On the court, the assistant coach is patiently teaching Wang Xiaodong how to protect the ball.
"Step on the ball with your left foot, turn your body sideways, and put your weight on the right side..."
"Lean on your opponent with half of your body. Don't let him touch the ball, and don't let him get away from the right side of your body easily."
"Right, that is it..."
"Don't lower your head, the ball is right at your feet, you don't need to use your eyes to see it!"
"Your eyes are used to find your teammates. After you find your teammates, just kick the ball lightly with your feet."
"Yeah...be gentle, don't use too much force."
Two weeks later, there were only 22 people left in the 30-person team. Wang Xiaodong successfully passed the first test match.
Since poor West was sent to the hospital, Mike has never arranged for Wang Xiaodong to practice shooting with the team.
Only occasionally after other people's training, a few obstacles are placed in front of the goal so that Wang Xiaodong can practice shooting angles alone.
But every time Wang Xiaodong either kicked the obstacles around or kicked the ball away. There was no pattern at all.
Gradually, Mike also discovered that Wang Xiaodong's shots were simply "bombing" toward the goal, and his hit rate was not very high.
Therefore, during this period of time, Mike gave up shooting training with Wang Xiaodong and ordered his assistants to continuously strengthen Wang Xiaodong's basic abilities.
After all, shooting is not the first element for a defensive midfielder.
However, just when Wang Xiaodong started to calm down and practice basic skills, another bad thing happened that had to make Mike scratch his head.
"Mr. Mike, I heard you were looking for me?"
An energetic young player was called out during training. Mike looked at the players in front of him and read the information in his hand: "Javier, age 21. Height is 1.77 meters tall and weighs 6.6 meters." Eighteen kilograms. I used to play for the second team as a central defender. I’m right..."
"That's right, Mr. Mike!" Javier stood up and said, "Not only can I play as a center back, but I can also play as a right back."
As the player who was singled out by his coach, Javier left no stone unturned in promoting himself.
Mike nodded after hearing this, holding the file in one hand and placing the other hand on the table, tapping his fingers lightly on the table.
In this way, Mike thought about the information for two or three minutes, and finally broke the silence.
"Javier, I have to admit that you are very attentive and work hard at the guard position."
"Thank you, coach!" Hearing the praise, Javier, who served as a substitute in the last practice match, his eyes lit up, as if he saw the possibility of being reused.
"But..." Mike changed the topic and continued, "Javier, you are not very competitive in this position."
"Your turning speed can only be medium, and you are not advantageous in heading the ball. Even many times, you will be squeezed away by the opponent's forward. These factors are very detrimental to you..."
"Coach, I will work hard!"
Hearing this, Javier was also anxious.
Having said so much, are you trying to persuade me to quit?
"Yes, you work very hard!" Mike nodded, "That's why I called you here today. Your efforts impressed me. Not everyone has the talent of 'hard work'."
"Thank you, coach, thank you, coach!" Javier burst into tears of gratitude.
Seeing that the beating was almost done, Mike finally revealed his true purpose.
"Javier, in that case, I suggest you try changing positions."
"Change positions?" Javier's heart skipped a beat as he remembered a recent "terrifying" rumor on the team. "Coach, do you want to..."
"How about I position you a little further forward?"
Mike drew an arrow on the paper. Looking at the final direction of the arrow, Javier shook his head subconsciously.
"Oh, no, no! Mr. Mike. I think I play very smoothly at the central defender position. I know my shortcomings, but I will work hard! Please give me a chance, I will grow to show you !”
"Javier, my point has been made very clear, you are not suitable for the position of central defender!" Mike's tone suddenly became serious, "You stand in the penalty area, the goalkeeper will not get any sense of security from you, and even have to pull out Pay attention to whether there will be any loopholes on your side."
"You have good skills with your feet, you can hold the ball, and your passing vision is wide. Wouldn't it be better to position yourself a little earlier and be a defensive midfielder?"
"No, no, no, no!" Javier still shook his head like a rattle, his voice almost pleading, "Coach, I really like the position of center back. Please give me another chance! My parents have been growing up since I was a child. Support me to play as a central defender, and my grandparents, they all dream of seeing me play at the central defender position. They are over 80 years old, and my grandfather is even in a wheelchair..."
