Chapter 346: Chapter 80: Blitzkrieg! The Chronicle of Klopp’s Rise! Suarez: I’m Not as Good as Wang Shuo! The Beleaguered Van Gaal

"Good God, Wang, how on earth did you do that?"

"I don’t know."

"My jaw hit the floor. I’m seriously tempted to bow down to you!"

"Haha, then go right ahead."

"You little rascal, always giving us a scare like that. My poor, fragile heart..."

"Go get Lisa to kiss it better when you get back..."

"Wang, did you see the looks on those Frankfurt guys’ faces? It was priceless!"

"I have no interest in the faces of those I’ve beaten."

"Seriously, can you try talking like a normal person?"

"I am being normal. You’re the one who isn’t."

"You think so? It must just be me, I’m too hyped up. Man, that goal of yours was insane."

"Haha, I know. AHH... STOOOP..."

This entire exchange took place after Dortmund’s narrow 3-2 home victory over Frankfurt.

When the final whistle blew, the Dortmund players all swarmed Wang Shuo to congratulate him.

And Wang Shuo’s final cry was because a lunging Klopp tackled him right into a bear hug...

The Dortmund head coach was simply ecstatic!

Ever since Wang Shuo scored the third goal, he had been unusually animated on the sidelines.

At this moment, everyone began to understand why Klopp was so annoying to play against back when he was a defender!

Of course, according to the Dortmund head coach himself, whenever his heart rate exceeded 140, he tended to lose control of his emotions.

So, right now, his heart rate wasn’t just over 140.

It was probably way over.

"Be honest, you little rascal. Were you trying to draw a penalty?"

After calming down a bit, Klopp asked while fiddling with his oily, center-parted long hair.

"’Diving?’ That’s a bit of a strong word for what a striker does, isn’t it?" Wang Shuo naturally denied it flatly.

’If that hadn’t worked, then oh well. But since it did, I’ve got to maintain my cool! From now on, no matter who asks, I’ll say it was a pre-planned dribbling run. What’s that? Daring to charge into so many defenders? Exactly. It’s all about the adrenaline rush, the risk. That’s what makes it truly legendary!’

"I planned it in advance. I only did it because I was confident enough," Wang Shuo said with great conviction.

Knowing Wang Shuo’s usual personality, Klopp actually half-believed him.

His teammates, on the other hand, were completely convinced, their eyes on Wang Shuo burning with even greater admiration.

But Klopp knew Wang Shuo.

He looked harmless on the surface, but he was full of mischief underneath.

But the problem was, he really had pulled it off!

"Alright, I believe you."

As he spoke, Klopp slung an arm around Wang Shuo like an old friend and called over the other players, preparing to head toward the South Stand to thank the fans.

"Get ready. We’ve got a heavy workload coming up. We’re playing Bayern in a week!"

This was the second national derby of the season, and it was at Allianz Arena.

After playing Bayern, Dortmund would travel to Amsterdam in the Netherlands for the UEFA Europa League round of 32 knockout stage to face Ajax away from home.

However, Dortmund did have one small advantage.

In this round of matches, Bayern had defeated VfL Wolfsburg 3-1 away.

Next, Van Gaal’s team had to play three consecutive home games: the DFB-Pokal quarter-final against Fiat, the national derby against Dortmund, and a home match in the Champions League round of 16 against Fiorentina.

Why was the first leg of the round of 16 a home game?

Because Bayern had only finished second in their group.

The Bundesliga champions were in a group with Bordeaux, Juventus, and Hapoel Haifa, but they surprisingly only managed to get 10 points, losing out to Bordeaux, who had 16.

Juventus had also earned 8 points.

If they hadn’t beaten Juventus away in the final match of the group stage, Bayern wouldn’t have been able to advance from the group at all.

Van Gaal’s team wasn’t actually as strong as their lineup suggested.

Moreover, things weren’t very stable internally at Bayern, either.

For example, there was the rivalry between Gomez and Olic for the starting center-forward position.

They also still hadn’t settled on a stable plan for their midfield.

However, the three Bundesliga teams playing in the Champions League this season had all performed very poorly.

To say nothing of Bayern, who couldn’t even finish ahead of Ligue 1’s Bordeaux; Van Gaal was also facing heavy criticism.

Mainz finished at the bottom of their group and were eliminated, which came as no surprise to anyone.

The bigger surprise was VfL Wolfsburg. Their form had dropped significantly this season, and they only managed third place in their group.

Therefore, Bayern became the only Bundesliga team to advance from the group stage.

"Will Sven Bender and Kuba be able to play?" Wang Shuo asked with concern.

Klopp shook his head. "Sven Bender should be fine, but we’re not sure about Kuba yet."

"Then Santana..."

Klopp nodded. "I’ll consider it."

The biggest problem in the match against Frankfurt was the midfield.

If Santana could play, allowing Hummels to move into midfield, then the problem would be alleviated.

But Klopp had decided to bench Santana.

Everyone in the locker room knew the reason definitely wasn’t that own goal, nor was it Santana’s poor performance.

But as for what the specific problem was, Klopp didn’t say, and no one else would ask.

This was actually one of the things Wang Shuo admired about Klopp.

Having been a professional player himself, he understood very well what players wanted and how to protect his players.

Some coaches treat players like consumables—use them when you can, and toss them aside when you can’t.

They don’t care at all what difficulties their players are facing, and they never think to offer a helping hand.

But some coaches genuinely care for their players; they pay attention to what their players are going through and what they need.