The tactical room glowed with blue light from multiple screens.
Demien sat alone, reviewing match footage for the third time. The digital clock read 1:47 AM. His coffee had gone cold hours ago, but sleep felt impossible when the pursuit of tactical understanding demanded his full attention.
The Martigues friendly played on repeat, frozen at the moment before Morientes' goal—a perfect execution of possession-based football that had impressed everyone present.
Yet something felt incomplete.
He paused the video and sketched formation diagrams on the whiteboard, using red arrows to show player movement and blue lines to indicate passing lanes. This was the kind of tactical analysis that separated good coaches from revolutionary thinkers.
Monaco's system worked. Players embraced patient possession, and the results validated weeks of systematic preparation.
But "working" wasn't enough when football history beckoned.
Michel knocked and entered, carrying statistical printouts.
"Couldn't sleep either?" he asked.
"Possession stats look excellent—eighty-seven percent in the second half."
"Numbers don't tell the whole story," Michel replied.
He spread his analysis across the conference table: pass completion rates, territorial advantage, shot creation metrics. It was a professional assessment that confirmed tactical success.
"The system is working, Coach. Why complicate it further?"
But revolutionary thinking demanded constant evolution. Standing still meant falling behind when football's future required visionary leadership.
Demien opened his laptop and searched for tactical footage that most coaches ignored—not current matches or familiar approaches, but historical documentation of concepts that had changed the game.
Johan Cruyff appeared on the screen.
Ajax in 1971. Total football that redefined spatial relationships and positional responsibilities. Players flowed between roles with mathematical precision.
The Dutch master's philosophy filled the room through old interview footage.
"Football is simple. You pass the ball, you move, you make yourself available. But it's the hardest thing to do correctly."
Cruyff's words carried weight that transcended decades, revealing that simplicity required profound tactical sophistication.
The footage showed triangular passing patterns that Demien had never seen implemented properly. Constant movement created geometric shapes on the pitch, with each pass opening new possibilities rather than merely retaining possession.
"Look at this," he said, pausing the video.
Three Ajax players formed a perfect triangle, the ball moving between them with hypnotic rhythm. This was not just possession for its own sake, but circulation that drew opponents into tactical traps.
Michel leaned forward, studying the ancient footage with professional curiosity.
"Interesting. But that's forty years old."
"The concepts are timeless."
As Cruyff's Ajax flowed across the screen, memories from another life flooded Demien's consciousness—knowledge that felt both foreign and familiar.
Pep Guardiola had taken these concepts and perfected them at Barcelona, with tiki-taka becoming the dominant tactical philosophy of European football. Short passes and constant movement had evolved into the most beautiful football ever played.
The revelation hit him like lightning.
He understood exactly how possession could become revolutionary, how patient buildup could transform into an unstoppable attacking weapon—concepts that wouldn't appear in mainstream football for years.
But Monaco could implement them now.
His hand moved across the whiteboard, sketching formations that looked alien to modern football. Three midfielders in specific triangular relationships, defenders participating in buildup play, and every player comfortable receiving the ball under pressure.
"What is this?" Michel asked.
"The future."
"It looks... complicated."
"Simple execution. Complex preparation."
The formation took shape with mathematical precision. It wasn't just about players in positions; it was about spatial relationships that created passing options from any point on the pitch. Revolutionary concepts disguised as tactical evolution.
Cruyff's interview continued in the backgroun
"Space is the most important thing in football. Creating it. Using it. Denying it to opponents."
Understanding flooded through him, revealing how to make space work as a tactical weapon and how to turn possession into systematic domination.
Michel gathered his statistical analysis, visibly confused.
"Coach, our current system is working. The players are improving. Why abandon success for experimental concepts?"
"Because good isn't enough when greatness is possible."
The assistant coach headed for the door, shaking his head, his professional concern about Demien's tactical obsession overriding practical success.
Alone again, Demien stared at the whiteboard covered in revolutionary diagrams—formation concepts that could change football history if implemented correctly.
The clock showed 3:47 AM. Four hours until training began.
Four hours to prepare something completely different.
"Tomorrow, we try something that won't exist for five years."