The God of Football starts with passive skills

Chapter 86 Bundesliga First! Sky-high Contracts! Go Dortmund! The shadow of Bayern's dramatic comeback has returned!
This meeting room is like Borussia Dortmund's situation in the Bundesliga.

It's not big, but it's not small either.

The lighting was bright, yet the place felt awkwardly rudimentary.

After Shen Qinghe entered the conference room, she began to observe everyone in the room.

Chairman Laubar did not come.

It wasn't that he didn't value it, but rather that he had a very important meeting at the Football Association headquarters in Frankfurt.

Watzke led the effort, with high-ranking officials including Markus Knippen, Zorc, and Thomas Trez also present.

Their formal attire clearly showed how much importance they placed on this meeting.

Of course, I understand.

Two weeks ago, Borussia Dortmund had repeatedly requested to resume contract renewal negotiations.

However, Shen Qinghe kept delaying the process through Thomas Essien with various excuses.

Dortmund clearly wanted to strike while the iron was hot and close the deal immediately.

It's even possible that a renewal agreement will be drafted directly.

Borussia Dortmund is very sincere about renewing the contract!
After calmly observing the four senior executives present, Shen Qinghe drew a preliminary conclusion.

Thomas Essien, as usual, greeted Watzke and the others with a smile and introduced Shen Qinghe to them.

Her current role is Wang Shuo's personal assistant.

He is a member of the brokerage team.

The moment Shen Qinghe stepped into the conference room, everyone's eyes were immediately drawn to her.

Every man present felt as if a spring breeze had swept over them, and time seemed to stand still.

Neat short hair, neat and energetic.

The light beige shirt's lapel perfectly complemented the gentle smile on her beautiful face, making her unforgettable at first glance.

The neckline was slightly unbuttoned down to the second button, revealing a glimpse of her collarbone, making one feel as if they could sense the rise and fall of her breath.

She paired it with dark, flowing trousers that accentuated her leg shape, making them appear long and shapely without being too tight.

Shen Qinghe's outfit and demeanor are both formal for the workplace, exuding competence and confidence, and relaxed and appropriate for casual social interactions, easily leaving a good impression.

"So, true beauty has no East-West divide," Watzke and the others thought to themselves.

But once everyone sat down, Shen Qinghe made it impossible for them to have any other thoughts.

After Shen Qinghe sat down, she opened her laptop, inserted a USB drive, called over a staff member, connected it to the monitor in the conference room, and then stood up again.

"Thank you very much, everyone."

Her voice was like a clear spring in a mountain stream, cool yet calm.

There was no small talk, just a direct and forceful opening.

“I am here on behalf of Mr. Wang Shuo to attend today’s meeting, but before we begin, I apologize for taking up a little of your time, about 10 minutes.”

"10 minutes?" Watzke was a little surprised and looked at his colleagues around him.

Is this a negotiation technique?
Want to disrupt Dortmund's rhythm?
"I didn't mean anything by it, I just wanted to show everyone some materials." Shen Qinghe smiled gently.

Her genuine smile is different from the fake smiles and deliberate negotiation skills in the workplace. It has a very special affinity and infectiousness, coupled with her unique temperament, making it hard for people to refuse her.

"OK, you can begin."

After receiving nods of agreement from his other colleagues, Watzke agreed to Shen Qinghe's request.

This little girl clearly came prepared!

However, Watzke didn't take it too seriously.

Judging from Shen Qinghe's age, she is probably only in her early twenties, or even just graduated from university, and has little experience.

Besides, isn't the agent still Thomas Essien?

Shen Qinghe maintained a smile throughout.

Her father had been teaching her a principle since she was a child.

In every exam, the moment you sit down at your desk, a large part of your score is already determined.

Just like in a football match, the outcome is basically known the moment the players step onto the field.

Similarly, in a business negotiation, once you sit down at the negotiating table, the overall structure is already set, and the negotiation is nearing its end.

"First, I'd like to show you an analysis report from the International Football Bank (ISB)."

As she spoke, Shen Qinghe displayed the report's PowerPoint presentation on her laptop.

The data was quickly transmitted to the large screen in the conference room via a laptop.

International Football Bank is a German company that has close partnerships with all German professional football teams.

Their data analysis reports have always been accepted and recognized by all German clubs.

