Chapter 44: Scout from Chelsea
The team's main goalkeeper, Sebastian Mielitz, is practicing penalty kick tactics with the cooperation of his teammates as they prepare for the Telekom Cup games, which often end up in penalty shootouts.
To avoid being unprepared during crucial moments, they are rehearsing penalty kicks and defensive strategies in advance.
Feeling that something is missing when facing an empty goal when practicing free kick, Lucas invited the team's substitute goalkeeper, Wolf, to help him guard the goal.
Despite being the second-choice goalkeeper, Wolf is also a Bundesliga player and possesses considerable skill.
When faced with free kicks from De Bruyne and Lucas, Wolf showcased his agility and saved all the shots from the two players.
"Kevin, your shot lacks speed, and the trajectory is too predictable. A focused goalkeeper will not find it difficult to be threatened by such shots!" Wolf remarked as De Bruyne attempted to practice knuckleball free-kick.
"You need to add some variation to your shots!" he advised.
De Bruyne placed his hands on his hips, staring at the ball on the ground, contemplating how to add variety.
How can we achieve this? De Bruyne wondered.
The execution of a knuckleball technique requires precise control of rotation and high ball speed, making it a challenging technique to master.
Struggling to add more changes to his shots, De Bruyne considered seeking help.
"Let me give it a try," Lucas offered. Despite practicing the outside instep for a long time, he still felt that his technique wasn't as impressive as Quaresma's.
Thus, he became interested in learning De Bruyne's knuckleball shot.
He wondered if Messi, too, possessed such a trick in his arsenal. Messi is known for his arc in free kicks, and Lucas had never seen him attempt a knuckleball shot before.
De Bruyne nodded and stepped aside, allowing Lucas to take the penalty spot.
Lucas took a deep breath and recalled the movements of several masters of the knuckleball technique : Ronaldo, Pirlo, and Juninho Jr.
Taking a few steps back, he approached the ball with speed and unleashed his shot.
Wolf stood still in front of the goal, but there was no football inside.
Where did the ball go?
At that moment, a bystander on the sidelines, who was nearly hit by the ball, expressed his anger.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit you!" Lucas hurriedly apologized to the man.
Due to a lack of control over the angle, the shot soared into the sky, traveling more than 50 meters before descending.
Rubbing his dizzy head, the bystander looked up at Lucas, seemingly wanting to remember exactly who had kicked him.
Noticing Lucas' green team uniform with the number 10 printed on it, the bystander seemed to recall something.
"Are you that winger from Werder Bremen?" the bystander asked, surprising Lucas.
He had only played one official game, yet a stranger recognized him.
Wait a minute, could this guy be a spy sent by Dortmund to gather intelligence? Lucas pondered, thinking that only competitors would pay attention to opposing players.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is George Evans. I'm a scout from Chelsea. I watched the video of your game yesterday, and you performed very well!" George introduced himself.
"Thank you, Chelsea scout. Are you here to follow up and observe Kevin's performance?" Lucas realized the purpose of the scout upon hearing his last name.
Teammate De Bruyne is a Chelsea player, and the club had invested £8 million to acquire him. It is natural for Chelsea to keep tabs on his progress while on loan.
However, Lucas found it surprising that the scout in front of him is quite young, probably in his early twenties.
At such a young age, he appeared inexperienced and held little influence within the club.
Sending a young scout to observe De Bruyne indicated that Chelsea didn't place great importance on him.
"That's correct, but the team's forwards have been underperforming, so I'm also tasked with scouting forwards from other teams," George explained.
Curiously, Lucas asked, "Who are you currently scouting?"
Chelsea's weakness in the forward line was no secret. Despite spending £50 million to acquire Torres from Liverpool, they ended up with a striker who struggled to perform due to injuries and tactical mismatches.
In 60 appearances, Torres only managed to score 10 goals for the team, displaying extremely poor efficiency.
Although Chelsea won the Champions League last season, their success relied more on their defensive tactics than their attacking prowess.
If they didn't address their offensive problems, their performance in the upcoming season would inevitably suffer.
To rectify this, Chelsea had spent hundreds of millions of euros in the transfer market. They acquired players like Hazard from Lille for €35 million, Marco Marin from Werder Bremen for €8 million, and Brazilian international Oscar for another €32 million.
Rumors even circulated that Chelsea had made an offer to buy Messi from Barcelona, though it was largely speculative.
Barcelona had rejected Manchester City's £250 million offer for Messi the previous year, and given the strained relationship between Chelsea and Barcelona, it was highly unlikely for the Spanish club to let Messi go.
George glanced at Lucas and inquired, "Why do you ask?"
Discussions about potential transfers should be handled with caution, as leaking such information could lead to competition from other clubs or inflated prices.
"Well, I thought you might be here to poach our team's forwards again," Lucas casually replied, sensing that the scout was unwilling to reveal more.
"That's not true. Your team has very few star players. We've already signed Marco Marin. Among the remaining players, who is worthy of joining Chelsea?" George responded honestly, even though it sounded harsh.
The Werder Bremen players had limited potential and future prospects. They lacked star quality and were considered affordable and expendable players.
Thus, George's focus was likely on players from Dortmund.
Considering Dortmund's performance in the previous season and Manchester United's acquisition of Shinji Kagawa from Dortmund, it was not surprising for Chelsea to target players from the German club.
However, Lucas knew that it had nothing to do with him. Chelsea wouldn't invest in him, and even if they did, he wouldn't want to play for them.
The physically demanding nature of the Premier League is unfriendly to young players, Lucas had yet to acquire talent of immunity to injuries.
For now, the Bundesliga is a suitable environment for him to continue his growth as a promising talent.
Holding the football, Lucas returned to the field and resumed discussing the secrets of the knuckleball free-kick with De Bruyne.
While Lucas possessed theoretical knowledge, his technique is still lacking.
On the other hand, De Bruyne had the necessary strength but lacked theoretical understanding.
Theoretical knowledge could be learned relatively easily, but improving one's strength s a more arduous task.
Lucas shared the theoretical knowledge he had about executing the knuckleball with De Bruyne, guiding him through the practice.
If De Bruyne could master this technique, the team would have an additional option for free kicks in the future.
...
The morning training session lasted for an hour and a half. After lunch, the team shifted their focus to tactical drills.
At 5:30 in the afternoon, the players boarded the bus and headed to Westfalenstadion, Dortmund's home stadium, to adept to the venue and warm up before the game.
As the Dortmund players made their way to the stadium, they unexpectedly encountered the Werder Bremen team at the entrance.
The two teams exchanged glances, aware that the final of the Telekom Cup is about to start.
Tensions ran high as the players gathered in anticipation of the match. The previous encounters between these teams had been intense, and both sides is determined to claim victory in this final showdown.
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