Chapter 597 Heynckes’s show of strength
“Hello, Su!”
On the third morning after Bayern arrived in Donaueschingen, Su Dong was training in the hotel gym when he met Neuer, who had obviously come here specially. The latter seemed very polite as soon as they met.
"Ha, nice to see you here, Manuel." Su Dong smiled and shook hands with him.
His optimism about Neuer is genuine, because this goalkeeper is truly special.
How to say it?
Quick reaction, wide defensive range, agile movements, outstanding physical fitness, big heart... There are many goalkeepers who possess these characteristics, but Neuer is different from them. His footwork is also very delicate, which is extraordinary.
Su Dong really admires Neuer, otherwise he would not have taken the initiative to exchange jerseys with him when they first met.
Now, seeing Neuer become a teammate of Bayern, Su Dong is very happy.
Neuer told Su Dong that he arrived in Donaueschingen last night. The team had already started to rest, so no one knew about it. He came here specifically to thank Su Dong.
Because Hoeness told him that it was Su Dong's strong recommendation that made Bayern determined to sign him.
Joining Bayern is definitely a career leap for Neuer.
Su Dong did not take credit at all, but he still reminded Neuer that he would face great competitive pressure in Bayern, because Kahn's disciple Rensing is now Bayern's first goalkeeper.
Neuer expressed confidence that he did not mind competing with Rensing.
"I came to Bayern to be a main player, and I am very much looking forward to fighting alongside you!" Neuer said confidently.
However, in the first training session, this confident kid suffered a setback.
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As we all know, Bayern's goalkeeper coach Sepp Maier was once a legendary German goalkeeper. He served as the goalkeeper coach of Bayern and the German national team for more than ten years, and he has a close relationship with Kahn.
Meier's assistant was Bernd Dreyer.
The 41-year-old goalkeeper plays the dual role of goalkeeper and goalkeeper coach. He has been playing for Bayern since 1996 and has always been Sepp Maier's right-hand man. According to the plan of Maier and Bayern, after Maier retires in 2009, Dreyer will succeed Maier and become Bayern's goalkeeper coach.
For Bayern, this can also be considered a kind of inheritance.
More importantly, Dreyer's ability to train goalkeepers is recognized by Bayern's management and players. For example, he and Meyer designed a series of targeted training specifically for Bayern's goalkeepers, which achieved quite good results among the goalkeepers. The most praised of these was the shot put training.
In recent years, the balls used in football matches have become lighter and lighter, but Bayern has gone in the opposite direction when training their goalkeepers, using two-kilogram solid balls for training. This kind of ball is thrown with great force, forcing the goalkeeper to open his arms when saving the ball. If he keeps his arms curled up, it would be very bad, and in serious cases he might even break his arm.
But this kind of ball is very beneficial for goalkeepers to train their arm strength, and the effect is very gratifying.
For goalkeepers who are familiar with this training, shot-ball training is actually nothing. It is also commonplace within Bayern and is considered a secret known to everyone in the team. But for Neuer, who has just arrived, the situation is completely different.
When he was at Schalke 04, where had he come into contact with such solid ball training? Therefore, the training session the morning after Neuer arrived in Donaueschingen was really a tough one.
On the contrary, his competitor Rensing seemed to be at ease, and it was obvious that he had long been adapted to shot put training.
In addition to technical and tactical drills and group confrontations, goalkeeper training has its own independent area.
Su Dong watched Neuer being abused from afar and could only express sympathy.
"Young man, it's better to suffer a little."
Only those who endure the most hardships can become the best! But in fact, Su Dong is only one or two years older than Noel.
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After the afternoon training session, Su Dong went to the gym for additional training as usual, accompanied by his personal coaching team.
But when they finished the extra training and were about to leave, they heard some noise coming from the training ground.
When I walked over, it was Neuer.
This kid stood in front of a goal and asked the staff to throw the ball towards the goal with all their strength, and he then tried his best to save the ball.
A shot put is much smaller and heavier than a soccer ball, making it more difficult to save. Neuer was obviously not used to it, but he kept shouting "try again" again and again, as if he was competing with someone.
When Su Dong watched this scene from afar, his first reaction was to laugh.
This kid has really good physical fitness.
Heynckes' summer training was very intense, and Sepp Maier's training was equally difficult. As a result, he not only endured Maier's training and participated in the team's training, but also stayed to practice saving solid balls on his own. It has to be said that his physical fitness is indeed quite outstanding.
But what Su Dong admired most was his energy.
Professional players, especially young professional players in the rapid development period, must have this kind of spirit, not submitting to anyone and competing with everyone.
Watching Neuer's training on the field, Su Dong couldn't help but think of the time when he and Ronaldo were in Sporting Lisbon.
