Chapter 39 - 37: Discovering and Solving Problems

Chapter 39: Chapter 37: Discovering and Solving Problems

At seven in the morning, Suk arrived at the training ground.

When he got there, Suk saw that the fitness coach, Hartbachi, had already arrived and was setting up some training equipment on the field.

Suk immediately jogged over.

"Coach, I’m here!"

Suk’s cheerful shout marked the beginning of the day’s training.

"No rush! Go eat first!"

Hartbachi first glanced around the field, then spoke to Suk.

Suk blinked. "I’m not hungry!"

"Breakfast is important." Hartbachi didn’t bother to explain. He was an assertive coach.

Left with no choice, Suk jogged to the cafeteria and ran back about five minutes later.

"I told you to eat."

Hartbachi said with a frown.

Suk wiped some bread crumbs from the corner of his mouth. "I’m done."

Hartbachi raised an eyebrow. "That fast?"

Suk replied, "I eat very quickly."

Of the five minutes total, two were spent on the round trip, leaving only three minutes for eating.

First, he chugged a glass of milk, then wolfed down a sandwich. The egg at the end was practically swallowed whole. It was all about efficiency.

Hartbachi gave Suk a strange look. He had never seen anyone so eager to train.

"My training methods are different from others. Your specialized training won’t take too much time—one hour of high-intensity training, twice a week."

Suk blinked. "Only twice a week?"

"Twice is the limit. Young players shouldn’t overdo it with strength training, and you... still need to develop. We can only approach this from the perspective of promoting growth, and we must avoid all weight-bearing exercises."

With that, Hartbachi clapped his hands. "Alright, let’s begin."

Suk immediately nodded.

Although it was only an hour of training, Hartbachi was a professional, and his regimen was scientifically designed.

"Hug your knees, push off with the balls of your feet, don’t let your whole foot touch the ground. Don’t go too fast. You must maintain proper form."

Under the morning sun, Suk was at the edge of the field doing a ten-meter knee-hug walk. He wrapped his hands around his knees, propelling himself forward using the balls of his feet. The movement was similar to a duck walk, but it stimulated the calf muscles more intensely. He didn’t feel much at first, but after five meters, they started to burn.

Just as he finished the ten-meter knee-hug walk, Suk felt a burning sensation in his thighs and calves. As he tried to stand up, Hartbachi immediately barked at him.

"Don’t get up! On the way back, do lateral leg hugs. Grab one leg with both hands, step to the left, turn, step to the right, and repeat..."

Suk began the exercise as Hartbachi instructed, but before he had gone five meters, his legs were shaking uncontrollably like branches in a gale.

Sweat covered Suk’s forehead, and he clenched his jaw tightly.

Over a short distance of fifteen meters, his legs felt sore, burning, and tinged with pain.

"Five more meters!!" Hartbachi’s voice suddenly boomed.

"AHH!!" Suk roared. "Just get it done!"

With that, Suk continued the lateral leg hug walk.

"Your frequency is too fast. Do you want to do another lap?"

Because of the soreness in his legs, Suk had subconsciously picked up his pace, wanting to finish faster, but Hartbachi quickly reprimanded him.

Suk had no choice but to slow down again, breaking down the exercise one movement at a time.

When he had finally dragged his legs back to the starting point, Hartbachi said flatly, "Relax for ten seconds!"

Suk immediately stood up and frantically slapped his calves and thighs.

"So sore! So sore!"

It felt like no time at all before Hartbachi’s voice rang out again.

"Next! Heel-to-butt squat walk. Same movement on the way back, but keep your body leaning forward to add more pressure!"

Suk gritted his teeth, enduring the soreness in his thighs and calves, and pushed on.

Hartbachi’s training was progressive, meticulously planned, and purposeful.

After a period of load training, he would then intersperse other training exercises.

- Knee-Hug Walk (Out) – Lateral Leg Hug Walk (Back)

- Heel-to-Butt Squat Walk (Out) – Heel-to-Butt Squat Walk with Forward Lean (Back)

- Backward Straight-Leg Deadlift Walk (Out) – Skip Jumps (Back)

- High Knees (Out) – Butt Kicks (Back)

- Straight-Leg Walk (Out) – Side Shuffles (Back)

- Torso-Twist Run (Out) – Backpedal (Back)

- Full-Speed Sprint (Out) – Relaxed Jog (Back)

After four consecutive sets of this routine, Suk was already gasping for breath.

"Alright, warm-up’s over. Time for the actual training."

Next, they moved on to the formal training phase.

In addition to leg training, Hartbachi also required throwing exercises.

He explained that Power needed to be balanced; it wasn’t about training just one area but developing overall coordination.

For that entire hour, Suk desperately tried to keep up.

At first, Suk found it difficult to keep up with the intensity of the training, but he persisted.

