Super Coach

1 August 1997, Olympiastadion, Munich

Kaiserslautern hosts Bayern Munich in Bundesliga season opener

The time on the scoreboard jumped back to 0, but the scores on both sides of the big red scoreboard did not change. The box on the left representing the home team was 0, and the box on the right representing the visiting team was 2.

The entire Olympic Stadium was booed loudly, and many fans even stood up excitedly, throwing paper towels, plastic bags and other sundries towards the Kaiserslautern players who were celebrating their victory in the stands, in order to express their gratitude. Vent your dissatisfaction.

0:2, Bayern Munich, which is aiming to win this season, lost!

Before the season, the team's slogan of striving for multiple championships was still in my ears, but the two games made everyone question the team's plan!

The previous game lost the first League Cup champion in history, and the latter game lost the opening game of the Bundesliga this season and scored a black start, and both games were lost to the same opponent.

2:0! Kaiserslautern defeated the mighty Bayern with goals from Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ballack!

Scoring 3 goals in two games without conceding 1 goal, Kaiserslautern's performance is amazing, and the victory of the two games is beyond doubt.

Ruud van Nistelrooy, the Dutch striker, showed an unparalleled state at the beginning of the season. He first scored twice against Stuttgart and scored the only goal in the final. This game is his again. The goal broke the deadlock on the field.

As Yang Cheng expected, as long as Kaiserslautern's midfielder can create opportunities, Van Nistelrooy can turn them into goals, because he is the kind of shooter who lives for goals!

Trapattoni was completely depressed. This was the third time in a row that he lost to Yang Cheng. He was very helpless, especially in this game. The team was obviously suppressed by Kaiserslautern. Whether it was fighting spirit, morale, or even tactics, they were completely suppressed. If it wasn't for the good defense, the score might not be just 0:2.

Turning his head to the side, looking at Yang Cheng who was full of joy after winning, Trapattoni really wanted to congratulate the young head coach, but he couldn't because he lost two consecutive games. There is no way to fight back.

But can he blame his players?

He knew very well in his heart that he couldn't, not only couldn't blame, but he had to restore morale as soon as possible, because the first three rounds of the league were completed in 8 days, and the time simply didn't allow him to let the team continue to sink too much.

After three rounds,

The league will start to enter the preparation period for the national team's competition, with a two-week break, then two more rounds, and another two-week break, allowing the national team to play two European games for the 1998 World Cup qualifiers in France.

Therefore, at the press conference after the game, Trapattoni did not go crazy like last time, but gave a certain degree of positive evaluation of the team's performance, thinking that the players performed very hard, but Kaiser Slautern is in better shape.

Football games are like this. The early games of the league are always very difficult, because every season we will leave a few players, introduce a few players, and we have to adjust the formation, and after a long vacation, the physical condition of the players I have to adjust, so I'm not surprised to lose to Kaiserslautern!

Evaluate Kaiserslautern? Trapattoni tried to squeeze out a smile in the face of the reporter's question, This is a young team, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Denilsen, Deisler, Ballack They are all excellent, and this team plays a very different kind of football. Their fighting in the frontcourt and pressing in the midfield have caused us a lot of trouble and made us very uncomfortable. The flexible interspersed running in the game made our defense encounter great difficulties!

If I were to evaluate this Kaiserslautern team, I would say that this is not a newly promoted team, this is a strong team with top strength in the league, and they can even win the league championship!

Speaking of this, Trapattoni suddenly changed the topic, Of course, the league is a long process. Most of Kaiserslautern's players have no experience in the top league, and their head coach has not led the team to kill. Been in the top league, so I'm still not optimistic about this team!

Then what kind of team do you think is most likely to win the championship? A reporter asked with a smile.

Trapattoni chuckled, First of all, this team must have outstanding strength. Secondly, I think it is impossible to win the championship with a single lineup, so the team's bench must be thick enough. Only in this way can the impact of injuries be minimized. Third, the goal of the team, including the management, must be the same, and the work of the head coach must be supported. A head coach who can deal with all kinds of emergencies at any time!

These conditions are very important. Only by meeting these conditions can this team win the championship!

As soon as Trapattoni finished speaking, the reporters at the scene suddenly burst into an uproar.

You seem to be talking about Bayern Munich, Mr. Trapattoni? one reporter said with a smile.

Trapattoni shrugged noncommittally, indicating that reporters can speculate at will.

If you look at his requirements, Bayern is indeed the only team that meets these conditions.

Originally Dortmund was also a big favorite, but with Hitzfeld's resignation and Nibaum inviting Scala, a head coach who is not familiar with the Bundesliga team, Dortmund's prospects for winning the championship are not optimistic. I am worried that this team will have internal strife, because Scala may not be able to suppress the big-name stars in the team.

As for the other big favorite Leverkusen, it meets the requirements in all aspects, but Daum's use of the team's bench is not good. Although Leverkusen's main lineup is very strong, the rotation is very poor. It was because of this that Leverkusen lost in many key games last season, leading to the final championship.

