The template of Madoka Kaname: I rose from adversity to the summit.

"It seems that Coach Tuchel's stance is very firm."

Agent McKenzie, with a forced smile, handed a cup of coffee to sporting director Zorc.

"Sigh, Pulisic was at least a Golden Boy candidate, but I never expected him to lose his spot like this."

"Mr. Zorc, is this fair?"

Zorc was thoroughly fed up with the hypocritical American agent in front of him, but in order not to damage his relationship with Pulisic, he forced a calm tone.

"The head coach naturally has the right to make personnel decisions, and we cannot interfere with that."

"Of course, of course," McKenzie chuckled softly. "But... if Dortmund can't offer enough playing time, I think other teams would be happy to, don't you think?"

"His contract still has a long way to go..."

Before Zorc could finish speaking, McKenzie interrupted, "Don't mention the contract to me!"

"When I strongly urged Pulisic to sign a formal contract, he rejected offers from Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Barcelona."

"What I value most is that Dortmund can provide consistent playing time!"

"If even this cannot be guaranteed, then there is no need to continue cooperating."

As Dortmund's sporting director, how could Zorc be so easily manipulated by McKenzie?

He jumped to his feet: "Pulisic isn't leaving until the contract is over!"

"Really?" MacKenzie pushed up his glasses, a sly glint in his eyes. "You don't care about losing tens of millions?"

"You!" Zorc forced himself to calm down.

There is only one scenario that could cost Dortmund tens of millions of euros: Pulisic not renewing his contract and letting it expire, leaving on a free transfer.

Zorc knew this was unlikely; Pulisic had two years left on his contract, and if Dortmund pressured him by withholding playing time, Pulisic would eventually compromise.

However, the renewal price will definitely be exorbitant, and they may even demand the maximum salary.

This is very detrimental to the team's subsequent operations.

Dortmund's survival depends on its operating model of attracting young talents by offering playing time (promoting new players) and development opportunities (Champions League qualification). These players are often willing to accept low salaries in exchange for opportunities for advancement.

If the players you develop are very effective, the team should keep them and then raise their salaries later; if they don't want to keep them, it's easy to sell young talents on low salaries for high prices.

That's why Borussia Dortmund has earned the nickname "black shop" in the football world.

Zorc was certain that McKenzie was bluffing him; the other party certainly wouldn't dare gamble Pulisic's future. So he replied evasively, "I'll talk to Tuchel, but I can't guarantee the outcome."

For American brokers who are all about money, a bad check is less than air.

Mackenzie narrowed his eyes slightly and calmly took a sip of his coffee: "I will get what I want. Mr. Zorc had better do his best to make it work, or things will get ugly."

Zorc snorted coldly, ignored McKenzie's threat, and turned to leave.

Tuchel was invited to have an unpleasant conversation with Zorc.

Tuchel's goal was clear from the beginning: he had to make signings in the winter transfer window, something Zorc couldn't guarantee.

Zorc tried to get Pulisic more playing time, but Tuchel responded directly and refused.

The two sides parted on bad terms.

The conflict was kept strictly confidential by Dortmund staff, especially the gossipy cleaning lady, who was given a gag order.

Unfortunately, there are no walls that cannot be sealed.

Just two days later, two rumors began to circulate widely.

Tuchel is dissatisfied with management and may not renew his contract after the season.

Manchester United and Liverpool are interested in Borussia Dortmund's young talent Christian Pulisic and are willing to offer 2000 million euros for him.

Reporters crowded the entrance to the Brakel training base.

"May I come inside for an interview?"

When will Coach Tuchel come out?

"Is Pulisic there?"

Several burly men stood blocking the doorway with stern faces, displaying an air of "I will go even if there are thousands of people against me."

On the training field, Tuchel is organizing targeted training for the players.

He didn't know how the news leaked, so he could only try his best to maintain the team atmosphere and let the players focus their energy on training.

Although the team has been in excellent form recently, it has also exposed many weaknesses – it is not good at breaking down a defensive wall and its defense is not solid enough.

Therefore, positioning, scoring, and defensive training became the key points.

These are all training exercises that require a lot of running, and the players have been exhausted these past few days.

Even so, it couldn't stop their gossipy nature.

Yuan Meng was whispering to Dembele.

"Brother Deng, do you think the boss will really leave?"

"Don't overthink it. With such good results this season, how could they just leave like that?"

"I'm just scared. What if the boss leaves and the new head coach looks down on me?"

This is Yuan Meng's biggest worry. It's not easy to find a coach who trusts him. Having tasted the sweetness of starting and being the center of attention, he really doesn't want to waste his time on the bench.

"The boss won't leave, but Pulisic might," Dembele whispered in Yuan Meng's ear. "You've been performing exceptionally well lately. Once Boss Luo returns, Pulisic probably won't get much playing time."

"What about you, Deng-ge? Aren't you afraid?" Yuan Meng asked curiously.

"What am I afraid of? If I can play, I'll play; if I can't, I'll leave. With my ability, which team wouldn't want me?" Dembele shook his head and smiled, thinking Yuan Meng's idea was naive.

"That's true."

"Wait! Boss Royce is back. Am I a substitute again?" Yuan Meng suddenly realized.

"It's alright. The team is competing on three fronts, so you'll definitely get a starting opportunity." Dembele patted Yuan Meng on the shoulder, comforting him. "It's just that if things continue like this, Pulisic, as the second substitute, will almost have his playing time reduced to nothing."

This is also why Yuan Meng must beat Pulisic.

Yuan Meng quickly checked the data comparison between him and Pulisic.

Yuan Meng: 6 goals and 8 assists (league and Champions League).

Pulisic: 5 goals and 6 assists (league and Champions League).

Nice!

Complete victory!

Now there's no need to panic. In competitive sports, strength speaks for itself!

The six-day break between matches this week allowed the players to recover their fitness.

Yuan Meng took the opportunity to increase her proficiency, focusing on improving several attributes that were holding her back.

[Long pass: 66→68]

[Shots on goal: 70 → 71]

[Dribble: 71→72]

The physical attributes have decimal points, which improves efficiency, but it's enough for now. The focus should still be on technical training.

What worries Yuan Meng the most is the proficiency of her skills. Once a skill is mastered, improvement depends almost entirely on her performance in matches.

Left with no other choice, Yuan Meng resorted to "stealing the teacher's skills" and "using personal connections."

Amid some noise, Borussia Dortmund welcomed the 13th round of the league, playing at home against Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Yuan Meng thought she would be a substitute and watch Dembele and Reus, two big names, show off their skills.

But Tuchel still went too far, fielding a 3-4-3 formation with Yuan Meng starting as the right wing-back.

The front three is Dortmund's strongest formation: Reus on the left, Dembele on the right, and Aubameyang in the middle.

Piszczek was also busy, filling in at right center-back.

Yuan Meng was caught in the middle, with powerful figures on both the front and back, one for offense and one for defense.

What should I do then?

Are you paddling?

Yuan Meng was somewhat confused, so Tuher gave her some advice.

"In attack, rush up to support Dembele. In defense, drop back and double-team the opposing wingers with Piszczek."

"I need you to cover the entire right flank of the field, can you do that?"

Yuan Meng made an "OK" sign.

"I get it now, a top-tier support player, right? No problem!"

"Boss, don't worry, just watch me do it!"