At the pre-match press conference, Jürgen Klopp looked like a shadow of his former self. Heavy dark circles framed his eyes, and his face was etched with a weariness that bordered on exhaustion. Faced with a barrage of cynical questions from the press, he took several deep breaths before offering a response.
"Yes, our recent league form has been poor—perhaps the worst since I arrived," Klopp admitted, his voice rasping. "But we are working tirelessly to change the tide. Today's match is the perfect starting point. Wolfsburg sit second in the table, while we are second from bottom. If we win, wouldn't that be a miracle in its own right?"
Klopp forced a smile, but the raw hunger for victory in his eyes was unmistakable. With their title hopes dead and buried, his sole focus was to ignite his squad's morale through a comprehensive win.
"Leaving? Of course. The day I am no longer the manager of Borussia Dortmund will eventually come. What I know for certain is that when I do leave, I will miss the atmosphere of this stadium and these magical fans."
In late October, British media had already begun speculating that Klopp would replace Arsène Wenger at Arsenal. The #WengerOut movement was reaching a fever pitch on Twitter, but Klopp was quick to dispel the rumors.
"Arsenal? No. I'm not going to Arsenal. The weather in London is far too damp."
Meanwhile, in a separate room, Dieter Hecking was projecting a more composed front.
"We've had a dip in form as well, but the players have used their rest to recover. This is our penultimate game of 2014, and we intend to end the year on a high. David Qin? It was just a minor cold. He recovered days ago. We are monitoring his condition constantly to ensure he stays healthy."
In the player tunnel, David Qin scanned the faces of his opponents: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Sven Bender. He noticed Shinji Kagawa wasn't in the starting eleven—likely a result of his inconsistent form since returning from Manchester United.
David then looked toward Roman Weidenfeller. His feet felt itchy; he was dying to test the veteran keeper.
"Kevin, my curled shots have been feeling much better lately. Let me take the free-kicks today," David whispered.
"I can't make that call, you'll have to ask the Boss. But I think it's a fair shout," De Bruyne replied. He had seen David's recent efforts in training—the arc was wider, the velocity higher. He was a genuine threat now.
"I'll bring it up after the winter break," David chuckled, already imagining a direct strike hitting the back of the net.
As they marched out onto the pitch, a thunderous roar threatened to split the sky.
"Heja BVB! Heja BVB! Heja BVB!"
David found himself staring directly at the South Stand—the Südtribüne—the heart and soul of the Westfalenstadion. Twenty-five thousand fans, packed into a vertical wall of noise, were screaming with a ferocity designed to suffocate the visitors. The "Yellow Wall" was a living, breathing tide of black and gold. This was the legendary "Cauldron." Even with the team in the relegation zone, the fans remained, providing an unwavering, terrifying wall of support.
"Quite a sight," David muttered, shaking off a few stray snowflakes and stepping onto the turf with a steady gaze.
In the international broadcast booth, Derek Rae adjusted his headset.
"Good evening to you wherever you are! We are at the Westfalenstadion for Matchday 16 of the Bundesliga. It's Borussia Dortmund against Wolfsburg!"
"Dortmund's form has been abysmal," added Stewart Robson, "but they are the masters of the second-half resurgence. In 2012, they went on a historic run of 15 wins and 2 draws after the break. However, today, their goal is survival. They need to claw their way out of the bottom three."
"As for Klopp's future, a recent poll suggests 63% of the fans still trust him implicitly. Let's look at the lineups."
"Dortmund are in a 4-4-2. Their season has been ravaged by injuries—Reus, Hummels, Sahin, Błaszczykowski, Bender... the list goes on. Their attack has suffered too; Ciro Immobile, the reigning Serie A top scorer, has managed just two goals in eleven appearances. The contrast between him and Robert Lewandowski, now at Bayern, is stark."
"Wolfsburg, meanwhile, remain largely unchanged, though Bas Dost starts ahead of Olić today. Interestingly, David Qin and Ivan Perišić have swapped wings. David is starting on the right today. Is this a new tactical wrinkle from Hecking?"
"Normally, you wouldn't touch a partnership that accounts for 73% of your goals—the 'Twin Stars' of Qin and De Bruyne have been telepathic. Why change it now?"
On social media, the accounts were already buzzing.
@TacticalGnome1: Hecking is running David Qin into the ground. The kid is 17! Let him breathe!
@WolvesWatch: With Caligiuri out, we don't have another natural winger to rotate. Hecking's hands are tied.
@GegenpressingGerd: A 'minor cold' is usually code for 'extreme fatigue.' If David gets a hamstring injury today, the title race is over for us.
Back on the pitch, eight minutes had passed. Both sides were feeling each other out. Kevin De Bruyne received the ball and paused for a microsecond. Usually, he'd be swarmed immediately, but Sven Bender and İlkay Gündoğan were a step slow in their press.
De Bruyne realized it instantly. Klopp had been at Dortmund for seven years; every team in the league knew the script by heart. The "Heavy Metal Football" relied on one thing above all else: relentless running.
Last season, playing Dortmund felt like being trapped in a swamp. Every touch was contested. But today... today, the black-and-yellow machine looked like it was running out of steam.
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