Chapter 133: De Bruyne: Feels Like Being Betrayed
In April, Werder Bremen's schedule became more intense.
After finishing the semi-finals of the German Cup, they immediately faced the challenge of Wolfsburg.
This was the second time in a week that Werder Bremen hosted Wolfsburg at home.
Both teams fought hard in the German Cup, exhausting each other significantly.
If it were any other opponent, Werder Bremen could have been taken advantage of in their current state.
However, Wolfsburg gained nothing from this.
Attempting revenge, Wolfsburg suffered a 2-0 defeat at Weser Stadium.
With this win over Wolfsburg, Werder Bremen's winning streak in the league and cup matches extended to eight games.
Despite the eight-game winning streak, the gap between them and the top of the table showed no signs of closing.
After 30 rounds, Werder Bremen was second in the standings with 75 points, nine points behind Bayern Munich.
With only four rounds left in the league, Werder Bremen had only a theoretical chance of winning the title.
To win the championship, they not only needed to win all four remaining matches themselves but also had to hope Bayern lost all four matches.
As long as Bayern won one match, their goal difference advantage would secure them the title.
But expecting Bayern to lose four in a row?
That's even harder than winning the lottery!
So no one at Werder Bremen believed they had a chance at the league trophy; the salad bowl trophy was already reserved for Bayern.
In this round, Bayern Munich crushed visiting Hamburg 9-1 at home, setting a new record for Hamburg's worst away defeat in team history.
Coincidentally, the previous record was also set by Bayern.
In the 1963-1964 season, Bayern had defeated Hamburg 9-2 at home.
After defeating Hamburg, Bayern's league points rose to 81.
No one doubted that the league championship was theirs, the only suspense was how many rounds in advance they would clinch the title!
This season, under Heynckes, Bayern Munich showed terrifying dominance.
In the recent Champions League knockout match, they swept the Serie A giants Juventus out with a 4-0 score.
In the league, since the 18th round, they had won 13 consecutive Bundesliga matches.
This winning streak was very close to their record of 15 consecutive wins in the 2005-2006 Bundesliga season.
Bayern's 13-game winning streak and their rout of opponents at home once again shook the German football world.
Because of the huge disparity in strength between the two teams, Bayern's rout had less impact than Werder Bremen's big win over Schalke 04.
After all, Bayern was known in the Bundesliga for creating such incidents, often causing routs in the league.
But the fact that no one could threaten Bayern, allowing them to easily achieve a 13-game winning streak and even create routs, was what worried the German football community the most!
Bayern's dominance in the Bundesliga was not a good sign.
A healthy league needed multiple teams to challenge for the championship, keeping the suspense until the end every year.
Losing suspense too early would reduce the league's entertainment value, negatively affecting viewership, attendance, and broadcast revenue.
The success of the Premier League's commercial operations was largely due to the exciting and suspenseful matches.
If the Premier League were like the Bundesliga, with one team like Bayern locking the championship early every year, there would be nothing interesting to watch.
It wouldn't be long before Premier League fans stopped watching!
So they hoped someone would stand up and stop Bayern, to keep the championship suspense from disappearing too early.
Among the top teams in the standings, Werder Bremen had already finished all their matches against Bayern, so they couldn't help.
However, they had eliminated Bayern in the German Cup, completing a blockade against Bayern in the cup!
And third-placed Borussia Dortmund still had a match against Bayern in the 32nd round of the Bundesliga.
This strong clash between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund could be the most important match of the Bundesliga season.
If Bayern won this match, they would tie the record for the longest winning streak in team and league history.
Considering the weak strength of Bayern's opponents in the last two rounds, if they beat Dortmund, they were likely to break the record.
Borussia Dortmund would absolutely not allow Bayern to achieve such a record against them, so this match would be very exciting!
---
"Can you stop Bayern?"
After seeing the German media reports, Lin sent a message to Reus.
"Of course!"
Reus quickly replied, so fast that Lin suspected he was chatting with some girl.
Otherwise, how could he respond so quickly?
"Oh? So confident?"
Bayern and Dortmund were the two closest teams in strength in the Bundesliga, so if anyone could stop Bayern, it would only be Borussia Dortmund.
"Hehe, it's not really confidence. Bayern got a bad draw; they got Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals!"
"Like your draw is any better; didn't you draw Real Madrid?"
Dortmund's schedule was identical to Bayern Munich's, first home then away, playing at home before going away.
And the two Bundesliga rounds were sandwiched between their home and away Champions League matches.
For these two teams, they needed to play four matches in ten days.
Including two high-intensity Champions League knockout matches, and a round trip by plane, this schedule was truly a nightmare.
The four teams in the semi-finals just happened to come from two leagues, avoiding the fate of playing each other.
If they had drawn their league rivals, they wouldn't have had to travel so much.
But from a viewing perspective, an internal match in the Champions League semi-finals was clearly less exciting than facing teams from other leagues.
Unfortunately, the Premier League and Serie A giants were eliminated early.
In recent years, Premier League teams had indeed performed poorly in the Champions League; Manchester United repeatedly fell in the quarter-finals, Arsenal exited in the last 16 every year.
The wealthy Manchester City couldn't even get out of the group stage, and last season's Champions League winner Chelsea also fell early in the group stage.
