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

Stuttgart 1-2 Bayern Munich

Werder Bremen 0-2 Bayer Leverkusen

Bayern Munich still holds a 4-point lead in securing the Bundesliga winter title, with Bayer Leverkusen close behind.

Compared to the Premier League's packed schedule during the December Christmas season,

Germany, located at a higher latitude, experiences slightly colder winters. Their winter break is a bit longer than that of Serie A and La Liga, allowing players at least three weeks of rest.

After playing Werder Bremen, the team took a bus back to the small town of Bayer Leverkusen that evening.

They then disbanded at the club's training base, and the next time they would meet was during the winter break training camp.

"I'm putting it this way: anyone who dares to mess around during the holidays and fails the physical tests will be spending the rest of the season on the bench!"

Sasha threatened seriously.

As professional athletes, it's understandable that they might indulge themselves a little during their holidays, going to nightclubs or not paying attention to a healthy diet.

After the holiday, it's easy to have a high body fat percentage, which can ultimately affect your competitive performance.

The Bayer Leverkusen players are all young, and they're most likely to let loose during the holidays.

When I came back, everyone looked noticeably rounder, which really annoyed me as a coach.

The only person we can truly trust among them is probably Lu Xiao.

Everyone else avoided training like the plague, wishing they could slack off during formal training sessions, such as Julian Brandt.

Lu Xiao is the only player Sasha has ever seen who voluntarily asks for extra training, and he also strictly controls his diet.

A 16-year-old boy who doesn't even drink carbonated beverages or touch beer.

Such extreme self-discipline is terrifying!

Sasha wasn't worried about him at all.

Sure enough, after the group disbanded, Lu Xiao took the initiative to find Sasha.

"Coach, can I use the club's training facilities during the winter break?"

"Wait a minute? Aren't you going on vacation with your family?"

"I estimate it will only be a few days; we don't celebrate Christmas. After spending a few days with them, I still want to find a place to train seriously."

Lu Xiao was not pretending; he genuinely wanted to become stronger.

Cheats are, after all, external forces that appear out of nowhere. If one relies entirely on cheats while doing nothing, it's unwise to simply accept it.

It would really be a waste of the system's favor.

The [Nagi Seishiro template] has effects that extend beyond the battlefield.

This will also affect Lu Xiao's ball control during training.

At the beginning of his time at Genk and Bayern Munich, Lu Xiao's talent on the training ground was limited, and his ball control was only so-so.

However, after activating the template, Lu Xiao seemed to have a breakthrough.

Without using the system's power, relying solely on his own ball sense training, he seemed to subtly sense that his physical strength was improving!

Imagine that one day, the system suddenly disappears, just as it appeared out of nowhere.

Lu Xiao shouldn't have fallen from a top player to a roadside player.

Train hard, strive to become stronger.

Lu Xiao still has the potential to become a world-class star!

In football, or any sport in general, the ultimate goal has never been winning a championship.

Instead, they constantly challenge their limits and become stronger!

After the team disbanded, Lu Xiao also talked about it with his parents.

"When are you coming back? We won't be going back to China this year; we'll spend the rest of the year in Munich."

When your season ends and you have summer vacation, let's go back to our hometown together to visit our families.

"I'm driving back today. I estimate I'll only be staying for about a week. After that, I want to go back to Leverkusen to train and improve my skills."

"Huh? Can't we stay a few more days? Aren't the Bundesliga winter break supposed to be quite long?"

Zhao Ping thought she would be able to spend more time with her child.

The Chinese restaurant has been doing brisk business lately, and even with the addition of two international students to work, they are still overwhelmed with customers.

If Leverkusen had a small population, they would even have considered opening a branch there.

They've already decided to open a store in Cologne.

Many of the customers came specifically because of Lu Xiao.

People working or studying in Germany learned about Lu Xiao's story and found out about his family's Chinese restaurant.

People came from all over Germany, and even from all over Europe, to show their support.

People originally just wanted to support Lu Xiao.

