Leverkusen: Changing Destiny

Chapter 1: Destiny or Living in a Shadow?
My mother said that she could see the Bay Arena from her hospital room on the day that I was born. She told me that it was because of this that she knew I would one day wear the colours of Die Werkself. Considering how everything turned out, I'm sure she wishes that she was in a different room.

Representing Leverkusen was supposed to be my destiny. I joined the youth academy in 1998 and represented the team at every level until 2008. This is when I started training with the first team. Many thought I would not make it to this level because of my small build. I was put on a strict diet and took growth hormones every day since I was promoted to the u14's. I had the ability, I had the potential, but would my size hinder me? The next 4 years were difficult, but the hormones helped. Eventually, at the start of the 2008/2009 season, I was moved to the first team. My chance had finally arrived. Playing as an attacking midfielder in a team that included Toni Kroos, Arturo Vidal, and Renato Augusto was intimidating and illuminating. The Brazilian Renato Augusto took me under his wing because apparently my playing style reminded me of somebody he played with in Brazil when he was younger. He even nicknamed me "Lylinho", I thought as a reference to my apparent Brazilian joga bonito style, not knowing it simply meant "Little Lyle". The name and the lessons stuck and I will forever be grateful to Renato. He was even the first person to call me when I got sick.

I only made a handful of appearances in my debut season, including a few appearances in the run up to the DFB-Pokal Final. In usual Leverkusen style, we did fell to Werder Bremen. I had no complaints, I only thought of the future. Learning from Renato Augusto, Kroos, and Vidal would make me stronger and better for the next season, and then finally Die Werkself would win that ever elusive title. It was during a routine fitness test in the 2009/2010 preseason training that I passed out during a cardio training exercise. Doctors discovered that I had complete kidney failure. The years of growth hormones had decimated. I won't go into the details but that season was spent waiting for an organ donor, surgeries, and rehab. I managed to survive but my career would not. The club doctor who had been treating me since 2004 resigned. The board felt that since it was partly their fault I was in this predicament, they would do everything they could to help me. That is how I landed a coaching job with the u18's. I had been there for 5 years when suddenly the club was in turmoil. Leverkusen had finished 12th in the 2016/17 season and the manager, Roger Schmidt, and most of his staff were sacked in March. The caretaker manager, Tayfun Korkut needed an assistant  manager. He turned to me.

Suddenly I was sitting on the bench, staring at the grass where I had once played so few matches. I never expected to be back there so soon or in that manner. However, life for Leverkusen did not improve much after Korkut was appointed. More terrible results followed and eventually the fans started boycotting home games. The Ultras started following players and staff home, sending numerous threatening messages. Korkut woke up one morning with 3 of his wheels slashed, and a group of ultras standing just down the road posting videos of his reaction on Facebook Live. For some strange reason, they never came after me though. I guess they still saw me as one of their own. At the end of the season, I guess they still saw me as one their own. 

It was late June when I received a phone call from Michael Schade, the Chairman of Leverkusen. This is it, I thought, my brief time as assistant manager was up. What was I thinking could happen, after all I had only been a coach for the youth team for a years and had barely scraped through my license badges. Once again, my time at Leverkusen was surely over before it truly even started. Filled with dread, I answered the call. Schade invited me down to the Bay Arena for a meeting. It was going to end at the place I hold most sacred. My apartment is only 3km from the stadium, so well before the 2pm meeting time, I decided to walk. It was a mild summer afternoon, only a few clouds in the sky. Ironic, that I would be fired on such a beautiful day. As I walked the same road that thousands of fans walked before every home match, I was contemplating my future. Maybe there was a team in the lower leagues that could use an inexperienced manager like myself. Suddenly, I was in front of the boardroom door, hesitant to go through. It was stupid really, since the all the walls were glass, and I caught a glimpse of Michael staring at me with a bemused smile on face. This man that had helped me through such a difficult time was going to fire me with a smile on his face! I did not even notice that Korkut was not in the room. I stepped through the door, sweat already beading on my forehead.

In a matter of a few short hours, I had suddenly been presented to the media as the new manager of Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Schade told me that the board had met with all the stakeholders, including a few of the ultra fan groups, and it was decided that Korkut needed to go, and that he had to be replaced by someone who embodies the essence of Die Werkself. Somehow, that lead them to me. After all the press briefings, contract signing, photoshoot, and a meeting outlining expectations for the forthcoming season, I was on the way back home to my apartment.



