On the pitch, the boys stood in a line.
Though initially, their faces were filled with reluctance.
For a very long time, Wang Fa remained silent.
In the night, only the wind sweeping across the field stretched time and breath, slowly elongating them once more.
During that extended period.
Lin Wanxing watched Wang Fa gaze at the players. The feeling was somewhat akin to a wolf pack leader in the animal kingdom, casually scrutinizing his subjects.
Lin Wanxing didn’t understand why such a bizarre and slightly eerie metaphor surfaced in her mind.
But on that night, in the city’s profound silence, that was indeed what she thought.
Wang Fa slowly began to speak: “Your teacher exchanged one month’s rent with me for a professional football course.”
Hearing this, the students’ eyes all turned toward Lin Wanxing.
Lin Wanxing was taken aback; she hadn’t expected Wang Fa to reveal their deal so directly.
“And I do know many training methods used in professional leagues. They have stood the test of time and are highly effective,” Wang Fa continued.
The students exchanged glances.
The reluctance on their faces had vanished, replaced by excitement. For any young football player, the words “professional league” held immense appeal.
“But those methods aren’t suitable for you.”
Suddenly, Wang Fa poured cold water on their enthusiasm.
“Why?” Qin Ao asked defiantly.
“Because you’re too weak,” Wang Fa stated objectively. “All systematic training methods are unsuitable for you as you are now.”
“Then what did Teacher Lin ask you to teach us?”
“Yeah, what are we supposed to learn from you?”
Perhaps feeling their tone was too harsh, the students added, “You’re the one who said we should clarify the purpose and content of each training session beforehand.”
“Yes, I’ve also been thinking about what I can teach you,” Wang Fa said, almost as if talking to himself.
The students looked at each other.
The excitement on their faces faded once more in the night breeze.
It seemed the topic had circled back to the reason they had initially chosen to give up on football.
They were too weak now, and time was too short. They had no hope of defeating a strong opponent, so why even bother trying?
“From a very practical standpoint, for Sunday’s match, I’ll arrange some targeted training for you. It can help you leverage your strengths a bit better. But all training requires a long-term process. It’s very likely you won’t see any results before you leave football behind.”
“Coach, are you just trying to scam our teacher out of the rent?” someone muttered softly from a corner.
“With so little time, what’s the point of training anything?”
“Indeed, time is short. So, what I can teach you is just one successful experience.”
The students looked bewildered.
Wang Fa made it sound hopeless, but what was this “one successful experience”?
“If we can’t win, how can it be called success?” Fu Xinshu asked.
“Is only victory considered ‘success’?” Wang Fa countered.
In the night, the students were stumped.
Wang Fa continued at his own pace: “Winning and losing are certainly important, but since you all think you’ll lose, why not set the match’s goal on what I mentioned: complete one tactical play I’ve arranged and gain one successful experience.”
Wang Fa spoke practically and earnestly.
There were no grandiose promises, only concrete tactical arrangements.
“Green View International is stronger than you and won’t underestimate you again. We can’t rely on last match’s luck. The only tactic we can use is defense and counterattack.”
Hearing the words “defense and counterattack,” the students’ expectant expressions suddenly turned disappointed.
It seemed far from the high-level tactics they had hoped for.
Wang Fa: “I know very well that you’ve received professional football training and know how to execute a defense and counterattack. There’s nothing extraordinary about it. But the problem is, often, you ‘know’ but ‘can’t do’ it.”
In the night breeze, the students stood straight, some confused, some disdainful, but most listened quietly.
Wang Fa said: “Zheng Feiyang, you originally played midfield, but there, your running speed is slow, and you don’t contribute much to defense or attack. So, you drop back, and we’ll switch to a five-defender formation. Chen Weidong has good physicality, but he’s still relatively new to the game and prone to mistakes. As for you, Qi Liang, you’re a defender with many ideas, but precisely because of that, you tend to lose your mark when defending.”
Wang Fa called them out one by one: “So Zheng Feiyang, you drop back and play as a sweeper, responsible for covering positions. That will make our defense much more solid. As for the attack…”
“Long passes?” Qin Ao’s eyes lit up.
“No, we’ll abandon the previous simple long passes. They’re too easy to defend against. Qin Ao, Chen Jianghe, Fu Xinshu, Lin Lu…”
As he spoke, Wang Fa picked up the notebook he always carried with him, pulled a pencil from his pocket, and gestured for the students to gather around.
The field lights were dim, and the pencil tip made a rustling sound against the paper.
“You two are forwards, with power and speed. Fu Xinshu, you’re midfield. Lin Lu, although you’re a defender, you have good passing ability and can push forward.” Wang Fa looked at the remaining students.
The players watched Wang Fa, unsure what he was getting at.
“Counterattacks aren’t just about long balls. That’s an inefficient method that opponents can easily figure out—it’s purely luck. But passing between a few players, combining in small areas, and timely forward runs can make counterattacks much sharper…”
Wang Fa began drawing circles in his notebook and said: “Lin Lu, you’re the first initiator of the counterattack. When the defense clears the ball and you receive it, that’s when our counterattack begins. The other three need to pay attention: when Lin Lu gets the ball in the backfield, you must start running.”
Three faint, penciled circles appeared in the notebook.
Wang Fa carefully explained this simple tactic to the students.
When Lin Lu gets the ball, Fu Xinshu drops back to receive it near the edge of the penalty area. Qin Ao positions himself slightly ahead to receive the ball, and Chen Jianghe stays further up on the left.
At this moment, Lin Lu must pass the ball to Fu Xinshu promptly and then accelerate forward on the right flank, continuously pushing up.
When Fu Xinshu receives the ball, he’ll be immediately pressed by the opponent, so time is limited.
When he has the ball, he must pay attention to Qin Ao’s position and pass to him, while making a forward run himself. At this point, the opponent’s attention will be drawn to Qin Ao, who has the ball, and Chen Jianghe, who is further forward.
Fu Xinshu’s task, after passing, is to also push forward, running straight up the center.
Each small circle on the tactical sheet was labeled with the students’ names, and the lines grew more numerous, gradually fleshing out.
Wang Fa’s pencil tip finally rested on the circle belonging to Qin Ao.
He said: “Qin Ao, when you receive the ball here, you’ll have three different passing options: Chen Jianghe further up on the left, Lin Lu pushing forward on the right, and Fu Xinshu following up in the center. This puts you in a good position. The opponent won’t have more than three players left in defense, and with you, we’ll have four attackers. You know what to do next—pass to whoever is unmarked. The others should run into their preferred positions. With four against three, you could even pass the ball right into their goal.”
The goal was a crudely drawn rectangle with a gap, but on the field, it was a massive, three-dimensional structure—9.2 meters wide and 2.4 meters high.
Qin Ao’s task was to send the football into that goal space amid constant interchanging runs.
“The core of this tactic is to quickly move through the midfield and create a numerical advantage in the attacking third. Even though you haven’t trained in a long time, you’ve all played before. With effort, you can definitely manage this level of coordination.”
Perhaps it was the convincing aura Wang Fa exuded when discussing these matters.
The students couldn’t help but nod.
“For Sunday’s match, our goal is simple: to complete one such tactical play. That’s what I mean by one successful experience.”
Wang Fa’s pencil tip finally landed at the center of the field in his notebook. Those faint yet clear lines gradually formed a vast, flowing representation of the pitch and time: “I’ll call everything I just explained ‘Tactic One.’”
He concluded.
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