At the post-match press conference.
Hecking was in high spirits.
"The winter break? Many countries in Asia have invited me over for football exchanges."
"I've been fascinated by Eastern culture since I was a child."
"In my parents' generation, people would carry a copy of Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra when they walked through the woods. What will our generation carry? German literature created by Goethe and Schiller through a fusion of Eastern thought, or German translations of Eastern works."
"In that extraordinary period of history, some great works helped me find my way."
"My childhood dream was to travel to the East."
Then,
Wolfsburg's manager began quoting the classics in front of the media.
The press officer stared, dumbfounded.
A few minutes later.
Mazzarri entered the hall. He looked around at the modern equipment and enormous logo, then at Wolfsburg's own stadium beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows. Envy welled up in him.
"A painful defeat."
"The responsibility lies entirely with the coaching staff."
"I believe Inter Milan will one day return to the summit of Europe."
Beckenbauer had just attended the Football for Friendship global children's football forum.
A crowd of reporters swarmed him.
Someone held out a tablet and showed the Kaiser some match footage.
"Li's outside-of-the-foot pass looks exactly like mine did when I was young."
Decades ago, Beckenbauer had mastered the outside-of-the-foot pass in competitive matches. He refined and adapted parts of the technique into a style of his own. The Beckenbauer Pass, for instance, benefited countless players who came after him.
"I don't want to say too much, or you'll write another headline about Li Luo being a virgin."
Everyone burst out laughing.
A busty female reporter asked, "Pogba and Li Luo are the two most talked-about young midfield talents. If you returned to coaching, which of