Chapter 136 De Bruyne: Feeling Green...
After entering April, the schedule for Werder Bremen became more intensive.
Following the conclusion of the semi-finals in the DFB-Pokal, they immediately faced the challenge of Wolfsburg.
This was the second time within a week that Werder Bremen hosted Wolfsburg at home.
Both teams had expended a lot of energy in the DFB-Pokal, leaving them fatigued.
Under normal circumstances, with Werder Bremen's current form, they might have been taken advantage of by their opponents.
However, Wolfsburg didn't manage to exploit any advantage.
The Wolves, seeking revenge against Werder Bremen, left Weserstadion empty-handed after a 2-0 defeat.
With the victory over Wolfsburg, Werder Bremen's winning streak in the league and cup matches reached eight.
However, despite the eight consecutive wins, there was no sign of them narrowing the gap with the top of the table.
After the 30th round, Werder Bremen currently sits in second place on the table with 75 points, trailing Bayern Munich by 9 points.
With only four rounds remaining in the league, Werder Bremen's hopes of winning the title exist only in theory.
To win the title, they not only need to win all four remaining matches.
They also need to hope that Bayern loses all four matches.
As long as Bayern wins one match, with their goal difference advantage, they will secure the title.
But expecting Bayern to lose four matches?
That's even more difficult than winning the lottery!
So, no one at Werder Bremen believes they have a chance at the league trophy; the championship trophy has already been reserved by Bayern.
In this round of matches, Bayern Munich thrashed Hamburg 9-1 at home, helping Hamburg set a new record for their largest away defeat in history.
Coincidentally, the record that was broken was also set by Bayern.
In the 1963-1964 season, Bayern defeated Hamburg 9-2 at home.
After defeating Hamburg, Bayern's league points increased to 81.
No one doubts that the league title belongs to them; the only suspense is how early they can clinch it!
This season, under Hansi Flick's guidance, Bayern Munich has shown terrifying dominance.
In the recently concluded Champions League knockout stage, facing the Serie A champions Juventus, they swept their opponents aside with a 4-0 victory.
In the league, starting from the 18th round, they have already secured 13 consecutive victories.
This winning streak is very close to the Bundesliga record of 15 consecutive wins they set in the 2005-2006 season.
Bayern's 13 consecutive wins and their demolition of opponents at home once again shook German football.
Because of the significant disparity in strength between the two teams, Bayern's slaughter had less impact on the outside world compared to Werder Bremen's big win over Schalke 04.
After all, Bayern is known in the Bundesliga for creating massacres and often does so in the league.
But no one can threaten Bayern, allowing them to easily achieve 13 consecutive wins and even create one massacre after another.
This is what worries those in German football the most!
Bayern's dominance in the Bundesliga is never a good sign.
A healthy league requires multiple teams to challenge for the championship, maintaining suspense until the end of each season.
Losing the suspense too early will only decrease the attractiveness of the league, which will have adverse effects on viewership, attendance, broadcasting revenue, and so on.
The reason why the commercial operation of the Premier League is so successful is largely due to the excitement and suspense of its matches.
If the Premier League were like the Bundesliga, where a team like Bayern locks up the championship early every year, there wouldn't be much to watch.
It's likely that soon, Premier League viewership would plummet!
So, they hope that someone will step up and stop Bayern, preventing the suspense of the championship from disappearing too soon.
Among the teams currently at the top of the table, Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich have finished all their matches, and there's nothing they can do about it.
However, they have already eliminated Bayern in the DFB-Pokal, completing their resistance in the cup competition!
As for Borussia Dortmund, who ranks third in the table, they still have one match against Bayern.
This match will take place in the 32nd round of the Bundesliga.
The showdown between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund could become the most important match of the Bundesliga this season.
If they can win this match, Bayern will equal the club's and the league's longest winning streak record.
Considering the weakness of Bayern's opponents in the last two rounds, as long as they can defeat Borussia Dortmund, they are very likely to break the record.
It's believed that Borussia Dortmund will absolutely not allow Bayern to achieve such a record against them, so this match is bound to be very exciting!
...
"Can you stop Bayern?"
After seeing the German media reports, Lin Quan sent a message to Royce.
"Of course!"
Royce quickly replied, his speed made Lin Quan suspect if this guy was chatting with a girl somewhere? Otherwise, how could he reply so quickly?
"Oh? So confident?"
Bayern and Dortmund are the two teams with the closest strength in the Bundesliga. If anyone can stop Bayern, it can only be Borussia Dortmund.
"Hehe, it's not exactly confidence, mainly Bayern's luck was bad in the draw. They drew the cosmic team Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals!"
"You make it sound like your luck is better than theirs. Didn't you also draw the Galactic Battleship Real Madrid?"
Borussia Dortmund's schedule is exactly the same as Bayern Munich's, starting with a home match followed by an away match. And the two rounds of the Bundesliga are sandwiched between these two Champions League matches.
For both teams, they need to play four matches within 10 days.
Among them are two high-intensity Champions League knockout matches, and they also have to travel by plane once, making the schedule truly devilish.
The four teams that made it to the semi-finals all come from two leagues, and they have managed to avoid facing each other.
If they had drawn teams from their own league, they wouldn't have to go through such trouble.
However, from the perspective of watching, having a derby in the Champions League semi-finals is obviously less exciting than facing teams from other leagues.
Unfortunately, the Premier League and Serie A giants were eliminated early in recent years.
In the Champions League arena, the performance of Premier League teams has indeed been poor, with Manchester United repeatedly falling in the round of 16 and Arsenal always in the round of 16.
The wealthy Manchester City even failed to advance from the group stage, and last season's Champions League champion Chelsea was eliminated in the group stage.
If they had performed better and made it to the semi-finals to stir things up, there wouldn't be such a situation where the Bundesliga and La Liga dominate.
