Being eliminated early from the German Cup was not an unacceptable outcome for Wolfsburg.
Instead, it felt like fate.
This meant they only had to focus on the League and Champions League campaigns!
However, the loss suffered by the entirely rotated squad made Dieter Hecking realize one thing:
Even when rotating, he could not rotate the entire team!
Fortunately, after bringing in several strong reinforcements this season, the squad was robust and well-equipped.
Wolfsburg's main tactical formation this season still utilized the 4-2-3-1 from last season.
And in terms of deployment, Dieter Hecking had more options with the addition of several new players.
For instance, regarding the defensive midfield pairing, if the opponent was strong, he could arrange for Gustavo and Guilavogui to partner up, increasing the midfield's steeliness.
Compared to Arnold, the French international Guilavogui had stronger defensive capabilities.
He was tall and strong; his defensive interception and aerial ability were both outstanding.
If the opponent was weaker, he could arrange for the combination of Gustavo and Arnold to play simultaneously.
As for the young Belgium player Malanda, he remained a regular rotation option.
Besides the changes in the defensive midfield pairings, the team also had abundant resources and combinations available for the two wing positions.
Although Mark, who started in the German Supercup, performed excellently on the right wing.
He not only repeatedly tore apart the opponent's left-side defense but also scored a spectacular goal.
However, when playing on the right, Mark mostly chose to cross after beating his man.
This wasted his individual ability to attack the goal directly!
Furthermore, De Bruyne's playing habit was also to drift wide to the right before delivering his trademark curving crosses.
If both players were crossing from the right, their positions would overlap, and the tactical approach and intent would become too obvious.
And on the World Cup stage, Mark had already proven the lethality of playing as an inverted left winger through his performance.
Especially in training, Mark had demonstrated improvement in his finishing ability.
Although his technique for cutting inside and curling the shot after dribbling on the left was still not perfect—sometimes he pushed the ball slightly too far, or his shot went wide.
However, his attacking moves on the left reminded Dieter Hecking of the pitch wizard from Barça and the Portugal superstar from Real Madrid!
Compared to Ronaldinho, Mark still had some gaps in vision and passing;
Compared to Cristiano Ronaldo, Mark's goal-scoring instinct and long-range shooting also needed improvement.
Nevertheless, he already possessed the ability to change the course of a match single-handedly!
Even if Perišić performed well on the left, he still lagged behind Mark.
Therefore, after consideration, Dieter Hecking decided to make the small sacrifice of switching Perišić's flank, both for Mark and for the team.
For the two-footed Perišić, he could play equally well on the right, and not only could he cross, but he could also cut inside to shoot.
This way, when Perišić was making runs or cutting inside from the right flank, he could help draw defensive attention away from De Bruyne, who was drifting wide, thereby creating more space for crosses!
Neither Mark nor Perišić had any objection to this decision to switch flanks.
In Dieter Hecking's tactical system, the two wingers were never restricted to a single style of play; the unpredictable and diverse attacking methods of the wingers were a key reason why Wolfsburg finished third last season!
As time passed, the eve of the Bundesliga opening match quickly arrived.
In the team's tactics room, Dieter Hecking announced the starting lineup:
In the goalkeeper position, due to Captain Benaglio's absence with a cold, Grün, who once guarded Bayern's goal for seven years, was starting;
The back four were Sebastian Jung, Naldo, Knoche, and Ricardo Rodriguez;
The double defensive midfield pairing was Gustavo partnering Guilavogui;
The two wingers, Mark and Perišić, were on the left and right, respectively, with De Bruyne dictating play centrally;
The lone striker was the team's top scorer from last season, Olić!
Although De Vrij's ability was clearly superior to Knoche's, the latter was a genuine homegrown youth product and could be given more time.
As for De Vrij, it would not be too late to promote him to the starting eleven once he had slowly adapted to the team's tactics and the Bundesliga atmosphere.
Following the starting lineup, there was a seven-man substitute list.
De Vrij, Dost, Hunt, Arnold, Vieirinha, Caligiuri...
Looking at Wolfsburg's 18-man roster, Mark couldn't help but sigh internally:
They were strong and well-equipped!
