Soccer: Maxed-out ball control, the skill is too overpowered.

In the 2012-2013 season, Bayer Leverkusen finished third in the Bundesliga and successfully qualified for the Champions League group stage.

They can skip the qualifying rounds and go directly to the group stage.

During the Champions League draw,

Lu Xiao is still struggling to make the bench for the German Cup and league.

He hasn't considered the possibility of playing in the Champions League yet.

At 16 years old, he would be satisfied if he could play one or two cup matches for the first team.

Champions League? Don't even think about it!

So Lu Xiao simply stopped paying attention to the Champions League group stage.

But things are different now!

In less than a month, Lu Xiao has seized every opportunity and delivered phenomenal performances.

One goal made him famous overnight!

Lu Xiao has proven his value to the team.

The match will take place in four days, and the starting lineup may be determined tomorrow.

With two matches a week, Lu Xiao couldn't guarantee he'd be a starter.

At least, getting a substitute spot shouldn't be too difficult, right?

It's hard to imagine any professional player resisting the allure of the Champions League!

"Group list, where is the group list again...?"

The Champions League group stage draw results were released more than two weeks ago.

At the time, the news was all talking about it, but Lu Xiao was so focused on training that he didn't have time to watch it.

He quickly found the email notification from the club in his phone's inbox, which contained the Champions League schedule.

"Got it!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Group A: Manchester United, Bayer Leverkusen, Shakhtar Donetsk, Real Sociedad

Group B: Real Madrid, Juventus, Galatasaray, Copenhagen

Group C: Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Olympiacos, Anderlecht

Group D: Bayern Munich, Manchester City, CSKA Moscow, Viktoria Plzeň

Group E: Chelsea, Schalke 04, Basel, Steaua Bucharest

Group F: Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, Napoli, Marseille

Group G: Atletico Madrid, Zenit Saint Petersburg, Porto, Vienna, Austria

Group H: Barcelona, ​​AC Milan, Ajax, Celtic

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

With the Champions League approaching, numerous analyses of the 2013-2014 Champions League group stage have emerged.

Groups F and H are considered the "groups of death" in this year's Champions League.

The teams in Group F are quite evenly matched, and any of them could advance.

As for Group A, where Bayer Leverkusen is located, Manchester United will undoubtedly secure a qualifying spot.

Next, Bayer Leverkusen, Ukrainian powerhouse Shakhtar Donetsk, and La Liga side Real Sociedad will compete for a Champions League spot.

"Hiss... This is not a good situation."

Neither the miners nor Royal Society were easy targets.

Bayer Leverkusen also faces a tough challenge from Premier League giants Manchester United, making it very difficult for them to advance from the group stage.

Therefore, Leverkusen's focus this season is still on the league.

The club did not give the team any strict orders; how far they can go in the Champions League depends entirely on the team's performance.

The group stage consists of a home-and-away double round-robin format, involving a total of 6 matches against 3 teams.

After completing 6 matches, each match will generate at least 400 million euros in broadcast revenue and over 300 million euros in group stage prize money.

Each victory comes with an additional €100 million bonus, and a draw earns €50.

Therefore, for many small teams in fringe leagues, qualifying for the Champions League is considered a victory.

They didn't expect to go very far, or even qualify from the group stage.

Simply appearing in the Champions League is enough for these smaller clubs to make a living.

Leverkusen is slightly larger and has a relatively stable financial chain.

However, the several million euros spent on the group stage is still a significant source of income for the club.

The team's most expensive signing this year, Son Heung-min, only cost 1000 million euros.

If they have a chance to make it to the knockout stage, they will not only receive a 3.5 million euro Champions League prize, but also nearly 10 million euros in broadcast revenue.

The head coach's initial goal for the team is to try their best to make it into the knockout stage!

ding ding-

The phone rang; it was a group text message from Sasha.

Training resumes tomorrow in preparation for the Champions League. Tactical meeting in the morning, meet in conference room 09:00. Latecomers will be suspended for one month by the reserve team.

4 days later,

Bayer Leverkusen will soon face their first opponent, Real Sociedad, at home.

The coaching staff had already analyzed the opponent's characteristics in advance.

Since they had been preparing for the Bayern Munich match and Leverkusen's tactics hadn't changed much, they didn't need to do any targeted training too far in advance.

Before playing Real Sociedad, Leverkusen will have three days to make specific defensive preparations before they can play in the Champions League.

