Throat-Sealing Strike (Double Chapter)

Breitenreiter struggled to calm himself down.

The players could panic.

The assistant coach could panic.

But the club's head coach could not affect morale.

He hurriedly waved Goretzka, Meyer, and Sane over.

"Bayer Leverkusen's number 10 isn't strong at controlling the ball or carrying it forward! Keep attacking their flanks!"

"The positioning of their three midfielders will inevitably spread wide when defending. Then we'll hit the channels between them!"

"Bayer Leverkusen can't withstand our assault. Forget the score for now, boys!"

Breitenreiter patted the players on the heads.

Schalke 04 had never lacked talented youngsters.

Goretzka was twenty.

Meyer had just turned twenty.

Sane was only nineteen.

Of course.

The Blue-and-Whites' finest academy product was still the top goalkeeper in world football today: Neuer.

Old Topp made three gestures toward the pitch.

Kramer immediately understood.

He quickly relayed the signal to his teammates.

Dino asked in confusion, "Boss, we're already two goals ahead, and there's plenty of time left. Why are we pulling the defensive line back? Schalke 04's defense isn't that great."

"If we give up possession, Schalke 04 is best at exploiting the width on both flanks. Their long diagonal switches have a high success rate!"

Topp shook his head and smiled. "Exactly. It's because we're two goals ahead."

The match restarted from the center circle.

Huntelaar laid the ball sideways to Sane.

Schalke 04 launched another fierce attack.

Cheers erupted from all four stands of Veltins Arena.

"We can see that both managers have made tactical adjustments for their teams."

"Højbjerg, Riether, and Aogo have pushed higher as well!"

"They're still attacking down the flanks!"

"Now let's see what Bayer Leverkusen are doing."

On the screen.

Bayer Leverkusen's formation steadily dropped back.

The players in midfield and attack did not press or intercept.

Bender dropped into the center-back position.

Leo Kang and Kramer maintained a parallel line.

They quickly retreated to the thirty-meter area of their own half.

Sane drove forward wildly with the ball and met no resistance at all!

He looked up at Bayer Leverkusen's defensive line and was a little dumbfounded.

Six defenders?

Three defensive midfielders?

Even that giant Kießling had dropped back to the edge of the penalty area!

What the hell was this?

"We can see nine Bayer Leverkusen players packed into the backfield!"

"Only Son Heung-min remains up front, roaming around Schalke 04's high defensive line."

"That's very rare in their previous Bundesliga matches."

"A change of manager really is like changing blades. Coach Topp has injected something different into this club that advocates attacking football!"

In China's livestream chat.

The fans were a little confused too.

-

[Is Bayer Leverkusen's new manager really this cowardly?]

-

[Correction: he isn't a new manager. When Topp coached Bayer Leverkusen in 2002, this was how he played whenever he had a lead. That's how the Triple Runner-up King came about!]

-

[Parking the bus? There's still so much time left. Can they really hold on?]

Schalke 04's overall formation had nearly pressed past the halfway line.

Sane could not find a chance to break through or shoot down the right flank. Against this kind of packed, crowded defense, only Messi and Gold-Trim Ronaldo could dribble through!

He decisively passed the ball to Goretzka.

The pass was fast.

Goretzka touched it with one kick.

Then threaded it diagonally to the advancing Meyer!

Meyer had just brought the ball under control and was about to pass it to Choupo-Moting on the left.

He was not slow.

He pushed with the inside of his foot.

But a foot got in front of the ball first.

Bang!

The ball bounced back into the channel.

Goretzka had no choice but to organize the attack again.

"Leo Kang again."

"That press was incredibly aggressive!"

"His vision, awareness, and ability to read the game aren't only evident in attack."

Time passed second by second.

Schalke 04 had no chance at all to work the ball into Bayer Leverkusen's penalty area.

The fans were getting anxious too.

It looked like they were pinning Bayer Leverkusen back, but they barely had any chances to shoot!

Breitenreiter could no longer sit still and paced back and forth in the technical area.

In his eyes.

Kramer was strong at tackling and intercepting.

Leo Kang's frontal defending and one-on-one tackles were poor, but his positional awareness and ability to anticipate passing lanes were freakish. He was like a human wall!

The midfield shield formed by those two, while unable to cut off Schalke 04's passing connections every time, had still restrained Schalke 04's attacking rhythm to a certain extent.

Not to mention Bayer Leverkusen's improvised "six-defender" formation!

Especially that aerial monster—Kießling.

His ability to deal with high balls in defense was also exceptional!

It was disgusting.

It was shamelessly cautious!

It was practically an insult to attacking football!

The Schalke 04 manager had already cursed old Topp ten thousand times in his heart.

On the other side.