The next day, morning.
The Wolfsburg players boarded the team bus and traveled south to Munich in Bavaria.
As the team arrived at the Allianz Arena, the press conference followed immediately.
Typically, the team captain accompanies the head coach to the pre-match press conference.
However, as the focal point of the new season's opening match, Mark was arranged to attend alongside Head Coach Dieter Hecking.
As Wolfsburg's most valuable player and a homegrown talent with a German passport, Mark's standing within the team was now vastly different.
Moreover, he was the player who generated the most buzz within the team!
As a club owned by the Volkswagen Group, Wolfsburg's primary business interest was selling cars.
The better the club's performance, the higher the traffic, attention, and exposure, the higher their brand visibility, and naturally, car sales would also increase.
Therefore, they were more willing to push Mark into the spotlight to attract more attention.
Of course, besides these related interests, during contract renewal negotiations with the club, Raiola had demanded that the club promote Mark as the face of the club, increasing his exposure as much as possible.
Following Dieter Hecking into the media room, the clicking sounds of camera shutters immediately flashed and sounded.
As the opening match of the new Bundesliga season, and the first clash between two title contenders, the media naturally did not miss such an opening spectacle.
After taking their seats, the media reporters began asking questions.
"Hello, Dieter (Hecking), I would like to ask, what is the team's goal for this season?"
"We have certainly set a goal, and that is to play well in every single match!"
As an experienced head coach, Dieter Hecking was perfectly at ease when answering reporters' questions.
Seeing that Dieter Hecking was only giving very formal answers, the reporters shifted their attention to Mark, who was sitting beside him.
"Hello, Mark! I am a reporter from Bild..."
"Last season you performed excellently in the Bundesliga, helping the team finish third. Could you tell us about your personal goals for the new season?"
And Mark did not disappoint them: "My goal is simple, to help the team win the championship!"
As soon as he said this, not only did the clicking of shutters resume in the media room, but even Dieter Hecking, sitting next to him, looked slightly surprised.
In his impression, Mark was not usually such an outspoken and dominant personality.
"Are you saying the team's goal is to compete for the title?"
Facing the reporter's expectant gaze, Mark smiled again, then changed the subject: "The team is the team, and I am me. As a professional player, my goals have always been victory and championships."
"If you don't play football for victory and championships, why play at all?!"
Hearing this, the reporter wanted to ask more, but the press officer raised a hand to stop him: "Next question!"
Another reporter stood up: "I am a reporter from the Munich Daily. Facing defending champions Bayern Munich in the League opener, do you think the team has a chance to get points at the Allianz Arena?"
Facing this clearly provocative question, Mark simply smiled slightly: "You seem to have forgotten something... We just defeated them!"
"It is certain that this will be a difficult match. But as long as we stand united, we are confident in doing something special."
"Since we can defeat them once, we can defeat them a second time!"
And this quote appeared on the front page of the Munich Daily!
Many Bayern fans who saw the news rushed to Mark's social media account and began furiously criticizing him: "Last time we just let you win; do you really think you're a big deal now?"
"It was just a small Supercup, why are you getting so cocky?!"
"We are waiting for you at the Allianz!"
And Wolfsburg fans immediately counterattacked in the comment section: "Let them win? You lost, just admit it, stop making excuses..."
"We know you Bayern fans are noble; you don't even care about the Supercup trophy anymore..."
Amidst the fan war, Bayern Captain Lahm also responded to the matter during a media interview: "Mark is a very good player. But Bayern is not so easily defeated!"
As both sides completed their pre-match warm-ups and fans streamed into the stadium, the Allianz Arena quickly became packed.
"Welcome to Sky Sports' live broadcast of the 2014–15 Bundesliga opening match..."
"Bayern Munich is hosting Wolfsburg..."
"This is the second meeting between the two teams within ten days!"
"In their last encounter, Wolfsburg defeated Bayern two-nil in the German Supercup match..."
"Let's first look at the starting lineups for both sides..."
The atmosphere at the Allianz Arena was incredibly lively.
Tens of thousands of Bayern fans sang "Stern des Südens" (Star of the South) to cheer on their team.
