Chapter 1

[Franz Beckenbauer]: Ladies and gentlemen, I've been practicing the libero tactic lately, trying to balance defense and midfield connection, but I can't seem to find a balance. When I push forward to participate in the attack, the gaps in the defense are too large, and the opponent can easily break through the defense with a counter-attack. If I stick to the defense, I can't play the role of midfield connection, and the attack lacks coordination. Do you have any solutions?

[Johann Cruyff]: @Franz Beckenbauer, your problem is that you have a very vague understanding of the role of a libero! A libero should not be limited to "defense + linking up" but should be integrated into a total football system, allowing midfielders to drop back and cover, while you move forward, the center-backs move forward to fill the gaps, and at the same time the full-backs drop back to form a defensive loop. This way, you can participate in the attack and also hold the line.

[Diego Maradona]: What are you guys talking about? It's so simple. Just define the best player on the team as a libero, then give him the ball and let him break through. Wouldn't that solve the problem?

2017, October.

Fuzhou, Fujian.

The Fujian Tianxin team's rest area outside the training field.

Wu Bin sat on the cold stone steps, holding a smartphone in his hand. The screen displayed a chat history of a QQ group. He couldn't help but roll his eyes, a mocking smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"These people are getting way too into character..."

He stuffed his phone into his sportswear pocket, glanced in the direction of the training field, and shook his head.

No one knew that Wu Bin was not from this era.

He comes from 2026 and is a veteran football fan who stays up all night watching all the major leagues, the World Cup, and the European Championship. He has a thorough understanding of historical football tactical innovations and player development.

An accident transported him back nearly ten years, making him an 18-year-old fringe substitute player for the Fujian Tianxin team.

Originally, becoming a professional player was Wu Bin's dream, but it's clear that his time travel didn't go as planned.

What level of team is Fujian Tianxin?

Not even in League Two!

They have only recently become a professional club and are preparing to embark on their journey to promotion to League Two.

Even in such a team, Wu Bin couldn't get playing time.

Although the players on the team are not particularly skilled, they were all recruited from professional teams across the country.

Wu Bin, on the other hand, was a player that the club forced into the team to include local players, meaning he was a "local" player.

He plays as a defensive midfielder, but he is as thin as a sheet of paper and falls over easily in duels. His defensive skills are ridiculously rough, and he is recognized by the whole team as a "useless defensive midfielder".

Ultimately, he's only decent at playing in the amateur leagues in Fuzhou; when compared to professional players, he's nothing.

As Han Han once said, don't use your hobby to challenge someone else's livelihood!

Wu Bin is no longer as excited as he was when he first transmigrated; he's basically just wasting his days.

At least nominally, he's considered a semi-professional player, and he does receive a salary, doesn't he...?

In the past few days, he discovered a strange QQ group on his phone called "Green Field Legends Exchange Group," and he didn't know who had invited him there.

The IDs in the group were all incredibly impressive, and their profile pictures were all black and white photos of football stars from ancient times, giving off a retro and chuunibyou vibe.

He took out his phone again, opened the QQ group, and the conversation from before was clearly displayed on the screen.

The three most active people in the group have the IDs 【Franz Beckenbauer】【Johan Cruyff】【Diego Maradona】—all legendary figures in football history, figures he had seen in documentaries and football highlights before his time travel. One is the "Football Emperor", one is the "Father of Total Football", and one is the "King of Football".

This isn't some kind of chat group; it's clearly a huge cosplay group of football bigwigs, a bunch of chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) sufferers pretending to be something they're not.

Wu Bin originally thought that these idiots in the group were mainly good at bragging and showing off.

The results of it?

Their daily discussions revolve around "optimizing the libero tactic," "the fusion of total football and counter-attacking," or "the positioning and interception techniques of defensive midfielders"—this...

The level of professionalism is certainly there, but it's all outdated, isn't it? It feels like a group of people from the 70s or 80s chatting.

