The development of football could not be separated from industrial progress. The world's number one sport had originally been a workers' game looked down upon by gentlemen, marked by a clear class divide.
It was a sport workers used to pass their spare time, one that brought them together through football.
Many powerful clubs were based in famous industrial cities, such as Liverpool, Manchester, and Germany's coal-and-steel-producing Ruhr area.
The Ruhr area gave birth to Dortmund and Schalke 04, the Ruhr Giants.
Both teams had been founded by workers and students.
As time passed, football had become part of Dortmund itself. Dortmund, rising rapidly, had turned its home ground, Westfalenstadion, into a place that made all of Europe tremble.
After getting off the plane, the group took a bus straight to the hotel. The moment they arrived, Marco Lanna ran over to the coach and asked, "Boss, can we go out and have a look around?"
Going abroad was still quite novel in those days, especially since Germany was a rather special case.
Boskov glanced at him and said, "You can go out, but I have two rules. First, no one goes off alone. Second, no conflicts with the fans."
"That's great, Boss!!!"
Lanna said excitedly.
He had always wanted to take a picture beside the world's largest Christmas tree and send it to his girlfriend.
Roberto Mancini curled his lip and mocked, "Someone like him will get fooled by a woman sooner or later."
This time, Vialli did not argue back. He nodded along with Dejan Lu.
Ever since Lanna had been promoted to the first team, he had had a girlfriend. The local-born player was being groomed as the club's future captain. Aside from training and matches, he spent all his time glued to his girlfriend.
"Marco, how does she usually react when you send her all those photos?"
Dejan Lu asked.
"She's very happy. Tina likes photography too. The two of us share the same hobby. That's the best thing, understand, Dejan?" Lanna said excitedly.
"What about other things? Like this trip abroad—did she say anything else?"
Dejan Lu asked.
"She said German cars are amazing. She's dreamed of owning a Mercedes ever since she was little," Lanna said.
Vialli glanced at Dejan Lu.
Lanna did not earn much. If he became a regular starter, that girl's dream would probably turn into a Porsche.
Roberto Mancini was about to say something, but Vialli directly pulled him away.
"What?" Roberto Mancini asked impatiently.
"It's useless for other people to talk him out of it."
Vialli said, "We can advise him once he wakes up to reality."
The hotel where the team stayed was not far from the train station. More importantly, it was near Westfalenstadion, making it very convenient to get to the stadium.
As for the surroundings, they were nothing special. The exterior was as ordinary as the interior.
"Anyone up for a few rounds of Scopa?"
Pagliuca asked.
It was a very popular Italian card game played with Neapolitan cards.
It was the kind of game where players compared total points.
"No, I'll read for a while."
Dejan Lu took out his Japanese Encyclopedia and Walkman.
"Are you planning to settle in Japan after you retire?" Roberto Mancini asked as they walked toward their rooms.
"No, I'm planning to make their money."
Dejan Lu said with a smile.
Learning the local language was the easiest way to win the locals' goodwill. The Japanese were so rich that Dejan Lu was willing to invest some effort in learning.
The others shouted and played cards, but they did not disturb Dejan Lu.
That evening, the whole team ate dinner together before returning to their rooms.
Lanna was Dejan Lu's roommate. After coming back, the kid immediately started making a phone call.
"If the phone bill gets too high, the club might not reimburse you," Dejan Lu reminded him.
Lanna nervously covered the receiver and asked, "Really?"
Dejan Lu nodded.
International calls were not cheap in those days. The club would not pay that bill for him.
Lanna hurriedly said a few more words to his girlfriend before hanging up.
"We're playing Dortmund tomorrow. Aren't you nervous?"
Lanna asked.
It was his first time starting in a European competition.
Unfortunately, the only response he received was Dejan Lu's steady breathing.
Lanna suddenly felt a little envious of Dejan Lu. This teammate was just as young as he was, yet always seemed so carefree.
Early the next morning.
The entire team gathered downstairs ahead of time.
Everyone sat in the restaurant as Boskov said, "I know you all want breakfast, but let me remind you: manage your diet properly, and put in a good performance at the Germans' home ground!"
"Got it, Boss!"
The players answered casually.
But Boskov did not smile at all.
Dortmund was somewhat special.
Their home ground, Westfalenstadion, had an incredibly oppressive atmosphere. He did not know whether these young men could withstand it.
A little after four in the afternoon, the entire Sampdoria squad arrived at Westfalenstadion.
Even in the locker room, they could hear the roars from the stands. Though they had not gone out to warm up yet, they could already imagine the scene.
Including standing sections, the stadium had a capacity of over sixty thousand. Even by European standards, it was a very large ground.
Inside the crude locker room, everyone was somewhat nervous, and the earlier ease had vanished.
Dejan Lu tightly tied his shoelaces.
He chose to draw a card.
Ding. Because your brother Bagnato had extremely weak lower-body strength and often failed to control the ball before falling over, a player with powerful lower-body strength had been drawn. You obtained the Zidane Single Match Experience Card for the 2006 World Cup Final, Italy vs. France: Zinedine Zidane.
Dejan Lu: ...
Zidane's peak had been around the 1998 World Cup.
He had still performed well at the 2006 World Cup, but he was nowhere near as good as he had been in his youth.
Still, a player of that caliber remained the core of France's World Cup squad even after his peak. He had already surpassed the level of an elite player, which was why some people called Zidane half a football king.
Whether he was a football king or not, his ability was undeniably formidable.
Most importantly, Zidane's attributes suited Sampdoria perfectly.
They lacked players who could carry the ball, which was why Roberto Mancini often had to drop deep.
Did Zidane even need an introduction?
His ball-carrying ability was top-tier. His speed of processing the ball was not particularly fast, and because of his playing style, he also liked to keep the ball at his feet. That style was instead the perfect fit for this Sampdoria side.
In the stands at Westfalenstadion.
Aki Schmidt sat beside Beckenbauer.
Schmidt, the German captain, was ten years older than Beckenbauer, and there had not been much overlap in their careers.
"Shouldn't you be watching Bayern's match, Franz?"
Schmidt asked curiously.
"I'm more curious about Sampdoria and Dortmund. Champions represent conservatism; they do not change easily. But both Dortmund and Sampdoria have some new things about them. I want to see what will be different about their match."
Franz Beckenbauer explained.
He still respected this senior figure. Schmidt had been selected at continental level twelve times during his career and had long served as Dortmund's captain and a key player for the national team.
"Really? I thought you were here to scout players for Bayern," Schmidt teased.
When he did not respond, Schmidt was genuinely surprised.
Was he serious?
Bayern had never had an Italian foreign player in their history.
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