Chapter 004 Four hours ago

Because he is present in real time

This is the reason why he is always watching the game from the sidelines during the first half

Without repeatedly watching the footage, how many people can accurately state how many times a particular forward broke through the opponent's half? Among those breakthroughs, how many were to the left and how many to the right? Who in the opposing team had the most touches? Among those with seemingly similar touch counts, who had the highest number of effective passes? In what appears to be a midfield of three or four players, who is the core player? What are the habitual movements of this player after receiving the ball? Do they first look to the left or to the right, and who are the corresponding players?

As an obscure youth football training program in Jiangzhou, it has always been far inferior to those in the Northeast and South Guangdong regions. However, it has recently achieved a series of surprising victories, coinciding with the commencement of the professional league, which has paved the way for Lao Chen to officially embark on the broad path of a professional coach

However, by that time he had already realized where his uniqueness lay

Bai Haonan, when he had no achievements in table tennis, would be scolded by his father in a fit of anger, questioning how he could not respond to the opponent's shots, wondering if he had a pig's brain. He could recount the entire match starting from the first ball, saying, 'Well, he did this, I did that, I was thinking this way, but he played it like that, and I couldn't reach it.' The second point was... He could ramble on and narrate the entire match in detail.

It is not certain that I can mention everyone; anyway, I will speak to whoever I encounter first, and in the end, I will stand in the position I have held for twenty years.

Bai Haonan sighed, realizing that he must at least substitute in for a minimum of 15 matches each year to receive his full salary, in addition to sharing the bonuses with the main players. Otherwise, he would face significant deductions. Therefore, when he took the field, it was either during garbage time to meet the quota or, as was the case today, he hoped to change something for himself.

However, when he began participating in various provincial and national youth football competitions at the age of twelve or thirteen, and gathered with hundreds of outstanding young athletes from sports schools across the country, Bai Haonan once again witnessed what true football talent looked like. He realized once more that he was still lacking in pure talent compared to those gifted in football.

Even though modern coaches have extensively incorporated video technology and coaches who prioritize their profession generally regard watching game footage as an important means of gathering information, Bai Haonan's ability to review and analyze remains unmatched.

Bai Haonan's mind is capable of articulating thoughts in a well-organized manner; this is partly due to his exceptional memory, and perhaps also to a unique logical thinking ability.

Old Chen truly did not expect him to dare say that, taking a deep breath, and looking at that expression on the coach's bench, about to explode in front of tens of thousands of spectators: "I f*** your M......"

Before the age of eight, Bai Haonan practiced table tennis, the national sport of China, with his father. His father, Bai Lianjun, was a table tennis coach at a youth sports school in Jiangzhou City, so it was only natural for him to take his son along, especially given that he was both father and mother to him. In fact, Bai Haonan had been picking up table tennis balls in the training room of the sports school since he was two or three years old, as far back as he could remember.

Thus, only Old Chen knows where Bai Haonan's talent lies

But Old Chen truly feels towards him like a father who is disappointed in his son, believing that Bai Haonan, who is clearly capable, could achieve even greater heights

Bai Haonan hurriedly threw away his training shirt and ran, saying: "Alright, alright, I know you are related to Bai Lianjun by marriage; perhaps I am your son after all!"

For him, life is just that effortless

Regardless of the formation in the match, as long as Bai Haonan is on the field, he will undoubtedly play as a defensive midfielder. The other midfielders will adjust accordingly to his role. Initially, Old Chen would explain the adjustments to the young Bai Haonan, encouraging him to communicate on the field. However, by the time he reached fourteen or fifteen years of age, Bai Haonan mostly took the initiative to perform on his own, as long as he pretended to have a brief discussion with Old Chen before the game.

The assistant coach has already rushed in to restrain the furious coach who was about to kick Bai Haonan. At the same time, another coach has handed the substitute list to the fourth official, and there happens to be a dead ball on the field, allowing Bai Haonan to quickly enter the field to evade Lao Chen's pursuit

Bai Lianjun even once considered sending his son to a sports school for Go or chess teams

Moreover, just like in previous matches, Bai Haonan whispered to every teammate he passed as soon as he entered the field: "Old Chen said you need to ... ... "

But today he really does not want to go up

Although he had never experienced such a moment of fear before battle, Bai Haonan still approached and, taking advantage of the outer training shirt, whispered: "I feel unwell, can I not participate?"

Bai Haonan, who has not read many books, has spent the past twenty years immersed in the world of football. He has become accustomed to observing the actions of the opposing eleven players, quickly summarizing insights during reviews, and then quietly reporting them to Old Chen, making corresponding adjustments.

Reviewing the game, this is a term used in Go. Professional Go players spend most of their training time not playing against others, but rather reviewing games independently. Some players go through famous game records, while others replay their own games, mostly following the sequence recorded by reliable sources. However, some experts can review games from memory, primarily referring to games they have just played. They can reconstruct the game step by step from the first move, recreating hundreds of black and white stones until they reach the final outcome. During this process, they analyze gains and losses to seek out experiences and lessons learned. This is an excellent method for improvement.

8:30 PM

Making the most of a seemingly trivial talent with utmost ease and freedom

Thoughts are just swirling in my mind, where exactly is the betting line for this match?

Moreover, he has been assisting Old Chen with reviews since he was young. When cameras were still an expensive gadget, his ability to conduct reviews provided Old Chen with remarkable support, enabling an obscure district-level youth sports coach to lead his team to win the national championship in the age group of teenagers twice in a row!

However, the rules for pursuing a professional path are quite simple; talent is an absolute prerequisite. Without talent, nothing matters, even if Bai Lianjun had once ranked nationally in his youth. Bai Haonan, in the third grade of elementary school, was outmatched by several peers, who had already begun competing in municipal matches in Jiangzhou, while he still saw no hope. His lack of control over the subtle movements of wrist tremors and spins left Bai Lianjun disheartened. In the realm of professional table tennis, no amount of connections can substitute for genuine ability, so he quickly transferred his son to a football team led by a friend. From that time on, Bai Haonan began training under Old Chen at the district sports school.

Because Bai Haonan discovered that he could review his games while still playing table tennis

Without him, there would be no Old Chen

Bai Haonan has trained for twenty years on an enhanced version of his talent for simple retrospection, which allows him to quickly organize the content he can review and draw conclusions to report to Old Chen

This is the reason why he is never worried about not being able to play and not receiving his salary

It cannot even be said to be football; Bai Haonan's athletic abilities are inherited from his parents, who are both athletes, and are truly better than the vast majority of his peers. He has grown up within the sports school system, where all aspects of nutrition and training are professional, allowing him to develop without taking any detours.

At first, Bai Lianjun, who might become a table tennis coach, did not notice this characteristic of his son. Later, when he realized it, Bai Haonan had already become enamored with football, and from then on, he followed Old Chen.

Because Bai Haonan is number 16, he has worn this number since he was 8 years old. While other children preferred to choose number 10 at that time, later competing for number 9, number 11, and even number 7, which could also be popular, Bai Haonan started off wearing the substitute number.

Fifteen minutes into the second half, Coach Chen stood up from the bench and made a fist and a bullhorn gesture towards the substitutes warming up over here. The other two or three substitutes were already quite familiar with it: "Nan, Coach Chen is calling you in!"

With the referee's whistle, the perennial substitute Bai Haonan stood in his unchanging position, but today he truly did not know how to play

If it is said that Bai Haonan's talent can be integrated with the player himself, Old Chen pondered for a long time and finally left a position for Bai Haonan as a defensive midfielder in his team.