Dominating Football with Perfect Ball Control

Chapter 86: 86. Being Targeted

Check out advanced Chapters on P@treon: [email protected]/CosmicKaminari

----------

The Bundesliga winter break was far from peaceful.

First, Cristiano Ronaldo finally defeated Lionel Messi, winning his second Ballon d’Or of his career!

Then came Lance’s explosive speech during his acceptance.

”I’m delighted to be recognized by the Puskás Award, but I hope next time I stand here, I’ll be holding the Ballon d’Or trophy!”

That night, Lance’s words ignited public opinion, sparking a debate between two factions of netizens.

”A 16-year-old kid is so arrogant? Does he think he can win the Ballon d’Or at 17?”

”Let him win the Golden Boy award first.”

”Do you know what the Ballon d’Or means?”

”Has he already gotten carried away?”

”He hasn’t won a single championship, how can he win the Ballon d’Or?”

Indeed, from the netizens’ perspective, Bayer Leverkusen had no chance of winning any championships.

They weren’t even contenders in the Bundesliga, let alone the Champions League.

How could a player like Lance, who hadn’t even completed a full season, covet the Ballon d’Or?

That’s something you don’t even dream of doing.

Of course, there were also many netizens on Twitter who supported Lance.

”If a young man isn’t arrogant, when will he be?”

”Support Lance! That’s the kind of dominance we like!”

”Handsome! Awesome!”

”Professional players should all have the ambition to compete for the Ballon d’Or!”

”Is Lance wrong in what he said? He’s indeed very strong!”

As for Lance, the recipient of the Puskás Award who had just stirred up public opinion, he had already returned to Munich to be with his family.

When Lance’s fans came to the restaurant, having heard of him, they were excitedly discussing Lance’s speech at the Ballon d’Or ceremony.

”Sir, your dishes are all served.”

”Thank you... Holy crap?! God Lance!”

The diners were startled to discover that the person serving them was actually Lance!

These people couldn’t even bother to eat; they rushed over to take photos with Lance.

This left Lance himself bewildered; he had underestimated his current influence.

”Go, go, go, hurry back to your small town for training, don’t cause trouble here.”

Every day, fans came to take photos and get autographs with Lance.

Everyone wished they could stay and chat with the star for a whole day, which led to a stagnant table turnover rate during peak hours.

The owner, Lu Yongping, couldn’t take it anymore.

His son was no longer the unknown he once was; he was a big star, and having him in the restaurant could indeed attract traffic.

However, it would also disrupt the dining experience of other customers.

The restaurant he wanted to open was not an internet-famous eatery that capitalized on his son’s popularity.

He hoped to retain diners with genuinely delicious food.

Lance was like a university student on holiday, returning home.

For the first few days, his parents doted on him immensely.

After staying for a while, everything he did seemed to annoy his parents.

Lance was bored away from football.

He returned to Bayer Leverkusen and began his winter break training regimen.

As the Christmas atmosphere grew thicker, while other teammates were busy vacationing and flirting, only Lance was still sweating profusely at the Bayer Leverkusen training base.

”98!”

”99!”

”100!”

Bang—

A tremendous force kicked the football, sending it hurtling towards the goal.

Unfortunately, the spin was slightly off, and it flew past the post.

Lance was a bit dissatisfied.

When his Rage Value was insufficient, if he didn’t trigger a skill, his normal shooting level was limited.

It was fine for easy opponents, but against top teams, world-class defensive lines, and the world’s top goalkeepers, Lance would definitely face greater defensive pressure.

The opposing defenders weren’t fools; they were the strongest defensive players.

The moment he shot, the opponent would certainly try every method to stop him.

Body checks, blocking the ball, pulling his jersey—anything to interfere with the shot.

Lance’s physique was not inherently advantageous.

In such high-intensity confrontations, he would expend more stamina, leading to his shooting form becoming more easily distorted over time, making it harder to score.

Therefore, Lance was consciously improving his shooting skills and consistently lifting weights daily to strengthen his muscles.

