Grass roots glory

Chapter 152 The Final Challenge: The Wolf Den

Schalke won the ball at the Westphalon Stadium. It is obviously a luxury to get out of this stadium safely. Dortmund fans have already blocked the stands on both sides of the player's tunnel door. Banana peels, The mineral water bottle greeted the faces of the Schalke fans vigorously.Although Zhou Tiancheng reacted quickly and pushed Hewedes, who was walking in front, into the player tunnel, he was still not spared, and more than half of the mineral water poured directly on his head.

"Bitch! This group of scumbags is simply disgusting, Zhou, are you alright?" Kuranyi immediately expressed his concern when he saw Zhou Tiancheng's hair was soaked and water was dripping from his jersey.Gritting his teeth, he was aggrieved.He ate a lot of cakes fed by Zhou Tiancheng on the court, and his relationship was usually very close.

Zhou Tiancheng waved his hand: "They can't afford to lose, what do we care about. It's very interesting, I don't need to wash my hair tonight."

"Zhou, I can't learn your mentality." Hewedes turned around and gave Zhou Tiancheng a thumbs up.

The mentality of Dortmund fans is normal.Losing to Schalke is not only a matter of face, but more importantly, the point difference in the standings instantly changed from one point close at hand to four points. At the same time, Wolfsburg and Stuttgart behind them caught up at the same time And the point difference has been evened out. The second to fourth places in the standings currently share 46 points.

After the derby in the Ruhr area, the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals rekindled the battle after a winter break. Schalke 04 will first go to the away game to challenge Porto in the first round.

Since Schalke 04 qualified with the best results in the group stage of the entire top 32, it has a favorable schedule for the first guest and then the host.The goal of Slomka's visit to the Dragon Stadium this time is to win, and to score more goals-in the home and away two-round knockout round, more away goals will have a natural advantage.This is the experience of Slomka leading the team to the quarterfinals.

And even more coincidentally, in the quarter-finals of last season, Schalke 04 eliminated Porto to advance.Head coach Pereira declared before the game: "This is a great opportunity given by God. The team played with the belief of revenge, and we are more confident to keep the victory."

However, the odds of several major bookmakers are very optimistic about Schalke 04's victory, and even the odds of 2.5 goals are not particularly high.Obviously, the mainstream view is that Schalke will not only win, but a three-goal victory is a normal result.Although Porto is six points ahead of Benfica in the Portuguese Super League, they have a great potential to ride the dust, but the Portuguese Super League is only the second echelon in the European League, challenging the best of the five major leagues, and almost no one is optimistic about them.

Zhou Tiancheng assisted Altintop with a header in the 6th minute of the opening game, which turned the momentum of the game in a direction that was beneficial to Schalke. Those Porto fans who had a little expectation for the home team at the Dragon Stadium saw the opening In this situation, I gradually feel that it is really too difficult to expect the team to do something.Last season, they were able to play back and forth with Schalke at home anyway, but this Schalke's midfield control almost made them see no hope.Pushing the ground is almost equivalent to actively giving the ball to Schalke. If you can't pass the middle circle, you have to be intercepted. There is really no other way except to give the ball to Schalke's half with a big kick.

Porto's only attacking threat is their left winger, Brazil's young international international Hulk.He has a very good physique like a behemoth, and he is also good at dribbling at his feet. Porto's sporadic offensive threats can almost only be created by him alone.

But Schalke immediately paid attention to the key defense on the right. Zhou Tiancheng closed in on the defensive end and assisted Rafinha to directly block Hulk's advance into the penalty area.

The only threat point is stuck, and with a goal advantage, Schalke can besiege opponents more wantonly in the away game. No.30 minutes, Asamoah made a pass from the left. Kuranyi's header in front of the goal was interfered by the opponent's central defender. Put the ball into the goal.

In just half an hour, Schalke 04 led Porto 2:0 away.

"Schalke 04 leads by two goals! It feels like it hasn't been long since the start. Zhou Tiancheng's goal not only almost killed the suspense of 10 minutes, even the suspense of 180 minutes of this round of the series is very likely to follow this The end of the foot. Zhou Tiancheng also opened the scoring account for Chinese players in the Champions League, setting a new height for Chinese players in the European arena."

