Grass roots glory

Chapter 618 Miners: Home Dragon
Shaheen's rapid integration is definitely good news for Dortmund, and their hard days are coming from now on.The league, the DFB-Pokal and the Champions League have all reached critical moments.Since Klopp is the defending champion of the third line, Klopp's goal is naturally to defend the third line.Among them, the conflict between the Champions League and the league is more serious.

Fortunately, Dortmund's opponents in this knockout round are relatively ideal.They drew to the top half against Shakhtar Donetsk, champions of the Ukrainian Super League.

Being able to draw a team from a second-tier league in the Champions League knockout round is already considered a good signing.Every season, more than half of the top sixteen spots will be taken by the five major league teams.It is lucky to be able to draw an opponent like Shakhtar Donetsk, but not to draw the top-ranked teams in the Western Super League and the Premier League.

Although Shakhtar Donetsk is definitely not a weak team in the general sense, it is the same in all of Europe. This team once won the UEFA Cup in 2009, which also makes them a European team. The last champion team of the UEFA Cup, in the 2009-10 season, the UEFA Cup was restructured. Although the fans still call this second-tier cup after the UEFA Champions League the UEFA Cup, the official name should be Europa. league.

From this point of view, Shakhtar Donetsk is definitely not a weak team. Their ability to qualify for the group stage this season proves that the team is worth a total of 8960 million euros. Leaving aside Zhou Tiancheng, Shakhtar Donetsk is worth more than Dortmund.But this is already the easiest opponent Dortmund can draw.

Judging from Dortmund's current state, their strength is significantly higher than that of their opponents. As long as they can play at a normal level in the away game, their opponents will not have any chances.

The Dortmund media is very confident, even the Bundesliga "miner" Schalke 04 they have seen abuse once, let alone this Ukrainian miner?

"Dortmund Youth Daily" even used Zhou Tiancheng's caricature image to stab Shakhtar Donetsk four times in a promotional poster before the game. The implication is very clear, four goals to win!

The Dortmund people seem to have a grudge against the miners, and they have to fight to the death!
But when they really came to Donetsk, only Dortmund players knew that this away game was definitely not easy to play.

……

"Damn it, it's so cold... Ah Choo!"

As soon as they walked out of the airport terminal, everyone couldn't help shrinking back. Even with Zhou Tiancheng's physical condition, he couldn't stand the weather in Donetsk in February.

Coming from Dortmund, which has a Mediterranean climate, to a place where the wind is still bitterly cold in February, and the snow can still be covered with a layer, there is only one feeling: ice and fire.

Zhou Tiancheng speeded up and got on the bus that was parked at the gate of the airport. After getting on the bus, he even sneezed twice.

"Zhou, is it okay?" Klopp asked immediately when he passed by him.

Zhou Tiancheng shook his head: "Boss, it's all right, just a little uncomfortable."

Dr. Braun, the leader of the team medical team, didn't dare to neglect anything, and quickly asked Zhou Tiancheng to take a sip of the hot water he had just prepared at the airport to warm his body.

"It's much better, doctor." Zhou Tiancheng said with a smile.

Dr. Braun breathed a sigh of relief. Obviously, he was more nervous than Zhou Tiancheng himself. It was the job of their team medical team to protect the health of the players, especially key core players like Zhou Tiancheng. : "Take care of yourself, Zhou. Remember to tell me if you need anything." Dr. Braun reminded me.

Zhou Tiancheng nodded.

And when they came to the Donbas Arena, the home of Shakhtar Donetsk, they realized that the challenge was not so big.The snow was still falling. Although the snow plows had been working before the start of the race, the snow did not mean to decrease at all.Klopp frowned when he saw that the two goals had been covered with a thick layer of snow when the team stepped on the field.

It seems that a "snow battle" is inevitable today, but the snow in the two restricted areas is so thick... a bit worrying!

This means that Dortmund can only give up some pass control that is more delicate than the opponent, and can only focus on relatively simple long passes. Compared with Shakhtar Donetsk, Dortmund is also considered a technical team. Such a venue limits them. However, technical players like Shaheen and Gotze have relatively little room to play.

Shakhtar Donetsk obviously took the lead, and they are obviously more familiar with such conditions.

It was the home team that took the lead in the first half.

No.301 minutes, midfielder Srna volleyed vigorously from the left side of the penalty area, and the ball went straight to the dead corner of the goal.

Klopp jumped directly from the coaching bench, not only the problem of conceding the ball, he was not satisfied with the team's performance in the first half hour.

"Another mistake! Schmelzer's kick this time was completely unnecessary, but in the final analysis, the cause was Dortmund's mistakes in the frontcourt. Such conditions are already difficult to control the ball, especially when Zhou Tiancheng is strictly defended. One-on-one or two, but four people surrounding him at the same time, he is also very difficult to deal with. Gotze has been almost invisible so far."

Dortmund is now facing a very bad situation. The fans of the entire Donbass Arena were caught in the roar of surprise and madness. It is of course something to be happy to be able to lead the defending champion at home.

"GOOOOOOAL!!!!!! Hahahahaha! So what about the Champions League champions? The miners are ahead! In Donbass, don't say it's impossible!" The commentator on Ukrainian national television was ecstatic. The facade of football, after winning the UEFA Cup in 2009, their influence in Europe has surpassed Shevchenko's home team Dynamo Kiev.

On Dortmund's side, Zhou Tiancheng and Klopp frowned at the same time, thinking of solutions from different angles.

Marcel Leif didn't seem so relaxed anymore, his tone became serious: "Dortmund must find a way quickly, otherwise there may be real trouble. Shakhtar Donetsk has only lost one game in the league so far. If that’s not convincing, then a home draw against Juventus in the group stage might be something to be wary of. If Dortmund think it’s an easy game, anything can happen.”

There is one more thing that Marcel Leif didn't say: Shakhtar Donetsk once created fifteen consecutive home unbeaten.

They are standard home dragons.

Even if Zhou Tiancheng didn't know these statistics, he could see the opponent's aura and the atmosphere on the court, so he could tell that this opponent was not easy to deal with.

Zhou Tiancheng thought for a while, and walked over to put on Gotze's shoulder.

(End of this chapter)