Even though it was late I knew that I would not sleep, I was way too excited. That is when I noticed the group of fans, standing just across from my apartment building. They wore the red and black, but with skimasks to hide their faces. It was time to confront my first group of ultras as manager. Nervously, I walked up to them and introduced myself. They were silent. Then, without saying a word, they unfolded a flag that simply read "ONE OF US". I guess that was a vote of confidence. The next day I drove to the training ground to prepare for our preseason. Changes were going to be made. 

Excellent to see another story start. Looking forward to following this, @Lylinho.

Thanks bro. Hopefully it goes well and the story can continue for a while.

Chapter 2: Planning to Fail?



That is the squad that I was given to work with. Not bad, but there are a few changes that would have to be made before the new season started. The first thing I did was secure the brilliant youngsters we have on longer contracts. Bayern and the other big European clubs would surely be gunning for my starlets. Kai Haverts, Julian Brandt, Tin Jedvaj, Benjamin Henrichs, Jonathan Tah, and Kevin Volland all signed new contracts during the preseason. However, two key players, Aranguiz and Bellarabi were subject to transfer bids from Manchester City and Bayern Munich respectively. Had the money been right, I would have let them go. I am here to focus on the youth. Rejecting the low transfer bids was a mistake. The players wanted to leave and looked likely to cause a dressing room revolt before we had even played a single competitive match. I promised both of them that should an acceptable bid materialise, they would be allowed to transfer. But then I would need replacements. But first we would need to see where the team needed improvement and which players did not fit my tactical system.

Disaster struck early. We lost our opening friendly at home to Celtic (3-4) and a fixture away at Paris FC (1-3). Granted, there were many players still on vacation and a few injured, but I was devastated. This did not bode well for the long season ahead. There was no strength in depth, and quite frankly I could see what went wrong in the previous season. That is why, on the 11th of July, we signed Diego Reyes from FC Porto for £2,9million. Daylight robbery honestly. He would be a perfect partner for either Sven Bender or Jonathan Tah. He was followed through the door by Dennis Praet, Maximiliano Romero, Patrick Kammerbauer, and unbelievable we managed to sign Angel Correa on loan, all before the end of July. We even agree a deal for a promising striker name Kuki to join at the beginning of next season to replace the ageing Stefan Kiessling. Hopefully I still have this job by then, I would really love to manage that kid because I have heard from many reputable scouting sources that he is a genius.



As the team gelled and the transfer rolled in, the results became more acceptable. A couple of good results against Red Star Belgrade and SV Horn showed me that our coaching strategies and the tactics were working well. We did not concede a lot of goals, Sven and Diego were building up a solid partnership in the middle of defence. Romero was linking up well with Volland, and Praet took to the team like a duck to water. Everything was going according to plan.

I had my first competitive match as manager of Leverkusen in DFB-Pokal 1st Round. We were drawn against BFC Dynamo. Secretly, I was relieved that my first match would be in a tiny stadium away from home. If it all went south, I could escape. Maybe flee to the Netherlands or France before those ultras got hold of me. In truth it was an easy match. Romero scored twice on his debut, slightly justifying his transfer. Volland and Havertz have been injured, which means that Romero and Correa will be starting the next match. I wanted to slowly introduce the new players into the squad, but this is now my only option. Most of the strikers are injured and Alario is unavailable due to legal issues between Leverkusen, Fifa, and his previous club River Plate. He might not even play before January. 

The first league match was at home. The Gods of Football have peculiar sense of humour, and they are merciless. We would be playing against Gladbach, one week before we visit Schalke. The phrase baptism by fire doesn't even cut it. Maybe balefire is a more appropriate term. Nerves were high going into the Gladbach match, and the team did not yet trust me. As soon as I stepped into the dressing room, you could feel the positive atmosphere vanish like mist in the morning sun. I tried to encourage them with some words, I can't even recall what I said. I don't even know if anybody was paying attention. This match was tense, but the supporters were in full voice. League debutants Diego Reyes, Max Romero, Dennis Praet, and Angel Correa were starting. Because of a long list of injured players, I was forced to start the traitorous Aranguiz and Bellarabi. Within two minutes, Romero put us in the lead, and later in the second half Bellarabi doubled the advantage. The noise from the crowd at full time was deafening. Next up Schalke.

