Vol 2 Chapter 49: A preview of the league championship?

With the decision of the UEFA Champions League top 16 teams, before UEFA's official draw for the knockout rounds, the bookmaker first updated the latest winning odds of the 16 teams.
According to common sense, Schalke 04, who has made a strong six-game winning streak, should not be underestimated, but gaming companies are more "conservative" because of the huge interests involved. Schalke 04's odds are 1 to 25, ranking In the third, Manchester United and Barcelona ranked ahead of Schalke with 1 loss 15 and 1 loss 2 respectively. The odds rankings of Ladbrokes and bwin are the same, but the specific odds are slightly lower.
Obviously, the bookmaker is still more optimistic about the defending champion and the La Liga Dream Team that has created two generations of dynasties. Although the group stage has a double play Liverpool performance, but the bookmaker is not very optimistic about Schalke 04 can resist the real super first-class giants.
However, the German media was simply too lazy to take a positive look at such predictions. The Germanic victories of fighting spirit stemmed from fighting. In the latest issue of "Kicker" magazine, the sentence printed on the cover is clear: Do Ferguson and Guardiola dare to say that they will win Schalke?
This sentence is emboldened, but if Sloemka knows, it is estimated that the first thing he thinks about is the crow mouth of the editor-in-chief of the torn magazine-he does not want to verify the authenticity of this question in advance before entering the quarterfinals...
The draw for the Round of 16 is between a week after the Bundesliga winter break, and there is still a key league match in the first half: Schalke 04 to challenge Stuttgart away.
Slomka has a full estimate of the difficulty of this game. Zhou Tiancheng just resumed the ball training just two days ago, and there is definitely still some distance away from his normal state. But he still issued a kill order to everyone.
Stuttgart needs this victory to narrow the points and continue to follow the pace of the leader. And Schalke 04 needs a victory to ensure a successful half-time championship.
Before the team went to Stuttgart, each player received a gift from the club: a video disc of all their games during the group stage. Club director Helt personally went to the training ground and handed it to everyone, and showed the club's intentions: "Boys, you set our Schalke record. Your performance this year in the group stage is enough for all Schalke people to remember , You must share one of these game videos.
Everyone was pleasantly surprised, but Zhou Tiancheng was empty-handed, and Hevedus was also very strange: "Hey, Zhou, what about you?"
"How do I know?" Zhou Tiancheng spread his hands and looked at Helt with questioning eyes.
Heilte certainly understood Zhou Tiancheng's meaning, not much to say, only to say: "Zhou, you come with me."
Zhou Tiancheng could only follow Helt to his office indifferently.
Helt took a small bag from his desk to Zhou Tiancheng, Zhou Tiancheng looked at it, exactly the same as the discs received by other teammates, but he was two copies.
"Zhou, it was inconvenient to give it to you just now. The club cut out all your goals and assists in the group stage, so you have one more set than them."
Zhou Tian established Ma Ke's airway: "You have the heart. I just complete the task assigned by the coach and do my job well."
Helt replied with a smile: "You're right, but it's rare to be able to do your job as well as you do. It's rare. Close it up. You will find that this is also a rare memory."
Zhou Tiancheng focused on the head, this practice of the club made him feel warm. At this time, he thought that his agent Loka had reminded him that Schalke did not pay much attention to the young people he cultivated, and often used them as a tool for selling cash. Zhou Tiancheng now feels that the bigger reason is that those who are being sold are not strong enough.
...
Since winning the championship two seasons ago, Stuttgart's current "Young Guards" have become a clear stream in the Bundesliga. However, Stuttgart withstood the digging of many teams, leaving most of these winning champions. Now the coach Amin Fei's team, this new and old combination, is very difficult to deal with. Hedira, Hitzlsperger, Bolaruz, Boka are all young and dynamic players, and Gomez has already played an important role in the German team's front line. In the goalkeeper position, they signed Lehman as a free body before this season, and the German goalkeeper returned to the Bundesliga freely. This is his first time facing the old club.
Zhou Tiancheng had just recovered from his injury, and Sloemka intended to make him buffer another half, but he took the initiative to fight before the game and showed good running ability again in the team confrontation. After consulting with team doctor Lahota, Slomka placed him on the starting list.
Stuttgart sits at home. In fact, their overall performance is better than Schalke 04. Zhou Tiancheng is still affected by the return of his injury. The whole game is not as active as the opponent's midfielder Samihdila. However, Schalke 04 ushered in a turning point with a penalty, Zhou Tiancheng took the initiative to apply for twelve yards, facing the club's predecessor Lehman on the wall of honor. Zhou Tiancheng used an ingenious spoon to help the team win away.
When he walked into the goal to pick up the ball, Lehman called him next to him. The two clapped each other in a tacit understanding. Lehman looked at the young man with relief. Although he has played for both teams in the Ruhr area, his feelings for Schalke 04, who gave him his first professional contract, are very special.
"Lieman sees the current week and estimates that he thinks of his nineteen-year-old."
At the age of nineteen, Lehman was far less beautiful than Zhou Tiancheng's. At that time, he was just a young goalkeeper of the "German second team" Schalke 04.
While Lehman lamented that the Yangtze River was pushing back and forth, Zhou Tiancheng was also looking forward to when he could reach the height of this old cannon.
...
In the end, the key battle ended with Schalke's 1:0 win~EbookFREE.me~ Schalke beats Berlin Hertha 1:0 in the last two games before the start of the winter break, 1:1 After a draw with Hoffenheim, Schalke ended the half with 11 wins, 5 draws and one loss with a score of 38 points to win the half-time champion. After a lapse of a season, he once again led the way.
All major newspaper tabloids in Gelsenkirchen optimistically predict that Schalke should really claim the championship this year. According to professional company statistics, the Bundesliga half-time champion has a 70% chance of winning the final league crown.
However, not all Bundesliga experts believe that Schalke will definitely win the championship. In addition, the 30% accident happened two years before Schalke.
Moreover, as soon as the winter window transfer period opens, any changes can happen. A moneyless owner like Bayern will be willing to give the league championship to the top four teams? Obviously no.
Everyone is watching whether the Schalke 04, which has been relying on its own production and selling itself, will make a few big moves for the championship.
To put it bluntly, if you want to be a champion, you will not only see the strength of the players and the formation of the coaches, but also the thickness of the money bag.