Dino muttered, "Boss! I've never seen you be this... pragmatic in youth league matches!"

Old Topp frowned. "Are you fucking complimenting me?"

Beep! Beep beep~

The referee blew the whistle to end the first half.

The Schalke 04 players walked off with their heads hanging.

Although Bayer Leverkusen's players had expended more energy defending, their faces were full of confidence.

BellArabi emerged from the bench carrying dry towels and bottled water, then ran toward Leo Kang.

He eagerly said, "Leo, drink some water! Wipe your sweat! Those two assists of yours were so brilliant, I've only seen things like that in cartoons."

Leo Kang nodded.

The change in this Black teammate's attitude was somewhat unexpected.

Brandt nudged Leo Kang in the chest with his elbow and laughed. "Son and I agreed to use our goal bonuses to buy you a car! Don't refuse. With the assists you fed us, even my grandma could have kicked the ball in."

Son Heung-min nodded and said seriously, "Score another in the second half, and we'll buy you a better one."

Goalkeeper Leno came over. "You kid broke up several of their attacks. I'm chipping in for the car too!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Leo Kang smiled and shook his head. They had not truly won the match yet. Celebrating at halftime like this could easily lead to being turned around by the opponent.

In the distance.

In a corner of the bench.

Çalhanoğlu wore a complicated expression. The youngster he had looked down on had clearly become part of the team.

A moment later.

In Bayer Leverkusen's dressing room.

Dino reviewed the tactical details from the first half with everyone.

Old Topp pulled Leo Kang aside and said seriously, "Leo, when we're defending in a settled shape, you don't need to stay too deep, and you don't need to deliberately cover for your teammates! I won't assign you any specific marking duties!"

Leo Kang thought for a moment, then nodded.

On the other side.

In Schalke 04's dressing room.

A chorus of furious roars erupted as well.

It gave the cleaning lady outside a fright.

"Welcome back, viewers. We're bringing you the second half of Matchday Four of the 2015/16 Bundesliga season."

"We can see both managers made personnel changes during halftime."

"For Schalke 04, Geis has replaced Højbjerg."

"For Bayer Leverkusen, BellArabi has replaced Son Heung-min."

"Two like-for-like substitutions!"

Let's look forward to the rest of the match!

With a whistle from the referee.

The second half officially began.

Chants echoed through Veltins Arena.

The Schalke 04 players rekindled their fighting spirit.

They continued pressing forward madly.

More and more players joined the attack.

They tried to completely crush Bayer Leverkusen's packed defensive line.

In the 52nd minute.

Sane whipped in a cross near the byline.

The ball dropped into the penalty area!

Kießling outjumped Huntelaar and headed it clear!

Goretzka wanted to win the second ball and continue the attack.

Leo Kang judged the ball's landing point more accurately, shouldered his opponent aside, and cleared it out of bounds first.

"That clearance was crucial."

"Leo Kang's position seems to have changed."

In the 58th minute.

Geis made a mistake.

He had wanted to pass the ball to Choupo-Moting on the left.

But he put too little power into the pass.

The ball traveled far too slowly.

Leo Kang suddenly darted in and intercepted it!

He immediately lifted his left foot and sent a long pass forward!

BellArabi, who had been trading trash talk with Schalke 04's defender, immediately burst into motion!

"Beautiful!"

"He's not offside!"

"Ah, what a pity!"

BellArabi brought the ball down and knocked it ahead!

But Matip got his body between him and the ball.

The one-on-one chance was ruined.

BellArabi helplessly gave Leo Kang a thumbs-up.

Time ticked away, second by second.

The spectators suddenly realized:

Bayer Leverkusen's number 10 was not a traditional midfielder in the true sense.

During positional play, he did not drop back to the defensive line.

Instead, he kept running back and forth, disrupting Schalke 04's attacking rhythm.

Although his one-on-one defending was weak.

The aggressiveness he displayed was simply overwhelming.

Especially against Schalke 04's slimmer, less physically imposing players, whom he completely bulldozed.

What kind of midfielder was this?

In the end.

The referee blew the final whistle.

The score remained unchanged.

Schalke 04 barely had any chances to shoot.

Bayer Leverkusen held on to their two-goal lead until the final whistle.

"Congratulations to Bayer Leverkusen, and congratulations to Coach Topp! They have won this match!"

"Chinese youngster Leo Kang delivered two assists in this match! We look forward to watching him grow!"

-

[Schalke 04 fans are pretty classy! They don't curse the players or coaches, and they leave so quickly!]

-

[What do you think they're going to do? Schalke 04's matchday losing ritual! They gather at transportation hubs throughout the Ruhr Region and fight Borussia Dortmund fans!]

-

[Aren't Borussia Dortmund fans supposed to be passionate and good at fighting?]

