Chapter 20 Obstacles to Becoming a Top Midfielder

Zhou Tiancheng's two consecutive hits in a short period of time reversed the situation on the field in an instant, so that Borussia Borussia's U19 players looked at Zhou Tiancheng blankly, and their minds were in a trance.

Compared with Zhou Tiancheng's complexion, what they want to ask more is, is he really...a defender? !

In their cognition, Zhou Tianchenglu's two moves are completely the work of midfielders and even forwards!

Even the number one player on the opposite side, Marin, was puzzled and apprehensive. When the two armies confront each other, in fact, it does not necessarily require a vigorous attack to destroy the opponent's resistance. Zhou Tiancheng's two moves are not so shocking on the surface, but This kind of reversal method beyond normal cognition really caused the other party's mentality to collapse instantly.

For Schalke U19, the second half became a downwind game with a leading situation. Naturally, with their background of winning three national championships, coping with such a situation is as simple as eating and drinking.

Neither team scored in the second half, and Schalke U19 finally made a good start to the new season 2:1. Zhou Tiancheng was elected as the official player of the game.

Although Jiang Hao sat on the bench for the entire game, he still gave Zhou Tiancheng a high-five with enthusiasm for the first time. Zhou Tiancheng could only smile helplessly at Jiang Hao's character. Anyway, he asked himself that if he watched the whole free game on the bench like Jiang Hao, it would be absolutely impossible to show his expression like this.

The first round of the game has crossed a hard stubble, and the Schalke U19 opponents in the next five rounds will be very easy, against Leverkusen, Oberhausen, SV Liebistad and Waldenschutt. They are all echelons ranked last in the Western Division-the strength of Leverkusen's U19 echelon does not match the strength of their first team. In fact, this club still has some achievements in youth training in history, but the strange thing is that in the past two years, their youth training has been interrupted, and the overall strength of players of the right age has declined seriously. They have ranked fourth in the Western Division for two consecutive seasons... But it is reciprocal! So they are no longer in Schalke's strong enemy plan.

Of course, the coaching staff will not deliberately underestimate any opponent, but according to the relevant information collected before the game, the strength of this Leverkusen U19 team is indeed not to be feared. To judge whether a youth training echelon is strong, a very important criterion is to see how many players have been selected for national teams at all levels. Measured by this standard, none of Leverkusen's U19 players has the experience of a German national team. Obviously this team is still the same as the previous two years, it is difficult to pose a threat to Schalke 04.

However, due to the suspension of the main defensive midfielder Jappa this round, Schalke U19 is facing a very real problem. Elgort decided to move Zhou Tiancheng's position forward in actual combat after careful consideration. The team cannot lack the thickness of the midfield.

In fact, Elgort was a little overwhelmed. Since Zhou Tiancheng was asked to change his position, it was not difficult for him to guess the needs of the team. He has long been ready to play as a midfielder. The premise is that he is closer to the opponent's penalty area. It was just what he wanted.

In the second round of the Western Youth League, Schalke returned to the home court to face Leverkusen. Elgert continued to choose a 4-3-3 formation in this game. Zhou Tiancheng became the key to connect the defense line and the forward line hub.

The first time he came into contact with a new position, Zhou Tiancheng’s performance was not as impressive as when he was playing a central defender, but it was still remarkable. Due to Schalke’s overall superiority in U19 strength, they have been suppressing the opponent on the scene. Bayer Leverku There were not many times when Sen entered the dangerous area. Zhou Tiancheng played very efficiently on the few occasions. He not only successfully isolated the threat for the two central defenders, but also used defense to lead the attack, while stealing the ball from the opponent. Passing the ball directly to teammates brings opportunities for counterattacks and truly embodies the integration of offense and defense. Zhou Tiancheng's leading level in consciousness will naturally not be ignored by Elgort off the court, but throughout the game, Elgort did not walk around with his eyebrows stretched.

...

"Zhou, how does it feel to try a new location for the first time?"

"good,

It's just...too tiring. "Zhou Tiancheng gasped for breath with his mouth open, and said intermittently.

Although his duty is to defend, it was only when he was on the court that Zhou Tiancheng realized that the defensive requirements of the midfielder and the central defender are not the same thing at all.

What the central defender requires is to quickly and decisively eliminate threats. To a certain extent, the sense of defensive position and timing are more important than physical fitness. But the midfielder is different. This position is full of physical confrontation almost all the time. Playing midfield for the first time, the weaknesses of Zhou Tiancheng's "telephone pole" figure were fully exposed. Although his overall performance was excellent due to his superior consciousness, he felt tired. Most of his physical energy was spent fighting against his body, and Zhou Tiancheng discovered an embarrassing fact: Even if the opponent player is not as tall as him, as long as he uses his upper body strength to squeeze close to his body, Zhou Tiancheng wants to make the next technical move , will be very strenuous.

He just said that he was tired. In addition to physical exertion, he also had a feeling of powerlessness that he had never experienced before. In terms of physical resistance, compared with players with professional training background, the gap was not even a star.

Elgort waited for him to breathe a sigh of relief, and said to him: "I don't need to say, you feel the most real, do you feel that you can't hold the other party, even if you get stuck in the position, it's embarrassing?"

Zhou Tiancheng nodded.

"In fact, there is really no problem with your awareness and position selection. I will learn from your position selection experience as a central defender. With your basic skills, you will be an excellent midfielder in the future. However, I don't think this is yours. Upper limit, you have a good chance of becoming a top player, but as you can see, your physical fitness is the biggest obstacle. The top midfielder can be short of height, but it must not be weak in strength and confrontation. French midfielder Makelele is very good example. The coaching staff has specially formulated a set of intensive training plans for you to help you improve your physical fitness. As far as he thinks you can make it."

Zhou Tiancheng couldn't help but have some doubts: "Of course I have no problem. As long as I can become stronger, I don't care about hard work and tiredness, but will it really work? I have never had this foundation before."

Elgort said with a smile: "Believe in our professionalism, you will gradually see the effect in the future."

After the team's joint training ended that afternoon, Zhou Tiancheng immediately came to the physical trainer's small room.

Lin Kong was a little surprised: "Good afternoon, Zhou. I thought you wouldn't come, but I didn't expect you to be so active. You made me have a little liking for Chinese players... What, what do you mean, let's start working today ?”

"Is it possible?" Zhou Tiancheng asked.

Lin Kong smiled happily: "Well, of course! But I hope you can persist in this process. Since you have chosen, you must persist until the end, so that you can benefit for a long time."

"No problem, I'm sure, don't worry."

Although Zhou Tiancheng was sure about it, he was actually a bit hypocritical about the Germanic people's famous devil training...