After Paris Saint-Germain was removed from the list, I led England to victory!

Just days after Yan Yuanxin signed his new €5 weekly wage contract, the packed Bundesliga schedule began again.

In the next league match, away against Augsburg, Yan Yuan made a signature dribble to get past his opponent and delivered a precise cross during a quick counter-attack, assisting his teammate to score. He also seized an opportunity in the ensuing scramble to score with a push shot. With one goal and one assist, he helped the team take three points.

He then returned to his home ground and came on as a substitute to face Cologne.

Yan Yuan transformed into the "feeder" on the offensive end, orchestrating attacks from both sides. Two surgical through balls tore open the opponent's left and right flanks respectively, assisting Ute and Amiri to score and helping the team win.

Next up is the second round of the German Cup, a home game against second-division team Kaiserslautern.

The disparity in strength made the match seem predictable, with Hoffenheim firmly in control of the game.

However, it was precisely in this seemingly overwhelming match that a bad sign was keenly observed by head coach Nagelsmann.

Midway through the second half, Hoffenheim had already taken a two-goal lead, and the game was essentially over. However, Nagelsmann remained on the sidelines with his hands in his pockets and his brow slightly furrowed.

At this moment, Yan Yuan, positioned on the right side of midfield, keenly noticed the gap that had suddenly appeared in the opponent's defense.

The distance between the opposing right center-back and right-back was slightly increased, and the center-back's attention was briefly drawn to Hoffenheim's overlapping left winger.

Yan Yuan reacted almost instinctively, accelerating forward in a single stride.

Instead of advancing along the sideline, he decisively cut diagonally into the narrow gap in the middle, while waving to signal his teammates in the middle to push forward and draw their attention.

That run was extremely skillful, the timing was perfect.

The defensive midfielder in possession of the ball immediately understood the intention and sent out a through ball with just the right power and angle!

The ball sliced ​​through Kaiserslautern's central defensive pairing like a scalpel, precisely feeding the forward-moving Yan Yuan along his running path.

Yan Yuan had already shaken off the opposing right-back and was now facing the last center-back who was coming to cover.

With a deft touch, he skillfully controlled the ball with the outside of his foot, changing direction and instantly leaving the struggling center-back half a body length behind.

All that's left is a panicked goalkeeper!

At that very moment, just as the entire stadium was about to stand up and cheer for the goal, Yan Yuan noticed that his substitute striker teammate, Oakes, was in open space on the other side of the goal.

The opposing goalkeeper's attention was completely drawn to Yan Yuan with the ball, leaving the far post almost undefended.

This is a textbook example of a perfect inverted triangle pass opportunity!

Yan Yuan didn't even hesitate. The instant he got past the center-back, he had already adjusted his center of gravity, preparing to sweep the ball across to the other side of the six-yard box.

In a flash, he looked up to find his teammate Oakes, already halfway through the pass.

However, the scene that came into view made his pupils shrink. Oakes did not accelerate toward the best attacking point in front of the goal as he had expected.

Instead, he paused slightly, seemingly observing Yan Yuan's next move with a blank expression, and even subconsciously took a step back!

"Ox!!! Get forward! Hurry!" Nagelsmann shouted from the sidelines.

Unfortunately, the predicted movement didn't happen.

His passing lanes were mostly blocked by the opposing center-backs who slid in to block the shot, leaving only air in front of the far post!

Because of Oakes' brief momentary hesitation, Yan Yuan's actions were forcibly interrupted.

In order to avoid passing the ball directly to the opposing goalkeeper or a sliding center-back, he had to temporarily change his move and barely poked the ball towards the near corner of the goal.

His shot lacked power and was too straight, allowing the opposing goalkeeper to easily save it.

A golden opportunity that could have extended the lead was squandered in a fleeting miscommunication.

Although the team ultimately won the game and advanced without much trouble, the scene was like a thorn in Nagelsmann's heart.

After the game, Yan Yuan did not blame his teammates. When he left the field, he even exchanged a few words with Oakes and patted him on the back.

But Nagelsmann saw it clearly from the sidelines: when Yan Yuan made that ghost run, only the defensive midfielder instinctively followed his train of thought and passed the ball to him.

The subsequent chain reaction that should have been completed, whether it was the mid-lane distraction or Oak's fatal forward run, was delayed by more than a step.

Yan Yuan is currently operating like a smooth 4G network at high speed.

While most teammates can maintain 4G connectivity, they occasionally "buffer" between 2G and 3G when downloading information, often resulting in delays or lag.

Although they can sometimes keep up and unleash smooth teamwork with Yan Yuan, their consistency is far from sufficient.

Nash realized the problem: Yan Yuan's overall vision was too exquisite, and his teammates often couldn't even keep up with him.

