Football: Starting from the Ronaldinho template

Chapter 134 League Match Against Borussia Mönchengladbach! Sommer Breaks Through the Defense! A Thrilling Comeback!

The days passed.

4 month 19 day.

Volkswagen Arena.

Dieter Hecking made some rotations in this round of the league because he had just played a tough match against Napoli two days ago.

However, considering the importance of the competition, only a few players were replaced.

Caligiuri replaced Perisic, Guilavogui replaced Maranda, Tresch replaced Vieirinha, and Arnold replaced Gustavo.

Qin Ming, De Bruyne, Rodriguez and other key players all played.

Borussia Mönchengladbach fielded their strongest lineup in a single competition, with Xhaka, Sommer, and Kruse all starting.

This made Wolfsburg fans feel uneasy.

The main reason is that Bayern Munich won 3-0 against Hertha Berlin a few days ago, securing 3 points. If Wolfsburg draws or loses, the gap will widen.

They don't want to lose their chance to compete for the championship before the crucial final match.

But as the saying goes, what you fear most is what will happen.

The 26th minute of the game.

Xhaka made a series of passes and cuts in the heart of Wolfsburg's territory, disrupting Wolfsburg's defense on the flanks, and then made a precise long pass to distribute the ball.

The ball was passed to Johnson on the left wing.

The Americans protected the ball to prevent Tresch from stealing it, and then passed it to Rafael as soon as he came to receive it.

The latter dribbled into the penalty area and crossed the ball.

Klose, who replaced Knoch, tried to clear the ball with a header, but was overpowered by German gambling tycoon Kruse and was able to reach it.

Bang! Kruse's header sent the ball flying toward the left side of the goal.

Benaglio couldn't stop the fast header.

0-1!

"what!"

"Wolfsburg are trailing at home. Is Borussia Mönchengladbach going to crush Wolfsburg after defeating Bayern Munich?"

"They're going to become top-ranking killers on the leaderboard!"

"Wolfsburg is in trouble now, but fortunately there's still plenty of time, so they still have a chance!"

At the Volkswagen Stadium, Borussia Mönchengladbach fans jumped and danced in the away stands. Although they had no hope of winning the title this season, it was good enough to stir up the water in the pool.

And the feeling of being pulled down by a water ghost is really exhilarating.

"Borussia!!!" Borussia Mönchengladbach fans cheered.

In contrast, Wolfsburg fans were somewhat disappointed, but they still cheered on the players on the field.

"I didn't expect Borussia Mönchengladbach to be in such good form today!"

Qin Ming glanced at his teammates, "But I also feel really hot, so pass me the ball more often later!"

"Good!" De Bruyne showed no sign of frustration, appearing serious as if he were considering an attacking strategy.

The Wolfsburg players were also impressed by the composure of the two players.

"I didn't expect that in less than a season, they would be able to influence their teammates." Wolfsburg captain Tresch felt gratified.

He didn't think Wolfsburg was anything to be afraid of.

behind?

If you fall behind, just tie the game and then take the lead.

After the match restarted, Borussia Mönchengladbach decisively tightened their formation, clearly intending to park the bus in their own half.

The camera pans to Favre on the coach's bench.

As a former coach of smaller teams like Hertha Berlin and FC Zurich, he was accustomed to defending after scoring and using counter-attacks to force opponents into making mistakes.

This is also the philosophy of many veteran coaches.

Wolfsburg seized control of the midfield space and, under De Bruyne's orchestration, gradually pushed forward and chipped away at the opponent's strength.

When the ball was passed to Qin Ming on the left wing.

Kob, a product of Borussia Mönchengladbach's youth academy, arrived, but he only pressed and didn't steal the ball, with others filling in behind him.

"They showed me a lot of respect."

Upon seeing this, Qin Ming muttered to himself, his feet moving quickly as he pedaled and slammed the pedals together.

This time they finally managed to lure Cobb.

Qin Ming has now developed a habit of no longer looking down while dribbling, but instead looking up to observe after making a breakthrough.

"Kevin!"

When he saw Kramer rushing in, De Bruyne was there on the right flank to receive the pass.

Snap! He passed the ball with the outside of his foot, and De Bruyne immediately turned and made a precise long pass to the other side.

A large-scale relocation inevitably threw Borussia Mönchengladbach's formation into disarray.

"I'll take it!" Caligiuri controlled the ball in mid-air, pushed it off with his knee, and accelerated toward the baseline.

At the same time, Dost sprinted towards the near post to intercept a cross from his teammate.

Qin Ming glanced at Kob from a distance. The Borussia Mönchengladbach full-back did not move with the formation, but kept his eyes on him.

"Like chewing gum."

Qin Ming mentally complained, then suddenly changed direction and made a diagonal run towards the edge of the penalty area.

This startled Cobb, who quickly followed.

