On Monday morning, Rolin arrived early at the first team’s locker room.
The Red Bull Arena had once hosted the group matches and knockout stages of the 2006 Germany World Cup, and its hardware facilities were top-tier among Bundesliga clubs.
The entire locker room was curved, featuring a minimalist modern style without any flashy decorations.
A whole row of integrated lockers spread along the curved wall, and every player had a locker of their own.
Just as Rolin was sizing up the locker room, a gentle voice sounded behind him.
“Rolin, you can change your clothes first.
Your locker is the fifth one on the left, with your name on it.” Rolin smiled and greeted the incoming assistant coach, then walked towards his own locker.
This was the advantage of getting promoted from the youth academy to the first team.
He basically knew all the coaches and players within the team, making it easier to integrate.
He noticed that his locker was right next to Werner’s and Naby Keïta’s.
The three of them were of similar age, so such an arrangement was indeed fitting.
At twenty past seven, the first player walked in, who was none other than captain Dominik Kaiser.
Having followed RB Leipzig all the way from the regional League to the Bundesliga, he was a meritorious player of the team.
Rolin quickly stood up and gave his team’s captain a hug.
Kaiser patted him on the shoulder and spoke first: “Rolin, welcome to the first team.
How does it feel here?” “I’ve been to the first team’s locker room before, except back then there wasn’t a locker belonging to me.” Rolin pointed at his name on the locker: “Now it feels amazing!” In the next few minutes, the players arrived one after another and greeted Rolin one by one.
After changing his clothes, Werner started chatting idly with Rolin: “Hey, bro, do you play FIFA?
I am the top expert on our team.
Care to spar a couple of rounds sometime?” “Rolin, you must never agree to this guy.” Naby Keïta poked his head out from the other side: “If he loses, he’ll keep dragging you into the next game until he wins.” “Impossible, absolutely impossible!” Werner said decisively: “How could I possibly be that kind of person?
Don’t listen to his nonsense.” Selke, sitting one spot away, delivered a fatal blow: “Rolin, Naby is right.
Timo is just like that.” As the words fell, roaring laughter erupted in the locker room.
Right at this moment, Ralph Hasenhüttl pushed open the door and walked in: “Alright, stop chattering everyone.
Change your clothes and go eat.
Gather in the tactical meeting room at 8:40.” Everyone filed out one after another and headed towards the cafeteria.
Rolin walked together with Werner and Naby Keïta, the three of them chatting and laughing all the way.
The players’ breakfast was relatively simple: whole wheat bread, whole wheat cereal, fried eggs, fresh fruit, sugar-free yogurt, etc.
As professional players, it was hard to find high-sugar and fried foods on their menu.
When they finished eating and arrived at the meeting room, the coaching staff had already turned on the projector.
Today’s tactical class was mainly to review the previous round of matches and summarize the problems that arose.
The projected image froze on the offensive and defensive turn of the 76th minute of the match.
“I think without me saying much, you should know what happened next.” Ralph Hasenhüttl said in a serious tone: “Rolin, you are a newcomer in the team, and you watched the match as well.
Tell us what happened and why it turned out like this.” Ralph Hasenhüttl just wanted to test Rolin and see how his football IQ really was.
Although it was a bit sudden, Rolin wasn’t nervous at all: “In the 76th minute, Bremen intercepted the ball and launched a counterattack, then successfully pulled back a goal.” He paused for a moment and continued: “In this play, when we were pressing high, the two midfield lines were somewhat disconnected, and the double pivots dropped back too deep.” “The players pressing in the front court didn’t fall back in time; Bremen seized the gap, pierced through our defensive line, and ultimately led to conceding a goal.” Ralph Hasenhüttl nodded and said approvingly: “Did you all hear that?
Even a newcomer can accurately point out our problems—what does that indicate?” “It indicates that a major loophole has appeared in our tactical execution!” “Our core system is high pressing, which relies on the linkage of all members and maintaining a reasonable distance between the three lines.” “Perhaps leading by two goals made you guys a bit complacent, playing with zero discipline on the pitch.” “If we are in this state, when we face Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, let alone 3 points, we won’t even get 1 point!” All the players held their breath in concentration, not daring to let out a loud breath.
For the next half hour, Ralph Hasenhüttl gave everyone an “ideological and political lesson”.
Rolin realized that RB Leipzig’s success this season was not without reason.
From top to bottom, the team maintained a calm mind and constantly reflected on their own shortcomings at all times.
Moreover, there were many young players in the team, full of that fearless, newborn-calf-is-not-afraid-of-tigers momentum.
After the morning tactical class ended, the players came to the training ground for joint training.
Ralph Hasenhüttl did not divide them into a starting group and a substitute group, but instead scrambled all the players together.
Rolin was assigned to the same group as Werner and Naby Keïta, serving as the left attacking midfielder.
Rolin didn’t need to adapt on the pitch at all; after all, everyone was playing a high-pressing system.
On the first attacking combination, after receiving a pass from Naby Keïta, Rolin used a rhythm change to shake off Demme, and assisted Werner to score with a through ball.
“Bro, your pass was so gorgeous!” Werner rushed excitedly toward Rolin, wrapped his arm around Rolin’s neck, and said: “How did you know I was going to make a forward run?” Rolin remained silent for a moment, and said faintly: “I didn’t know you were going to make a forward run.
Anyway, I delivered the ball to the right spot.
As for whether you run or not, and whether you can score, it has nothing to do with me.” Werner was directly silenced by Rolin, standing there dumbfounded with his mouth open.
“Buddy was just kidding you, is there any need to be so surprised?!” Rolin laughed and said: “I specifically studied your running habits and know you like the back of my hand.” Werner exasperatedly ruffled Rolin’s hair: “You fucking have quite a sense of humor, huh!” In the subsequent offensive and defensive drills, Rolin’s performance was extremely eye-catching.
In a display of quid pro quo, Werner broke through and delivered a cutback pass to assist Rolin in scoring a goal.
Rolin’s shot had tremendous power, making the first team’s goalkeeper bare his teeth and grimace in pain.
Subsequently, Rolin completed a steal in midfield, found the overlapping Kaiser with a long diagonal pass, and the latter crossed from the byline to assist Selke in scoring with a header.
After a scrimmage match, Rolin won the recognition of his teammates.
Ralph Hasenhüttl’s mouth couldn’t stop curving upward, and the entire coaching staff was very excited.
Having such an immediate combat power on the team would undoubtedly allow them to go further in the Bundesliga arena.
After the training session ended, Ralph Hasenhüttl called Rolin over.
“Rolin, your performance today was good.
Maintain this state.” He patted Rolin on the shoulder, “I believe your Bundesliga debut will come very soon.” Rolin nodded solemnly and replied with a smile: “Alright coach, I’ll work hard.” Right at this moment, the long-dormant system finally stirred: “Ding!
Quest issued: Complete your Bundesliga debut.
Reward: Free Attribute Points * 5, Random Player Skill Chest * 1.” Rolin was ecstatic inside; the system quest had finally arrived!