Chapter 311: Chapter 75: Golden Ball Award Ranking! The 4th Superstar of World Football! How a Legend Is Made! The Shock from China

UEFA missed their appointment.

After the match against Celtic, their officials had arranged to meet with Dortmund’s press officer, Joseph Schneck, the next day.

But the next day, they called to say there had been a change of plans and rescheduled.

The UEFA Europa League match was on a Thursday night. Since they didn’t come on Friday, one couldn’t expect the UEFA staff to work overtime on Saturday and Sunday.

Besides, Bundesliga matches were on the weekend, so Wang Shuo wouldn’t have been available for them anyway.

So, it was postponed until the following Monday.

On the weekend, in the 12th round of the Bundesliga, Dortmund faced Werder Bremen in a fierce away match.

Starting for Werder Bremen was Marco Marin, whom Wang Shuo had known from his time in the 2nd Bundesliga when Marin played for Borussia Mönchengladbach.

It was his combination play with the number 11, Mesut, that led to a goal against Dortmund during a fast break in the 36th minute.

The goal was caused by a passing error from the holding midfielder, Sven Bender.

It couldn’t be helped.

Overall, Sven Bender’s performance had actually been quite good.

But in his position, during a high-stakes match like this, a single mistake could be devastating.

Fortunately, in the 54th minute of the second half, left-back Schmelzer made a quick run forward, received a pass from Grosskreutz, and sent a low cross in from near the goal line.

Wang Shuo seized the opportunity between the two tall center-backs, Mertesacker and Naldo, got a foot on the ball, and sent Schmelzer’s cross into Werder Bremen’s goal, tying the score.

Neither side managed to score again after that.

The match ended in a 1-1 draw.

Back in the locker room after the match, everyone, Wang Shuo included, was understanding about Sven Bender’s mistake.

This was especially true for Wang Shuo.

He had also come up from the 2nd Bundesliga, so he felt a natural affinity for Sven Bender, who had also come from the 2nd Bundesliga by way of Munich 1860.

More importantly, Schaff’s tactics were truly insane.

He truly subscribed to a tactical style that was all-out attack, with little to no regard for defending.

"Don’t worry about it. If you guys in the back make a mistake, we’ll just work harder to score one more up front. It’s no big deal, don’t feel pressured!"

Wang Shuo said it in a deliberately lighthearted tone, and many in the locker room started to laugh.

When Klopp returned to the locker room, he was also satisfied with the 1-1 result.

Werder Bremen was currently ranked 3rd in the Bundesliga. For Dortmund to get one point in an away match was a good result.

It wasn’t just Dortmund; Bayern had also drawn at home.

They drew 1-1 with Schalke 04.

Magat could finally hold his head high this time.

He had almost toppled Bayern at the Allianz Arena.

Van Gaal, on the other hand, was out of luck. His team’s league ranking kept dropping, and they were now in 9th place.

But Van Gaal said that the current ranking wasn’t important.

Last season, VfL Wolfsburg played like crap in the first half of the season, but didn’t they end up winning the championship?

As long as the team got its act together, with Bayern’s strength, a winning streak would send their ranking shooting up like a rocket.

Bayer Leverkusen was the most stunning team of this round.

Heynckes’s team scored three consecutive goals in the 2nd, 6th, and 11th minutes.

Tony Kroos also scored a goal.

In the end, the Pharmacy beat Frankfurt 4-0 at home.

After 12 rounds, Dortmund was in first place with 29 points, and Bayer Leverkusen was in second with 26 points.

After this match, the November international break for national team training arrived.

...

"Hello, Martin, this is Wang Shuo."

"Wang, this is Martin Hagemaster Kuhn."

In a small press conference room at Westfalen Stadium, one specifically used for player signings, Wang Shuo met the UEFA media team. The person leading them was a very young German man.

He was said to be only 24 years old.

In other words, he must have started working at UEFA right after graduating from university.

However, according to what Joseph Schneck had privately told him just moments ago, Kuhn also worked for the German Football Association.

His position at both organizations was Media and Communications Coordinator. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

As the name implied, it was a role responsible for liaising with the media, primarily focusing on targeted media dissemination and content distribution. It was a relatively new type of position.

It was actually Wang Shuo’s first time encountering such a role.

Generally, every club has various coordinators, like a youth academy coordinator, for example.

They’re responsible for things like scheduling training and matches for different age groups, as well as arranging venues and accommodations.

Take Mainz, for instance.

Their grounds are small, but they have quite a few youth teams, so everything has to be staggered by time and location.

That requires a dedicated person to coordinate.

Dortmund’s situation was much the same.

A media coordinator, then, was responsible for the media and communications side of things.

"When I was with the German Football Association, I heard them mention you often. I even watched the match between Mainz and Frankfurt."

Kuhn said with a smile as he shook Wang Shuo’s hand.

Wang Shuo replied with a few polite words.

The German Football Association headquarters is in Frankfurt.

Dortmund had specially prepared the small press conference room, mainly by setting up a backdrop and some decorations.

Kuhn told Wang Shuo that UEFA was taking this interview very seriously.

"President Platini personally approved this at the highest level, which is why it’s not just our official website—a television crew is here too."

Wang Shuo and Joseph Schneck exchanged a look, both surprised.

"I thought this was just going to be a simple interview," Schneck said with a laugh.

Kuhn glanced at his colleagues, who were starting to get busy, and chuckled in a low voice. "We’re placing a lot of importance on the UEFA Europa League right now. After all, it’s a newly revamped competition as of this year, so this story will be a major feature."