Disaster. Again. Bellarabi and Romero had put us ahead against Schalke before halftime. But then, Diego Reyes was injured. It looked like a bad knee injury, and was later confirmed to be ligament damage. Sven Bender was brought on to replace him. It was 2-2 by the 80th minute. A missed interception by Aranguiz sealed his fate. He let a loose ball slip through to Breel Embolo in the 88th minute near the halfway line. Leno was stranded and isolated, and Embolo handed me my first competitive defeat as Leverkusen boss on a platter. Aranguiz will be sold. But not to Manchester City, Liverpool or PSG. I will make an example of this fool.

The international break provided a little rest. Time to evaluate the squad and what should be done before the end of the transfer window at the end of August. Brilliant news for myself, but terrible news for Aranguiz's hopes of joining City, there are three Chinese teams interested in acquiring his services. I hope he enjoys chow mein.

Chapter 3: You Can't Play a Player

What a month. Everything has gone far better than expected, sort of. After the agonising defeat to Schalke, I felt I needed to go back to the drawing board. Something Schalke did exposed us defensively, and I needed to find out what it was. Was the defence pushing too far forward? Maybe. Did Aranguiz sabotage us purposefully? This is possible. Has the board made a mistake hiring me as the manager? Definitely. So I did what I usually do when faced with difficult decisions and some solemn contemplation time. I went for a haircut.

Just 600 meters from the Bay Arena, there is a small little salon on Bismarckstraße that I decided was the perfect place for this haircut. A little risky since this was not my usual barbershop, and the people here might still be angry about the loss and mess up my cut. I settled for a normal fade, since there is not much that could go wrong with that. It was time to decide what to do. This would not be a relaxing Saturday for me. I had given the players a day off, since we had played Schalke on Friday, and having a Saturday sleep in is a rare thing for a footballer. I was sitting right across from Hotel am Stadion, so I decided to reserve a room for the next week. I told myself that since the transfer window would be closing in a few days, it would make sense to be close to the stadium. It was nothing to do with the ultras knowing where I lived, I lied to nobody in particular. 

The next few days were spent scouring scouting reports, making enquiries, randomly buying a bicycle, riding said bicycle down to the training ground, realising that the majority of my players were on international duty, and throwing that new bike into the Dhunn river behind the sports complex. It was the 31st of August before I had any plans for what was too happen to the squad. Aranguiz was transfer listed, but no calls were coming in. Scouts from Liverpool, West Ham United, PSG and Leicester City arrived at the training complex, and then promptly left when they realised he was not there. I had no funds left in our transfer account to even think about replacing him before I had even received a hint of an offer. According to some of the staff, the players were upset at the drama he was causing in the locker room, so Aranzguiz had to leave. It was mid afternoon when I received a phone call from a Mr Nazmy on behalf of Base Soccer Agency LTD. I told him honestly that I had never heard of him, nor his company, and I needed a clear phone line in order to work. He informed me that his client Mohammed Elneny was transfer listed at Arsenal FC. Immediately I dropped the call and dialed Michael Schade. I told him that I wanted Aranguiz out, and Elneny in, and if this did not happen, we would not qualify for the Champions League. Elneny signed for Bayer 04 Leverkusen at 16:04pm. Part 1 of the problem solved. Walking into Brauhaus Janes, the bar and restaurant next to my hotel, I received another phone call from Schade. Leicester City have made a  £19 million for Aranguiz, and some Chinese team called Shanggang have tabled a  £14 million bid too. What should do?



I had flash backs of Aranguiz just staring at Breel Embolo waltzing past him on the way to score Schalke's winning goal. I decide to be a douchebag. I stall Leicester City's offer, and accept the one from Shanggang. The transfer window closed at 18:00. Leicester City withdrew their offer. Aranguiz agreed to join Shanggang two day later. But the transfer would only happen in January. Until then, he would babysit the U14's. I had actually come out ahead. Somehow managed to convince the board to sign a great midfielder that fit my system, got rid of a player in a very despicable manner, and still somehow have £12 million to use before January. A good week. A cheer goes up in the bar when the news of Elneny's transfer flashes across the screen. Let's hope that it works out. 

Like I said, it has been a great month! We played Werder Bremen at home right after the international break, and after a rather convincing display from Bellarabi and Volland, and an excellent debut from Elneny, we walked away with a 2-0 victory. Next up was an away trip to Augsburg, and I did not anticipate such resistance from them. They kept out all our attacks until Elneny scored his first goal for us late into the second half and secured a slim 1-0 victory. Next up we welcomed Hertha BSC to the Bay Arena. Once again Elneny opened the scoring, and before long Volland doubled the lead. Julian Brandt scored his first goal of the season, and Bellarabi added a fourth goal. We were firing on all cylinders. And then the unthinkable happened. While I was looking down at my notes, I heard the crowd groan. Had we conceded a goal? Were Hertha about to mount a comeback? No.

