Chapter 16

Assistant coach Juan held a notebook and was constantly taking notes on the sidelines, looking like an ancient Chinese secretary. Lin Sen, on the other hand, sat ungracefully on the grass, his hands casually supporting his reclined body, his demeanor as leisurely as a county magistrate. Thanks to Lin Sen's assault, Atlético Madrid began to refuse fans' viewing from that day on, which was timely as the team had been harassed by fans recently. Thus, the training naturally turned into a closed session. Without fans watching, the training ground became much quieter.

Since taking over Atlético Madrid, Lin Sen hadn't made many changes to the training, continuing with the previous methods. It wasn't that he completely agreed with all of Aguirre's training methods; it was just that time didn't allow for many changes.

In terms of training, it can be simply divided into three types: the first is physical training, which is generally similar across all teams, with differences mainly in personal details. The second is the core tactical training, which defines each team's style. This is also where the head coach's tactical philosophy is most evident. The third is specialized training, which involves studying how to exploit the opponent's weaknesses and prevent one's own weaknesses from being exploited.

Physical training is mostly handled by Dina, and Lin Sen has always trusted this woman's abilities. In terms of tactics, Lin Sen temporarily won't interfere too much, as long as the requirements are met. As for the team's overall tactical training, Lin Sen maintained Aguirre's style in the first two matches, emphasizing tactical discipline and balanced attack and defense. This is one reason why Atlético Madrid's lines are disconnected. Overemphasizing tactical discipline loses flexibility, and overemphasizing balanced attack and defense results in neither effective attack nor defense. Now, Lin Sen plans to disrupt this rhythm, just like the current strange training match.

Lin Sen had Fran, Mista, and others move to the backline, turning the attacking midfielder into a defensive midfielder and the full-back into a winger, and had Pereira and others attack the goal. In short, do what you are least good at. When habits are changed, some interesting things happen. Defender Fran, when he got the ball and saw no one pressing, wanted to push forward. Forward Pereira, when pressed, wanted to kick the ball far away. Agüero, who had been out with a sprain for over half a month, was laughing heartily while undergoing recovery training with Dina. He strongly requested to join the training, but seeing Dina's murderous gaze, Lin Sen finally had him play as a goalkeeper.

Three young players recently promoted from the youth team were stunned. This was the sacred first team in their minds? They felt the world was about to collapse.

The training match lasted for half an hour, and the score remained at an odd 0-0.

Despite the fun on the field, Lin Sen decisively ended the training match. Such training matches would become a regular part of his training sessions. There would be plenty of opportunities for fun, but Lin Sen knew that such training matches shouldn't last too long, or they might erode certain things, like positional sense. However, appropriate training is beneficial. Forwards participating in defense, defenders participating in attack, and midfielders balancing both, it sounds like the famous total football, but Lin Sen knew it wasn't that simple. His goal was to help them understand the thoughts and difficulties of other positions, thus breaking down the defensive and offensive barriers in each player's mind. In short, this training was not about tactics but about mindset.

Of course, beyond this, Lin Sen himself might not have realized that he was already implementing a coaching philosophy: no one can enjoy special privileges in the team. The unlimited shooting rights in basketball would never and should never appear in his team.

Next was the practice match.

Lin Sen divided the players into two teams. One team was the starting lineup for the next match, with a 4-2-3-1 formation. The other team was composed of those who participated in the third bet, with a 4-4-2 formation. The instructions for the two teams were different. The first team was to play high pressing, especially on the other team's defenders and midfielders. The second team would continue the style of Atlético Madrid this season, in other words, everything as usual.

