The second half of the scrimmage resumed with renewed intensity. Team A, now again leading on the unofficial chart due to an early goal in the second half, pressed harder. Team B, hungry to prove themselves, matched their energy.
Marco stayed wide left more often, respecting the tactical framework. But he also understood now— he had gained the freedom to perform.
53rd minute: The breakthrough came from chaos in midfield. A Team A attack was broken down by Team B midfield, the ball bouncing loose. Marco read it instinctively— predicting the ball's path a split second before every one else.
He sprinted forward, collected the ball in space, and suddenly accelerated to the thirty yards of open field ahead. The Team A defense was scrambling to recover the shape. But the two center backs converged centrally, leaving the channels exposed.
Marco accelerated, pushing the ball forward with controlled touches. The Team A fullback approached from his right, trying to force him wide.
Now.
A faint to wide.
Marco cut inside sharply—his signature move, practiced tens of thousands of times, almost an instinct at 9.0/10. The fullback's momentum carried him past. Suddenly Marco was central, eighteen yards out, with minimal pressure.
His eyes scanned the post and the keeper. He gently nudged the ball, pulled his right foot back, and
BAAM!!
His right foot connected cleanly. The ball shot forward, seeming to go over the bar, away from Zieler's dive. But dipping slightly as it flew, kissing the crossbar, the ball nestled into the top corner.
Goal!
2-2
The Team B players erupted. Stefano sprinted over, grabbing Marco in celebration.
"Wow, that was out of this world!"
Others piled on. From the sideline, both coaching staffs made extensive notes.
Across the pitch, Mesut Özil stood with hands on hips, watching. His expression was unreadable, but the message was clear: You're for real.
Marco jogged back to position, keeping his celebration muted. Professional. But inside, the competitive fire burned bright.
That's two-two between us. And I'm just getting started.
But the scrimmage ended 3-2 to Team A—they pulled off late winner from the counter attack, reasserting their quality. But the damage was done. Marco had matched them goal-for-goal, assist-for-assist. The coaches had seen enough to know this wasn't a fluke.
In the locker room afterward, the atmosphere was charged. Team A players were satisfied but not celebratory. Team B players were disappointed in the loss but energized by individual performances.
Ron Zieler dropped onto the bench next to Marco, pulling off his goalkeeper gloves.
"That goal was clean," Zieler admitted. "The dip in the last second was deadly."
"Yeah, I was working on that shot in my free time," Marco said, unlacing his boots. "Dipping technique. Finally starting to work in matches."
"You specifically trained this shot? Why?" Zieler raised an eyebrow. "Do you have some beef with goal keepers? I mean it's literally a nightmare to face this type shots."
"Haha, no, no. This shot was really cool, so I like it very much."
"Cool? Yeah, sure."
Zieler laughed. "Clearly. You and Özil are on another level. Everyone else is fighting for scraps."
Across the room, Jérôme Boateng was in quiet conversation with Mats Hummels, both defenders analyzing the match. Stefano sat nearby, icing his ankle after a hard challenge.
Everyone was doing their own things.
Day 2 - February 16th:
Morning training focused on tactical shape. The coaches split them into the 4-2-3-1 formation and drilled positioning, movement patterns, and defensive transitions. Marco absorbed everything, his adult mind in a teenage body giving him an edge in tactical comprehension.
"Reus," Coach Müller called during a water break. "When the fullback pushes up behind you, what's your responsibility?"
"Coach, it's to tuck inside slightly. Maintain width but allow overlap space. If he delivers the cross, I attack the back post."
"And if we lose possession?"
"Track back immediately, pressure their fullback, cut off the switch of play."
Müller nodded approvingly. "Textbook. You've clearly studied the system. Good."
Nearby, Özil watched the exchange with new interest. After training, as players filed toward the locker room, the Schalke player fell into step beside Marco.
"You know a lot for a first-timer," Özil said. Not hostile, just observant.
"I study football. Watch a lot of matches, read tactical analysis." Marco kept his tone neutral. "It's not enough to have skill. You need to understand the game."
"True." Özil glanced at him sideways. "You played well yesterday. That through ball assist was perfect weight. And the goal..." He smiled slightly. "Good technique."
