The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills

Chapter 551: Chapter 109: Messi’s Strongest Mouthpiece! For the 2011 Golden Ball Award! Neuer: Wang Shuo, I’ll Fight You

The real problem was that Rakitic’s contract was up in 2011.

In other words, only six months remained.

Since January, numerous teams had been in contact with Rakitic’s camp, including giants like Juventus and Inter Milan, all hoping to sign him away.

This was because Rakitic had already made it clear that he would not be renewing his contract with Schalke 04.

In that case, the best option was to sell him during the winter break.

And the transfer fee wouldn’t be high.

It was safe to say that Magat had managed to infuriate just about everyone at Schalke 04.

His current pathetic state was a stark contrast to the high spirits he had when he first took the job.

"I understand. I’ll do my best to cooperate, but..."

Wang Shuo’s tone shifted. He smiled at Klopp and said, "I still have to say it, though—I can play every single game. My body is totally fine!"

"But I’m the one who’s scared," Klopp said, throwing his hands up.

"Have you seen how the media and the fans have been cursing me out?"

Klopp looked utterly exasperated just talking about it.

When he overplayed Wang Shuo, the media and fans cursed him for not giving the kid some rest.

When he put Wang Shuo on the bench to rest him and the team played poorly, the media and fans still cursed him.

Basically, Wang Shuo could do no wrong in their eyes, while Klopp was wrong just for Breathing.

The root of the problem was that Wang Shuo carried far too much weight in Dortmund’s tactical system.

Across the entire front line, and even the whole midfield, all their Passing used Wang Shuo as a reference point.

He was like a lighthouse.

It got to the point where one media outlet joked that Dortmund’s entire strategy was just "one Wang Shuo and ten teammates show up for the match."

...

Dortmund’s first match of 2011 kicked off with a header from Sven Bender that struck the left post of Bayer Leverkusen’s goal.

Soon after, a header from Hummels off a corner kick flew just over the crossbar.

But not long after, Lewandowski missed a crucial one-on-one opportunity.

After successfully beating the offside trap, the Polish striker unbelievably failed to dribble past the onrushing Adler.

Little Eagle made a precise diving save, smothering the ball at Lewandowski’s feet.

Those were Dortmund’s three best attacking opportunities in the first half.

In the end, they failed to capitalize on any of them.

So, the first half ended in a 0-0 stalemate.

The Dortmund players walked off the pitch and back to the locker room, their faces etched with disappointment.

Wang Shuo, however, remained on the field with the other substitutes to warm up.

"Think they’ll put you in for the second half?" Foyelner asked, concerned.

He was a utility player, capable of playing on the wing, as an attacking or defensive midfielder, and could even fill in at fullback.

That was why Klopp was fond of keeping him on the bench.

"We’ll see. The boss told me to save my energy for the DFB-Pokal. Taking down Schalke 04 is the main event!" Wang Shuo said with a laugh as he continued his warm-up.

For him, these warm-up drills were hardly intense.

Wang Shuo didn’t think being a sub was a big deal either. After all, with the team competing on multiple fronts, rotation was inevitable.

And while warming up during halftime, Wang Shuo even chatted for a bit with Ballack and Hyypia.

Ballack brought up the fact that Chelsea was interested in Wang Shuo.

The funny thing was, Ballack advised Wang Shuo to go to Chelsea, while Hyypia recommended Liverpool.

As a result, the two of them started to argue about it.

Finally, Ballack retorted, "Can Liverpool even afford that kind of transfer fee?"

Hyypia was left speechless.

Everyone knew that out of the Premier League’s top four, Liverpool was the poorest!

After Wang Shuo parted ways with the two, he saw Buvac waving at him from the entrance of the players’ tunnel.

"What’s up?" Wang Shuo asked, jogging over curiously.

’There’s nothing wrong with talking to Ballack and Hyypia.’

’He’d even walked into the tunnel laughing and joking with Neuer when they played their archrivals, Schalke 04.’

"Sven’s injured."

"How’d he get hurt? When did it happen? Is it serious?" Wang Shuo asked in surprise, firing off three questions in a row.

"The initial diagnosis is a slight strain of the medial collateral ligament. It’s not too bad, but he’ll need to rest for at least a week."

Only then did Wang Shuo breathe a sigh of relief.

’As long as it’s not serious!’

Sven Bender had definitely been one of the team’s best performers in the entire first half.

"He’s putting you in. Finish your warm-up quickly and get back to the locker room."

Wang Shuo was already warmed up, so he immediately followed Buvac back to the locker room.

When Wang Shuo returned to the locker room, he walked straight to his locker. As he passed Lewandowski, he deliberately reached out and ruffled the striker’s hair.

"We’re going to make some adjustments for the second half."

Klopp looked at Wang Shuo. "Wang, you’re going in for Sven."

"Mario, drop back to the midfield and help Shahin."

Götze nodded.

"We’re switching to a 4-4-2 for the second half. Let’s give it everything we’ve got, everyone!"

Everyone responded with a jolt of energy.

...

They had been unstoppable in the first half of the season, but the winter break had disrupted Dortmund’s rhythm, form, and excellent momentum.

And facing a team like Bayer Leverkusen in the first match back was a truly tough draw.

But as soon as Wang Shuo came on, Dortmund’s attack was instantly transformed.

Just two minutes into the half, Bayer Leverkusen pushed into Dortmund’s final third, only to be dispossessed just outside the box.

Subotic chipped a pass forward to Wang Shuo near the halfway line.

Wang Shuo had dropped deep to receive the ball. He immediately laid it off sideways to Götze.

After making the pass, Wang Shuo surged forward along the right flank at top speed.

At that moment, Bayer Leverkusen’s left-back, Castro, hadn’t yet gotten back into position.