Chapter 94: Tuchel

Although Si Kaya is over forty and does not conform to Eastern aesthetics, her words and deeds still exude the elegant charm of a mature woman.

It gives one the feeling of basking in a spring breeze.

Li Kang inexplicably recalled a saying by tactical mentor Beilunta: "Knowledge is armor engraved with roses."

No tactics were mentioned, nor any transfer matters.

Chelsea merely conveyed Abram's appreciation of Li Kang in a simple manner.

Si Kaya did not linger long, exchanged a few words of small talk, and then smiled as she left the room.

Li Kang was looking for something to juggle with his "golden left foot."

Suddenly he saw a half-pack of cigarettes placed on the table.

Judging by the packaging, it must be quite expensive.

It was left behind by Ms. Si Kaya.

He immediately got up and chased after her.

As soon as he stepped out of the room,

The empty hallway held no trace of the mature woman; only a lost Asian girl remained.

Did she have a ball on her?

Li Kang instinctively made the hand signal for requesting the ball during training.

Yu Zhen stared for a moment, then threw the ball over.

She could actually understand it!

She had received professional football training as a child!

"I forgot to bring a pen…"

Smack!

Li Kang lifted his left foot to trap the ball.

The ball seemed to become part of his body!

It danced gracefully in midair!

Each jump's height seemed measured by a ruler, with not the slightest deviation…

Golden left foot?

Yu Zhen glanced at the chandelier on the ceiling, did not retreat, and while her heart raced with nervous excitement, her face broke into a smile.

Suddenly she recalled the Manchester City manager she had met at the elevator entrance, and after trying hard to remember the middle-aged woman's appearance… it was Chelsea's Ms. Si Kaya!

Her shattered worldview began to recover!

The thickness of her fan filter surged hundreds of times!

She couldn't help holding up Lewokusen's number 10 jersey and whispered, "Can you sign it for me? I forgot to bring a pen…"

Li Kang was in a good mood; he didn't expect his golden left foot to have inherited part of Baggio's ball sense.

He remembered there was a pen on the table, so he turned and walked back into the room.

Yu Zhen's mind went blank, and she inexplicably followed him inside.

Bang!

A sudden gust of wind slammed the door shut.

At the end of the hallway.

Wenger saw this and his smile grew more bitter.

It seemed tonight he had lost the chance to meet Li Kang face-to-face.

Adding to Wilshere's injury…

Every step is difficult.

Although Arsenal cannot offer overly generous material terms, emotional needs can absolutely be satisfied!

They will make Li Kang the captain!

Nothing satisfies emotional needs more than the meaning of being captain!

Suddenly.

The Arsenal manager's ear was filled with the chatter of Japanese.

A Korean hotel—how could it have Japanese staff?

Oh! This is a hotel run by Japanese!

Really rare!

Late night.

The hotel's surveillance footage was exposed!

One news item after another quickly rose to the top of the online hot search rankings!

《Did the Korean team lose the match and also lose the person? A national girl's secret rendezvous with a Spanish-Chinese prodigy! 》

《A bloody night, hiding sensuality! 》

《The most humiliating night in Korean football history! 》

《Idol halo shattered! Korean citizens wept bitterly! 》

The numbers of comments, reposts, and likes surged wildly.

-【I never expected you, Li Mingdeng, to be this kind of person! To kill and still want to exterminate the heart—well done!】

-【What clear surveillance! Is this girl really only 16? She's developed so well! What's with young people dating these days? What's the point of such a big reaction from Korean fans?】

-【Let me give you an inappropriate analogy: it's like the Korean team defeating Italy by a huge margin, and the star player even… the teenage Monica Bellucci…】

-【Let me analyze: pay attention to Li Mingdeng's expression—it's definitely not that of a couple! Surely the kimchi girl was just a bit thirsty and came into the room to get a drink of water.】

One day later.

Li Kang didn't have any story with Yu Zhen.

After signing, he let the other party leave.

The whole process took less than a minute.