"Yeah. Thanks. Been working on it."
"Shows." They reached the locker room entrance. "You're from Dortmund?"
"Yeah. And you are for Schalke, right?"
"Hmm. Then, see you around?"
"Yeah. See you around."
They exchanged phone numbers—physical numbers, written on paper, since smartphones were still years away. The gesture felt significant, like a mutual acknowledgment of belonging to the same elite tier.
Afternoon - Second Scrimmage:
Coach Müller made adjustments based on yesterday's performance. The new Team A lineup included several changes.
"Reus, you're starting on Team A today. Left wing." Müller's tone was matter-of-fact. "You earned the promotion. Maintain that standard."
Marco felt the weight of validation. Promoted to Team A after one scrimmage—that was rare. It meant the coaches saw something special.
The scrimmage began at 4 PM. This time, Marco had better players around him—Özil on the right, quality midfielders behind him, Mats Hummels organizing the defense. The difference was immediately apparent.
When Marco received the ball wide, he had options. When he made runs, teammates found him. When he needed support, it materialized.
18th minute: Marco collected a pass on the left touchline, thirty yards from goal. His marker—the same Team B fullback from yesterday—approached cautiously, having learned not to dive in.
Marco faked the cut inside, sold it completely with a shoulder drop. The fullback bit. Marco pushed the ball down the line instead, accelerating past him into space. He reached the byline and cut the ball back low, exactly as the coaches wanted.
The striker—a talented forward from Stuttgart's academy—timed his run perfectly and side-footed home.
1-0, Team A.
Assist, Marco Reus.
36th minute: Team B equalized through a defensive mistake. 1-1 at halftime.
52nd minute:
Özil found space centrally and played a diagonal ball toward Marco, who'd drifted inside from his wide position. The pass was slightly overhit, bouncing awkwardly. Most players would have let it run, reset, kept possession.
Marco saw something else.
He adjusted his stride, reached the ball with his right foot, and flicked it first-time into the path of the overlapping fullback. The fullback crossed immediately. The striker headed toward the goal. But Team B keeper parried it out.
But Marco had kept running. He arrived at the rebound first, six yards out, and finished with his left foot.
2-1, Team A.
Goal, Marco Reus.
The celebration was brief—Team A players were used to success—but the coaches made extensive notes. That sequence had shown vision, technique, anticipation, and finishing. Complete forward play.
Final score: 3-1 to Team A. Özil had assisted another goal late, maintaining his standard. But Marco had matched him again: one goal, one assist.
Day 3 - February 17th:
Morning training shifted to small-sided games—4v4, 5v5, intense possession battles in tight spaces. This was Marco's element. In confined areas, his close control, vision, and decision-making shone brightest.
He played in multiple configurations, sometimes with Özil, sometimes against him. When they played together, the chemistry was evident. Özil's movement and Marco's passing complemented each other naturally.
"You two," Coach Weber said during a water break, pointing at Marco and Özil. "That combination—right wing, left wing. That's dangerous. Keep developing that understanding."
In the afternoon, they did tactical classroom work. Video analysis of international matches, breaking down how top teams used width, how wingers created chances, defensive responsibilities.
Marco asked questions that impressed the coaches—questions about pressing triggers, about when to invert versus when to stay wide, about how to exploit different defensive systems, impressing the coaches.
That evening, after dinner, a group gathered in one of the common rooms—Marco, Özil, Zieler, Boateng, Hummels, Stefano, and a few others. The conversation flowed easily: comparing academies, discussing Bundesliga matches, debating which players they admired.
"I like Thierry Henry," Özil said. "The way he plays on the left but cuts inside. That's how I want to play eventually."
"He's good," Marco agreed. "I think the future is inverted wingers on both sides. Left-footers playing right, right-footers playing left. Creates more shooting angles."
Hummels, the Bayern defender, raised an eyebrow. "That's not how we play at Bayern. Traditional wingers, stay wide, cross."
"For now," Marco said carefully. "But didn't you notice that more star wingers are now inverted? Like Ronaldinho."
"So you think everybody is going to favour inverted wingers?" Other replied. His tone suggests that he didn't buy that argument.
"No, I am sure of it"Marco said while a small smile tugging the corner of his mouth.