These problems will already have mature solutions by 2026.

"A bunch of pretentious show-offs, have nothing better to do than this?"

Wu Bin was already in a bad mood today. He was scolded by the coach and ridiculed by his teammates during training. Watching these people seriously acting like "classical big shots" in the group chat made him even more irritable.

"It's one thing to cosplay a big shot, but why pretend to be a big shot from his playing days? It's like he doesn't know that Cruyff was the godfather of Barcelona and that Beckenbauer led the team to a World Cup victory."

"Damn it, since you guys want to put on an act, then I'll play along!"

Wu Bin gritted his teeth, his fingers rapidly tapping on the phone screen, slowly typing out text based on his memory of future football tactics.

[I'm a football player]: @Franz Beckenbauer, you've misunderstood the core of the libero tactic. The problem isn't your positioning, but the lack of defensive support. You can retain the attacking run, but you need to assign a defensive midfielder specifically for support. When you push forward, the defensive midfielder should immediately drop back to your defensive position to fill the gaps in the backfield; at the same time, the full-backs should drop back appropriately, and the center-backs should remain solid, forming a three-layer defensive system of "defensive midfielder + full-backs + center-backs." This will not affect your participation in the attacking play, but will also help you hold the line.

As soon as the message was sent out, the QQ group, which had been buzzing with discussion, suddenly fell silent.

Cruyff and Maradona, who were arguing with Beckenbauer, suddenly fell silent, leaving only silence on the screen, without even a single extra expression.

One second, two seconds, ten seconds...

Wu Bin felt a sudden, inexplicable panic. His finger hovered over the phone screen as he muttered to himself, "What's going on? Did I say something wrong? Or have they given up on their act?"

Just as he was about to retract the message and pretend nothing had happened, Beckenbauer finally sent a message.

[Franz Beckenbauer]: Defensive midfielder covering? A three-layer defensive system? Do you mean to have a midfielder specifically fill my defensive gaps? How is that possible? A defensive midfielder specifically covering would lead to an overcrowded midfield, hindering attacking transitions. And once the defensive midfielder is breached, the defensive line will still be exposed! Could you please explain in detail how to control the tempo of this defensive tactic?

Wu Bin looked at the screen, raised an eyebrow, and chuckled inwardly: "Oh, they're getting hooked on acting? They're even asking for details?"

These football ignoramuses, surely they don't even know these basic tactical concepts?

Defensive midfielders may not have been very popular in the 1970s and 80s, but whether in 2017 or 2026, they have become the "first line of defense," an essential anchor for every team.

Regardless of whether you use a free-roaming tactic or not, a team without a defensive midfielder is almost unthinkable.

Even teams that play with a single defensive midfielder are becoming increasingly rare!

Forget it, I'll just ignore these guys who might be pretending to be stupid and leave the group.

Just as Wu Bin moved his finger to the upper right corner, Beckenbauer sent another message in the QQ group, his tone tinged with urgency.

[Franz Beckenbauer]: @I'm a football player, sir? Are you still there? Your ideas are very novel and have overturned my previous understanding of tactics. I would be extremely grateful if you could provide more detailed guidance!

"So polite?" Wu Bin withdrew his finger again.

"It sounds like you really don't understand..."

Forget it, I'll just go all out with this pretentious act. It's not anything profound anyway, I'll just ramble on.

Let these idiots in the group know what a true tactical master is!

[I'm a football player]: The core is "rhythm control". The defensive midfielder's timing for supporting the defense must be precise. The moment the free player moves forward, he immediately drops back to cover, not too early or too late. The running route should fit your defensive gaps, while also taking into account the midfield connection. There is no need to pursue the ultimate interception. The key is to fill the gaps and slow down the opponent's counter-attack rhythm. The rest is left to the full-backs and center-backs to cover.

