The first half ended in a 0-0 draw.
Jermaine Jones received a yellow card during stoppage ti.
Back in the locker room, many of the Mainz players were already panting for breath, their faces showing extre exhaustion.
This was the so-called Klopp Syndro!
Wang Shuo was also quite drained and drenched in sweat, but he could still handle it.
A young man’s body recovers quickly.
But for players like Kalhan and Pekovic, it was a different story.
"Everyone, listen up!"
Klopp strode into the locker room, clapping his hands loudly to get everyone’s attention.
"Quiet down and listen to ."
After the first half, Krawietz from the analysis team would give the coaching staff a report analyzing the first half’s performance.
It would list the many problems that had arisen during the first half.
Klopp and his coaching staff had to strategize on how to solve these problems and approach the second half.
Schalke 04’s lackluster offense this season was partly due to the poor form of their star striker, Kuranyi.
As a well-known Bundesliga striker, Kuranyi had started all 21 of his appearances in the first 22 matches but had only scored 8 goals and provided 4 assists.
For a Bundesliga striker, those numbers were truly subpar.
More importantly, Kuranyi was making more headlines off the pitch than on it.
Kuranyi had been a controversial figure ever since Klinsmann excluded him from the national team roster in 2006.
Despite his Brazilian heritage, his footwork was not particularly brilliant; in fact, it was sowhat crude.
His position beca even more awkward with the rise of younger players like Goz and Podolski.
During the national team training camp in October, Lővér had called Kuranyi up, only to leave him out of the 18-man matchday squad. This infuriated Kuranyi.
The German striker simply vanished midway through the match and refused to answer calls from Lővér and team manager Bierhoff afterward.
In the end, he was summarily dismissed by the German Football Association.
The funny part was that after the severe punishnt, Kuranyi ca forward to apologize, but it was too little, too late.
But at Schalke 04, no matter how terrible his form, he remained an undisputed starter.
Klopp was reasonably satisfied with the performance of his center-back pairing, Neustadter and Nowitzki.
At the very least, they had managed to contain Kuranyi.
Klopp also made adjustnts to deal with Schalke 04’s right-wing duo of Raphinha and Farfan.
Foyelner, in particular, was instructed to mark Raphinha tightly.
As for Rakitic, Klopp was confident with Kalhan and Pekovic anchoring the midfield.
"As for the offense..."
After laying out the defensive plan, Klopp’s gaze shifted to Wang Shuo.
Instantly, all eyes in the room turned to Wang Shuo.
Feeling his teammates’ eyes on him, Wang Shuo stood up straight and declared loudly, "Just give so ti. I’ll definitely break through Schalke 04’s goal in the second half!"
His voice was loud, his tone filled with unquestionable resolve.
It was a clear display of his confidence.
Klopp nodded at Wang Shuo in approval. "Good. I believe in you!"
Whether he could pull it off or not, that confidence was exactly what the team needed most right now.
"Everyone, get your heads in the ga! We haven’t had a win in five matches."
"I hope that today, we can walk away from the Veltins with all three points!"
"Let’s go! Let’s go!!!"
Wang Shuo and all his teammates stood up in unison and shouted.
...
The second half began.
Schalke 04 once again had Jermaine Jones man-marking Wang Shuo.
Wang Shuo had expected as much and wasn’t worried.
Just like in the first half, he continued to drag his defender around, constantly searching for and creating opportunities.
It was no easy task to break through Schalke 04’s defense, the most solid backline in the Bundesliga.
Especially with a shadow like Jermaine Jones sticking to him like glue.
The match remained deadlocked, much like the first half.
Neither side could gain an advantage.
Ti ticked by.
The clock soon read 63 minutes.
Neither team had made any substitutions.
Raphinha seized an opportunity after winning the ball deep in his own half, driving forward along the right flank to launch another attack.
The Brazilian right-back’s individual skill was truly impressive. Hugging the right touchline, he managed to carry the ball past the halfway line.
When he could go no further, he played a through ball to Farfan in the channel.
Farfan controlled the ball with his first touch.
But Lővér was quick to get into position, making it difficult for Farfan to advance.
Farfan opted for a square pass to find Kuranyi.
After making the pass, Farfan continued his run, looking for a one-two.
However, Kuranyi’s first touch was poor, and he failed to bring the ball under control.
The vastly experienced Mainz captain, Nowitzki, reacted instantly, sticking a foot out to poke the ball away.
He tripped Kuranyi in the process, but the referee didn’t blow the whistle.
Nowitzki had gotten the ball first.
The ball fell to Pekovic.
Rakitic imdiately closed down Pekovic, pressing to win the ball back on the spot.
Wang Shuo scanned all around him, taking in the entire situation at a glance.
As Pekovic received the ball, he quickly started a run, heading for the space between the holding midfielder, Westman, and the right-back, Raphinha.
At that mont, however, Raphinha was still upfield.
"Quick! Pass the ball!"
Wang Shuo shouted, raising his hand to demand the ball from Pekovic.
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