Chapter 350: Chapter 80: Blitzkrieg! The Rise of Klopp! Suarez: I’m Not as Good as Wang Shuo! The Ill-fated Van Gaal

"The schedule is our biggest advantage!"

Klopp’s words were filled with conviction and resolve!

Dortmund also had a UEFA Europa League match next Thursday against Ajax, who were by no means a weak opponent.

But the Bumblebees’ schedule was away-then-home. As long as they delivered a stable performance in the away game, even a draw would leave them with a chance to turn things around at home.

Bayern, on the other hand, was home-then-away, which was much more troublesome.

"I’ve discussed it with the coaching staff. The most important thing for us in this match is to get off to a good start!"

"We need to hit Bayern with a knockout blow right from the start!"

"I want you to pressure Bayern from the very moment the whistle blows. Suffocate our opponents!"

Once the team’s tactical tone was set, all that remained was to break down the individual assignments.

Every player had to be clear on what they needed to do and which opponents to watch out for.

They would also spend the next two days on targeted training.

This was another advantage of having one match per week.

Bayern, with two matches a week, had no time for such specific preparation.

This was also why Klopp was so certain he wouldn’t guess Bayern’s tactics wrong.

Of course, guessing correctly was one thing; performing on the pitch was another.

...

The tunnel leading to the locker rooms at the Munich Allianz Arena was beautifully decorated.

The walls on both sides of the tunnel were adorned with huge photos of Bayern’s current players.

Under the concealed lighting, the ambiance was perfectly crafted without sacrificing brightness.

But upon entering the away team’s locker room, everyone from Dortmund couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

’So damn cheap!’

"The home team’s locker room is a full 65 square meters. Their shower area has 12 showerheads, and they even have a pool."

"And then you look at the away team’s locker room..."

This was actually something that teams all over the world did.

When fans watched stadium promotional videos or took tours, they were usually only shown the home team’s locker room.

The home locker room was typically luxuriously decorated, equipped with everything imaginable—massage chairs, private shower stalls, soaking tubs, you name it. It was as if they couldn’t wait to cram every advanced facility inside.

But the away team’s locker room?

Sorry, only the most basic amenities were provided.

Some were even exceptionally cramped.

While still meeting regulations, they would use every trick in the book to cut corners wherever possible.

Bayern prided itself on being welcoming and at least went out of its way to provide food and drinks for the away team.

But in reality...

Let’s not even talk about it!

Wang Shuo and the others were long used to it.

They got their things in order, changed their clothes, and headed out for the pre-match warm-up.

The match was scheduled to kick off at 5:30 PM.

In Germany, at this time of day in February, it was already dark.

The entire warm-up proceeded in an orderly fashion, strictly following the pre-match plan.

After returning to the locker room, Klopp and the coaching staff began their final pre-match briefing.

Incidentally, Wang Shuo basically didn’t give motivational speeches anymore.

For one, he’d heard Klopp’s "complaint."

For another, Weidenfeller was almost fully recovered from his injury and could return as early as the next match.

Wang Shuo had also made it clear that he would hand the captain’s armband back to him.

"Remember what I told you! Sink your teeth into the opponent from the very first minute!"

"Don’t hold anything back!"

"Because our opponent is Bayern Munich!"

Klopp shouted at everyone, practically grinding his teeth.

Allianz Arena has a very unique feature: the tunnel from the locker room to the pitch is a set of inverted trapezoidal steps, high at both ends and sunken in the middle.

This design meant that as the two teams, led by referee Knut Kircher, ascended the final steps onto the pitch of Allianz Arena, they were met with a cascading wall of sound from the stadium.

While waiting to enter the pitch, Wang Shuo took a specific look at Bayern’s lineup.

It was exactly as Klopp had predicted, with the only difference being Gomez starting up front instead of Olic.

Dortmund, on the other hand, had made some significant adjustments.

Goalkeeper: Ziegler;

Defense: Schmelzer, Santana, Subotic, and Owomoyela;

Midfield: Shahin, Hummels, and Sven Bender;

Forwards: Grosskreutz, Wang Shuo, and Kuba.

The biggest change for this match was that Dortmund had abandoned their previous 4-2-3-1 formation in favor of a 4-3-3.

Furthermore, the midfield was set up with three defensive midfielders.

Sven Bender and Kuba were returning from injury.

Kuba, in particular, had only been confirmed for the starting lineup at noon today.

Santana had once again earned a starting spot, partnering with Subotic as a center-back.

Based on Wang Shuo’s observations over the past few days, the Brazilian center-back’s condition had improved significantly, and he seemed to be in good spirits.

But no one knew what exactly had happened to him during his time away.

It was his private matter, and no one was nosy enough to ask.

Wang Shuo guessed that Klopp had opted for the 4-3-3 formation partly because Foyelner hadn’t been performing well in the number 10 role.

But more importantly, it was to contain Ribery and Robben.

It was called a 4-3-3, but in reality, based on the tactics they had been practicing, Grosskreutz and Kuba would drop deeper, playing more like wide midfielders.

So, strictly speaking, Dortmund was playing a 4-5-1 formation.

As Klopp had just encouraged Wang Shuo, "The entire attacking third is yours to command!"

’Tch!’

’Klopp and his lies! That silver-tongued devil!’

As was customary, the captains of both teams stood at the front of the line.

Across from Wang Shuo stood Van Bommel.

The Dutch player seemed to feel Wang Shuo’s gaze and immediately turned his head to look back, his eyes filled with ill intent.