On August 24, the new Bundesliga season officially kicked off.
No one knew whether it was a deliberate arrangement by the German Football Association or merely a coincidence.
The two teams in the opening match were none other than Dortmund and Werder Bremen, the same opponents from the Telekom Cup final not long ago.
This was their second meeting in twenty days, and to make matters worse, it was Werder Bremen's second time facing Dortmund away from home.
So when the schedule came out, everyone at the club was left speechless.
"The Football Association sure knows how to create a spectacle!"
Dortmund's media had already raised the banner of revenge, while their players declared on social media that they would face Werder Bremen at one hundred and twenty percent and win the match.
That made everyone at Werder Bremen feel as if they had been set up. Facing a furious Dortmund side that had spent twenty days recharging, they truly had little confidence in winning.
"This is just an ordinary league match. Don't overthink it. Just play well. Winning or losing isn't that important!"
Coach Schaaf stepped forward at the right moment to ease the pressure on his players.
The league was not a cup competition where one match decided everything. Over a long season that lasted an entire year, the result of a single match was certainly important, but it was nowhere near a matter of life and death.
"That's right, the coach is right. This is just a very ordinary match. Don't put too much pressure on yourselves. Just play the way you usually do in training!"
The veteran players also stepped up to comfort the younger ones.
With reassurance from the coach and veteran players, the younger players' nerves eased considerably.
At 7:30 p.m., Werder Bremen's players