Chapter 1 The Salad Bowl

The referee team led the players from both sides onto the green field.

Outside the tunnel, the Salad Bowl trophy shimmered with silver, its ten emeralds dazzling under the spotlights.

It symbolized the highest honor in German football.

After Hitler's demise, the Bundesliga resumed. Germany had just emerged from the suffering of war, and someone suggested the trophy be made into a large plate for serving food.

The coin toss ended quickly.

The players from both sides stood in their respective positions on the field.

With the referee's whistle, the match officially began.

The stands erupted with a thunderous roar.

"Wearing the red home jerseys are Bayern Munich, lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation."

"Goalkeeper: Neuer!"

"Left-back: Lahm!"

"Center-backs: Boateng, Benatia!"

"Right-back: Alaba!"

"Defensive midfielders: Kimmich, Alonso!"

"Attacking midfielders: Robben, Vidal, Muller!"

"Striker: Lewandowski!"

"Wearing the white away jerseys are Bayer Leverkusen, also in a 4-2-3-1 formation!"

"Goalkeeper:..."

....

Leverkusen had possession.

Havertz passed the ball laterally to Bellarabi.

The latter passed it back with his weaker foot.

The ball arrived at Li Kang's feet.

Bayern's pressing rhythm in the middle and attacking third slowed down instantly.

After the Real Madrid match, the whole world knew how to play against this Leverkusen team.

Two principles:

'Ignore him outside the thirty-meter zone because his teammates can't keep up. The midfielders and defenders should widen the gap to prevent through balls, and the attackers should try to cut off passes.'

'Surround him inside the thirty-meter zone because his teammates can't run into space. The midfielders should double-team and press, and the defenders should compress the space.'

That guy Kroos even put the tactical analysis on "Kroos Football Academy - Teaching You to Become a Classic Midfielder from Scratch."

It was just like that old "Park Ji-sung Teaches You How to Freeze Pirlo."

...

Leverkusen's midfield pressure was immense.

They couldn't complete passes comfortably at all.

Robben, Muller, and Vidal were strong at pressing.

But these three weren't following Li Kang; instead, they were scattered around, blocking passing lanes.

It was as if they had returned to that dark night filled with sadness.

Li Kang was isolated and helpless.

Losing possession was only a matter of time!

Old man Toppmöller looked worried.

But Dino was full of confidence, the draft paper on the tactical board... still soaked with tears.

Leverkusen's coaching staff had found a solution.

....

Li Kang's support was timely.

Kramer stumbled and shook off Lewandowski's entanglement, passing the ball to him.

Luckily, Lewandowski wasn't Benzema; their ability to interfere wasn't on the same level.

Immediately afterward, Leverkusen's teammates saw three rapidly changing hand gestures.

Li Kang easily stopped the ball.

He wasn't in a hurry to launch a quick attack; instead, he unhurriedly began to organize the midfield.

The phantom of the red and blue number 6 appeared in his vision from time to time.

Xavi.

There were no dizzying dribbling moves.

Instead, he maintained a slow-paced advance of the overall formation.

The ball was passed leisurely under the white jerseys.

The left-right distance of the entire central axis sometimes shortened and sometimes expanded!

"Reducing the running distance increases the passing options, forming a local numerical advantage, thereby reducing the opponent's high pressing!"

"This is Xavi's style, a way of protecting teammates' passing, reducing teammates' pressure on the ball, and thus completing the overall advance!"

"The weight of possession resources tends to favor the wings more often."

....

Vidal was dumbfounded.

He was Bayern's most powerful pressing point in the attacking third, but now he was a bit lost in this slow-paced, pressure-reducing rhythm.

These weak chickens have such bad passing skills, why have they suddenly become so difficult to deal with?

Using numerical advantage?

Why is Li Kang ignoring me?

He's giving me the cold shoulder!

...

The Allianz Arena gradually quieted down.

Bayern fans didn't understand.

We are the giants of the Bundesliga, the overlords of the Bundesliga. How could we be forced into retreating our formation by this turtle-like approach?

