The new day's inter-squad scrimmage unfolded at the Hoffenheim Training Base, with sunlight bathing the green field as the players divided into red and blue teams. Oliver was assigned to the red team, still playing as a right winger. Over the past few days, he had spent almost all his free time practicing "Pharaoh's Curve," and the intensive practice had led to rapid progress in Oliver's left-footed technique.
[System Prompt: Pharaoh's Curve matching degree 94%]
Although his teammates occasionally noticed him doing extra training alone after practice, no one expected Oliver's improvement to be so significant. After the scrimmage began, the red team controlled possession, with Oliver frequently receiving the ball on the right wing, using his speed and change of direction to break through the defense.
The blue team's left-back was very familiar with him, knowing he usually liked to cross from the byline or cut inside and shoot with his right foot, so he always blocked his right-footed path when defending. However, this time, Oliver did not play according to his usual routine.
In the 23rd minute, a through ball from the red team's midfielder found Oliver in the right-rib area, facing tight marking from a defender. He suddenly stopped abruptly, gently nudging the ball with his left foot to create half a body's worth of space. The blue team's defender thought he was going to the byline, instinctively shifting his weight outwards. At that very moment, Oliver caressed the ball with the instep of his left foot, and the ball arced out a bizarre curve, bypassing the defender and heading straight for the far corner of the goal!
The goalkeeper had no idea he would shoot with his left foot, and the curve was so tricky that despite his desperate dive, his fingertips couldn't touch the ball. The ball grazed the underside of the crossbar and nestled into the net! There was a moment of silence on the field, followed by exclamations of surprise from his teammates.
"Oliver! When did you learn that move?!" Uth rushed over and put his arm around Oliver's neck, his face full of disbelief.
"Goodness, that curve of yours is too outrageous, isn't it? And you hit it with your left foot???" Gnabry's eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost.
Oliver grinned, not offering much explanation, but simply pointed to his left foot and winked mysteriously. On the sidelines, Nagelsmann was originally looking down, writing and drawing on his tactics board, but upon hearing the exclamations, he suddenly looked up and happened to see the ball enter the net. His eyebrows shot up, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, quickly turning to excitement.
He immediately beckoned his assistant coach over, whispering a few words, his gaze always fixed on Oliver. The match continued, but Nagelsmann's attention was completely drawn to Oliver. He carefully observed Oliver's every touch, especially his use of his left foot. In previous training sessions and matches, when Oliver received the ball on the right wing, he would either cross from the byline or cut inside to shoot with his right foot; he was rarely seen using his weaker foot.
But today, he tried to handle the ball with his left foot multiple times, and the quality, whether passing or shooting, was surprisingly high.
At halftime, Nagelsmann walked directly up to Oliver and asked straightforwardly: "Oliver, what's with that left-footed curved shot? I've never seen you use it before."
Oliver was prepared and said with a smile: "Coach, I've been studying Salah's match footage recently, especially his left-footed technique. I even chatted with him a few times online to ask for some details. After the last match against Liverpool, we followed each other, and he's a really nice guy."
A hint of admiration flashed in Nagelsmann's eyes: "Salah? No wonder the curve is so similar."
He then asked, "What about the success rate?"
"When I do extra training, well… out of ten shots, I can score six or seven," Oliver replied truthfully.
This was already a very good success rate. Nagelsmann nodded, then suddenly said, "Show me again now."
"OK, Coach."
Oliver returned to the right-rib area of the penalty box and had his teammates feed him balls from various directions. The first cross, he received the ball and curled it with his left foot; the curve was perfect, but it went just slightly over the crossbar. The second diagonal pass, he received the ball and adjusted his power; the ball arced out a beautiful curve, going straight into the top corner.
The third ball, the fourth ball…
After ten shots, he scored seven, five of which were absolutely in the top corner. The more Nagelsmann watched, the higher his Corners of mouth curled, and in the end, he couldn't help but applaud.
