Football: Salary System - Chapter 163: Cold Ruhr Winds Sweep the Yellow Wall (Patreon)

Early winter in North Rhine-Westphalia brought far more rain than snow.

Only after the temperature kept falling would the snow truly begin to blanket the sky.

A light drizzle started on the way back from Düsseldorf.

It was the first time this season the Black and Yellows had experienced the trip home after a defeat.

For veterans like Reus and Götze, losing was nothing unusual, but this Dortmund side was made up mostly of young players.

They had grown so used to charging from one victory to the next that some had even naively begun dreaming of recreating the miraculous unbeaten seasons of Arsenal in 2003-04 and AC Milan in 1991-92. They wanted to make history and become the first team in Bundesliga history to finish a season undefeated.

The veterans were not too affected. They casually went over the match among themselves, while the younger players sat in gloomy silence.

On the way to Düsseldorf, Sancho and Pulisic had even made a bet over who could score more goals with Zayn in FIFA once they got back.

Now neither of them mentioned it again.

Favre naturally noticed the heavy mood on the bus, but he had no intention of saying anything.

In fact, he was deliberately refusing to comfort the youngsters.

One defeat could not erase Dortmund's enormous advantage in the league, so Favre believed the loss had come at exactly the right time.

It had not happened in the knockout stage of a cup competition, nor during the final few rounds of a title race.

Even if the players could not immediately recover mentally, there was only one match left before the winter break. Their next game after that would not be until the following year.

If this young squad had carried the burden of an "unbeaten season" all the way through the long second half of the campaign, they might have shattered under the pressure at a truly decisive moment.

Taking a fall now would help them let go of both their pride and that psychological burden.

Favre was even a little relieved.

Losing one was not necessarily a bad thing.

...

The next day, at the Brackel Training Center.

The rain had only stopped that morning, while the sun remained hidden behind thick clouds and showed no sign of emerging. The temperature was even lower than it had been the night before.

Yet Favre noticed that several of the younger players, led by Sancho, had arrived at the training ground unusually early despite normally enjoying a lie-in.

That put the veteran Swiss coach in an excellent mood.

If one defeat was enough to make these youngsters put aside their arrogance and settle down, then it had certainly served a purpose.

Favre was just about to blow his whistle, gather everyone together, and finally deliver the speech about failure that he had skipped the previous day when head team doctor Marcus Braun jogged toward him with a grim expression.

"Lucien, bad news."

Favre already had the whistle in his mouth. He frowned. "Hmm?"

"Akanji and Diallo are both injured. They each felt something was wrong after yesterday's match, so we examined them this morning."

"One has a muscle fiber tear, and the other has a hamstring strain. Fortunately, neither injury is too serious..."

Favre stopped listening. His vision almost went dark.

A moment ago, he had still been congratulating himself that losing one game might be a good thing.

Now fate was telling him he had celebrated too soon.

While his thoughts ran wild, Favre continued listening as Marcus explained the injuries.

Akanji's muscle fiber issue was an old problem. He had been in and out of the side this season, and the medical staff had been carefully managing his workload all along.

Diallo's hamstring problem was not severe either, but it was not something that would heal in three or five days.

Neither injury was serious, yet both players were already ruled out of the final match before the winter break, a top-of-the-table clash.

That completely emptied Dortmund's center-back depth.

Zagadou, who had only recently been injured himself, was not fully recovered. Among the first-team players, Toprak was now the only natural center back available.

And the Turkish international had hardly impressed in the Champions League group-stage match against Atlético Madrid.

Favre could only search for a silver lining.

Thank goodness Zorc had managed to get Pepe done. Otherwise, the defense really would have been in serious trouble.

"That kid Zayn really does have foresight..."

Favre muttered to himself, then patted Marcus on the shoulder to show that he understood.

The injuries had already happened. Complaining would change nothing.

He turned and headed toward the training field.

He might as well give that speech first.

...

As if Dortmund's injury crisis had been a signal, temperatures across North Rhine-Westphalia continued falling over the next two days.

The endless cold rain made Zayn feel as though he had returned to England.

In training, Favre had no choice but to move defensive midfielder Weigl into central defense alongside Toprak.

That was already his best option.

...

December 21, the final match before the winter break.

The temperature had plunged below freezing.

At least the rain had finally stopped.

The bitter cold did nothing to prevent the Westfalenstadion from filling to capacity once again. The 25,000 standing places in the South Stand were already packed with die-hard supporters an hour before kickoff.