From the looks of it, it was too damn contrary to the laws of football, right?

Limit Li Kang!

That guy is the core of the midfield. If you don't interfere with his rhythm of passing, how are we going to play next?

...

At the edge of the field, Guardiola looked dumbfounded.

Two viewpoints kept echoing in his mind:

'Ignore him outside the thirty-meter zone!'

'Concentrate the attacking strength to press the passing points; Bayern is Barcelona's nemesis!'

On the other side, old man Toppmöller said nervously, "Damn it, if Bayern wakes up now and rushes forward with force in the middle and attacking third, our formation will collapse! What they are essentially best at..."

Dino quickly clenched his fists excitedly: "Boss, it's okay, Li has advanced to the thirty-five-meter zone, we need to speed up!"

The information gap between the coaching staff and the head coach is unavoidable.

Especially when there is a large age gap between the two.

....

With Guardiola's frantic hand gestures at the edge of the field, Bayern increased the number of players pressing in the attacking third.

Kimmich and Alonso moved forward.

Alaba and Lahm moved forward and inward, switching from wing-backs to defensive midfielders, enhancing the defensive depth in the backfield.

A perfect, flawless attacking and defensive transformation.

"Van Gaal and Heynckes have engraved the genes of how to deal with passing control into Bayern Munich's bones!"

"They are always the nemesis of passing control football!"

"A shocking force capable of blowing up everything!"

"Leverkusen is in danger; Li Kang doesn't have Busquets and Iniesta by his side."

"Even if he did, it wouldn't matter."

"Losing the local numerical advantage will soon be broken through; Van Dijk and Jonathan Tah's high defensive line is about to cross the center circle!"

There was no way around it.

In order to maintain the passing distance and the numerical advantage of the passing points, Leverkusen's defensive line had to move past the center circle along with the overall formation.

Bayern could endure in their own half for thirty-five meters, waiting for this opportunity!

....

Bender saw Bayern's menacing pressing net.

He couldn't pass the ball to Li Kang immediately.

In a crisis, he could only pass it back with his weaker foot!

Jonathan Tah steadily stopped the ball.

His defense was a pile of crap, but his passing vision was excellent.

His dark forehead shone brightly under the spotlights.

You Bayern guys have been beating me since I was in the youth team!

Even if I haven't seen a pig run, haven't I eaten pork?

With a snap!

The ball left the ground, drawing a rough arc in the air.

From the center, it went to Borges on the left!

Bayern's attacking pressing network paused slightly, unable to tilt over immediately.

That two-hundred-pound black fatty? How is he so smart?

What's the use? It's just a few seconds of struggle!

....

A chance to breathe!

The last chance to breathe!

If the Samba wing-back hesitated even slightly, the ball would be intercepted by Robben and Kimmich!

Borges was nervous; he had always been the opponent's "breakthrough point"!

There was no time to be afraid.

Dino's task for him in this match was very clear: Pass the ball to Li Kang!

....

Thirty-meter zone.

When the ball rolled weakly to Leverkusen's number 10, Li Kang sped up.

He wasn't increasing the speed of the pass.

But the speed of his run.

From God's perspective, Alaba and Lahm's defensive positioning was unsteady.

The weakness of Guardiola's Bayern.

The timeline of the two wing-backs moving inward to transform into double defensive midfielders, and then dispersing from the double defensive midfielders to the wings!

"Oh no, when did he pull to the wing!"

"Too fast!"

"This attacking timeline is too perfect! It hits Bayern's weakness hard."

"Lahm and Alaba, are they moving or not?"

...

Guardiola touched his bald head with one hand, his expression confused, and then a hint of horror appeared.

He understood what was happening.

He quickly directed Benatia and Boateng to widen the gap!

This way, Lahm and Alaba only needed to retreat!

It was still a horizontal line of four defensive points!

It was useless.

He didn't have a remote control in his hand!

And that Leverkusen number 10, galloping in the wind, was getting faster and faster!

Trading space for time!