Chapter 136: Top Battle
In the downturn of Schalke 04 with two consecutive draws, Bayern Munich had one win and one draw behind them. They beat Frankfurt 2:1 and Stuttgart drew 0:0. After ten rounds, they had seven wins, two draws and one loss with 23 points. At the top of the list, Schalke 04 has six wins, three draws and one loss with 21 points, one less win and two points behind in second place.
The next twelfth round of the league is the top battle that the whole of Germany is looking forward to, Bayern Munich VS Schalke 04, a strong dialogue between the two favorite teams to win the championship.
Throughout the week, all of Germany's sports media had been making predictions for the match, and it was interesting to note that for the first time, Bayern's supporters had no advantage against a Bundesliga side.
Looking at the odds of professional bookmakers, the odds of the two teams are surprisingly identical. The official odds of William Hill are 1.5 to 1. Even if it is the odds of the half-time champion, Schalke is also different from Bayern. Comparable, that is to say, gaming companies still believe that the fastest way out of the current predicament.
In terms of public opinion, because of its long tradition of being a wealthy family, Bayern naturally has the support of many celebrities, such as the legendary German goalkeeper Kahn, as the veteran goalkeeper of Bayern, he has full confidence in Bayern: "I can't imagine that Bayern Munich will continue to win. No team in the Bundesliga can do this without winning the Bundesliga title for two seasons. According to the rules, the championship this season should belong to Bayern. Van Gaal's Bayern team is full of vigor, and there is no shortage of experienced veterans. I think There is no reason why they cannot win... Schalke's offensive ability is second only to Bayern, but they should not have a chance in this game. Hans Bout has been playing very well this season."
Kahn did not forget to stand on the standpoint of his predecessors and praise his juniors - Bayern's main goalkeeper Bout this season.
Since replacing Rensing in the second half of last year, Bout has been playing very well. His excellent goal-line saving skills quickly stabilized Bayern's defense. Bayern conceded seven goals in the first 11 rounds this season. They conceded thirteen goals. Once the defense is stabilized, Bayern's offensive power naturally does not need to be questioned-the "Robery" combination of Robben and Ribery has created 12 goals.
Not just Kahn, former Bayern coach Klinsmann said more bluntly in an interview with German TV 2: "Even Real Madrid can't win twice in a row at the Allianz Arena."
It sounds like a final judgment, and the result of this game seems to be a certainty.
The supporters of Bayern are all well-known celebrities in Germany, while the supporters of Schalke 04 are the ten coaches of the other 16 teams in the Bundesliga-except for the Wolfsburg coach who is aiming for the championship. Mingfei, Bremen coach Schaff and Dortmund coach Klopp, almost all the coaches of other Bundesliga teams support Schalke. Bayern has been too strong at home for a long time, so most teams want to see Bayern suffer.
After leaving Schalke, Slomka, who took over as the coach of Hannover 96 Club, is a staunch supporter of his old club. During an investigation interview on German TV 2, he said: "This Schalke has a stronger aggressiveness. , enough to create a lot of trouble for Bayern."
Having said that, he specifically asked: "Can Zhou be able to guarantee a healthy appearance?"
The answer he received was that he had not received any news about Zhou Tiancheng's possible absence, not even rumors from the media.
Slomka grinned: "Then this question is meaningless, Schalke will definitely win!"
...
at the Schalke base,
In addition to the traditional training subjects these days, Magath has also added another content: watching videos, all the videos of Bayern this season.
In the past, he or the team's tactical analyst Gerling explained the characteristics of the opponent's key players to the players, but this time he wanted everyone to feel more intuitively.
Players in different positions study different objects. Defenders and goalkeepers study Bayern's strikers Mario Gomez and Klose. Forward players focus on Van Buyten, Demichelis and goalkeeper Bout. As for Zhou Tiancheng, his task is the heaviest. Schweinsteiger, Van Bommel, Robben and Ribery are all his focus objects, because Magath has the most demanding requirements on his running range in training. From the wing to the middle, the entire midfielder Magath asked him to cover no dead ends
In the last training session, the focus was on regional marking, and everyone was required to take the initiative to press forward and press high in the game. Looking at the players who were sweating profusely and panting heavily after training, Magat nodded: "I am very satisfied with your current state. The match against Bayern Munich will be so difficult. Don't think that you won once in an away game last year. , this time it will be a matter of course that you will win. Your opponent is the team with the least money in the Bundesliga. You can see the effect of capital without me telling you. Robben and Ribery are the best wing assaults in the Bundesliga. Zhou, pay more attention to Robben in this game, especially in the penalty area, if you find him cutting inside, you must close the position in time."
"But what about Schweinsteiger and Van Bommel?"
"When you go to mark Robben, Lewis will help you block the middle."
Holtby patted Zhou Tiancheng on the shoulder: "You can rest assured about my defense zone, Zhou."
Zhou Tiancheng was still a little hesitant. He didn't question the head coach, but he was worried that after he was attracted away, Holtby would not be able to handle the situation at all.
The more confident he was at this time, the more worried Zhou Tiancheng was. This guy probably took it for granted. "Little Pig" and Van Bommel are real superstars. He could see it, Holtby's eyes revealed It's not the self-confidence that is excited because the opponent is strong, but the fact that Bayern players are nothing special.
Although Zhou Tiancheng also felt that Bayern was nothing special, the team would definitely win. But he can say such things when boosting morale, but he will never be careless when facing opponents.
It is reasonable to despise the opponent strategically, but must pay attention to the opponent tactically. Zhou Tiancheng has always believed that this sentence is justified.
...
The attention of this game in Munich is the highest in the history of the two sides, and it is not even weaker than the national derby between Bayern and Dortmund. At Munich Josef Strauss International Airport, promotional posters for the match between the two sides are placed at the entrance of the airport. Welcome the media from all over the world who come to participate in the on-site report.
The German Football Association has received signals from 150 national TV stations to provide demand, and 40 of them will send forward reporting teams to the Allianz Arena for live commentary.
Since Schalke 04 is the defending champion, and this game will directly affect the direction of this year's championship, it is of great significance.