Master Tutoring Class

Chapter 216 Where did Wei Lai go?

On November 26th, in the 13th round of the Dutch Eredivisie, Heerenveen will host Sporting Amsterdam.

Wei Lai was unable to travel with the team for the match, so he could only watch the entire game from the training base.

From the start of the match, Atlético Amsterdam took the initiative to control the tempo and midfield.

Despite some decline in recent years, Atlético Amsterdam is still a very strong team in the Eredivisie, it's just that their performance is sometimes inconsistent.

Just like in this match, once Atlético Amsterdam took control of the midfield tempo, their overall organization and operation were quite good.

But there's always a feeling of dragging things out.

It's not about the sluggishness of the rhythm, but rather the transmission for the sake of transmission, and the scheduling for the sake of scheduling.

They focused too much on the situation on the field and possession of the ball, which resulted in them not making many threatening attacks forward.

The match was intense and the game was very exciting.

Ultimately, winning a match requires scoring goals, but while Atlético Amsterdam played beautifully, they just couldn't find the net.

In the 61st minute, Hendrick couldn't hold back any longer and, taking advantage of a counter-attack opportunity, launched a long pass forward.

The essence of this long pass counter-attack lies in Konrad Lechmann's first touch.

To be honest, Wei was truly amazed by that first touch.

With almost no deceleration, he stopped in front of himself, then quickly moved forward, using the simplest method to raise his position, dribbled the ball twice into the penalty area, and scored with a low shot with his left foot.

"Why make it so complicated when you could have played it so simply? The game was certainly beautiful, but there were no goals!"

Wei Lai shook his head, perhaps there were things he didn't understand.

Or perhaps I'm just too materialistic?

After scoring, Atlético Amsterdam broke free and scored again five minutes later from a corner kick.

After that goal, Atlético Amsterdam began to take control of the game and the situation.

There's no problem controlling the situation at this point!

Wei watched the entire match, but honestly didn't see anything particularly exciting, probably because the opponent wasn't strong enough.

After watching the match, Wei Lai immediately threw himself into training.

His immediate priority is to integrate himself into the team as quickly as possible.

Tactical understanding and individual improvement are areas that Wei Lai needs to focus on.

He needs to maintain sufficient basic strength at least until January 20th next year.

On November 30th, the Netherlands had its first snowfall. It wasn't much, just a few snowflakes that melted as soon as they hit the ground.

On the same day, Amsterdam Athletic declined requests from Chinese media to provide follow-up reports on Wei Lai.

Although the club still hopes that Wei Lai can come forward, as this would be more beneficial for them to gain some commercial value in advance.

However, they also need to respect the player's personal opinion. Moreover, Wei Lai's current priority is to integrate into the team and improve himself. Disruptions may prevent this process from progressing smoothly.

When Chinese media received this news, they were quite frustrated.

With their U17 World Cup victory, this group of players has become incredibly popular, attracting countless eyes.

This group in China is subjected to various forms of harassment from the media almost every day, and there are very high expectations placed on them.

The suspension of the Chinese Super League does not prevent them from continuing to monitor the individual training of these young players.

They even film strength training sessions at small gyms.

In the Spanish First Division, particularly for the Tolstoy club, there has been a significant increase in Chinese self-media bloggers.

These football bloggers used He Chaoyue as a source of traffic, constantly following up with reports. Of course, since it was a formal match, they couldn't broadcast the game live.

Therefore, it appears more often in the form of short videos.

He Chaoyue is in great form right now, especially after winning the U17 World Cup. He has become noticeably more confident, and his performance in the Spanish First Division has improved significantly. His ball possession and tactical importance have also increased accordingly.

Naturally, the goal-scoring statistics also improved somewhat.

As December arrived and Christmas passed, two pieces of news came.

First: [Xiang Ming has officially announced his transfer to Belgian team Liège B, and will begin his campaign in the Belgian Second Division during the winter break!]

Second: [Chen Shaojie gets the opportunity to be promoted to the Catanzaro City League B team the following year!]

Both of them will gain valuable experience in the professional arena next season.

This also gave the fans a boost of confidence.

The following year, after the Lunar New Year, the Chinese Super League resumed.

In the first round of the competition, young players such as Yang Fan, Qian Xi, and Pei Le all got the opportunity to play.

