Chapter Fourteen: Diligence Makes Up for Lack of Talent

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As soon as Wei Lai returned to the football academy, he immediately began his training. Without the extra training card, he could only enter the simulation space at night while sleeping, but he couldn’t afford to neglect his other training sessions during the day.

Casemiro had said that his fundamentals weren’t solid enough.

The Iron Wall coach had also made the same observation.

Wei Lai felt a bit panicked whenever he held the ball.

They all agreed that this panic stemmed from his lack of confidence in his basic skills.

Therefore, besides training in the system space, Wei Lai spent the rest of his time honing his fundamentals.

Basic training consisted of several key points: ball control, foot speed, coordination, and so on.

Ball control involved frequent touches—not just the basic juggling but also the smooth transitions after pulling or flicking the ball.

Coordination training built upon ball control, aiming to make his body movements more harmonious, enhancing his ability to change direction and shake off defenders.

Foot speed training was about increasing the frequency of touches, enabling him to handle the ball more times in a short span and create more feints.

But honestly, these skills were closely tied to talent.

Whether it was ball sense, coordination, or foot speed, each had its natural ceiling.

Some people were born with unparalleled ball sense, some with remarkable coordination enabling a variety of moves, and others with lightning-fast foot speed.

Wei Lai had none of these advantages.

The Iron Wall coach had suggested he train his sense of rhythm, but rhythm was an extension of those basic skills and had to be developed gradually.

After two hours of practice, Wei Lai sat on the grass, clearing his mind.

In his head, the Iron Wall coach’s figure appeared again during simulation training.

He moved silently across the pitch, blocking the opponents’ advances time and again.

Whether intercepting, tackling, or dueling, his small frame seemed to carry boundless energy. Wei Lai had never seen anyone like that before—it was truly startling.

As his nickname suggested, the Iron Wall coach was like an impenetrable barrier across the field.

No matter where the opponent launched an attack, he appeared swiftly at the spot to counter it.

If Casemiro was a fierce tiger,

Then the Iron Wall coach felt like a cheetah—

Swift and ferocious!

“Anticipation!” Wei Lai lay on the grass, gazing up at the clear blue sky.

The coach’s words echoed in his ears:

“Anticipation isn’t based on instinct alone, but on positioning yourself advantageously according to the current flow of the game, observing the opponents and teammates, and moving toward the most likely direction of attack!”

He understood the principle.

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But putting it into practice was much harder.

Not only did you need to read the opponent’s intentions, but also keep track of your teammates’ movements.

Indeed, anticipation and observation were inseparable!

The intelligence gathered through observation improved the accuracy of anticipation.

This demanded Wei Lai maintain constant focus during matches.

To be honest, he could barely stay fully concentrated for ten minutes in high-intensity games before his mind wandered...

And all of this required training!

...

In the dormitory, Guo Fan lay on his bed with his arms under his head, lost in thought.

Failing to make the first-tier team last semester had dealt him quite a blow.

“This year, we’re probably the ones going to the ‘Future Stars Cup’ nationwide, right?” Guo Fan suddenly turned to Yuan Kai.

Yuan Kai, sitting on a chair, turned around and said, “It should be us. After all, the first-tier teams will likely be playing abroad in the second half of the year. They hardly participate in domestic competitions.”

“This time, when we face Guangfa’s youth academy, we have to give them a harsh lesson!” Guo Fan clenched his fist. “After losing last year, Chen Shaojie was so smug, you wouldn’t believe it!”

“Their midfield is stronger than ours, so our possession rate was low—we were almost always on the back foot,” Yuan Kai paused before adding, “But it seems Chen Shaojie won’t be playing in the Future Stars Cup.”

“Why not?” Guo Fan turned his head.

Yuan Kai replied, “Didn’t you see the report? He went to ‘Green Lions’ as a foreign aid player. They’re going abroad to play in the second half of the year!”

“Damn! Why does everyone keep going abroad?” Guo Fan grumbled.

He felt anxious. These guys were all growing fast and adapting to the intensity of overseas competitions.

Guo Fan was somewhat known in youth training circles, but he always felt that the gap between himself and that small group of top players was widening.

That was what troubled him most.

“Aren’t those first-tier guys ever injured?” Guo Fan groaned, lying back on his bed, feeling a headache coming on.

When players in the first tier got injured, the team would promote some from the second tier to fill in temporarily.

As an elite team, the first tier strictly limited its roster to fifteen players.

But these fifteen seemed like iron men.

“I want to play abroad too!” Guo Fan lamented.

Yuan Kai and Hao Shuai were silent—they shared Guo Fan’s feelings.

After entering the second-tier team, their mindsets had changed.

This was no longer just casual practice or experimentation—they all wanted to push toward the professional level.

But the Willi Football Academy maintained a strict hierarchy.

Want to play high-intensity matches abroad?

Then first rise to the first tier. If you can’t even master domestic play, going abroad will only bring shame!

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Creak!

The door opened.

At that moment, Wei Lai walked in, kicking a black plastic bag along.

Once inside the dorm, he reached into the bag and pulled out a bright red apple, tossing it with a flick.

“Catch!” Guo Fan caught it with one hand. “Nice pass!”

He wiped it briefly on his shirt and took a big bite.

“Really sweet!”

The others also got apples and all thanked Wei Lai.

“Where were you? You vanished after training,” Guo Fan said, finishing the apple down to the core and flicking it precisely into the trash bin.

Wei Lai replied, “Training!”

Guo Fan then noticed Wei Lai’s soaked training shirt and the rivulets of sweat carving lines on his face.

Munching on the apple, Wei Lai said, “I’m not like you guys—I don’t have much talent. Hard work makes up for shortcomings. Heaven rewards diligence. I have to train more to catch up with you.”

Guo Fan said, “You play well. In the promotion match, you were marking me one-on-one!”

Wei Lai shrugged, “Just got lucky!”

Guo Fan blinked and suddenly leapt off the bed with a somersault that made the bed creak.

Like a nimble monkey, he scrambled down the stairs and stood right in front of Wei Lai.

“Wei Lai, tell me—how do you know when I’m about to make a move?”

Wei Lai turned to look at Guo Fan. “You haven’t noticed yet?”

“Noticed what?” Guo Fan was puzzled.

Wei Lai grinned; he thought Guo Fan would have caught on but was surprised by how slow he was.

He held up two fingers pointing to his own eyes.

“Your eyes! When you start, you subconsciously first confirm the direction you’re going to move, then look down at the ball.”

Guo Fan was surprised: “Do I really play like that?”

Then he looked at Yuan Kai and Hao Shuai.

Both immediately shook their heads.

“We have no idea!”

“How did you figure it out?” Guo Fan leaned in again.

“...Just observed a few times from the bench,” Wei Lai casually brushed it off.

In fact, it was Old Chen who noticed the issue. Wei Lai had suffered quite a bit trying to correct it.