By the end of the session, Lukas was exhausted but still standing. Klopp gathered the team for a final word. "Good session. Intensity was good. For the new players – welcome to the real Dortmund. This is what we do every day. If you want to stay, you match this level. If you can't, you go back. Simple as that."
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That evening, back in their dorm room, Mateo and Lukas collapsed onto their beds, utterly spent. The dorm was part of the club's youth development program, designed to house and protect their young assets. Mateo, still only seventeen, was required to stay there until he turned eighteen, and Lukas, his dormmate, had been his constant companion since they first met.
The room was small but comfortable – two beds, two desks, a shared bathroom, and posters of football legends on the walls. It was their sanctuary, their space to decompress after the relentless demands of professional football.
