Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 508 Dortmund's Dire Situation

Manchester City is making intensive preparations, while Borussia Dortmund is also taking this match very seriously.

The first match was held at Dortmund's home stadium, the Westfalenstadion.

For several seasons, this has been one of the most intimidating home grounds in Europe. The South Stand of Westfalenstadion has left a terrifying psychological scar on many European teams.

But Klopp really had no confidence at all when facing Manchester City.

Klopp is actually a very proud person. Even though Dortmund is the least favored team among the top four, he still doesn't think they are the weakest. Even when facing Bayern and Barcelona, ​​he is not afraid at all and is even confident that he can win.

But when it came to Manchester City, he found himself somewhat afraid.

The simplest reason is Shan Yongzhuo.

This world's number one striker truly deserves his reputation. Klopp even privately felt that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him the greatest striker in football history.

Klopp's playing career was rather uneventful, but his coaching career has been quite successful. He has seen many types of players and is often able to devise suitable tactics based on the characteristics of the players.

Some say he's a coach who selects players based on a system, but in reality, he's a coach who's very good at adapting to different situations.

But even now, he still feels that he has never understood Shan Yongzhuo.

Based on some clues, Klopp felt that Shan Yongzhuo was not as people said, with average running ability and improved physical confrontation, but still only average, with top-notch shooting ability.

Klopp kept studying Shan Yongzhuo's videos and discovered that Shan Yongzhuo was indeed an average player in all aspects, except for his exceptional shooting skills.

However, Shan Yongzhuo now is definitely not just a top-notch shooter.

Klopp noticed through some details that Shan Yongzhuo was intentionally concealing his physical strength, absolute speed and running ability, only showing his shooting ability to everyone.

If we're really talking about true ability, Klopp believes that Shan Yongzhuo's other abilities, such as dribbling, are in no way inferior to Messi's, and his physical strength is no less than Ronaldo's.

Although I don't understand why this guy is like this, he even created an embarrassing record of running less than 2000 meters per game.

But none of that matters. What matters is how to deal with him now.

Moreover, in a match like the Champions League semi-final, Klopp was hesitant to gamble that Shan Yongzhuo would play in his usual, most familiar style.

Who knows, Shan Yongzhuo might become incredibly active in this match?

Perhaps Shan Yongzhuo will continue to use breakthroughs to attack Dortmund's defense in this match?

When Klopp was considering this match, he kept thinking about it, and the more he thought about it, the more he got stuck in a dead end, realizing that he couldn't find any way to deal with Shan Yongzhuo.

But the competition is just around the corner, shouldn't we find a way to compete?
What's the difference between that and smashing a broken melon seed?
With the Bundesliga title out of reach this season, Klopp still really wants to compete for the Champions League title.

Reaching the semi-finals was already a very good performance, but Klopp was not satisfied with this result.

only……

how should I do it?

Klopp sat in his office, rubbing his head, feeling a headache coming on.

In fact, it's not just the problem of dealing with Shan Yongzhuo; Dortmund has many problems right now, and these problems alone are already giving Klopp a lot of headaches.

Götze has basically finalized his move to Bayern Munich for next season. He is seen as a traitor, and some people in the team are very angry about his choice, which has even caused some minor friction in private.

Gundogan is also being eyed by Manchester City, with Guardiola making no secret of his admiration for him. Faced with the pursuit of the wealthy Manchester City, Dortmund will likely find it difficult to retain him. Grosskreutz has caught the eye of Paris Saint-Germain, who are actively pursuing the matter. Although the player himself has strongly expressed his desire to stay at Dortmund, it's still uncertain until the very last moment.

What angered Klopp the most was Reus's situation.

Since Shinji Kagawa left, Marco Reus has risen rapidly to fill the void left by Kagawa. The attacking line he formed with Götze and Lewandowski was no less impressive than during Kagawa's time, and was even stronger.

Reus' performance this season can be described as outstanding. He was the biggest contributor to the team's qualification for the Champions League group stage by beating Real Madrid.

And now, this young star that he had painstakingly nurtured has been targeted by Real Madrid.

Although Reus was firm in his stance and strongly expressed his desire to stay with the team, it still annoyed Klopp.

Fortunately, they still have key players like Schmelzer, Hummels, Subotic, and Weidenfeller.

But the team I'm leading, before the season is even over, already gives the impression that it's about to fall apart.

Frustrated and helpless, Klopp hated the feeling of developing players for others, but he also understood that Dortmund didn't have many good options. The team had too many good players, and it would be difficult for Dortmund to retain them.

These two key players were trained by Klopp himself, and this result made him very upset and angry, but there was nothing he could do.

Despite having won two consecutive Bundesliga titles, Borussia Dortmund, having just recovered from a bankruptcy crisis, is clearly not on par with the elite clubs. Facing those covetous rivals, they have no way to retain their key players.

Klopp is also worried about the players who have left.

After all, the Shaheen affair is still fresh in everyone's mind.

When Sahin left Dortmund for Real Madrid, his decline was astonishing. After returning to Dortmund, Sahin never recovered and is now basically no longer at the level to compete for a starting position.

Shinji Kagawa is another typical example.

Kagawa, who joined Manchester United last summer, has had a difficult season and has been subject to much criticism.

Klopp also pays attention to these news reports, and they always make him feel uncomfortable whenever he sees them.

Fortunately, the team did offer some compensation regarding Götze and Gündoğan; at least Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan, whom they selected, are basically confirmed to join Dortmund next season, which is the only good thing.

"Well, we can only focus on next season..."

Looking at the players on the training field, Klopp could only shake his head helplessly and extend his hopes to the next season.

The players on the training ground were actually looking forward to the match against Manchester City. They hoped to prove themselves again, eliminate Manchester City fairly, and advance to the Champions League final.

However, the thought of Shan Yongzhuo among their opponents made some of them lose confidence.

Especially Hummels and Subotic.

These two players are the unsung heroes behind Borussia Dortmund's rise. They are the backbone of Dortmund's defense in recent seasons, and the team's success is absolutely inseparable from their strong defensive performance.

With Hummels, Subotic, Piszczek, and Schmelzer, this defensive line has even been described by some media outlets as one of the top defensive lines in Europe.

But facing Shan Yongzhuo...

Their teammates could naturally feel the pressure, especially having to face Hummels and Subotic directly against Shan Yongzhuo.

But there's nothing they can do.

(End of this chapter)