PFC Chapter 5 What the heck is this data?
Chapter 5 What the heck is this data?
The screen of the body composition analyzer lit up.
Ortega pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and looked down at the data.
Body fat percentage: 8.7%.
Skeletal muscle content: 42.3 kg.
He paused for a moment on the form with his pen.
Both numbers are within the normal range when viewed separately.
An 8.7% body fat percentage is something first-team players can occasionally achieve mid-season.
With a skeletal muscle mass of 42.3kg, this is a professional standard for center-backs who have spent years in the gym.
But the problem is—this kid in front of me is 19 years old, 180cm tall, and comes from the Brazilian league.
The training system in the Brazilian league is not the same as that in Europe.
The young players there are generally thin and agile, and very few have that level of muscle mass.
Because of the different football atmosphere, Ortega, who came from that country, has seen many players from there, and those players seem to prefer a more flashy playing style.
These muscles will actually make them even stiffer.
Furthermore, they lack self-discipline and restraint, so the seedlings that emerge are basically natural-born Gu from the slums.
Where is there any self-discipline? Moreover, with a body fat percentage of 8.7% and skeletal muscle of 42.3kg, it means that this child has almost no excess fat, and it's all useful stuff.
This kid doesn't seem like someone who came from a youth training program in South America.
So self-disciplined?
Muscle mass and body fat percentage don't lie; clearly, such data comes from a lot of hard work.
Thinking about this, Ortega's attitude towards Li Jing changed significantly.
Who wouldn't like such a child?
He recalled the rumors and gossip he had heard.
Ortega thought he might be the first Madrid resident to get to know Li Jing, bypassing the rumors and gossip.
"Kid, you're in pretty good shape..."
Ortega spoke first, but his expression didn't show much surprise.
After all, he's a veteran.
We should have the composure of the older generation.
Ortega played for Atlético Madrid for twelve years.
Everyone here knows about his long tenure.
Before joining Atlético Madrid, he spent eight years at the Atlético Madrid University Sports Medicine Center.
Going back further, he worked as a researcher for three years at the Kinesiology Laboratory at the University of Maryland.
In a total of twenty-three years, what kind of players hasn't he seen?
He was the one who did the physical test report for Torres when he was 17 and promoted to the first team.
He also conducted Aguero's medical examination before he transferred from Independiente.
Forland, Diego Costa, they all walked past his room.
He has seen the bodies of geniuses, and he has seen bodies pushed to their limits.
But he never gets excited about a set of data.
As for the data, if it's high, so be it; just write it down and that's it.
He's the team doctor, not a scout; it's not his place to get excited.
However, his tone was much better.
Ortega wrote two numbers on the form and turned to the next page.
"Come here and stand on that mat."
He pointed to the Optojump photoelectric testing system in the corner of the room.
Li Jing walked onto the mat.
It's also quite novel; it's something Santos doesn't have, and it's very high-end.
But frankly, he quickly realized that this thing wasn't anything particularly advanced.
This equipment consists of two parallel photoelectric sensor strips laid on the ground, with the area in between serving as the test pad.
When players perform actions such as jumping, changing direction, and sprinting, sensors record every moment when their feet leave the ground and land.
Accuracy down to the millisecond.
By using this time data, key indicators such as a player's ground contact time, air time, explosive power output, and reaction speed can be calculated.
Simply put, how long your feet stay on the ground, how long you stay in the air, and how fast you exert force—all of this is hidden between these two light bars.
Li Jing took off his shoes and stood on it.
"Follow my instructions. First, do five vertical jumps in place, then three sets of lateral changes of direction, and finally a ten-meter turnaround."
"it is good."
Li Jing started jumping.
Ortega sat in front of the monitor next to him, a ballpoint pen held between his index and middle fingers.
When the data for the first jump popped up, he didn't react much.
The second time, the pen spun half a circle between my fingers.
The third jump saw the pen spin faster.
The lateral change of direction test begins, and the numbers on the monitor jump out one line at a time.
Ortega finally sensed something was wrong again, and sweat began to bead on his forehead.
Ortega's pen had already turned into a windmill at his fingertips.
He didn't speak.
After completing the ten-meter turnaround, Li Jing stood on the mat, breathing steadily, and barely sweating.
Ortega stared at the screen, then stopped writing.
"The various indicators for explosive growth are also quite good..."
"...Go to the treadmill."
The next item is the VO2max test.
The name sounds impressive, but the concept is actually quite simple—maximum oxygen uptake.
It refers to how much oxygen your body can absorb per minute when you exercise intensely.
The higher the number, the stronger your cardiopulmonary function, and the less likely you are to get tired the longer you run.
The average person is between 35 and 45. Professional football players are generally between 55 and 65.
Top-tier athletes, like Induran back in the day, could reach over 90, but he was a cyclist, not a fellow cyclist.
Among football players, those who are over 70 can be counted on one hand in the entire top five leagues.
The testing method was also simple and straightforward: get on the treadmill, start at a speed of 8km/h, increase the speed by one level every minute, and increase the incline at the same time.
The players wore masks to breathe, connected to gas analyzers. They ran until they couldn't go on anymore.
Most professional athletes reach their limit at levels 10 to 12—their heart rate spikes to its maximum, their legs start to go weak, and they have to call a stop.
Li Jing got on the treadmill.
8km/h, easy.
10km/h, normal.
Level 8. Ortega glanced at the heart rate monitor—162 bpm, a normal upward curve.
Level 10, heart rate 178 bpm. At this stage, most players' breathing has begun to become rapid.
Li Jing's breathing rate did increase, but not by much.