Duan Xuan seemed extremely excited, because he firmly believed that as long as Schalke has such an advantage, it is almost impossible to lose.The possibility of returning to the Schalke Stadium and being overturned is even slimmer.

Joao Landa, the commentator of Portuguese National Television, was very frustrated, but he was also convinced, and said in a low voice: "No way, Porto really tried their best. It is definitely not that they are weak. It is not that they can reach the top 04 of the Champions League. Underdogs, it's just that Schalke [-] is too strong, when you feel that there is nothing you can do on the field, no matter how tough the defense is, there will be loopholes."

Leading by two goals, Schalke 04 slowed down the pace a little in the second half and kept the score within a range that was not too exaggerated to prevent the opponent from jumping over the wall in a hurry and starting to shovel and rush to hurt people if they couldn't get the ball. The loss of the main force in the future is the most worthless thing.Although Slomka said to score as many goals as possible.That also depends on the specific situation.Now that the opponent's momentum has been completely suppressed, there is no need to compete with yourself in pursuit of a big victory.High-level competition is inherently ever-changing, and Slomka is definitely not a person who does not know how to adapt.

This rhythm did not obliterate the highlight of Zhou Tiancheng's second half at all. He showed a wave of fine work in front of Portuguese and Brazilian players who are good at foot skills.

No. In the 60th minute, Zhou Tiancheng pulled the ball twice in a row and turned around in a small space, shaking off the siege of two midfielders. The Porto fans at the scene gave a burst of applause without hesitation.Then Zhou Tiancheng followed up with an earth-shattering long-range shot, rubbing the post and hitting the billboard behind the goal.

Duan Xuan beat his chest and stamped his feet: "Hey! It's really unlucky. If this shot is scored, it will definitely be in the top three of the top 10 goals in the Champions League this season, and it is even very likely to lock in the first place. The whole process has both strength and technology. Unfortunately, Only a little bit of luck is missing from the ultimate perfection."

Marcel Leff sighed at the same time: "Zhou's hard technical indicators such as ball feel and shooting are already at the level of superstars. The only thing he lacks is the experience of being alone in the top big scenes, but this does not prevent him from moving towards the top. The level of players is a little bit closer. The reason why Schalke is so strong this year is that they value young strength more than other teams, Zhou is like this, and Rakitic is also like this."

Although Schalke 04 slowed down the pace in the second half, the goals did not stop. In the 70th minute, Kuranyi received Rafinha's winger from a tactical corner kick and made a pass. He scored with a header.

3:0, although there is still a game that has not been played, but the German media has begun to confidently select the top eight opponents for Schalke's prediction.

Just so confident!The German media has never experienced this feeling in a Bundesliga team other than Bayern.

The only consolation for the fans of the home team is that Hulk scored a point with a direct free kick before the end of the game. The score was fixed at 3:1. Although it will not have any subversive impact on the overall situation, it can at least save some face .

Schalke won the away game, and the German media then focused on Bayern, who played the next day. Coincidentally, their opponent was also the Portuguese Super League team, another giant in the Portuguese Super League, Sporting Lisbon.

Since Bayern supplemented Donovan and Olic on the front line during the winter break, the winning rate in the second half has increased significantly, especially Croatian striker Olic, who played three times as a substitute in the second half of the four rounds of the league, and has already contributed one shot and one pass. And it's all at the critical moment after 10 minutes, this efficiency is directly directed at the rhythm of the substitute Raiders.

So the Bayern fans and the Munich media, who have been dull for half a season, started to grab the headlines again, and they used Schalke's win the day before to talk about it-Bayern should have scored more goals than Schalke!

It is not difficult to see that the long-term sense of superiority of Bayern fans is deep in the bone marrow, and it can be seen from these details.

In the final result, Bayern did score more goals than Schalke, and the score was enough to make everyone's jaw drop.

5:0!Bayern staged a brutal carnage away.

However, the German and Portuguese media have different starting points for "surprise". The German media is surprised by the strength of the Bundesliga team. In this state, it is not impossible to fight against the four giants of the Premier League and the "Western Super League duo" Barcelona and Real Madrid!
Especially for Schalke 04, although Bayern is faintly showing signs of recovery, the rational German media place higher expectations on Schalke.

