[{"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-189":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},484025,734,"Chapter 189 - 57: The Secret Weapon Worked! A One-Sided DFB-Pokal Semi-Final! No Dark Horses in the Second Half of the Bundesliga","the-god-of-football-starts-with-passive-skills-chapter-189",189,"\u003Cp>They conceded a goal 16 minutes into the first half.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, in the second half, they conceded two more goals in the 55th and 71st minutes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Klopp didn’t bring Wang Shuo on for the entire match.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The match showed everyone that Mainz’s squad was too thin; they simply didn’t have the depth to compete on two fronts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With both Hamburg and Hertha Berlin winning their matches, Mainz’s league position dropped to fifth place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a three-game losing streak, Mainz was tied with Hertha Berlin at 52 points.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hamburg, meanwhile, had 54 points.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind them was Stuttgart with 51 points.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hoffenheim, which had earned 38 points in the first half of the season, had only managed to reach 45 points so far in the second half.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aside from their star striker Ibisevic being sidelined for the season with a serious injury, Rangnick’s team was also in terrible form. Compounded by a lack of squad depth, they simply couldn’t keep up their performance in the second half of the season.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their situation was identical to Mainz’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only difference was that Mainz had ridden a wave of brilliant performances from Wang Shuo to a three-game winning streak; otherwise, they would have been in the same boat as Hoffenheim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the evening of April 21st, Mainz faced Bayer Leverkusen away in the DFB-Pokal semi-final.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Arena Television’s live coverage of the first semi-final match of the 2008\u002F09 DFB-Pokal season.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Bayer Leverkusen hosts this season’s Bundesliga dark horse, Mainz.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is a match that has captured the attention of countless fans.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We’re broadcasting live for you from the Sjie Sports Stadium in Dusseldorf.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Bayer Leverkusen’s home ground, the BayArena, has been undergoing renovations this season, with a second tier being added to the stands. So, apart from some Bundesliga league matches, they’ve chosen to hold their more important fixtures here in Dusseldorf.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As we can see, the match has drawn a crowd of over 50,000 fans.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Looking at the broadcast footage, the stands are almost entirely filled with Bayer Leverkusen supporters.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Pharmacy is clearly determined to win this match!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Before the match, Bayer Leverkusen’s head coach, Labbadia, said his team would defeat Mainz, just as they did in their league encounter two weeks ago.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mainz, on the other hand, has been very low-key in the lead-up to the game.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As we all know, the team’s recent form hasn’t been great; they’ve just suffered a three-game losing streak in the Bundesliga.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s a truly awful situation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We now have the starting lineups for both teams.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Since both sides rested some players during their league matches last weekend, they’re fielding their strongest lineups tonight.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"First, let’s take a look at the home side, Bayer Leverkusen. They’re coming out in their trademark 4-4-2 formation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Goalkeeper: Adler\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Defense: Kadlec, Friedrich, Sinkywitz, and Castro\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Midfield: Tony Kroos and Renato Augusto on the wings, with Rolfes playing a holding role and Vidal pushing forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Forwards: Kiesling and Helmes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And now for Mainz’s starting lineup.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Klopp is once again going with his preferred 4-4-1-1 formation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Goalkeeper: Dimo Wahe\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Defense: Lővér, Nowitzki, Bungert, and Helle\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Midfield: Foyelner, Pekovic, Kalhan, and Schürrle, with Hainauer playing just behind the striker.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Forward: Wang Shuo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is the strongest possible lineup that Mainz can field at the moment.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It must be said, in terms of squad strength, Mainz is clearly outmatched by Bayer Leverkusen.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You can see that just by looking at the total market value of the two squads.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"With the rise of young talents like Wang Shuo and Schürrle this season, Mainz’s total squad value is now around 30 million euros.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Bayer Leverkusen’s total squad value, however, is a staggering 120 million euros.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Also worth noting is that Bayer Leverkusen’s defensive stalwart, Friedrich, is a former Mainz player—and their former captain, no less.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course, a difference in market value doesn’t necessarily translate to performance on the pitch.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But it certainly highlights the gap between them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But of course, we are all eager to see if Klopp’s team can pull off another legendary underdog performance.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Especially the young star from China, Wang Shuo.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"To deal with Wang Shuo, we’re sticking to the same tactics we used two weeks ago.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Simon, you need to watch him carefully when he drops deep.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The captain, Rolfes, nodded in agreement at Labbadia’s words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, the only sound in the Bayer Leverkusen locker room was Labbadia’s voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We’re using the same game plan as two weeks ago. From the very second the first whistle blows, I want every single one of you pushing up, pinning Mainz down completely!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Our opponents are in big trouble right now. They’re still deploying the two veterans, Pekovic and Kalhan, to anchor their midfield because they’ve got no one else!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s our opportunity!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Our wingers can be more aggressive. At the same time, we need to make full use of our two center forwards.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tony.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Labbadia turned and pointed at Tony Kroos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You did a brilliant job in the match two weeks ago. Your passing was lethal. I want more of that in this game—keep feeding the ball in and let our center forwards dominate inside the box!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tony Kroos nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’He started out as a number 10, an attacking midfielder.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’After joining Bayer Leverkusen, the number 10 role was taken by the Chilean midfielder, Vidal.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’So, Tony Kroos found himself playing mostly on the left wing.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’He was skilled with both feet, but his right was dominant.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Playing on the left wing allowed him to cut inside and unleash his most dangerous inswinging crosses.’\u003C\u002Fp>",930,"2026-05-30T11:12:32.829Z","2026-06-01T04:31:05.348Z",1,"novelbin.me","8de8c23993f1f1e94b829d56b1e1a7d1a651060b47d6ced9c911122a84e2c156","the-god-of-football-starts-with-passive-skills-chapter-190","the-god-of-football-starts-with-passive-skills-chapter-188",400,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-god-of-football-starts-with-passive-skills-cover.jpg"]