Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 511 So, why bother?
"In the 18th minute of the match, Shan Yongzhuo scored a bicycle kick to give Manchester City the lead away from home."

"Manchester City took the lead at Westfalenstadion. The goal was very well concealed and also served as a wake-up call for Dortmund. Although Shan Yongzhuo has been out of form for a long time, we cannot afford to relax our vigilance as long as he gets the ball near the penalty area. Dortmund was a bit careless this time. Hummels' attempt to contain Shan Yongzhuo by himself was indeed unwise."

As the commentator analyzed the situation, fans in the surrounding stands were also discussing it.

Manchester City and Shan Yongzhuo's supporters were celebrating the goal loudly, while Dortmund fans were discussing the goal and marveling at Shan Yongzhuo: "That's it?"

"He seemed to kick it casually, but it still went in."

"This kind of shot might be easy for him."

"If Dortmund had a star player like that, they wouldn't be suppressed by Bayern."

"You're overthinking it. We couldn't even keep Shinji Kagawa, and next season we'll lose Götze and Gündoğan."

"Yes, and then who? Reuss? Lewandowski? Hummels?"

This is indeed a tragedy.

In the entire German football world, the rising Borussia Dortmund can indeed be considered a powerhouse, but it is still far inferior to Bayern Munich.

The Bundesliga is one of the top five leagues, but it has long occupied the fourth position, only slightly better than the relatively unknown Ligue 1. Most of the time, only Bayern Munich represents Europe.

The fact that Bayern Munich and Dortmund both made it to the semi-finals is enough to boost morale in German football.

However, the reason is actually quite simple. Germany's 50+1 rule makes it difficult for the Bundesliga to produce any more top teams. Winning the title one season and being relegated the next is not uncommon in the Bundesliga. Teams like Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, and Werder Bremen were once able to pose a threat to Bayern Munich, but in the long run, they are nothing special, having experienced many ups and downs.

The 50+1 rule makes it difficult for the Bundesliga to make big-money signings and retain top players.

When facing teams from the Premier League, La Liga, and Serie A, Bundesliga teams, apart from Bayern Munich, rarely have much competitiveness. The outstanding players developed within the Bundesliga are usually poached by Bayern Munich or teams from other leagues.

Therefore, while Dortmund fans were angry about Götze's defection, they were mostly helpless.

Meanwhile, Guardiola smiled easily on the sidelines.

He was just thinking about how to break through the opponent's compressed defensive formation when Shan Yongzhuo immediately scored a goal. It was like a pillow being delivered when he was sleepy.

Seeing the goal, he's no longer worried at all.

This season, thanks to his revamp, Manchester City has gained considerable experience in how to play when they have a lead.

On the other hand, Klopp frowned.

Looking back on the entire goal, he didn't know who to blame.

Hummels?

Weidenfeller?

It seems that none of these things are to blame.

If anyone's to blame, it's the opponent for kicking so accurately.

Klopp, like many Dortmund fans, thought, "If only Dortmund had Shan Yongzhuo."

then.

He can only face reality.

As the game resumed, the situation unfolded exactly as Guardiola had predicted. Dortmund tightened their defense, their biggest fear being the opponent scoring first through individual skill.

In a two-legged Champions League knockout stage, the team that plays the first leg at home is actually at a disadvantage. Moreover, Manchester City has now secured an away goal. Even if Dortmund pulls back a goal and the score is 1-1, the away goal still gives the opponent a huge advantage.

In Klopp's view, if Dortmund wants to eliminate Manchester City in the two-legged tie, they can only rely on counter-attacking. Going all out against the opponent is a dead end, and counter-attacking means that scoring will be more difficult.

But Shan Yongzhuo's early goal has disrupted Klopp's plans.

After the game restarted.

Hummels' defense against Shan Yongzhuo became even tighter. As long as the ball was at Manchester City's feet, he would position himself between Shan Yongzhuo and the ball, marking him closely and never leaving his side.

When the ball is at Dortmund's feet, Hummels will no longer pay attention to making runs to win headers as he usually does, but will instead stick close to Shan Yongzhuo, receiving the treatment of a personal nanny.

This effort left Hummels feeling somewhat exhausted. The physical exhaustion was secondary; although Shan Yongzhuo's resistance was not weak, he was still a level below him. The key issue was the mental exhaustion, which was somewhat unbearable.

Hummels discovered that Shan Yongzhuo was not proactive at all. Just like before, most of the time, the other party was lazy like a salted fish.

When Manchester City has the ball, the opponents will run a few steps lazily, but it's not a normal run at all. Sometimes they even seem to be trying to draw the opponents away and create space in the middle for their teammates.

For the vast majority of the time, Shan Yongzhuo basically stood still and waited for the ball.

This can be described as the performance of a complete novice or beginner.

A forward must constantly make runs and stretch the defense to create space for his teammates to pass the ball. Otherwise, with defenders around, it's very difficult for his teammates to pass the ball to him, as it is very likely to be intercepted in the middle.

result……

Shan Yongzhuo had no such awareness at all; he seemed more like a tourist than someone who came to compete.

However, Hummels is more inclined to believe in a conspiracy theory: "It must be a hoax, it's his scheme."

"He would use this performance to confuse his opponent and then deliver a fatal blow."

"When the opponent relaxes, that's when he'll strike..."

Hummels, who believed he had figured out Shan Yongzhuo's playing style, became even more aggressive and hardworking in defense.

Shan Yongzhuo had no idea that Hummels had imagined so much; he simply didn't want to run and just wanted to score a goal without much effort.

Dortmund's tight defense was something we didn't really have any good solutions for.

What can he do?
Even though his points increased, he still felt like a lazy bum.

Without using his special skills, he is a top-tier striker in the top five European leagues, but he is still a bit inferior to players like Messi and Ronaldo who have explosive dominance.

Therefore, there's absolutely no need to work as hard as you do.

All I need to do is find the right opportunity to use my skills and score the goals I need to score in each game. Why make myself so tired?

The last race that involved a lot of running resulted in sore muscles and exhaustion after the race.

That game against Arsenal was still fresh in Shan Yongzhuo's memory. Despite his hard work, the result was almost the same as not working hard at all, and he didn't score many more goals.

So why bother?
(End of this chapter)