The report that Shen Qinghe presented mainly consisted of a series of data.

"Since the beginning of this season, we have only counted the first 24 rounds of Bundesliga matches. Wang Shuo has made 23 appearances and scored 31 goals, equaling Dortmund's record for the best single season."

"Of course, now that two more rounds have been played, Wang Shuo's goal tally has increased to 33, breaking Dortmund's historical record."

As Shen Qinghe spoke, she smiled slightly at Watzke and the others with a proud and self-satisfied expression.

"Due to time constraints, we will only analyze the first 24 rounds of matches."

"Wang Shuo has the most goals in the Bundesliga."

"Currently, the second-highest scorer in the Bundesliga is Kiessling, who plays for Bayer Leverkusen, with only 13 goals."

"It's not even half of Wang Shuo's!"

These are prominent figures displayed in major newspapers and websites, and no one can refute them.

Watzke and others were certainly aware of just how outstanding Wang Shuo's performance had been this season.

After Shen Qinghe finished her presentation and saw that no one had offered any comments, she stopped pressing the issue and moved on to the next presentation.

"This is Wang Shuo's assist count in the Bundesliga this season. Up to the 24th round of matches, he has 12 assists."

"Following Wang Shuo is Mesut, who plays for Werder Bremen, with 11 assists."

"Marco Marin, who plays for Werder Bremen, has provided 9 assists."

"Toni Kroos, who plays for Bayer Leverkusen, has provided 8 assists."

“If we count up to round 26, Wang Shuo has 14 assists. In round 25, he provided two more assists against Borussia Mönchengladbach, and he also indirectly assisted on one of the goals.”

"Therefore, Wang Shuo also has the most assists in the Bundesliga!"

When Shen Qinghe got to this point, Watzke and the others started to get restless.

In fact, Wang Shuo's performance was quite obvious.

Goals and assists are both publicly available statistics.

Dortmund acknowledges this.

“Miss Shen, we are very clear about these data, but we don’t know what you’re trying to say.” Zorc instinctively felt that he couldn’t let Shen Qinghe continue.

He and Watzke, among others, had a bad feeling.

Shen Qinghe smiled confidently, "Don't rush, Mr. Zorc, keep reading."

"All the data going forward comes from International Football Bank. If you have any questions, we can log in to their database to verify it."

Watzke, Zorc, and the others exchanged glances, and they all began to feel a little uneasy.

This little girl is on a completely different level from Thomas Essien.

Tricky!
"As of the 24th round of the Bundesliga, Wang Shuo has the highest average number of successful dribbles per game in the Bundesliga!"

"And it's a precipitous first place!"

"Wang Shuo has the highest average number of shots on target per game in the Bundesliga!"

"Wang Shuo has the highest average number of fouls drawn per game in the Bundesliga!"

"According to Bild's post-match ratings, Wang Shuo's average score is the highest in the Bundesliga!"

"Wang Shuo's average number of threatening passes per game is the highest in the Bundesliga!"

"Wang Shuo ranks first among Bundesliga forwards in terms of average passes per game!"

"Wang Shuo has the highest number of key passes per game in the Bundesliga!"

"Wang Shuo ranks first in the number of times he recovers the ball per game among all attacking midfielders and forwards in the Bundesliga!"

When Shen Qinghe presented so much data in one go, Watzke and the others really felt like the sky was about to fall.

Sure enough, the ominous premonition came true.

Are these data accurate?
Yes!
Do they know?

I hadn't looked at it closely before, but I knew the general idea.

So when someone compiled all the data in such detail and presented it to them in such an intuitive way for the first time, they were truly flustered.

They couldn't even muster any rebuttal.

Wang Shuo's performance was truly outstanding!
It's unbelievably good!

Some even say that his performance in the Bundesliga is better than Messi's performance in La Liga.

After presenting the data, Shen Qinghe did not press the issue further.

This is neither her strategy nor what she wants.

Wang Shuo intends to stay and play for Borussia Dortmund, and her goal is not to argue with Dortmund about right and wrong.

She just wanted to make Dortmund realize just how important Wang Shuo was to them!

Therefore, she gave Dortmund time to process the data.

"Miss Shen."

Watzke was the first to react.

As a negotiator, he acknowledged the authenticity of the data.

