Chapter One: The Last Shot Before the Window Closed

“No goalkeeper reset. Begin on the right, draw the press, then switch left. Gu starts on the bench.” “Boss,” Zhao said, “do you actually understand football?” Shen projected every sequence that season in which Cape City had made more than eight passes. Most began when Luo dropped deep. On the ninth pass, the left back invariably launched the ball away because he feared being responsible for losing it. “I understand why you keep losing,” Shen said. “Every one of you is afraid to be the man who gives the ball away, so you kick responsibility as far from yourself as possible. Twelve passes aren't a tactic. They're proof that you still trust the man beside you.”