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

On the training field in Hockville, the weather was getting colder, but the chill could not dispel the heat emanating from the running and shouting.

The news of Spartak Moscow's 1-4 defeat had already arrived, and the cheers of his teammates at home still seemed to echo in Yan Yuan's ears.

When the entire team returned to the club, Gnabry, Amiri, and the others wore expressions of relief and satisfaction.

Both of them scored a goal and provided an assist in this Champions League match.

At the same time, they were even more grateful to Yan Yuan, and even felt a sense of indebtedness, so they made a special effort to apologize to Yan Yuan.

Yan Yuan didn't care about this and said,

"It's good that we won, why think so much? We can play together again next time."

He had his left arm around Gnabry and his right arm around Amiri, and the three of them walked back to their apartment from the training ground together.

For Yan Yuan, his life these past few days has been remarkably consistent: apartment – ​​training ground – weight room – apartment.

Watching matches regularly goes without saying; it's an old habit of Yan Yuan's. Improving his tactical understanding is a long-term project for him, and he can't afford to waste a single day of it.

The most obvious change is that Yan Yuan has added some new training focuses to his daily routine.

Every morning, while the Huocun training base is still shrouded in a thin mist, Yan Yuan's figure has already appeared in the quiet training base.

He lowered his waist, sat on his horse, held his breath, and repeated the ancient and smooth Tai Chi moves over and over again.

After performing Tai Chi several times, Yan Yuan broke out in a light sweat and felt much refreshed.

He uses Tai Chi to engage in a struggle with an invisible opponent, strengthening the foundation of his lower body and refining his coordination and stability.

The sun rose higher, the temperature increased, and Yan Yuan's main training session for the day finally began.

The sounds of equipment clashing and growling began to fill the weight room; Yan Yuan had recently become a regular there.

He has recently shifted his training focus to strength and resistance, gradually increasing the weight of his barbell plates, extending the duration of his core anti-rotation training, and increasing the resistance of his resistance bands.

Because the weight room was well-heated, sweat quickly soaked through his clothes, clinging to Yan Yuan's thicker latissimus dorsi and arms.

Beside the gym equipment, Yan Yuan gritted his teeth, fighting against the muscle soreness and the instinctive urge to escape.

"Uh...uh..." he exhaled breath by breath.

"Hang in there, kid, one more set!" Strength and conditioning coach Kabak encouraged the kid, looking at his flushed face and sweat-covered forehead.

"Uh...ah..." Yan Yuan gritted his teeth, his core stability being tested to its limits by the equipment.

"...Hoo..." He took a deep breath, tensing his waist, abdomen, and hips again to resist the applied rotational force.

Sweat dripped continuously from his hair, and his calves were so sore they were trembling.

In recent training sessions, Yan Yuan is no longer passively recovering, but actively seeking evolution; his goal is very clear.

The goal is to transform this body into a more resilient weapon, better suited to the high-intensity, close-quarters combat on the court.

In preparation for the weekend's match against Dortmund, and even more so for any future encounters with a formidable defensive wall, he must improve his physical strength.

During sparring practice, Yan Yuan also took the initiative to ask to be matched up against stronger teammates.

Facing experienced and physically strong defenders like tall striker Hübner and captain Vogt, Yan Yuan no longer simply tried to dodge or get past them with speed.

He began to consciously lower his shoulders, turn to the side, and position himself, trying to use his body to fight for space and protect the ball.

Although he sometimes gets pushed aside by taller teammates, and his body feels sore and numb after the contact, he never backs down. If he falls, he gets up, dusts off his jersey, and continues to go forward.

"Hold on! Be tight! Use your legs to block the position!" Nagelsmann shouted from the sidelines, holding a tactical board in his hand, but this time it wasn't marked with routes, but rather with key points of the confrontation.

This is a training course that Nagelsmann customized for Yan Yuan, and he is looking forward to seeing the results.

Once again, Vogt, with his stronger physique and lower center of gravity, managed to lean Yan Yuan behind him and steal the ball from his feet.

Yan Yuan staggered slightly, panting slightly.

"Huff...huff...again..."

He wasn't discouraged; instead, his gaze became even more focused.

He rubbed his arm, which was a little sore from the impact, took a deep breath, and once again asked his sparring partner for the ball.

"Again!"

"Again!"

"Yan! That's a fantastic breakthrough!" Vogt was outmaneuvered.

"Again! Captain, try a little harder this time!"

Yan Yuan was breathing heavily as he spoke, sweat trickling down his forehead to his chin and dripping onto the grass of the training field.

Vogt wiped his brow and said, "Yan, to be honest... you're really ruthless to yourself."

Looking at the focus and seriousness in Yan Yuan's eyes, he admired him and became even more dedicated to "giving Yan Yuan tips".

……

Repeating this kind of training is incredibly tedious and arduous, and sometimes it can even leave Yan Yuan feeling extremely embarrassed.

But when he deflects an interference with a more solid stance during a confrontation, or maintains core stability after physical contact and still completes the movement.

A subtle, fulfilling sense of self-confidence quietly grows within you.

Failure after failure, stumble after stumble, muscle soreness was a constant companion.

But every time he was pushed out of bounds, every time he lost his balance and lost possession of the ball, it fueled Yan Yuan's even stronger fighting spirit.

Yan Yuan's training time is still the longest in the team, and he is often one of the last few to leave the field.

This had become his instinct.

