Chapter 355: Chapter 81: Worldie! Diving Header! The Difference Between a Genius and an Ordinary Man! This Is Our Dortmund’s Football

Especially Van Bommel.

What stuck with Kircher the most was how Van Bommel had committed four fouls in a very short span during that match.

None of the fouls were major. They were the kind that infuriated opponents but were subtle enough that the referee couldn’t easily call them.

This completely shattered Werder Bremen’s composure.

As a result, Bayern scored twice in just ten minutes.

’If Werder Bremen had protested in time, or even just started an argument with Bayern like Dortmund did,’ Kircher thought, ’the referee would have had to intervene, and Van Bommel would have certainly been carded early on.’

However, Werder Bremen did eventually react.

Shortly before halftime, Mesut was on the ball and drew a foul from Van Bommel.

This time, Kircher didn’t hesitate to show the card.

But Werder Bremen had already lost the First Move. The final score was 2-3, a home loss to Bayern.

Van Bommel was the kind of player opponents loathed, but his own fans adored.

As a referee, he didn’t have much fondness for players like that.

No referee likes having their decisions and officiating standards second-guessed!

Take Dortmund, for example. They protested right from the opening, and that foul was indeed a bit much.

Since it was Bayern’s home ground, Van Bommel was trying to test the referee’s limits.

But Kircher, staying within his authority as the referee, had only given a verbal warning.

So this time, showing a yellow card was only natural.

In the 10th minute, Van Bommel was put on a tight leash!

"Are you okay?" Kircher walked over and asked Wang Shuo.

"I’m fine. It really hurt right when he kicked me, but it’s much better now," Wang Shuo explained.

Kircher accepted his explanation.

Mainly, Wang Shuo had indeed been on the receiving end of a few too many kicks.

Just now, Van Bommel had been grabbing Wang Shuo while repeatedly kicking at him. It was a dirty play.

"Alright, everyone break it up. Get ready to restart the match."

With that, Kircher jogged away.

Wang Shuo, on the other hand, called his teammates over.

"Listen up. The ref is going to be looking to balance the calls now. We need to be careful with our challenges."

With a two-goal lead at Bayern’s home ground, and with Van Bommel just getting a yellow, it was normal for the referee to try and balance things out. Dortmund had to be extra careful.

In the past few rounds, Dortmund had been unstoppable under Wang Shuo’s leadership.

His teammates held him in high regard and trusted his judgment.

After hearing him now, they all nodded in agreement.

...

The match restarted.

Dortmund’s free kick didn’t lead to any real offensive threat.

After winning the ball, Bayern immediately launched a long pass forward, looking for Gomez to start a quick attack.

Santana was having a very active game.

His marking on Gomez, in particular, was spot-on.

Clearly, the help Klopp had given him over the past while was paying off.

When the route to Gomez proved ineffective, Bayern began to utilize the wings more.

This was mainly because both Robben and Ribery were actively dropping back to receive the ball.

The two wingers operated more in the half-spaces, largely leaving the flanks to Badstuber and Lahm.

Badstuber had originally been a center-back, but under Van Gaal’s coaching, he was now playing as a left-back.

In Van Gaal’s system, when his team was in possession, the full-backs would often push high up the pitch to support the wingers in attack.

Then, in the 12th minute, Bayern Munich launched an attack from the left flank.

Facing Dortmund’s suffocating high press, Bayern’s midfield and defense couldn’t move the ball out at all.

When Ribery dropped to the left of the center circle on the halfway line to receive a pass, he was hounded by Owomoyela from behind and was eventually fouled, going to ground.

Since Owomoyela’s challenge wasn’t particularly rough, the referee simply blew his whistle for the foul without issuing a warning or a card.

This drew immense dissatisfaction from the 69,000 Bayern fans at Allianz Arena, and the stadium erupted in thunderous boos.

Demichelis quickly came forward to take the free kick, as Badstuber made an overlapping run from the left to join the attack.

But despite a series of passes, Bayern was unable to penetrate the danger zone.

After Dortmund’s clearance, the ball still ended up with Bayern, falling to Lahm on the right wing.

Wang Shuo seized the opportunity and, with a wave of his arm, signaled for the team to press toward Bayern’s right flank.

This bout of pressure ended with Grosskreutz fouling Robben.

Grandcross and Schmelzer double-teamed Robben, bringing the Dutchman down near the halfway line.

But again, no card was given.

"The stadium is filled with boos from the Bayern fans."

"The slow-motion replay shows that the Dortmund defenders’ challenges were quite restrained."

"Schmelzer’s defending is giving Robben a hard time."

"The young left-back took the starting spot from the Brazilian veteran De De and has really cemented his position on the left flank this season."

"Let’s see what Bayern do with this quick free kick."

As the ball came back to Lahm, Wang Shuo once again initiated the press toward the right wing.

Dortmund pushed up once more.

Lahm made a hasty pass to Van Bommel, but Kuba immediately closed in, forcing Van Bommel to pass back to Lahm again.

"Dortmund’s press in the attacking third is ferocious!"

"We can see that so far in this match, Bayern simply haven’t been able to find their usual rhythm."

"It’s as if they’ve been completely stunned by Dortmund’s opening blitz."

"They’re down 0-2, and the game has just begun—not even twelve minutes have passed."

"For Bayern, the most important thing right now is to settle down and find their tempo."