The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills-Chapter 263 - 68: UEFA Europa League, Advancing! Lewandowski, See You in the Premier League! Wang Shuo’s Number One Fanboy
The team was founded by a local home appliance manufacturer in Fronki. They were promoted to the top league in 1995, won the domestic cup in 2000, and had even competed in the UEFA Cup and the Cup Winners’ Cup.
But in 2006, the club, on the verge of bankruptcy, was forced to merge with Lech Poznan.
It subsequently became the home ground for Lech Poznan’s youth team.
The Fronki stadium was small, with a capacity of only 5,000, but it had one very distinctive feature: the stadium’s south stand was the town’s best hotel, the three-star Olympic Hotel.
The long journey from Dortmund to Poznan, and then on to Fronki, was a trek into unfamiliar territory.
So, the Bumblebees opted to arrive a night early and check into the Olympic Hotel.
On the day of the match, the players were forbidden from leaving the hotel.
Besides, there wasn’t much to see or do in the small town of Fronki anyway.
More importantly, a large cemetery was situated just northwest of the stadium.
The scenery wasn’t even as nice as the German countryside; there was truly nothing worth exploring.
Everyone just wanted evening to come so they could play the match and get back home as soon as possible.
This weekend was the third round of the Bundesliga, a home match against Stuttgart.
After a disastrous away loss to Hamburg in the previous round, this next match was at home. Losing was not an option.
The match was scheduled for 5:30 PM.
Dortmund arrived at the stadium early to get a feel for the pitch and begin their pre-match warm-ups.
Admittedly, the pitch was in terrible condition.
But for players accustomed to cup ties or away games in Eastern Europe, it was just something they had to get used to.
Even in the top five major leagues—wealthy, powerful, and professionally equipped—many teams still had terrible turf.
So what could one expect from other leagues?
To put it bluntly, if you wanted to be critical, the entire Lech Poznan squad’s income for a whole season probably wouldn’t be enough to maintain the turf at Bayern’s Allianz Arena.
"Hello, Wang!"
As Wang Shuo jogged around on his team’s half of the pitch, a player in a blue Lech Poznan jersey approached him.
He spoke in German.
Wang Shuo had reviewed Lech Poznan’s player info and recognized him immediately.
"Hello, Robert."
A flicker of surprise crossed the other player’s face, quickly followed by delight. "You know me?"
"Of course. You wear number 8, right? And you scored in the matches against Fredericia of Norway."
In the third qualifying round, Lech Poznan had thrashed Fredericia 6-1 away, only to lose the return leg 1-2 at home.
"I’ve been following your matches since you were at Mainz last season. I never thought I’d get the chance to be on the same pitch as you," Lewandowski said, looking genuinely honored.
"The honor is all mine, Robert," Wang Shuo replied, even more graciously.
"I’ve seen some of your matches in the UEFA Europa League and the Polish league. Just this morning, I was reminding my own teammates to watch out for you."
After saying this, Wang Shuo couldn’t help but laugh.
"My teammates said the same! They all said they’re going to give you some special attention."
"I hope it’s a great match!"
With that, Wang Shuo extended his hand.
"Me too," Lewandowski replied, taking his hand.
"Oh, and Wang? After the match, save your jersey for me."
"Huh?"
"A few guys on our team were saying they’re all going to try and swap jerseys with you." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶
It finally dawned on Wang Shuo.
’So you came over to make small talk just to get a head start on swapping jerseys?’
’You should’ve just said so, man! I brought a few spares!’
’And if you guys want the authentic, game-worn stuff, I can even change at halftime.’
...
As a Polish team, Lech Poznan’s tactics were inevitably influenced by their German neighbors.
They were currently employing a three-back line.
Specifically, a 3-4-3 formation.
Right from kickoff, Dortmund immediately unleashed their signature tactics.
All 5,000 fans were packed into the stadium’s only west stand, making their cheers incredibly focused and loud.
Dortmund’s high press in the final third clearly unsettled the Polish team.
They dropped deep in defense, but they simply couldn’t hold out.
In the 23rd minute, as a teammate won possession, Wang Shuo dropped back to the edge of the box to receive the ball before distributing it out to the left flank.
After making the pass, Wang Shuo turned and ran towards the goal.
But he deliberately slowed his pace, waiting.
When Reus received the ball, he was one-on-one with their right-back.
Reus suddenly burst into motion, driving quickly down the left wing. Upon reaching the side of the penalty area, he came to an abrupt halt, pulled the ball back with his right foot, and whipped in a low cross.
Wang Shuo had been tracking Reus’s run down the left the entire time. The moment he saw the cross go in, he burst into a sprint, charging directly in front of the goal. Meeting the incoming ball, he toe-poked it into the back of the Lech Poznan net from point-blank range.
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!"
"In the 23rd minute, Dortmund breaks the deadlock!"
"A goal from Wang Shuo!"
"1-0!"
Wang Shuo immediately ran to Reus, celebrating with an enthusiastic embrace by the sideline before pointing at his teammate for the broadcast cameras.
He was telling everyone to remember this player.
His name is Marco Reus!
And just nine minutes after Wang Shuo’s goal, Dortmund created another chance upfield.
Kuba tried to dribble past his man on the right wing, getting near the byline just outside the penalty area, but he couldn’t quite break through.
Left with no other option, Kuba stopped sharply, cut the ball back, and laid it off to Owomoyela.