But he must find factors that are in his favor.

"First of all, my colleagues and I agree with what you said. Wang Shuo is indeed the most important player in our team. His statistics and performance are indeed top-notch in the Bundesliga, and even far ahead."

"But I also hope you can understand that football is never a sport of individual heroism. It is about teamwork and cooperation. Wang Shuo's performance is inseparable from the support and help of the team, coaching staff and teammates."

"You should know that in many situations, our team's offense is built and arranged around him, and you should acknowledge that."

Watzke's meaning is quite clear.

Wang Shuo is indeed very important.

However, his performance was based on the overall support of Borussia Dortmund.

This is also true.

Shen Qinghe nodded slightly without refuting, and continued operating the laptop, her voice as gentle and composed as ever.

“You’re right, Mr. Watzke.”

"Football is a very complex team sport, and the same set of data can be interpreted from many different perspectives."

"Even the same pass can lead to completely different conclusions depending on the perspective from which it is interpreted."

"When a goal is scored, is it more important that the assister makes a good pass, or that the goal scorer scores?"

"Similar arguments are common in football matches, and there are even instances where conflicting statistics emerge."

Watzke chuckled heartily and nodded, saying, "So, Ms. Shen, over the years, European football has always had a rather contradictory attitude towards data analysis. It's more like a reference point than a tool for decision-making."

Thomas Essien, sitting to the side, was getting a little anxious.

This is an attempt to downplay the importance of Shen Qinghe's series of data with just one sentence.

But ironically, what Watzke said left him speechless.

The complexity of football and the multi-faceted analysis of data are indeed major controversies in European football.

While the new data has fans amused, industry insiders have been arguing about it for a long time.

Finally, the most authoritative metrics are goals and assists.

But all of this is inseparable from the support of the team as a whole.

Previously, Watzke and Dortmund indicated that they could offer Wang Shuo a high salary, but not too much more.

The negotiations have reached a stalemate.

Dortmund acknowledges these figures, but they have a different interpretation.

Just as Thomas Essien was getting impatient, Shen Qinghe calmly pressed the Enter key on her laptop.

Another PowerPoint presentation immediately appeared on the large screen.

"This is a data analysis report from Sky Sports OPTA. All the data in it comes from OPTA Data Company, and some of it comes from International Football Bank."

It's perfectly normal for data companies to buy data from each other.

"At our request, OPTA Data Company specially customized a brand-new data analysis model for us."

Watzke and the others were very surprised when they heard this.

Why not customize a completely new data analysis model?
"This new model is specifically designed for forwards and can answer all the questions you just raised very well."

As Shen Qinghe pressed the keyboard, the next slide of the PPT appeared on the big screen.

This brand-new data model is designed to address a controversial issue.

How should we interpret a goal?

Clearly, one player receives a cross from a teammate in front of the goal and pushes it into the empty net, while another player dribbles past several defenders before shooting.

Both involve scoring a goal, but the requirements for the striker are completely different.

How to deal with it?

A factor called difficulty level has been added.

In other words, the higher the difficulty level, the higher the value of the goal.

Of course, the level of difficulty can also reflect another issue.

So, behind this goal, how much did the player contribute himself? And how much support did his teammates provide?

The higher the coefficient, the greater the weight of the player's individual ability in the goal, and the smaller the weight of the support from teammates.

"After being commissioned by us, OPTA not only quantified the difficulty of Wang Shuo's every shot this season, but also quantified the difficulty of every shot of several other famous Bundesliga strikers this season."

"They even quantified the difficulty of every shot taken by more than a dozen famous strikers in the four major leagues this season."

"After repeated deliberation, research and adjustments, the above chart was finally created."

"The vertical axis represents the number of goals scored by a player after adding a difficulty coefficient, while the horizontal axis represents the number of shots taken by a player."

"In the Bundesliga, Wang Shuo is in the top right corner, and he's all alone!"

According to the data, although Wang Shuo's number of shots is in the top tier, it is not the most.

However, when the difficulty level of his goals is factored in, they become extremely high.

After everyone had finished looking at the photos, Shen Qinghe smiled and showed the next one.

"Perhaps, if we set aside the number of goals and only compare the average difficulty of the 31 goals, it will be more intuitive."

