8 The types of striker

Kazuki took a deep breath, after finishing his training in [Dream Training] felt something is not right.

"I don't feel any progress anymore, what happened?" asked Kazuki to GM.

In the month since he trained in [Dream Training], Kazuki focused himself on his confrontation skills in the penalty box plus the off-ball skills he learned from Inzaghi. Every day he always feels progress, no matter how small it is.

However, yesterday he felt something different than usual. Kazuki felt he wasn't growing anymore.

The GM walked over to Kazuki and patted Kazuki on the head. He then said, "Firstly, no matter how much you train, it can never match the real experience of playing. Even if you train hard in [Dream Training] against an AI who has the same abilities as defenders in the premier league. But in the real world you are fighting with junior defender who is not very capable. You need senior-level competitive matches if you want to improve your skills."

The way [Dream Training] worked was to imprint the results of Kazuki's training in the dream world into Kazuki's muscle memory so that Kazuki's body would instinctively remember the results of the training. However, even though Kazuki's muscles remembered the results of Kazuki's training, Kazuki's body, which had not experienced the training directly, couldn't process the brain memory that [Dream Training] had implanted.

GM then continued, "Secondly, this is your body's limit. You are young, your muscles are still developing, no matter how well trained you are in confrontation, your body will hinder your confrontational ability." Kazuki was still a teenager, there was no way his body suddenly became as muscular as a hulk.

Because of that in the confrontation against the AI ​​who had the data belonging to the center backs in the five major leagues, Kazuki was always at a disadvantage. After all, most of the quality defenders had good physiques which were able to dominate Kazuki overall.

"Finally, I think it's time for you to change the focus of your training. For now, your confrontation skills in the penalty area have reached their limit. Without confrontation skills, the ability to receive the ball and kick the ball in the penalty box area will not develop much. It's time for you to strengthen your other abilities. like passing and free kicks. That way you can maximize your role as a Center Forward."

There are many types of Center Forwards in football. The first is the traditional Center Forward. Usually it has a prominent physical appearance. They have the ability to go head-to-head with center-backs and protect the ball on the pitch so their teammates can join in on the attack. The most notable characteristics of this type are the ability to pass short distances and good jumps.

The second is Poacher. This type of striker is rarely encountered because they are the type of striker who relies on luck and a strong sense of smell. They are always in the right place and at the right time. An example of this type of striker is Filippo Inzaghi.

Third Target Man, as the name suggests, this type of striker is a striker who is always the target of every teammate's pass in any situation. Target Man's job is to stay near Center Back and beat him in a confrontation and then get past him. This type of striker is usually used by teams that are not too concerned with possession of the ball.

Fourth Finisher, Finisher is a type of striker who is often referred to as a goal-scoring machine and is the most dangerous person in the opponent's penalty box. A striker of this type can score goals through any part of his body and under any conditions. This type of striker really masters all types of goal-scoring abilities.

Fifth, Complete Forward. This is the last type and the most difficult to come up with. This striker is very balanced, he has good skills and techniques, he also has extraordinary physical abilities, he also has header abilities like a target man, and lastly, he is also good at using space and gaps like a poacher.

The False Nine itself does not fall into this category because of the difference in roles with strikers in general.

To be honest, many players have two or more characteristics of the above types. Because the types above have their respective advantages and disadvantages, a good striker must be able to perform well in all fields.

Kazuki's current ability perfectly matched Poacher's. Of course, his goal-scoring ability is also slowly improving, but Kazuki's header is still weak, so he is not fit to be called a Finisher.

With GM Kazuki's suggestion shifting his daily training in [Dream Training] to Passing, Free-kicks, and long-range kicks. These three things would be Kazuki's focus from now on.

Kazuki's passing ability wasn't bad, but his accuracy was lower than that of Bennet and Ethan. Sometimes his passes too weak or too strong to his teammates. Long-range passes and curves passes had always been Kazuki's glaring weakness.

Of course, because he never trained in that field because after all, a striker doesn't need very good passing skills. But there is no harm in practicing to strengthen such aspects.

Meanwhile, Kazuki would try to focus his free-kick practice on mid-range. Because at close range free kicks require more curves while at long distance free kicks will require more power and accuracy. The person who taught this long-range free-kick was the AI ​​who had gathered a database of free-kicks.

Lastly was the long-range kick, by studying this aspect Kazuki could pose a sudden threat to the opposing goalkeeper. Against very defensive teams this ability is also very useful.

Lastly, whether it was a free-kick or a long-range kick, Kazuki would learn how to use correctly leg strength so that his kick would be strong and accurate. By learning the technique of exerting that leg strength, there was a possibility that each of Kazuki's kicks would be more powerful later on.

While Kazuki was training hard, in the real world Kazuki's final match for Manchester United was about to arrive. After this match, he had 90% confidence to leave the academy and quickly join the senior-level competition. Whether it's a second caste league or another league in Europe.

He might feel a uncomfortable for Ethan and Bennett who have become friends recently, but this is modern football. To pursue a variety of things, separations and transfers in modern football has become commonplace. But of course if one day he could become teammates again with Ethan and Bennet then Kazuki would gladly accept it.