If they had performed better and reached the semi-finals, there wouldn't be this situation of Bundesliga and La Liga dominance.
"Haha, is the schedule really the same? Why don't you take a closer look?"
Reus sent a laughing emoji after hearing Lin's words.
What did he mean?
Lin asked, but Reus didn't answer.
He had to search online for the Champions League semi-final schedule.
After a glance, Lin immediately found the problem.
"Damn, why are your matches a day earlier than Bayern's?"
Playing a day earlier meant that before the crucial match, Dortmund could rest a day longer than Bayern.
This was absolutely unfair to Bayern!
No wonder Reus was confident; he had such a big advantage!
"Hehe, silly! The Champions League semi-final is an important match, it can't be scheduled on the same day!"
"If they were all scheduled on the same day, even at the same time, how would viewers choose?"
"Such matches have high viewership ratings, and the broadcast fees are a lot of money, so UEFA deliberately staggered the two matches to earn more!"
Considering Lin had never played in the Champions League, Reus patiently explained to him.
The Champions League matches were different from the league; the league pursued fairness and would schedule some key matches at the same time.
But in the Champions League, especially in the knockout stage, matches were staggered to avoid conflict.
The league considered fairness, while the Champions League balanced fairness and commercial interests.
The Champions League bonuses and broadcast revenue shares were very important to the participating teams.
So, for such arrangements, the big clubs wouldn't have any complaints.
Damn, he was looked down upon!
Lin felt speechless.
Reus, this guy, became arrogant after playing in the Champions League.
"If you lose to Bayern with such an advantage, you might as well buy a piece of tofu and smash your head!"
"Tofu? I like Chinese food, are you treating me?"
Seeing the word "tofu" sent by Lin, Reus searched online to understand its meaning.
"When you come to Bremen as a guest, I'll treat you!"
Reus sent a speechless emoji:
"Our matches are over; you won't be in Werder Bremen next season, where can I find you to treat me?"
"Then how about you invite me to Dortmund to watch the game, and I'll treat you to dinner?"
Borussia Dortmund would host Real Madrid in the first leg of their match in four days, and Dortmund wasn't far from Bremen.
Taking the intercity train, it would only take an hour.
Lin had traveled this route twice with the team before and was already familiar with it.
Watching a top-level Champions League match up close was an irresistible temptation for anyone.
"Okay, I'll leave you a ticket; remember to find me for it!"
Borussia Dortmund tickets were hard to get, especially for Champions League knockout matches.
Without connections, you could only buy them at high prices from scalpers.
"Two tickets, I'm bringing a friend to watch!"
Lin tried to bargain, intending to bring De Bruyne along to observe Mourinho's coaching style.
"Damn, only one ticket; take it or leave it!"
Reus was unhappy; this was taking advantage!
He did have two tickets, but if Lin brought someone else, how could he invite him to dinner?
"Okay, one ticket. Can your teammates sell me another one?"
---
In the end, Reus gave him two tickets without charging him.
After securing the tickets, Lin immediately shared the good news with De Bruyne.
"Go watch Real Madrid vs. Dortmund?"
De Bruyne's eyes lit up at the mention of a match.
"Yes, are you going? Tickets aren't a problem!"
"Of course, but what about the coach?"
The match was in the afternoon, after their training. But it might be night by the time it ended, and De Bruyne
worried it might affect the next day's training.
"The coach is reasonable; we'll just let him know and ensure it doesn't affect tomorrow's training!"
The two went to Schaaf's office and explained their wish to watch the Champions League semi-final in Dortmund.
"Go ahead, be safe and return early!"
Schaaf agreed without making things difficult, even giving them half a day off.
If they couldn't make it back in the morning, they could come to training in the afternoon.
What a great coach!
---
Taking the intercity train to Dortmund, Lin contacted Reus and got the tickets from him.
"Ahem, this is my friend Marco Reus!"
Seeing De Bruyne's surprised expression, Lin introduced him solemnly.
The two had met in the league; De Bruyne was surprised because he didn't know Lin had become friends with Reus quietly.
It made him feel strange, like being betrayed...
"Hello, I've seen you play; your passing is amazing!"
Reus smiled and extended his hand, and De Bruyne quickly shook it:
"You're amazing too!"
De Bruyne was not as talkative as Reus, and even his polite words sounded stiff.
Reus was popular in Dortmund's locker room, while De Bruyne was more reserved in Bremen's; he wouldn't speak unless spoken to.
"You guys go in, I need to warm up. No cheering for Real Madrid or asking Ronaldo for an autograph!"
Reus reminded Lin, suspecting he came to watch Ronaldo.
After all, for many young players, Ronaldo and Messi were idols.
Ronaldo, with a better public image, had higher popularity.
"Got it, got it, go ahead. I wish you a big win over Real Madrid!"
"Thanks, if we win, dinner's on me!"
Reus was in a good mood after Lin's blessing.
"You said it, not me!"
Lin remembered Dortmund's 4-1 home win over Real Madrid.
Reus smiled, waved, and hurried back.
The two followed the fans into Westfalenstadion.
The large stadium was packed, with Dortmund's die-hard fans on the south stand early displaying a huge banner.
Half an hour later, the Champions League semi-final between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid kicked off.
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