[{"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-200":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},484036,734,"Chapter 200 - 59: Mr. Clutch! A Historic Final! Mainz’s Big Trouble! What a Fruitful Season","the-god-of-football-starts-with-passive-skills-chapter-200",200,"\u003Cp>’How could we possibly have a chance against the high and mighty Bayern?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I still remember it very clearly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Klopp smiled as he looked at Wang Shuo. \"It was December 22, 1999. Back then, Bayern still played at the Munich Olympic Stadium—the open-air one. Allianz Arena hadn’t been built yet.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The head coach of Mainz at the time was my mentor, Wolfgang Frank, and the match was a DFB-Pokal quarterfinal.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I was on that team, playing right-back. So were Kramny, and Neustadter, who played center-back.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Buvac had already left Mainz by then.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The fact that us old-timers are still around tells you something. We had a pretty old team back then, with an average age of 28, and we got thrashed 3-0 by Bayern in an away game.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We conceded the first goal very early on—an own goal scored by our left-back, Herzberg. It was forced by Bayern’s Babel.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"After that, Yangkel got a goal and an assist, and St. Cruz scored as well.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"After that came my first season as coach after our promotion to the Bundesliga. We lost 2-4 away, and then 2-4 again at home.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The second season, we lost 1-2 away and drew 2-2 at home. In between, we also had another DFB-Pokal quarterfinal, once again at Bayern’s home stadium. This time it was Allianz Arena, and we lost 2-3.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The third season, we lost 0-4 at home and 2-5 away.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And then came this season.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Wang Shuo listened, he couldn’t help but feel the topic was getting heavy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mainz and Bayern were simply not opponents on the same level.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was why almost every encounter ended in a crushing defeat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The best they had managed was a draw.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a despair-inducing matchup, a rivalry with no hope in sight!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was true that Bayern wasn’t in top form this season.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the question was, had Bayern really been in perfect form all those years?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their pedigree was such that even when not in top form, Bayern could easily crush Mainz.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Mainz had to go all out, giving their absolute everything, just to score a single goal against Bayern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do you know why I hate Bayern so much?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Klopp asked, practically grinding his teeth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Shuo shook his head. He could feel the intensity of Klopp’s emotions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I still remember, after I got the call from Hennes, the very first person I told was Christian Heidel.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Back then, Christian told me without a moment’s hesitation, ’Go, Jurgen! This is a life-changing opportunity. You have to take it. The club will release you unconditionally; you can go whenever you’re ready.’\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That once-in-a-lifetime opportunity turned out to be nothing more than a casual joke to Hennes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There were two Jurgens, and they chose the ’respectable’ one—the one in the suit!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the end of his sentence, flecks of spittle were flying from Klopp’s mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With his full beard, he admittedly looked scruffy, not \"respectable\" enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Bayern had been the one to approach him. It wasn’t as if Klopp had gone groveling at their door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet, even so, they had kicked him to the curb like a stray dog.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who wouldn’t harbor a grudge after that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Shuo hadn’t experienced it firsthand, but surprisingly, he found himself empathizing with Klopp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His agent, Thomas Essien, had told him that in his own dealings with Bayern, they always came across as arrogant and superior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For instance, they wanted Wang Shuo to join them but refused to promise any playing time. They wouldn’t even offer him a pay raise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their reasoning was that Bayern had many talented young prospects like Wang Shuo. They worried that giving him a raise would lead to others demanding one too, and that just wasn’t the \"Bayern way.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The line they repeated most often was, \"Remember, you’d be joining *Bayern*!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps, in Germany, most people would consider it an honor to join Bayern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Wang Shuo was definitely not one of them!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Klopp, apparently realizing he’d lost his composure, quickly calmed himself and pulled the conversation back on track.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Besides the DFB-Pokal final, we still have the league to think about.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We absolutely cannot keep losing like this. Otherwise, we’ll fall apart before we even make it to the DFB-Pokal final!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Klopp explained that he and the coaching staff were considering adjusting the team’s tactics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simply put, they wanted to reduce the amount of running the players had to do and adjust their high-pressing defensive strategy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The match against Bayer Leverkusen had made them realize that in the final against Bayern, they could face a similar situation where they were completely pinned down by their opponents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This meant the team needed to organize a much tighter defense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bayern was far stronger than Bayer Leverkusen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had Ribery on the left flank, and world-class center-forwards like Luca Toni and Klose in the middle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the time came, the pressure on Mainz would be even greater.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Shuo understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His hatred for Bayern was making Klopp willing to temporarily abandon some of his principles in favor of more pragmatic tactics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In the coming weeks, we desperately need someone to step up and be a leader in the locker room. Someone to help me stabilize morale, get the team back on track, and inspire confidence in everyone.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I believe, Wang, that you are the best man for the job!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So, I need you to step up.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Klopp’s request took Wang Shuo by surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a sign of recognition, a show of great faith in him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normally, this was a job for the captain, Nowitzki.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now Klopp was entrusting it to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the ultimate vote of confidence.\u003C\u002Fp>",945,"2026-05-30T11:12:32.829Z","2026-06-01T04:31:05.348Z",1,"novelbin.me","2a6f4bcfdd133bcb0b65ea5db6ee9a3badae08b524a6104f5eadd47a1b59287d","the-god-of-football-starts-with-passive-skills-chapter-301","the-god-of-football-starts-with-passive-skills-chapter-199",400,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-god-of-football-starts-with-passive-skills-cover.jpg"]