The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills-Chapter 68 - 40: Flexing Muscles, Fighting for a Starting Spot! Wang Shuo: "Coach, I’m Desperate to Score!

Chapter 68: Chapter 40: Flexing Muscles, Fighting for a Starting Spot! Wang Shuo: "Coach, I’m Desperate to Score!

Wang Shuo arrived at the training ground at 5:30 AM and immediately began his day of high-intensity special training.

He started with a series of the most fundamental technical drills.

The Ball God System didn’t just bless Wang Shuo with Passive Skills; it also gave him a deeper understanding and feel for soccer.

Or perhaps, it was more accurate to say he now understood how to play soccer better.

Those so-called flashy moves were fundamentally all style and no substance.

On the soccer field, the most threatening plays were often the simplest and quickest ways to attack an opponent.

Remember when Robinho first joined Real Madrid? He was hailed as the "new Pele." So many people had high hopes for him, thinking he could rival Barça’s Messi.

But looking back now?

Were the step-overs from this "Step-over Kid" really that effective on the field?

The old Wang Shuo might not have been able to see it, but now, he felt Robinho simply had too many flashy, unnecessary movements, which made his step-overs far too sluggish.

’Once your moves slow down, who can you possibly fool?’

If all the unnecessary movements and body feints were eliminated, the execution speed of the step-over would definitely reach another level, and its threat would skyrocket.

That’s why Wang Shuo practiced these fundamental moves over and over again—to strip away the complexity and keep it simple.

Besides, this kind of fundamental training required repetitive practice, day in and day out.

Only then could he execute them on the field as if they were second nature.

During the training sessions, Subotic would act as Wang Shuo’s "opponent," practicing one-on-one with him.

The other player was responsible for making all sorts of passes, simulating on-field situations so Wang Shuo could practice adapting on the fly, receiving the ball and immediately trying to break through his opponent.

Subotic was a center-back now coveted even by the Germany National Team; his individual ability was undeniable.

One could only imagine how much Wang Shuo gained from training against a defender like that.

Of course, Subotic and Schürrle also benefited greatly from this kind of simulated, real-game training.

This was especially true for Subotic.

Although they had played internal practice matches during training before, Subotic could clearly feel that Wang Shuo’s strength was greater now, his movements faster.

Sometimes, just when he thought he had made the right read and had a chance to steal the ball, Wang Shuo would suddenly change his movement and trick his way past him.

However, Subotic was no pushover.

Getting tricked didn’t mean he was beaten.

When pushed into a corner, Subotic had no choice but to get serious, using every trick and dirty move he’d use on an opponent against Wang Shuo.

"Hey, Neven, that move was a bit dirty! That’s definitely a foul," Schürrle couldn’t help but call out from the side.

"Foul my ass, the ref can’t see it," Subotic retorted with a laugh.

’If I don’t pull some of these dirty tricks, I won’t be able to stop him at all.’

’This kid is getting tougher and tougher to handle.’

But in these contests, Subotic also learned a lot, for example, how to use his body to physically suppress an opponent.

This was Wang Shuo’s most obvious weakness.

Wang Shuo, on the other hand, never tired of it.

He was the one who gained the most from these duels.

Moreover, he wanted to use these difficult challenges to constantly push his own limits.

「...」

After two hours of extra training, all three of them were drenched in sweat.

Although the league was on break, training for the youth teams, especially the younger ones, continued as usual.

So, the club’s cafeteria was still open.

As the three of them were eating in the cafeteria, they happened to run into Jurgen Kramny.

He was accompanying a tall, thin German man on a tour.

"Hey, Jurgen!" Schürrle waved excitedly at Kramny.

Wang Shuo also quickly stood up to greet Kramny.

Kramny had now been officially promoted to the first-team staff, and his first task there was Wang Shuo’s special training.

He was to be Wang Shuo’s training partner for the next month or so.

"You’re all here so early?" Kramny was a little surprised.

According to the schedule, Wang Shuo’s morning training session was supposed to start at 8:30 AM, reporting directly to Axel Busenkel at the gym.

Only after 90 minutes of gym training was he scheduled to start his on-ball practice outside.

"Coach, we got here at 5:30," Schürrle said, playing the victim with a whiny tone.

"5:30?"

Not only was Kramny startled, but even the tall, thin German man was stunned.

"You’ve already done two hours of extra practice on your own?"

Schürrle nodded miserably and pointed at Wang Shuo.

’We’re brothers, so nothing needs to be said. The culprit is right there. Drag him out and shoot him!’

The tall, thin German man also looked at Wang Shuo with great surprise.

He had already guessed that the Asian boy before him was the recently famous Wang Shuo.

But he hadn’t expected Wang Shuo’s training to be so intense!

"Coach, and this is...?" Subotic asked, looking curiously at the tall German.

"Oh, this is Thomas Tuchel, the new head coach for the U19 youth team this season."

As he spoke, Kramny introduced Wang Shuo, Subotic, and Schürrle to Tuchel.

Wang Shuo and Subotic would most likely be playing with the first team in the new season, but Schürrle would probably return to the U19s for league matches. In that case, he would be playing under Tuchel.

But it seemed Tuchel was more interested in Wang Shuo.

"Starting strength training at 17, isn’t that a bit early? What areas are you planning to strengthen first, and what results are you hoping to achieve?"

Tuchel directed the last question to Wang Shuo.

’The U19 youth team was his home club, and since Tuchel was its head coach, that made him one of the family.’