After spending a wonderful day at Oktoberfest, the strained nerves of the Wolfsburg players were greatly relaxed.
When they returned to the team base the next day, most of the players still smelled faintly of alcohol.
However, sensing the harmonious atmosphere of the team, Hecking turned a blind eye.
In Germany, the country of beer, having a couple of drinks after a match is completely normal... Originally, Hecking had planned to call Mark Lane into his office to give the young man a warning.
In his view, ever since Mark Lane gained fame at the World Cup, his off-field news had suddenly increased.
Although Mark Lane's current athletic performance was explosive, showing no sign of being affected by off-field factors.
Nevertheless, taking precautions was what he, as the head coach, ought to do.
However, upon seeing Mark Lane practicing his weaker foot as usual after training, he abandoned that idea.
Mark Lane's consistent focus, both on and off the training pitch, convinced Hecking that he could manage the balance between his private life and his professional career!
After only two days of rest, Wolfsburg hosted Werder Bremen, who were ranked sixteenth in the League and deeply entrenched in the relegation zone.
Werder Bremen's form this season was terrible.
They had only managed three points from five matches!
And those three points were accumulated from three separate draws!
In their last two Bundesliga matches, they had lost away to Augsburg and at home to Schalke.
Coming to the Volkswagen Arena for this match, facing the scorching-hot League leaders, they had only one goal:
To consider a minor loss a victory!
Having implemented rotation in the previous round against Hertha BSC,
Hecking fielded his full starting lineup for this match!
The Wolfsburg offensive line, spearheaded by Mark Lane, firmly controlled the initiative on the pitch from the very first minute.
Amidst the cheers of the home fans, Mark Lane first tore open the Werder Bremen defense on the left flank, then delivered a cross, allowing De Bruyne to score the opening goal with a push shot!
The Ma Ding Duo struck again!
Immediately afterward, Mark Lane received the ball on the left, cut inside, dribbled past two players, and curled a shot into the far corner from the edge of the box, scoring another goal!
Subsequently, Werder Bremen strengthened their defense on the right flank, implementing zonal marking on Mark Lane.
However, Mark Lane was already accustomed to this kind of superstar treatment.
Whenever he drew the opponent's defense and created a strong side, he would promptly pass the ball, shifting the attack to the opposite flank.
In the second half, due to Mark Lane's containment of the defense, the center and right flanks gained more attacking space.
In the sixty-third minute, Vieirinha repeatedly demonstrated his quick and agile breakthroughs on the right, delivering a cross that assisted Olić in scoring with a close-range finish;
In the seventy-sixth minute, De Bruyne took a corner kick, delivering an accurate cross that helped Knoche score with a header!
In the end, Wolfsburg achieved a massive four-nil victory over visiting Werder Bremen at home!
And two days later, the Volkswagen Arena hosted their second Champions League group stage opponent—the Slovenian team Maribor!
Maribor is, without a doubt, the most successful team in the Slovenian League.
Maribor has won 10 Slovenian League titles, 7 Cup titles, and 2 Super Cup titles.
Only four teams from the Former Yugoslavia Region have participated in the Champions League and Europa League tournaments, and Maribor is one of them, as well as the only Slovenian club.
As for Mark Lane, he only knew one name in Slovenian football: Oblak.
Of course, a giant club from such a small country was simply not worth mentioning to the currently hot Wolfsburg team.
Coupled with the short interval since the last League match, Hecking also deployed a rotated lineup to handle the game.
This demonstrated the team's emphasis on both the Bundesliga and Champions League competitions.
Although they were eliminated early from the German Cup this season, reducing the number of competitions they had to contest,
the dual challenge of the Champions League and the Bundesliga still presented the Wolfsburg management with a dilemma:
Should they go all out for the League title, or compete fiercely on both fronts?
After defeating Bayern in the League opener, the Wolfsburg management convened an emergency meeting.
During the meeting, after discussion, the executives reached a consensus:
The team's goal this season was to challenge for the League championship!
As for the Champions League, they would go as far as they could!
This plan was very pragmatic.
In their opinion, with Wolfsburg's current squad, winning the Champions League was simply impossible.
