Chapter 32 - 20: He Plays Like Owen

"Peter, what do you think?" Klopp asked another man.

Peter Krawietz, 36, was also a former Mainz player, but he wasn’t a coach. He was a scout and analyst.

His job was to provide Klopp with analysis on matches and players.

"The kid’s found the right path. This style of play is the most suitable for him, and it reminds me of someone."

"Who?"

"Michael Owen."

Both Klopp and Buvac frowned.

He was one of the most famous wonderkids in the European football scene. When he first debuted, his talent was undeniable.

But... he was from England!

"Everyone was drawn to Owen’s speed, but in reality, when he first broke onto the scene, his off-ball movement was his sharpest weapon. Liverpool’s tactics at the time also gave him the space to utilize it."

At the time, Liverpool’s strategy was generally to sit back and defend, leaving space up front.

Owen would use his off-ball movement to exploit holes in the opponent’s defense. After creating distance from the defenders, he would either drop back to receive the ball and charge forward or make runs to beat the offside trap.

Now that he mentioned it, Wang Shuo and Owen really were quite similar.

"Then our whole defensive line should drop back a bit, leaving more space up front," Buvac suggested.

Mainz’s forte was still the high press.

But pinning the opponent down would just force Wang Shuo into physical battles with the defenders, right?

"As for a partner, I personally don’t think Borja is a good fit. He’s a pure South American striker—a great goalscorer, but his link-up play isn’t strong enough. And Wang Shuo is still too young," Peter Krawietz advised.

Now it was all up to Klopp to make the trade-off.

If they wanted Wang Shuo’s running and coverage, they couldn’t use Borja.

Conversely, if they wanted Borja’s goals, then Wang Shuo wasn’t a good fit for the field.

Of course, based on what they had seen, Wang Shuo’s scoring rate in the U19 league was also quite high.

"Amri’s form has been pretty average lately," Klopp sighed, frowning.

Foyelner on the left and Amri on the right had been Mainz’s core weapons, dominating the first half of the season.

Both players had decent speed, Dribbling, and Passing ability.

Funnily enough, the Mainz first team had almost the exact same problem as the U19s.

Both lacked a midfielder skilled at Passing and orchestrating play.

If they had a brilliant passer in midfield, they could let Wang Shuo run free up front and maybe even replicate Owen’s electrifying performances at Liverpool.

"Let’s use Balik," Buvac suggested.

"He’s 29 now. His career has taken him to so many teams in so many leagues—he’s even played in the Japan J League. He’s very adaptable and can link up with anyone."

Balik had a bit of a go-with-the-flow personality, which meant he lacked a ruthless streak on the pitch.

Unlike Wang Shuo.

He was ruthless with his enemies, and even more ruthless with himself!

But it was precisely this personality that allowed Balik to play well with anyone.

Klopp had originally found the partnership between him and Borja to be a real headache.

Neither of them was proactive when it came to pressing from the front.

But now they had Wang Shuo, didn’t they?

"We’ll adjust the tactics. Foyelner will drop back a bit, Kalhan will shift to the right, and we’ll free up the front for Wang Shuo to run wild, with Balik playing in a supporting role."

Buvac’s words made Klopp’s eyes light up.

Dropping the overall formation back slightly would help solidify the back line.

That meant the only question mark was Wang Shuo.

"I hope the kid doesn’t disappoint us," Klopp muttered to himself.

It was a huge gamble.

He wasn’t confident at all.

After all, betting the team’s chances on a 17-year-old was definitely a bit too risky.

But at this stage of the Second Bundesliga season, Mainz had been pushed into a corner.

In the final six matches of the season, they couldn’t afford to lose a single one.

And at such a critical moment, almost all the players on loan were proving unreliable.

Klopp had already heard that the striker Boakye had decided to return to VfL Wolfsburg.

The team’s top scorer, Borja, was also preparing to return to Olympiacos.

And Wellington, on loan from Brazil’s Grêmio, was also getting ready to go back.

It was only human.

They were only on loan to play for one year.

At a time like this, you had to rely on your own people!

Fortunately, in matchday 29 of the 2nd Bundesliga, Mainz would be at home against Paderborn, who were currently at the bottom of the table.

Winning this match shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

Klopp decided to let Wang Shuo give it a try. If it didn’t work out, he could always make adjustments and substitutions in the second half.

