As he said this, Heynckes pointed to Bayer Leverkusen’s number 39 on the sideline.

Tony Kroos!

The German prodigy.

"He told me that when he was playing for Bayern, he often ran into similar problems as you."

Wang Shuo was taken aback.

’Is this a dilemma unique to geniuses?’

"But that’s Bayern!" Heynckes laughed.

"Football has never just been about science and data. It’s also a kind of metaphysics, something that relies on a certain feeling."

"Whenever people are involved, feeling is especially important."

At this, Heynckes laughed again.

"When I was talking with Klopp just now, I told him that you guys are using a sort of ’thuggish’ style of play."

"After winning the ball in the midfield or backfield, you quickly pass it forward to launch a fast break. If you score, great. If you lose the ball, the whole team pushes up and immediately applies a high press, forcing the opponent into mistakes."

"Win the ball, and you immediately launch a fast break from right there. If you don’t win it back, you fall back while continuing to press. You just keep pressing until you get the ball back."

"Press, fast break, press, fast break..."

"I told Klopp, if this team of yours wants to achieve results, your peak will last until 2012 or 2013 at the latest."

"Why?" Wang Shuo was surprised.

’He can even predict that?’

"It’s simple. Your average age right now is 23. By 2012, your average age will be 25."

"Did you know? After the age of 25, a professional player’s susceptibility to injury starts to increase dramatically."

"Before 25, players are still very young. Some are even still developing physically. They recover exceptionally fast. Even if they pick up a minor injury, it won’t affect their performance in a match at all."

"But after 25, their physical functions decline, and their bodies recover more slowly. Trying to maintain such a high-intensity, high-stamina style of play is simply unsustainable. Widespread injuries are inevitable."

"This is the so-called Klopp Syndrome!"

Wang Shuo had a sudden realization.

He had thought about this before, but not with Heynckes’s certainty or depth.

"Of course, Klopp’s style of play, which wears down the opponent at a high cost to his own team, is much better than Magat’s, which is almost purely self-destructive. More importantly, it doesn’t demand exceptionally technical players, yet it’s highly effective."

"As you know, technical players are often very expensive, and Dortmund can’t afford them!"

Wang Shuo understood what Heynckes meant.

’Come to think of it, the Bumblebees had to practically sell the farm just to buy me.’

’Is it realistic to expect them to assemble a squad of technically outstanding players?’

Every team has its own way of surviving.

Forget Dortmund.

Bayern is loaded, right?

But what’s the result?

Van Gaal is having a huge headache over his midfield’s lack of creativity and ball control.

In the end, it’s also because they don’t have enough technical players.

"Alright, I’ve said enough to you."

Heynckes saw his own players about to head off the pitch, so it was time for him to go as well.

"You little rascal, you refused to join my team back then. It’s pointless telling you all this."

After his laughing admonishment, Heynckes told Wang Shuo to call him if he had any questions.

Wang Shuo watched Heynckes’s departing figure, a warm feeling spreading in his heart.

’The old man is actually really nice, incredibly capable, and has extraordinary insight.’

’But in recent years, his coaching record has been pretty mediocre.’

Sometimes, Wang Shuo also found it very strange.

’This must be that ’metaphysics’ Heynckes was talking about!’

’He’s so capable, his coaching level is high, and his insight is extraordinary, yet his coaching record is a complete mess.’

’Who can you even complain to about that?’

As for Klopp...

His tactics were indeed just as Heynckes had described, and he would indeed always be plagued by the Klopp Syndrome.

But Klopp himself was a very special person.

Wang Shuo had always felt that half of Dortmund’s fighting strength came from their tactics. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The other half came from Klopp, the man.

How to put it?

That guy who came out of the Black Forest possessed a unique kind of charisma.

Thinking of this, Wang Shuo walked over to Klopp.

...

The away draw against Bayer Leverkusen didn’t affect Dortmund much.

Come the midweek DFB-Pokal round of 16 knockout match, Klopp once again fielded a reserve lineup for the away challenge against Osnabrueck.

Young players including Götze, Letalek, and David Fuzojić all started.

Playing away, Dortmund actually did quite well for the first half-hour.

The turning point of the match came just before the end of the first half.

Osnabrueck launched a series of attacks, creating several consecutive corner kick opportunities.

As a result, they scored two goals in quick succession in the 37th and 42nd minutes.

Although Dortmund pulled two goals back in the second half through Valdes and Tinga, they ultimately lost 2-3 to Osnabrueck and were regrettably eliminated from the DFB-Pokal.

This loss really didn’t look good.

Osnabrueck was currently in the Third Division League, the third tier of German football.

What level was that, exactly?

Many Bundesliga teams’ second squads, like Dortmund II, Bayern II, and Stuttgart II, were currently in the Third Division League.

However, Osnabrueck was considered a strong team in the Third Division League; Dortmund II had lost to them 1-4 in an away match.

This match also showed that Dortmund’s youth development over the past few years had actually been quite poor.

Especially the young players.

Other than Götze and Letalek, there were basically no others who could get playing time with the first team.

Since it was a cup match, Wang Shuo, along with teammates like Shahin and Kuba, wasn’t included in the squad. Klopp had left them in Dortmund to rest.