An aggressive start, employing Dortmund’s usual tactics.
Wang Shuo listened intently.
As the on-field captain, he needed to understand the head coach’s tactical intentions and lead his teammates in executing them on the pitch.
The coach’s talk lasted for about seven to eight minutes.
Next up was the motivational speech.
When it ca to the pep talk, there was no designated speaker.
So head coaches were great motivators, so they’d do it themselves.
Others would delegate it to an assistant coach, the captain, or even a particularly charismatic player.
It was sothing the locker room decided for itself.
Dortmund’s situation was also rather unique.
Weidenfeller had never been much of a motivational speaker, so he usually kept quiet.
Klopp, on the other hand, was much more passionate and usually gave the speech himself.
Previously, Klopp never bothered to ask; he would just step up and do it.
Everyone was used to this.
But this ti, as if by so strange impulse, he looked at Wang Shuo and asked, "Captain, want to say a few words?"
In Klopp’s subconscious, this was a sign of respect for Wang Shuo.
After all, he was still very inexperienced.
And Klopp figured he’d make the polite offer, Wang Shuo would decline, and then he’d take over himself.
He even had a whole speech prepared in his head!
But to his complete surprise, this was Wang Shuo’s first ti as captain. After hearing Klopp’s question, he first froze for a mont.
Then he looked around and saw his teammates all looking at him. He thought, ’The atmosphere is already set. Why don’t I say a few words?’
So, he stood up and said with a smile, "Alright, I’ll say a few words."
Klopp was completely stunned on the spot!
’Wait, I was just being polite! You actually took it seriously?’
To make matters worse, those two rascals, Foyelner and Subotic, imdiately started cheering and applauding for Wang Shuo.
Klopp was so angry he cursed under his breath, ’A couple of suck-ups! I never see you this worked up when I give a speech!’
With Foyelner and Subotic leading the way, everyone else joined in the applause.
Wang Shuo walked over to Klopp’s side.
Uncle Mustache gave Wang Shuo a nod, a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. "Well then, just say a few simple words."
The emphasis in his tone was on "simple" and "a few words."
It was Wang Shuo’s first ti giving a motivational speech. He was a little nervous and completely ignored Klopp, turning to face his teammates in the locker room.
Everyone looked up at him.
"First half, we did a beautiful job!"
As Wang Shuo spoke, his gaze swept back and forth across his teammates, making every single person feel like he was looking right at them.
"We played our kind of football, Dortmund football!"
"This 2-0 scoreline, every single one of us on this team fought for it! Together, we built this lead!"
Even though Wang Shuo had scored both goals himself.
But everyone nodded in unison.
"But listen to , brothers. The ga is only half over."
"In the remaining 45 minutes, anything can happen."
"Even in a Champions League final, a three-goal lead can be overturned. Our two-goal lead is nothing! It’s not safe at all!"
"So, we need to forget those two goals! We start from zero! Just like we did at the start of the first half, we charge forward like madn and sink our teeth into our opponents!"
"What are we going to do?"
"We’re going to be like wolves! We’re going to charge in one go, tear at our opponents relentlessly, score again and again, and completely kill this ga until our opponents are left in utter despair!"
"Our brothers in the back, you will be as hard as steel, as solid as a fortress wall! Our brothers in the midfield, you will be a at grinder, constantly crushing our opponents! Make every opponent who enters your zone feel like they’re suffocating!"
"For these last 45 minutes, we’re going to pour all our energy, all our passion, onto that pitch!"
"We’re going to make those 50,000 Cologne fans in the stadium feel fear, feel despair!"
"For the crest on our chests! For the season goals we set together at our Christmas dinner!"
"When we walk out that door, we will fight like a pack of hungry wolves! We will tear them apart! We will conquer!"
Wang Shuo grew more and more impassioned as he spoke.
In the end, he spoke for a full two minutes without stopping for breath.
He only stopped when the bell rang in the locker room, signaling for the players to return to the field.
As a result, he completely missed the strange expression on Klopp’s face behind him.
"Co on, hands in!"
All the players imdiately shot to their feet, like well-trained soldiers hearing the call to assemble.
Everyone crowded in, shoulder to shoulder, head to head.
"One, two, three!"
"Let’s go, BVB!"
"Go!"
At Wang Shuo’s command, all the players imdiately followed him, streaming out of the locker room door in a line.
Leaving Klopp standing there alone, awkwardly.
"I clearly said ’simple’ and ’a few words.’ Did he not understand?"
Klopp asked Buvac and Krawietz.
Buvac and Krawietz couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.
At that mont, Klopp looked like a jilted lover who’d just had their boyfriend stolen.
"Hey, what are you laughing at? I told him to say a few simple words, and he rattled on for two minutes."
How could Buvac not see that Klopp was just jealous of Wang Shuo?
Given the deep master-and-disciple-like bond between them, this was no big deal.
"To be honest, Jurgen, I think he... did a pretty good job," Peter Krawietz said reassuringly.
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