...

The afternoon before the match, after the training session ended, Wang Shuo was called into Klopp’s office.

The heavily bearded German coach gave Wang Shuo some good news.

"Your playing permit has finally been approved!"

Wang Shuo inwardly sighed in relief.

He’d been waiting for a full two weeks.

Christian Heidel had to pull a lot of strings and call in a lot of favors to get it done.

"Tomorrow, against Paderborn, I’m putting you in the game. And you’re starting."

’Starting?’

Wang Shuo was completely stunned.

He and Thomas Essien had both thought he would most likely come on as a substitute.

’How did I end up in the starting lineup?’

"I’m sure you know the team’s current situation. We’ve decided we need to make some changes."

At this, Klopp pointed to his two right-hand men beside him, Zeliko Buvac and Peter Krawietz.

"We all think you’re a player who can bring change to this team. We believe you can help us during the match."

Wang Shuo looked at Klopp, then at Buvac and Krawietz, who were smiling and nodding at him. He couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Your job is to play just like you do in training. Play to your strengths. We’ll take care of the rest."

"Of course, and most importantly, you have to trust your teammates. Work together. We have no room for error!"

As he spoke the last words, Klopp’s eyes locked onto Wang Shuo.

Wang Shuo understood what the head coach meant, and he was well aware of the team’s current predicament.

But this was precisely his opportunity.

He didn’t back down. He puffed out his chest and declared, "I’ll give it my all. I absolutely will not let you down!"

After leaving the head coach’s office, Wang Shuo didn’t tell anyone.

But that evening, he followed the team to their partner hotel, as was customary.

Coincidentally, he was rooming with Subotic.

Both of them knew they would be starting the next day!

Subotic even shared a lot of his experiences from playing in the 2nd Bundesliga with Wang Shuo.

Wang Shuo first called Thomas Essien to tell him the good news.

Then he made another call to Gao Huairen and Jiang Pengju back in China.

From Gao Huairen, Wang Shuo received praise and encouragement, as well as some advice based on his experience with the German leagues.

Jiang Pengju, on the other hand, told him that all the sports forums back home were currently abuzz with talk about him.

"One forum wants to stream the 2nd Bundesliga match, and the number of fans who’ve signed up to watch has already broken ten thousand."

"I’ll spread the news now that you’re confirmed to be playing. It’ll definitely attract even more fans."

Wang Shuo was surprised that Jiang Pengju, a provincial team coach, actually frequented sports forums.

Since a Chinese forum was going to stream the match, Wang Shuo thought of his parents and asked Jiang Pengju to help figure something out.

"That’s easy. Leave it to me."

Less than five minutes after Wang Shuo hung up with Jiang Pengju, a post appeared on a famous Chinese forum, quickly setting off an explosion of discussion among its users.

"EXTRA! EXTRA!"

"According to a reliable firsthand source in Germany, Wang Shuo’s playing permit was approved this afternoon, local time."

"Tomorrow, at 16:30 German time, 22:30 Capital time, in matchday 29 of the 2nd Bundesliga, he will be playing!"

The moment the post appeared, it was immediately shared and sparked heated discussions among netizens.

"HOLY SHIT! That’s fucking awesome!"

"Let’s go, Wang Shuo!"

"Even though it’s just the 2nd Bundesliga, it’s a great start! Go, Wang Shuo!"

"The hope of Chinese football!"

"The pressure’s all on the forum now. If they can’t manage to stream it tomorrow night, the fans will flame them to death!"

"Please rest assured, everyone. We have already secured a reliable streaming channel. We will definitely make sure you can all watch the match," the forum administrator immediately posted to clarify.

With the national team being so weak lately, how long had it been since there was this much excitement?

This was all potential traffic!

The forum had already negotiated ad sponsorships and gotten a lot more money for it.

"Admin, you guys better upgrade your servers! Don’t let them crash!"

"Yeah, yeah, don’t ruin our chance to watch the game."

"Go, admin! It’s been so long since China has produced a rookie like this. As long as you stream it, I’ll even buy a membership."

"I can chip in."

"I’m a student, but I’ll buy a membership too. I’ll just eat a little less for each meal and call it a diet."

"Go, Wang Shuo!"