Tendou first underwent the 100-meter test. On his first run, he clocked an astonishing 11.23 seconds.
The moment this result came out, the Liverpool players next to him were stunned and all crowded around.
The current official Premier League record for the fastest 100-meter sprint is held by Sané, who ran it in only 10.16 seconds.
Krawietz knew that Tendou was fast. During his time at Blue Lock, he had often performed one-man breakthroughs in the center.
The speed he displayed back then was already amazing, but he had never imagined he could run 11.23.
You have to remember, this was his first test. Tendou hadn't even used his strange techniques yet; there were no special effects around him.
In the world of football today, the fastest is, of course, that prodigy from France.
He had unleashed a top speed of 34.7 km/h in a match.
This speed has already surpassed the 10-second barrier for the 100 meters. Calculated at this speed, Loki could run the 100 meters in under 10 seconds.
Second only to the world champion, Usain Bolt.
Of course, this is just theoretical; he can't be compared to Bolt.
But there is no denying that Loki's speed is truly heaven-defying.
In Blue Lock, Tendou had gone head-to-head with Loki in terms of speed. Although he wasn't as fast, he wasn't far behind.
Krawietz was very much looking forward to Tendou's next run.
"Thunderclap and Flash!"
"One Flash!"
This time, Tendou turned on his special effects, and a dazzling lightning erupted from his body.
The Liverpool players only heard a swoosh, and Tendou had already reached the finish line.
Krawietz looked down at the stopwatch: 10.19 seconds!
Insane!
"This kid runs that fast?"
"This speed is definitely under 11 seconds!"
"He's over 190 cm tall, right? How can he have such speed?"
The goalkeeper, Alisson, was dumbfounded. The two wingers, Salah and Mané, were also taken aback by this speed.
"I'm still more concerned about his size. He can't possibly be 20 cm," Arnold was somewhat obsessed, his attention focused on something completely different.
Salah shot him a look.
He was particularly concerned about Tendou's physical assessment. If there were no problems with this test, then the position of Liverpool's number one speedster was about to change hands.
Tendou tested a few more times after that and could consistently run under 11 seconds.
After the 100 meters was the 25-meter sprint to test explosive power.
And then, Tendou once again broke a Liverpool record, leaving Mané and the others dumbfounded.
And Arnold.
His gloomy eyes were fixed on Tendou's shorts.
From Tendou's running motion, he could make out a thing or two.
It seems... it seems it's really...
...
Tendou passed his physical assessment with ease.
The second day, he immediately began training with the Liverpool first team.
Tendou also finally saw the real "Kloppo." His "farmer's three punches" celebration was truly the most passionate move among all head coaches.
Among players, it's Cristiano Ronaldo's "Siuuu." Among coaches, it's Klopp's "farmer's three punches"!
Klopp didn't rush to have Tendou participate in the team's training matches.
Right now, he needed to familiarize himself with Liverpool's tactical system.
Tendou watched for a whole morning and only got a chance to play in the afternoon.
He was assigned to the B team.
As expected, the moment he went on, he caused chaos.
There were moments of brilliance and moments of stupidity.
The players of modern football have a deeply ingrained sense of responsibility for their specific position and zone.
This led to situations where an opportunity would arise, and just as they were about to pass, they would suddenly find Tendou right next to the intended target, their positions overlapping.
But his teammates were not dissatisfied.
Because besides these overlaps, Tendou contributed many brilliant defensive plays.
He even managed to stop Salah one-on-one.
One has to know, Salah is known as the "Egyptian Messi"; his playing style is the closest to Messi's.
"He still needs time."
"It's us and TJ who need time. The full-field free man has been absent from football for too long."
Klopp and his assistant coach watched from the sidelines, very pleased.
Although there were some comical moments, it was not Tendou's problem.
It was that the players had not yet adapted to suddenly having a free man on the team.
"If I fix his position in the midfield, the team can quickly adapt to his presence and play better."
"But I don't want to do that. He adapts very quickly, he's very smart."
Klopp saw it very clearly.
After overlapping with his teammates twice, Tendou had already realized the problem.
He didn't insist on rushing to the front to steal the show but actively participated in defense.
This made the Liverpool players have an even better impression of him.
...
Gradually, the Liverpool players would give him more support and trust, and at that time, he could play at the level he was supposed to.
At that time, Europe will remember the fear of being dominated by Beckenbauer.
After a day of training matches ended, Arnold followed Tendou to the showers.
A short while later, Klopp and the others saw Arnold walk out, holding his head and muttering, "It's real... it's actually real..."
...
The next day.
Premier League, Matchday 17.
Liverpool's away match against Wolves.
This match was very crucial for Liverpool.
Why?
Because Manchester City had won again yesterday, and the points gap between them and Liverpool had widened to 4 points.
...
If Liverpool were to lose this match, the road to the championship would become even more difficult.
And Wolves.
They were currently ranked seventh in the league. One step further and they could play in Europe. Plus, they were playing at home, so their desire to win was strong.
Tendou also traveled with the team to Molineux Stadium, the home of Wolves.
There were over 30,000 spectators at the stadium today, and several thousand loyal Liverpool fans had traveled with the team.
"Both sides have submitted their starting lineups."
"First, let's look at the home team, Wolves' starting lineup:"
"Goalkeeper: Rui Patrício."
"Defenders: Bennett, Coady, Boly."
"Midfielders: Doherty, Moutinho, Neves, Jonny Otto."
"Forwards: Traoré, Jiménez."
"The Wolves' head coach, Lage, has set up a three-at-the-back formation today, to counter Liverpool's high press."
The characteristic of a three-at-the-back formation is its fluidity.
This tactical system is very versatile and flexible. Its advantage lies in its "depth variation." The players are closely layered, allowing for many passing combinations and inverted triangles.
It's complicated to explain.
In short, on the field, a team with a three-at-the-back system can often be seen in a triangular formation, which brings advantages in the back.
Also, the two wing-backs can move up and down. When they go up, they become wingers, and the team's formation changes to a 3-2-3-2 strong attacking lineup.
If the defensive pressure is high, they can also track back in time to change the formation to a 5-3-2, at which point the number of defenders becomes eight.
...
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