Champion’s Heart

In the dressing room, Klopp severely criticized the team's performance in the first half.

...This is a derby! What are you thinking? Wake up quickly. If anyone can't wake up, I'll replace him!

He was also dissatisfied with the team's performance in the first half.

He won't accept the excuse of national team match day.

Because didn’t Schalke 04 players participate in the national team competition? Everyone is the same, so why do you say you were affected?

The Dortmund players did not dare to take a breath after being scolded by Klopp. Although Klopp can always get along with the players, it does not mean that he is an unprincipled good man. His temper is as extreme as his love for you.

The correct thing to do when being scolded by him is to lower your head and accept the scolding. Never try to defend yourself, and don't raise your head to look directly at him. That will only make your death worse.

After finishing the scolding, Klopp began to arrange tactics for the second half. He asked the players to run more aggressively. Tactics are okay, the key is execution. If everyone doesn't run, or doesn't run properly, all the arrangements before the game will not be implemented, and then no matter how good the tactics are, they are just words on paper.

※※※

At the same time, in the Schalke 04 locker room, head coach Stevens was praising his players.

...You guys did a great job! We have to run the same in the second half as we did in the first half. Use our running to separate them so that they can't establish any connection, especially Zhou Yi! Don't let him pass the football!

Everyone nodded after hearing this.

This was also their strategy in the first half. Active running was the main reason that allowed them to take the initiative in the first half. The run got them into the game earlier than Dortmund.

When Yang Muge heard the head coach's arrangement, he naturally agreed. There is only one worry - if we continue running like this, will everyone's physical strength be able to hold on?

His physical fitness is no problem, his job is to keep running, but what about other teammates who don't usually play like this? Seventy minutes into the game, how much strength do they still have to support this tactic?

Once our energy is exhausted, how can we maintain our advantage over Dortmund? You must know that this is Dortmund's home court. If they are allowed to recover, Schalke 04, whose physical fitness has declined, may collapse.

But obviously head coach Stevens has also taken this into consideration.

Therefore, while he asked the players to continue running actively, he also asked the players to seize every opportunity they can and strive to score a few more goals.

...As long as we can score more goals and get a big enough lead, we can win this game!

This is true, as long as Schalke 04 can score more goals when they have the advantage and widen the score to the point where Dortmund is unable to counterattack, they can win this game. Next, if you shrink the defense, you won't need to spend much energy.

※※※

At the beginning of the second half of the game, both sides came on the court with their own goals, especially the Dortmund players. After being scolded by Klopp in the locker room, everyone was holding a fire in their hearts and wanted to prove themselves and defeat their opponents.

So at the beginning of the second half, Dortmund launched a very fierce offensive, attacking Schalke 04's defense.

In the stands, the Dortmund fans who were still a little depressed in the first half became excited. They continued to cheer for their team with songs and cheers. For a while, the West**** Stadium came back to life.

But it seems that the goddess of fate is deliberately going against Dortmund.

Just when the entire Dortmund team was regrouping and planning to make a comeback, only three minutes into the second half, Dortmund's main midfielder Mario Gotze was knocked into the muscle on the back of his thigh during a fight, and he felt muscle soreness at that time. It was impossible to continue running, and of course it was impossible to continue competing.

Can only be replaced.

The second half had just begun when Gotze, the main player in the offense, was injured and had to be replaced. This was really an unexpected situation.

Ah, Dortmund is so unlucky! The offense finally seemed to be improving, but Gotze was injured and it seems that he will not be able to continue the game...

Faced with such a bad situation, Klopp did not curse. He frowned and muttered twice to the assistant coach Buvac next to him. Then Buvac returned to the bench and faced the Mark Wagner, who was a little anxious on the bench, hooked his hand: Mark.

Mark Wagner was not the first rookie to sit on the bench in the first team. He knew what it meant. He was a little surprised but also a little excited and nervous. He quickly got up and ran to the warm-up area.

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Mark! It's Mark! Mrs. Wagner in the south stand had sharp eyes and saw her son getting up to warm up at a glance. She is an old fan, how could she not know what this action means?

