An average of four successful dribbles per game?!
This is too outrageous!
This means he has to successfully dribble four times in every game!
What kind of concept is this?
Anyone who understands football knows that attempting five dribbles is completely different from successfully completing five dribbles.
After all, not every dribble is guaranteed to be successful.
Last season's Bundesliga Dribbling King, "Bayern's King" Ribéry, only averaged 4.5 successful dribbles per game!
This was also under the premise that Bayern was strong, most League opponents were weaker than Bayern, and Ribéry, as the team's core, had more possession.
But at Wolfsburg, Mark, who had just made his Bundesliga debut and was only a substitute, certainly wouldn't have much playing time or possession.
This is definitely a difficult season goal to achieve!
Because if he is too individualistic in limited time, always taking the ball and dribbling, he will leave a bad impression of being a "ball hog" with the head coach and teammates.
However, if he doesn't take the ball and dribble, he won't be able to meet the minimum requirement of four successful dribbles in a single game.
Dribbling when he should, passing when he should, making reasonable decisions, and finding a balance between achieving his season goal and gaining the coach's trust is what he needs to think about for the next half of the season!
After Hecking left, the atmosphere in the entire locker room immediately relaxed.
Benaglio, the goalkeeper and captain, also stood up and came to Mark's front:
"Mark, I'll introduce you to everyone..."
"Okay."
Next, with the captain's help, Mark quickly greeted his teammates one by one.
Mark's neither-haughty-nor-humble attitude also left the team's veterans with no complaints.
This young man, although he likes to take the ball and dribble on the field and is very expressive,
He is quite steady and easygoing off the field.
Soon, a club staff member brought him his training uniform.
He also began to change clothes, preparing to participate in his first first-team training session.
Because yesterday's home game did not win against Hannover,
Therefore, the team did not get a holiday but instead underwent restorative training.
As a newcomer who had just been promoted to the first team, he was only wearing Wolfsburg's long training uniform and did not get the orange vest that represents the starters.
At the end of January, Wolfsburg, like other German cities, was bitterly cold.
As soon as he left the warm indoors, Mark felt the cold wind blowing in his face and involuntarily shrunk his neck.
However, as he slowly warmed up his body, he quickly forgot the cold and focused on his first Bundesliga training session.
Considering that a Bundesliga League game had just been played yesterday, the team's main focus today was simple restorative training.
As a newcomer who had just been promoted to the first team, Mark became the observation target for the coaching staff and teammates.
Then, they found that this eighteen-year-old boy was not fast, his passing was average, his shooting was inaccurate, and his defense was very poor.
However, when he had the ball at his feet, it was as if he had transformed into a different person.
Whether it was his subtle control of the ball or the rhythm and skill of his dribbling, it was astonishing!
Especially in one-on-one training, no Wolfsburg player could defend him head-on!
Seeing this, Hecking also temporarily added an internal one-on-one challenge.
Whoever could laugh last in the one-on-one challenge would get a day off!
And this internal one-on-one challenge seemed to be Hecking's personal stage for Mark!
In the first round, facing De Bruyne, he easily beat this Belgian genius with a clever step-over;
In the second round, facing Perisic, he changed his foot rhythm, feigned repeatedly with hesitation steps, and after enticing Perisic to commit, he directly used a 'roulette' to beat his opponent!
In the semi-finals, facing Naldo, he directly used a clever pull-back through his legs to beat this tall center-back.
Then, with a gentle push, he sent the ball into the small goal!
In the final, facing the Brazilian international and the team's strongest defensive midfielder, Gustavo, Mark used a "Matthews dribble" – an inside touch with the instep followed by a quick flick outwards with the outside of the foot – to directly beat him and end the game!
In a head-on one-on-one challenge, no one could dispossess Mark of the ball!
Unless he was pulled down from behind or barged off the ball, Mark was simply unstoppable!
Having dribbled past almost the entire team, Mark's ability to combine with the ball had already convinced the Wolfsburg players.
Originally, there were many good dribblers in the team.
However, none of them, like Mark, kept the ball firmly under their feet, never losing possession!
"Can this kid really dribble whenever he wants?!"
"Unstoppable, simply unstoppable!"
They could only attribute Mark's ball control to natural talent!
And after the training session, the players' eyes towards Mark showed less contempt and more recognition.
In the world of football, ability is always the only standard for earning respect!
Leaving the howling wind of the training ground, the Wolfsburg players also came into the warm tactics room to review yesterday's Bundesliga League match against Hannover.
Sitting at the back, Mark watched the match highlights intently while pondering his position and role in this Wolfsburg team.
His best position, naturally, was a winger.
But at least in the short term, it would be difficult for him to become a starting winger for the first team.
Even if he possessed Ronaldinho's dribbling ability and could completely tear apart the opponent's defense on the wing.
Moreover, his dribbling was very threatening, and his ability to hold the ball on the wing could greatly create more space for De Bruyne in the center.
However, his shortcomings were also very obvious.
First and most crucially, his stamina!
With his [Stamina] of only 58, it could only be described as average, completely unable to sustain a full ninety-minute high-intensity match.
It should be known that dribbling is the most physically demanding technical action on the field.
Secondly, his speed was not fast enough to allow him to dribble on the wing in a 'stewing' manner (slowly advancing).
Especially in the counter-attack phase, where speed is most needed, he also could not be the team's primary point of attack!
Finally, his playing style was still undecided for now!
Mark's dominant foot was his right foot.
If he played on the left wing, it would be a 'reverse-foot winger' style, requiring him to dribble inside, then complete a pass or shot.
If he played on the right wing, he would be a 'natural-foot winger,' requiring more speed to break free from defenders and deliver high-quality crosses with his right foot.
Dribbling wasn't the problem; the problem was the decision-making after dribbling.
Whether it was passing or shooting, his abilities were only barely satisfactory.
He had also considered whether the head coach would arrange for him to play other positions.
Such as center-forward or midfielder.
In Wolfsburg's center-forward position, there was Dost, who had once won the Eredivisie Golden Boot, and Olić, the Croatian legendary striker who had once played for Bayern.
The former was injured and absent, about to return; the latter was in hot form and was the team's top scorer.
He could not compete with either of them in terms of experience or ability.
As for midfield, it was even less likely for him!
The starting midfield trio was basically De Bruyne orchestrating in the center, with Arnold and Gustavo partnering as the double defensive midfielders.
On the bench, there were also the physically outstanding Belgian rising star Miranda, German international Träsch, and Serbian international Medojević.
His running ability and passing ability, which are required for a midfielder, were at the bottom of the team.
Moreover, his poor tackling ability and lack of defense meant he couldn't play as an attacking midfielder or a defensive midfielder.
Therefore, he believed his best position was a winger, where he could maximize his dribbling advantage!
As long as the team gave him the ball, he could create danger through breakthroughs and dribbling!
Even if he couldn't completely shake off opponents after dribbling, he could still draw fouls, earning set-piece opportunities for the team.
It should be known that Wolfsburg had set-piece specialists like Ricardo Rodriguez, as well as tall players nearing two meters like Naldo and Dost, so their set-piece threat should not be underestimated...