Despite the previous round's defeat to Düsseldorf, the fans had little to complain about.

Dortmund were fighting on multiple fronts, held a huge lead at the top of the Bundesliga, and had lost only once with half the season gone.

That record had already far exceeded what the supporters had expected before the campaign began.

Besides, after today, they would have to wait until next year to see the Black and Yellows play at the Westfalenstadion again.

The die-hards were never going to miss Dortmund's final home match of 2018.

Compared with that, the Prussian Derby and the top-of-the-table clash were almost secondary.

In the commentary booth, Hellmann was wrapped in a thick down jacket, his breath faintly visible in the air.

His partner Matthäus wore only a dark overcoat. He clearly had not expected it to be this cold.

"Lothar, you don't look very well prepared today," Hellmann teased with a smile.

Matthäus waved him off.

"Let's talk about the previous round. Dortmund lost 2-1 away to Düsseldorf, their first defeat of the season. Hellmann, what did you make of it?"

"To be honest, I think the reaction has been a little excessive. Football isn't like an esports game where one match decides all your honors for the year."

Esports had long been hugely popular in Europe, and Hellmann knew a little about those games himself.

Matthäus was older and had no idea which games Hellmann meant, so he simply followed the point.

"Exactly. A football league is a long campaign. Losing one or two matches along the way is perfectly normal. Favre also rotated heavily in midweek with this match in mind."

"Right. And Zayn had a beautiful long-range goal ruled out in the first half."

The wider reaction to Dortmund's defeat was much the same as that of the two commentators.

A team going through a generational transition, with several new signings only recently integrated, was competing on multiple fronts while threatening to build a league lead of nearly twenty points.

It had all felt a little unreal.

The Bundesliga's 50+1 structure did mean its smaller clubs could not compete financially with the Premier League's teams to the same extent.

Even so, Bayern, the so-called Southern Giants, had never held more than an eleven-point lead at the halfway stage in club history.

If Dortmund won today, they would stretch that benchmark to thirteen points.

Had they not lost the previous match, it would have been a terrifying sixteen.

Some fans joked that watching Dortmund this season felt like playing Football Manager with the editor turned on, finding an overpowered tactical system, then reloading the save whenever a result went wrong.

Now that Dortmund had finally lost for real, people almost felt relieved.

After all, Liverpool, the only team still unbeaten in league play across Europe's top five leagues, had already lost three matches between the League Cup and Champions League.

Dortmund had made it all the way to late December before suffering their first defeat in any competition.

That was frightening enough.

...

The players had already emerged from the tunnel.

"Let's turn our attention back to today's match," Hellmann said. "First, the starting lineups."

"The home side are once again in a 4-2-3-1.

"Goalkeeper: Bürki.

"Defenders: Piszczek, Weigl, Toprak, Achraf.

"Defensive midfielders: Delaney, Witsel.

"Attacking midfielders: Sancho, Reus, Guerreiro.

"Striker: Zayn.

"Both starting center backs were injured in the previous match, so Favre has been forced to use defensive midfielder Weigl in central defense.

"Aside from that, Pulisic has been struggling amid persistent transfer rumors and starts on the bench, with Guerreiro coming into the side on the left."

"Despite the serious injury crisis, Favre has still named the strongest lineup available to him against his former club, Borussia Mönchengladbach."

"As for the visitors, Dieter Hecking has set Gladbach up in a 4-3-3.

"Goalkeeper: Sommer.

"Defenders: Johnson, Beyer, Strobl, Wendt.

"Midfielders: Neuhaus, Kramer, Zakaria.

"Forwards: Patrick Herrmann, Pléa, Thorgan Hazard.

"Gladbach have serious injury problems of their own. Hecking has also been forced to use defensive midfielder Strobl as a makeshift center back.

"Both teams starting a defensive midfielder in central defense is certainly an unusual sight."

Hellmann laughed before adding, "But compared with Dortmund's defense, Gladbach have one absolute advantage. Sommer.

"The Swiss goalkeeper has carried his excellent form from the World Cup in Russia into the first half of this season. He's been phenomenal, rescuing Gladbach in several crucial matches. Their position near the top of the table owes a great deal to him."

"True, but once you mention the World Cup, it's impossible not to mention Zayn," Matthäus replied. "As long as the defense doesn't make any major mistakes, Dortmund always seem able to solve their problems in attack when they have Zayn."