As a result, the data shows that Wang Shuo's average difficulty level for his 31 goals still far surpasses that of his opponents.

Of course, Shen Qinghe deliberately added a little something extra when making the PPT.

This led Watzke and others to think, upon seeing the chart, that everyone else was tangled up together, unable to separate themselves.

Only Wang Shuo remained aloof and superior.

That's so eye-catching!

"If we compare them to top European players like Messi and Ronaldo, then the chart we get will look like this."

Shen Qinghe had completely taken control of the pace of the entire negotiation.

With her words, Watzke and the others couldn't help but look over.

The chart shown above made them all gasp in shock.

On the chart, Wang Shuo is only slightly below Messi of Barcelona and Ronaldo of Real Madrid.

Everyone else got mixed up in the mess.

Even Sergio Aguero, who was highly regarded by many at Atlético Madrid, is only slightly better than the others.

Manchester United's Rooney is no exception.

This represents one thing.

That is, the higher up a player's ranking, the more likely they are to lead the entire team with their individual abilities.

Wang Shuo may not have reached the level of Messi and Ronaldo yet, but he is only 19 years old.

More importantly, both of these superstars are among the best in the world and play for the most prestigious clubs.

If Watzke could still interpret Shen Qinghe's data from other angles before, he is now powerless in the face of this report.

Watzke and the others were completely panicked.

They felt they had completely lost their ability to negotiate.

They were all speechless.

Shen Qinghe had made all the preparations, leaving them unable to cope.

Fortunately, when they saw Shen Qinghe enter the room, they thought she was a delicate beauty.

Unexpectedly, the move was so swift, decisive, precise, and deadly, securing the victory!

Thomas Essien stood by, feeling quite smug, and even had an urge to applaud Shen Qinghe.

Bravo!

If he had some concerns before about Wang Shuo hiring Shen Qinghe, a female college student, then...

Now, he is completely relieved.

He's definitely a top student from the London School of Economics!
Just when Watzke and the others were at a loss and didn't know what to do, Shen Qinghe smiled slightly at Watzke and the others opposite her, making them feel like they were bathed in a spring breeze.

"Of course, before I came to Westfalenstadion, Wang Shuo called me specifically and asked me to convey his gratitude to Dortmund."

"His growth from Mainz to Dortmund is certainly the result of his own efforts, but it is also inseparable from the support and cultivation of Dortmund. It is a two-way street, so he has always been grateful."

After Shen Qinghe finished speaking, the tense atmosphere in the conference room, which had been like facing a formidable enemy, dissipated almost completely.

Watzke and the others also felt a sense of relief.

This young girl clearly had the upper hand in the negotiations, but instead of pressing her advantage, she stopped short of pressing her advantage and accepted her gains.

Watzke and the others were well aware that this was a demonstration of Wang Shuo's sincerity in continuing the cooperation.

The same sincerity, when shown before negotiations, carries completely different weight and effect than when shown now.

Watzke, Zorc, and the others exchanged glances and noticed the admiration in each other's eyes.

This girl is young, but she is capable and not at all shy.

They're talking about a contract worth over ten million euros.

Converted to RMB, that's over 100 million.

Yet she remained elegant and composed, always maintaining control over the pace and atmosphere of the negotiations.

Even seasoned veterans like Watzke and Zorc now have to admit their inferiority.

"Actually, Mr. Watzke, Thomas told us a lot about the Bundesliga and the situation with Dortmund. We can understand Dortmund's difficulties."

Before Watzke and the others could nod, Shen Qinghe changed the subject.

"But what I want to say is that you have completely underestimated, or even wasted, Wang Shuo's enormous commercial value and influence."

Shen Qinghe's words once again heightened the tension of the negotiations.

"Miss Shen, what do you mean by that?" Watzke asked, his tone carrying a hint of seeking advice.

Shen Qinghe was prepared, and with a few clicks on her laptop, she opened another PowerPoint presentation.

But this time it didn't come from any authoritative institution; it was intelligence she gathered online.

"To date, only one Chinese player has been able to play in the top five European leagues, and that is Wang Shuo." "You always say that behind Wang Shuo are more than a billion Chinese people and a huge Chinese market."

"That statement is correct, but not entirely accurate."

"Since Wang Shuo joined Borussia Dortmund, you have not launched any corresponding market development initiatives, wasting Wang Shuo's huge influence in China."

