Football: King of Penalty Area
Ch. 68 - Break (3)

Facing the 27th week in League 2.Bundesliga, Koln Athletics experienced good news and bad news at the same time.

Good news came from the main striker Koln Athletics who came from Trinidad and Tobago (North American Country) Dario Robert who previously suffered an injury in a match against team 1.Mainz. Although he will be difficult to threaten Raynaldi's main position, but he is still a good rotation and tactical reserve for the club.

Robert is 1.92 meters tall and weighs 89 kilograms. He and Raynaldi are two different types of players, and bringing these two players together may have an unexpected effect.

It's just that, even though Raynaldi has recovered from the small injury he got after fighting Wiesbaden. However, after a thorough examination by the medical team, they found that Raynaldi's body muscles were exhausted and it was not recommended to play full time in the next match.

So in the next game, Thomas Sobek intends to use Robert as a target man like his strategy before Raynaldi comes.

In addition, although Robert's performance this season does not stand out, as a tactical attacking type with a strong body, he said, the initial goal he was brought in by Koln Athletics was to be the foundation of the attack when the ball was on the frontcourt. So the threats made by Koln Athletics can be more varied.

So, Thomas Sobek also told Robert that Raynaldi was on a short-term loan, and it was impossible to stay with the team. His long-term plans have not changed, but Robert is still very depressed.

If Thomas Sobek is used to tactics that rely on poacher and finisher type attackers from time to time, and waits until the end of the season to reuse it, then maybe his position will be lost.

So he had a strong sense of crisis. As a player who has worked hard step by step from the football desert, Robert appreciates the opportunity to play in Europe. If he was unable to find a place in the Athletics Cologne in the future, it would be a troublesome thing to look for a new team.

Approaching the day before the match, Raynaldi finally saw the true face of this pesky ghost at the training ground.

As for the other assailants who suffered broken bones from slipping soap in the bathroom, it is expected to take months and a hundred days to return to normal levels of exercise, and it's gonna take longer.

Robert and his teammates did not train together. He recently injured his knee and did some restorative training under the guidance of a physical trainer. Raynaldi's training volume wasn't huge, after all, he was injured a few days ago Thomas Sobek didn't dare take the risk.

As for whether it would affect the state of the game, Raynaldi felt it was nothing. After three days of rest at the hotel, most of the time was spent in the virtual stadium, and the state of the game was not bad.

"Hey... Are you Ray? I'm Dario, Dario Robert." The big dark-skinned man introduced himself.

At the training ground, Raynaldi was doing simple ball practice on his own, and Robert came to talk.

"Oh yeah, hello, I know you, Robert. Is your wound healed?" Raynaldi asked politely.

“Well, that's pretty good, but you're really amazing. It's hard to imagine that you can score so many goals.” Robert praised sincerely. As a forward of this team some time ago, Robert certainly knows about the attacking ability of this team and how difficult it is for the team to score goals.

"How did you do it? I also want to learn, for example, the coach says your trick ..." Robert immediately sought Raynaldi's advice, though it was a bit embarrassing to ask him for advice on a child 10 years younger. Dario Robert who had fought hard to achieve his current career could only thicken his face to ask for advice.

Raynaldi did not expect this tall and honest man also liked to chat. He spent the whole morning asking Raynaldi about his tricks and the way he played. Raynaldi didn't know how to answer it, because he really didn't know what the trick was by Dario Robert and his coach.

Finally, Raynaldi can only explain how to set the running position and open the gap between defenders by paying attention to the position of the defenders and also the goalkeeper.

The next match is an away match to the City of Dessau to face the caretaker of the standings 2.Bundesliga, Dessau United.

Position standings 2.The Bundesliga after 26 games is Armina Oldenburg with 55 points at the top of the table, followed by 1.Mainz with 54 points, Chemnitz with 51 points, Koln Athletics with 47 points, Dresden 09 with 47 points, and Leipzig Sport in 6th with 46 points. At the same time Wiesbaden who lost to Koln Athletics was still held in seventh place with 41 points.

But Koln Athletics will continue 2.Bundesliga with a tight schedule. Because 2008 was a European Cup year, so almost all league games in Europe will usher in a more congested schedule for the second half of the season.

Schedule 2.The Bundesliga itself will start with 4 games in 12 days from the end of February to the beginning of March to come. Athletics opponents in quick succession are Dessau United, Velbert FC, Ratingen United, and Minden FC.

Koln Athletics is arguably quite lucky because the opponent they face is a team that is at the bottom of the standings. Ratingen United who can be considered the strongest is only ranked 12th in the standings.

In the end because of Raynaldi's condition, Thomas Sobek decided not to bring Raynaldi to the game against Dessau United and let Dario Robert who had been confirmed fully recovered for the starter in this match.

. . . . .

The match against Dessau United went a little way that did not match the estimates of Thomas Sobek and the coaching staff of Koln Athletics.

The first half ended 0-0 without a goal, after Dessau United piled many defenders in their formation.

In the second half, Thomas Sobek replaced the stronger Lindbergh in defense with Kevin Kroos who had better attacking ability to improve the Koln Athletics attack.

“We made a mistake in this match, although Desaau United's ability is very sad in defending but they bravely stack almost all their players in the penalty box that makes us can not get space to attack.” Danny Hooks told Thomas Sobek.

“I know, Danny.” Thomas Sobek nodded, then began to think of the best solution for the situation. “Maybe it is better to find a side pass solution with gastric feed to make better use of Dario's height and body.” Her thought.

“Danny, call Edward we'll do a player change.” Thomas Sobek decided to include another winger, Edward.

Thomas Sobek intends to replace attacking midfielder Henrik with winger Edward to increase speed on the flank. Meanwhile, Buhari who was shifted to the middle could also take the rebound ball outside the box to make another goal opportunity.

The change made by Thomas Sobek went well because after that the attack of Koln Athletics became more threatening than before. But he also found another problem in his team, namely the ability of the players to convert the chances into goals is very small.

“I'm starting to miss Ray now.” Thomas Sobek let out a low sigh as he looked at his team.

“Yeah, that kid does have a great ability to score goals. He's a true terminator at the forefront.” Danny Hooks praised Raynaldi in his comments.

In the end in the 91st minute, Dario Robert managed to gore a corner from Buhari to bring victory to Koln Athletics.

After the goal was created finally Thomas Sobek and other coaching staff can breathe a sigh of relief. “We are lucky to save these 3 points.” Thomas Sobek.