"Stop, stop, stop! I'm not here to check the household registration!" Mike irritably stopped the other party from nagging, "Javier, let me ask you one last time, do you accept my position assignment?"
Seeing Mike's expression of "I'll fire you if you don't listen to me", Javier gritted his teeth, stood up and said: "Coach Mike, I really respect you. But I have been trained as a central defender since I was a child, so , so I can’t bear to obey!”
"You...okay!" Mike sighed and finally chose to compromise, "You go back to training, I look forward to your progress."
"Okay, Mr. Mike, I will continue to work hard!" Javier immediately stood up and trotted back to the field as if he was receiving an amnesty.
After returning to the court, Javier snorted coldly: "Huh! Even if I fail to pass the trial this time, I can still try my luck elsewhere. If I listened to you, I might not even be able to kick the ball." !”
On the other side, Mike also had a headache.
Turning over the player information in front of him, it seemed that no one dissatisfied him.
"Damn it, isn't there a suitable candidate?"
Mike flipped through it again, and this time, his eyes fell on an Asian face.
After a while, Park Bu-cheng was called to his eyes.
"Mr. Mike, what do you want from me?" After receiving the approval, Park Bu-cheng sat down with an eager look on his face.
"Park, there's something I want to tell you." Mike deliberately put on a serious expression.
"What is it coach?"
"Park, you have also seen that the competition among defenders is too great. Among your outstanding players, there is no advantage at all!"
Park Bu-cheng became anxious when he heard this. He was different from others.
His family traveled thousands of miles to send him from South Korea to England just to let him become a professional player.
It took a lot of effort to get a labor permit to play. If he was eliminated by Southampton so easily, he might have to wait another half a year before he can play football.
Therefore, the South Koreans cherish this trial training opportunity very much.
"Mr. Mike, please don't do this. You said that I can make up for my shortcomings through training right away. Please don't jump to conclusions so early, okay? Please give me another chance. I can do whatever you ask me to do!"
Hearing this last sentence, Mike grinned.
"Pu, seeing that you cherish this opportunity so much, then I will give you a clear path!"
"Okay coach, tell me!"
"To be honest, although the central defender is very competitive, there is one position that is relatively less competitive. I wonder if you are interested."
"What position?"
"Defensive midfielder!" After Mike finished speaking, he narrowed his eyes and looked at the South Korean in front of him.
"Defensive midfielder?" Upon hearing this, Park Bu-sung obviously understood what was going on.
However, Park Bu-sung did not have Javier's confidence. For him, he had almost no choice but to give it a try.
After a long while, Park Bu-cheng finally opened his mouth and responded in a deep voice: "Okay coach, I promise you..."
"Really? That's great! From now on you can train with the midfielders!"
"Wait, coach, I have another request."
"Say it!" Mike waved his hand, "As long as your request is reasonable, I will satisfy you!"
"Coach, if I are allowed to play this position, I need to get more subsidies! And if I get injured, I hope the club will pay all my medical expenses."
"Haha, don't worry, even if you want to return to China, the club will not pay for your air ticket!"
Mike was in high spirits and laughed loudly.
The two looked at each other awkwardly. Park Bu-sung stood up and said softly: "Then Coach Mike, I'm going to train."
"Well, you go ahead." Mike nodded. Since Park Bucheng had agreed to his request, he didn't want to let the embarrassment continue.
After Park Bu-sung returned to the court, Mike sighed, slapped the information in his hand on the table, and kept scratching his head.
At this moment, a scream suddenly came from the stadium.
"ah!!!"
A ball soared into the sky, but when Mike turned around to look over, it had not yet hit the ground.
"What's going on? What happened again?" Mike shouted.
After a while, assistant coach Paul hurried over and whispered next to Mike: "Mr. Mike, Curry's leg is injured. He wants to take time off to rest on the sidelines..."
"Okay, no problem, let him pay attention to safety!" Mike nodded.
Then he seemed to remember something and asked softly: "Is it still winter?"
Seeing Paul's awkward nod, Mike squeezed his Jingming points and fell down on the chair.
"Oh! I hope Pu can hold on longer!"