As for Stuttgart, although Loew's team is very good in the Bundesliga, the problem of strong offense and weak defense is that Stuttgart's championship appearance is very weak, and the state fluctuates too much to be stable.

Looking at all the teams that have won the championship in the league, almost all of them are in a stable state. There are few major state fluctuations. Even if the players have ups and downs, there will definitely be substitute players who will rise rapidly and take responsibility Guarantee the combat effectiveness of the team.

And Stuttgart has done a poor job in this regard, and the departure of Elber this season has had a great impact on Stuttgart, so if this team wants to win the championship, Bayern alone may not be able to pass the hurdle.

It is precisely because of this that all the media will unanimously believe that Trapattoni's declaration is building momentum for Bayern to win the championship.

As for Yang Cheng sitting next to Trapattoni, and Kaiserslautern behind him, no one would think that this newly promoted team has the strength and opportunity to join the championship team!

Mr. Yang Cheng, what do you think of Mr. Trapattoni's words? A reporter immediately shifted the topic to Yang Cheng, because he felt that although this seemingly polite Chinese man always maintained polite attention , but in fact they don't care about the topic of Trapattoni at all.

Totally agree! Yang Cheng replied without hesitation, with a sincere smile.

The reporters were a little surprised by his answer, originally expecting Yang Cheng to refute Trapattoni's words.

Kaiserslautern returned to the Bundesliga this season, with the glory of last season's quadruple crown. Many people think that Kaiserslautern can do something in the Bundesliga this season. What do you think?

I hope so too, but I think we are returning to the Bundesliga with a sense of normalcy, because we are a young team and we still need to learn, grow and improve!

But you defeated the powerful Bayern twice before the season and won the first League Cup championship! A reporter reminded maliciously.

As soon as this sentence came out, Trapattoni's face immediately sank next to him. He was obviously worried about Kaiserslautern's defeat of Bayern.

If defeating Bayern means winning the championship, then there are too many Bundesliga champions, because it is difficult for Bayern to remain unbeaten for a season, and I will never equate defeating Bayern with surpassing Bayern in strength. In my opinion, Bayern is still the strongest team in the Bundesliga this season, bar none!

Yang Cheng's words made Trapattoni's complexion a little better, and he looked at the young man with a little emotion. He obviously felt that Yang Cheng knew the general situation, at least he knew how to take care of his face in this situation.

And what about Kaiserslautern?

Yang Cheng smiled, We are the team with the lowest average age in the Bundesliga. We are a youth team. I will not make predictions about our results, nor will I put pressure on my players. I will tell them , do your best and try to show your best self, that's enough!

Faced with this kind of ambiguous answer, the reporter seemed helpless, but there was nothing he could do.

Many players expressed their appreciation and gratitude to you after the game. I heard that you played the relegation battle at the Harborland Stadium in the locker room before the game to motivate the players. You also used this trick against Dortmund, is this one of your methods against the enemy? Don't you worry about the opposite effect?

Yang Cheng smiled and spread his hands, but did not answer.

But the meaning in his smile is very obvious, that is, look, we won the final championship!

The reporters were immediately amused by Yang Cheng's funny behavior, and burst out laughing.

Then Mr. Yang Cheng, is there anything you want to say to the fans of Kaiserslautern? Gran Nack finally found the opportunity. In this place of Bayern, he is not at the Fritz Walther Stadium. time privileges.

Yang Cheng smiled at his old friend, the spotlight was shining frequently, but he said into the microphone, word by word: I want to tell all our Kaiserslautern fans, I can assure you, you will Seeing a Kaiserslautern team that is constantly improving and growing stronger! Our Red Devils have just hit the road!

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I don’t know if it’s because the league has just started. In the first round of 9 league games, there were 4 draws. The highest score was Karlsruhe beating Werder Bremen 3:1 at home. Eastborg, and then Kaiserslautern defeated Bayern 2:0 away, which exploded a big upset in this round. The remaining two games were Leverkusen 1:2 away to Schalke 04, One was Bochum beating Bielefeld 1-0 at home.

As a result, Kaiserslautern ranks second in the league, second only to Karlsruhe, but everyone knows that the ranking in the first round of the league is not enough to explain the problem.

Four days later, Kaiserslautern returned home to welcome newly promoted Hertha Berlin.

Both teams are newly promoted this season. Both teams have strengthened their strength by recruiting in the summer. Hertha Berlin even drew with Dortmund at home in the first round of the league. Slautern, stepping on the shoulders of the newly promoted brothers to a higher level.

As a guest at the Fritz Walter Stadium, but trying to replace defense with offense, Hertha Berlin is undoubtedly showing off its head.

Yang Cheng’s home court also used active offense as his tactic. Ruud van Nistelrooy broke through Hertha Berlin’s goal in just one and a half minutes of the opening game. He even led 3-0 in the first half. Ruud van Nistelrooy scored twice and Nedved scored twice. The heavy artillery succeeded.

