Chapter 28 (Please Keep Reading): A New Tactic That Fails to Adapt to Its Surroundings?

September 2, 2010. 7:00 PM local time in Germany.

Amidst the cheers of thousands of traveling fans, the coach carrying the entire Schalke 04 squad finally pulled slowly into the internal tunnel of the AWD Arena. As soon as the bus stopped, Magath strode off toward the venue of the pre-match press conference. "Old Ma" knew full well the animosity Mirko Slomka held toward Schalke 04, and he had prepared himself to clash directly with Slomka at the conference.

However, to Magath’s surprise, the notoriously hot-tempered Slomka acted uncharacteristically, offering praise for him and his Schalke 04 side during the briefing.

"Schalke 04 is a great club! I spent some wonderful years there, and Mr. Magath is a truly great coach; his coaching philosophy and tactical acumen are among the very best in Germany!"

Well! Since Slomka had extended an olive branch, Magath naturally returned the favor and gave him plenty of face in return, declaring Hannover 96 a team with a glorious history and calling Slomka one of the top coaches in the Bundesliga. In short, the two managers didn't look like opponents at all.

...

Inside the Schalke 04 dressing room, Magath was, as always, explaining the finer points of his new tactics to his players. In his mind, this new strategy would surely catch Slomka—who had always played a 4-4-2—completely off guard.

"Lin! Whenever there is an opportunity, don't hesitate to drop back to receive the ball!"
"I need you to run constantly in the final third!"
"Don't worry about your stamina!"
"When the chance arises, deliver the ball!"
"Also, most importantly, the moment we lose possession, you must initiate the press immediately!"

Magath was unashamedly "PUA-ing" Lin Hao into being a tool for his new tactical system. However, while Magath was shouting himself hoarse, Lin Hao, sitting in the corner, secretly accessed the system. He applied his "Perfect Partner" skill—which he had already tested once—to Hao Junmin, who was sitting right next to him.

Uh... Lin Hao didn't feel anything special. But Hao Junmin suddenly shuddered as if he had caught a chill, turning his head to look at himself. His eyes... were filled with warmth and a hint of anticipation?

"Brother Hao... are you... are you okay?"
"Lin, you might not believe this, but just like that training session before, I suddenly feel like I've had a breakthrough!"
Lin Hao: "I..."

...

On the other side, in the home team's dressing room, Mirko Slomka had completely shed his hypocritical mask.

"Don't worry about fouls!"
"Jurado and that number 23! Whenever they receive the ball, I want to see you press them with the toughest defense possible!"
"Apply pressure on Schalke 04 from the midfield!"
"I think you all know about my history with Schalke 04!"
"I do not want to see those Schalke people celebrating a victory in my stadium!"
"If we lose this match, you won't have a single day off for the next month!"

Slomka threatened his players with a reddening neck. Upon hearing the tragedy of losing their holidays for a month, the Hannover 96 players began to roar with intensity. They might not care about points or victories, but the thought of being stuck at the club training every day for a month without a break... they couldn't even imagine how painful that would be.

...

"CCTV!"
"CCTV!!!"
"This is the live broadcast of the 2010-2011 German Football Bundesliga season, Hannover 96 versus Schalke 04!"
"The players from both teams are already standing in their respective halves!"
"The referee is checking his watch!"
"Beep!!!"
"With the referee's whistle, the match has officially begun!"
"First, let's look at the starting lineups!"
"Playing in their traditional red home kits and attacking from left to right, Hannover 96's starting goalkeeper is Florian Fromlowitz!"
"In the back line, Leon Andreasen is on the left, Emmanuel Pogatetz and Mario Eggimann are in the center, and captain Steve Cherundolo is on the right!"
"In the midfield, the double pivot consists of Altin Lala and Manuel Schmiedebach!"
"Left midfielder: Lars Stindl, attacking midfielder: Sérgio Pinto, right midfielder: DaMarcus Beasley!"
"Lone striker: Didier Ya Konan!"
"Unlike the 4-4-2 formation Hannover has been using, today coach Mirko Slomka has surprisingly fielded a rare 4-5-1 formation!"
"On the other side, wearing their traditional blue kits and attacking from right to left, Schalke 04's starting goalkeeper is Neuer!"

...

"After two consecutive matches as a substitute, Lin Hao has finally made it into Schalke 04's starting lineup!"
"Moreover, Magath has also deployed a brand-new 4-3-3 formation today!"
"Lin Hao, Raúl, and Huntelaar are starting together for the first time!"
"Schalke 04 has the opening possession!"

...

The match was underway. Seeing Slomka—who had been complimenting him just moments ago—pull such a sneak attack, Magath immediately frowned. It was true; Magath knew his new tactics relied on controlling the midfield to suppress the opponent. But this guy Slomka had actually gone with a double pivot? And the flanks were tucked in so tight... wasn't this clearly a setup designed to dismantle his midfield? Could it be... could it be that the wretched Slomka had known about his new tactics all along? Magath stood on the sidelines, growing anxious.

On the pitch, just as Magath feared, from Schalke 04's very first attack, Hannover seemed to be the natural counter to Magath's dense five-man midfield. They easily shut down Schalke's attack and immediately launched a counter-strike!

"Oh! Jurado held onto the ball a bit too long! Lin Hao had actually already found the space!"
"Hannover defensive midfielder Altin Lala executed an textbook sliding tackle to win the ball for his teammate, Manuel Schmiedebach!"
"Without hesitation, the moment he received the ball, Schmiedebach played a diagonal pass to his right midfielder, DaMarcus Beasley!"
"Born in 1982, although Beasley is only 1.70 meters tall, his speed is definitely top-tier in the entire Bundesliga!"
"He's fast!!!"
"Facing Schmitz's challenge, Beasley poked the ball to the right with his foot!"
"He's past him!"
"What a beautiful move!"
"Without waiting for Schmitz to recover, Beasley crossed the ball with his right foot!"
"Danger!!!"
"The powerful Hannover 96 striker Didier Ya Konan brushed past Metzelder and headed the ball!"
"The ball flew over Neuer!!!"
"The crossbar!"