Elneny was down, clutching his knee. Everything went into slow-mo, but before the physios were even halfway towards our new star, I told Lars Bender to warm up. Turning away to grab a new notebook as I had unconsciously torn up the one in my hand, I saw a face in the crowd. Aranguiz, giving me the most smug smirk I have ever seen. Dammit. 

The Best Offense is a Terrible Defense

The last time I saw a clean sheet was when my girlfriend and I picked up the laundry on the way home after a rare date night. Things have been okay during the past 2 months, but our defense clearly had more holes than a Tom and Jerry cartoon Swiss cheese. It honestly baffled me. We had a great attack, but the guys at the back weren't doing their jobs effectively. I even went so far as to hire 4 new data analysts to help me assess what in the hell was happening to our defenders during important, and winnable matches.

It all started with a trip to the Zentralstadion to face 3rd placed Red Bull Liepzig, who coincidentally were one point behind us. This was clearly going to be an important match to set up the rest of the season. According to the media, Liepzig were our direct challengers for the last Champions League spot in the Bundesliga. In the mind of these journalists, Bayern Munich had already won the league, Dortmund were runners up, Schalke would finish third, and because of my own big mouth, fourth place would be a battle between Leverkusen, RB Liepzig, Gladbach, and Wolfsburg. So, naturally there was going to be some intense pressure on us for this match. Lars Bender would replace Elneny in the midfield and Aranguiz was banished from my sight. I hadn't even seen him in the 3 days since we played against Hertha. 

The match started off brilliantly, with Kevin Volland scoring the first goal in the 33rd minute. Two quick goals followed, Lars Bender repaying my faith in him in the 39th minute and Volland scoring the third right in the 45th. Some sloppy defense allowed Timo Werner to open the scoring for Liepzig in the first half stoppage time. Going into the dressing room, the team was already celebrating. So was I, I even went as far as to tell them how happy I was. I honestly did not expect us to be leading by 2 goals at half time. I just told the defense not to get complacent, Liepzig were a dangerous team. Have you hated being right? For the second half, I moved Volland to the right flank and replaced Bailey with Max Romero up front. In the 57th minute, Romero put the game beyond doubt and we were 4-1 up. This is the moment all hell broke loose. Bruma got Liepzig a second goal. The defense collapsed in the last 10 minutes. By the 88th they had equalised. I was livid. I was screaming myself hoarse on the touchline, but everything I said was drowned out by the fans, the rain, and the intense beating of my heart that I could hear in my eardrums... Our final attack was started by Lars Bender, deep in our half. He released Volland down the right and he quickly beat their leftback and cut into the box. Romero was free in the 6 yard box, but was he offside? Just before Volland could slide it through to Max, he was cut down from behind by one of the Liepzig players. I didn't even see who. Penalty. Even though Volland was on a hattrick, he unexpectedly handed the ball to Max. What the hell was going on. Romero stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way when he buried the ball in the top left corner. I can't remember much of the rest of the night, but I know that the defenders ran 20 laps around the bus before we left.



The next week was spent on defensive training. We could not allow such a defensive collapse again. Before long, we were at Waldstadion to face Frankfurt. I've always loved this city, but tonight there was no time for sentiment in the rain. The three thousand fans that accompanied us were demanding a win against our hosts, who were languishing in 14th place. It really should have been an easy match. The match started at a blistering pace, with the ball zipping around on the wet grass. Goals from Volland, Bellarabi, Lars Bender and Dennis Praet meant we headed back into the changing rooms at halftime soaking wet, well ahead. This was what we were training for so intensely for the past week. Then, as usual, something went wrong. That is the bloody Leverkusen way. Sven Bender was exposed twice, the defensive line was too high up, and Frankfurt carved them apart. At full time, the score was 4-4. Maybe we were cursed after all?