Furthermore, the prize money from the Champions League wasn't that tempting for the wealthy Wolfsburg.
Instead, the League title was a much greater attraction.
The buzz and exposure generated by snatching the Meisterschale away from Bayern would be far greater than reaching the Champions League quarterfinals!
At home, even though Wolfsburg fielded an extensively rotated squad, they still pinned Maribor back in their own half and relentlessly attacked.
However, to everyone's surprise, Maribor managed to score first by capitalizing on a counter-attack opportunity!
Fortunately, Wolfsburg leveled the score in the second half thanks to Dost's close-range goal.
But after tying the score, Maribor decided to Park the Bus in their own half.
Mark Lane sat on the bench, watching the team dominate possession and create far more chances, yet being forced to settle for a one-all draw by the opponent!
After watching the entire match, Mark Lane had only one thought:
Maribor's goalkeeper was godlike!
Wolfsburg had fifteen shots throughout the match, and the opposing goalkeeper saved ten of them!
The remaining five shots missed the target.
As the saying goes, weak teams rely on great goalkeepers.
Are Slovenian goalkeepers all this fierce?!
Although they were surprisingly held to a draw by Maribor at home,
Wolfsburg still topped Group G with four points from two Champions League matches (one win, one draw), ahead of Chelsea, who had three points.
As for third and fourth place, Sporting Lisbon and Maribor each had only one point.
Judging by the points, Wolfsburg still had a high probability of advancing from the group stage.
However, this unexpected result certainly taught the Wolfsburg players a lesson.
Although they had defeated powerhouses like Bayern, Leverkusen, and Chelsea in the League and Champions League this season,
when extensive rotation was implemented, the team's control over the match was significantly lacking.
This was Wolfsburg's current problem—a significant gap in strength between the starting XI and the bench.
While the starting lineup could contend with Bayern, the strength of the reserves couldn't even secure a win against a Slovenian team.
Within Wolfsburg's tactical system, they could barely be considered a dual-core team.
De Bruyne was the undisputed creative core.
Mark Lane, meanwhile, was the team's flank explosive point and half a creative core.
When both were on the field simultaneously, their power was naturally maximized.
However, when De Bruyne was absent, Mark Lane could also take on a certain amount of responsibility—even though his passing and vision were inferior to De Bruyne's, his individual explosive ability was more effective against weaker opponents.
It was just his stamina issues that prevented him from maintaining continuous high-intensity matches.
The match against Maribor also served as a warning to Hecking:
Next time he rotated the squad, he absolutely could not rest both Mark Lane and De Bruyne!
At least one of them had to remain on the pitch!
...As time entered October, six rounds of the Bundesliga had passed without anyone realizing it.
After enduring a stretch of three matches in one week, there was a full week of rest between the sixth and seventh rounds.
The Bundesliga stars could finally enjoy a brief period of rest.
After a short one-day vacation, Mark Lane, who had just returned to the team base, received a notification: "Mark Lane, someone from the Bundesliga League is here looking for you."
"The Bundesliga League?"
When he arrived at the interview room, he found a stranger and a man holding a camera inside.
"What's going on?"
"Congratulations, Mark Lane, you are last month's Player of the Month!"
Only when he saw the Player of the Month trophy handed to him did Mark Lane realize what was happening.
Player of the Month?!
This was the first Bundesliga Player of the Month award of his career!
In September, Mark Lane participated in four Bundesliga matches, helping the team achieve four consecutive victories while personally scoring five goals and providing two assists!
Creating seven goals in just four matches was astonishing!
With such statistics, his selection as Player of the Month was beyond doubt.
It was only through the revelation of the Bundesliga official that Mark Lane learned he had beaten De Bruyne and Robben for the award.
"We'll first take a photo of you receiving the award, and then we'll sit down for a short interview."
"Alright."
After taking two photos holding the trophy, Mark Lane sat down to accept the Bundesliga League interview: "Congratulations, Mark Lane, on being selected as September's Player of the Month."
"Thank you. I feel very honored. This is the greatest recognition of my performance in matches last month..."
"This season, your goal tally has increased significantly. After six rounds, you have already scored seven goals, leading the scoring charts."