After changing sides in the second half, Kaiserslautern frequently created opportunities. Hertha Berlin wanted to counterattack, but in the 55th minute, Deisler scored another goal, 4:0!

Afterwards, Yang Cheng replaced the outstanding Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy with Klose. The latter received warm cheers from the fans at the Fritz Walther Stadium and enjoyed heroic treatment.

Klose worked hard after he came on the field, but he seemed unable to keep up with his teammates. He had movement and awareness, but he just failed to score a goal. He wasted at least 2 excellent opportunities, and even had a knockback that was almost missed by Berlin. Hertha made a counterattack. Fortunately, Kosch continued his excellent performance in the previous two games, making a tackle at the critical moment to keep the team from conceding a goal.

The 4:0 score was also maintained until the end of the game, and Kaiserslautern won two consecutive league victories!

But what really caught Yang Cheng by surprise was on the second day, when all 9 games in the second round of the Bundesliga were played, Kaiserslautern was at the top of the league table, and it was alone, with 2 points. advantage over other competitors.

Leverkusen beat Bochum 3:2, Karlsruhe drew 2:2 at Munich 1860, Dortmund beat Cologne 3:0 at home, Duisburg beat Schalke 04 1:0 at home, and another In a game that has attracted much attention, Bayern drew 1:1 with Borussia Mönchengladbach.

In this way, after the 2 rounds, the teams with 4 points gathered together, but only one team in Kaiserslautern with 2 consecutive victories and 6 points ranked first in the league, and they scored 6 goals and conceded 0 goals The record is also the best in the Bundesliga.

This immediately made Kaiserslautern a little bit flustered, and Yang Cheng even began to wonder if his team is really qualified to win the championship?

After consecutive victories over Stuttgart, Bayern Munich and other Bundesliga powerhouses, coupled with the encouragement of the history of Kaiserslautern's newly promoted team winning the championship in his previous life, Yang Cheng suddenly became a little hotheaded.

But 3 days later, the team challenged Cologne in an away game. An embarrassing score of 0:0 immediately made Kaiserslautern extremely embarrassing. Larsson, who replaced Ruud van Nistelrooy in the starting lineup, performed sluggishly, with only one shot in the game, and the striker was weak. As a result, Kaiserslautern's midfield became the main offensive firepower.

Ballack and Nedved alone contributed 6 shots and 4 shots respectively, most of which were long-range shots, but Kaiserslautern, who had been fighting continuously, seemed a little tired and couldn't get his feet right. All turned into anti-aircraft guns.

Although the advantage was obvious in the game, Kaiserslautern could only accept a 0:0 draw in the end.

After 90 minutes of the game, Yang Cheng returned to the locker room, and he sneered and scolded his face.

Look, I said it earlier, the Bundesliga is not that simple, do you believe it now?

The players were stunned for a while, and then all shook their heads and laughed.

This game failed to win, I have to bear the main responsibility, but if each of you wants to escape, you all have to take responsibility, so during the two weeks of the league break, you all have to wake me up Don't get hurt, otherwise, you will feel better when you come back, understand?

Understood, boss! shouted the players in unison.

Then there was a burst of laughter in the locker room, which greatly dispelled the depression caused by the draw.

The most surprising thing in the third round of the league was the outbreak of Bayern Munich.

They are also newly promoted, and they are also guests at the Olympic Stadium, but what happened to Wolfsburg is very different from that of Kaiserslautern. Fort was not so lucky.

5:0, every goal is bloody, which makes people feel shocking, especially Elber scored twice, which makes Trapattoni overjoyed. I believe Elber and Jan Kerr's striker combination will become a magic weapon for Bayern to attack the city.

Although the away game suffered a 0:0 draw with Cologne, Kaiserslautern still tied for the top spot with 7 points, but the goal difference has an advantage, so Kaiserslautern still ushered in two weeks as the number one in the league League suspension period.

At present, there are many international players in the team, such as Pavel Nedved, Salihamidzic, and Larsson. Ballack and Kyle have also been successfully selected for the German training camp by virtue of their outstanding performance in Kaiserslautern. , In addition, Veron, Denilson and others were also selected for the Argentina and Brazil national teams, and they will go to South America to participate in the competition.

Due to the suspension of the league, the team's training was also suspended. Yang Cheng went directly to Paris, France after disbanding the team the day after finishing the third round of the league.

The selection of the best coach by the French football magazine has come to an end. In order to maintain a sense of mystery, it has not been announced before, but will be announced first in the TV show on the evening of the 9th, and all well-known European coaches have been invited to witness. A simple award ceremony, and then a special page in the French football magazine the next day.

Today is an era where stars are valued and the role of coaches is ignored, so the best coach award is very different from the European Golden Globe award. Fortunately, Yang Cheng does not have much covet for this award.

Others may not be sure, but Hitzfeld, who led Dortmund to win the Champions League, won the award, which is definitely well deserved!

So this time, Yang Cheng came to Paris with the mentality of focusing on participation!