-1, with Lance positioned slightly deeper, playing as a traditional number 10, whilst also bearing some goal-scoring responsibilities, similar to the previous "false nine" tactic.
The match entered Atlético Madrid's rhythm from the very beginning!
On CCTV5, the commentator didn't even have time to announce the starting lineup, finding his rhythm from the very first minute!
"Atlético Madrid's advance, they're playing very aggressively from the start! Attacking Genk's defence!"
"Lance has the ball, his role today is very important. Good! A through ball with the outside of his right foot!"
Genk set up a packed defence, with at least three players double-teaming Lance.
Two of the future Leicester City players were amongst those pressing him, putting Lance in constant danger.
Unexpectedly, at the crucial moment, Lance feigned a breakthrough, drawing everyone's attention and rushing to the left.
He suddenly flicked the ball up with his heel!
"Beautiful! Lance actually delivered a clever chipped pass with his heel!"
"Griezmann receives the ball in the box, unmarked!"
"Griezmann—that's a goal! Less than 2 minutes into the first half, Atlético Madrid scores first!"
"Look at that pass... it was so inspired! This is Lance, the genius called the 'Artist of the Green Pitch' by European football!"
"He always manages to fully unleash his wild creativity in intense confrontations!"
The commentator was practically having an internal orgasm.
He looked like a Will Smith meme at that moment.
If someone asked him what true art was, he wouldn't need to speak; he would just stretch out his arms and point towards Lance on the screen!
This is art!
In the shot, Lance and Griezmann, Atlético Madrid's new generation of twin stars, ran together with their arms around each other's shoulders.
"That was so cool, Lance, how did you come up with that?"
Griezmann was too excited; he was the scorer, but 80% of the credit went to the assist provider, Lance!
"I can only say, I'm a genius!"
Lance was showing off.
Theoretically, without an equipment template, Lance would find it difficult to pull off such fancy moves.
But the good news was, without the limitations of a template, Lance could create more freely.
Relying on muscle memory, Lance used the "Rainbow Flick" method from the Bachira Meguru template, and with a flash of inspiration, chipped the ball to his teammate with his heel.
Am I really a genius?!