-

[Their fighting styles are different. Schalke 04 fans prefer close-quarters brawls, while Borussia Dortmund fans prefer ranged throwing attacks.]

-

[Germany's strongest fighters... have to be Stuttgart fans.]

Security personnel escorted the Bayer Leverkusen supporters out of the stadium.

Dino hurriedly called for the players to get into the tunnel.

After winning at Veltins Arena, they had better not even think about lining up to thank the fans.

Even the refereeing team skipped the post-match handshake ceremony and scurried back into the tunnel.

At the post-match press conference.

The media reporters all directed their questions at Bayer Leverkusen's head coach.

Every single question revolved around Leo Kang.

Old Topp wore a complicated expression as he slowly said, "Highest rating? Leo is a talented midfielder with great potential. In positional defense, he can use his aggressiveness to buy the back line time to adjust their defensive positioning. He still needs time to develop, and Bayer Leverkusen will provide the best soil for his growth."

The implication was obvious.

A genius like this was not a necessity for your giant clubs!

Couldn't you let Leo stay at Bayer Leverkusen through the winter break?

Andre Breitenreiter promptly twisted the knife. "The talent he has shown in attack is more than enough for him to establish himself at a giant club!"

The reporters all nodded in agreement!

Old Topp's expression grew even uglier.

The whole team returned to Leverkusen.

Bender and Kramer flashed Son Heung-min a mysterious smile.

Son Heung-min tried hard to control his expression as he picked up his phone. "Dad, I'm staying at the club tonight for extra training. I'll be back later!"

The three left the training base with their arms around each other's shoulders.

Brandt handed over his phone, swiped through the screen, and asked expectantly, "Leo, which one do you like? We'll go buy it tomorrow!"

Leo Kang smiled and shook his head.

He knew that Brandt's wish was to save enough money to buy his family a bigger house.

Back in the first-team dormitory.

The system notification sounded.

[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on winning the Bundesliga match!]

[Personal performance rating: SSS]

[Mission reward upgraded: Golden Chest → Schalke Legend Golden Chest!]

A Schalke Legend Golden Chest?

Leo Kang quickly checked the reward pool.

[Neuer's "Keeper-Forward" Module (Incomplete).]

[Lehmann's "Penalty-Saving Madman" Module (Incomplete).]

[Dog's "False Runs" Module (Incomplete).]

[Rakitić's "All-Purpose Workhorse" Module (Incomplete).]

[.]

Several more reward entries below were just strings of question marks.

Why did Schalke 04 have so many legendary goalkeepers?

The modules must have been limited by the Golden Chest, leaving only incomplete versions.

[Opening chest.]

[Congratulations, Host, for triggering a hidden reward! Obtained: Raúl's "Throat-Sealing Strike" Module (Incomplete)!]

[Additional attribute: Shooting increased by 2%!]

Before he could even celebrate.

A sharp pain pulsed through the back of Leo Kang's head.

He had never expected Raúl to be classified as a Schalke 04 legend as well.

The Golden Chest began dissolving into golden dust.

It drifted through the air and merged into his feet.

The most basic movement replayed over and over in his mind.

Receiving the ball and shooting.

No.

The connection between receiving the ball and shooting.

Early the next morning.

Bayer Leverkusen Club.

Völler sat in his office, having just lit a cigar.

His young assistant rushed in excitedly with a fax in hand. "Director! The Veltins Group has offered us... no! They've offered Leo Kang an astronomical endorsement deal!"

Völler considered it for a moment, then refused. "The Veltins Group? No. Bayer Group has already reached an agreement with me. If Leo performs well in the Champions League, he'll receive an astronomical endorsement deal! He can't endorse a bottle of alcohol, then go endorse a bottle of hangover medicine!"

Just how formidable was Bayer? They had invented the miracle drug Aspirin and the devil incarnate ***.

The young assistant hesitated before saying, "The Veltins Group... you should take a look at their offer first."

Völler took the fax, and his expression changed. "God, they're offering far too much!"

Thanks to Nianggong Haruhi's Melancholy for the tip and monthly ticket.

The big shot tipped way too much.

Thanks to Fenghuan Yexingmeng for the tip and monthly ticket.

Thanks to Ya CP Hu for the tip and monthly ticket.

Thanks to Tanemura Koichi for the tip and monthly ticket.

Thanks to Ayase Family's Cat for the tip and monthly ticket.

Thanks to ☆kazuya☆ for the tip and monthly ticket.

Thanks to Blank Luck for the tip.

Thanks to Araujo's Little Fan for the tip.

Thanks to reader 202203261302222284 for the tip.

There were probably some omissions, since I was typing while constantly switching between phone screenshots. I'll add more thanks in the next chapter.

Thanks to everyone who voted with recommendation tickets.