Football: Salary System - Chapter 162: A Major Reinforcement and the First Defeat (Patreon)

Zorc wasn't particularly surprised when Pepe asked to meet him.

After speaking with his veteran national team teammate, Guerreiro had given Zorc a brief update on the situation.

Pepe hadn't made any promises, but he had asked Guerreiro for Zorc's phone number.

What did surprise Zorc was that Pepe's agent, Mendes, wasn't there for the meeting.

The two met at a café beside the Bosphorus in Istanbul.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Pepe noticed Zorc's curiosity and explained on his own.

"Jorge flew to Manchester a few days ago. Like me, he probably didn't expect you to stay in Turkey."

"I see..."

Zorc nodded.

With the winter transfer window approaching, a super-agent like Mendes was naturally extremely busy.

And if he had flown to Manchester, it was probably because of another Portuguese man.

Since he was meeting Pepe alone, Zorc didn't immediately bring up the transfer. Instead, he followed the conversation where it naturally led.

"Is it because of Mourinho?"

The day before the Champions League Round of 16 draw, Manchester United had suffered a crushing 3-1 defeat to archrivals Liverpool at Anfield.

After 17 league matches, United had only 26 points. They sat sixth, 19 points behind league leaders Liverpool, their worst record at this stage of a season since 1990-91.

Combined with Mendes's trip to Manchester, Zorc suspected that the Special One's days at Old Trafford were numbered.

"Probably."

Pepe clearly had little interest in talking about Mourinho.

In fact, his relationship with Mourinho wasn't particularly good anymore.

During Mourinho's time at Real Madrid, Pepe had indeed been one of the manager's most trusted players.

But during Mourinho's "dressing-room war" with Casillas, Pepe had sided with captain Casillas.

In Mourinho's eyes, that was nothing short of betrayal, and it infuriated him.

The Portuguese manager later even publicly stated at a press conference that "Pepe isn't as good as Varane."

The tension between the two countrymen wouldn't truly begin to fade until many years later.

Zorc knew none of the complicated history behind it, but he could tell Pepe wasn't interested in the subject, so he brought the conversation back to the matter at hand.

"Pepe, I'll be straightforward. Dortmund need you, and not only for what you can do on the pitch..."

For the next part of their conversation, Zorc didn't beat around the bush.

He laid out the current problems with Dortmund's defense and made the club's intentions equally clear.

The two spoke in the café for nearly two hours.

By the time they got up to leave, they had already reached a preliminary agreement.

Pepe agreed to join Dortmund.

His salary would be lower than what he had earned at Beşiktaş, but Dortmund promised him enough playing time and an important tactical role to ensure he could maintain his competitive level ahead of Euro 2020.

They agreed that once Pepe officially completed the termination of his Beşiktaş contract, Mendes would deal directly with Dortmund's management to finalize the remaining financial details.

In truth, once Mendes learned that Pepe preferred a return to Porto and realized there wasn't much money in it for him, he stopped interfering too heavily in Pepe's decision.

An agent could play a few tricks from time to time, but respecting the client's wishes was still fundamental to the job.

And in Mendes's view, if Pepe wasn't going to the Premier League or signing a lucrative "retirement contract," Dortmund was a better option than Porto.

Of course, that was assuming Pepe had no intention of winding down his career.

By the time they left the café, dusk had settled over Istanbul and lights were beginning to appear one after another across the Bosphorus.

Before they parted, Zorc extended his hand and shook Pepe's firmly.

"I hope the next time we meet is at Westfalenstadion... To be honest, I thought you'd be more inclined to go back to Porto."

Pepe smiled.

"Maybe having that English golden boy keeping an eye on me makes me feel like I'm not quite old enough to admit I'm finished yet."

Zorc paused for a moment, then laughed as well.

The two went their separate ways.

December 18, Bundesliga Matchday 16.

The Dortmund squad boarded a bus at the Brackel training ground and traveled roughly 70 kilometers to Düsseldorf, the capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, for an away match against the city's club.

Although both teams were based in North Rhine-Westphalia, there was no real bad blood between Dortmund and Düsseldorf.

Düsseldorf's main rivals were Cologne and Mönchengladbach to the south, the clubs involved in the various Rhine derbies.

So in reality, this was simply a routine midweek league match.

Dortmund also had a much more important fixture coming just three days later, when they would host second-place Mönchengladbach at Westfalenstadion.

With that in mind, Favre made several minor rotations for the midweek match.

Reus, Sancho, and Achraf all started on the bench, while Götze, Marius Wolf, and veteran Piszczek were brought into the starting lineup.

Even so, once the match began, most supporters still assumed Dortmund would comfortably beat a newly promoted side sitting near the bottom of the table after coming up from the 2. Bundesliga.

And just as most people had predicted before kickoff, Düsseldorf responded to Dortmund's potent attack with an ultra-defensive 4-5-1.

Ten players dropped behind the ball, with only one man left up front.

But this united Düsseldorf side had no intention of simply sitting there and taking punishment without fighting back.

In the third minute, Akanji tried to play a vertical pass from the back through the lines toward Zayn, who had dropped deeper to receive it.

The intention was too obvious.

Düsseldorf midfielder Stöger read the pass and intercepted it.

