The pace of the match became exceptionally tense right at the start of the second half.
Sandhausen was not content with a draw; they gradually increased their offensive pressure.
In particular, the midfield core, Meyer, whose distribution and precise passing significantly amplified the defensive pressure on Munich 1860.
Meanwhile, Sandhausen’s Forward, Lucas, whose agile movement, and defender Robacz’s fierce interceptions, made it difficult for Munich 1860’s counterattacks to unfold smoothly.
The game proceeded to the 53rd minute when Sandhausen earned a corner kick opportunity.
The home fans erupted in thunderous cheers, their encouragement rising wave upon wave, seemingly portending an imminent breakthrough.
Meyer walked to the corner spot, carefully observing Munich 1860’s defensive positioning, and used hand signals to direct his teammates’ runs.
“Meyer is about to take the corner!
His footwork has always been precise.
This is a great chance for Sandhausen; let’s see what happens!” The commentator’s voice was filled with anticipation.
The corner kick was delivered, the ball tracing a perfect arc straight towards the far post.
Lucas, like a predator cheetah, skillfully shook off the defender marking him, leaped, headed, and powerfully struck the ball toward the goal.
The ball sped incredibly fast; 1860’s goalkeeper, Elias, lunged with all his might to save it, but the ball still flew into the net.
“Gooooal!
Lucas!
Sandhausen breaks the deadlock, leveling the score at 1-1!” The commentator’s excitement echoed amidst the cheers throughout the stadium.
“This was a perfect header!
Lucas demonstrated his extremely high football IQ and finishing skill!
Meyer is also a key contributor!” The home fans celebrated wildly; almost the entire grandstand erupted.
Lucas was surrounded by his teammates, waving his fists with a confident smile on his face.
The players of Munich 1860, however, looked somewhat dejected, especially Levent, who stood at the edge of the penalty area, shaking his head with his gaze lowered, seemingly blaming himself for not marking Lucas closely enough.
On the sidelines, Adrian Vandenberg calmly observed everything without showing any anxiety.
He quickly summoned a few players to the sideline to quickly set up tactics, while issuing instructions: “Levent, stick tight to Meyer!
Don’t let him pass easily.
The back line must tighten up; don’t give them chances to shoot through the middle!
Be more aggressive in tackling on the flanks and take back control of the rhythm!” Adrian Vandenberg’s voice was loud; even amidst the noisy stadium, it was clearly distinguishable.
The players quickly adjusted their positions upon hearing this.
Levent nodded, refocused his spirit, and responded to the coach’s instructions with actual action.
He did not want to leave a bad impression on Adrian Vandenberg.
The match progressed to the 75th minute, and Munich 1860 gradually found their rhythm again.
Levent’s tight marking successfully restricted Meyer’s range of movement, and Munich 1860 gradually gained the upper hand in midfield.
At this moment, Sandhausen’s attack was successfully intercepted, and Levent quickly gained possession.
He did not rush to pass; instead, he used his strong body to shield the ball, waiting for teammates to make runs.
A few seconds later, he suddenly changed direction, shook off a pursuing player, and then drove Forward, carrying the ball straight toward Sandhausen’s penalty area.
“Levent!
He’s accelerating!
His dribbling is incredibly stable; this is a very threatening attack!” The commentator’s voice was filled with tension.
At this point, Stefan made a high-speed run from the right flank.
Levent keenly captured this opportunity and sent a precise diagonal pass to Stefan’s feet.
Stefan controlled the ball, adjusted, and decisively shot; the ball headed straight for the lower left corner of the goal!
“Gooooal!
Stefan!
Lightning Stefan!
Munich 1860 takes the lead again!” The commentator nearly shouted himself hoarse.
“That combination play was brilliant!
Levent’s breakthrough and assist were perfect, and Stefan’s shot was decisive without any hesitation!” Because of his excellent attacking performance in the previous few matches, the fans had given Stefan the nickname ‘Lightning Stefan.’ The Munich 1860 fans on the sidelines immediately erupted in celebration, raising their hands, waving their team scarves, and celebrating this crucial goal with synchronized chants.
Adrian Vandenberg also clenched his fist and shouted loudly toward Stefan and Levent on the field: “Well done!
Keep the rhythm steady, don’t give the opponent a chance to counter!” After the goal, Adrian Vandenberg immediately made tactical adjustments.