Things improved in our next match against Hamburger, at home at the BayArena. Bailey, Bellarabi, Praet and Romero were on target and by some miracle we only conceded two goals. That was two too many though. Next we went to Hoffenheim, and in the afternoon sun, I learned the bitter taste of defeat for the second time as manager of Leverkusen. A 7th goal from Volland and 94th minute penalty from Romero made the 3-2 scoreline more acceptable but I had reached the end of my tether. The next morning, I sacked my assistant manager and a few other coaches, and brought in their replacements. The work on the training ground delegated to those I had axed was clearly inefficient. My new assistant, Jan Wouters, had an exemplary reputation for his defensive coaching ability. Together, we restructured the coaching assignments and our whole approach to training would have to change. I was sitting in my office on Tuesday morning, when my phone rang. I was not expecting any calls, but I had given the players a day off, so I didn't have that much to do. I was surprised to hear the voice of an old friend who I had not spoken to in many years. Cleon was in town, and apparently he had a solution to my problems. At this point, I would take advice from a magic 8 ball if it could tell me how to deal with my defenders. The next day Cleon came in to the training ground, and sat my players down to explain the new formation and tactics. The man made sense, and at this point, 2 days away from a DFB Pokal clash with St Pauli, we decided to give it a shot. I took Cleon out for a dinner to thank him for the advice and hear how he was getting on with his career, after all it had been about 4 years since we last spoke. He started telling me about this kid named Rodrygo at Santos, and before we went our separate ways, I had promised to sign the kid if I was still in charge of Leverkusen when he turned 18.

The team felt that the St Pauli match was too soon to try Cleon's tactic, so we used our standard tactic. I made few changes to the team though, since this opponent was not so strong. Kai Havertz and Tin Jedvaj were back from slight injuries so they went straight into the team. We won 4-1. Maybe the problem was not the defense but the defenders after all? Sven Bender would not look me in the eye after the match. It was 2 days before Halloween when Borussia Dortmund arrived at the BayArena. Their fans wanted to make it absolutely clear that they were here directly from our nightmares. It worked. This was our toughest test yet, and a little bit of negative press coverage over the past few weeks, I was feeling intimidated. Especially since the Dortmund fans unfurled that. 



Dortmund fans came for a treat, but were not expecting our tricks. They had not anticipated our new, deeper sitting formation. Lars Bender sitting at the defensive midfield role, right in front of the centrebacks ensured that their direct route was blocked. Henrichs and Wendell broke up any attempts for them to flank us. Baumgartlinger in the new Segundo Volante (I still don't even know how to pronounce this thing) terrorised them. They could find a way through our defense, and in the 50th minute, the tide changed. Max Romero broke through their lines after he was released by Baumgartlinger, and neatly placed the ball in the bottom left corner. Bailey then doubled the lead 10 minutes later, and secured the victory. Dortmund were panicked, and threw everything they had against us. 20 shots were lashed against the defense, but only 6 made it through to Leno. In the drizzle he looked as comfortable as a puppy catching butterflies. We had bamboozled Dortmund and come away with our strongest performance of the season, and by some miracle, a bloody clean sheet. I gave the players Cleon's shipping address. I hope he still likes whiskey, because the players have each sent him a box. What man doesn't like 27 boxes of whiskey?

Chapter 5: No-vember

The win over Dortmund was one of the greatest feelings ever. I had so much energy that I could not sleep for two days afterwards. I was repeating the story to my girlfriend so much that I was forced to sleep on the old couch we bought last year. I was giddy, watching the highlights on TV whenever I had a free moment. I will never forget the look of frustration and anger on Aubamayeng's face as Leno stopped shot after after. On Halloween I bought as much candy as possible because I knew that fans would be bringing their kids round, for the kids' enjoyment and to have a chat with me. I was even presently surprised when three 8 year old's showed up dressed as Havertz, Max Romero, and Leno. I arranged with their parents to come to the training ground the following day so we could get their shirts signed and for them to spend the day watching the first team training.



