“Gaffer, word from the team doctors is that Ballack is cleared to play, he's recovering very well!”

  Inside the soccer club building in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

  Leverkusen head coach Heynckes, who has a head full of white hair, is looking at FC Schalke 04's tactical analysis charts wearing his own presbyopia glasses.

  The assistant coach cheerfully walked in with the report.

  Hearing the assistant coach's words, Heynckes, who had a sad face, also suddenly revealed a smile.

  “Really? So fast?”

  Receiving the medical report handed over by the assistant coach, Heynckes carefully observed it.

  “Haha, great, the game will be much better if Ballack is here!”

  After saying that, Heynckes immediately took out his own notebook and brushed and wrote.

  “Right! Notify the players to come to the tactics room!”

  Heynckes, who was 65 years old this year, was already considered an old marshal.

  Since 1979, he had begun a coaching career that spanned three decades.

  Monchengladbach, Athletic Bilbao, Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, Benfica, FC Schalke 04 and Leverkusen.

  From Bundesliga to La Liga to Primeira Liga, he went through Football Giants and coached relegated teams, too.

  In the end he chose to come to Leverkusen to finish his thirty years of coaching.

  Two o'clock in the afternoon.

  All the players of the first team came to the tactical room.

  For Leverkusen's players, this kind of pre-match tactical analysis was already familiar.

  It had to be said that this kind of tactical analysis was very helpful for the game.

  Especially the team is in the stage of new and old.

  Toni Kroos, who is on loan to Leverkusen from Bayern, is sitting next to his big brother Ballack, waiting for Heynckes with a look of anticipation.

  For Toni Kroos right now, it's Heynckes' tactics session he's looking forward to the most.

  “Saturday's game! I won't say any more about the importance!”

  “Our opponents are strong!”

  “They beat FC Bayern München and even bloodied Lyon!”

  “Especially that Chinese in their team!”

  “His passing!”

  Heynckes, who walked into the room, didn't have any unnecessary nonsense and started his tactical analysis after signaling his assistant to open the video material on the big screen.

  On the big screen was the very same non-stop superb assist Su made when he faced Bayern!

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  All of Leverkusen's players were also looking at the video with incredulous faces.

  “With this ball, it's obvious that this Chinese didn't have any vision when he received the ball!”

  “Then how did he manage to find the forward Klaas-Jan Huntelaar?”

  “Right here!”

  Heynckes signaled the assistant to rewind the video slightly!

  “Before Su caught the ball, he just about glanced at THE attacking third!”

  “Klaas-Jan Huntelaar hadn't started yet and had no intention of going forward!”

  “After that, Su kept his eyes on the defense in his own box!”

  “So this quick counter-attack must have been prepared by Schalke a long time ago!”

  “The key thing is before the last touch!”

  “We can see that Su adjusted his position for the pass, the kid was making his move before determining the line and direction of the pass!”

  “That's the most frightening thing about him!”

  Heynckes' words made all the Leverkusen players present suck in a breath of cold air.

  They were all top players, so they naturally knew how to pass the ball!

  The brain sends out a command, and then directs the body to shift its center of gravity and continue to make a swinging leg movement in the direction pointed out by the brain!

  These were what they had known since the beginning of their contact with soccer, but now there was a man whose passes were made and then the direction of the pass was decided within the 0.5 seconds between making the movement and touching the ball.

  This is just too unbelievable!

  No wonder this guy is killing it in the Bundesliga, twenty assists already in sixteen rounds of league play!

  That's more assists than the assists leader for the whole of last season!

  “All of FC Schalke 04's threatening attacks have come from his feet!”

  “As long as he's defended, then there's nothing FC Schalke 04 needs to pay too much attention to!”

  “Their right side is a weakness!”

  “That Japanese guy doesn't have the speed!”

  “ Barnetta, it's your job to burst through him!”

  “Michael, in the next game, I want you to guard against this Chinese!”

  “When you're on offense, don't worry about plugging in!”

  ........

  Heynckes repeated his analysis of the game over and over again, each player he emphasized what he should pay attention to.

  This is an extremely usual tactical analysis lesson in Leverkusen's two years.

  It was also the most crucial factor for Leverkusen to be able to sit steadily in the Bundesliga's European zone with a group of their own youth and loaned players!

  It was soon to be Saturday.

  Su and his teammates had arrived in Leverkusen the day before.

  The winter cold kept the team in the hotel, even Klaas - Jan Huntelaar, who likes to sneak off to the clubs and have a good time, stayed quiet in the hotel and didn't go anywhere.

  However, the players have booked their flights early and the team will be disbanded after this game.

  The long winter break is naturally not without a pleasant vacation for these high-earning stars.

  Seven o'clock in the evening.

  The bus full of FC Schalke 04 players finally drove into BayArena slowly.

  Although the wind was blowing, the Leverkusen fans were still very enthusiastic.

  They were excitedly singing outside the stadium, holding up the team's flag.

  Magath got off the bus and headed to the pre-match press conference.

  Heynckes was an old friend.

  The two had fought countless times in the Bundesliga over the years and had won and lost.

  In theory, after so many years, the two should be very familiar with each other, but the funny thing is that these two old guys are a pair of deadly rivals.

  Their first encounter was in the 01-02 season, when Magath was leading Stuttgart to relegation and met Heynckes, who was struggling with FC Schalke 04 at the time.

  A desperate match saw the two managers attacking each other over a fiery clash of players.

  Both were eventually red-carded.

  Since then, the two have become famously feuding in the Bundesliga.

  Magath said that Heynckes was a complete madman who would do anything to win!

  Heynckes said that Magath was a hypocrite, a hypocrite with a bad attitude.

  So, when the reporters saw Magath walk into the conference site.

  Immediately was excited to come forward.

  On the other side, Heynckes, who arrived a little earlier, didn't even look at his old rival.

  “Mr. Heynckes, facing your old rival, I wonder if Leverkusen has the confidence to take the game at home?”

  It hadn't even officially started yet!

  The reporter then shouted out a question.

  “Of course! Leverkusen is unbeatable in BayArena, this season, no one has taken away three points here yet!”

  Facing the reporter's question, Heynckes proudly replied back.

  The words were also spoken with a great deal of confidence.

  There was no way, Heynckes' Leverkusen hadn't really lost at home in 16 games this season.

  Magath was also furious when he took a look at how well the white-haired thief could play the game!

  .........