The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills-Chapter 140 - 50: Great Comeback! Hat-Trick! Another Record
The media often says that teams coached by Klopp are prone to injury crises.
But he was never heavily criticized for it.
And industry experts were even less likely to complain.
Because there was nothing to be done about it.
That’s just how it was for smaller clubs.
Let alone Mainz—even at Hoffenheim, the 50+1 rule meant that no matter how rich their backers were, they couldn’t just invest at will. Their squads lacked depth.
So, while both newly promoted teams made waves in the first half of the season, every expert knew it wouldn’t last.
Come the second half of the season, they would struggle to recapture their early form.
In the long run, it all came down to squad depth.
Teams like Bayern, Dortmund, VfL Wolfsburg, Schalke 04, and Bayer Leverkusen—now those were the clubs with real resources.
Teams like Mainz and Hoffenheim, on the other hand, relied on a single core lineup.
After seeing Aytekin off, Wang Shuo mulled it over. His appearance rate so far this season was indeed frighteningly high.
Even more ridiculously, he was averaging over 11 kilometers per match.
That alone was enough to leave everyone stunned.
But as winter arrived, especially a German winter, with the cold snaps and dropping temperatures, the physical toll on players became even more severe.
Now, Wang Shuo was starting to feel the strain himself.
Especially today, after the grueling match against Hoffenheim, he actually felt the tell-tale signs of a cramp coming on.
Ever since he acquired the Ball God System and gained the benefits of Breathing, he’d never had this feeling.
’Looks like this constant exertion is pushing me to my limit.
I should be able to hold on until the winter break.’
...
"Post-match summary: 11 Passive Value gained."
"Current Passive Value: 45."
As soon as Wang Shuo received this message, he felt a wave of relief.
’I’ve finally saved up enough for another Passive Skill Card.’
But then, the Ball God System sent a second notification.
"Congratulations! For scoring a hat-trick against Hoffenheim and becoming the youngest player in Bundesliga history to do so, you are awarded one Regional Level Passive Skill Card or 100 Passive Value. Please choose..."
Wang Shuo froze for a moment when he saw the message.
’I can choose my reward?’
But he quickly realized what was going on.
’A Regional Level Passive Skill Card and 100 Passive Value seem like the same thing on the surface.
But a Regional Level Passive Skill Card can only be used to draw or upgrade Passive Skills, and only up to the Regional Level.
Passive Value, on the other hand, is much more flexible.
I can exchange it for two Passive Skill Cards, which I can then use for upgrades, right?’
Wang Shuo chose the 100 Passive Value with barely a moment’s hesitation.
He entered the Ball God System and glanced at his personal stats screen. His Passive Value was now at 145.
A sense of security instantly washed over Wang Shuo.
’War Feeds War... it really is the best!’
While Wang Shuo was occupied with the Ball God System, his teammates had already finished their celebrations and returned to the sidelines.
Head Coach Klopp was leading the players on a lap of honor to thank the Mainz fans in attendance.
During this time, something else happened.
The stadium announcer made a major announcement.
"In this match, 18-year-old Wang Shuo scored a hat-trick, helping our Mainz achieve a 3-2 comeback victory over Hoffenheim, and in doing so, he has also set the record for the youngest hat-trick in Bundesliga history!"
The entire Bruch Road Stadium instantly erupted in deafening cheers!
From the stands, all the fans in attendance roared Wang Shuo’s name.
Klopp, obliging the fans’ demands, pushed Wang Shuo forward to take another lap and interact with the supporters.
The player whose record Wang Shuo had just broken was named Walter Bessitod.
He played for Frankfurt in the ’60s.
During the 13th round of the ’65-’66 Bundesliga season, in an away match for Frankfurt against Neu-Isenburg, Bessitod scored his hat-trick at the age of 18 years, 3 months, and 26 days.
But today, Wang Shuo had scored his hat-trick. Born on September 13, he set the new record at 18 years, 2 months, and 9 days old.
He had shattered the previous record by more than a month.
This was an incredibly difficult feat.
According to the current regulations of the German Football Association, players under the age of 18 cannot represent a team in professional matches.
The rule was relaxed for players from a club’s own youth academy, allowing them to play as long as they would turn 18 by the end of the season.
This meant that to break this record, a player would almost have to score a hat-trick in their debut season.
Just how good would a young player have to be to do that?
Naturally, because of the difficulty of such a feat, news of it spread like wildfire throughout the German football scene after the match.
It even shot past Germany’s borders in no time, spreading swiftly throughout the European football scene and, eventually, the world.
This was a historical record in one of Europe’s top four leagues, after all!
The prestige of this achievement was undeniable.
Mainz Head Coach Klopp went even further, publicly singing Wang Shuo’s praises at the post-match press conference.
"He doesn’t strike me as an 18-year-old at all. He’s more like a very seasoned player."
A German reporter at the conference immediately raised a question about the upcoming European Golden Boy Award.
Klopp smiled and said, "I don’t know who will ultimately win the award."
But being subtle wasn’t Uncle Mustache’s style.
Uncle Mustache’s tone shifted immediately. "But in my opinion, Wang Shuo has made 14 appearances in the Bundesliga this season and scored 15 goals. With a record like that, regardless of whether he ends up winning this Golden Boy Award, he’s the best in my book!"
Klopp’s words quickly spread through the media.