He stood on the sideline, waving his hands to signal the players to draw their defensive lines back.
“Alright, guys!
Don’t push up too high now!
Prioritize defense, maintain the advantage, control the midfield, and don’t give them easy shooting opportunities!” He repeatedly issued instructions to ensure every player clearly understood the next task.
Munich 1860’s formation became tighter.
Sandhausen attempted several breakthroughs down the flanks, but all were stopped by the quickly retreating defenders.
As Adrian Vandenberg directed, Levent’s thinking became clearer.
He not only acted as a shield in midfield but also successfully intercepted the opponent’s passes multiple times.
Sandhausen launched several dangerous attacks in the final stages of the match, but Munich 1860’s unified defense sent them away empty-handed.
When the final whistle blew, the score was fixed at 2-1, and Munich 1860 successfully secured the precious three points.
“Undoubtedly, this was a tough battle.
Compared to the two previous big wins, this match put immense pressure on 1860, but Adrian Vandenberg and his players withstood the pressure!” The commentator concluded, “Levent’s performance was commendable.
Although there is still a gap compared to Florian, he still played quite well.” The visiting team’s fans on the sidelines applauded vigorously, cheering for the players’ performance.
Some even chanted Adrian Vandenberg’s name, expressing their support for the young head coach.
“Winning streak!
Winning streak!
1860 has another winning streak!” “Adrian!
Adrian!
1860’s genius coach, Adrian!” The fans chanted the new slogan they had come up with for Adrian Vandenberg.
Even though they were playing away, their momentum was in no way weaker than the home fans.
Adrian Vandenberg turned and sincerely thanked the 1860 fans in the away section, even signing an autograph for an enthusiastic young fan in the front row.
It must be said that although Adrian Vandenberg was now a coach, his fame had already surpassed that of the players on the team.
Next, he walked over to the players, high-fived them one by one, while comforting those team members who had made minor mistakes during the match.
The players returned to the locker room one after another, most with the joy of victory on their faces, but Levent’s expression was mixed with some self-doubt.
Although he had a crucial assist, his overall performance throughout the match was not entirely stable.
Just as he was taking off his shin guards to enter the locker room, Adrian Vandenberg walked over and signaled for him to talk.
“Levent, come over here.
I want to talk to you about today’s performance.” Adrian Vandenberg’s tone was gentle, but considerably more serious than usual.
The two walked to the substitutes’ bench by the field, and Adrian Vandenberg looked at Levent, getting straight to the point.
“Let’s start with the overall picture.
That assist was beautiful; you judged the timing and power of your pass perfectly.
That was a key moment.
But overall, how do you feel you played today?” Levent hesitated for a moment and said in a low voice.
“I felt a bit messy.
There were a few defensive positioning errors.” Adrian Vandenberg nodded: “It’s good that you realize these things.
Indeed, when facing the pressure from Sandhausen’s midfield today, you appeared somewhat unsettled.
For example, right after the start, when you were marking Meyer, you were too close to him a few times, resulting in him easily beating you with a simple turn or lateral movement.
This is a basic defensive principle—don’t let the opponent easily dictate the attacking rhythm, especially against a technically skilled player like Meyer.” “Then how should I adjust, Coach?” Levent asked seriously.
“You need to control your footwork tempo.
The more you face a technically brilliant trickster, the more you must steady your own mindset, instead of letting the opponent lead you around.
Players like Meyer fear most when you cut off their passing options, rather than directly challenging for the ball at their feet.
Maintain a defensive distance of two or three steps, use your body to block his passing lanes, and force him toward the sideline, rather than letting him easily find teammates in the center.” Adrian Vandenberg gestured the defensive positioning shape while speaking.
Levent nodded: “Understood, Coach.
What about my performance in the second half?” Adrian Vandenberg continued, “In the second half, I noticed your passing accuracy was good, but your decision-making was sometimes slightly hesitant.
For instance, in the 65th minute, after you won the tackle and pushed Forward, Stefan had already signaled for a run, but you took an extra touch, which gave the opponent a chance to close down.” Levent lowered his head, looking somewhat regretful, while also feeling admiration for Adrian Vandenberg.
Everything he said was accurate; those extra movements were still vivid in his memory.
“Yes, Coach, you are absolutely right.