So she screamed excitedly, attracting others.

Everyone looked over and saw Mark Wagner warming up in a vest.

Is Mark going to play?

This really surprises people.

They really didn't expect that Mark would have a chance to play so soon, but at the same time they also had some doubts in their hearts - Gotze was injured, and Mark came on the field. His task must be very heavy, so how could Mark, who had not played in the game for more than a year, be able to play? OK?

Originally, the steps everyone envisioned for Mark to come back from injury were to first play during the garbage time of the game, play for a few minutes, find a feeling, and let his body and mind gradually adapt.

The current situation makes them a little panicked, worried that Mark will be under too much pressure. If he performs poorly, it will definitely damage Mark's confidence and fighting spirit, and will make his recovery from injury more difficult.

The commentator was also worried. Marcel Leif was surprised when he saw Mark going to warm up: Is Klopp going to let Mark replace the injured Gotze? Let a player who has just recovered from injury replace him? The next player to get injured, I feel like that's probably not a good consideration...

But Mark, who was warming up, didn't think about this issue at all. His mind was now filled with the idea that he was about to play, and these thoughts made him excited. He was too excited to think about the pressure he was under.

Until he was standing on the sidelines, assistant coach Buvac stood in front of him again, and then said to him: You go up, replace the injured Gotze, and form a strike partner with Lewandowski... , he suddenly realized that he was not put on the field to feel the atmosphere, but to fight with his derby opponents for real!

Only then did he hesitate.

Buvac pointed to the court and showed him where he would move after he came on the field. He raised his head mechanically, but in fact his eyes were unfocused and he didn't even observe where the coach asked him to move on the field.

He was still thinking: isn't it? Did you encounter something like this when you were on the field?

But when he felt confused and panicked, his unfocused eyes searched for Zhou Yi on the court.

Zhou Yi was very focused on the game. He kept shaking his head, looking left and right, his eyes scanning everything on the court like radar.

Seeing Zhou Yi like this, Mark suddenly felt calm.

He remembered what Zhou Yi said to him in the hotel room last night.

Believe in yourself, Mark.

There's nothing to be afraid of, Mark.

Think about your first-team debut, Mark.

Zhou Yi's voice echoed in his ears, calming Mark's panic.

What happened to being ordered in a critical situation?

What about the derby?

it's not a big deal.

I'm Mark Wagner!

※※※

Mark, do you understand? Buvac seemed to notice something strange in Mark's spirit, so he asked.

Understood, coach. Mark answered simply.

Do you really understand? Buvac looked at him suspiciously.

Yeah. I really understand, coach. After playing, move behind Lewandowski, connect Zhou Yi, Royce, and others. If you have a chance, you can shoot by yourself. If you don't have a chance, pass the football to the position. Better teammate, right? Mark repeated.

After listening, Buvac realized that Mark had really listened and was not lying to him, so he nodded with relief: Very good, actually there is nothing to worry about. Everything is just like how you played before you were injured. That is what you are familiar with. rhythm and style.

He was afraid that Mark would think too much and be too burdened.

Mark nodded. What he said before was his mission before the injury. This was how he played before the injury, and he had always played very well.

This is something he's familiar with.

Although he has not played a game for a year, Mark believes that he will not become a stranger so easily. It might take some getting used to at first, but he'll soon be reminded of that feeling again.

Just like riding a bicycle, once you learn it, it’s not easy to forget.

This is the instinct he cultivated through special training with Zhou Yi every day!

※※※

Once the ball was dead, the fourth official stood on the sidelines with a display board. The linesman raised the flag above his head with both hands, and the referee signaled for a substitution on the sidelines.

Because the injured Gotze had already been helped down, Mark, who was waiting on the sidelines, did not have to hand over to Gotze and could directly play.

After having his cleats checked by the fourth official, he ran onto the field.

Dortmund made a substitution! Klopp replaced the injured Mario Gotze with Mark Wagner. This was Mark's first appearance in the game after being injured for more than a year. I would say this appearance was a bit unexpected... But anyway, welcome back, Mark Wagner! said Marcel Leif.

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