The Portuguese media, on the other hand, was full of mourning, and there was a feeling of lovelessness between the lines.The total score of the two games was 8:1, and the onlookers looked shocked.

……

At the end of the Champions League match day, Schalke 04 returned to the league and continued to do the championship career of "keep your ears off the window and focus on winning".

In the two league rounds interspersed with the two Champions League quarter-finals, the opponents were Frankfurt and Cologne, and their strengths were not strong.Slomka makes a regular rotation of the lineup.After all, the Champions League has also reached the key knockout round, and he pays special attention to balancing the relationship between the league and the Champions League.The quarter-finals are just a goal for the outside world. With the team's strength this year, why can't they pursue higher goals?
At the league level, Slomka is now focusing on the direct confrontation with the top four teams, as well as the match with Bayern. As for other opponents, even if they are not the main players, he has enough confidence to win.The situation like being upset by Cologne in the first half was just a coincidence.

Accidents are impossible to repeat in strong teams.

In these two games, Zhou Tiancheng was the starter. After taking the lead, he was replaced in the last half an hour. Zhou Tiancheng was a little upset when he left the field. He felt that his physical condition allowed, why didn't he let himself play full?
Zhou Tiancheng has always maintained that original aspiration, and his desire to compete is still exactly the same as before.

Slomka could tell from Zhou Tiancheng's expression when he left the field.When he was replaced for the first time, Slomka patted him on the shoulder, and in the next game, Slomka found that Zhou Tiancheng was frowning and did not pick up the towel handed by his teammates. Zhou Tiancheng had a thought in his mind, walked over and said in a low voice: "Take a good rest, we need someone with you in perfect condition to face a more difficult game, the victory is already decided, it would be a waste to keep you on the court."

And Zhou Tiancheng, a Chinese fan who was thousands of miles away, was finally replaced, and gave Slomka a big praise in his heart. Everyone has seen too many wonderful performances of Zhou Tiancheng on the field. Many fans of Zhou Tiancheng are worried about such a game. Full attendance, no rest for 1 minute, his body couldn't bear it.If at the critical moment, Zhou Tiancheng's body had a problem, it would be really lively.

But now the facts have proved that they were too worried, and Slomka is still very humane.

……

Schalke 04 won these two opponents without any surprise, and their points rose to 56 points, sitting firmly in the top spot. However, behind them, Wolfsburg caught up with an amazing posture.

After the winter break, Magath's team had a stronger momentum than Schalke. In the second half of the five rounds of the league, they won four and drew one. They scored twelve goals in five rounds. Although the opponents were all mid-lower teams, But it is a fact that they overtook Stuttgart and Dortmund in a row and rose to second place in the standings.And in the next four rounds of No.20, Schalke 04 will directly face Wolfsburg in the away game.

In the preview of this game, German TV station [-] directly characterized this game as Schalke's last challenge to the championship.If they can take all three points, they will have more than one goal difference with the team behind them. Combined with various factors such as schedule and status, then no opponent can pose a real threat to them.

Sounds great, but it's not so easy to implement.

The Chinese transliteration of Wolfsburg is "Wolf Castle". It is conceivable that in their home stadium, the "Wolf Den" at the Volkswagen Stadium, their combat effectiveness will naturally be very strong.Especially this season.

"Schalke will face the few tests left, but perhaps a bigger one than Bayern at the Allianz Arena. Magath's side can move up to second in the standings, with seven wins and one draw at home so far. Maintaining an unbeaten record is closely related. Magath seems to have found the key to the team during the winter break. Bosnia and Herzegovina striker Dzeko and Brazilian Grafitte's "black and white double evil" combination showed an invincible offensive state. The number of goals conceded by Schalke this season is leading the Bundesliga. The most fundamental reason is that the midfielder intercepts effectively, but if Wolfsburg adopts the most direct way to bomb the defense at that time, Schalke may not be able to guarantee the top An immediate hit for Wolfsburg. Young Höwedes, in particular, could be a

ZDF focused on explaining Schalke's potential weaknesses. There is a need for publicity to attract ratings, but Schalke fans don't like this at all.

They believe that the team has no reason to lose the chain, not to mention that the strength is not weaker than the opponent.

Even if the away game is difficult, but for the championship, what else can't be done?

(End of this chapter)