As usual, Matthäus had complete faith in him.

...

The match began.

At home, Dortmund tried to seize control of the tempo, but a month of constant travel and matches had drained too much energy from the starters.

Their back line was already not especially strong at progressing the ball, and even the attackers were misplacing noticeably more passes than usual.

The unexpected collapse in Düsseldorf had forced most of the unrotated starters to play almost the entire match. Even Zayn looked slightly heavy-legged.

Favre's original plan had never been for him to play the full ninety minutes that day.

Even so, Zayn kept moving across the front line. When the midfield and defense could not find him, he repeatedly dropped deeper to offer a passing option before turning and sprinting forward again.

In the fourth minute, Witsel won the ball from Thorgan Hazard in Dortmund's half and finally found Zayn with a direct pass.

With his back to goal, Zayn held off Zakaria, laid the ball across to Reus, then spun and ran in behind.

Reus released it first time into the space behind Gladbach's back line, looking for Achraf as the right back overlapped beyond Sancho.

With Zayn's movement having dragged the central defenders into the box, the young Moroccan cut the ball back toward the top of the penalty arc.

Guerreiro arrived and side-footed a powerful effort toward goal, but the placement was not quite good enough.

Sommer gathered it securely.

"Dortmund threaten first! Their first dangerous move of the match, but Guerreiro's shot lacked a little placement."

"They may not look at their sharpest, but Dortmund's attacking combinations are still extremely fluent. Even against Hecking's patched-up defense, the Black and Yellows can create chances."

Gladbach were no pushovers.

For this visit to the Westfalenstadion, Hecking had clearly prepared carefully.

He had abandoned last season's 4-4-2 and switched to a 4-3-3, removing the double pivot and pushing the creative focus farther forward with two No. 8s.

If not for the injury crisis, the tireless Neuhaus would have been paired with former Dortmund player Jonas Hofmann, giving Gladbach constant penetration from midfield.

Even with the more defensive Zakaria partnering Neuhaus today, the system's attempt to push more attacking resources forward was still effective.

In the thirteenth minute, Neuhaus carried the ball vertically out of the back before playing a one-two with the advancing Zakaria.

When the return pass reached him, he immediately sent a diagonal ball toward Thorgan Hazard cutting in from the left.

The second-oldest of the four Hazard brothers beat Piszczek to it, brought the ball under control, shifted sideways to open an angle, then curled a shot toward the far corner.

The movement was smooth and bore more than a little resemblance to his older brother.

Bürki took no chances and launched himself across goal to push it behind.

"Gladbach's counterattack is just as dangerous! Their nickname, the Foals, fits them perfectly. They're young and play football with tremendous energy and impact!" Hellmann exclaimed, delighted by the attacking football from both sides.

Matthäus gave his verdict. "Neither team has a problem going forward. The deciding factor today may be the defending."

Gladbach's corner came to nothing.

Witsel used his trademark afro to win the second ball, cushioning it out of the air toward Sancho.

Dortmund immediately broke forward in response.

Before Gladbach could surround Sancho and press him on the spot, he had already sent a long pass into Zayn's path.

By now, everyone knew how devastating Zayn could be on the counterattack, and Hecking had naturally prepared specifically for it.

Strobl and Neuhaus had stayed back for the corner. One retreated while the other maintained his distance and gradually closed Zayn down, together forcing him toward the touchline as he accelerated with the ball.

"Gladbach refuse to let Zayn attack the goal head-on. They're giving him the flank instead!"

Zayn did not rush things. He followed the ball down the right touchline and increased his speed.

After racing toward the edge of the penalty area, he adjusted his stride and began angling inward.

Neuhaus, who had tracked him without daring to get too close, was forced to step up.

Zayn suddenly slowed, dragged the ball back with his right foot, and squared his body toward Neuhaus as though preparing to beat him inside.

Neuhaus slammed on the brakes and held his distance. He knew he could not match Zayn's acceleration, and stepping closer would only invite Zayn to burst past him in one stride.

At that exact moment, however, Zayn pushed the ball forward again with his left foot and exploded toward the byline.

The change of rhythm left Neuhaus completely behind.

Strobl moved across inside the penalty area to block him, but Zayn reached the ball and immediately swept a low cross toward the near side of the six-yard box.

Reus had arrived completely unmarked.

