The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills

Chapter 469 - 97: The Bundesliga’s Top Star! Scoring Madly! Fighting for the Title! Heynckes: Wang Shuo, I’m a Dog If I Praise You Again

The scene changed, cutting to Westfalen Stadium.

The first thing everyone saw was the spectacular, stunning wave rolling through the South Stand.

The players from both teams soon entered the pitch, led by the head referee, Florian Mayer.

Dortmund’s starting lineup was their usual 4-2-3-1 formation.

Goalkeeper: Weidenfeller;

Defense: Schmelzer, Hummels, Subotic, and Piszczek;

Midfield: Shahin and Kael formed the double pivot, with Reus, Götze, and Kuba further forward;

Striker: Wang Shuo.

When the stadium announcer called out the name of number 9, Wang Shuo, the entire Westfalen Stadium erupted with thunderous drums and deafening cheers.

The fans in the South Stand, in particular, went wild.

Banners waved, a magnificent show of force that got everyone’s blood pumping.

But as Wang Shuo took the field, the drumming quickly changed.

Then, all the fans in the South Stand simultaneously raised placards, forming a massive TIFO.

Outlined in black against a yellow background, it featured "WANG·S" at the top and a huge Arabic numeral below it: 24!

When this enormous TIFO appeared, the live broadcast camera made sure to capture a panoramic shot. It was truly spectacular!

Applause and cheers echoed incessantly throughout the stadium as everyone chanted Wang Shuo’s name.

"The number 24, that’s the number of goals Wang Shuo scored in the UEFA Europa League last season."

"He broke the historical record of 15 goals set by Bayern’s passing striker, Klinsmann, becoming the highest single-season goal scorer in the history of the UEFA Europa League."

"In the opening match of the new season, Dortmund is using a massive TIFO to express their support and love for Wang Shuo!"

"At this moment, I believe all the fans watching at home will feel proud of our Chinese player, Wang Shuo!"

Bayer Leverkusen’s head coach was Heynckes.

The lineup for this match was Bayer Leverkusen’s preferred 4-4-2 formation.

Goalkeeper: Adler;

Defense: Kadlec, Hyypia, Friedrich, and Castro;

Midfield: Baneta, Vidal, Ballack, and Augusto;

Strikers: Kiesling and Derdiyok.

"Bayer Leverkusen’s front line is a combination of two tall center-forwards, both over 1.9 meters."

"Ballack, who returned to the Bundesliga from Chelsea this season, anchors the midfield, while Vidal has been one of the best-performing midfielders in the Bundesliga for the past two seasons."

"The back line is also marshaled by an experienced veteran like Hyypia."

"Goalkeeper Adler is making his return from injury."

"Speaking of which, the German international is incredibly unlucky. He was originally Germany’s starting goalkeeper, but a rib fracture last season forced him to miss the South Africa World Cup."

"Unexpectedly, Neuer from Schalke 04 burst onto the scene, and now he has completely overshadowed Adler."

"Now, everyone is hoping Adler can deliver a better performance in the new Bundesliga season and reclaim his position as Germany’s number one goalkeeper."

"The match is about to begin!"

...

At the sound of Mayer’s whistle, Wang Shuo immediately charged forward, bearing down on Bayer Leverkusen’s defensive line.

Bayer Leverkusen, who kicked off, quickly passed the ball back, but under pressure from Wang Shuo, they sent a long ball upfield.

They ended up losing possession.

The match hit a high tempo right from the start.

Playing at home, Dortmund employed their signature high-press tactic, putting pressure on Bayer Leverkusen.

Faced with a Dortmund side that was like a pack of wolves and tigers, the Pharmacy had no choice but to weather the initial storm.

According to Klopp’s pre-match instructions, with Ballack and Vidal partnering in midfield, there would be more space between Bayer Leverkusen’s defense and midfield.

Götze, meanwhile, was tasked with dropping back to draw Ballack and Vidal out of position before distributing the ball.

This tactic proved effective soon after the start of the game.

Just six minutes in, Wang Shuo dropped back into the gap behind Ballack and Vidal, received a pass from Götze, and quickly distributed it to the left flank for Reus.

Reus quickly dribbled forward, broke into the left side of the penalty area, and was double-teamed by Castro and Friedrich.

But he still managed to win a corner kick.

Shahin jogged over to take the corner.

Wang Shuo, along with everyone else, positioned himself near the penalty spot in the box.

At the referee’s whistle, Shahin quickly took the corner kick.

Wang Shuo immediately rushed toward the six-yard box.

Subotic charged forward, leaped up at the near post on the left side of the six-yard box, and flicked the ball with his head toward the center.

Hummels rushed in to get to that spot, but he was heavily marked by Bayer Leverkusen’s defenders.

Holy shit!

’Is no one marking me?’

’Who are they looking down on?’

’Do I really have this little presence during a set piece?’

Wang Shuo immediately picked up his pace, sprinting to the center, just in front of the six-yard box.

This was where Eagle Eye played its crucial role.

The ball was moving so fast.

But Wang Shuo felt his eyes could instantly track the ball’s path and predict its trajectory.

While everyone else was instinctively preparing to challenge for a header, Wang Shuo had already determined that the ball was too low.

So he quickly stuck out his foot and sent the ball flicked on by Subotic straight into the nearby Bayer Leverkusen goal.

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!"

"It’s in!!!"

"Seven minutes into the game, Dortmund is the first to break through Bayer Leverkusen’s defense!"

"Wang Shuo has scored his first Bundesliga goal of the season!"

"No one could have expected the goal to come so quickly, so suddenly!"