Chapter 69: The Terrifying Bayern
Gaed Mueller has always been haunted by Bayern's loss to Chelsea in the Champions League final last season.
In that match, Bayern dominated the game, constantly pressuring Chelsea, but couldn't find the net.
Players like Robben, Ribery, Gomez, and Mueller missed chances one after another, and eventually, they were dragged into a penalty shootout, sadly losing the game.
If Bayern had a player like Lin Quan, who is sharp in dribbling in tight spaces, good at breakthroughs, and adept at positioning, the outcome might have been completely different.
After falling behind in the score, Bayern immediately launched a furious counterattack.
If they were initially conserving energy for the Champions League match four days later and not giving it their all in the game,
by now, they've completely forgotten about the Champions League and everything else!
They were like angry lions, fiercely attacking Werder Bremen!
Bayern Munich's onslaught was like waves, continuously assaulting Werder Bremen's defense.
Werder Bremen was like a small boat in a storm, constantly threatened to be engulfed by the opponent's attacking waves.
In order to protect their own goal, almost all of Werder Bremen's players retreated to their own half, even the striker Arnautovic retreated to participate in defense behind the center circle, leaving Bayern's half wide open!
The situation on the field was completely controlled by Bayern Munich; they kept forming attacks, threatening Werder Bremen's goal time and time again.
However, Bayern's luck seemed to be lacking. In the entire first half, they had a total of 11 shots, but only 3 were on target, failing to score a goal.
In the end, after a hard-fought 45 minutes, Bayern Munich returned to the dressing room trailing by one goal.
On the other hand, although Werder Bremen's players were leading by one goal, there was no joy to be seen from the team. The dressing room was filled with the sound of players panting heavily.
In the final stages of the first half, Bayern's attack was too fierce. They were so powerful in their assault and adept at tearing apart Werder Bremen's defense with successive combinations.
If it weren't for Werder Bremen's players running tirelessly, compensating for their technical and tactical deficiencies with diligent running and aggressive tackling, they would have probably been overwhelmed by Bayern by now!
But the cost of doing so was also significant. In just one and a half halves, Werder Bremen's players felt unprecedented exhaustion.
At this rate of consumption, they definitely wouldn't be able to hold out for the entire second half. By sixty or seventy minutes, the players would be out of energy.
In the dressing room, the physiotherapists were busy massaging and relaxing the players.
Meanwhile, Coach Schaaf was deploying the team's tactics for the second half.
"You guys did great in the first half, I'm proud of you, but the game isn't over yet, and it's not time to celebrate!"
"In the second half, Bayern will definitely continue to strengthen their attack. Players like Robben and Gomez will be substituted in, and our wings will face even more severe tests!"
The players nodded one after another. Just Ribery alone in the first half already made them feel very tricky.
If Robben were to come on, activating Bayern's Robbery combination, their frontcourt offensive firepower would escalate to another level.
For Werder Bremen's defense, this would be a huge test!
"So, in the second half, we'll play like this..."
...
On the other side, in the visitors' dressing room.
After arranging the second-half attacking tactics, Heynckes found the team's striker Pizarro and said to him:
"Claudio, the team is in adversity, and we need experienced players like you to step up!"
"Coach, you can count on me. I'll execute your orders without fail!"
"Very well, I'll substitute you around the 60th minute, so after coming on in the second half, don't worry about conserving energy, do everything possible to attack the opponent's defense, and wear out their defenders. Whether the team can win the game depends on your and Kroos's stamina!"
Heynckes noticed Werder Bremen's stamina issue, so he planned to make substitutions around the sixty-minute mark in the second half.
The two players to be substituted were striker Pizarro and midfielder Kroos.
Before substituting them, he hoped that these two players would run more, challenge the opponent's defense more, and wear them out.
This way, when the substitutes come on, having familiarized themselves with the rhythm of the game and entered their state, they will coincide with the bottleneck period of the opponent's stamina depletion.
In Bayern's lineup, Pizarro is not an absolute star.
As an older player, he no longer has much advantage compared to players like Gomez and Mandzukic.