"Did you know that in China, every Bundesliga match featuring Borussia Dortmund has a much higher viewership than the Premier League and other competitions? Even the German Cup has very high viewership."

"Back when Wang Shuo played for Mainz, even without television broadcasts, we chose to stream the live broadcast on German websites online, and we were still able to attract tens of thousands of fans."

"Because of Wang Shuo, Borussia Dortmund has become the most watched team in China, in the Bundesliga and even in European football!"

Upon hearing this, Watzke and the others had no choice but to nod in agreement.

Dortmund did a really bad job in this regard.

"Why do I say that your statement that Wang Shuo only has China behind him is not entirely true?"

"According to media reports from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia and other countries, with Wang Shuo's arrival in the Bundesliga, especially his joining Borussia Dortmund, the Bundesliga's viewership in Southeast Asia has been approaching, and even surpassing, that of the English Premier League!"

Shen Qinghe did something underhanded here.

She didn't mention that Bundesliga broadcasts are available on many free-to-air channels in various countries.

"What I want to say is that Wang Shuo is not just a professional player. He has a huge influence in China, throughout Asia, and in Chinese communities around the world, and has enormous potential commercial value."

"But Dortmund did absolutely nothing in this regard!"

When Shen Qinghe got to this point, her tone softened and she changed the subject again.

"Mr. Watzke, please forgive my earlier offense, but on behalf of Wang Shuo, I sincerely hope that during the contract period, Dortmund can form a good interaction and cooperation with us to explore the market in China, Asia, and even the world. This is more meaningful than us sitting at the negotiating table now, haggling over a little bit of annual salary!"

Upon hearing the last sentence, Watzke looked up, staring incredulously at the Chinese girl sitting opposite him, his eyes filled with respect.

He knew perfectly well that Shen Qinghe's purpose was to negotiate Wang Shuo's salary.

But he couldn't help but admire and agree with what Shen Qinghe had said.

I couldn't help but want to applaud her.

If I'm struggling with annual salary now, it's at most a few million euros.

We can go to Asia, to China, to explore the market. What a huge pie that is!
More importantly, Shen Qinghe showed Dortmund, Watzke, and others an area they had never paid attention to before.

Southeast Asia.

That place is absolutely the exclusive domain of the Premier League.

They can't even get into La Liga, let alone the Bundesliga.

But thanks to Wang Shuo, the Bundesliga's viewership in this market is surprisingly high.

This was far beyond Watzke's and others' expectations.

……

call!
When they saw Shen Qinghe and Thomas Essien out of Dortmund's office, Watzke, Zorc, and the others all felt a sense of relief.

She's just a young girl!
Are all young people in China this capable?

Back in the conference room, Zorc couldn't help but smile wryly.

From the very first minute of the negotiations, the atmosphere and pace were completely controlled by Shen Qinghe.

They could only follow Shen Qinghe's lead.

The key point is that she did not show any arrogance of having the victory in her grasp. On the contrary, she always made everyone feel very comfortable, even like a gentle breeze.

That's a skill!
"Wang Shuo and Shen Qinghe are both so talented; China truly produces a wealth of talent!" Watzke exclaimed.

After Shen Qinghe dropped a series of bombshells, leaving them all dizzy and disoriented, he then offered such a large piece of the pie—China and Southeast Asia—leaving Watzke and the others with no reason to refuse.

At least after that, when the two sides officially began negotiations, he was too embarrassed to bring up the proposal that Dortmund had previously put forward.

An annual salary of 500 million euros, plus an additional 8000 million euro penalty for breach of contract.

Before meeting Shen Qinghe, Watzke, Zorc, and others felt that Dortmund's offer was very sincere.

But for some reason, after listening to the girl's analysis, they suddenly felt that the quote was really shabby!

Even I feel it's not presentable!
Shen Qinghe's asking price was higher than Thomas Essien's previous demands.

And it's much, much higher.

The annual salary is 1000 million euros, and the penalty for breach of contract is set at 5000 million euros.

Previously, Watzke and others would have found it outrageous and even refused it on the spot without hesitation.

Even Bayern Munich wouldn't accept such an exorbitant price in the Bundesliga!

But now, they all seem to think it makes sense.