Both Dortmund flanks had already pushed forward, leaving only Akanji and Diallo behind.

Stöger immediately clipped the ball toward the left.

Jean Zimmer collected it, carried it a couple of steps down the touchline, then quickly slipped a pass forward toward Belgian speedster Lukebakio, who was leading the line.

Lukebakio burst forward from midfield to collect the pass and drove quickly into the box through the left half-space.

He then shifted left and right twice in quick succession, fooling Akanji both times before creating enough room to shoot toward the far corner.

Fortunately, Bürki reacted brilliantly and sprang across to catch the ball.

Düsseldorf had shown their teeth almost immediately.

Despite sitting third from bottom in the league, this was the kind of team that loved playing giant-killer.

They took points from the rich and handed them to the poor.

A month earlier, they had traveled to face Bayern Munich and, thanks to a hat trick from 21-year-old Lukebakio, somehow escaped the Allianz Arena with a 3-3 draw.

Several of Düsseldorf's highest-scoring performances that season had come against Bundesliga clubs competing in the Champions League.

They were genuine giant-killers.

Dortmund weren't rattled, though.

They quickly settled down, took firm control of possession, and began laying siege to Düsseldorf's penalty area.

But the home side's defense was extremely well organized.

The spacing between their two defensive lines was almost perfect, with practically all ten outfield players dropping inside the final 30 meters and leaving Dortmund very little room to operate.

Naturally, Zayn received special attention.

At almost all times, he had two center backs and a defensive midfielder surrounding him.

So even though Dortmund attacked in wave after wave, they couldn't find a way through Düsseldorf's packed defense.

Not until the 32nd minute did Zayn finally find enough space to shoot.

Götze combined with Wolf in a one-two on the right before playing the ball square into the middle.

Zayn had dropped toward the edge of the penalty arc to receive it.

Before the two center backs in front of him could close the fleeting gap, he nudged the ball to his right and immediately swung his right leg through it.

A thunderous strike!

The ball found the only clear route through the crowded penalty area and flew toward goal.

Düsseldorf goalkeeper Rensing's view was completely blocked.

By the time he saw the ball, it was already too late.

The ball hit the net!

Zayn's teammates rushed toward him to celebrate, only for the referee to whistle for offside.

Pulisic had made a hard run into the penalty area, trying to occupy the space created by Zayn's movement.

But he had gone too far.

Not only was he standing in an offside position, he was directly obstructing the goalkeeper's line of sight.

He was therefore judged to have interfered with play from an offside position.

No goal.

Zayn stood with his hands on his hips and didn't argue further.

But after escaping disaster, Düsseldorf soon landed a devastating blow of their own.

In the 38th minute, Dortmund's attack broke down in the final third.

Wolf received the ball near the right touchline and was immediately pressed by two Düsseldorf players.

He tried to pass backward to Witsel, but played him straight into trouble.

Stöger intercepted again and immediately split Dortmund's defensive line with a through ball.

The Belgian speedster darted into the space between Akanji and Diallo, collected the pass, and left both center backs behind.

With Bürki rushing off his line, Lukebakio calmly rolled the ball past him.

1-0.

Before halftime, Zayn repeatedly dropped deeper and tried his luck from distance.

One effort forced Rensing into a flying save over the crossbar, while another flashed just wide of the post.

Against Düsseldorf's carefully prepared low block, Dortmund's rotated lineup was struggling to find a solution.

With little choice, Favre brought Sancho on at the start of the second half.

In the 56th minute, Sancho repeatedly shifted the ball outside the box, created separation from his defender, and released Piszczek as the veteran overlapped down the right.

Just before the ball could cross the byline, Piszczek hooked it back toward goal with the outside of his right foot.

Between the two center backs, Zayn exploded upward from a standing start.

Header!

Goal!

1-1!

Dortmund had found their rhythm again and continued surrounding Düsseldorf's penalty area.

But the home side's marking of Zayn became increasingly extreme, leaving him with very few opportunities to shoot.

And when his movement created space for his teammates, they failed to take advantage.

Former Golden Boy Götze had a one-on-one denied by Rensing.

Pulisic also met a ball in front of goal, only to send his finish against the crossbar.

And in football, if you keep wasting chances, eventually you pay for them.

In the 88th minute, Düsseldorf took a throw-in on the left side of the attacking third and found Stöger.

Stöger received the ball, turned in midfield, and played it horizontally from the left side below the penalty arc toward the completely unmarked Zimmer on the right.

Zimmer took a touch to settle himself.

Then, from the right edge of the penalty area, he unleashed a dipping strike.

The ball climbed high into the air before suddenly dropping.

Bürki threw himself to his right and stretched as far as he possibly could.

But the placement was too precise.

There was nothing he could do to keep it out.

2-1!

Even Zimmer himself stood frozen for a moment, seemingly stunned by what he had just done, before finally running off to celebrate.

And that spectacular goal, with more than a little fortune behind it, decided the match in the dying moments.

All good things eventually come to an end, and no football team stays unbeaten forever.

Dortmund lost 2-1 away to Düsseldorf, suffering their first defeat of the season.

With Dortmund finally beaten, only one club in Europe's top five leagues remained undefeated in league play that season.

The Premier League leaders.

Liverpool.