As the singing filtered into the players' tunnel, both sets of players lined up, ready to walk out.
For this match, Bayern was still dealing with an injury-depleted squad to face the visiting Wolfsburg.
Due to Jérôme Boateng's suspension for this match, coupled with Ribéry, "Little Pig" Schweinsteiger, Javi Martínez, Thiago, and Rafinha all sidelined with injuries, several key players were unavailable for the team.
This was definitely good news for Wolfsburg.
There were also many Germany National Team players in the Bayern squad.
Seeing Lahm walk out first, Mark proactively greeted the former National Team captain: "Philipp..."
"Mark..."
This dual Germany and Bayern captain announced his retirement from the National Team after leading German Team to the world cup trophy.
Such a decision to retire at the peak of his career commanded respect.
Not everyone had such great awareness... Just as Mark and Lahm were exchanging pleasantries, a hand patted Mark's right shoulder.
Mark turned to his right, but saw no one.
Just then, he heard a familiar, triumphant laugh from his left.
"Thomas!"
The one who enjoyed playing such jokes was naturally "Er Wa Müller" Thomas Müller!
After shaking hands and bumping shoulders with Müller, Mark heard him say: "I heard you plan to beat us a second time?"
Raising an eyebrow, Mark pretended not to understand, "There's such a thing? Who told you that?"
Müller immediately punched Mark lightly on the chest and challenged him with a chin flick: "Then let's see you try!"
"I'll try! Bring it on!"
After greeting several National Team teammates, Mark returned to the back of the line.
Following closely, led by the referee, both sets of players stepped onto the pitch!
The moment he stepped onto the pitch, Mark heard the system notification ring out in his mind:
[Ding!]
[Season Goal Updated!]
[Season: 2014–15]
[Team: Wolfsburg]
[Goal: Create forty goals (goals and assists) this season!]
[Reward: Random Star Player Card]
[Ding!]
[Detected that the host has obtained three championship trophies and has passed the beginner protection period.]
[Match Mission System has been closed!]
[If the host wishes to continue obtaining potential points, please complete the corresponding season missions!]
As the match mission panel disappeared, it was replaced by the season mission list, which now contained many new tasks:
Such as scoring ten goals in the season, delivering ten assists, winning ten Man of the Match awards, completing one brace or hat-trick, etc... Completing the corresponding season missions would yield corresponding potential point rewards.
Hearing the system notification, Mark couldn't help but mutter internally: "There was actually a beginner protection period?!"
"So the system previously thought I was still weak, which is why it rewarded potential points based on performance in every match..."
"Wait, why do I feel like I'm playing a video game..."
However, compared to the guaranteed rewards that could usually be achieved in every match, the season missions were significantly more difficult.
Clearly, the system was motivating him to deliver better performances!
Only by doing so could he obtain more potential points and become stronger!
The new season goal made Mark's mouth twitch; it was a bit hard to handle.
"Creating forty goals in a single season? That's giving me too much credit, isn't it?!"
It should be known that in the entire football world, the number of players capable of creating forty or more goals in a single season was extremely small!
Aside from the two monsters, Messi and Ronaldo, this was something only the top stars in the five major Leagues could possibly achieve.
He had to admit, the system really thought highly of him!
However, last season he had made nineteen appearances across all competitions, delivering an excellent report card of ten goals and eight assists.
An efficiency rate of nearly one goal created per game!
Even maintaining last season's astonishing efficiency, he would still need to play forty matches to achieve the feat of creating forty goals in a single season!
Of course, if he scored a brace or contributed a goal and an assist in a single match, the number of games required would be reduced accordingly.
Nevertheless, looking at this season's goal, Mark suddenly felt his blood boil!
Forty goals? So what?!
I am a man with a cheat system!!
And I am a man aiming for the Ballon d'Or!!!
In the era of Messi and Ronaldo, setting aside the mandatory championship honors, individual statistics were also essential.
At the very least, creating forty goals in a single season was the prerequisite to compete with the two GOATs for the Ballon d'Or!
Thinking of this, Mark's gaze suddenly sharpened:
If that's the case, then let's start with the Bundesliga overlords, Bayern!