"For a young player who is only going through his first full Bundesliga season, this goal efficiency is simply amazing! Do you think you have a chance to win the League Golden Boot this season?"
"As an attacking player, scoring goals is certainly the best feeling. But team victory is what matters most."
"As for the League Golden Boot, it's too early to talk about that now."
"The Bundesliga has many outstanding players and many prolific goal-scoring forwards..."
"The Munich Daily reported that you really like the city of Munich, and Bayern is very interested in you, planning to sign you in the next transfer window. What are your thoughts on this?"
"Bayern is a big club. However, I am currently focused on achieving success for Wolfsburg..."
The interview lasted about ten minutes.
The questions ranged from standard to relatively sharp ones.
However, Mark Lane answered every question calmly and methodically.
After the interview concluded, the man from the Bundesliga League suddenly pulled a notebook from his inner suit pocket: "Mark Lane, my daughter is a huge fan of yours. Could I possibly get your autograph?"
"Of course, no problem!"
He paused, then suddenly thought of something, turned to the nearby club staff member, and asked, "Do I have any spare jerseys left?"
As Wolfsburg's top star and one of the most popular players in the Bundesliga, Mark Lane's number ten jersey had long been sold out in the official fan shop.
However, to handle various unexpected situations, the club kept a stock of a dozen or so player-issue jerseys.
"There should be some."
"Then please bring me one."
Subsequently, once the club staff member brought over his jersey, Mark Lane signed his name on it with a marker pen: "Thank you very much for your daughter's love and support!"
"I'm extremely grateful! Maria will definitely be thrilled..."
Afterward, Mark Lane, having completed the interview, returned to the locker room holding his first Player of the Month trophy.
"Mark Lane, I heard you were selected as Player of the Month?"
Facing the curious gaze of Malanda and his other teammates, Mark Lane smiled slightly and held up the trophy in his hand: "That's right!"
"Can I take a look?"
It must be known that the prestige of the Bundesliga Player of the Month award is incomparable to the Bundesliga Team of the Week selection.
The Bundesliga Team of the Week selects the best eleven players from each round.
As long as a player performs exceptionally well in a single League round, they have a chance to be selected.
However, Player of the Month requires a player to perform excellently throughout the entire past month, which severely tests a player's ability to maintain form.
It is very difficult to maintain scorching hot form and excellent performance for a whole month.
This is because players are not tireless machines; they are human and will inevitably experience fluctuations in form.
Therefore, this better reflects the weight of the award.
And among the entire Wolfsburg squad, Mark Lane was the only one who had ever won this award!
"Here!"
Handing the trophy to Malanda, Mark Lane sat back down in front of his locker.
Just then, Gustavo spoke up teasingly: "Mr. Player of the Month, now you have to treat us to a meal!"
Mark Lane laughed while changing into his training gear: "I won Player of the Month. Shouldn't you guys treat me to a meal to congratulate me? Why should I treat you?"
Faced with Mark Lane's rebuttal, Gustavo paused to think, and then came up with a counter-argument: "You won the award, so you're happy, right? You should share this happiness with us, so you ought to buy us dinner!"
After saying that, he didn't forget to shout, stirring up the others: "Treat us!"
"Treat us!!"
At this point, teammates like Perišić and Dost also chimed in simultaneously: "Treat us!"
"Treat us!"
Facing the teasing from his teammates, Mark Lane showed a wry smile: "Alright, alright, I'll pay tonight!"
Hearing this, everyone immediately chanted his name: "Mark Lane!"
"Mark Lane!!"
"Mark Lane!!!"
Meanwhile, several new signings who hadn't fully integrated into the team yet looked enlightened.
"So that's how he wins over his teammates..."
Along with his first Bundesliga Player of the Month award, Mark Lane completed the seasonal quest [Bundesliga Player of the Month] and gained three potential points.
Combined with the previous four potential points, he now had seven potential points available to allocate.
Without hesitation, he immediately added six points to [Finishing], raising it from 80 to 83!
The remaining point was added to [Reactions].
Looking at his attribute panel getting stronger point by point, Mark Lane showed a satisfied smile.
He had won the Team of the Week and Player of the Month.
The next goal, then, was Player of the Season!
...
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