Become A Football Legend Chapter 378: Preseason (2)

Kolo raised the whistle once more.

"Ready?"

Lukas nodded.

The sharp whistle pierced the morning air.

He exploded off the line.

The drill was deceptively simple. Sprint to the first marker, touch the line, sprint back. Then immediately out to the second marker and back. Then the third. Every interval became longer, every return more taxing, with only enough time to pivot before accelerating again.

Lukas attacked every shuttle as though it were the final run of a cup final.

His first few accelerations were so explosive that several players instinctively turned their heads.

By the third marker, his strides had lengthened. By the fourth, he was already separating himself from the pace everyone else had set earlier. Yet what caught the coaches’ attention wasn’t his top speed.

It was what happened every time he reached a line.

He decelerated almost instantly, planted his foot, changed direction and accelerated again without losing balance or rhythm.

Near the touchline, Guardiola folded his arms.

His eyes never left the young German.

Quietly, almost to himself, he said,

"His change of pace is astonishing."

Kolo Touré followed Lukas with his eyes before nodding.

"It’s not even the speed."

He pointed toward the latest turn.

"It’s how quickly he accelerates again after stopping. Most players need 2 or 3 extra steps after changing direction. He doesn’t."

Guardiola watched another turn.

"No."

"He changes direction already at full speed."

The stopwatch kept ticking.

Lukas reached the final marker, touched the line and sprinted back one last time before crossing the finish.

Kolo clicked the stopwatch.

"Done."

Just under 2 minutes had passed.

Lukas slowed into a jog before stopping near the starting line. He took a few deep breaths and glanced toward Guardiola.

The City manager gave him a small approving nod.

Lukas couldn’t help smiling.

Truthfully, he still felt like he had plenty left in the tank.

But after watching Phil Foden collapse onto the grass and seeing how hard everyone else had pushed themselves through the same drill, he decided against making that obvious. He simply sat down on the turf, resting his forearms on his knees while catching his breath without overacting.

Kolo looked down at the stopwatch before looking toward Haaland.

"Erling..."

"You’ve got competition."

He held up the watch.

"Only 2 seconds behind you."

Haaland raised his eyebrows before looking over at Lukas.

"The kid’s quick."

Lukas laughed.

"Looks like I’ve still got to get faster."

Foden, who was still lying on the grass recovering, lifted a hand.

"I honestly think the only guys quicker than you around here are Erling and AK."

Lukas looked across the group.

Abdukodir Khusanov looked up immediately.

Most of the squad simply called him AK.

"I don’t think so," Lukas replied with a grin.

Khusanov smiled back.

"We race later."

"Anytime."

The players laughed before the session moved on.

About 30 minutes later the conditioning work finally came to an end.

True to Guardiola’s philosophy, there was no intention of spending the entire morning running without a football. Almost immediately, cones were rearranged, balls rolled onto the pitch and the squad flowed naturally into rondos before progressing into an 11 v 11 positional game across the full pitch.

The intensity changed instantly.

Every movement now had a purpose.

Every pass had to create an angle.

Every touch was expected to prepare the next one.

Lukas slotted into the attacking midfield role behind Mahmoud, constantly drifting into spaces between the opposition midfield and defence as Guardiola paced slowly along the touchline, watching every detail.

A few minutes into the exercise, Tijjani Reijnders threaded a firm pass into Lukas’ feet near the centre circle.

His back was to goal.

The moment the ball arrived, Bernardo Silva was already on him.

Lukas tried to cushion the pass before spinning.

Bernardo timed it perfectly.

A quick toe poke.

Possession gone.

Pep blew his whistle.

"Luke."

The entire exercise stopped.

Guardiola walked onto the pitch carrying another ball.

"When the pass comes like this..."

He rolled it toward Lukas’ feet before positioning himself where Bernardo had been.

"You feel the defender here."

He placed a hand lightly against Lukas’ shoulder.

"You don’t always have to stop the ball."

He demonstrated the movement himself, allowing the pass to continue across his body instead of killing its momentum.

"Let the ball travel. Use the speed of the pass. Now your body is already moving forward."

He repeated the action once more.

"If the defender is here..."

Pep shifted to another angle.

"...then you turn."

"But if he’s behind you like Bernardo was, don’t fight the ball... Use it."

Lukas nodded carefully, replaying the movement in his mind.

"Got it."

Even after everything he had learned inside the LTC over countless simulated years, moments like these reminded him that football still had teachers capable of showing him details he had never considered.

Play resumed.

Only a few minutes later, Rúben Dias looked up from the back line and spotted Lukas beginning a run between the lines.

He clipped a long diagonal into space.

Lukas accelerated.

Khusanov matched him stride for stride.

The ball dropped from the sky.

Instead of waiting for it, Lukas attacked the dropping pass, leaping just enough to shield Khusanov before cushioning it perfectly on his chest while still moving forward.

Khusanov immediately swung a leg toward the bouncing ball.

Lukas reacted first.

Using the top of his thigh, he popped the ball delicately over the Uzbek defender’s outstretched leg, spun around the opposite side and collected it again without breaking stride.

Bernardo Silva stepped across to close the space.

One touch.

Lukas chopped the ball outside Bernardo’s reaching foot, opening a narrow passing lane that barely existed.

Without taking another touch, he wrapped the outside of his boot around the ball.

It curved perfectly into Mahmoush’s path.

Mahmoush let it bounce once before sweeping a composed finish into the bottom corner beyond Ederson.

The small-sided game paused for only a second as teammates applauded the move.

Near the touchline, Guardiola slowly nodded to himself as he thought about systems, rotations and possibilities.

About the best way to fit Lukas into a Manchester City side that suddenly had one more extraordinary piece to work with.

* * *

The following morning, the mood around the City Football Academy was noticeably different.

The players knew there was only a little over a week left before they boarded the flight to Sicily for their only pre-season friendly, an away trip to face Palermo at the Renzo Barbera Stadium in the inaugural Anglo Palermitan Trophy. The Premier League season was approaching quickly, and every training session now carried a little more urgency.

Today’s focus wasn’t on fitness.

It was set pieces.

Pepijn Lijnders stood near the edge of the penalty area with a clipboard tucked under his arm while several balls were arranged in neat rows outside the box.

"All right, boys," he called out. "Kevin’s gone now, so somebody has to take responsibility."

He looked around the group before pointing.

"Phil."

Then...

"Rayan."

Cherki looked up.

"And Luke."

Lukas jogged over.

Pepijn rested a boot on one of the footballs.

"How confident are you in your delivery?"

Lukas shrugged.

"Pretty confident."

Pepijn turned toward Cherki.

"And you?"

Cherki smiled.

"I’d say the same."

Phil folded his arms.

"I’ll back myself too."

Pepijn grinned.

"Perfect. Then let’s settle it. For the next hour, the 3 of you are taking corners, indirect free kicks and direct free kicks in the final third."

"The rest of you..."

He looked toward the goal.

"...try not to make Ederson hate me."

The players laughed as the competition began.