"What do you think?" Watzke asked, looking at the others.

Everyone fell into deep thought.

Marcus Knipping spoke first.

This Dortmund cashier has always been stingy, and he has even been against paying players high salaries.

But this time, what he said surprised Watzke and the others.

“I think her proposal is worth considering. If we can really open up the Chinese and Asian markets with the help of Wang Shuo, then the several million euros in this contract will be a small number.”

Among the three main revenue streams for clubs, Bundesliga teams are naturally limited in matchday revenue because Bundesliga ticket prices are not high.

Revenue from broadcasting rights is also subject to restrictions.

Despite Germany's status as the leading economy in Europe, the domestic broadcasting rights for the Bundesliga are actually sold very cheaply.

Let alone comparing it to the Premier League, it's even behind Spain and France.

The two points mentioned above, along with the 50+1 policy, all share a common background.

In Germany, football is considered a public good!

Why can't Bundesliga teams ever compete with Bayern Munich?

The difference between match days and broadcasting rights isn't actually that significant; the real gap lies in commercial revenue.

Specifically, Dortmund's domestic commercial revenue is not particularly large compared to Bayern Munich's.

The biggest difference lies in globalization!
Of course, Dortmund can't be blamed for this.

After all, in the past few years of globalization, Dortmund has been mired in financial debt and its performance has been terrible. How could it have time to think about development?

But now, Shen Qinghe has pointed out this path.

Marcus Knipping is very stingy.

But as CEO, he is well aware that this is a path Dortmund must take, and one that they will inevitably have to follow sooner or later.

Otherwise, they will forever remain Bayern's arsenal!

More importantly, everyone present was actually very clear about this.

The demands that Shen Qinghe made were merely something they could use to negotiate.

In negotiations, you can't just reveal your hand the moment you meet.
After Bayern Munich sold Luca Toni, the highest annual salary in the entire Bundesliga was only around five million euros.

And they're all at Bayern Munich!

Watzke is not the kind of person who hesitates.

Since even Knipping said so, it proves that this matter has great potential.

After thinking for a moment, he immediately looked at Knipping.

“Marcus, hurry up and arrange for people to investigate the situation and market prospects of the Asian countries that Shen Qinghe just mentioned. We need to confirm whether it is as she said.”

"Okay, I'll arrange it!"

“Actually, we shouldn’t have signed with KAPPA, we should have signed with Puma!” Watzke shook his head and sighed helplessly.

Everyone understood what Watzke meant.

Puma's offer was indeed lower than Kappa's, but Puma is the world's third-largest sports brand and has a greater advantage in global promotion than Kappa.

But what can be done?
The contract has already been signed, and we can't afford the penalty for breach of contract.

“Marcus, keep in good contact with Puma and try to work with them after this contract ends.”

Having big-name sponsors has many advantages.

Knipping nodded in agreement.

……

"Wang, do you know what? She's amazing! Even I, as her colleague, am intimidated by her!"

When Wang Shuo finished training, he arrived at the hotel where Shen Qinghe and Thomas Essien were staying. The three met, and Thomas Essien praised Shen Qinghe highly.

"You weren't there. Watzke is such a ruthless old hand, yet she was rendered speechless by what she said. The four Dortmund players in that row were all listening to her, and they couldn't handle it at all!"

Shen Qinghe was a little embarrassed by Thomas Essien's praise.

"Actually, the main reason is that we were well prepared. I really didn't expect Dortmund to be so hasty."

“This is a contract worth over 100 million RMB. If it were in my dad’s company, it would have to be checked countless times and every aspect would have to be thoroughly considered before it could be brought to the negotiating table.”

This was also Shen Qinghe's first time dealing with negotiations with a football club, and it was quite unfamiliar to her.

"That's what you call a dimensional reduction attack!" Wang Shuo praised with a smile.

Shen Qinghe smiled even more happily.

“There’s an Englishman named Simon Cooper who wrote a book called ‘The Economics of Football,’ in which he said that the transfer operations of European clubs are very crude. For the transfer of star players worth tens of millions of euros, they don’t even have any preparation and make decisions based on gut feeling.”

"Also, Chelsea spent tens of millions of euros to buy Drogba, but after they got him, they just left him in a hotel and ignored him completely. I found that outrageous."