We knew we had a daunting trip to the Allianz Arena coming up to face Bayern Munich. We were sitting in second place and were 5 points them, so this was going to be a crucial match. The entire week was spent on defensive training and defensive positing. Even the forwards go involved, learning how how to collect the ball from the fullbacks and defensive midfielders and launching quick and devastating attacks. Everything seemed to be clicking during training, and we all felt that if we managed to get a positive result in Munich, it would be the start of something magnificent. The 4th of November was suddenly upon us, and at 18:20, I found myself sitting in the dugout of the magnificent Allianz Arena. For a change, it wasn't raining, which could only be a good sign. The stadium lights started to flicker on, and a tumultuous noise rose up on all sides as the players made their way out onto the pitch. Bayern in their red and Die Werkself in our away blues. The whistled was blown by the referee and all our planning went out the damn window. Bayern had not come to entertain our fantasy of launching a title challenge. They dominated everything for the first 45 minutes. They cut out every attack, and quickly pushed all our men behind the ball. Whenever we did manage to break through into their half, our passes went astray our our shots went wayward. But, somehow, we managed to make it to halftime without conceding. I tried to rally the guys in the dressing room, I told them that we only need one chance to  steal this match. The defense was doing it's job as we had intended. The match restarted, and then our good defensive work only lasted about 10 minutes. Lewandowski made his way to the edge of the box unchallenged and somehow managed to put in an inch perfect pass to Thomas Muller who made no mistake from about 8 yards out. Another 10 minutes passed and Juan Bernat doubled their lead from a corner. I threw caution to the wind and told the players to push forward as hard as possible. It paid off when Sule brought down Max Romero in the box and was somehow only awarded a yellow card. Romero made no mistake from the spot and brought us back into the game. Bayern would then make some changes and regained control of the match. It ended up 2-1, but I was happy with the shift that they guys put in. There is only so much that mere mortals like us could do against Lewandowski and his accomplices.



The international break came and went, and two weeks after the Bayern match, we welcomed Stuttgart to the BayArena. Elneny and Diego Reyes were back from injury, and for the first time in my managerial career, we played with a full strength squad. The new arrangement with the fitness coaches and physios was paying off. The players were raring to go and make amends for the previous loss. In the very first minute, we were awarded a penalty. I was still signing some autographs and did not even see what happened. Kevin Volland stepped up and for some reason decided that was the perfect moment to attempt a panenka penalty. Stuttgart's keeper, Robert Zieler was actually laughing as he saved the "shot". I was tempted to take Volland off at that moment and fine him 2 weeks wages, but fear of injuries later on stopped me. At least in the 15th minute, Volland made amends and tapped the ball beyond Zieler to make it 1-0. In the second half, Josip Brekalo equalised for Stuttgart. I had rested Romero after his recent goalscoring exploits, but he was needed. Bailey was withdrawn, Volland shifted right and Romero went in search of the winner. It looked like Volland's idiotic penalty would come back to haunt us, until Baumgartlinger sent a screamer into the top right corner in the 85th minute of the match. With the game won and Volland severely chewed out we left the stadium. 

Next we went to Mainz, and in the drizzle of the Opel Arena, in front of 25 000 fans, we found our way again. First half goals from Romero, Praet and Bellarabi ensured that the two goals scored by Mainz would keep us in second place. Our last match for November was at home, against Wolfsburg who were languishing in the bottom half of the table. This was honestly one of the worst first half performances I had ever seen in my life. During the week, Tin Jedvaj and the Bender brothers had approached me and complained about their lack of appearances, so I decided that this would be their time to show me why they deserved to be starting. The starting defenders were thus Wendell, Sven Bender, Jedvaj and Lars Bender. It was like watching the Three Stooges. Wolfsburg kicked off the first half and Origi waltzed down the left in between Jedvaj and Lars Bender, and easily slotted the ball past Leno. 15 seconds, and we were 1-0 down, and it was time to regroup. Romero restarted the match, passed the ball back to Elneny, who passed it to Lars on the right. Lars played a ball towards Sven that a toddler would be proud of, and Yanus Malli picked it off the toes of Sven, and once again beat Leno. Two minutes, and two goals down. I could already see the season crumbling and me being unemployed. Immediately I subbed all three idiots off, and replaced them with Diego Reyes, Jonathon Tah, and Ben Hendrichs. I refused to concede a goal every damn minute of this match. Losing 90-0 to Wolfsburg would make sure that I had an enterprising career as a McDonald's employee. We surged forward, and by halftime Romero and Volland had levelled the score. Late on in the second half we were suddenly facing 10 men as Jeffrey Bruma picked up a second yellow and got sent off. We committed everybody forward and took the game to Wolfsburg. We peppered Koen Casteels with shot after shot, and packed the box with players at the subsequent corners. This was to be our downfall. In our haste to get forward, we committed too many players. After another corner, the ball was cleared into our half, and the only players there were Ignacio Camacho and Leno. Camacho go the winner in the 81st minute.



After the match, we ate our dinner in silence. The Bender brothers and Jedvaj had already signed over their wages for the next two weeks. I was sick and tired of mediocrity and being typical Neverkusen. One step forward, and one season back at every turn was not how my reign as manager was going to turn out. We had a month left to figure out how to improve the squad in the January transfer window. Only one thing was certain by the end of that horrible night; there can only be one Bender at the BayArena. And the next month would determine who would stay and who would go.