But Caligiuri still passed the ball to the far post, and people's eyes followed the ball, seeing Rodriguez making a quick forward run.

R. Ronaldo volleyed the ball with his left foot!
Bang! Even Sommer, the goalkeeper with the highest save percentage in the Bundesliga, was helpless against this sudden shot.

The football went into the goal from the top left corner.

1-1! ! !

"Rodriguez scores with a powerful shot! Helping Wolfsburg equalize!"

"Judging from the attacking play just now, Wolfsburg's tactics are becoming more and more diverse, no longer limited to letting Qin Ming break through alone or De Bruyne passing out threatening balls!"

"Instead, we started to take advantage of the fact that Qin Ming was being heavily marked by the opponents, giving his teammates on both sides more room to maneuver and opportunities!"

"This often puts the opponent in a dilemma: should they continue to focus their defense on Qin Ming, or should they defend according to the regional principle?"

He Wei's analysis of Wolfsburg's tactics is very accurate.

He felt that Wolfsburg had not only made progress in terms of individual players, but had also undergone a tactical transformation compared to the past.

In contrast, Bayern Munich is still embroiled in a chaotic struggle, with inconsistent tactical ideas, distrust between players and coaches, a host of injuries, and multiple competitions.

This will be Wolfsburg's most likely season to win the title.

On the field, Rodriguez retrieved the ball from the goal, ran to Qin Ming's side, and said with a smile, "Our teamwork is getting better and better. Just now, when I saw you cut towards the edge of the penalty area, I knew I should make a forward run."

"How come you, a full-back, have such good shooting skills?"

Qin Ming thought Rodriguez's volley was really good.

“I used to play as a winger, and I have a very strong left foot. It’s just that I haven’t been making forward runs much since you came.”

Rodriguez didn't complain; he just raised an eyebrow and continued, "You'll have to treat me to a good meal from now on. I've been filling in for you all season!"

"Haha! We must eat the best, we must eat for three days and three nights!"

Qin Ming waved his hand and said boldly.

He wasn't embarrassed; that's just how the world of football is—it can't all be flowers.

He is most effective at reducing his defense.

Therefore, Rodriguez needs to reduce the frequency of his attacks.

This is Darwin's Law in competitive sports.

Amid cheers from the fans, the Wolfsburg players returned to their half.

Not far away, Sommer poured some water on his gloves to increase their stickiness. "Why do I feel like Wolfsburg is stronger than Bayern Munich?"

"They need to be more united."

Zaka provided the answer.

When playing against Bayern Munich, they had a feeling that everyone wanted to show off.

Not only that.

Bayern also tends to have ineffective possession, which clearly creates a tactical disconnect.

Wolfsburg's style is clearly more concise and efficient. Even if Qin Ming has the ball for a long time, he rarely lingers on it and will pass the ball at the right time.

"Connecting these two people is too troublesome."

Xhaka frowned as he looked at Qin Ming and De Bruyne. The former's sharp breakthroughs on the wing and the latter's keen passing and movement in the middle tore apart Mönchengladbach's defensive formation, making it difficult for them to form an effective interception.

"Their defensive midfielders have limited defensive capabilities, so let's focus on attacking the flanks."

Xhaka, the Einstein of the football field, quickly found a way to counter Wolfsburg.

The 64th minute of the game.

Xhaka was linking up the midfield and attack near the center circle when he was knocked off balance by De Bruyne and his pass went astray to Träsch.

The Wolfsburg captain is very experienced.

He knew the best time to retaliate had arrived.

*Thud!* The through ball, traveling at high speed along the sideline, was stopped by Caligiuri just before it went out of bounds.

The Italian winger has rarely played this season.

Since Perisic couldn't compete with Qin Ming, they had no choice but to target him.

But Caligiuri, as a substitute, still worked diligently.

He pulled the ball away from Winter's tackle and passed it across to De Bruyne for support.

But Borussia Mönchengladbach's Kramer was decisive, immediately engaging in physical confrontation, and the two grappled and fell to the ground.

Beep! The referee blows his whistle to indicate a foul by the defending team.

Wolfsburg won a free kick in the attacking third. Qin Ming estimated the distance between the ball and the goal, shook his head at De Bruyne, and said, "It's difficult to score from this position. It's best to play a tactical game."

"That's what I was thinking too. We'll have Bass move forward later."

The two whispered to each other to discuss tactics.

Qin Ming then returned to the sideline and found that Kob was not by his side; it turned out he had gone to form a human wall.

That would benefit his plan.

"De Bruyne passes to Rodriguez on the wing!"

"A diagonal pass to the edge of the penalty area!"

"Dost!"

Before the Dutch bald man could even catch the ball, several people rushed over to him.

He didn't even dare to stop the ball, fearing that the defender would steal it, just as De Bruyne made a run forward.