This is not just a problem for Oakes alone, but a general lack of understanding across the entire midfield and forward line when facing Yan Yuan's style of play, which involves sudden acceleration and heavy reliance on intuition and vision.

If this problem cannot be solved, Hoffenheim's attacking potential will definitely be severely limited when facing stronger opponents, especially in the upcoming Champions League group stage.

In the post-match review, Nagelsmann directly pointed out the core reason for the offensive failure.

He didn't criticize Oakes too much, but instead played the video repeatedly.

"Look here," he said, pointing with his laser pointer at Yan Yuan and Oakes on the screen.

"Yan starts from this position, Oakes, your position is excellent right now. When you see Yan has successfully beaten the offside trap and received the ball..."

Your first reaction should be to rush towards that point at full speed without hesitation! Just like the flanking maneuver we've practiced countless times in training.

In that split second you're thinking, "Will Yan pass?" or "Will Yan choose to break through?", the opportunity is gone. In top-level competition, that one second can mean the difference between heaven and hell.

Oakes lowered his head with a hint of self-reproach: "At the time... I was a little unsure how he would handle it."

"See that, guys? That's the problem," Nagelsmann said, turning to all the attacking players.

"We must build a faster and more effective trust and understanding."

As everyone has seen in recent matches, Yan's decisions have been mostly excellent and very threatening.

You need to trust his judgment and not hesitate! Remove the "confirm" button from your minds and replace it with the "execute" button!

"When the signal is sent, arrive immediately! Strictness also requires conveying signals more clearly and concisely."

On the following training day, the atmosphere at the Hoffenheim training ground quietly changed as Nagelsmann and his assistant coaching team began a meticulous tactical reshaping project.

The first is the refinement and clarification of tactical design.

They no longer make general runs, but instead target specific attack areas, especially the right flank and the flanks.

Nash rehearsed various off-the-ball movement plans for Yan Yuan under different ball possession conditions. He was like a precise engineer, breaking down every possible attacking trigger point.

"Listen carefully! When Yan receives the ball with his back to the goal on the right flank, how should the two of you in the middle move in a crossover pattern?"

For example, Demirbay, you move forward to the edge of the penalty area, and Rupp makes a diagonal run towards Yan, drawing away the center-back!

"Once Yan turns around or passes back, immediately watch his next move. Will he pass it back to Adam for a long shot, or will he pass it directly to you for a run? There's no time to think! You have to move immediately when you see an opportunity!" He kept drawing lines on the tactics board, using different colored pieces to demonstrate the running trajectory.

……

Everyone started training. If a player hesitated or had unclear positioning during training, the whistle would be blown immediately to stop the game, explain the situation, and start over, again and again.

The training content became extremely specific, with Nash's intention being to simplify the players' complex decision-making process into almost instinctive reactions.

This requires each team member to have a clear understanding of their responsibilities and preferred decisions in a specific scenario.

Secondly, increase the volume of real-time communication on the field.

Nagelsmann instructed Yan Yuan to use louder, clearer, and more frequent concise instructions to guide his teammates.

He no longer allowed Yan Yuan to convey his intentions through eye contact or occasional waves.

"Yan! Once you're on the court, make sure to shout it out! Let your teammates hear your thoughts! Even if it's just the simplest words!" The assistant coach shouted encouragement to Yan Yuan from the sidelines.

At first, this was a challenge for Yan Yuan, who was not flamboyant in personality.

Because he is used to communicating through gestures.

But for the sake of the team, he worked hard to overcome some obstacles in his on-field expression.

During the team's intra-team scrimmages, his clear German instructions began to be heard frequently:

"Schultz, push forward!"

"Grillic! Here! Passing spot!"...

These crisp and clear verbal instructions greatly reduced the time teammates had to hesitate.

His teammates gradually got used to recognizing and quickly executing his requests, and Yan Yuan's voice in the attacking third began to become an important coordinator in Hoffenheim's offensive progress.

In subsequent training sessions, the intensity increased dramatically, the scope of half-court offensive and defensive drills was greatly reduced, and passing and receiving time was required to be completed within 3-5 seconds.

This suffocatingly high-pressure environment forces players to rely more on their spatial awareness, anticipation, and instantaneous understanding with teammates to complete their cooperation, with almost no time to think.

The continuous one-touch passing and the repeated overlapping runs of players without the ball will result in mistakes being pointed out and corrected by the coach without mercy.

It requires tremendous physical exertion and also demands a high level of mental concentration.

When players are exhausted, their off-the-ball movement, which is already easily overlooked, is more likely to slacken. Nagelsmann wants his players to be able to connect attacks even when they are most fatigued, relying on the muscle memory developed through training and the trust between them.

In addition, Nagelsmann also made a key adjustment to the formation and the allocation of responsibilities.