Unfortunately, during the winter break, Lance had no teammates to train with.

After completing 100 empty shooting drills, Lance lay alone on the ground, gazing at the sky.

He didn’t know how long he had been in a daze until his phone rang, pulling him back to reality.

”Lance, I have some news.”

”What news?”

”First, prepare yourself. The Belgium Football Association originally planned for you to gain experience in the U19 youth team before joining the national team. However... with your recent performances, they intend to let you try out directly with the senior team.”

”Ah? That sudden?”

”That’s right. In 5 days, on January 2nd, the Football Association’s training camp will begin. At that time, an official from the Football Association will probably inform you personally...”

Excellent!

When you’re sleepy, someone brings a pillow.

Lance was just worrying about not having anyone to train with.

Now, the entire Belgium national team would train with him!

Time had quickly moved on to 2014.

While domestic fans were still enjoying the New Year’s Day holiday, Lance had already arrived in Tubize, Belgium, at the Belgium national team training base.

”Lance!! Welcome! I apologize for this sudden call-up...”

Upon entering the base, the current national team coach, Marc Wilmots, was very enthusiastic towards Lance.

He didn’t look down on him because of his age at all.

As the current top scorer in the Bundesliga by a significant margin, anyone with a bit of intelligence would respect Lance and look up to him!

In reality, those awkward ’acting cool and getting slapped in the face’ scenarios rarely happen.

According to Jorge Mendes, coach Marc Wilmots strongly advocated for Lance’s call-up this time.

”Kevin Mirallas, who was supposed to play in the friendly, got injured, so we hope you can fill in. Also, get a feel for the national team’s training atmosphere and get to know everyone.”

”Understood. Shall we start training now?”

”Uh...” Marc Wilmots paused slightly.

”Aren’t you going to rest at the hotel?”

”No need, my physical condition is fine.”

”Alright, then follow me.”

Marc Wilmots had seen many big-name players who avoided training.

Rarely did he encounter a player like Lance who actively requested to train.

As soon as they entered the training ground, a familiar face waved at Lance.

”Lance!!”

”You and Kevin know each other?” Marc Wilmots looked back and forth between them, curious.

”Yes, we’ve played together since we were young in KRC Genk.”

”That’s great! You two must have excellent chemistry, right?”

Marc Wilmots was excited.

If his main midfielder and Lance had enough chemistry, they would definitely be a formidable combination in official matches.

”Emmmm...” Hearing the question, Lance gave a wry smile and shook his head.

In fact, during their time at KRC Genk, Lance and Kevin De Bruyne had played together many times.

Whether they teamed up for street football or played matches with friends from the training camp, it wasn’t that they lacked chemistry; it was more like they were completely out of sync.

Every time, Kevin De Bruyne’s passing ideas and his own running routes always went awry.

So, while their friendship was good, teaming up on the field always resulted in a 1+1 < 2 outcome.

”Ah?” Marc Wilmots felt he had gotten excited too soon.

”Hey, Lance, you’re here.”

Kevin De Bruyne was still the same, appearing very earnest.

”Yeah, I’m here.”

As the two chatted with Marc Wilmots on the sidelines, the burly, dark-skinned Romelu Lukaku, who was training in the middle of the field, and the world-class player Eden Hazard, who was gradually making a name for himself at Chelsea, stared suspiciously at the sidelines.

Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard were teammates at Chelsea last season until Romelu Lukaku didn’t get opportunities at Chelsea and transferred to Everton.

Within the Belgium national team, Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard had a fairly good relationship.

The first time they saw Lance, they couldn’t understand.

”How did he get here?”

”A 16-year-old being exceptionally promoted to the national team?”

”Eden, what do you think? I feel his skills are on par with yours.”

Facing Romelu Lukaku’s evaluation, Eden Hazard was expressionless: ”I’ll challenge him to a one-on-one later; then we’ll know.”

Lance himself couldn’t have imagined that on his very first day joining the Belgium national team, he would be targeted by ”King Hazard”!