[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-god-of-football-starts-with-passive-skills":3,"chapter-the-god-of-football-starts-with-passive-skills-the-god-of-football-starts-with-passive-skills-chapter-170":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},484006,734,"Chapter 170 - 54: Major Upgrade! Secret Weapon! Winter Transfers and War of Words! Klopp Syndrome! The Championship Dream is Shattered","the-god-of-football-starts-with-passive-skills-chapter-170",170,"\u003Cp>After leading the Bundesliga for so long, Mainz had finally surrendered its spot at the top of the league table!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment the final whistle blew, the entire Bruch Road Stadium fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Shuo stood outside Klopp’s office and knocked lightly on the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Come in,\" Klopp’s voice sounded from within.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Shuo opened the door and walked in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Boss, you were looking for me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wang, come, have a seat.\" Klopp’s smile was a little forced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was clear he had been in a terrible mood recently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The chairman and general manager just called me in.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Shuo froze for a moment. \"What... did they say?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Klopp felt a warmth in his chest at Wang Shuo’s concern. \"It’s nothing. The team’s current situation isn’t outside of our predictions.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a pause, Klopp chuckled. This time, it seemed genuine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In fact, our situation now is much better than we expected.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After another pause, a nostalgic look crossed his face. \"The year we were relegated, things were much, much worse than they are now.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Shuo had heard about that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back then, it was one crushing defeat after another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t just Klopp who was in a tough spot; Hoffenheim’s situation was terrible, too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Bayer Leverkusen wasn’t doing much better.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The teams that had excelled in the first half of the season were all struggling in the second half.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The team performing the best right now was, ironically, Magath’s VfL Wolfsburg.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After their 1-1 draw with Mainz in the first match of the second half, they’d gone on to win four straight games.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But you couldn’t just look at Wolfsburg’s winning streak; you also had to consider the more than thirty million euros they invested last summer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Money is a bastard, but without it, you can’t get anywhere in football!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m sure you’ve seen the state of the team. What are your thoughts?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Shuo gave Klopp a long look, hesitating, unsure if he should say what was on his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Not all head coaches were receptive to opinions.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’That was how a lot of conflicts started.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Go on, speak freely. I want to hear your opinion.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mainz’s performance was in a slump, but Wang Shuo was the sole exception.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the last few matches, Wang Shuo’s performance had remained outstanding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, if he wasn’t being held back by the team, he probably could have been even better.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Shuo chuckled. \"Alright, but let’s agree on one thing first: you can’t get angry.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I wouldn’t get angry even if you cursed me out,\" Klopp laughed as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was at a bit of a loss himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was just like last season in the 2nd Bundesliga.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the players he had, how many more tricks could he possibly pull out of his hat?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I think you’re being too conservative!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Shuo’s words struck Klopp like a bolt from the blue, leaving him completely stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Me? Klopp? Conservative?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’What a joke.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don’t be so quick to argue. Just listen. I don’t understand. Schürrle has been playing well, so why are you using the Helle and Hogland combination on the right wing?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Haven’t you noticed? When I drop back, the only player who can really exploit the space I open up is Schürrle!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Shuo wasn’t just hyping up his best friend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a fact!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Schürrle’s speed, his instinct for finding space, and the chemistry he had with Wang Shuo made their partnership incredibly effective.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More importantly, when Schürrle pushed forward, he could stretch the opposition’s defense on the right flank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His speed was lethal on the wing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That would relieve a lot of the pressure on Wang Shuo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why did he say Klopp was being conservative?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because since the second half of the season began, he’d been using Helle up front and Hogland in the back on the right side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was playing it safe!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Shuo could actually understand why.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The team was in poor form, and as league leaders, Klopp naturally had ambitions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then there was the fact that Bungert and Neustadter were rotating to fill the spot Subotic had left, plus Wang Shuo himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was a lot of young players.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All in all, while it seemed like only Subotic had left, the impact of his departure was huge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that was just on a tactical level.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What about the mental side of things?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You think things would be better with Schürrle playing?\" Klopp asked, concerned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I just feel that if we try to play defensively, there’s no guarantee we can hold on anyway. We might as well just go for broke and attack!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Klopp nodded slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This fit his impression of Wang Shuo perfectly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Young, fearless, and with nothing to lose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A head coach may devise the tactics, but it’s the players who have to execute them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one understood how the tactics were working out on the pitch better than the players themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, Klopp felt that Wang Shuo’s opinion was worth taking seriously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alright then. I’ll discuss your suggestion thoroughly with Zeliko and Kramny.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Shuo nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a player, there was only so much he could do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had given his opinion. What the coaching staff decided to do with it was beyond his control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wang.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Wang Shuo reached the door, Klopp suddenly called out to him again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Keep working hard!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Right now, Mainz and I need you more than ever!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Shuo felt a surge of being trusted, needed, and depended upon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don’t worry,\" Wang Shuo said. \"I will.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gave a confident smile.\u003C\u002Fp>",932,"2026-05-30T11:12:32.829Z","2026-06-01T04:31:05.348Z",1,"novelbin.me","f6545d55848df7188686c0fa017e2c8e8bece0cc55a1dd201d5d134d5c88af94","the-god-of-football-starts-with-passive-skills-chapter-171","the-god-of-football-starts-with-passive-skills-chapter-169",400,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-god-of-football-starts-with-passive-skills-cover.jpg"]