Second Chances: Indonesian Football Player

Chapter 72's

It was Monday morning, the day before the RSCA Youth Academy semi-final against Borussia Dortmund.

Nero and his teammates got up and had breakfast before going to the gym for post-match recovery exercises and massages. The management of the academy has fully borne the costs for their gym activities during their stay in Riga. They can enjoy the facilities of Riga People's Fitness Gym in the days after their matches. Nero was satisfied with the arrangement.

The squad spent an hour in the gym undergoing a post-match recovery routine for Coach Sebastian. Nero diligently stretches using a routine foam roller that involves rolling different parts of his body slowly over the tube. Coach Sebastian says foam rolling helps reduce post-match-related muscle aches and pains, thereby shortening recovery time significantly.

Nero and his team-mates left the gym an hour later, feeling more relaxed after the massage session. They returned to the hotel by bus, chatting about the quarter-final match against Zenit. Even after an entire night, their euphoria had not faded. Most of them did not believe that they qualified for the semifinals.

Thirty minutes later, they arrive at one of the conference rooms at their hotel for Coach Marcel's tactical briefing. He has held a meeting to discuss strategy for the semi-final match against Borussia Dortmund.

Upon entering the conference room, Nero immediately saw a large LCD screen placed on a table in front of the room. It seems that, unlike previous meetings, Coach Marcel will use video analysis to explain the tactics he will employ in the semi-finals.

"Good morning to all of you" Coach Marcel said in a thunderous voice after the squad finished taking their seats.

"Good morning, coach," replied the players in unison.

Coach Marcel was half-smiling. "I'm quite happy that we've made it to the semi-finals" he said. He sat on the edge of the table in front of the room. "However, our work is still cut off for us. We still have to win the semi-finals and the final before becoming champions." He paused for a moment, letting his gaze pause on each player in turn.

"Are we together?" She asked.

"Yes, coach," the players replied in unison.

"Good." Coach Marcel nodded. "Winning in football is not just about tactics. It's not just about the game plan as we'll discuss in a few minutes. The most important thing is your state of mind. The focus and concentration you give in a particular game will have a real impact on your performance."

“If our intention is to win in the next two games and become champions, we must have the right mindset,” he continued while starting to walk around the seats of the players. "We have to stay focused for the whole game."

"Remember, the ability to focus makes or breaks our chances of success in a match. Scientists have shown that an individual's ability to build mental focus is one of the most important predictors of future success in life. So too in sports."

"The ability to focus on sports is probably one of the most significant drivers of success, along with hard work and talent." He stopped and walked back to the front of the room before continuing.

"Mental focus can make the difference between being mediocre and being extraordinary. This helps you avoid small mistakes that lead to losses in our matches. It helps us win the game. That simple. Are we together?"

Nero nodded along with his other teammates. His thoughts seeped into Coach Marcel's message. He can relate points about the importance of mindset and concentration in sports.

Players could only achieve true prowess when they fully focused their attention on what they were currently doing. If they let the distractions interfere with their practice or match, their performance will be severely compromised because of it.

On the other hand, if players focus intensively on the job at hand, they will unlock their full potential, whether in practice or in matches. Playing with a hundred percent concentration in tournaments will increase their chances of winning significantly. Just as the sunlight shines on the paper when focused by the lens, the player's influence on the game will increase dramatically if they maintain a high level of concentration.

"Maintaining focus is everything in sport" continued Coach Marcel, lowering his voice slightly. "In the game, we have to stay organised in attack and defence, for every minute of the game. We can take risks, but we still need organisation behind the ball. All of this requires a high level of concentration among you players. If you lose focus for a minute during a game, you'll make a mistake and give our opponent a chance like you did in the game against Riga." WEB."

"I will keep repeating this" continued Coach Marcel, raising a fist to emphasize his point. “For tomorrow's game, you have to play as a team, and more importantly, defend as a team. You have to stay focused and play every minute as if your life depended on it. When you lose possession of the ball and defend, be sure to mark open spaces and opponents. When you attack, run and be prepared to receive a pass from a teammate. Play as a compact unit to beat our opponents."

He stopped, turned towards Coach Sebastian. "Can you help us start the engine?" He asked his assistant, his voice sounding polite.

