Become A Football Legend

"We're having two sessions tomorrow. It's the weekend so I'm expecting everyone to be here for the morning session. Yes, Lukas, I'm looking at you."

Chuckles filled the pitch as Lukas smiled and shook his head.

"On a more serious note, though, we are having a good run so far. We have to keep the momentum going. Take the rest of the evening to do what you need to do. Rest early, and be here at 9 AM tomorrow morning.

Morning session from 9 till 11:30, then we'll rest, have lunch, and start the afternoon session from 2:30 to 4 PM. We leave for Sinsheim at 6 PM."

"Yes, Coach," the players replied as they dispersed.

The preparation for the away match against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim would begin the next day.

* * *

♪X gon' give it to ya (What?)

F*** waitin' for you to get it on your own, X gon' deliver to ya (Uh)

Knock-knock, open up the door, it's real

With the non-stop pop-pop from stainless steel

Go hard, gettin' busy with it (Ooh)

But I got such a good heart that I'll make a motherf*** wonder if he did it (Yeah)♪

Lukas stepped up to the squat rack, the steel bar resting on the hooks at shoulder height. Wrapping his fingers around the knurled grip, he pulled it slightly toward himself, feeling the weight settle into his palms. With a quick duck under, he let the bar rest across the back of his shoulders, adjusting it until it felt just right. His feet shuffled back from the rack — small, careful steps — until he stood clear, spine straight, gaze forward.

He took a deep breath, braced his core, and began lowering himself. The bar pressed heavier into his back as his knees bent and hips sank, thighs slowly moving toward parallel with the ground.

His heels stayed planted, his chest steady, every muscle working to keep balance. At the bottom, he paused for a heartbeat, then drove upward through his legs, exhaling as he rose. The plates rattled faintly, but the bar stayed firm.

Rep after rep, he repeated the motion — lower, hold, push — until his legs burned and his breath came in heavier bursts. Finally, he stepped forward, guiding the bar back into the hooks with care. The metal clinked as it settled, and he let his hands fall away, shoulders loosening as the weight lifted from his body.

"Oh damn! My legs are burning," Lukas said as he lay down on the gym floor after releasing the barbell. That was his 10th and final set of 20 reps of squats.

"TT, are you sure this won't get me injured?"

[*I didn't know you studied sports science...*]

"I'm being serious, it feels like the exercises are getting a lot harder."

[*Quit moaning. You're alright. I could make it easier, you know... Just don't think of making any meaningful improvement through them, though. You can't both eat your cake and have it.*]

"Arggh! Fine! By the way, open my player profile. Let me see how much better I've become," Lukas said as he sat up.

[ PROFILE – LUKAS BRANDT – FOOTBALLER

DATE OF BIRTH: 30/12/2008 (16)

HEIGHT: 178 cm

WEIGHT: 62 kg

CAREER STATUS: EINTRACHT FRANKFURT FIRST TEAM

POSITION: ATTACKING MIDFIELDER

CURRENT LIMIT: 85

RATING: 82 (↑1)

PLAYER STATS:

ATTACK:

Off. Awareness: 80

Ball Control: 81 (↑1)

Dribbling: 81 (↑1)

Tight Possession: 80

Low Pass: 81 (↑1)

Lofted Pass: 80

Finishing: 80

Header: 80

Set-Piece: 81 (↑1)

Curl: 81 (↑1)

DEFENCE:

Def. Awareness: 75

Tackling: 74

Aggression: 71

Def. Engagement: 70

STRENGTH:

Speed: 81 (↑1)

Acceleration: 80

Kicking Power: 82 (↑2)

Jump: 80

Physical Contact: 80

Balance: 80

Stamina: 80

Note: Good enough to be a nice Bundesliga player. ]

"Hmm... It's increasing slower than I expected," Lukas said to no one in particular as he looked at his status window.

It had now been a couple of weeks since the system was updated and he resumed training. Considering he was spending four days in the LTC every morning, and the nature and difficulty of the exercises had risen, he expected the stat gains to be faster than they were.

[*Don't be greedy. This is as fast as it gets.*] TT's voice sounded in the gym.

"I'm not. I'm just thinking about the games we'll have in a month's time — Bayern Munich away, then Leverkusen at home one week later. I wanted to push my stats as much as possible in preparation for those games. It's borderline impossible for me to be able to perform in that match how I've been performing since my debut."

[*All your attention should be on your next match, not the one in a month's time.*]

"You're right. But I can't help but worry."