"Haha, is the schedule the same? Do you want to take a closer look?"
After hearing Lin Quan's words, Royce sent a big laughing emoji.
What does he mean? Lin Quan asked, but the other party just laughed and didn't reply.
He had to search online for the schedule of the Champions League semi-finals himself.
After taking a look, Lin Quan immediately found the problem.
"Oh my, why is your match one day earlier than Bayern's?"
Playing the match one day earlier means that before the showdown, Borussia Dortmund will have one extra day of rest compared to Bayern. This is definitely very unfair to Bayern!
No wonder this guy Royce said he was confident; it turns out he got such a big advantage! "Hehe, silly, for such an important match in the Champions League semi-finals, of course, they can't schedule them on the same day!"
"If they were scheduled for the same day, or even the same time, how would the audience choose?"
"The broadcast ratings for such matches would be very high, and broadcasters can earn a lot of money from broadcast fees. So UEFA deliberately staggered the two matches so they can earn more!"
Considering Lin Quan had never played in the Champions League, Royce patiently explained to him.
Champions League matches are different from league matches. In order to ensure fairness, some key matches are scheduled to start at the same time.
But in Champions League matches, especially in the knockout stages, it's better to avoid scheduling games together.
The league considers fairness, and so does the Champions League, but they also have to balance commercial interests.
The distribution of prize money and broadcasting revenue in the Champions League is crucial for all participating teams.
Therefore, major clubs wouldn't complain about such arrangements.
Damn, being despised!
Lin Quan felt speechless.
This guy Royce, once he's in the Champions League, he gets all cocky.
"You've got such a big advantage. If you end up losing to Bayern later, you might as well buy a block of tofu and hit yourself with it!"
"Tofu? I like Chinese food, are you inviting me for a meal?"
Royce saw the term Lin Quan used and had to search online to understand its meaning.
"When you come to Bremen as a guest, I'll treat you!"
Royce sent an exasperated expression: "Our matches against each other are over, and you won't be at Werder Bremen next season. Where am I going to find you to treat you?"
"How about you treat me to a game at Dortmund, and I'll treat you to a meal, how's that?"
Dortmund is playing their first-leg match against Real Madrid at home in four days, and it's not too far from Werder Bremen. Taking the intercity railway, it only takes an hour to get there. Lin Quan had traveled this route twice with the team before, so he was familiar with it.
Being able to enjoy top-level Champions League matches up close is an irresistible temptation for anyone.
"Sure, I'll leave you a ticket, remember to come find me then!"
Tickets for Dortmund matches are hard to come by, especially for knockout matches in the Champions League. Without connections, you'll have to buy them at a high price from scalpers.
"Two tickets, I'll bring a friend along!"
Lin Quan tried to bargain. He wanted to bring De Bruyne along to broaden his horizons and observe Mourinho's coaching style.
"Hell no, just one ticket, take it or leave it!"
Royce wasn't happy, this guy was trying to freeload!
He did have two tickets, but if Lin Quan brought someone else, how could he still treat him to a meal?
"Just one ticket it is, see if your teammates have any tickets left, I'll just buy one myself then, okay?"
...
In the end, Royce gave him two tickets without making him pay.
After securing the tickets, Lin Quan immediately informed De Bruyne of the good news.
"Going to watch the match between Real Madrid and Dortmund?"
De Bruyne's eyes lit up at the mention of watching a match.
"Yeah, want to come? Tickets aren't a problem!"
"Of course, but what about the coach's arrangements?"
The match is in the afternoon, so they can go after training. But by the time the match ends, it'll probably be late evening, and De Bruyne is worried it might affect training the next day.
"The coach is reasonable, we'll talk to him and make sure it won't affect tomorrow's training!"
The two of them went to Shauf's office together and explained their plan to watch the Champions League semi-final in Dortmund.
"Go ahead, go early and come back early, just be safe on the road!"
After hearing their request, Shauf didn't hesitate to agree, not only granting their request but also giving them half a day off.
If they couldn't make it back in time the next morning, they could come for training in the afternoon.
Now that's what you call a great coach!
...
After taking the intercity express to Dortmund, Lin Quan contacted Royce and got the tickets from him.
"Uh, this is my friend Marco Reus!"
Seeing De Bruyne's surprised expression, Lin Quan introduced him solemnly.
The two actually faced off in the league, and De Bruyne was surprised because he had no idea Lin Quan had become friends with Royce without him noticing.
It felt a bit strange to him, like he'd been left out...
"Hello, I've seen you play, you're really good at passing!"
Royce smiled and extended his hand, and De Bruyne quickly shook it.
"You're great too!"
De Bruyne wasn't as talkative as Royce, even his polite words came out stiffly.
Royce was a favorite in the Dortmund locker room, while De Bruyne was more reserved in the Werder Bremen locker room; he wouldn't say a word unless approached.
"Alright, you guys go in, I'll go back for warm-up. Remember, no cheering for Real Madrid in this match, and definitely no asking Ronaldo for autographs!"
Royce reminded Lin Quan, suspecting that this kid was here for Ronaldo.
After hearing Lin Quan's well-wishes, Royce's mood improved.
"You said it, not me! If we really win, I'll treat you to dinner that night!"
"That's your word, I didn't force you!"
Lin Quan's eyes lit up, he remembered Dortmund's 4-1 victory over Real Madrid at home.
With a smile and no further words, Royce waved to them and hurried back.
The two followed the crowd of fans into the Westfalenstadion.
The huge stadium was already packed, and on the South Stand where the die-hard Dortmund fans gathered, a massive banner had been unfurled early.
Half an hour later, the first leg of the Champions League semi-final between Dortmund and Real Madrid officially kicked off.
(End of this chapter)