In addition to Yan Yuan on the right wing, he also further activated the role of Gnabry, the sharp blade on the other wing, who is fast, technically solid, and has sharp breakthroughs.

Gnabry also gained more tactical freedom and the right to fire on the left wing.

"Sergi," Nagelsmann called him aside, "you don't need to stick to the sideline. When you see Yan drawing a lot of defensive attention on the right wing, you need to be more decisive in cutting inside! Daringly cut into the middle; there will be space there! You have the ability to solve that problem!"

He gave Gnabry more freedom.

He was encouraged to not necessarily follow the conventional approach of going down the byline or making a cross when he received a pass or found an opening created by Yan Yuan drawing the defense; instead, he could cut inside and use his individual skills to attack the defense or take a shot.

This design greatly alleviated the pressure on the enemy to encircle and suppress Yan Yuan.

When one player is double-teamed, another player immediately becomes a new deadly threat, making it impossible for the opponent to defend against.

Gnabry's activity was like a sword of Damocles hanging over the opponent's right flank, preventing the opponent from committing all their strength to blocking Yan Yuan.

The left, center, and right lines are advancing in parallel.

The initial adjustment period was not easy, and there were frequent bumps along the way.

In group matches, it is not uncommon for overlapping runs and misunderstandings of instructions to lead to lost possession and missed opportunities.

Sometimes Yan Yuan would give a signal, only to see his teammates looking around blankly; sometimes his teammates would make a run, only to find, embarrassingly, that Yan Yuan had chosen a different approach.

But Nagelsmann showed surprising patience.

He kept calling for a stop, explaining, and emphasizing "let's do it again."

Nagelsmann allows players to make mistakes, but he will never tolerate repeating mistakes that are made without thinking or executing tactical intentions.

Yan Yuan's efforts are also evident.

He tried to communicate more proactively, and even practiced some small-scale one-two passes and positioning coordination with his teammates in key positions after training.

The wonderful combination of sweat, setbacks, and success brings surprises, allowing Yan Yuan to grow.

The effort was not in vain.

A few days later, with another high-intensity intra-team scrimmages before the league, the changes began to become noticeable.

During the match, the starting lineup launched another attack down the right flank of midfield.

Yan Yuan dropped back to receive the ball, and the player in the training vest defending him immediately closed in. Instead of choosing to break through directly or pass back, he shouted loudly.

"Demirbay, advance!"

Demirbay understood immediately and, following the route Yan Yuan had indicated, made a swift forward run into the open space at the edge of the penalty area.

At the same time, Yan Yuan suddenly accelerated and sprinted diagonally towards the baseline!

The opponent's defensive rhythm was instantly disrupted. They were torn between marking Yan Yuan and intercepting Demirbay's runs.

In that split second, the receiving midfielder understood immediately and sent a through pass without hesitation, targeting Yan Yuan's forward run!

The pass was a bit too strong, and Yan Yuan tried his best to catch up near the byline, but he didn't have much time to adjust the angle of his shot.

Just when the opposing defense thought he was going to force his way in or pass the ball back in a triangular fashion, Yan Yuan, while running at high speed, didn't slow down to observe at all. He only caught a glimpse of his teammate speeding into the penalty area out of the corner of his eye.

Immediately pass the ball back in a triangular pass to the center of the goal!

Almost simultaneously, a blue figure rushed into the restricted area like a cheetah!

boom!

A clean and crisp shot!

This figure is Amiri, the midfield maestro who makes a perfect run from the back of the midfield and seizes the perfect moment to sprint!

This fluid, seemingly practiced goal prompted Nagelsmann on the sidelines to give a rare, hearty lap of applause and shout with excitement.

"That's it! Beautiful play! That's football!"

The entire process, from initiating the attack from the backfield, to Yan Yuan's running and clear instructions, Demirbay's forward runs disrupting the defense, the defensive midfielder's precise and timely passing, and Yan Yuan's immediate and instinctive cutback under extreme circumstances, was remarkable.

Finally, the fatal insertion of Amiri's completely trusted command was executed flawlessly, without any hesitation or delay.

The team members' thoughts resonated in unison, and the transmission of information was completed instantly.

In this training match, Yan Yuan's threat on the right wing not only did not decrease but increased. He made more threatening passes and also reaped assists and goals.

More importantly, Gnabry's inside cuts and attacks from the left wing are equally sharp.

With the opponent's defense struggling to cover all areas, Hopp's offense displayed a pleasing three-dimensionality and a multi-pronged attack.

The players' positioning, eye contact, and subconscious coordination were noticeably smoother and more natural than in the match two weeks ago.

Yan Yuan was no longer a single node on the high-speed network. His insight and creativity began to be understood, trusted, and accurately responded to by more "4G teammates," and the tacit understanding among the guys was further enhanced.