[*Think about it this way... The act of worrying does not actually solve anything you're worried about. If there's something you can do to quell your worries, then why worry? Just do that thing. If there's nothing you can do to quell your worries, why worry? Nothing can be done about it, anyway.*]

"Hmm... Who did you steal that quote from?"

[*Ahem... What are you talking about..? I came up with that myself.*]

"Yeah, sure, buddy," Lukas replied with a grin as he lay back down on the neat, cold floor of the LTC gym. "My legs are killing me. Let me get some rest before the next routine." He had been in the LTC for 40 hours that day and could still spend an extra 56 hours.

After about 45 minutes of staring at the ceiling, which he still couldn't count the exact number of, Lukas dragged himself up from the ground as he stood. His legs ached, but he had gradually gotten used to the burns he got after a hard session — even starting to enjoy it a bit.

"Summon Ego. Kevin De Bruyne."

[ Kevin De Bruyne

Owned Skills:

Visionary Playmaking. Level 5/5

Pinpoint Crossing. Level 5/5

Thunderbolt Strike. Level 5/5

Surgical Throughball. Level 5/5

Tactical Genius. Level 5/5

Please select a skill to train. ]

"Thunderbolt Strike and Visionary Playmaking to level two."

[Checking Requirements...]

[Prerequisites Met.]

[Summoning Ego...]

"Wow... This still gives me the creeps no matter how many times I see it. It's literally KDB," Lukas said as he looked at the being who just appeared in front of him at that moment.

He had everything — the blonde hair, the posture, the facial and body structure. A one-to-one match of the De Bruyne... of 2020?

"This isn't how he looks now, TT. This looks like De Bruyne of five years ago."

[*You're just noticing that now? When you summoned Mesut Özil, did he look like 2025 Özil?*]

"I just assumed it was designed to look how he did in his playing days."

[*The Egos are modelled after how they look at the peak season of their careers so far.*]

"Wouldn't that be 2022/2023 season, then? That's when he won the treble."

[*Individual peak season.*]

"That's still 2022/2023..."

[Analyzing...]

[Updating...]

The De Bruyne Ego warped slightly like it aged two years in two seconds. His hair was longer, his beard — fuller, and his eyes, deeper.

"Would you look at that... I was right."

[*I just let you have that. It was arguably between the two.*]

"Yeah, but I was right, though."

[*Don't push it.*]

"Ahem... Someone's getting mad. Anyway, let's start the training," Lukas said to the De Bruyne-like Ego as they stepped out of the gym and onto the field.

* * *

"Good day everyone, and welcome to the PreZero Arena in Sinsheim. The crowd is ready. We are ready. TSG 1899 Hoffenheim against Eintracht Frankfurt. Hoffenheim struggling to climb out of the relegation zone, Eintracht Frankfurt trying to close the gap between them and the top 2. This is poised to be a spectacular match. I am Dan O'Hagan, and I am joined here by Oliver Faßnacht."

"Thank you, Dan. You can already feel the energy in the crowd. The sea of blue and white, looking to drown the eagles at the top end of the table. Will they be successful? Either way, this is going to be an exciting watch."

After the pre-match warm-ups and ceremony, the match kicked off promptly at 15:30 CET with Eintracht Frankfurt taking the kick-off.

"And we're off. Hugo Ekitike kicks off the match with a pass to Larsson.

Hoffenheim deploying a 4-2-3-1 formation on paper with Philipp in goal. Gendrey, Arthur Chaves, Akpoguma, and Jurásek playing as the back four. Stach and Becker directly in front of them as defensive midfielders. Hložek, Kramarić, and Bischof in the middle, and Moerstadt as the lone striker.

Eintracht Frankfurt with a 3-4-2-1 formation and a surprising change. A back three of Koch, Theate, and Collins. Knauff, Larsson, Skhiri, and Kristensen in the middle of the pack. Hugo Ekitike up top. And surprisingly, Uzun and Götze as the two attacking midfielders. Yes. The 16-year-old sensation Lukas Brandt with 9 goal contributions in only 4 matches and 2 starts, is back on the bench today after starting the last two games for Frankfurt.

Was it a tactical change from Toppmöller, or did he pick up a knock in training? His form would suggest he easily starts this game, but we will see how it goes," the commentators said as the feed cut to Lukas on the bench. His expression blank as his eyes followed the ball on the pitch while he occasionally sipped from a bottle of water.