…………
…………
In the 18th round of the league, Kaiserslautern will be away against Würzburger Kickers.
This team, which had the best performance in the first half of the 2nd Bundesliga and the strongest attacking power, seemed to have lost its crazy goal-scoring momentum in the 2nd Bundesliga after a leisurely winter break. Kaiserslautern, known for its attacking power, was actually frozen by Wintertur's defense throughout the game.
0:1 score is depressing, Paul Bier, who replaced Yang Cheng to command the team, has done his best, but still can't bring confidence to the players, because they are used to that young head coach who always stands on the sidelines directing the game, without him, the team seems to have lost its backbone.
After the game ended, Yang Cheng walked into the locker room. Originally, he was a bit angry in his heart, but when he saw that many players' faces in the locker room were panicked and had lost their usual calmness, however, when they saw Yang Cheng push open the door of the locker room and walk in, they stood up one by one, involuntarily looking at him as if they had grasped a life-saving straw. At this moment, he finally understood that the main culprit who led to the team being tied was himself.
At this moment, Yang Cheng really felt a kind of emotion, because he truly felt the deep dependence on him from the players. He was the soul of this team and the solid backing for everyone.
In every game, no matter how tired or exhausted the players are, as long as they turn their heads, they can see his figure in front of the coach's seat, and then they will once again muster up the strength to throw themselves into the competition. So when one day, they find that the person standing by the field is not him, they will be flustered.
Paul Beyer made adjustments, but they didn't trust him and would wonder in their hearts if the boss would have made the same decision when he was around.
It's this kind of suspicion that led to problems with the team's execution, ultimately leading to the team being forced into a tie by their opponents!
Having thought of this, Yang Cheng suddenly felt ashamed. Fortunately, he had just wanted to scold them a while ago, but now...
"Sorry!" Yang Cheng said loudly, at this moment, he sincerely apologized to every player in the locker room, "I apologize to you all, sorry!"
The players were stunned, and Yang Cheng, who had always been stubborn and refused to admit defeat, actually apologized to them?
But Yang Cheng bit his lip tightly, and one by one, he went through the players' side, hugging each of them, encouraging and affirming them. The whole process seemed extremely long-winded, until he walked a full circle and returned to the middle of the players, standing still before speaking again.
"This game you guys performed flawlessly, couldn't win this game, the responsibility is on me, it's because I was suspended, which almost led to our team losing, so I want to apologize to you all, it was my fault that your 90-minute effort went down the drain, I feel very ashamed!"
"Don't say that, chief!" Bremer exclaimed at once.
Bailong also followed and walked forward, "Yes, boss, don't say that. We never thought it was your fault. On the contrary, we couldn't win this game, and we all felt sorry for you!"
The players nodded one by one, apparently all agreeing with Bellon and Bremer.
"Captain, it's always been you who thinks for us, it's always been you who supports this team. Now we promise you, in the time you're not here, we will go all out and win every match!" Barak said solemnly, gripping Yang Cheng's shoulder tightly.
"Right, head, don't worry, in the next game, we will definitely take down our opponent!" Denilson also clenched his fist.
"I absolutely won't let you down again, boss!" Daisler also guaranteed with a guilty face. If Yang Cheng was the culprit, then everything was for his weakness at that time.
Yang Cheng looked at the faces in front of him, and at this moment, what he saw was not those images etched in his memory, nor were they the superstar names he had only heard but never seen before. Instead, he saw a living, breathing player, a group of comrades who adored him, and in times of crisis, would give him support and help.
"Just as you said, captain, you often taught us that on the football field, we need to know how to sacrifice for our teammates because they will also sacrifice for us when we need it. And all along, it's been you who has been sacrificing for us, now it's our turn to sacrifice for you!"
Braemer stepped forward and came before Yang Cheng, "Comrades, fellow soldiers, you tell me, isn't that right?"
"Right!" The players shouted in unison.