Level 11.
Level 12.
Ortega lifted his hand off the table.
Level 13.
This level exceeds the limits of most of Atlético Madrid's current first-team players.
Level 14.
Ortega stood up.
He walked to the side of the treadmill and stared at Li Jing's face for two seconds—the kid had sweat on his face and his leg muscles were obviously working, but his rhythm hadn't broken down yet.
"Wait a minute."
Li Jing stepped on the pedals on both sides of the treadmill, slowing it down to a stop. He took off his mask and wiped away his sweat.
"What's wrong?"
Ortega did not answer him.
He turned around and walked to the body composition analyzer, bending down to look at the calibration label on the back of the machine.
Last calibration in November 2011.
It's not expired!
The sensor is connected to the light, and it's also green.
So what's going on?
He went back to the Optojump system, sat down, and retrieved the raw data from before.
Check it line by line.
It's still the same numbers.
Ortega took off his glasses and wiped the lenses with the hem of his white coat.
Put it back on.
"Let's test Optojump again."
Li Jing didn't ask why, walked back to the test mat, stood up, and took a few deep breaths.
"The same process as before."
Five vertical jumps. Three sets of lateral changes of direction. One set of ten-meter turnaround jumps.
The data is out.
Ortega had somehow pulled his chair to within thirty centimeters of the monitor. The light from the screen reflected off his glasses.
The data from the second round was slightly higher than that from the first round.
Not many, but too high.
A more thorough warm-up leads to better performance. This is a normal phenomenon in sports medicine.
But this also means that the data from the first round was not accidental.
Ortega stared at the screen for ten seconds without moving.
Standing on the mat, Li Jing looked at the back of the bald old man's head and roughly figured it out.
A body honed through 100,000 hours of simulated training will naturally deviate from the normal range when subjected to the physical testing standards of Europe's top five leagues. He wasn't surprised.
But he won't offer any explanation.
He is a 19-year-old player from Brazil.
It was just a test; he just wanted to finish it and go home quickly.
Tomorrow's first day of training is the real business.
This is my first time taking a European-level physical fitness test.
There was no time to be nervous, let alone analyze why my data was high.
This is a normal reaction a newcomer should have.
Li Jing maintained the expression of a normal newcomer.
Ortega had him complete the last few tests—flexibility test, sitting on a mat and reaching forward to his toes; balance test, standing on one foot on a hemisphere and maintaining stability; core strength assessment, plank and side bridge.
After completing each task, Ortega would write it on the form.
But the writing speed is getting slower and slower. The pen tip will pause for two or three seconds after landing on the paper before moving again.
All is over.
"Get dressed." Ortega closed the form and nodded to Li Jing. "Today's physical tests are over. I've compiled the results and given them to the coaching staff. Go back and rest. Report to the base at nine o'clock tomorrow morning."
"Thanks."
Li Jing changed his clothes, pushed open the door, and went out.
The door slammed shut with a muffled sound in the quiet corridor.
Ortega sat alone at the table.
He swore.
"Holy crap, what's going on with this kid's stats?!"
He pulled all the raw data from the printer and spread it out on the table, page by page. He took a red pen from the drawer and removed the cap.
The first circle is drawn on the cross data of body fat percentage and skeletal muscle mass.
The second lap shows the Optojump's ground contact reaction time.
The third and fourth are the vertical jump time and the lateral acceleration.
Fifth, the final reading of VO2max.
The sixth is the core stability score.
The seventh is the comprehensive explosive power index.
Seven red circles.
He worked at Atlético Madrid for twelve years. He handled at least three thousand player fitness reports.
Of these seven numbers, three matched the highest values he had seen in twelve years.
There are four left, which is more than enough.
All of this applies to the same person: a 19-year-old player from the Brazilian league with no prior training experience in top European leagues.
This doesn't make any sense, bro!
Ortega picked up the intercom on the table and dialed a number.
It made two sounds.
"Coach, the physical test is over."
On the other end of the phone was Simeone's assistant coach, Burgos.
"How is it?"
Ortega opened his mouth slightly, then closed it again.
"...Everything is normal. He's in good physical condition, meets professional standards, and has no potential injuries. He can attend training tomorrow."
"OK."
The phone hangs up.
Ortega leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.
Then he pulled the page of paper covered in red circles from the table, folded it in half, then folded it in half again, and stuffed it into the inside pocket of the left breast of his white coat.
He has worked in sports medicine for 23 years.
I've seen people with extraordinary talent, people who have worked hard to improve themselves, people who take drugs, and people who have won big prizes in the genetic lottery.
But I have never seen a person reach extreme values in every dimension at the same time.
The human body doesn't work that way.
If you are fast, you are more likely to lack strength.
If you have strong explosive power, your endurance is likely to be short.
If you are flexible, you are less likely to be strong in physical confrontations.
This is the most fundamental constraint in exercise physiology.
The data before us confirms this pattern.
What's going on?
Therefore, the most reasonable explanation is that the machine malfunctioned.
Although he had checked it.
The calibration was not expired, the sensor was normal, and the results of the two tests were highly consistent.
But he preferred to believe it was a problem with the equipment.
If it wasn't a problem with the equipment, then he would have to explain something to the coaching staff: you brought back a monster from Brazil.
A team doctor who has been honest and hardworking for 23 years wouldn't do such a thing.
What if the data is false? What if the equipment is later found to have discrepancies?
In the end, it will be Ortega who makes a fool of himself, not someone else.
He looked serious and decided to have a repairman come and take a good look at the two machines over the weekend.
And based on experience, he was very confident that he shouldn't have done that...
……