After sending that sentence, he felt it wasn't enough, so he added another sentence to cover up his unease: "You'll have to figure out the rest yourself. The essence of tactics lies in practice; you can't always rely on others for guidance."

After sending the message, Wu Bin breathed a sigh of relief.

I felt I did a pretty good job showing off, and I even added some details.

The QQ group fell silent once again.

This time, the silence lasted even longer.

Just as Wu Bin was waiting for the other party's response, and was thinking that if they asked any more questions, he would leave the group, a stern reprimand suddenly came from behind him.

"Wu Bin! You're on your phone again! Yesterday's training match went awry, and you were still scrolling through your phone? You're punished by running five laps!"

Wu Bin froze, stiffly turning his head to see the team's head coach, Zhao Qiang, standing behind him with a frown and a disappointed look on his face, his tone full of impatience and disdain.

Several teammates who were resting nearby looked over when they heard the coach's reprimand. Their eyes showed mockery, disdain, and a hint of schadenfreude, and low snickers could be faintly heard.

Wu Bin's face flushed red instantly. The sense of superiority he had felt from acting like a big shot in the group chat vanished without a trace, leaving only endless embarrassment and shame.

Although I have a local household registration, promotion to League Two still depends on ability, and I need to be truly capable to get playing time on the team.

He didn't want to be the team's mascot, but his skills wouldn't allow it!

Wu Bin truly loves football. Before he traveled through time, he could only watch those football stars on the field from in front of the screen.

After time travel, he finally had the opportunity to play football in person, dreaming of wearing a professional jersey, stepping onto the professional field, and even representing the Chinese team on the World Cup stage.

But reality dealt him blow after blow, making him increasingly doubt whether he was truly not cut out for football...

"Forget it, let's go run some laps first, and stop thinking about those useless things."

Wu Bin sighed, stuffed his phone into his pocket, stood up, and ran towards the training field.

The glaring sunlight shone on him, and sweat instantly soaked his sportswear. With each step he took, his legs felt incredibly heavy, and a wave of grievance and helplessness washed over him.

Just as he finished running two laps and was panting heavily, his phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated several times, and the continuous message notifications broke the silence of the training ground.

Wu Bin couldn't help but stop, take out his phone, and open the QQ group—it was flooded with messages.

[Franz Beckenbauer]: @I'm a football player, you're absolutely right! Control of the tempo! I've always overlooked the defensive midfielder's role in supporting the defense, and I've forgotten the logic of multi-layered defensive coverage. Ah, I see! Following this line of thought, the defensive weaknesses of the libero tactic can be perfectly solved!

[Johann Cruyff]: Haha, Beckenbauer, you're still limiting yourself! This guy's thinking is indeed more insightful than ours, especially his defensive midfield support logic, it's so inspiring. It seems we still have a lot to learn!

[Diego Maradona]: I don't think what this kid said is anything special. It's more practical to play according to my method. Even the dumbest person can dribble past a few people, right?

Wu Bin was completely stunned when he saw these messages, thinking to himself, "These people are really getting a bit too into their acting, aren't they? Do they really think I'm a master?"

Okay, Maradona didn't.

At that moment, a red envelope suddenly popped up on the phone screen. It was sent by Beckenbauer and was labeled "A special thank you, please accept it with a smile".

Red envelope?

Wu Bin paused for a moment, then subconsciously clicked on it.

He thought it would be at most a small red envelope of a few dollars, as payment for "acting opposite each other".

The moment he opened the red envelope, a golden light suddenly lit up the phone screen. Then, lines of golden text appeared out of thin air on the screen, crystal clear. Even after he closed QQ, the text remained on the screen, unlike any special effect that came with the phone.

You have received Franz Beckenbauer's thanks.

[Item Obtained: Young Beckenbauer's Defensive Skills Trial Card (One Day)]

[Description: This is a heartfelt thank you from the football emperor, encapsulating the essence of his defensive skills from his youth.]

【Should we use it immediately?】