The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills-Chapter 187 - 57: The Secret Weapon Pays Off! A Lopsided DFB-Pokal Semi-final

Chapter 187: Chapter 57: The Secret Weapon Pays Off! A Lopsided DFB-Pokal Semi-final

"This has to be mind games!"

Wang Shuo said loudly, then added with a cold laugh, "Just a bit clumsy and transparent, that’s all." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Since the target of the comments wasn’t even angry, the others calmed down a bit.

"That’s right. Afterward, he made a point of praising Helmes and Kiesling. I think he was deliberately putting you down to prop up Bayer Leverkusen’s two strikers."

Wang Shuo smiled faintly and nodded. "But taking a shot at me won’t help them score more goals."

Sometimes, when a head coach gets into a war of words with the media, it isn’t necessarily for the public’s benefit.

It might be aimed at the opposition, his own players, or even the club’s management.

"But Labbadia isn’t entirely wrong. I do need to figure out a way to establish myself inside Bayer Leverkusen’s penalty area."

Schürrle grew anxious when he heard that. "Wang, you’re not actually falling for his scheme, are you?"

"Scheme or no scheme, it doesn’t matter who said it. If there’s some truth to it, we might as well listen."

After a pause, Wang Shuo sighed. "Just look at this last match. I really couldn’t get on the ball inside their penalty area."

Foyelner and the teammates around him exchanged awkward glances.

"We share some of the blame for that, but those freaks from Bayer Leverkusen are just relentless runners!"

In that match, it was like Bayer Leverkusen used Mainz’s own best tactics against them.

They might have even been more aggressive about it.

Especially Vidal!

He could run, he was aggressive, and on top of that, his footwork was decent and he was fast.

He was like an all-around warrior.

Every time Mainz tried to build an attack, they were often shut down in the midfield.

They couldn’t get the ball through!

And everyone knew that Wang Shuo was at his best with the ball played to his feet.

Playing a high ball to him would just be setting him up to fail, wouldn’t it?

’Then I’ll have to try receiving long passes in the penalty area!’

An idea sparked in Wang Shuo’s mind.

’After all, I have National Level [Ball Sense] and [Swift], plus Regional Level [First Move] and [Spiritual Light], and Professional Level [Coordination] and [Eagle Eye].’

’I refuse to believe that with all these Skills, I can’t find an effective way to fix this weakness!’

Until he could acquire a passive skill to enhance his physical strength, Wang Shuo, as a striker, would inevitably have to receive the ball in the box, especially when facing teams that deliberately sat deep in defense.

He had to have a counter-strategy.

’Besides, a long pass doesn’t have to be a high ball to my head. It doesn’t have to be about a physical battle.’

The more Wang Shuo thought about it, the more energized he felt.

"Guys, I need your help!"

Everyone was stunned.

’Didn’t Labbadia just trash-talk him?’

’So why does Wang Shuo look happy about it?’

’What’s going on?’

"Help with what?" Captain Nowitzki asked, concerned.

"Help me practice a signature move!"

A signature move?

The players exchanged confused glances.

What did he mean?

"Hold on, dinner’s on me. We can talk while we eat!"

With that, Wang Shuo ushered everyone back toward the lounge area.

He left Tobias Spawasser standing there, completely bewildered.

’Was the news I brought back good news... or bad news?’

...

Labbadia’s comments at the post-match press conference quickly sparked major controversy in the German media.

Most of the reactions were critical.

The majority of media outlets felt his comments were classless.

"For an 18-year-old rising star, don’t you think he’s being a bit too harsh?" the Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung fired back on Wang Shuo’s behalf.

Kicker Magazine acknowledged that Wang Shuo’s physicality was indeed a weakness at present, but they believed it would naturally improve as he matured, at which point it would no longer be an issue.

Bild, however, suggested that Labbadia was deliberately trying to create a diversion.

According to previous reports, Bayer Leverkusen was rife with internal conflict. Labbadia himself had long since had a falling out with a senior executive at the Pharmacy, Michael Reschke.

Reportedly, the two haven’t spoken a single word to each other since Labbadia began coaching Bayer Leverkusen last year.

The 51-year-old Reschke had been with Bayer Leverkusen since 1979, starting as a youth academy coach.

In 1998, he took over Bayer Leverkusen’s youth academy and scouting department.

In 2004, he was promoted by senior figures like Wolle to become Bayer Leverkusen’s first-team manager.

Two main theories were now circulating in the German media.

The first was that Labbadia’s reforms at Bayer Leverkusen were extremely radical. He didn’t just want to change the team’s tactics; he also wanted to shake up the administrative departments. This encroached on Reschke’s interests and even threatened the authority of Wolle and others.

They only wanted Labbadia to improve the team’s performance and competitiveness, not to completely upend the club’s existing structure.

This was why Labbadia had previously claimed that from his very first day on the job, Reschke had been secretly telling players to work against him.

The other theory was that Labbadia, much like Klinsmann, was ambitious and uncompromising. He had plenty of fresh ideas but lacked practical management experience and was unwilling to take advice.

Wolle himself had once criticized Labbadia, believing he was getting too close to his media advisors.

"Professional soccer is not show business. We need sincerity. Everyone should be genuine, but in front of the media, our words can easily be twisted. That’s not a good thing!"

Bild believed Labbadia’s public criticism following the Mainz match was, similarly, a tactic to deflect from his own problems.

It was the same tactic he used when he accused Reschke.

"In reality, Labbadia should know full well that if forced to choose between him and Reschke, Bayer Leverkusen will pick Reschke without a moment’s hesitation!"