Therefore, Heynckes never had too high expectations for him, but rather used him as a utility player.
Pizarro heard the coach's words and nodded expressionlessly.
Although he was unwilling in his heart, he could only accept it reluctantly.
After all, he was just a less important substitute player in Bayern, miles away from being the absolute core like he was in Werder Bremen.
Being able to play was already a good result for him. What more could he expect?
In the beginning of the second half, Bayern continued to accelerate the pace of the game.
The ball flew around Werder Bremen's penalty area, and their goal was once again severely tested.
Shaaf, with his chin propped up, looked worried.
He could clearly feel that Bayern's players were more fierce and aggressive in their challenges, especially Kroos in midfield and Pizarro up front.
These two seemed to be tireless, running and pressuring Werder Bremen's defense relentlessly.
To stop them, Werder Bremen even received a yellow card.
Shaaf instinctively looked towards the opposing coach's bench, speculating on Heynckes' intentions.
Bayern's bench was so luxurious; they would definitely make personnel adjustments in the second half.
And he already guessed who would be substituted, surely Pizarro and Kroos.
Because with their current style of play, the players' stamina simply wasn't enough to last the entire match.
Heynckes was ruthless, using this method to wear out Werder Bremen, and unfortunately, Werder Bremen didn't have much of a way to counter it.
Shaaf glanced at his team's bench and could only shake his head inwardly.
Their bench depth couldn't compare to Bayern Munich's at all.
In the sixtieth minute, the fourth official raised the substitution board, and Bayern Munich made the first personnel adjustment.
Number 10, Robben, came on, replacing number 39, Kroos.
Number 9, Mandzukic, came on, replacing number 14, Pizarro.
Seeing this personnel adjustment from the opponent, Shaaf immediately stood up from the coaching bench.
Mandzukic!? Bayern actually didn't bring on Gomez, but Mandzukic?
Historically, Gomez twisted his ankle in the Telekom Cup and Werder Bremen match, underwent surgery, and rested for only three months.
But in this timeline, although Gomez was injured, it wasn't his ankle but a thigh strain, and he recovered after six weeks.
In the last match, Gomez even scored for the team; his condition was absolutely fine.
But Heynckes didn't use him, instead bringing on Mandzukic?
Shaaf couldn't quite fathom Heynckes' intentions because in his view, Gomez was definitely stronger than Mandzukic, and Gomez's understanding with Bayern's teammates was far better than that of Mandzukic, a newcomer who only transferred during the summer window.
But Heynckes still didn't use him!
This made Shaaf a bit nervous; the opponent's substitution caught him off guard, giving him an inexplicable sense of worry.
After Robben and Mandzukic came on, Bayern's tactics changed again.
The Robbery combination activated, with Robben on the right starting to make crazy breakthroughs and cuts inside.
Eliyah, whose stamina had already dropped, couldn't stop the opponent at all and was repeatedly dribbled past.
And with Mandzukic in the penalty area as a target man, Bayern's threat from headers significantly increased.
Just five minutes after coming on, Mandzukic had two threatening attempts on goal!
Shaaf realized the danger and immediately made personnel adjustments; he substituted Eliyah for Lukimya, using his height and strong physicality to restrict Mandzukic.
At the same time, he instructed the captain, Fritz, to move forward from the left-back position and drop back to the defensive midfield, starting a double pivot, to increase protection at the edge of the penalty area.
But this approach didn't yield good results; on the contrary, after Eliyah was substituted, Robben's movement on the right side increased even more.
In the 75th minute of the match, Robben received a pass on the right and dribbled quickly.
After exchanging positions with Ribery, he suddenly crossed from the baseline, delivering the ball to Mandzukic in the penalty area.
Mandzukic had the opportunity to shoot himself, but after controlling the ball with his chest, he set up his teammate and passed to Ribery, who was making a run behind.
Ribery didn't waste the opportunity created by his teammate; he shot the ball into Werder Bremen's goal, equalizing the score!
Werder Bremen's lead for most of the match was gone!
(End of this chapter)