Yet even the "Little Rocket," famous for his pace, could only throw himself at the ball after chasing Zayn for half the length of the pitch.

He slid in to shoot.

Sommer had already charged off his line the moment Zayn crossed.

Facing Reus's sliding finish, the Swiss goalkeeper showed no concern for the risk of injury. He threw his entire body into the challenge, using both hands and feet to make himself as large as possible.

His toe reached the ball at the final instant before Reus could make clean contact. The slightest touch changed its direction and sent it skimming past the post and behind.

The two players narrowly avoided a heavy collision, and neither was hurt.

"Sommer again!"

"He denies Dortmund with the tip of his boot!"

Reus lay on the grass and slapped the turf in frustration.

Zayn ran over and pulled him up.

"Again."

In the twenty-first minute, Zayn received a diagonal pass from Guerreiro in the attacking third, laid it back, then exchanged positions with Reus.

Reus drifted left and took Neuhaus with him, while Zayn carried the ball laterally into the right side of the space outside the penalty arc.

Gladbach's defense hesitated for just a moment.

Strobl, normally a defensive midfielder, could not decide whether to step out or remain inside the box. The other defenders were occupied by the forward runs of Guerreiro and Sancho.

Zayn did not waste the opening.

"Zayn shoots!"

He swung his right leg through the ball and unleashed a ferocious long-range strike.

It screamed toward the top-right corner.

But the "short" goalkeeper, standing only 1.83 meters tall, seemed to fly.

Sommer stretched out completely, his body arcing like a crescent moon, and clawed the ball away with his fingertips.

"Another superb save from Sommer against a top-class long-range effort!"

Sommer rolled several times after landing, a clear indication of how much power had been behind the shot.

Dortmund's successive attacks were all being turned away by Sommer. After failing to break through, they soon found themselves under threat again.

In the thirtieth minute, Gladbach circulated the ball across their own half, from left to right and then back into midfield.

Zakaria, one of the two No. 8s, suddenly surged forward through the right half-space. He received Johnson's square pass near the edge of the box and lifted a ball into the area.

It sailed over the players contesting it in the middle and dropped toward the far post.

The ball bounced up in front of Kramer, arriving from deep.

By the time Bürki reacted, it was already too late.

Kramer guided a left-footed finish into the net.

0-1!

Dortmund responded furiously after conceding and almost pinned Gladbach inside their own half.

Yet their wave after wave of shots still could not get past the red-hot Sommer.

The Swiss goalkeeper dealt with everything that came his way.

Dortmund tried again and again, changing angles and looking for different finishes, but nothing worked.

"This is becoming a one-man show from Sommer! It reminds me of Switzerland's World Cup match against Brazil this year. The five-time world champions fired twenty shots at his goal and scored only once!"

In the forty-fourth minute, Zayn found space on the left side of the penalty area and bent a right-footed shot toward the far side.

This time he prioritized curl above everything else and finally managed to take Sommer out of the equation.

Bang!

The ball smashed against the right post and bounced away.

Zayn grabbed his head as a huge groan rolled around the Westfalenstadion.

"So close! It was that close!"

"Sommer's form is unbelievable. He's actually forced Zayn to change the way he shoots! Remember, this kid usually prefers to blast the ball!"

"If the second half continues like this, Dortmund could be in real trouble. Gladbach are extremely dangerous on the counter as well!"

The singing inside the Westfalenstadion continued, the loyal supporters doing everything they could to lift their team.

But their voices could not drive away the deepening chill carried by the cold wind that had blown through the Ruhr for days.

This time, the wind no longer carried rain.

It carried tiny grains of snow.

At first there were only a few scattered flakes. Soon they grew thicker and thicker, with every sign that the snowfall would intensify.

Pessimism seeped into the Yellow Wall like snow.

"We just lost to Düsseldorf. Are we really going to lose again...?"

A middle-aged man muttered quietly in the stands, earning unhappy looks from those around him.

Yet no one actually rebuked him.

An injury crisis in defense, a match they were dominating without being able to score, an opposing goalkeeper playing like he had cheats enabled, and now the bone-chilling wind and snow.

Some supporters had already begun wondering whether this was the start of the season falling apart.

...

The halftime whistle blew with Dortmund trailing 0-1 at home.

The players walked toward the tunnel with their heads lowered.

The songs in the stands became scattered and faint.

Only the wind and the snow seemed to grow louder.

(Westfalenstadion under heavy snow)