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[23/05/2020 | Ti: 14:29 AM | Location: BORUSSIA-PARK | Attendance: 0]
Walking the pitch, a tingling sensation coursed through my body. Well, that might be the light drizzle, but I was still excited to lace up again, even without fans. "Wait, are those cardboard cutouts of fans?" Wirtz suddenly exclaid, pointing towards the north stand where a sea of fans’ faces could be seen covering nearly all seats and standing sections.
"I guess, that’s kinda cool, we should have done sothing like that," Kai responded from the front of the group, genuinely considering the idea.
"Heck no, that’s creepy as duck, imagine having to clean this at night with all these faces just staring at you." Diaby retorted, rubbing his biceps in mock shiver as he glared at the stands.
"(Sigh) I agree with Moussa, this feels like a B-rated horror movie, let’s just focus on winning as quickly as possible and get out of here." Sven retorted and subconsciously quickened his steps, wanting to walk around the pitch as soon as possible.
"I’ll ask your dad to buy two dozen and set them up all over your house for you," I told him as I also quickened my steps out of excitent, of course, not because I was weirded out or anything.
"Hey, I don’t want these things in my either!" Wirtz exclaid as he quickly chased after the pack of players who wanted to get back to the changing rooms as soon as possible.
~~~
"I know these tis are weird, and trust , I’ve had a couple of conversations with my family on whether it’s even safe for us to continue playing." Coach said as he paced in the middle of the changing room. "But we don’t get to complain, lads, we get paid the big bucks for a reason. We carry the hopes of millions of Leverkusen fans and many of your own fans who spend their hard-earned money to watch you play the ga we all love."
The room fell quiet as he delivered his pre-match talk, still visibly angry at players who had refused to participate due to health concerns. "We are doing everything to make sure you can play safely, so trust us like we trust you to perform every match day." He firmly stated, letting the silence linger, once again locking gazes with a few players who felt compelled to nod in response.
"Okay (Clap clap clap) let’s get down to business, we have a match to play after all," he said as he gave the floor to Fredrick Bauer, his assistant manager, letting him take over the tactics portion of the pre-match talk as he cald down.
"(Ahem) let’s start with the starting eleven gentlen." He started rubbing his short beard as he moved to the whiteboard. "The na of the ga today is blitzkrieg, attack, attack, and attack so more. Let’s unleash our full offensive firepower and let the fans feel our determination in this derby, and to that extent, we will utilise the 3-4-3 formation."
---
Starting Xi: 3-4-3
GK: Lukas Hradecky
CB: 12 Edmond Tapsoba
CB: 5 Sven Bender
CB: 6 Aleksander Dragovic
RM/RWB: 23 Mitchell Weiser
CM: 20 Charles Aranguiz
CM: 10 Kerem Demirbay
LM/LWB: 45 Daley Sinkgraven
RW: 22 Rakim Rex
ST: 29 Kai Havertz
LW: 19 Moussa Diaby
---
"Charles and Kerem, I want you two to hold when moving forward, stagger your movents up the field, and light up the flanks." He stated, gazing at the two midfielders before proceeding to give them a few instructions. "If one of you charges forward, the other needs to hold the line, don’t get caught on the counter, that would be embarrassing."
"For the wing-backs, your job today is to run, as simple as that." He stated, causing a frown to appear on the two. "You run forward to provide support, cut inside, overlap, and chase back. Get active and make your presence felt on the field, forcing them to adapt. If you’re out of gas, we have plenty of players ready to play, so give us a reason to keep you on."
"For our wingers, Diaby, and Rakim beat your man and create problems. I want us bombarding that goal to the point the net bulges and tears apart." He instructed us to attack before proceeding to draw paths on the whiteboard. He was what one would call a tactical specialist who saw the ga like a chees board to be broken down piece by piece.
"(Clap clap) Alright, do what you need to do, it’s almost ti to head out." The gaffer interrupted after four minutes of tactical breakdown from the assistant manager, giving us ti to just relax.
Taking the ti, I switched out my training boots, slipping into a new pair of Apex11s that were moulded to his foot shape. The company was so attentive to his needs that they sent a staff mber every 3 months to retake moulds of his feet just so they wouldn’t hinder his performance, which is kinda funny considering that Adidas had fumbled the bag, losing players like Maradona, Lothar Matthäus, and Thierry Henry, to ntion a few.
---
Stats:
U-23 -> Peak Projection
>Physical Fitness: A
Balance and Coordination: S
Speed: S = 91
Agility: S = 90
Strength: A = 84
Stamina: A = 87
>Football Technique: SS
>Ga Intelligence: A
>ntal Ability: SS
Talents:
[Invictus]
[Spatial Goal Scent]
Singularity Trait: [Sponge Body]
---
"Hmm, let’s get this over with," I muttered to myself, wiping my forehead with a hand towel. Tightening the laces of my boots, I quickly got up from the bench and did so stretches, ready to go.
~~~
[23/05/2020 | Ti: 15:29 AM | Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayer 04 Leverkusen | Location: BORUSSIA-PARK | Attendance: 0]
"Ladies and gentlen, welco to the 27th round of the Bundesliga in this Rhine derby between Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayer 04 Leverkusen here at the BORUSSIA-PARK." Derek Rae’s voice resounded as the screen showed both sides’ players lining up in their respective formations. "Both sides got off to a good start last week at the resumption of the fixtures, each earning a victory, and will want to make winning a habit."
"Bayer Leverkusen arrive today just four points behind current league leaders RB Leipzig in the table," Robson comnted, his tone sharp as he assessed the weight of the stakes. "A win here would not only leapfrog them into second place ahead of defending champs Bayern Munich, but it would also send a clear ssage to the rest of the league that they an business."
Beside him, Rae continued his train of thought. "And they’ve gone with a very attacking 3-4-3—Havertz leading the line, with Diaby and young Rakim Rex providing width. That’s a front three with pace, skill, and an eye for goal. If they click, Gladbach’s backline is going to have a long afternoon."
The cara panned over the cardboard cutouts in the stands, rows upon rows of frozen smiles under a light drizzle, before swooping down to the centre of the field where the referee did the final checks. "The ho side, Mönchengladbach, is set up in a more conservative 4-2-3-1 formation," Rae finished, his voice sliding over the roll call of Gladbach’s XI. "Somr in goal, Bensebaini, Elvedi, Ginter, and Lainer forming the back line. Strobl and Neuhaus anchoring the midfield, Pléa and Hofmann out wide, Stindl as the creative hub behind Thuram."
Robson cut in, "They’ve got stability and they’ve got outlets. Thuram’s pace, Pléa’s movent — those will be their release valves when they try to spring from deep."
Monts later, amid their comntary, the referee’s whistle pierced the drizzle. Havertz rolled the ball back to Aránguiz, officially signalling the start of the match.
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To be Continued...
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