Many of Santana's coaching ideas are very close to Yang Chen, for example, they all attach importance to details, adhere to attacking football, pursue perfection, and do not like violence on the football field. They never advocate that players commit fouls in order to compete for the ball, nor do they allow players to engage in disciplinary behavior off the court.

  Previously, when visiting Santana in Brazil, Yang Cheng had a long conversation with him and exchanged their respective coaching views. Santana once said that his set of methods did not work in Europe, but Yang Cheng Europeanized and upgraded his coaching philosophy.

  It was also because of this that when Yang Cheng heard that Santana had entered the hospital, it happened to be during the league's break period, so he went to visit this highly respected old coach in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

  De Nilsen crouched beside Yang Cheng, he could feel the respect Yang Cheng had for Santana, not one bit less than his own!

  He found it hard to understand, because Yang Cheng and Santana had only met a few times, but the two seemed to admire each other very much, especially Yang Cheng's admiration and respect for Santana.

  He certainly wouldn't know that among Yang Cheng's most respected coaches in his past life, Tre Santanna ranked first, even surpassing the all-around Michels, because the two of them had a lot of similarities deep down.

  Maybe it's because of this that they can still be like old times when they meet again.

  "I build a team, first of all I value is the feeling, so I emphasize the overall, because I like that kind of 11 players mutually trust and depend on each other's feelings, I always think that's the greatest and strongest weapon on the football field!"

  "I like to win, but I want to do it my way, in a proactive, positive and technical way. When we win, the team's collective brilliance shines through, not just one star player. Because I understand that an individual's power is limited, but the power of a group is infinite!"

  "So in my team, every player is very important but also not indispensable. I think that's why on our jerseys, the team name is always printed in front and the player's name is always printed behind. It's to remind players that the team must always be above individuals!"

  Yang Cheng suddenly turned his head, gazing deeply at Denerlsen for a moment before shaking his head and sighing: "With your current kicking style, you may become the most eye-catching star, but you'll never be the best player!"

  Then he stood up, patted the grass dust on his buttocks, and gathered his emotions. "Maybe I should really consider letting you transfer back to Brazil!" After finishing speaking, Yang Cheng walked towards his office.

  De Nilsen listened and was taken aback, standing up from the ground, "Can I stay and try?"

  Yang Cheng stopped in his tracks and turned around, looking at Denilson, who took a few steps forward.

  "When I sat in the stands, watching the team's hard-won victory over Dortmund, that game really shocked me, especially the overall feeling of the teammates on the field. In the following consecutive games, I felt this point more deeply, even when the team encountered difficulties, it never changed."

  "I just called Santana and he mentioned you to me, also told me that I should experience the fascinating feeling you talked about, because I've never felt it before. So I hope you can let me stay and try, I promise I'll reach your standards in all aspects as soon as possible!"

  Yang Chen was stunned for a moment, but soon thanked Santana, because he vaguely guessed that it must be Santana and Denilson who said something, but he was also happy to see Denilson actively integrating into the team.

  "But it will be extremely difficult!" Yang Cheng said on purpose.

  Denilson hesitated, recalling the written warning he had received and wanting to use his performance to overthrow Yang Chen's judgment; recalled what Trezza Santana had told him about his future in Europe; and even more thought of the replica of the Golden Ball award placed on his bedside...

  "I still want to give it a try!" Danielsen gritted his teeth.

  "Then I'll take a look!" Yang Cheng said with a cool expression.

  …………

  …………

  After seeing off Yang Cheng, Denerstein did not leave the training ground immediately, but went to the equipment room of the training building.

  As soon as he arrived at the door, he heard the sound coming from inside. Denilson walked in with some curiosity and saw Vanni practicing leg weightlifting alone, repeating mechanical training again and again, even if he was sweating profusely, he gritted his teeth and persisted.

  "Ah, it's you!" Vanny exclaimed with a smile as she saw Denilson standing at the door.

  Dennilson puckered up and walked in, giving Vanni a friendly smile.

  "Are you here for training too?" Vanni asked with a smile.