All the teams in the Chinese Super League seem to be eager to cultivate their own 'Wei Lai'.

The performance of these young players was commendable, and overall it was quite good, considering they are only 17 years old this year.

Before we knew it, more than three months had passed.

It feels like just yesterday that the U17 World Cup final was a day of celebration, but in the blink of an eye, it's already mid-March of the following year.

After the festive season of the Lunar New Year, people have returned to their lives and work.

For fans, in addition to paying attention to the league, they are also paying attention to batches of players playing abroad.

During this period, a topic continued to gain traction.

Where did Wei Lai go?

After winning the U17 World Cup, Wei Lai seemed to have disappeared, with no news about him whatsoever.

While news, topics, and short videos about other people were flying around, there was no new information about Wei Lai whatsoever.

False information about Wei Lai is rampant on various online platforms.

For Wei Lai, the young player who scored China's first U17 World Cup title and plays in the Dutch Eredivisie, the fans are paying the most attention.

But they discovered that Wei Lai had disappeared!
There is absolutely no news about him.

Some independent media outlets and official media outlets have visited Amsterdam Arena to inquire about Wei Lai.

The official response was only a bland statement.

He is still undergoing acclimatization training.

Apart from that, there is no other news.

To what extent have they adapted?
When is the debut scheduled?

What is the club's positioning of him?
None of these exist!

Some bizarre opinions even appeared online, such as rumors that "Wei Lai was abducted," but these were all refuted by Yang Fan and others.

On March 18th, in the third round of the Chinese Super League, Jiaozhou Weili will face Madu Zhenxiang.

The match has been going on for 78 minutes, and the current score is Jiaozhou Weili 1:2 Madu Zhenxiang.

"Brother Chen!"

Yang Fan suddenly appeared from behind and made a move to support the team on the wing.

Chen Jinyu made a cross pass, and Yang Fan immediately stopped the ball with his left foot and looked up at the far end.

He swung his right foot and made a long pass forward.

"Yang Fan! A long diagonal pass at a 45-degree angle, again targeting Teng Qiang. Since Yang Fan joined the first team, his coordination with Teng Qiang has increased significantly. Teng Qiang, with the instep of his foot, passes to Jersey!!"

boom!
Jersey made a lateral run, met the ball head-on, and volleyed it directly to the side.

The ball hit the net.

Jiaozhou Weili tied the score with Madu Zhenxiang 2-2.

"Brother Qiang! Awesome!"

Yang Fan cheered loudly and immediately ran over to celebrate with him.

Chang Chen-ting, standing on the sidelines, also breathed a sigh of relief.

This season has been tough; they were hit by a wave of injuries right at the start of the season.

Moreover, two key foreign players were injured, in addition to Zheng Tao and Jin Zhe.

Fortunately, Yang Fan, Zhao Lei, and others were relatively resilient and could be used immediately. With the help of Chen Jinyu's organization and Jersey's powerful explosive force, the situation was stabilized.

“I miss Wei Lai!” Liu Wei suddenly shook his head and sighed, “If Wei Lai were here, several counterattacks would have been able to find Jersey with a single kick, creating a one-on-one situation.”

Zhang Zhenting glanced at Liu Wei and said, "Don't think about these things, he's already a player for Atlético Amsterdam."

Finally, the match ended.

Jiaozhou Weili drew 2-2 with Madu Zhenxiang at home.

"Damn! This is so hard to kick!"

As soon as Wang Hao entered the locker room, he began to complain.

He was very upset after conceding two goals.

"Injury wave, there's nothing we can do!" Teng Qiang patted Wang Hao on the shoulder, and the latter turned to look at Teng Qiang before slapping him across the face.

Wang Hao cursed, "Who are you trying to lay a hand on?"

Teng Qiang pursed his lips, knowing that Wang Hao had a lot of opinions about him.

After all, last season was practically just coasting!
But he's doing well this season!
"Speaking of which, what happened to Wei Lai? Has he really disappeared?" Wang Hao asked Yang Fan.

Chen Jinyu: "I saw a blogger online who waited outside the Amsterdam Arena for almost a week but still couldn't spot Wei Lai!"

"A week?" Teng Qiang grinned. "The bloggers I saw waited for a month and still didn't see Wei Lai. They're really patient."