Ronnie dared to declare that he wanted to be the strongest man in the world even when he was very skinny. In this respect, Neuer is quite similar to Ronnie.
"This kid is really good." Heynckes' voice sounded beside Su Dong.
Su Dong turned his head and saw Old Man Hai standing beside him with a big smile on his face, watching Neuer in training from a distance. But for some reason, Su Dong looked at his smile and felt that he had bad intentions. "You put a lot of pressure on him. You gave him a show of force in the first class." Su Dong said with a smile.
Logically speaking, Neuer has just arrived and is still in the stage of getting familiar with the team. There is no need for him to use the deadly weapon such as shot put right away. At least he should be given some time to adapt, right?
"It wasn't me who suggested this. It was Sepp who proposed it." Heynckes felt aggrieved.
"You are at least an accomplice." Su Dong scolded with a smile.
Among Bayern players, the only one who dares to speak to Heynckes like this is probably Su Dong.
Of course, Su Dong knew his limits and only did so in private communications. In front of his teammates, he was also respectful to Heynckes and maintained his authority.
Heynckes did not refute, "Sep feels that Neuer has made little progress in the past season, mainly because he is not under enough pressure. This kid is arrogant, but his potential is amazing, and he is resilient, so we should persevere and squeeze out his potential as much as possible to force him to grow faster."
Su Dong had no objection, because Sepp Maier was truly an authority when it came to training young players, especially goalkeepers. He knew better than anyone what a goalkeeper should do, what qualities he should possess, and what kind of training he should receive.
"So, from what you said, you don't plan to let him play as a main player?" Su Dong vaguely guessed the intention of the coaching staff.
Heynckes nodded with a smile. "It's not that easy to be Bayern's main goalkeeper. How many years has Rensing been Kahn's substitute? A young guy like Neuer wants to be the main goalkeeper right after he arrives?"
Bayern's management and coaching staff are very consistent in their opinions. Both Rensing and Neuer are goalkeepers with great potential. Bayern wants to create platforms and opportunities for the two to compete and see who will stand out.
It's a bit like a gladiatorial fight.
It's cruel, but also very realistic.
Professional football is full of such fighting and competition.
As a player, Su Dong has already adapted.
"For a meal, I bet on Neuer. He will be a main player in the first five rounds of the Bundesliga." Su Dong said with a smile.
Heynckes was stunned. He was also optimistic about Neuer, but not as optimistic as Su Dong. He felt that if he could maintain rapid progress in the first half, he would have a chance to become a starter. After all, Rensing has been in Bayern for so many years.
What the management means is that this season is for Neuer to adapt, and the adaptation period can even be extended to two years.
"Do you think so highly of him?" Heynckes was a little surprised.
Su Dong did not answer, but asked with a smile: "Come on, do you want to bet?"
Heynckes curled his lips and said, "No bet."
"Boring." Su Dong was discouraged. This old man Hai was actually quite conservative and not open at all.
"Why do you think so highly of him?" Heynckes felt very strange.
Su Dong smiled and said, "I have a friend who was originally very thin. But in a very short period of time, through high-intensity training, he could even stay up all night in the gym and soon became the strongest man in the team."
After a pause, Su Dong looked at Neuer in the distance again, "You should never underestimate a person's perseverance and determination."
Heynckes was puzzled. "Does this have anything to do with your opinion of him?"
"It doesn't matter." Su Dong shook his head with amusement, "If I lose, I'll just lose your meal, but if I win, I'll make a lot of money, right?" After saying that, Su Dong couldn't help but laugh happily.
Heynckes was speechless.
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Afterwards, during the training camp in Donaueschingen, Neuer really insisted on extra training every day, which impressed the coaching staff and Su Dong was also quite surprised by him.
As support, Su Dong specially asked Grant Downing to tailor a recovery training plan for him, which made Neuer very grateful to him because he had heard of the reputation of Su Dong's personal coaching team.
After training in Donaueschingen for a period of time, the team played a warm-up match against a regional team.
Bayern won the game without any danger and defeated their opponent 7-0.
Su Dong didn't even appear in this game. Thomas Muller performed very well and completed a hat-trick. Toni Kroos also scored a goal and Hummels also scored a goal.
Bayern's big win over their opponents in the first warm-up match of the new season allowed everyone to see Bayern's strong strength, especially the depth of its bench.
New signings such as Neuer, Tymoshchuk and Olic also came on the field in this game.
After the warm-up match, all the national team players participating in the European Cup returned to the team on time.
The team trained in Donaueschingen for another three days and then chartered a flight to Singapore, marking the first stop of their Asian tour.
(End of this chapter)
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