"Kevin!" Dost exclaimed with delight as he poked the ball over.

De Bruyne stopped the ball by stepping on it.

Qin Ming ran towards the left side of the penalty area, still hiding in Kob's blind spot.

De Bruyne couldn't possibly have missed it; the figure was far too obvious. However, he still paused deliberately to create as much space as possible for Qin Ming.

Snap! Just as Kramer stretched out his leg to intercept, De Bruyne shoved hard with his left foot.

The ball broke through Borussia Mönchengladbach's encirclement and reached the left side of the penalty area.

"WOW!" Wolfsburg fans immediately perked up and prepared to stand up to celebrate the goal.

In their field of vision.

Qin Ming had no intention of stopping the ball at all; he had already made his adjustment with small steps and then chipped the ball into the air!

Bang! He was aiming for the far corner of the goal with that shot.

Sommer was prepared in advance, and he positioned himself close to the far post. When he stretched out his body, he knew he could make the save.

But the figure that suddenly appeared in front of him broke his defenses.

Brouwers stood in front of the goal, blocking the shot with his body.

Thud! The football hit him and bounced towards the near post!

"Damn it!" Sommer broke through the defense and looked up after landing to see the ball already in the net.

2-1!

"Tor!!!" The cheers from 30,000 Wolfsburg fans made the stadium roof tremble slightly.

Besides crushing victories, what fans love most is dramatic comebacks that turn the tide. Their initial anxiety transforms into pure excitement.

Their team has developed strength and resilience after a season of honing their skills.

Just like Qin Ming said in a previous interview.

Even if we fall behind for the time being, we are confident that we can catch up.

Qin Ming, who scored the crucial goal for Wolfsburg, became their hero at this moment. Qin Ming swooped down on the grass amidst the cheers, "My luck finally turned around today!"

In his previous matches, he often kicked the crossbar and posts because he was trying to find the right angle.

He didn't have much hope for that shot just now, because he saw Sommer's positioning near the far post. He didn't expect his Dutch good friend Brouwers to give him such a gift.

De Bruyne ran over and gave Qin Ming a high-five. "Was this also within your expectations?"

"what?!"

Qin Ming was taken aback for a moment, then nodded vigorously, "Of course! I chose to kick the ball towards Brouwers because I saw Sommer's position!"

His confident expression even dispelled De Bruyne's doubts.

"That's really impressive!" De Bruyne felt he couldn't do it.

"Kevin! Just listen to him bragging. In a fraction of a second, how could he possibly think that much?"

Rodriguez ruthlessly exposed him.

Seeing the suspicion on De Bruyne's face, Qin Ming chuckled twice and changed the subject, "We're in the lead now, but don't let your guard down, be careful of their counterattack!"

"Ah."

De Bruyne nodded. "Their attack is still very sharp, especially Xhaka's long passes. Both wings should drop back a bit, Qin, you also need to participate in the defense."

"Roger that!"

Qin Ming stood up straight and shouted loudly, which made his teammates burst into laughter.

On the sidelines, Dieter Hecking clenched his fist and waved it a few times before taking off his glasses and rubbing his aching temples.

Recently, in order to study his opponents, adjust the chaos, and research tactics, he has been going to bed at around midnight almost every day.

Sometimes, too much stress can cause insomnia.

After all, it's the most crucial time of the season, and no mistakes can be tolerated.

Otherwise, they might miss out on the championship.

Seeing his team training so enthusiastically, he naturally didn't want all their efforts to go to waste because of the coach.

He was on edge the whole time after conceding the first goal against Borussia Mönchengladbach.

"Thor, what's the schedule for the next round of matches?"

"Dieter Black Gold asked."

Now that the situation has turned around, the opponent can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Boss, after this match, there are five rounds left in the league: Hannover 96, Paderborn, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, and Cologne."

Thorn-Lockhoff remembers it very clearly.

"Is the German Cup semi-final on April 30th?"

Dietrich himself provided the answer: "There will be three games a week. First, we'll go to Italy to play Napoli, then play Hannover 96 in the league, and then play two games against Bayern Munich within three days."

Can Wolfsburg hold on?

Can't stand it.

Then a choice must be made: strategically abandon a certain event.

Dieter Black had already made a decision on this matter.

Give up the German Cup.

"Hopefully Bayern can come back to defeat Porto in the Champions League."

Dieter Black Gold muttered to himself.

Only in this way will Bayern Munich have more crucial matches before and after the pivotal game on May 3rd.

Champions League.

What will Guardiola choose then?
He knew without even thinking that Bayern Munich would want him.

Then Wolfsburg's opportunity came.

Moreover, losing to Bayern Munich in the German Cup might make their opponents complacent.

"Boss, maybe we can win even if we rotate our lineup."

Thorn-Lockhoff's idea is too good to be true.

(End of this chapter)