Chapter 24: Coverage and Positioning

"Wei Lai? Wei Lai?"

Wei Lai jolted awake once more.

Guo Fan, holding his mess tin, looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Why do you keep spacing out?"

Wei Lai waved his hand dismissively. "I was thinking about the match."

"Oh, the third and fourth games?"

Wei Lai nodded, his expression heavy. "Once they shifted their attacking lines, I found myself unable to keep up."

"Give me a break!" Guo Fan looked at Wei Lai and shook his head. "Buddy, you're not a god. What are teammates for? That wasn't on you."

"The Ma brothers were just having a family feud; the younger one getting pummeled by the older one has nothing to do with you." Guo Fan gave him a thumbs-up. "In the first two rounds, your performance was absolutely top-tier!" He added with a grin, "I’m sure Wang Xiaomiao is dreaming about you tonight."

Wei Lai sighed. It wasn't about whose fault it was. It was the fact that he knew it was possible to stop them.

Wei Lai stood up abruptly.

"Where are you going?"

Wei Lai turned back. "To sleep."

Guo Fan, his mouth full of rice, looked up at the clock. "It's only six o'clock!"

***

Wei Lai forced himself to sleep. Perhaps due to the heavy physical exertion, he entered the simulation space quite easily.

Wei Lai sat cross-legged on the ground, pouring out his frustrations. The Iron Wall Coach standing nearby remained silent, yet Wei Lai felt as though the man was smiling.

"You're laughing, aren't you?" Wei Lai asked, looking up.

The Iron Wall Coach chuckled. "I’m just feeling very gratified."

"Gratified?" Wei Lai was confused.

"Exactly!" The Iron Wall Coach let out a breath and asked, "So far, in our advanced sessions, we’ve been studying observation, prediction, and reading the game. But what do you think the ultimate goal is? Or rather, what is the final objective of a defensive midfielder?"

Wei Lai began to ponder. He was already doing well with chasing and pressing. His tactical coordination was shaping up nicely, and he could make precise judgments on tackles and interceptions. After the advanced training on observation, prediction, and reading the game, his skills had improved significantly.

Yet, he felt something was missing. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it left him feeling unsatisfied.

"What was the advanced curriculum again?" Wei Lai tilted his head. "Defensive observation, defensive prediction, defensive reading, and..."

*Snap!*

The Iron Wall Coach clicked his fingers. "Coverage!"

"Defensive coverage means stepping outside your assigned defensive zone and incorporating multiple areas into your own defensive map."

"Currently, your area of control is limited to your own zone—the left half of your team's side. You’ve turned that into your defensive territory, but that is a rigid way of thinking." The Iron Wall Coach spoke slowly. "Football relies on positional awareness because it is a team sport; everyone has different responsibilities that form a collective whole."

"If the ultimate template for a midfielder is a box-to-box player, then for a defensive midfielder, your goal is coverage."

Wei Lai blinked. "So, you mean I need to expand my defensive zone until it covers the entire pitch?"

"No, no, no!" The Iron Wall Coach waved his hands repeatedly. "That’s not something a human can do. If you're in the attacking third, how can you cover the defensive third?"

"Then what should I do?" Wei Lai asked.

The Iron Wall Coach smiled. "Abandon the concept of zones. Establish a new defensive map with yourself as the center. That is the importance of positioning."

"This allows you to constantly change your defensive area while you run. Since you are always chasing the ball, the ball remains within your defensive range." The Iron Wall Coach tapped his own head. "Don't let your mind become rigid. Open it up, imagine boldly, and shed the constraints of fixed positions. That is how you achieve coverage."

"Of course, this relies on observation, prediction, and reading the game—these are key. Only then can you achieve true, meaningful coverage."

"That is the significance of this lesson," the Iron Wall Coach said slowly. "Defensive coverage: transform yourself into a moving wall."

***

The next morning.

Yang Fan lay flat on the ground, breathing like a bull. He Chao was leaning on his knees, large beads of sweat rolling down his face.

"Is he... is he part ox?" Yang Fan panted intermittently. "What kind of endurance is that? I nearly died just finishing one set, and this guy... this guy calls that a warm-up?"

He Chao was also gasping for air. He watched as Wei Lai continued to run laps, sprinting every now and then. He himself was already exhausted, yet this guy was still going.

He Chao had always considered himself a genius. Even regarding Xiang Ming, with his exceptional ball control and stunning dribbling, He Chao never felt there was a significant gap. But with Wei Lai, he felt an immense pressure—a gap that he couldn't bridge no matter how hard he tried.

"He must have... unique, innate talent in terms of endurance," He Chao shook his head. He was a beneficiary of talent himself, so he wouldn't dismiss the role of hard work, but he knew his own natural ball feel and shooting ability were gifts. Similarly, Wei Lai possessed an insurmountable natural advantage in endurance.

"You guys done running?" Wei Lai jogged over, wiping away sweat.

"Run more? You want me to drop dead right here?" Yang Fan pointed at Wei Lai, looking helpless. "Where on earth do you get this bull-like energy?"

He Chao also shook his head. "I can't keep up. I'm not going to force it."

Wei Lai nodded, then suddenly asked, "Do you know about 'coverage'?"

"Coverage? Covering what?" Yang Fan looked at Wei Lai.

Wei Lai ignored him; it was clear Yang Fan didn't know.

He Chao looked at Wei Lai and said, "Have you already reached that stage?"

Wei Lai replied, "I want to try."

He Chao nodded. "To be honest, I only know the theory; I'm not entirely clear on it. You should ask Head Coach Chen; he should know more about it than I do."

"Old Man Chen? He knows this stuff?" Yang Fan curled his lip. "Isn't he only good at yelling at people?"

He Chao replied, "Coach Chen has been rooted in youth training for decades. He was rehired as head coach at the Weili Football School at the age of 70. Do you really think he has no substance?"

Wei Lai nodded, keeping that in mind. During last night's training, the Iron Wall Coach had explained a lot, but it was all very profound. Wei Lai had been left utterly confused. He knew the Iron Wall Coach understood these concepts and theories perfectly—even to the point of being able to demonstrate them personally—but Wei Lai just couldn't grasp it.

The specific theories were clear enough, but he couldn't bridge a certain gap in his understanding. The Iron Wall Coach had demonstrated and explained repeatedly, but the more he explained, the more confused Wei Lai became. It was as if it were a simple problem with a very simple solution, but the Iron Wall Coach was a university professor and Wei Lai was an elementary school student. After a barrage of advanced mathematics and calculus, Wei Lai was completely lost.

He needed someone to explain it to him in the simplest, most practical way possible.