Wang Hao looked at Yang Fan: "You haven't contacted him? How's he been lately?"

Yang Fan casually replied, "We even had a video call yesterday."

After saying that, he grinned and said, "Like a savage."

"A savage?" Wang Hao asked curiously.

Yang Fan nodded: "That's right, they are savages!"

"Don't worry, it's not that the club is pressuring him, but that he doesn't want to be disturbed. He's currently focusing on adapting to the club's environment and training without leaving the premises. We should be able to see him soon."

Meanwhile, the Dutch Eredivisie broadcasting platform.

With Wei Lai joining the team, Lek Sports purchased the broadcasting rights for the Dutch Eredivisie.

Despite it being only halfway through the season, a certain amount of money was still spent.

So far, they haven't seen a single trace of Wei Lai.

"In the 26th round of the Eredivisie, Atlético Amsterdam lost 2-3 to Partizan Utrecht. In this match, we still did not see Wei Lai. Wei Lai's contract took effect on January 20, which happened to be the 20th round of the Eredivisie, but six rounds have passed and Wei Lai is still not on the roster."

Zhan Jing finished speaking.

Zhang Lu, standing to the side, said, "Adaptation is a long process, and we still need to be patient with him. After all, although it has been a long time, Wei Lai has only missed six games since the contract took effect. He should still be adapting, so let's wait patiently."

The live stream chat was filled with complaints.

'Only six games? Why does it feel like so long?'

'Because Wei Lai disappeared for a full four months starting in December!'

'Really not even a single word?'

'Sigh! I have a bad feeling.'

'Don't say that, Wei Lai definitely wouldn't!'

'I'm so worried. What if I really can't adapt and end up returning it?'

'He took too big a step; this is the Amsterdam Arena! I knew things weren't going to go well when he went out.'

Seeing these comments filled Zhan Jing with melancholy.

What does that boy who won the final with a single kick look like now?

The entrance to the Amsterdam athletic training ground in the Netherlands.

Goat-kun was live-streaming on his phone, constantly pacing back and forth at the door.

As he moved, the security guard at the entrance kept a close eye on his every move.

"Guys, this is tough! This guy is keeping a very close eye on things."

Goat grinned and said, "I applied for spectator coverage for the Amsterdam Arena, but they just won't let me into the training base. I guess I'll have to make a wasted trip again."

Immediately, the comments section became noisy.

"No! Brother, wait a little longer, maybe?"

"How about we just force our way in? At worst, you'll only be detained for a few days. I'll pay the fine, and you can go sit there!"

'Goat-kun, with his skinny arms and legs, was tackled by security before he could even run.'

'Why don't you bribe him? We'll crowdfund for you!'

Seeing the witty comments on the screen, Goat-kun grinned and could only think of other solutions.

Suddenly, he saw several teenagers wearing Amsterdam athletic training uniforms sneaking towards a wall about a hundred meters to his side.

Goat-kun's eyes lit up, and he said to the screen:
"Brothers, wait for my good news, I'm ending the live stream now!"

After saying that, he turned off the live stream and walked towards the wall.

In front of the wall, there was a circle of trees and bushes. Goat-kun remembered that these youth training boys disappeared here.

He immediately went over and shoved through the bushes, and sure enough, he saw a small hole.

The hole wasn't big, but it was big enough for him to crawl through.

Goat immediately possessed the dog, first stuffing his backpack inside, then wriggling his body and slowly crawling in. Soon he passed through the dog hole and entered the training base.

"Success!"

Goat was in high spirits. He walked around the roads inside the club for a while and finally saw the first team's training ground.

What a coincidence, they're in training camp right now.

Goat squatted in a corner on one side, carefully examining the object.

He finally saw Wei Lai.

However, Wei Lai's appearance has changed quite a bit at this time.

Wei Lai used to be straightforward and efficient. Although he wasn't exactly handsome, he at least gave people a clean and tidy impression.

But at this moment, his black hair was disheveled, and the wispy bangs even covered his eyes, making him look like a wild man.
However, his overall physique is somewhat more robust, though he still can't compare to his adult teammates.

"Pass!"

A teammate passed the ball to Wei Lai.

Goat looked over curiously, wanting to see how much progress Wei Lai had made recently.