"If this were converted to RMB, it would be hundreds of millions. Let's not talk about anything else. Imagine a company spending hundreds of millions to import a whole set of equipment, only to have it delivered and then just left out in the sun and rain. Can you believe it?"

Wang Shuo laughed.

He felt that Shen Qinghe's analogy, though somewhat inappropriate, was quite fitting.

European clubs have always treated players like consumables.

This may be related to the fact that they make money too quickly.

"If you think about it this way, let alone the Premier League, even the Bundesliga is making money off the whole world while doing nothing, isn't it?"

There's something called broadcasting rights, and another thing called brand value.

The former can sell for a good price every year, while the latter can attract a lot of sponsorships every year.

Making money so quickly has led them to never hesitate to spend it.

"Alright, let's leave it at that for now and see how Dortmund reacts."

At this point, Wang Shuo looked at Shen Qinghe and said, "Come on, I'll treat you to dinner to celebrate your first victory!"

Shen Qinghe agreed, and Thomas Essien, the old third wheel, was of course no problem either.

Just in time, Shen Qinghe also wanted to take this opportunity to properly introduce the business blueprint she had planned for Wang Shuo to Wang Shuo and Thomas Essien.

The next step is definitely to quickly assemble a team and establish connections with major brands.

Adidas is the first to be affected.

The story of Yao Ming and Nike cannot be completely transplanted onto Wang Shuo and Adidas.

The two sports have different business models.

For example, basketball shoes sell even better, and in addition to the sponsorship fees in their contracts, star players can also enjoy a share of the sales revenue.

In contrast, soccer cleats didn't sell very well.

However, the broad mass appeal and influence of football are unmatched by basketball.

More importantly, how big is the Chinese market today?

It is absolutely the most important part of Nike and Adidas' global empire.

The market environment in 2010 was vastly different from that in 2003.

Shen Qinghe believes that, given Wang Shuo's current achievements, he will certainly not be inferior to Yao Ming and Liu Xiang in terms of commercial value.

Thinking of this, Shen Qinghe's heart stirred, and she turned to look at Wang Shuo.

Whether it was a premonition or not, Wang Shuo turned his head at that moment.

After exchanging a glance, Wang Shuo smiled at her.

Shen Qinghe responded with a subtle smile.

……

After eliminating Juventus with a 6-0 aggregate score, Borussia Dortmund were drawn against Benfica from the Portuguese Primeira Liga in the subsequent Europa League quarter-final draw.

This is also a strong team with considerable strength.

本菲卡在16强淘汰赛中，可是客场1比1，主场4比0大破柏林赫塔。

This clearly demonstrates the strength of this Portuguese league team.

Therefore, it is quite dangerous for Dortmund to draw this opponent.

After the draw results came out, Wang Shuo made a special trip to watch the 4-0 match.

Many Benfica players impressed him.

For example, Paraguayan striker Oscar Cardozo scored twice.

Saviola, Aimar, and Di Maria from Argentina, along with former Real Madrid player Javi Garcia.

Center-back David Luiz also left a deep impression on Wang Shuo.

As a striker, he would naturally be matched up against David Luiz.

In conclusion, Benfica's strength is definitely not lacking.

However, the first leg of the match between the two sides will not take place until April 1st.

Before that, Dortmund focused all their energy on the league.

With only 8 rounds left in the Bundesliga, every match Dortmund plays from now on can be considered a decisive battle!

In particular, in the 27th round, the team will face Bayer Leverkusen, who are ranked 2nd in the league.

According to Klopp, this will be a crucial match that will determine the champion.

If we beat Leverkusen, the rest of the Bundesliga matches will be much easier.

Due to the Europa League match in midweek, Borussia Dortmund's game was scheduled for the last matchday.

Bayern Munich naturally benefits from the clash between Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen.

The day before this highly anticipated match, Bayern Munich's away game against Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayern president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told reporters, "After this game, we will further close the gap!"

The implication is that Bayern will do everything in their power to defeat Frankfurt.

League leaders Borussia Dortmund could be dragged down by Bayer Leverkusen.

For Bayern Munich, the best outcome would be for Bayer Leverkusen to defeat Borussia Dortmund.

why?

In the 30th round, Bayern Munich will visit the BayArena to play against Bayer Leverkusen.