Just two days before arriving in Dortmund, Yan Yuan had just finished a set of extreme weight squats after a high-intensity strength training session.

He leaned on his knees, panting, trying to calm his wildly beating heart and burning breath.

Suddenly, a clear and unique perception welled up in my mind.

How to put it? It's like a dormant node deep within the body has been quietly opened up.

This is not a surge of overwhelming power, but a completely new and solid sense of control flowing between the bones and muscles.

The feeling of helplessness—being easily shaken and staggered in the face of confrontation—has been replaced by a profound sense of stability.

He could feel that his core was indeed much more stable than before, and his leg explosiveness had also improved significantly, becoming more powerful and robust.

The system emitted a long-awaited and genuine notification sound:

[Host's combat capabilities improved: C+ → B-]

[Assessment criteria: Significantly enhanced core strength, solid lower limb strength foundation, improved balance, and significantly enhanced stability during sustained combat]

An indescribable warm current, mixed with the sweet aftertaste of power, instantly surged through my limbs and bones.

Yan Yuan let out a sudden breath, as if a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He relaxed completely and sprawled awkwardly on the mat, looking incredibly funny.

He was panting heavily, but a genuine smile of satisfaction appeared on his face.

A B- rating, although far from top-tier competition, has certainly paid off with all the sweat and toil of the past few days.

This small step forward gave him a greater sense of confidence for the tough battle ahead.

……

The weekend match day arrived, and it was time for them to depart for Dortmund.

The bus traveled smoothly along the German highway, and the scenery outside the window gradually took on the unique industrial and steel atmosphere of the Ruhr region.

The pace of life in Dortmund is much faster than in the small town where Hoffenheim is located.

Yan Yuan sat quietly in his seat, wearing headphones, which played soft classical music.

He was relaxing and mentally rehearsing the scenarios he might encounter in the match, especially the high-intensity physical confrontations.

As the bus slowly approached the magnificent Westvalen Stadium, even through the windows, an invisible sense of oppressive sound began to permeate the air.

"How are you feeling, Yan? Is this your first time here?" Xu Buna, who was sitting next to me, turned around and asked with a smile.

As a veteran player, Xu Buna is already used to this place.

Yan Yuan took off his headphones and looked out the window at the increasingly close outline of the huge stadium, a hint of amazement in his eyes.

"Yes, Xu Buna, this...this atmosphere, you can already feel it before you even go in," Yan Yuan said, looking into the distance.

In the distance, the huge "Signal Iduna Park" sign is clearly visible.

But it is better known by its name as the Westfalen Stadium.

"This is nothing," Gnabry joined the conversation from the other side, cracking his neck, his eyes showing both seriousness and a hint of excitement.

"When you walk into the stadium from the tunnel, especially under the 'Yellow and Black Wall' in the South Stand... that's the real hellish experience. However," he patted Yan Yuan on the shoulder, the interaction between teammates was especially precious in the tense atmosphere of playing away from home.

"The most satisfying thing would be to play our game on their home turf and shut those voices up!"

After the bus arrived, the Hoffenheim players were led to the locker room to prepare, and then they gathered together in the player tunnel to prepare for their appearance.

A buzzing, unsettling sound echoed through the players' tunnel.

That was the enormous background sound created by the breathing, heartbeats, and anxious waiting of nearly 80,000 people.

"Players from both sides enter the field!"

The players from both sides walked out of the tunnel together.

At that moment, the true roar of Dortmund's home crowd came crashing down on us like a tangible tsunami!

Huge! Oppressive!

The atmosphere was even more terrifying than Anfield, which I had visited before.

Yan Yuan vaguely felt a light but not heavy impact on his chest, and his entire field of vision was instantly filled with a yellow and black color.

The giant stands surrounding the stadium were like a boiling volcano, with deafening shouts, synchronized slogans, and drumbeats converging into an overwhelming roar that assaulted the eardrums and nerves.

"BVB!!! BVB!!!"

"Dortmund will never fall!!!"

Dortmund's home fans are very enthusiastic.

The famous South Stand, known as the "Yellow and Black Wall," is now like the core of a hellish furnace, with fervent chants like war songs sweeping across every corner of the stadium.

Yan Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly, trying to adapt to the overwhelming home atmosphere that far exceeded his expectations.

This was the first time in his professional career that he had been here.

Even though he had seen it on TV many times before, the power he experienced firsthand was at least ten times greater than what he saw on screen.

His teammates, though also looking serious and tense, moved more naturally, since most of them weren't experiencing this situation for the first time.

"Alright, guys, wake up!" Captain Vogt's voice was somewhat muffled amidst the deafening noise, but his eyes were unusually sharp.

"Focus on what we need to do; our sole purpose here is to take victory!"

Yan Yuan took a deep breath.

He tried to imagine the deafening noise as a kind of pure background energy, and he moved his neck and shoulders, feeling the state of his muscles.

This is Westphalia.

This is where he is about to fight.

"It's starting," Yan Yuan heard Amiri whisper beside him, her voice drowned out by the loud background noise.

He nodded seriously to his teammates, and then looked up and surveyed the breathtakingly magnificent home stadium.

All the preparation and all the sweat were for the next ninety minutes.

The referee in the center of the field raised his arm, his fingertips touching the timing button on his watch.

The match is about to begin.

With both sides in formation, Yan Yuan slightly bent his knees, lowered his center of gravity, and assumed a ready stance.