"Good, very good!" Nagelsmann's eyes gleamed with the light of a tactical fanatic. "This technique can definitely become an important part of our new tactics."
In the second half, Nagelsmann slightly adjusted his tactics, allowing Oliver to cut inside more into the right-rib area, creating opportunities for his left-footed shots. The blue team's defenders clearly hadn't adapted to this change; they instinctively blocked his right foot when defending, resulting in his left-footed curved shots repeatedly threatening the goal. Although he didn't score again, Oliver's several shots made the goalkeeper break into a cold sweat and even forced the opponent to change their defensive strategy. After the inter-squad match ended, Nagelsmann immediately called a meeting with the coaching staff.
"Everyone, let's have a short meeting after work."
In the meeting room after work, Nagelsmann said straightforwardly, "As we all saw, Oliver's left-footed technique has improved by leaps and bounds. We must utilize this; it's a completely new tactical template."
The tactical analyst smartly pulled up the match footage, specifically replaying Oliver's several left-footed shots from the training match.
Nagelsmann pointed at the screen and said, "Look at that curve; it's almost identical to Mohamed Salah's style. And Oliver plays in the same position as Mohamed Salah. If he can maintain this level of performance and utilize his weaker foot ability well, this will definitely be a formidable threat to opponents."
Kramer raised a question: "Coach, I have a question. After all, his weaker foot isn't natural, so will it be unstable in actual matches?"
Nagelsmann shook his head: "Kramer, seven out of ten shots, that success rate is already high enough. Moreover, his progress speed is astonishing. I have great confidence in his learning ability. I guarantee that with a bit more time, he can practice even better."
After some discussion, the coaching staff reached a consensus: to design a new offensive tactic based on Oliver's right-wing weaker-foot curved shot as a new offensive method. The threat of this tactic depended entirely on the accuracy of Oliver's weaker-foot shots. Specifically, it meant giving Oliver more possession opportunities in the right-rib area, while the center forward and full-back would create space for him, generating one-on-one situations or direct shooting opportunities.
Furthermore, Nagelsmann also decided to further unleash Oliver's freedom, allowing him to autonomously choose to cut inside or go to the byline during attacks based on the situation on the field, rather than mechanically executing tactics. The meeting lasted until late into the night.
As the meeting adjourned, Nagelsmann specifically called out the tactical analyst and instructed him:
"Vincent, starting tomorrow, focus on collecting data on the left-backs of our next Champions League opponents. Find their defensive weaknesses. We need to ensure that every one of Oliver's inside cuts hits them where it hurts."
Walking out of the meeting room, Nagelsmann stood by the window in the corridor, looking out at the training ground, and unexpectedly saw Oliver's silhouette walking back alone with a ball.
"Oliver is going back so late again..." Nagelsmann sighed softly.
He had discussed the issue of increased training with Oliver many, many times, but Oliver's answer was always the same old line: "Coach, my recovery training is also very good. I'm really not tired, you don't need to worry."
Nagelsmann liked young people, and he especially liked smart, exceptionally talented young people. Oliver not only met all the above conditions, but he even had one more: an almost abnormal level of execution and self-discipline. Nagelsmann only left after watching Oliver walk out of the training ground; Oliver hadn't noticed his mentor watching him.
"If a child like this can't become a superstar, then there's no need for me to be a football coach in this life."
Nagelsmann also silently set a small goal for himself: he must make Oliver a new superstar under his guidance. He had to be worthy of this child. Back in his dorm, Oliver was lying on his bed, scrolling through Mohamed Salah's latest updates on his phone.
He casually liked a post, then opened the private message interface and typed a line: "Today I scored in the inter-squad match using your technique. The coach and teammates all thought it was great. Thank you for your guidance!"
After sending the message, he put down his phone and stared at the ceiling, replaying every detail of the day in his mind. The feeling of his left foot was becoming more and more natural, as if it had always been his dominant foot.
He was just one step away from fully mastering "Pharaoh's Curve."
...
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