  Dener didn't answer, instead he stood beside Van Nistelrooy, curiously scanning the training equipment in the room. All of this was unfamiliar to him because in Brazil everyone believed that having the ball at your feet was the best way to train.

  "Are you practicing leg strength?" Denilson asked.

  Vanney also completed his own training, stopped and casually picked up a towel to wipe the sweat from his face. "Yes, leg weightlifting can improve leg strength and better convert power into speed."

  "Is it effective?" Denilson doubted.

  If simply practicing leg strength can increase one's speed, then wouldn't everyone have the opportunity to become a flying man? Then no one would need to do anything else, just practice speed and that's it.

  "It's negligible!" Fan Ni said with a chuckle.

  Denerleson was stunned, "Since it didn't have much effect, why..." The second half of the sentence he didn't say out loud, but the meaning was very clear, apparently doubting that Vanni's training was a waste of effort.

  "I also had my doubts, but two days ago, the coach came to see me and asked about my situation. He told me that the so-called targeted practice and training can actually make very little progress, and what really promotes a player's growth is still competition and self-awareness, but training is unavoidable!"

  Dennilson was taken aback and found this remark somewhat incomprehensible. If the progress is so small, why bother with targeted training?

  "I asked him the same thing at that time, and he told me a truth!"

  Fan Ni walked down from the machine and picked up a bottle of water, drinking it with a gurgling sound.

  "Take me for example, my speed is not outstanding, so even if I practice for another 10 or 8 years, I won't be able to reach your level of speed. This is because my body has limitations, but I still need to persist in leg strength training, why?"

  Dennilson also looked at Van Nistelrooy with some astonishment, feeling that the Dutchman's eyes were shining with excitement.

  "It's not just about those few seconds, because on the football field, being a few seconds faster or slower doesn't matter. The real significance of targeted training is to make you pursue yourself, to improve your weaknesses, no matter how small the progress is, you will feel it. This feeling is very important for players, as it makes you more confident!"

  "It's only with absolute humility that one can achieve absolute confidence! These were the boss's words, and now I'm starting to understand the meaning behind them. Because I was humble enough to recognize my weaknesses in speed and physical strength, I've been working hard to improve and train myself, strengthening my abilities, which in turn makes me feel better and more confident!"

  "Moreover, the captain is a person who attaches great importance to details. He even demands perfection in every detail, and he made me understand that even if it's just a few seconds of progress, we must go all out to fight for it, because even the slightest detail can tip the scales of victory or defeat in a game!"

  Van Nistelrooy smiled confidently and said: "Maybe this is what the captain meant by the charm of football!"

  Dennilson stared blankly at the Dutchman walking towards another set of equipment, and suddenly remembered a conversation with Trele Santanah that he didn't quite understand at the time, but now suddenly had some insight.

  "On the football field, your greatest enemy is not the opponent standing in front of you, nor the fans in the stands, but yourself!"

  Agent operations, media hype, fan praise... none of these things have any meaning, because players who emerge from these will never be able to reach the very top. Truly great players are those who have extremely strict demands on themselves, they won't change just because their opponents do, but instead will keep raising their own requirements higher and higher.

  Players challenge themselves, head coaches challenge themselves, and teams also challenge themselves... This is the true meaning of football!

  Isn't this the true meaning of competitive sports?

  De Niro suddenly felt that his previous stubbornness and conservatism were actually a kind of cowardice, because he didn't dare to face the European style, didn't want to work hard to improve himself, so he chose to maintain the status quo, which was equivalent to staying in place.

  But Yang Cheng had higher expectations for him, hoping he could challenge even higher goals, all for his own good!

  For no reason, at this moment, Dener suddenly understood why his mentor Santana wanted him to stay in Kaiserslautern. For the first time, he felt a sense of gratitude towards Yang Cheng, although it was only a tiny bit.

  "Can you teach me how to use these instruments?" Denilson came before Vanney and asked humbly.

  At this moment, in a window that the two players couldn't see, Yang Cheng saw everything that happened in the equipment room and smiled with comfort!