Rummenigge's meaning is clear: Bayern Munich will not consider Leverkusen a rival for the title.

Not only does the Bayern president think this way, but sporting director Nellinger also said in an interview with the media that his biggest concern about playing against Frankfurt is that the players will lack motivation.

Therefore, his original words were, "I hope that we can give it our all when facing all our opponents!"

After playing Frankfurt, Bayern will face a grueling schedule.

They have a German Cup semi-final midweek against Magath's Schalke 04, which is sure to be a tough battle.

After returning to the league, the 28th round of the Bundesliga will be played at home against Stuttgart.

This is also a tough battle.

Then came the Champions League quarter-final against Manchester United, followed by the league match against Schalke 04, and then another match against Manchester United.

Next up is the 30th round match against Bayer Leverkusen.

It's fair to say that this stretch of the season is extremely difficult for any team.

In comparison, Frankfurt is an easy target.

Van Gaal decides to rotate players?
no problem!
Even with most of their key players rotated, Bayern Munich still easily defeated Eintracht Frankfurt.

The course of the competition seemed to confirm this view.

In the away game, Bayern Munich took the lead after just 7 minutes thanks to a goal from Klose.

At that moment, everyone felt that Bayern's victory was a foregone conclusion.

After that, Bayern Munich maintained their dominance over Eintracht Frankfurt.

The turning point of the match came in the 74th minute.

Van Buyten injured his right eyebrow bone while defending a corner kick and had to go to the sidelines for treatment.

Frankfurt took the opportunity to make a series of substitutions.

Head coach Michael Skibbe brought on three forwards – Martin Fenin, Korkmaz, and Chum – to strengthen the attack.

Meanwhile, in the 80th minute, Van Buyten was substituted by Altintop.

Ultimately, it proved that Van Gaal's substitution completely backfired.

When everyone was talking about Bayern Dusel, when Bayern drew Manchester United, and when everyone was recalling the dramatic comeback in the 1999 Champions League final, Bayern could never have imagined that the shadow of that last-minute reversal would reappear.

In the 87th minute, substitutes Fenin and Alexander Meier attempted a combination play on Bayern's left flank, the side of young Alaba.

Alaba got to the ball first in the penalty area and passed it back to goalkeeper Butt.

Unexpectedly, Chum, who had only been on the field as a substitute for four minutes, suddenly appeared and beat Alaba's "assist" into Bayern's goal.

1 is better than 1!

Even more impressively, just two minutes later, still on Alaba's side, Altintop delivered a diagonal pass, and substitute Fening controlled the ball, dribbled past Alaba, and fired a low shot into the net from a tight angle.

2 is better than 1!

In the final moments of the match, Eintracht Frankfurt, thanks to two substitute strikers, scored two goals in quick succession to overturn the deficit against Bayern Munich!
The entire German football world was shocked!
Before the match, Bayern Munich, who were confident of victory and didn't take Frankfurt seriously at all, unexpectedly suffered a defeat.

They were even declared ineligible to compete for the championship!

Bild directly targeted Van Gaal.

Do they like to give young players a lot of playing time?

That seems to be correct.

But with Bayern Munich facing a crucial stretch of matches, it's ironic to entrust a 17-year-old with such a heavy responsibility, especially with another young player, Badstuber, by his side.

Does it fit?

Is this forcing growth, or is it promoting young players?

"With such a golden opportunity, how can Bayern possibly win the title if they can't even beat Frankfurt?"

"What will they use to fight Manchester United to the death after that?"

Bayern Munich's loss has dealt a heavy blow to the Bavarian giants' quest for the Bundesliga title this season.

But this also shifted everyone's attention to the match between Dortmund and Leverkusen.

Klopp will rotate his squad for this match due to the Europa League game midweek.

Bayer Leverkusen's biggest advantage is that they have no other competition pressure besides the Bundesliga.

Therefore, Heynckes' team spent a full week preparing for this match.

Even so, Heynckes remained low-key before the match.

"Westfalenstadion is an away game that no one wants to go to."

"Of course I believe we can leave the away game unscathed, and even take 3 points with us."

"But it's not easy."

"To achieve this, we must first contain Wang Shuo!"

"Only when Wang Shuo stops scoring will we have any hope of beating Dortmund!"

(End of this chapter)