Training before the finals

Although there are only two games in the Telecom Cup, the schedule for these two games is very tight.

According to the schedule, after advancing to the final, they will final, an away game tomorrow, on August 6, against their next opponent, Dortmund.

In the game against Hamburg, Dortmund defeated them with Lewandowski's goal, securing a spot in the final and becoming Werder Bremen's opponent.

Due to time constraints, Werder Bremen had to take a non-stop flight to Dortmund right after defeating Bayern Munich.

By the time they arrived at the reserved hotel by bus, it was already 2:30 in the morning.

They only had 17 hours left before the start of the game.

"Hurry up, go back to your rooms, get some sleep, and gather for training at 10:30 tomorrow morning!"

The coaches escorted the players to their rooms, giving them very little time to rest.

If they don't get a good night's sleep, they might not have enough energy to perform on the field tomorrow.

"What kind of schedule is this? It's so tightly packed that there's no time for rest!" Assistant Coach Rolf couldn't help but complain after settling the players.

"The Telekom Cup has always been like this, but it's really unfair to us!"

While Dortmund enjoys the advantage of playing at home and awaits their opponents, Werder Bremen has to travel halfway across Germany, which poses a significant challenge for them, unlike their opponent.

However, being invited as a team to fill the number and accompanying the training of Bayern Munich and Dortmund is considered a good opportunity to participate in the competition, although the won against Bayern, so they shouldn't expect too much.

"Alright, everyone, rest up and stay in good shape. We have a game tomorrow!" Schaaf clapped his hands, dismissing the players.

He turned on his computer and reviewed the match between Hamburg and Dortmund earlier that day.

As the head coach, it would be inadequate to approach the next game without conducting targeted analysis.

Dortmund's lineup for the new season has undergone some changes. They have brought in several new players while also letting go of some.

The most significant signing for Dortmund this summer is acquiring the promising star Reus from Borussia Mönchengladbach for 17.1 million euros, replacing the Japanese midfielder Shinji Kagawa, who was bought by Manchester United.

They also spent 5.5 million euros to sign striker Schieber from Stuttgart, as a substitute player.

Overall, Dortmund's lineup hasn't suffered much loss this summer.

Despite losing their main midfielder Shinji Kagawa, the rookie Rous has great potential and might surpass Kagawa's contributions in the future once he settles in with the team.

Unlike Bayern, Dortmund is a passionate team of young players.

Their style of play is dynamic and full of impact, igniting a youthful storm in the Bundesliga.

Last season, it was through this youthful energy that they defeated Bundesliga powerhouse Bayern Munich three times, claiming the league and cup double, and outplaying Bayern convincingly.

Facing a team that relies on pressing and active running like Dortmund, Werder Bremen cannot apply the same tactics they used against Bayern.

Allowing Dortmund's young players to constantly attack their own goal would be very dangerous, as once they gain momentum, even the top giants would struggle to contain them!

So, what tactics should be employed against them? Schaaf rubbed his temples, deep in thought.

...

Perhaps due to their victory against mighty Bayern, many young players in the team is highly excited.

Although they went to bed early as instructed by the coach, they couldn't fall asleep for a long time.

When they finally fell asleep, they didn't know what time it was.

At 10:30 the next morning, it was time for the team to gather for training.

However, only a few players managed to arrive on time for the assembly, mostly consisting of the older players. The young players were nearly absent.

"I'll go and call them down!" Said Assistant coach Hernerbach, when he saw the head coach's displeased expression.

"Why don't we let them sleep a bit longer and start training first?" the fitness coach objected, believing that waking up the young players at this time would deprive them of rest and significantly affect their performance in the evening game.

Nevertheless, Coach Schaaf nodded at Hernerbach and asked him to gather the players.

"I'd rather lose this game than neglect one thing. In my team, I don't welcome those who don't follow the rules!" he declared.

He decided to postpone the team assembly and provide the players with ample rest. It is the players' inability to adjust their mindset that led to oversleeping.

Of course, he also bore responsibility for this.

He failed to address the players' mental state in advance, reassure the young players, and impart his experience to them.

But now, he couldn't simply overlook players violating the rules.

It would diminish his authority as a head coach and give the young players the wrong impression that not following the team's rules doesn't have significant consequences.

If they started feeling this way, it would not only impact the team's future tactical plans but also jeopardize the careers of these young players.

No team appreciates undisciplined players who disregard the team's rules.

Lucas and De Bruyne exchanged glances, gaining a deeper understanding of their coach.

Coach Schaaf isn't unreasonable when it came to being fair, but he also possessed an iron-handed and ruthless side when it came to his work, adhering to strict principles.

Indeed, it isn't easy for someone to remain the head coach of a team for such a long time!

Due to the players' lack of punctuality, the morning training session is kept simple.

During this time, Lucas had been practicing free kicks with De Bruyne. One focused on powerful volleys, while the other worked on bending the ball with the outer instep.

De Bruyne is already highly proficient in free kicks but lacked variation when facing the goal.

As a result, experienced goalkeepers easily saved his free kicks.

Therefore, De Bruyne intended to add a touch of variation to his free kicks, similar to Ronaldo's famous knuckleball technique.

The ball would drop suddenly midway through its flight, catching the opponent off guard.

Mastering this technique isn't easy.

Besides having sufficient strength, one needed to control the angle of force and the contact point on the ball.

After kicking the knuckleball, the aim is to minimize the ball's spin. In doing so, the air resistance on the ball would be much greater than that of a spinning ball.

When a player strikes the ball powerfully, it imparts a high initial velocity. When the initial velocity exceeds the final velocity, the Magnus effect comes into play.

Instead of following a regular parabolic path, the ball suddenly drops like an elevator when it reaches its highest point.

This is the principle of the knuckleball!

This principle is the result of Gazzetta dello Sport's collaboration with professional kinematics and mechanics experts who conducted precise calculations.

According to the experts' formula, in order to execute the knuckleball technique, the initial velocity of the football must surpass 100 kilometers per hour, which demands significant strength from the player taking the free kick.

(This scientific knowledge is real although a little different but it's true)

( La Gazzetta Dello sport is Italy's famous sports newspaper for those who don't know just like Lequipe in France, The Guardian in UK, Kicker in Germany and MARCA in Spain.)