Chapter 1041: Discussion Inside the Team

It turned out that this discussion was more like schoolwork, where the head coach gave an assessment, and the group was discussing everything about it before presenting the result to the crowd.

Higo had to admit, though, that it was a little bit anticlimactic, especially when he had already thought about so many sophisticated methods here.

"Well, keeping it simple is the best, you know? No need to go with an unfamiliar method that will make you scratch your head; just use the one that you have done so many times in your teenage years."

At least, that was what Nagatomo said, and Higo had to admit that it was the most suitable decision when all the guys around here were already past their prime age to learn something easily.

That didn’t mean they couldn’t learn a new method, but it would take more effort for them to do that, which meant more time, something that the international break couldn’t really give them.

So, in the end, the schoolwork method was used, and fortunately, everyone felt responsible enough to join the discussion here, not just waiting for the smartest kid to do all the work for them.

Higo had to admit that with this kind of atmosphere, he somehow learned a lot about players from the other positions and their perspective when facing a problem on the pitch.

The finest example was when facing an opponent whose winger was tucking into the middle while their fullback played exceptionally wide and high, becoming an emergency winger for the team.

Honestly, Higo was very familiar with this scenario, as he had faced a similar thing in the Bundesliga so many times.

Hell, his last two games, one against Wolfsburg and another against Freiburg, ended up with that situation, so the boy could say that he was quite experienced when it came to this topic.

Still, the boy had never asked before about why his teammates moved to where they were during the process, and this time, he could hear the perspective of someone who played in that position, which made him ponder a lot here.

"I will just say," Kyogo Furuhashi, a striker from Glasgow Celtic, voiced his opinion. "If we spent the whole game chasing fullbacks toward our own corner, we would be too exhausted to sprint forward when someone wins the ball back. That would kill our momentum instantly."

"I know what you mean." Hidemasa Morita, a ball-winning midfielder who played for Santa Clara in Portugal, tried to make his case as well. "But if we forced our shape into three defenders just to let our fullback chase the opponent, our half-space will be vulnerable to a diagonal run."

"So, we will have to rely on the support from midfield, huh?" Sho Inagaki, a defensive midfielder from Nagoya Grampus, pondered for a moment.

"The problem, though, is how we could do that? Not every situation requires a midfielder to step in, or we will be vulnerable in the center as well."

Ken Matsubara, a fullback from Yokohama F. Marinos, suddenly chimed in,

"What about this? When the opponent’s fullback faces our goal directly, we just hold our position, but if the fullback receives the pass with his body closed, we use all the closest resources to kill him immediately!"

"No, that would be too reckless!"

"Well, you cannot deny that it sounds good, right?"

The debate ran for more than 45 minutes, and when Moriyasu-sensei checked on their situation, he couldn’t help but nod, approving the way everyone tried to solve this matter.

This training method not only gave him a unique insight from the players’ perspective, but also forced the players to always think on the pitch, making them get used to always trying to find a solution before waiting for the head coach to yell from the touchline.

While he still didn’t know how effective it would be, the man was already satisfied with the result today.

Higo was also in the same boat here.

The satisfaction level after having a big debate against the experienced players and also listening to their insight was enough to keep him awake even after everything was over.

Once he was done and went back to his room, the boy didn’t forget to check his phone, and it didn’t take long before he scrolled through the contact list to find one name there.

’It should be around her morning coffee time back in Germany, right? She should be able to accept the call.’

With that in mind, Higo didn’t hesitate to call his girlfriend, and it didn’t take a long time before the girl answered.

"Yes, Ryukkun? How is your first day with the national team?"

"It is fantastic!" Higo exclaimed excitedly. "You don’t know this, but they have this unique method of discussion here! It is exactly like when we were in school, you know?!"

Well, Higo didn’t need to be told twice, as he revealed everything that had just happened today with great enthusiasm.

Kumiko also listened well, not just because it was Higo who told the story, but because the topic itself was quite interesting. This was the first time the girl had heard that, and if Higo listened carefully, he would be able to hear his girlfriend taking notes on the other side of the call.

"Well, I have to say that I have never thought about that problem before." The girl stated with a long sigh. "However, Moriyasu-sensei is right. We have this problem in the whole country, and this is probably one of the best ways to solve this."

"I know, right?! Some of them also have a good insight, and I have to say that I learned a lot today." Higo grinned while also nodding thoroughly.

They chatted for a little bit more, with Higo spending most of the time here talking about the senior who he had just met today while Kumiko also got invested in her boyfriend’s new journey in the national team.

In the end, Kumiko had to end the call since she had a class to attend, and Higo had to agree, albeit reluctantly.

"No, no, no, I am fine!" Higo laughed while also trying to keep his tone steady. "Don’t worry, I will take my time learning everything that I can here, and later, you will know about all of them from me!"