Coach Sebastian nodded before busying himself with the connection and placing the disc in the DVD player.

"Coach Sebastian has been stalking the game against us" continued Coach Marcel. "I want us to start our tactical session by watching footage of the match between Borussia Dortmund and Jong Ajax Academy." He smiled gently, turning around to check if his assistant had finished preparing the presentation.

Nero blinked as his eyes adjusted to the lighting of the screen. Borussia Dortmund, in yellow and black striped shirts, face Jong Ajax.

Nero focused his attention on the screen as one of the Dortmund midfielders made a quick switch from midfield to wing using a breakthrough pass that teased him with Mario Gotze, a player who led Germany to win the world cup. Not only that he saw a winger catching passes and playing one-two with a full-back, breaking through half of Jong Ajax's defence, he was Christian Pulisic, a spectacular winger who will play at Chelsea in the future. Defenders seem helpless against them. Their attack ended with a cross to the Borussia Dortmund striker in the box. The number 9 he also knew was Marvin Ducksch a future Werder Bremen player made a header past the goalkeeper and the ball entered the back of the net.

Coach Marcel passed the video on to other highlights of the game. A full-back performed a solo run close to the touchline, quickly entering Jong Ajax's half-court. He ran past the players so fast that they had no chance to react. He ended up whipping a spectacular cross into the box, finding their high centre-back head - someone he knew as well - Antonia Rudiger who headed the ball and scored, after sending the ball to the inside of the right pole.

Nero continued to watch attentively as Borussia Dortmund scored a third using similar tactics. He realized that the next opponent's wing play was incredible. Their wingers and wing-backs work together, running with the ball to deliver a cross to the striker.

"So what do you think?" Coach Marcel asked after the video finished playing.

Stefan Kvennson raised his hand.

"Yes." Yeah." Coach Marcel pointed at him.

Stefan smiled gently. "Most of their attacks came from the wings" he said. "If we want to win against them in the semifinals, we have to close that road."

"Right," Coach Marcel said as he nodded. "We have to make sure that the wings are completely useless when we face them. We had to face a cross from their wing firmly. That's the only way to win against Borussia Dortmund." He added in a firm tone.

"Borussia Dortmund have some good wingers who give crosses and clinical finishes that turn them into goals" continued Coach Marcel. "That's how they managed to reach this stage in the tournament. We have to keep our risk to a minimum."

"We can only achieve that by maintaining a high concentration against them tomorrow."

"I've made some changes in our formation to better handle Borussia Dortmund's style" said Coach Marcel, moving towards the whiteboard near the screen. "We'll play with a 5-3-1-1 formation tomorrow."

"As usual, we will play with our two full-backs forming a defensive line along with our three centre-backs." He stopped to draw a formation on the blackboard. "Our defence will remain the same as before with three centre-backs: Miguel, Larsen and Van Rochefort. However, we will use a defensive style of play based on the tight guarding of the opponent's wings. Kierst and Antonio, our full-backs, will be responsible for stopping the Borussia Dortmund wing-attack before they compromise our defence."

Coach Marcel stopped, turned from the board, to look at the players before continuing. "Ryandi and Stefan; you are our winger, but you will play as a midfielder with Isaac during the game. You also have to help wing-backs if there are wingers they can't handle." He went back to the board and drew a new position.

"Nero" said the coach, setting his sights on him. "For this match, I want you to play behind Bjorn as a half-assed and central midfielder."

Nero nodded silently, waiting for the coach to continue.

"When reviewing our match against Zenit, I saw that their long ball strategy could help us better with you in the team. You have good handling and control of the ball, and you are quick on your feet. You will be responsible for collecting the long balls and holding them long enough to create time for your teammates to form."

“I also expect you and rjan to keep the Borussia Dortmund defence restless as the rest are mostly focused on defence. The Borussia Dortmund coaches will be wary of your run and will not dare to put too many players forward. That's how we keep Borussia Dortmund's game at bay." He said as he finished drawing the starting line-up on the board.

"A question?"

No player raises their hand.

"OK," said Coach Marcel.

"Make sure you rest and eat well today. You won't do your best if you're tired. Let's play nice tomorrow." He spoke with a convincing tone.