Free Web NovelChapter 498: Chapter 101: Worldie! Domain Skill: Controller! The Sorrow of a Glass Man! The Rookies’ First Champions League Match
This was also Mourinho’s first victory since taking charge of Real Madrid!
Meanwhile, over at Camp Nou, Barça lost 0-2 at home to Hercules.
Messi was completely shut down!
And guess who scored for Hercules?
That’s right, it was Valdes!
After scoring a brace, the Paraguayan forward publicly stated in a post-match interview that he was dedicating his goals to his former teammate, Wang Shuo.
"I know a lot of people used to say Wang Shuo and I had our conflicts, but the truth is, we’ve always gotten along great."
"He’s an incredible player, and I learned so many valuable things from him."
"I’ve left the team now, but we’re still friends."
"I’m sure he can win this bet and prove he’s the best player in the world!"
Touched by his former teammate’s praise, Wang Shuo returned the favor.
He first praised Valdes to the German media, then tagged his former teammate on Twitter.
"Bro, thanks for the two goals!"
Needless to say, the tweet once again drew a polarized reaction.
Naturally, Wang Shuo’s fans were ecstatic, while Messi’s fans were furious, flooding the comments with insults.
Some even accused Wang Shuo of having no class.
Ronaldo’s fans, on the other hand, were thrilled.
Ronaldo hadn’t scored in the previous round, and they had taken a lot of flak from Messi’s fans.
Now, the tables had turned. Barça had lost at home, and to top it off, they’d been beaten by two goals from Wang Shuo’s former teammate.
’Good thing it was just Valdes. If it had been Wang Shuo...’
The media tallied the current goal count for the three players: 8-1-1.
...
No one could have predicted that Dortmund’s first Champions League match in eight years would start off on such a rocky path.
On the morning the team was to depart for Lyon, captain Kael was injured in training and left the field early.
A detailed examination at the hospital confirmed a ruptured tendon, ruling him out until at least 2011.
His return date was unknown.
Such was the tragedy of a "glass man"!
Who would believe it? A simple, sudden stop during a non-contact training drill was enough to rupture his tendon.
And then there was the perennially injured De De.
The season had just begun, and it looked like these two Dortmund veterans were already out for the count.
Captain Kael’s severe injury was a huge blow to Dortmund’s morale. But beyond the psychological impact, there was another critical problem: the only player on the team with any Champions League experience was now sidelined.
With Kael out, only two other players on the Dortmund squad had any Champions League experience.
One was Hummels.
Back when he was still with Bayern, on October 31, 2006, he had been fortunate enough to make the squad list for a Champions League group stage match against Sporting Lisbon.
But he never played.
The other was the on-field captain, goalkeeper Weidenfeller.
His "experience" was a lot more impressive than Hummels’.
Starting in ’02, he had appeared for Dortmund multiple times in the Champions League group stage... on the substitutes’ list.
Dortmund’s starting goalkeeper at the time was Leman.
The ’02/’03 Champions League still had two group stages, totaling 12 matches. Weidenfeller made the squad list for 11 of them.
Unfortunately, his playing time, just like Hummels’, was a big fat zero.
So, two "veterans" with zero Champions League playing experience were leading a flock of rookies who had never played in the tournament. And they were headed to Lyon, France, for an away match against one of the eight seeded teams, Ligue 1 powerhouse Lyon.
You can imagine how it went.
Right from the kickoff, Lyon went for the throat, trying to finish off Dortmund with an early offensive blitz.
Dortmund, who were trying to play it safe and steady at the start, were completely overwhelmed.
Then, in the 21st minute, Weidenfeller—the team’s most "experienced" Champions League goalkeeper—came off his line for a save and fumbled the ball.
The ball fell to Lyon’s Brazilian left-winger, Bastos. He chipped it into the open net, putting it right into the back of Dortmund’s goal.
Weidenfeller had been like this for years.
He had a habit of making inexplicable errors in crucial matches.
Dortmund didn’t manage their first shot of the match until the 28th minute.
Wang Shuo received the ball with his back to the goal, spun away from center-back Lovren, and suddenly unleashed a long-range shot.
He was aiming for a low, bouncing shot, but goalkeeper Lloris gathered it securely.
After gradually finding their footing, Dortmund began to apply pressure and created a series of chances.
Wang Shuo himself had a chance with a direct free kick from a central position, but he couldn’t convert.
Subotic also had a chance, heading a corner just over the crossbar and missing a golden opportunity to score.
Ultimately, Dortmund went into halftime trailing 0-1.
...
"I need the ball!"
At halftime, as Wang Shuo walked off the pitch and toward the players’ tunnel, Head Coach Klopp came over to him.
The two walked side-by-side, and Klopp asked Wang Shuo for his thoughts on the first half.
Wang Shuo said, his expression grim.
"We’ve lost control of the midfield. I’m barely getting any touches on the ball. Lyon’s defense is incredibly tight!"
The center-back pairing of Lovren and Chris, with holding midfielder Toulalan in front of them.
On the flanks, they have Ali Sissoko and Reveille—both are big names on the European Football Scene.
And ahead of Toulalan, you have the two technical midfielders, Gourcuff and Pjanic.
This all reflected the strategy of Lyon’s coach, Claude Puel, for this game.
They wanted to devour Dortmund on their home turf!
"They have way more Champions League experience than we do. Plus, they’re playing at home, and it feels like the referee is favoring them a bit."
