"Chairman Tonies has formally notified that if the team’s situation doesn’t substantially improve before March, and if we can’t achieve our goals, they will consider a coaching change."
Luten let out a sigh of mixed emotions after he finished speaking.
The white-haired Dutchman clearly had no good solutions for Schalke 04’s current predicant.
He turned and looked at his right-hand man, Yuri Mudel.
Luten had two assistant coaches. One was the Dutchman before him, Yuri Mudel, who had followed him from Twente to Schalke 04. He was Luten’s most trusted assistant.
The other was a Schalke 04 legend, Michel Buskens.
Last season, he had been Schalke 04’s caretaker manager.
If Luten were to be fired, Buskens would likely be the one to take over the team.
"Yuri, what do you think about the league match this weekend?"
Mudel had done his howork before coming, but he still frowned, lacking absolute confidence.
"To beat Mainz, we have to neutralize Wang Shuo first."
Luten nodded, gesturing for his assistant to continue.
"The guy’s stamina is incredible. Across the entire Bundesliga, he averages 12 kiloters a ga..."
That was an outrageous number, one that most people couldn’t even believe!
But it was reported by both Bild and Kicker Magazine.
That’s what you call authority!
"He has a lot of weaknesses right now. For example, his heading is poor and his left foot is weak. But I believe his biggest problem is his physicality."
Luten didn’t comnt.
Everyone in Germany knew that.
But in reality, how many teams had actually managed to shut him down?
"I suggest we unleash Jermaine Jones!"
"You an... have him man-mark Wang Shuo out of the ga?"
"Exactly!" Mudel nodded.
"Wang Shuo is weak in physical challenges, so let’s have Jermaine Jones stick to him and prevent him from playing his ga."
Karlsruhe had used this tactic before, and it worked reasonably well.
However, the cost was also quite clear.
Assigning a player to man-mark Wang Shuo while also keeping the defensive formation compact ant committing an extra man to defense. Tactically, it would be a much more conservative approach.
For a team like Karlsruhe, fighting relegation, it didn’t matter.
But Schalke 04 was a top team.
At the start of the season, Schalke 04 had been talking about challenging for the title.
But Luten couldn’t afford to worry about that now.
"Do you think Jermaine Jones can stop Wang Shuo?"
"I believe he can!" Mudel said, full of confidence.
Jermaine Jones was a midfielder who had a breakout season in the Bundesliga last year, a key figure in Schalke 04’s top-three finish.
The player, who holds dual United States and German citizenship, was originally a forward. He stood 1.83 ters tall, was extrely fast, very strong, and crucially, also had incredible stamina.
After an unremarkable career as a forward, he truly ca into his own after converting to midfield.
Moreover, he had a very aggressive style of play. He was a tenacious tackler, unafraid of a fight, and known for his dirty tricks.
"In a race, Jermaine Jones wouldn’t necessarily lose to Wang Shuo. In a physical battle, he’d handle him easily. Whether it’s agility or anything else, having him stick to Wang Shuo is the perfect solution," Mudel proposed.
Luten gave a slight nod.
For Schalke 04 right now, the most important thing was winning.
’It doesn’t matter if the performance is pretty or not. Schalke 04 is known for its defense this season anyway, so who cares?’
After getting Luten’s go-ahead, Mudel continued to lay out his plan.
"With Jermaine Jones unleashed, we’ll need soone to sit deep in midfield. Westman can play as the holding midfielder."
"We can’t use Bodden at center-back anymore. His partnership with Krstajic is far too lacking in agility. I personally recomnd the youngster, Hewedes."
As Luten listened, a formation imdiately took shape in his mind.
A 4-2-3-1!
A double pivot.
Rakitic was a box-to-box midfielder himself.
’In other words, Schalke 04 was going to play counter-attacking football at ho!’
Of course, that wouldn’t sit well with people, and the ho fans probably wouldn’t be happy about it either.
But for Luten, none of that mattered anymore.
The most important thing for him now was to rack up more wins as quickly as possible and help the team break into the top group before the end of March!
Only then could he save his job.
...
「The evening of March 6th, Veltins Arena.」
Bundesliga, matchday 23. Mainz was away to Schalke 04.
This was the second ti the two teams had faced each other in just four days.
Since the winter break, Mainz had been winless in five matches and was suffering from "Klopp Syndro."
Klopp had also stated before the match that the team was looking to make so changes.
For this match, he deployed a front three of Foyelner, Wang Shuo, and Schürrle.
In midfield, Hainauer played in an advanced role, with Pekovic and Kalhan forming the double pivot.
Schalke 04 had also made significant changes.
The biggest change was Luten dropping his fellow Dutchman, Engelaar.
The 1.97-ter-tall midfielder had always enjoyed Luten’s full confidence, but for this match, he was on the bench.
The two teams clashed fiercely right from the opening whistle.
Mainz once again opened with Klopp’s signature high-press, attacking football.
Schalke 04, however, was well-prepared.
Especially for Wang Shuo.
Less than a minute after kickoff, Arican midfielder Jermaine Jones, while defending against Wang Shuo, went straight in with a vicious scissor tackle, taking out both man and ball and sending Wang Shuo tumbling to the ground.
The tackle sent a surge of adrenaline through the entire Veltins Arena.
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