Chapter 351: Chapter 80: Blitzkrieg!, The Story of Klopp’s Rise!, Suarez: I’m Not as Good as Wang Shuo!, The Ill-fated Van Gaal

It even sounded a bit threatening.

This made Wang Shuo very uncomfortable.

Van Bommel was not someone to be trifled with!

This match was incredibly important for both teams.

If Dortmund won, they would further widen their lead in the standings.

If they lost, the gap would shrink.

Therefore, both sides were taking it very seriously.

Lining up, walking onto the pitch, taking photos, the coin toss...

Everything was routine, following standard procedure.

The only unexpected incident occurred after Wang Shuo shook hands with Kircher and the rest of the officiating crew. When he shook hands with Van Bommel, the Bayern captain gripped Wang Shuo’s right hand with great force.

"Kid, what you did in that match against Frankfurt was disgusting!"

"You better watch yourself during the match!"

This was already a very clear threat.

Especially with his expression and the look on his face as he spoke, Van Bommel was genuinely intimidating.

But Wang Shuo wasn’t easily scared.

"Bring it on if you’ve got the guts!"

Van Bommel snorted coldly. "Don’t come crying to me later!"

After that, they each returned to their own half of the field.

Dortmund won the kickoff for the first half.

...

"Capital Television, Capital Television!"

"To all our viewers watching at home, we are now broadcasting live the marquee matchup of the 22nd round of the 2009/10 Bundesliga season: the national derby, as Bayern Munich hosts Dortmund."

"This is a contest between Bayern, currently third in the Bundesliga, and the league leaders, Dortmund."

"Following our live broadcast camera, we can see the player from our very own China, Wang Shuo, wearing Dortmund’s yellow number 9 jersey. He just won the coin toss against Bayern’s captain, Van Bommel."

"For our audience, let me explain: Wang Shuo has been Dortmund’s on-field captain recently."

"We can see Wang Shuo now gathering the Dortmund players for their final pre-match preparations."

"The match is about to begin!"

...

With a blow of head referee Kircher’s whistle, Wang Shuo kicked the ball to Kuba.

Kuba kicked it back to the midfield, passing to Hummels.

After receiving the ball, the midfielder, a product of the Bayern youth academy, distributed it to the left flank, passing to Schmelzer.

Just as the ball was passed back to Shahin, Van Bommel suddenly charged across the halfway line with a vicious slide tackle, taking down both man and ball, sending Shahin to the ground.

Kircher called the foul but didn’t issue a card!

The match was only thirteen seconds in.

Wang Shuo quickly ran over, but instead of helping Shahin up, he looked at Kircher. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"That was a brutal tackle! That’s not worth a card?"

Wang Shuo knew exactly what was happening.

’Van Bommel is testing Kircher’s officiating standard for this match. This will set the precedent for how aggressive he can be.’

Besides, just thirteen seconds in and at Bayern’s home ground, there was no way Kircher was going to book Van Bommel.

But a protest was necessary.

Shahin, shielded behind Wang Shuo, heard his captain’s words. He had been about to get up, but he immediately stayed down on the ground.

Kircher glanced at Shahin, then at Wang Shuo, and immediately walked over to Van Bommel to give the Bayern midfielder a warning.

Don’t underestimate that verbal warning!

In effect, it was like putting a mark against his name in the referee’s book.

From now on, if Van Bommel’s actions were even slightly over the line and Dortmund protested again, he would definitely get a card!

Van Bommel glared fiercely at Wang Shuo.

Previously, Dortmund’s captain was the goalkeeper, Weidenfeller.

Having a goalkeeper as captain has one major drawback: they can’t communicate with the referee in a timely manner.

Van Bommel had originally thought that since Wang Shuo was only nineteen, he’d be easy to handle.

But he hadn’t expected that the moment he crossed the line, Wang Shuo would complain to the referee and push back.

’This kid is so damn troublesome!’

Van Bommel turned and walked away.

When Shahin got up to take the free kick, he passed it straight back into their own half, eventually sending it to the feet of their goalkeeper, Ziegler.

Gomez also tentatively applied pressure just outside the penalty area.

Ziegler immediately booted it with a long ball toward the left inside channel in the attacking half.

Grosskreutz ran to contest the header, but Van Bitten got there a step ahead and cleared it with his head, sending the ball back near the halfway line.

Near the halfway line in his own half, Shahin chested the ball down and immediately passed it to Wang Shuo, who was at the bottom of the center circle in Bayern’s half.

Wang Shuo was constantly scanning his surroundings, taking in every movement.

Since there was no number 10, he had dropped back quite deep.

Before the ball even arrived, Wang Shuo, positioned sideways with his back to the right flank, turned his head for a quick scan, taking in Bayern’s entire defensive formation.

At that moment, he was positioned just in front of Schweinsteiger and Van Bommel.

Right between Bayern’s two defensive midfielders.

However, of Bayern’s two center-backs, Demichelis was positioned slightly to the right, keeping an eye on Kuba.

Van Bitten had just challenged Grosskreutz for a header, so he was positioned in the left inside channel and also slightly further upfield.

In the time it took to glance, Wang Shuo had already gotten a crystal-clear picture of Bayern’s entire defensive line. In his mind, he rapidly analyzed the situation, ran through the possibilities, and discovered a passing lane that surprised even himself.

’There’s a chance!’

As the ball came to him, Wang Shuo used the inside of his right foot to control it forward. Then, he pushed off powerfully with both legs and sprinted forward at top speed.

Bayern’s two defensive midfielders immediately converged to form a pincer, trying to shut the door on Wang Shuo.

But Wang Shuo was a step quicker. He forcefully kicked the ball forward and to the left.

The ball threaded through the gap between Van Bommel and Schweinsteiger, sliding into the space behind Van Bitten.