Reus's injury not only disrupted the German Team's preparation plans but also necessitated the selection of a player to fill his spot in the World Cup squad.
After much deliberation, Löw chose the young center-back Mustafi, who plays for Sampdoria in Serie A!
Additionally, Löw and his coaching staff needed to make a quick decision:
Who would replace Reus?
Within the German Team's roster, there were many players capable of playing left winger.
Originally, Reus was the first choice, followed by Schürrle as second, Podolski as third, Götze as fourth, and Mark as fifth.
However, after his performance in training and two warm-up matches, Mark's position had risen to second!
He was only behind Schürrle!
He was young, enthusiastic, and his ability to break through defenses with his dribbling was unique in the entire team.
Although his stamina wasn't the best, he was an excellent choice as a super-sub.
And in the match against Armenia, the eighteen-year-old prodigy also performed brilliantly, scoring one goal and assisting two, with a very eye-catching display!
His passing and shooting skills had both shown significant improvement!
Of course, warm-up matches are completely different from actual World Cup games.
Nevertheless, Mark had seized the limited opportunities, doing his best to showcase his abilities.
Now, it was up to Löw to decide how he viewed him... The next day.
June 7th, the day of departure for Brazil.
The German Team, dressed in matching silver-grey suits, gathered at the German Football Association headquarters in Frankfurt.
After taking a group photo, the players left the headquarters, preparing to take a bus to the airport.
As they stepped out of the headquarters building, they were met with enthusiastic shouts from the fans:
"Müller!"
"Look over here! Toni!"
"Mark! Mark!"
If the roads on both sides hadn't been blocked by railings, they might have been engulfed by the passionate fans.
It's worth mentioning that Mark even saw several fans wearing German Team jerseys, holding up his number 45 Wolfsburg jersey.
He recognized one of them, a black-haired man wearing glasses, who was Stahl, whom he had met once in the parking lot.
He couldn't help but go over to greet him:
"Stahl, long time no see!"
"You actually remember my name?!"
"Of course!"
"We are all fans of the House of Wolves, and we came specifically to see you off today."
Hearing this, Mark also extended his hand and shook his:
"Thanks, buddy!"
After signing autographs and taking photos with the fans, Mark also received their blessings:
"Bring back the world cup trophy for us, okay?"
"I will do my best!"
Bidding farewell to the fans, the German Team players, coaching staff, and related personnel took a bus to Frankfurt Airport, boarded a special Lufthansa flight, and departed for Brazil!
The flight from Frankfurt to Salvador would take ten hours!
And Mark's plane buddy was Klose.
"Hey, Miro!"
"Hi, Mark..."
With Klose by his side, Mark took out his tablet and opened the match footage he had downloaded in advance.
He was watching Bayern's match footage.
Soon, the screen on Mark's tablet caught Klose's attention:
"What match are you watching?"
"Bayern's match. To be precise, I'm watching Thomas (Müller)'s match!"
"Why?"
"I think Thomas's positioning is very much worth learning. He always manages to appear where he should, and then puts the ball in!"
Hearing this, Klose also nodded with deep understanding:
"Yes, in terms of reading space and the game, Thomas is a monster!"
Looking at this eager-to-learn young man, Klose also gave him a thumbs up in his heart.
"If it's Mark, he should be able to become the future support for the German Team..."
After a ten-hour flight, the German Team arrived in Salvador, a coastal city in northeastern Brazil.
In this third-largest city in Brazil, the German Team would face Portugal in their first World Cup match on June 15th!
When they arrived at Porto Seguro in Salvador, the enthusiastic Brazilian people had already been waiting for a long time.
Watching the people dancing samba outside the window, Mark, who was sitting by the window, finally felt the reality of the Brazil World Cup to some extent.
They had arrived in the Samba Kingdom!
Subsequently, the German Team players took a ferry to their World Cup base camp.
It is worth noting that in order to create a comfortable living environment for the players and maintain their optimal competitive state, the Germans specifically chose a beautiful small village in the municipality of Santo André, Bahia province, as the German Team's base camp.
And this location was personally chosen by them two years ago!
Their strong planning, investing in World Cup preparations so early, was admirable!
Subsequently, the Germans built their own training facilities here, including fourteen houses, sixty-five rooms, a standard football pitch, and a press center.
The German Team's logistics support team had already transported basic facilities to the base camp thirty days prior.
They brought a total of twenty-three tons of luggage, including fitness equipment, mountain bikes, pool tables, snooker tables, and dartboards.
The entire logistics team consisted of thirty-three staff members, including doctors, physiotherapists, fitness coaches, video analysts, and other personnel.
Being meticulous and rigorous is a characteristic of most Germans, and it is also one of the most prominent characteristics of the German Football Team.
And the first day at the camp was about room assignments.
In order to prevent room assignments from becoming a flashpoint for friction between cliques, team manager Bierhoff even considered forcibly splitting up groups like the Bayern faction, Dortmund faction, neutral faction, and so on.
However, several members of the Team Committee refused, and instead decided that the Team Committee would handle the assignments.
The members of the Team Committee included Klose, Lahm, Schweinsteiger, and Mertesacker.
Originally, Neuer and Khedira were also members of the committee, but since there were only four houses available for the players this time.
So the four most senior players each occupied a villa, and then selected their roommates from the team roster.
Klose, who liked quiet and went to bed early, chose Mark.
They had already discussed this topic on the flight.
Klose was almost thirty-six years old, and he needed to go to bed early at night to get enough sleep and have enough energy for the next day's training.
In addition to Mark, Klose's private villa also housed Götze, Podolski, and others.
The entire German base camp felt like a resort, giving one the illusion of being on vacation rather than fighting other teams for the world cup trophy.
However, in a strange country, on a strange bed, Mark slept soundly.
Because he only had one thought in his mind:
To win the championship while lying down!
....
Support me at patreon.com/zeaser
50 power stones for extra chapter