As an assistant coach, Juan's style was typically Spanish, meticulous and detail-oriented. Originally responsible for the youth team, he became an assistant coach after Lin Sen became the interim coach. He cherished this promotion, even though the person he was assisting might be a short-term coach. Like other coaches, he initially didn't like Lin Sen, but as he assisted him, he unexpectedly found that this amateur coach wasn't entirely useless. First, while other things could be faked, Lin Sen's coaching certificate was real, indicating he wasn't purely an amateur, just inexperienced. Second, he found that Lin Sen seemed to adapt well to his new role. Since taking over, Lin Sen seemed to do nothing, but his attention to detail found no flaws. In other words, all the details he noticed, Lin Sen had taken care of.

Of course, what Juan envied most was Lin Sen's mindset. Whether it was arrogance or ignorance, whether in front of the players or the media, Juan couldn't match Lin Sen's... calmness. Walking away calmly after players refused to play for him? Then ruthlessly exposing everything to the media? Allegedly, he even slapped the club's medical director? What kind of interim coach is this?

As the head coach, the only thing that still made Juan doubt Lin Sen was his tactical thinking. But now, even that doubt seemed to be gone.

This training session should be open to the public, Juan thought. Football is so beautiful; just by changing a few positions, the team with only half of the original starting lineup could show such vitality. Juan almost looked at the young coach beside him with disbelief.

For Simão, who had just apologized to Lin Sen in front of the whole team along with Reyes, he regretted his actions, but to say he truly felt sorry for Lin Sen would be a lie. As Simão put it: why should he? So, in this training match, no one would believe Simão wasn't giving it his all. Simão might have no grudges against the yellow-jerseyed teammates, but weren't they the ones Lin Sen chose to start?

Cutting in and breaking through is Simão's specialty. In regular training matches, due to the low intensity, this move was almost always effective. But this time, he finally understood why Odonkor had been so angry in the last match. This was like being stifled on the spot, and it was just a training match. Simão initially thought it might be his imagination, but seeing Reyes' similar expression, he confirmed it was the other team's tactic.

Thinking of this, he glanced at the person on the sideline, hating him to the core.

Simão might think Lin Sen was targeting him, but from the sidelines, it looked completely different.

Agüero, who had been lingering on the sideline after playing as a goalkeeper, had a strange expression. Wasn't this a replay of the last match, just with the sides switched? Although Maxi and Peña weren't as fast as Betis' wingers, this all-out attack on the flanks seemed even more effective. And wasn't Antonio, the left-back, now playing as a winger so fiercely? This was the second goal, right?

Agüero suddenly turned to look at Lin Sen, his eyes almost as sharp as Juan's. Was this a coincidence, or was he learning from it?

Of course, this wasn't learning! This was borrowing! Stealing isn't stealing, let alone borrowing!

In fact, wing attacks have gradually become one of the most important tactical topics in football. With the increasing importance of central defensive midfielders, setting up a midfielder as a commander and equipping him with one or two enforcers will become more common. The strength of central defense also forces teams to shift their attack more to the wings. Future Ballon d'Or winners Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi both started on the wings, indirectly proving this point. Betis' wing attacks just happened to align with Lin Sen's thinking, but the details of their wing attacks were different.

Betis' wing attacks were a single trick, while Lin Sen's desired wing attacks would be more complex and terrifying.

Watching the yellow-jerseyed team almost dismantle the other side, Agüero became increasingly excited and sneaked up to Lin Sen.

"Lin, can I play a few minutes in the next match? I feel great."

"I remember you felt great the last time you played too," Lin Sen said without blinking.

"This time is different. I really feel ready," Agüero said, scratching the back of his head, unwilling to give up.

"Actually," Lin Sen thought for a moment and finally turned to him, "you're not completely out of the question."

Seeing Lin Sen's expression, Agüero knew what he meant, and his face turned green. But after a moment, he gritted his teeth and cautiously asked, "Are you sure that thing will work?"

"What are you afraid of?" Seeing a chance, Lin Sen was delighted, "In China, this is like a massage. I see you always go to the masseuse Caris. It's just a few needles; what's the harm?"

That's true. Agüero thought about it. Just a few needles, what's the harm? Besides, it's just in the leg; getting kicked on the field hurts more!