Who knew the surveillance footage leaked from the Japanese hotel happened to cut out the part where Yu Zhen left?

Just one minute, even less than fifty seconds!

On the plane.

"Boss, the Korea Football Association is so stingy, they cancelled all the reception events for the Spain team!"

"No problem, the Japan Football Association invited us over! Let's follow the schedule!"

Bosque squinted his eyes, half-asleep.

Minamino looked exhausted, listless.

Diego Costa had thick dark circles under his eyes, couldn't lift his arms, and weakly said: "Guys, once we get to Hokkaido, help me buy some capsules..."

Li Kang held a tablet, watching clips of the "Cruyff turn".

This flashy and practical move, despite surviving over forty years without being eliminated in the wave of football reforms, is the perfect product of speed and flexibility combined.

Not that classic iconic moment.

Nor is it the widely circulated instructional video.

Among dozens of video clips: young Cruyff, each time he turned to shake off a defender, the feint details were different.

Many later players can perform this move, but they only get the form, not the spirit!

The current Manchester City defensive midfielder is the closest one!

In the 2012/13 season Manchester derby, Yaya Touré just showed off the "Cruyff turn", taking on four defenders single-handedly, shocking Europe.

But Cruyff himself said: Yaya Touré's turning motion is still not smooth enough; when I was young I took on five top defenders one-on-one!

Li Kang carefully observed the common points in all the turning clips.

The feint doesn't seem to be the most crucial part!

Nor is the smoothness of the turn.

The most important detail is...

Among the Spain squad, quite a few players can speak Japanese.

De Gea can.

This guy loves Naruto and Pokémon.

He suddenly blurted out: "Li-san! It's snowing in Hokkaido!"

Li Kang froze.

Only then did he react.

What's missing from the phone notification bar?

Asuka-chan!

The two haven't been in touch for a long time.

But that's understandable.

Asuka-chan is a very independent girl; her entertainment career is on the rise, she won't waste time on meaningless things.

Li Kang certainly won't go out of his way to disturb her.

Frequent socializing sometimes becomes a burden.

Two hours later.

The Spain team arrived in Hokkaido and received a warm welcome from the Japan Football Association.

Tens of thousands of Japanese fans held up Li Kang's posters, wildly chasing after him.

Even their domestic stars have never enjoyed such treatment.

The Japan Football Association proposed wanting to learn more advanced teaching philosophy from La Masia youth academy, aiming to create a "Japan Li Kang"!

Minamino readily agreed.

He knows jack shit about La Masia.

In recent years, the Japan Football Association talked about creating a "Japan Messi" and "Japan Xavi", his predecessors just casually asked for a youth training manual from a Regionalliga club as a substitute.

Lewokusen.

The coaching staff were holding a heated meeting.

Tuopu Laotou drew a big cross on the blackboard.

"Tuchel has changed! In his previous two league matches, he wasn't limited to a three-center-back system! Our originally planned counter-tactics need to be overturned!"

"This season's Dortmund, all midfield and forward players have reduced ineffective running! They emphasize effective running and possession! Saving stamina, so our tactic from last season of accelerating after 70 minutes is no longer usable!"

"Last season, all Bundesliga teams knew how to deal with Dortmund! But Tuchel brought something different!"

Dino earnestly took notes, raised his head and asked: "Boss, Dortmund this season has no Champions League pressure! Their players are in great form, especially the defenders! What should we do?"

Everyone looked expectantly at the Lewokusen head coach.

Tuopu Laotou's face turned red as he struggled for a long time, unable to utter a word.

Last season Dortmund collapsed, failing to even qualify for the Champions League.

This season's new coach Tuchel, that guy is like he put magic on the hornets... the league has been on a roll! Clinging tightly to Bayern's backside on the points table!

Lewokusen, because they lost to Union Berlin in the second Bundesliga match, are level on points with Mönchengladbach and Schalke 04!

If they can't get past Dortmund this hurdle, their hopes of winning the title this season will be even slimmer.

"It's all Magath's fault!"