"I represent the team to promise you that we will not lose to any opponent in the future, no matter which game it is, no matter who the opponent is, no matter how hard and tired we are, we will do our best to win every game and absolutely will not let you down again!"
"We will never let you down again!" The players shouted once more.
Yang Cheng suddenly felt a surge of emotion, and tears almost burst out from his eyes, but he held back, choking back sobs, nodding repeatedly.
"Let's hear it first, although I think you can do it!"
One sentence suddenly made the originally tense atmosphere relaxed, and all the players burst out laughing.
…………
…………
Kaiserslautern suffered their first defeat of the season, and naturally, the media shifted all the blame onto Yang Chen's shoulders, believing that Kaiserslautern had become fragile without their head coach, while Yang Chen became synonymous with young and impulsive.
Apart from a few authoritative sports newspapers, almost all other newspapers unanimously blamed Yang Chen. At this time, the Kaiserslautern Free Press, where Gren Nak was employed, once again took on the responsibility of defending Yang Chen. In his column, he severely criticized those with ulterior motives and believed that Kaiserslautern's first defeat of the season proved the importance of Yang Chen to the team.
"Some people say that Kaiserslautern is the city of Caesar, so Kaiserslautern is Caesar's team, and Yang Chen is this team, the Caesar of this city, he is an undisputed authority, he is the soul of this team, without him, how can Kaiserslautern fight, everyone has seen it."
"There is no doubt that in the three league matches where Yang Chen is banned, Kaizer Chiefs will face their toughest schedule this season. However, I think what all Kaizer Chiefs fans should do at this time is not to criticize the team and our coach, but to support the team, support the coach, and welcome back King Yang!"
"I firmly believe that when our Caesar returns to the team, our Kaiser Slautern will become invincible; I firmly believe that we have the ability to defeat all opponents; I even more firmly believe that a Kaiser Slautern led by Caesar has the ability to win any trophy and take down any honor!"
As if in response to Granit Xhaka's column, the fans of Kaiserslautern also appeared in large numbers at the first training session after the match at the Trier training ground. They unfurled banners with various slogans supporting Yang Chen, and even a fan group shouted "Caesar! Caesar!" outside the training ground.
This is the first time the team has given Yang Chen a nickname outside of his name, and it's also his first nickname!
When Yang Cheng saw all this in the training ground, he suddenly had an impulse and came directly to the training ground nearby. Facing the fans outside, he shouted loudly, "I promise you that everything you have done today will be repaid tenfold, a hundredfold! This is my promise to you, Yang Cheng, today!"
The fans suddenly applauded and cheered, because they heard Yang Cheng's firm confidence in this speech!
A week later, Fritz-Walter-Stadion, Kaiserslautern witnessed over 30,000 Red Devils fans on the scene, with a clean 2-0 victory over Stuttgart Kickers, washing away the downturn of the previous round and taking 3 points again.
But in the following week, Kaiserslautern will be away to challenge Jena, a dark horse team that finished second in last season's 2. Bundesliga but has fallen back this season, however they are still strong at home and broke the deadlock in the 9th minute with a cold shot after Yang Chen was absent from the starting lineup.
This was a mistake of Paul Bier's on-the-spot command, conservatively following the tactics arranged by Yang Chen before the game without making adjustments. If Yang Chen were there, with some slight adjustments, perhaps they wouldn't have lost the ball so quickly.
After taking the lead, Jena started a conservative defensive counterattack, while Kaiserslautern continued to apply pressure, especially in the 57th minute of the second half, when Bellon again used a free kick opportunity to score directly and tie the game.
In the following 35 minutes, Kaiser slautern surrounded Jena and launched a fierce attack, but ultimately had little effect, with the score ending in a 1:1 tie.
In the 3 league matches where Yang Chen was absent, Kaiserslautern had 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss, not only breaking their undefeated record this season, but also narrowing the gap with second-placed Hertha Berlin.
But after the match against Jena, Kaiserslautern fans were generally upbeat because their Kaiser had finally returned!