Timeline: Late October 2019
Location: Dortmund, Germany
Upcoming Fixture: Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich (Der Klassiker – Matchday 10)
Dortmund Training Ground – 9:07 AM
The air was colder now. October's breath had begun to bite at the skin, and the sky had turned from summer blue to a pale grey.
Karl Heinz Schneider arrived early. Again.
He jogged quietly toward the pitch, headphones on, hoodie pulled over his dyed-blonde hair.
Training wasn't starting for another 20 minutes, but he wanted to touch the ball alone. That was his sanctuary.
"You never sleep, huh?"
The voice belonged to Jadon Sancho, bouncing toward him with a grin and a pair of Beats slung around his neck.
Karl smirked. "Not when Bayern's coming."
Sancho laughed. "Respect. You looked sharp last weekend, by the way. Almost had that goal."
Karl shrugged modestly. "Almost isn't good enough."
Training Intensity Rises
Marco Reus and the coaching staff stood in the center circle, briefing the squad.
Favre's voice echoed: "Sharpness. Movement. Bayern won't give you space. You must take it."
The drills began. Positional rondos. One-touch sequences. Pressure pressing in tight triangles.
Karl was locked in.
His first touch? Crisp.
Vision? Sharp.
Dribbles? Unpredictable, fluid — left or right, it didn't matter. His ambidexterity gave him a wild card edge.
"Good, Schneider! Keep it tight!"
Reus shouted after Karl ghosted past two defenders in a 5v5 match simulation.
In a shooting drill later, Reus stood behind him as he prepared to strike.
"Don't rush the motion. Plant with purpose, then hit. Clean."
Karl adjusted.
Strike.
Top right corner.
Reus gave a subtle nod. "That's it."
Bonding with Sancho
After training, Sancho approached Karl with his phone.
"Yo, you ever heard UK grime?"
Karl laughed. "A bit. You trying to convert me?"
"Course. You're German but you move like a London baller." He hit play on a Skepta track.
The two walked toward the gym, shoulder to shoulder.
They talked football, music, and even Instagram clout. Sancho told him stories about facing Alphonso Davies in training battles and how the Bayern clash brings out everyone's ego.
"You ready for that stage?" Sancho asked him, lifting weights.
Karl stared ahead in the mirror.
"Not just ready. I've been waiting."
The Calm Before Der Klassiker
Two days before the clash, Dortmund media began teasing the match poster.
Bold letters.
Yellow lightning against red flames.
DORTMUND VS BAYERN MUNICH
THE CLASH OF EMPIRES
Karl stood outside the training center, phone in hand, staring at the official post.
Marco Reus joined him, holding two sports drinks.
"You ready for it?" the captain asked.
Karl didn't answer at first. His eyes never left the poster.
"I'm not here to just play in these matches, Marco," he finally said.
"I'm here to win them."
Reus handed him a bottle and chuckled.
"That's the attitude."