The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills-Chapter 199 - 59: Key Man! A Historic Final! Mainz’s Big Trouble! What a Fruitful Season

Chapter 199: Chapter 59: Key Man! A Historic Final! Mainz’s Big Trouble! What a Fruitful Season

The day after Mainz’s 2-0 away victory over Bayer Leverkusen, the match between Bayern and Hamburg in Hamburg went to extra time at 1-1.

The match ultimately went to a penalty shootout.

Bayern eliminated Hamburg 4-2 on penalties.

Klinsmann’s team had been performing erratically and was not at all consistent.

One could even say they were a bit neurotic.

They had taken the lead early in the first half with a goal from Lucio off a corner kick.

But after that, they failed to build on their lead.

Instead, Hamburg’s Olic scored an equalizer in the second half.

Although Bayern ultimately made it to the DFB-Pokal final, neither the match itself nor Bayern’s performance was satisfactory.

The only silver lining was that this victory saved Klinsmann’s coaching career at Bayern.

At the very least, he would be able to coach until the end of the season without being fired midway through.

However, after playing Hamburg, Bayern returned to Allianz Arena for Matchday 29 of the Bundesliga, where they lost 1-0 at home to Schalke 04.

A 21st-minute goal from Little Altıntop helped Schalke 04 pull off an upset away from home.

Hoffenheim also lost 1-0 at home to Hertha Berlin in this round.

In their away match against Hannover 96, Mainz conceded two consecutive goals in the 19th and 32nd minutes of the first half.

Interestingly, the goalscorer for Hannover 96 was none other than the Danish midfielder Klopp had once coveted but couldn’t sign, Leo Andreasen.

He had once been a key contributor for Mainz and a favorite of Klopp’s, skilled in both offense and defense.

Unfortunately, due to the transfer fee, Mainz was unable to permanently sign the player from Werder Bremen.

After returning to Werder Bremen, Leo Andreasen was sold to Premier League club Fulham for a transfer fee of 4.3 million euros.

However, he failed to perform up to standard at Fulham, and in January 2009, he was sold again to Hannover 96 for 2.5 million euros.

Wang Shuo came on as a substitute in the second half of this match.

In the 77th minute, he orchestrated an attack that led to a goal by Bancé, assisted by Amri.

In the end, Mainz lost 2-1 away to Hannover 96.

Meanwhile, VfL Wolfsburg, which had been on a winning streak, defeated Cottbus 2-0 away in this round.

...

From a five-game winless streak to a three-game winning streak, and now to a four-game losing streak.

If Mainz’s performance in the first half of the season was stable, their performance in the second half was a roller coaster ride, full of extreme highs and lows.

On the day the team lost to Hannover 96, Klopp proactively took full responsibility at the post-match press conference.

He stated that he was willing to take the blame for the team’s recent four-game losing streak.

But he still insisted, "Our team is still on the right path!"

The next day, however, he once again summoned Wang Shuo to his office.

At this moment, Klopp had lost the confidence he’d shown the day before; in its place was mostly frustration.

He first spoke with Wang Shuo about the team’s current situation.

Don’t let Mainz’s tight budget fool you; their data analysis was still top-notch.

Peter Krawietz had very detailed data.

Mainz’s biggest problem right now was the decline in the players’ work rate.

Especially in the midfield.

Pekovic and Kalhan just couldn’t run anymore.

Gunkel’s form was a bit inconsistent.

The problem was, Kirschhoff could run, but as a young player, he was prone to mistakes and lacked experience.

It was quite a contradiction.

"From the match against Bayer Leverkusen, the coaching staff and I all realized the team’s current problems."

"Moving forward, our team has two very important goals."

"First, the most important one is the DFB-Pokal final. The match against Bayern will be the focus of our preparations from now on."

Listening to Klopp’s words, Wang Shuo nodded silently.

This was the first time in Mainz’s hundred-year history that they had reached the DFB-Pokal final.

Now, everyone from the management to the fans, from Klopp to the players, hoped to win this match.

Winning the DFB-Pokal would mean they could participate in next season’s UEFA Europa League.

Although it might only bring in several million euros in additional revenue, for Mainz, that was a lot of money.

More importantly, this would be the first major championship trophy in the club’s history.

For Klopp, aside from the special significance for the club, what mattered more was defeating Bayern!

"What are your thoughts on this final?" Klopp asked, looking at Wang Shuo with concern.

"As you said, from the 1-3 loss at home on Matchday 4 to the 1-1 draw away on Matchday 21, we’ve been continuously improving."

"Following this trend, it should be our turn to win this final."

Wang Shuo’s words made Klopp burst out laughing.

But after laughing, a hint of bitterness appeared in Klopp’s expression.

"Did you know that our club, Mainz, has over a hundred years of history, but it wasn’t until 1999 that we had our first chance to challenge Bayern in an official match?"

Wang Shuo was quite surprised to hear that. ’Even though Germany has so many teams, it’s still incredible that our two clubs never faced each other in the past hundred years.’

Of course, there was another layer to what Klopp was saying.

Mainz was too insignificant, too weak, and simply didn’t have the standing to face Bayern.

For the past hundred years, they had spent most of their time in the lower leagues. The only chance to face Bayern was in the DFB-Pokal.

But a minnow team like Mainz was always eliminated in the first or second round of the DFB-Pokal.