I was indeed hesitant at that moment.” “Don’t blame yourself; this is very normal.
Making quick decisions is a rare talent in itself,” Adrian Vandenberg comforted him.
“In comparison, Florian would be more decisive in such situations.
His strengths lie in his keen judgment of space and off-the-ball movement.
He knows when to pass and when to handle the ball himself.
This is also an area you need to learn.
The speed and accuracy of your decision-making are currently the biggest gap between you and him.” Levent looked up and asked thoughtfully: “Then how can I improve in this area?” Adrian Vandenberg smiled: “Watch more match footage; that is the simplest and fastest way.
Especially the games of top midfielders like Kroos and Modric.
Watch how they assess the situation and how they make correct choices in tight spaces.
In future training, I will also arrange more small-sided cooperation and quick decision-making drills for you; this will be very helpful for your improvement.” Levent nodded firmly, his eyes full of gratitude.
Before Adrian Vandenberg arrived, the previous coach had never pointed out these specific issues to him.
“Thank you, Coach.
I will work hard.” Adrian Vandenberg patted his shoulder, his tone encouraging: “Levent, I have high hopes for you.
Your physical condition, technical ability, and attitude in the game are all very good, and your potential is not bad either.
As long as you can polish these details, I believe you will become an important member of our team.
I will try to give every player a chance to perform this season, so fight for it well.” A flicker of gratitude and fighting spirit flashed in Levent’s eyes.
“Coach, I definitely won’t let you down!” Adrian Vandenberg smiled slightly and patted his shoulder again.
“Good.
With you saying that, I am relieved.
Keep it up.” After the match, Adrian Vandenberg returned home, sat at his desk, and opened the interface of his FM System, wanting to check the recent growth status of the players in detail.
As the screen finished loading, the familiar interface came into view, and the players’ ability data was displayed one by one on the profile cards.
He clicked on Stefan’s profile, and the first thing that caught his eye was the change in his speed attributes: Stefan: Speed: 16 → 17 Acceleration: 15 → 16 Off the Ball Movement: 14 → 15 Adrian Vandenberg nodded with satisfaction: “Stefan performed very well in several sprints during the match, especially that burst of acceleration when receiving Levent’s pass.
It indeed shows that both his speed and positioning awareness have improved.” Next, he switched to Florian’s page: Florian: Finishing: 13 → 14 Ball Control: 16 → 17 Decision Making: 20 (Maxed Out) Vision: 17 → 18 Seeing that his Decision Making ability had reached the maximum value of 20, Adrian Vandenberg couldn’t help but laugh: “As expected of the team’s midfield brain.
This ability to read the game and decisive decision-making is what sets him apart from others on the field.
It seems the recent efforts in small-sided confrontations and quick passing control training were not in vain.” Then, he clicked on Stojković’s data panel: Stojković: Strength: 15 → 16 Aggression: 14 → 15 Tackling: 16 (Unchanged) Adrian Vandenberg noticed that Stojković’s Aggression attribute had increased by 1 point, and his Strength had also improved.
He murmured softly: “Stojković’s Aggression has always been key to our defense.
The effect of high-pressure tackling training during this period is very obvious.
Next, perhaps we can focus on improving his short passing ability.” He browsed the data of some other players and found that the team’s overall training effectiveness was quite good.
The top left corner of the system interface displayed the comprehensive evaluation of recent training: “Overall Performance: Excellent”.
Adrian Vandenberg clicked on the team training report, and the system automatically summarized several key areas for improvement, including: Teamwork Ability Average Increase: 0.5 (All Players) Stamina Endurance Average Increase: 0.7 (All Players) Significant Improvement in Technical Ability of Key Position Players (Stefan, Florian) Adrian Vandenberg satisfied closed the interface and muttered to the screen: “The recent training schedule was very successful, but we cannot relax.
In the next phase, we still need to focus on strengthening the passing and control abilities of the defensive players, as well as the acceleration and crossing accuracy of the wingers.” Looking at the improvement data from the system, Adrian Vandenberg felt immensely gratified.
As a coach, he knew these small improvements would bring about a qualitative change in the upcoming matches.
Every increase in data was the crystallization of the sweat shed by the players on the training ground, and proof of the entire team’s hard work.
He re-planned the training schedule for the following week, filled with confidence in the team’s future.
— T/N: DONATE POWER STONES