The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills-Chapter 82 - 42: Well Done, Wang Shuo! The New Season’s First Upset! Clickbait and Image Rights

Chapter 82: Chapter 42: Well Done, Wang Shuo! The New Season’s First Upset! Clickbait and Image Rights

"This is our Chinese player!"

"Our Wang Shuo has finally scored a goal in the Bundesliga!"

"Right here, right now, he’s showing every fan watching this live broadcast across the globe that players from China can excel in the world’s top leagues too!"

"Way to go, Wang Shuo!"

"I’m so moved!" Tao Wei’s voice trembled.

"I have to take back what I just said. I believe this young player, Wang Shuo, is forging a new history for Chinese players."

"As long as he maintains this momentum and keeps working hard, I believe he will make the entire world see Chinese football in a completely new light!"

The broadcast camera then cut to a close-up on the sideline.

After his goal, an ecstatic Wang Shuo sprinted to the sideline to celebrate.

His Mainz teammates chased after him, mobbing him in a tight circle.

Wang Shuo didn’t hog the credit. Instead, he slung an arm around Helle’s shoulders, faced the camera, pointed at his teammate, and gave a big thumbs-up, signaling what a beautiful assist it was.

The gesture was a massive morale boost; Helle was grinning from ear to ear!

On the sideline, in front of the home team’s bench, Magath—who had been sitting cool and collected just moments before—had stormed out of his technical area and was now shouting furiously.

This time, Klopp wasn’t shadowboxing, but his irrepressible grin was probably even more infuriating for Magath.

After Wang Shuo’s celebration ended, the Mainz head coach waved his arms, signaling for everyone to hurry back to their own half and set up their defense.

VfL Wolfsburg was no pushover!

...

Wang Shuo’s goal was like a lit match tossed on gasoline-soaked ground.

In that instant, the fighting spirit of every Mainz player ignited.

After taking the lead, the visiting team didn’t sit back and protect it. Instead, they pushed even harder, continuing to press VfL Wolfsburg relentlessly.

This sudden surge in intensity left Wolfsburg scrambling.

VfL Wolfsburg had invested heavily in new players over the summer, which meant the team’s overall quality had improved. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

But on the flip side, it also meant they had too many new signings who hadn’t yet gelled with one another.

This aggressive push from Mainz sent VfL Wolfsburg into a state of disarray.

Being on the pitch, Wang Shuo felt this most keenly.

The boost from his Insight ability greatly enhanced his capacity to read the game, giving him a much deeper understanding of the overall situation.

At the start of the match, Wang Shuo had been quite wary of VfL Wolfsburg.

After all, their reputation preceded them.

But as the match went on, and as Mainz began to dominate VfL Wolfsburg, he realized Wolfsburg didn’t seem as formidable as he’d imagined.

’Or perhaps, Mainz isn’t as weak as people think.’

And yet, the gap in raw talent between the two squads was obvious.

’Why?’

Wang Shuo pondered this as he played.

This was his first time facing an opponent of VfL Wolfsburg’s caliber, especially one managed by a renowned coach like Magath.

His understanding of the game was deepening by the second.

To his surprise, he realized that VfL Wolfsburg and Mainz were playing two completely different styles of football.

Since arriving at Mainz in March, Wang Shuo had trained first under Kramny and then with the first team under Klopp. He’d always felt that Mainz’s high press was a rather risky tactic.

And yet, it always allowed them to seize the initiative.

’So what’s the difference?’

’When on the attack, both teams have the same idea: take the initiative and go forward.’

’But what happens once they lose possession?’

’That’s where their philosophies diverge completely.’

’Klopp’s approach is: I’ll press you proactively, cut off your passing lanes, and prevent you from organizing any effective attack.’

’And Magath’s side?’

’Their idea is: I’ll quickly organize my defense, wait for you to come at me, win the ball back, and then launch my own attack.’

The difference was stark.

Whether in attack or defense, Mainz was always proactive and aggressive.

Wolfsburg, on the other hand, was active in attack but passive in defense.

It was like a turn-based game.

’I’ll launch an attack. If it fails and you win the ball, I’ll fall back and defend. I’ll let you come at me, win the ball back, and then launch another attack of my own...’

In this turn-based approach, attack and defense were disconnected.

Both the transition from attack to defense and from defense to attack required a distinct conversion phase.

But at Mainz, attack and defense were practically one and the same. The transition between them was instantaneous.

It was only at this moment that Wang Shuo suddenly understood why a club like Bayern would have its eye on Klopp.

’How terrifying would it be if a team with Bayern’s level of talent executed Klopp’s system?’

’But then, why didn’t Bayern choose Klopp?’

Because no tactic in the world is perfect.

During the summer, while Wang Shuo was doing individual training, Klopp had mentioned that this system of high-pressing was inherited from Wolfgang Frank.

Hoffenheim’s head coach, Rangnick, also employed this tactical approach, which was why he and Klopp were such good friends.

Frank’s tactical philosophy was inherited from Italy, particularly from the football theories of Sacchi.

But back in 1992, the rules of football underwent a revolutionary change.

Goalkeepers were no longer allowed to use their hands to field a back-pass from a teammate.

Before that rule, when facing a high press, a player could always think, ’If all else fails, I can just pass it back to the keeper, right?’

But after the new rule, that was no longer an option, because the keeper couldn’t use his hands.

This change set the stage for the high press to become a dominant tactic.