The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills

Chapter 290 - 72: Absolute Domain! The Eleventh Passive Skill! Klopp Syndrome Strikes Again

In the 34th minute of the match, when De De collided with Hannover 96’s Czech forward Steiner and went down, everyone just thought it was a poor piece of defending.

After all, Steiner had beaten De De, crossed the ball from the right side of the penalty area to the front of the goal, and assisted Côte d’Ivoire forward Didier Ya Konan, who scored to give Hannover 96 the opening goal.

But as the Hannover 96 players celebrated their goal, Hummels and Subotic were desperately shouting for the referee and the team doctor. Up at the front of the pitch, this sent a chill down Wang Shuo’s spine.

De De was on the ground, clutching his left leg with a look of agony on his face.

Klopp Syndrome!

’Is it happening again?’

Team doctor Dr. Marcus Braun quickly rushed onto the field from the sidelines with three assistants.

As a major club, Dortmund was equipped with one team doctor and three physical therapists.

Dr. Marcus Braun, for instance, ran a private clinic in Dortmund and was a leading authority in Germany on orthopedics and sports medicine.

His three assistants were also highly experienced.

The 47-year-old Peter Kuntz had worked for teams like Fiat and Nuremberg since the 80s and had been with Dortmund since 1994.

Frank Zorn, 41, had arrived at Dortmund in 1990.

The youngest was 28-year-old Toben Foster, who had worked at Bochum for four years before joining Dortmund this summer.

Also joining them were fitness coach Oliver Bartlett and performance expert Professor Andreas Schrenberg.

Both Dortmund and Klopp were clearly aware that his—Uncle Mustache’s—style of play was incredibly demanding on the players’ stamina. As a result, their medical support system was arguably the most well-equipped in the entire Bundesliga.

Yet this season, they had already lost captain Kael to a major injury, and now De De.

These two players shared a common trait: both were approaching or had surpassed the age of 30.

As for Kael, he was notoriously injury-prone.

It was another Chapter in the bitter rivalry between Dortmund and Bayern.

In the Bundesliga season opener in August 2006, Dortmund was playing Bayern when Bayern’s Salihamidzic drove his studs straight into Kael’s left knee.

That tackle sidelined Kael for over half a year and effectively ended his career with the national team. After that, he was constantly plagued by injuries.

Kael was sidelined for a period of time nearly every season.

A healthy Kael was an incredible player, but he spent most of his time on the mend.

Now, De De was being stretchered off.

The 31-year-old Brazilian left-back was the team’s undisputed first-choice player for the left flank.

Twenty-two-year-old Schmelzer had a lot of stamina, but he was no match for De De in terms of experience, offense, or defense.

As Wang Shuo watched the medical staff carry De De off the pitch, he had a sinking feeling.

Schmelzer came on as a substitute to take De De’s place.

And currently, there were still quite a few players on the team over 30 years old.

Starting right-back Owomoyela would also turn 30 in November.

Brazilian midfielder Tinga would turn 32 in January.

Both players were crucial to the current Dortmund squad.

At this thought, Wang Shuo glanced around at his teammates.

He noticed their spirits were low.

Klopp Syndrome. The term had already become well-known throughout Germany back when Klopp was coaching Mainz.

And so far this season, two players had already gone down with major injuries.

Thinking of this, Wang Shuo couldn’t help but recall Klopp’s prior instructions.

He glanced at the clock again, and a decision formed in his mind.

’We can’t let the game go on like this!’

’This isn’t just about the three points; it’s a golden opportunity to take the top spot in the league!’

’If we get to the top of the table, it’ll be a massive morale boost for Dortmund.’

’If we don’t, we’ll probably lose all our momentum.’

"Kuba."

Wang Shuo beckoned.

Kuba immediately jogged over.

"We need to find a way to score before the first half ends."

Kuba nodded. "What’s the plan?"

"Look for an opening, make a diagonal run into the right channel, and get into the box."

"You’re faster than Constantin Lausch. You can definitely lose him."

"And you?"

Wang Shuo smiled confidently. "I’ll get you the ball."

...

The match resumed.

Even with the lead, Hannover 96 didn’t let up on their marking of Wang Shuo one bit.

Wang Shuo, in turn, kept pulling his marker all over the pitch.

But he started to consciously drift toward the left side.

Hannover 96 was playing a 4-4-2 formation in this match, but they were mostly relying on a defensive counter-attacking strategy.

Their midfield was doing a good job of containing Dortmund.

And every time Wang Shuo dropped back, he would invariably drag one of the opposition’s center-backs with him.

By now, players in the Bundesliga had learned a thing or two about how to mark Wang Shuo.

For example, don’t let Wang Shuo build up any speed.

Even when he was receiving the ball with his back to the goal, they had to get tight and physical immediately.

That’s right. They were exploiting his relative weakness in physical challenges.

If they weren’t quick enough to challenge him, they’d foul him without hesitation.

As a result, Wang Shuo had to endure numerous fouls every single match.

But he, in turn, had accumulated plenty of experience in dealing with such treatment.

This was especially true after he obtained the National Level [Inverted Foot] passive skill.

His proficiency with both feet allowed him to handle any situation with ease.

Just like this time.

As he once again dropped back from a central position in the final third to the left channel, calling for the ball, Hannover 96’s center-back Karim Haji was stuck to him like glue.

Haji, who stood 1.9 meters tall and weighed 86 kilograms, shadowed Wang Shuo’s every move.