"Firmino, spit out my damn eggs!"
"Lin, don't touch my eggs!"
Early in the morning at Liverpool's training ground cafeteria, Firmino once again swallowed Leo Lin's eggs when no one was looking, just as he always did.
At the same time, Leo Lin seized the moment while Mané wasn't paying attention, stretching out his mischievous hand toward the honest man's plate.
Seeing this, Salah hurriedly shielded his own tray, while assistant coach Krawietz sat down beside them with his breakfast.
"Morning, lads. Seeing you all this lively puts my mind at ease."
Leo Lin had always been curious about Krawietz, largely because of his reputation as a video analysis expert.
Within coaching circles, Krawietz's video analysis ability was universally acknowledged as top class.
"Krawietz, after analyzing so many matches over the years, can you tell me what the ultimate weapon for winning games really is?"
Leo Lin asked seriously.
"The ultimate weapon?" Krawietz thought for a moment.
"Based on my experience, as long as you keep alternating your left and right foot on the pitch, you'll win the match."
After hearing that, Leo Lin silently rolled his eyes.
"Tch, that's just meaningless nonsense," Firmino scoffed.
Krawietz laughed and reached for his tray, feeling around—then suddenly froze.
He snapped his head down.
"Damn it!"
"Where the hell are my eggs?!"
...
After this stretch of training and matches, Leo Lin's attributes had improved significantly. Some of them were as follows:
Name: Leo Lin
Age: 18
Height: 1.84 m
Weight: 76.4 kg
Finishing in the Box: 75
Long Shots: 79
Attacking Positioning: 77
Heading: 71
Stamina: 78
Explosiveness: 79
Speed: 79
Defensive Positioning: 77
Dribbling: 74
Strength: 91
Long Passing: 75
Skills: "Riise Howitzer!" "Pirlo Passing!"
With the support of the all-round midfielder star system, his midfield-related attributes had increased at a noticeably faster rate. Both his attacking positioning and defensive positioning had jumped by nine points.
His strength, which had already reached 90, only managed to climb to 91 after long periods of matches and training. The higher an attribute got, the harder it became to improve.
All of his core attributes had now broken past the 70 mark. At just 18 years old, possessing numbers like these made him a genuine prodigy.
Leo Lin had already begun looking forward to the upcoming U17 World Cup.
If everything went smoothly and the team reached the final, he would play two group-stage matches and three knockout games—a total of five matches.
Liverpool had reached an agreement with the Spanish national team. Since the first group-stage opponent was relatively weak, Leo Lin would join the squad starting from the second group match to gradually integrate.
As a result, he would miss Liverpool's next five games.
Fortunately, the season had only just begun. Those five matches included the fourth and fifth rounds of the EFL Cup and three league fixtures.
The EFL Cup opponents in rounds four and five were mostly weaker sides.
The three league matches were against Watford, Burnley, and Bournemouth—teams of comparatively modest strength.
The U17 World Cup, held once every four years, drew the attention of all of Europe.
The tournament enjoyed huge popularity across the continent. After learning that Leo Lin and Ocho would both be participating, the youth training language academy even planned to organize all its young players to watch the matches.
Ocho had been selected for England's U17 national team and would start as a main center back. England was Spain's biggest rival in this U17 World Cup.
England's squad was packed with outstanding young talents, with Phil Foden standing out above the rest.
Even with the U17 World Cup fast approaching, Leo Lin kept his focus firmly on club football for now.
September 24th—Champions League group stage, matchday three, away against Monaco.
Currently bottom of the group, Monaco had performed poorly in the first two matches. Still, many had believed before the tournament that they possessed enough quality to break out of this group.
On September 24th, one hour before kickoff, the live broadcast room went live on schedule.
"Fans, the match is about to begin. Liverpool travel away to face Monaco."
"From 1987 to 1995, under Professor Wenger, Monaco were an incredibly successful side."
"This was a magical club that produced countless stars and developed endless young talent."
"Although their first two matches have been underwhelming, their overall strength is still not to be underestimated."
Klopp was eager to secure qualification from the group as early as possible. If Liverpool could also lock up first place ahead of time, it would allow the main starters to get more rest.
In the remaining, less crucial group matches, he could then field younger players and squad rotation options.
Because of that, Klopp made a firm decision: in this Champions League group match, he would unleash the advanced tactical system he and Krawietz had studied for a long time.
Frenzied high pressing!
In the pre-match dressing room, Klopp gave his final tactical emphasis.
"We need faster transitions!"
"We need more intense pressing!"
"We need tighter collective coordination!"
"And finally—what else do we need?!"
Klopp turned his gaze to Firmino.
Firmino immediately shouted,
"We need the determination to win!"
Klopp was speechless.
"Win your grandma's legs!"
"Finally, we need more space!"
"The moment we win the ball up front, counter immediately!"
"Press them into their own box! Go after their goalkeeper!"
The frenzied high-press system would turn Liverpool into a team of madmen. Leo Lin understood that perfectly—and he loved it.
Because he knew he was a madman himself.
...
Moments later, the match kicked off.
"Fans, the match is underway!"
"Monaco have lined up in their preferred 4-3-3 formation."
"Goalkeeper: Subašić."
"Defenders: Jorge, Glik, Jemerson, Raggi."
"Midfielders: Tielemans, Fabinho, Moutinho."
"Forwards: Lopes, Lemar, Baldé."
"Monaco are actually very strong, especially in midfield."
"The young Fabinho has outstanding interception ability and is reportedly already on Liverpool's radar. Tielemans and Lemar are also targets for top clubs."
"The direct duel between Leo Lin and Fabinho is another major talking point tonight."
"For Liverpool, Klopp has opted for a 4-2-1-3 formation."
"Goalkeeper: Mignolet."
"Defenders: Robertson, Lovren, Matip, Arnold."
"Midfielders: Leo Lin, Henderson, Emre Can."
"Forwards: Mané, Firmino, Salah."
"Beep!"
"The match begins!"
Leo Lin surged forward immediately, the entire Liverpool formation pushing up in unison!
Firmino pressed like a man possessed. Monaco, barely having kicked off, were forced to pass backward—eventually all the way to their goalkeeper.
But Liverpool showed no mercy, charging at the keeper like rabid dogs.
Frenzied high pressing—
has arrived!