Waiting for a Counterattack

"Shit! I have a wife, and I'm not interested in you... no... I'm not interested in any men!" Klopp snapped, so angry he was starting to suspect Watzke's brain was wired wrong.

Taking a deep breath, Klopp's gaze turned utterly serious. "Hans, do you trust me?"

As if sensing how earnest his old friend was, Watzke nodded. "Old friend, from 2008 until now, we've worked together for five years. We've come through such a difficult road together, so how could I not trust you?"

After a pause, he went on, "You... really think that highly of that kid?"

"That's right! I've never believed in my own eye as much as I do now. Hans, trust me this once. Anno is absolutely a super talent. I have a feeling his ability definitely won't be any lower than Barcelona's Messi."

Watzke's expression grew solemn, his eyes fixed on Klopp with extreme seriousness. After a long while, he was just about to speak when Klopp's phone rang.

Klopp glanced at the caller ID and said to Watzke, "Sorry, I need to take this."

"Peter, how is it? Did you find anything out?"

"Haha... Jurgen, I found out," Kravietz's voice came from the other end of the line.

"They didn't reach an agreement! Apparently it was because Anno needed Bayern Munich to promise him a certain amount of playing time, but Bayern couldn't give him that guarantee, so the talks fell through.

"Also, according to my friend at Bayern, Sammer has already instructed the scouts over in Brazil to keep watching Anno's performances at Sao Paulo. I reckon he still wants to wait until next summer's window before restarting negotiations.

"Heh heh... this is a perfect chance for us! We'll pull the rug out from under them. Those guys at Bayern will be furious!"

"Beautiful work, Peter! I have to treat you. We'll have a drink tonight!"

After hanging up, Klopp could no longer hide the smile on his face.

"I got news that Bayern had talks with Anno Chen, but they didn't come to an agreement. This is our chance, Hans. Contact them. We'll start Robert's transfer."

Watzke nodded. Since he had chosen to trust Klopp, he would support him unconditionally.

Over the past few years, Borussia Dortmund had undergone a complete transformation, and what they had relied on was the close cooperation between him and Klopp—their mutual trust and full support for each other.

That afternoon, Chen Anno had just finished training when he received a call from Wagner.

"Anno, this afternoon I got a call personally from Jurgen Klopp. He wants to arrange a meeting with us."

"Jurgen Klopp?" Chen Anno was a little puzzled. The name sounded somewhat familiar.

"He's Borussia Dortmund's head coach. He's one of the hottest young managers in Europe these past two years, and he's very popular with young players."

Once Borussia Dortmund was mentioned, Chen Anno immediately understood, and he also remembered who Jurgen Klopp was.

Back when he had been in China, because CCTV Sports often broadcast the Bundesliga, Bundesliga teams had drawn quite a lot of attention in the country.

"Then... did you mention my demands to them?"

"Don't worry, I did. Klopp's side said there wouldn't be any problem, and they want to discuss the details with us when we meet."

"All right, then let's meet. Wait until after the Audi Cup final. Tomorrow is the match against Manchester City. After the match, we'll set a specific time."

"Tor...!"

"Tor! Tor! Tor! Tooooooooooooor...!"

"Aguero!!"

"What a brilliant goal! Aguero helps Manchester City break the deadlock!"

"In the final stage of the first half, Sao Paulo defended deep for almost the entire half, but they still couldn't withstand Manchester City's attack. Just as the first half was about to end, their goal was breached!"

This was the final of this year's Audi Cup. Today at Munich's Allianz Arena, there were not many fans in the stands, so there were no earth-shaking cheers either.

But Aguero was still extremely happy after scoring, running to the corner area to celebrate with hugs from his teammates.

Chen Anno felt a little uncomfortable playing today, because Ramalho's tactical arrangement before the match had been to sit deep and defend.

So for most of the first half, Chen Anno barely got on the ball at all, let alone attacked.

Now look—after defending for so long, they still hadn't managed to hold off Manchester City's attack.

"Sir! We have to push out and attack in the second half. They have Dzeko as a target man up front, with a top-class striker like Aguero behind him, and David Silva on the wing supplying dangerous balls. If we only defend, there's no way we can hold them off!"

Couldn't find it by searching the book title? Try searching the author instead—maybe the title was just changed!

During halftime, Chen Anno voiced his opinion in the locker room.

Ramalho's temperament was fairly good, and he did not get angry because of Chen Anno's comments. He raised his right hand and gestured toward Chen Anno.

"Guys, I have to admit, there were some surprises with my tactical arrangement in the first half. I underestimated Manchester City's attacking power.

"So, once the second half starts, I'll bring Aloisio on. Anno, you'll return to the space behind the two forwards. We need to start counterattacking!

"However, on defense, we still can't let our guard down. We need to watch their two flanks when they push up.

"Lucio, in the second half you have to keep a close eye on Dzeko. His role as a focal point is a huge threat to us.

"Guys, look over here. In the second half, this is what we need to do..."

The second half soon began, with the two sides changing ends to continue the match.

Chen Anno returned to an attacking position, and with the instruction to attack freely, that familiar feeling finally came back.

Manchester City immediately felt the difference, especially their two defensive midfielders, Yaya Toure and Fernandinho.

Chen Anno's breakthroughs and dribbling brought them enormous pressure.

In the 65th minute of the match.

Chen Anno received Denilson's pass, first using an elastico to get past David Silva. Then, just as he was about to break through Yaya Toure with a change of direction, the Ivory Coast midfielder brought him down.

Sao Paulo won a set-piece opportunity.

"Anno will take this free kick. In the last match against Bayern Munich, he scored a brilliant free kick."

"Last time it was with his left foot. This time, it looks like Anno is going to show off his right."

After his run-up, Chen Anno struck a curling shot with his right foot. The ball cleared the wall and headed straight for the Manchester City goal.

"Whoa...!"

"Joe Hart!! What a brilliant save!"

"The ball hasn't left the box yet, there's still a chance..."

"Aloisio!!"

"It's in!!"

"In the 67th minute, Sao Paulo has equalized!"

"Let's congratulate Sao Paulo!!"

Sure enough, once things returned to normal in the second half, Sao Paulo's attack also came alive, catching Manchester City somewhat unprepared.

After that, Manchester City, having been pegged back, launched a fierce counterattack.

In the 72nd minute.

David Silva played a through ball from the right half-space. Right back Zabaleta surged forward at high speed and crossed the ball into the box near the byline.

Dzeko still managed to reach the dropping point despite Lucio's interference, but unfortunately, he failed to make clean contact with his header, and it drifted just wide of the post.

In the 76th minute.

Yaya Toure suddenly carried the ball forward from the back, then laid it off to David Silva in the thirty-meter area.

The latter squared it from the left side of the penalty area. Aguero pulled the trigger with a furious shot, but the ball struck the crossbar and bounced out over the byline.

Manchester City's attacks came wave after wave, and as time passed, they grew fiercer and fiercer.

Clearly, they wanted to finish this battle within ninety minutes and had no desire to drag the match into penalties.

However, after attacking for so long, their formation pressed higher and higher, leaving more and more space behind for counterattacks.

Chen Anno had been roaming near the center circle all along, waiting for a chance to counter!

He was like a venomous snake lying low in the grass, staring fixedly at his prey, ready at any moment to deliver a fatal strike!

If you can't find it by searching the book title, try searching for the author. Maybe the name was just changed!