Capítulo 52: Bundesliga League Begins
On August 24th, the new season of the Bundesliga League officially kicked off.
It's unclear whether the German Football Association intentionally arranged this or if it was an inadvertent happening.
The opening match featured the two teams that recently competed in the Telekom Cup final, Borussia Dortmund and Werder Bremen.
This marked the second encounter between the two teams in just 20 days, and unfortunately, it was the second time Werder Bremen faced Borussia Dortmund as the visiting team.
As a result, when the schedule was announced, both teams were left feeling quite speechless.
"The Football Association really knows how to create a spectacle!"
After seeing Borussia Dortmund's media promoting a revenge narrative and their players expressing their determination on social media to give 120% against Werder Bremen and win the game, everyone at Werder Bremen felt a bit orchestrated against.
Werder Bremen didn't have much confidence in winning the game, facing a Borussia Dortmund team that had been storing up rage for 20 days.
"This is just an ordinary league match, don't overthink it. Just play well. Winning or losing isn't that important!"
Coach Schaaf timely stepped up to ease the pressure on the players.
League matches aren't like cup matches where the winner is decided in one game. In a long season that lasts a year, while the outcome of each game is important, it's not a matter of life and death.
"That's right, the coach is right. It's just a very ordinary match. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Just play the game in the same way as during regular training sessions!"
The team's senior players also stepped up to comfort the younger players.
With the coach and senior players' reassurance, the nervousness of the young players eased somewhat.
At 7:30 p.m. that evening, Werder Bremen's players, after a 20-day break, stepped onto the field at the Weserstadion again.
At the same time, thousands of miles away in China, Central Television was broadcasting this match.
As one of the five major leagues that were granted broadcasting rights earlier, back when the Bundesliga was broadcast the most by CCTV before it obtained broadcast rights for the English Premier League and La Liga.
Many Chinese players were playing in the Bundesliga back then, but with the gradual decline of the national team, fewer and fewer Chinese players ventured abroad to play. Last year, when Shao Jiayi announced his return from playing abroad to play in China, there were barely any Chinese players seen on the Bundesliga stages.
However, in this context, the emergence of Lin, a Chinese player, provided a boost to the Bundesliga, which had started to lose its audience, and once again attracted many spectators.
The opening match between Borussia Dortmund and Werder Bremen set a new three-year high in viewership for the Bundesliga on CCTV.
And the commentators for the match were Duke Tzur and Focuzo.
Many spectators were hoping to see Lin elegantly dribble past opponents and score effortlessly on the field.
However, when the starting lineups for both teams were announced, they were dismayed!
"What is Werder Bremen doing? How come Lin isn't on the starting lineup?"
"I even started worrying if my eyes were playing tricks on me. But there's definitely no Lin on the starting lineup!"
"This must be a conspiracy. This is definitely discrimination and oppression against us Asians by the white West!"
For a while, posts in online forums were being rapidly refreshed, and many people couldn't understand Werder Bremen's coaching staff's decision.
Not only were they unable to understand, but Borussia Dortmund's head coach Klopp also couldn't understand.
"Is Schaaf giving up without a fight?"
"Or is this old guy playing some kind of conspiracy again?"
Having been fooled once before, Klopp became more cautious this time.
So he instructed the team to stabilize the start, not rush to attack, to avoid being surprised by the opponent like they had been the last time.
Borussia Dortmund's players also had lingering concerns about conceding two goals in the first five minutes of the previous match, so after the kick-off, they deliberately controlled the pace of the game, didn't hurry to launch an attack.
"Is Borussia Dortmund changing its tactical approach today? They're playing very cautiously; this isn't their usual style!"
Seeing Borussia Dortmund's players passing the ball around in their own half, CCTV's commentators Duke Tzur and Focuzo were perplexed.
The slow-paced game continued for five or six minutes until Borussia Dortmund confirmed that the opposition wasn't looking for an all-out attacking style, only then did the players relax and start an all-out attack!
It turned out that without Lin, Werder Bremen's offensive threat had dropped by almost a level.
In this match, De Bruyne's performance was still outstanding. He delivered several threatening passes in the forward's.
However, his teammates' abilities were limited. Often, his quick passes were either not received or went to waste after being received.
In summary, Werder Bremen found themselves at a disadvantage in their offensive initiative in the front, struggling to make a breakthrough.
On the other hand, Dortmund didn't have this problem.
Reus had seamlessly integrated into the team, and his partnership with Lewandowski upfront was becoming more and more fluid.
In the 11th minute, after Reus made a breakthrough, he passed the ball to Lewandowski, who then passed it back to him. They completed a one-two in Werder Bremen's penalty area.
By the time Reus received the pass back from Lewandowski, he had already evaded the defending players, setting himself up for a one-on-one situation.
Faced with such a superb opportunity, Reus certainly didn't waste it. He took a shot, putting the ball into the top right corner of Werder Bremen's goal.
Although Werder Bremen's goalkeeper Mielitz made a timely jump and touched the ball with his fingertips, he couldn't deflect it.
The score changed to 1:0, and Borussia Dortmund, playing at home, took the lead in just the 11th minute of the match.
After scoring, Reus ran to the corner area and kissed the team crest on his shirt.
This gesture drew cheers and applause from the on-site audience. They were beginning to fall in love with this new handsome young player and were forgetting about Shinji Kagawa, who had gone to play in England.
Coach Schaaf was a bit displeased with the team conceding a goal. He began shouting at the players on the field, urging them to strengthen their efforts and not be so cautious and nervous.
After receiving the coach's directions, Werder Bremen's players increased their intensity in the ensuing match.
However, as a result, the number of fouls from both sides began to increase.
In the 21st minute, Junuzovic, who had been repeatedly violated in previous matches, couldn't hold back anymore. When Werder Bremen's defender Ignjovski was in possession of the ball, Junuzovic made a retaliatory tackle, bringing him down.
After being knocked down, Ignjovski let out a scream resembling that of a slaughtered pig, rolling on the ground while holding his leg.
The commotion naturally alarmed players from both teams. Werder Bremen's players immediately rushed in, surrounding Junuzovic.
Dortmund's players also quickly came to protect Junuzovic. It seemed like both sides were about to have an altercation.
The head referee quickly rushed to the scene and showed Junuzovic a yellow card, calming the turmoil.
However, this didn't seem to appease the anger of the players from both sides. Subsequently, their actions became more aggressive.
In the 28th minute, Werder Bremen's Junuzovic brought down Reus, and the referee showed him a yellow card.
Two minutes later, Ignjovski collided with Lewandowski outside of the penalty area and also received a yellow card.
After that, Dortmund's Kehl, unwilling to fall short, used studs up against Arnautovic during a tackle and was immediately shown a yellow card.
Before halftime, the players from both teams had already received four yellow cards in total. If both sides continued to play in this manner, the number of yellow cards in this match might just double.
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