Unexpectedly, the restaurant was really delicious. The head chef and partner had many years of experience in well-known restaurants in Shunde, and perfectly reproduced the flavor of Cantonese cuisine.

These travelers, far away in Germany, almost cried while eating.

I wish I could visit every day.

This has led to an increasing number of regular customers, as well as more new customers coming from far and wide. Reservations for the restaurant are even booked a month in advance.

Lu Yongping and Zhao Ping had originally planned to take some time to go to Bayer Leverkusen to watch their children's match.

I haven't had time to go yet.

Even on the day of the Allianz Arena match, they can only see their child's perfect performance on the field on television.

Lu Yongping snatched the phone away.

"Alright, come back here first. Don't mind what your mother said. Now is a crucial period for consolidating the foundation and improving strength. Strengthening training is a good thing."

"Let's see each other for as many days as we can when we get back. We're not that far apart anyway, and I can come visit you whenever I have time."

"I think you just don't care about your son."

"How could I not feel sorry for you?"

"snort!"

Well, they've started again.

Lu Xiao hung up the phone immediately.

They appear to be arguing, but in reality, they're an old married couple who are incredibly affectionate.

Lu Xiao returned to her apartment without bringing much; she simply grabbed a bag and prepared to head to Munich.

At most, he might win a few Champions League and Bundesliga MVP awards, which he'll leave to be displayed at his Chinese restaurant.

Before Lu Xiao could finish packing,

I received another call from my agent.

It wasn't his personal agent or assistant, Harry Kane, but Jorge Mendes himself!

The fact that he called personally means it's probably something important.

Sure enough, when the call connected, Mendes sounded very happy.

"Hey!! My favorite player, Lue!"

This has become Mendes's standard opening line.

Perhaps Mendes' favorite player was indeed Cristiano Ronaldo before.

But now, Lu Xiao is definitely a rising star with great potential, and Mendes may not be joking.

"Mr. Mendes?"

"Here's the thing, the Armani custom-made suit has arrived. Harry will deliver it to you later and check if any adjustments are needed."

"So fast?"

Lu Xiao remembered that he had only recently signed with Armani, and that it would take at least a month to make a custom-made suit.

"That's right, because we're attending a formal occasion next week, and you'll need a suit."

Mendes knew very well that Lu Xiao's wardrobe contained no formal wear other than the standard suits issued by Bayer Leverkusen.

He usually wears training clothes.

They usually dress in sporty and casual styles, so they can't exactly go on stage in a sports T-shirt, can they?

"Huh? A formal occasion?"

"Yes, the Golden Globe Awards ceremony is next week, and the Puskás Award will be presented during that time."

Since you're 100% certain you'll receive the award, we absolutely have to have you go up there.

Lu Xiao then realized that he seemed to have indeed swept the top three spots in the Puskás Prize.

This is the first time such a situation has occurred in the few years since the Puskás Prize was established.

Because the selection was based on goals scored, not players.

During official matches, selected highlight goals are uploaded to the official website for voting by netizens worldwide.

As a result, all three of Lu Xiao's goals were of an exceptionally high standard.

It will be hard to surpass other goals scored this year.

Lu Xiao's three goals gave him a commanding lead, effectively ending any suspense in this year's awards ceremony.

"Perfect timing, Cristiano will be there too. I'll introduce you two; he's been wanting to talk to you face-to-face for a while now."

Uh... Ronaldo wants to see me?

Lu Xiao was indeed quite surprised.

However, all the world's top football stars will be gathered at the event.

Lu Xiao has the perfect opportunity to chat and exchange ideas with superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar, Bale, and Xavi.

I'm actually quite looking forward to it.

Unfortunately, he only played for less than a season as a professional player, and he didn't even make the top 30 for the Ballon d'Or.

"I wonder if I'll have a chance to be one of the 30 candidates next year?"

Lu Xiao couldn't help but imagine the moment he would stand on the stage and lift the Golden Globe trophy.