They disappeared for a full four months!

Wei Lai stopped the ball, but the whole movement was unhurried. When facing his teammates' pressure, Wei Lai's shoulders showed a clear outward rotation, and his hips also rotated backward.

A simple body movement caused his teammates to turn to one side, and at that moment, Wei Lai suddenly twisted his foot.

He easily and decisively got rid of his opponent, and then passed the ball to his teammate.

Wei Lai created some distance again, received the ball again, turned around, and made another back pass, deceiving the opponent's center, and immediately turned his body forward.

When the second teammate rushed over, Wei Lai suddenly pulled the ball away in a V-shape, thus getting rid of him.

By the time his teammates rushed back to attack, Wei Lai had already passed the ball out.

"That's so stable!"

Goat was somewhat surprised.

Wei Lai's footwork wasn't fast, but his rhythm was excellent, giving the impression of practicing Tai Chi.

While the others pounced fiercely, Wei Lai simply shrugged his shoulders, twisted his hips, and even made some feints in his vision, which shifted their center of gravity.

Despite the two players' continuous pressing, they failed to win the ball from Wei Lai's feet.

boom!
A short, curved shot was launched from Wei Lai's feet. The ball flew through the air, bypassing the defensive line, and fell precisely towards the far post.

There, Felix leaped up and headed the ball towards the goal.

Swish!
"Good boy!"

After scoring, Felix immediately gave Wei Lai a thumbs up.

Wei Lai brushed a stray hair from his forehead and nodded with a smile.

On the sidelines, Morton and assistant coach Peschot nodded in agreement.

Morton looked at Wei Lai and said, "He has a talent for simplifying complex things."

Assistant coach Pescho nodded:

"Currently, the starting right defensive midfielder for Wei is 22-year-old Reyesa. The data comparing these two players is as follows..."

“Reyesa is more defensive, which can free up Hendrick to participate in the attack.”

"But he himself doesn't like to move forward; instead, he prefers a more stable and controlled situation."

"Wei excels at attacking; he can use his passing to help the team create more threatening situations and make the game simpler for the team to some extent. At the same time, he seems to be activating Felix!"

"The problem is that when Wei is on the court, Hendrick has to position himself further back, so he can't participate in the attack or take on more defensive responsibilities."

After a pause, assistant coach Peschon said, "He has met the requirements for his debut, and I think he should be given a chance."

Morton nodded: "Give him his debut in the next game, and let him come off the bench for three consecutive games. If he performs well, then rotate him with Reyessa. We can use their strengths depending on the situation."

To put it simply, Reyessa is better suited to tactics focused on defense and controlling the game.

Wei Lai, on the other hand, performed better in terms of 'attack' and 'rhythm changes'.

They also have a decent set-piece ability, which could improve Atlético Amsterdam's tactical set-piece performance.

boom!
Hendrick's large-scale relocation.

Wei Lai immediately ran to the landing point and gently tapped the ball with his left foot to within a meter in front of him, which was within his control.

Meanwhile, the ground beneath Wei Lai's feet was constantly changing.

Ankles, knees, thighs, hips, including the overall orientation of the body and the gaze
"Rhythm is not just about changes in the feet, but about making 'real' movements with shifts in all parts of the body."

That's right!

The key lies in this 'truth'.

Wei Lai's every move is slow, but that's precisely what makes it so real.

For example, now he rotates his body inward, and if the opponent doesn't block him, he can kick Hendrick.

But if the opponent blocks, Wei Lai can immediately spike the ball.

The opponent chose to block the path.

Wei Lai immediately spiked the ball and turned forward, then passed it to Felix, who was receiving it on the front side.

Felix passed the ball back, and Wei Lai once again turned to make a 'real' move.

This time, the opponent didn't fall for the trick.

Wei Lai flicked the ball with his foot, sending it to the weak side.

call!
Wei Lai blew on his bangs; sometimes, when faced with the opponent's blockade, this was the only thing he could do.

But at least they managed to retain possession of the ball!
call!
Wei Lai blew on his bangs again.

Should I get a haircut?
At that moment, a commotion suddenly broke out not far away.

"Hey! Don't steal my bag! I wasn't filming, I'm open to inspection!"

(End of this chapter)