At that time, we will need to adapt to the opponent's tactics on the spot.

The coaching staff cannot develop very detailed plans.

In many matches, two teams that rarely meet will be very cautious at the beginning, slowing down the pace and using probing attacks to test the other's reaction.

Once you have a general understanding of your opponent's habits and match them with the pre-match preparations, you can launch a full-scale offensive according to the coaching staff's plan.

During his morning workout, Lu Xiao's mind was filled with thoughts of the upcoming Real Sociedad match.

In the afternoon, when it was time for his make-up class, he dragged his bicycle to school, imagining his first ever Champions League experience.

There was almost another problem.

squeak--

A sharp screech of brakes rang out, and Lu Xiao saw the familiar Porsche again.

"Why is it you again?"

"Uh... I'm sorry, I really apologize. I stepped on the gas pedal in a moment of nervousness."

As luck would have it, the person I almost bumped into was an old acquaintance.

The familiar Porsche was parked just 10 centimeters away from me.

Sweet Chloe got out of the car and quickly apologized.

Lu Xiao planned to push her bike across the road and then ride it to school from the other side.

At this time, the pedestrian crossing light was green, and Lu Xiao was allowed to cross normally.

Chloe saw Lu Xiao from a distance and wanted to slow down, but in her excitement she stepped on the gas instead. She only realized her mistake at the crucial moment and stepped on the brake to stop.

"Looks like you need to find a sparring partner to learn properly; this won't do."

"I'm so sorry..."

Chloe blushed and bowed her head, apologizing repeatedly.

Lu Xiao was completely baffled; this girl is a completely different person online and in real life!

Think about yesterday's newsletter,

After scoring the winning goal against Bayern Munich, Klaus posted several messages on iMessage, showing just how excited she was.

The girl blushed, and Lu Xiao didn't say anything more, as he had to rush to class.

"It's okay, it's good that you ran into me. Be more careful next time, relax, don't be so nervous."

"Okay, okay...Are you going to school?"

Chloe mustered her courage and asked.

"Yes. Class will be starting soon."

"How about I give you a ride? I need to go to class too."

"Alright."

It takes at least 15 minutes by bike, but only 5 minutes by car.

Lu Xiao simply handed the car over to Uncle Hans, the apartment security guard, and got into the passenger seat of the girl's Porsche.

Wow, no wonder it's a little girl's car.

The car was filled with different plush toys, and the whole car was permeated with her faint perfume scent.

Lu Xiao had just fastened his seatbelt and was about to chat with her for a bit.

hum-

With the roar of the 3.0T twin-turbocharged engine, a strong sense of acceleration comes rushing in!

The car suddenly shot off a great distance!

Holy crap!

Is that how you drive?

I thought she was a novice, but it turns out she's a hidden race car driver!

The journey, which was expected to take 5 minutes, took 3 and a half minutes to reach the school gate.

Lu Xiao's heart rate was probably already at 150, and he was still in shock.

Even yesterday's bicycle kick that sealed the victory against Bayern Munich wasn't this exciting.

Turning her head to look at the Barbie-doll-like German girl next to her, Chloe was still apologizing in a soft, cute voice:

"I didn't dare drive too fast just now, I hope... it won't affect your class?"

"No, no."

Lu Xiao hurriedly unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the door, and got out of the car.

I was afraid that this girl would suddenly step on the gas and crash me into the teaching building.

"Lu!"

After walking a few steps, the girl mustered her courage, opened the car door, and ran quickly to Lu Xiao, panting and her chest heaving.

"Um... after school this afternoon, could I... could I pick you up and take you home?"

Generally speaking, Lu Xiao would be more than happy to be pursued by a beautiful female fan with such stunning looks.

But they are about to face an important Champions League match.

Lu Xiao didn't want to appear in the news reports the next day because of the car accident.

"Sorry, I plan to catch up on the lessons I've missed after class, and then I need to go to the training base for extra training to prepare for the Champions League, so I won't trouble you."

Thank you so much for today, goodbye.

Lu Xiao made up a random excuse and waved goodbye.

Only Chloe, the young girl, remained standing there, her sapphire eyes filled with a hint of melancholy.

I thought Lu Xiao and I were already good friends.

It now seems that the two are not that close.

"Okay... sigh! I'll just cheer you on silently then. Lu, with your hard work, you'll definitely become a world-class star!"