Hartbachi nodded to himself in approval.

His training plan wasn’t rigid; he made minor adjustments based on Suk’s performance.

The goal was to make Suk’s body feel fatigued and under a certain degree of muscular load, but not to an excessive degree.

This was accompanied by jumping, stretching, and other exercises, all intended to ensure the resilience of Suk’s muscles and the flexibility of his ligaments during exercise.

After the final variable-pace running, Suk was so exhausted he collapsed right onto the ground.

Sweat dripped endlessly, and his legs ached so badly they felt like they were about to fall off.

Hartbachi walked over and handed him an energy drink.

Suk took it and desperately squeezed it to drink.

"Keep up with the morning team training if you can, but if your body feels exhausted, rest. Absolutely do not force yourself."

Suk nodded. "It’s fine. My body recovers very quickly!"

Hartbachi just smiled. He assumed Suk was just being tough; he’d find out soon enough.

Two hours later, Suk had participated in the entire morning team training session.

Van Stiake turned his head and said, "He trained this morning, didn’t he?"

Hartbachi was silent as well.

’What kind of insane recovery speed does this kid have?’

’He looked half-dead right after training, and now he’s full of life again.’

’I’ve heard that people from Asia have muscles with strong endurance. Is this some kind of racial talent?’

Hartbachi was already considering whether he should increase the difficulty of tomorrow’s training.

Of course, Suk felt tired. He had simply used a Status Recovery Card.

After all, he had just joined the team and still needed to integrate further.

Because of this, he didn’t want to miss a single training session with the team.

Besides, he currently had six Status Recovery Cards. Given the rate at which he was acquiring them, using two a week wasn’t a problem.

...

During the intra-squad match in the afternoon, Suk’s performance was not very good.

The Head Coach had increased the difficulty for him, assigning a player to man-mark him specifically.

This caused Suk a lot of trouble whenever he dropped back or made forward runs.

It was the same old problem: his body was too frail. Even in a normal physical challenge, Suk couldn’t complete a pass or receive the ball.

BAM!

Barton knocked Suk to the ground. The two collided as they went for the ball, and Suk, unsurprisingly, was sent flying.

"You okay?"

Barton walked over and offered a hand.

Ptui!

Suk spit out a mouthful of grass and immediately got back to his feet.

Barton looked at the mud and green grass stains on Suk’s jersey. He had no idea how many times he’d knocked the kid over.

But he had never seen Suk complain, not even once.

Almost every time, it was just like this: he would immediately scramble up and rejoin the training.

Even when a collision clearly hurt, he would just lie on the ground for a moment before getting up and continuing.

If it had been anyone else, they probably would have lost their cool by now, but Suk seemed to have no such problem.

"Suk’s weakness is still his physique. If someone is assigned to mark him, his effectiveness will be greatly reduced."

Van Stiake summarized as he watched the field.

As the Head Coach, he had to not only develop Suk’s abilities but also think like an opponent and find ways to counter him.

After all, if he didn’t, future opponents definitely would.

It was always best to be prepared.

"His physical issues can’t be solved overnight, but there is one solution: have Kosopech wear down the opponent, then let Suk play in the second half. That would give him more space to work with."

Van Stiake said, stroking his chin.

Assistant Coach Fandier replied, "Suk and Kosopech serve two different tactical systems. I don’t see any problem with your plan."

Van Stiake nodded. "Let’s go with that for now."

Meanwhile, on the field, it would be a lie to say Suk wasn’t angry. Being repeatedly challenged physically and knocked down time after time was incredibly frustrating.

However, he knew very well that losing his temper and complaining were signs of incompetence.

What he needed to do was find a solution.

Right now, Suk had absolutely no advantage in physical confrontations, nor would he seek them out. Therefore, he had to avoid them.

But a pass is out in the open for everyone to see, making it difficult for Suk to avoid contact.

The only solution was faster, more deceptive off-the-ball movement.

Thinking of this, Suk went to find Modric.

"Luka, when you pass to me, try to aim for the side opposite of my final feint," Suk explained. "After I drop back, before receiving the ball, I’ll make a feint as if I’m running forward to the left or right. You should pass to the side opposite of my turn."

Suk scratched his head. "The timing needs to be a beat slower, but you absolutely can’t pass it right to my feet."

Modric looked at Suk and nodded lightly.

He understood what Suk meant. This was all about avoiding physical confrontations as much as possible.

But this kind of passing chemistry wasn’t easy to develop. It would require repeated practice.

After that, Suk and Modric began practicing this type of pass coordination.

The moment Suk turned, Modric would pass the ball in the opposite direction.

But it was easier said than done.

Details like controlling the timing of the pass, managing the rhythm, and ensuring Suk could turn his body fully all needed to be verified through countless repetitions.

In any case, their play was not very fluid.