After a brief warm-up, Sampdoria's players' mental state immediately took a sharp dive.
The enormous roar.
The fans' howls.
All of it affected the young Sailors.
Even Lombardo, who had been playing well lately, showed rare signs of stage fright. Westfalenstadion's reputation as a devilish home ground was well deserved.
Never mind him—even the players who had reached the Cup Winners' Cup final with the team last year were somewhat nervous.
Pezzotti asked worriedly, "Should we adjust the starting lineup again?"
Even after the team sheet had been submitted, unexpected things could happen to players. They could still communicate with the refereeing crew and make changes at this point.
"Forget it."
Boskov shook his head.
He was more eager to see the team grow. If they kept protecting the children too well, how could they ever become the best players?
"Relax. Give it to me when you get the ball."
Dejan Lu turned back and said to Lanna.
Lanna forced out a smile uglier than crying.
In the broadcast booth, Enrico Varriale said worriedly, "It looks like Sampdoria's young players have been frightened by the West Germans. Perhaps someone should explain to them that East Germany is the bad guy."
Rossi coughed and said, "They'll get used to it slowly. I was much the same when I first became a starter."
Clearly, he did not want to get tangled up in the issue of East and West Germany.
Some things had been demonized by Europe and America, but fear had followed as well.
"All right, let's look at both teams' starting lineups first."
Dortmund, 3-5-2, double defensive midfielders and one attacking midfielder:
Goalkeeper: Wolfgang Deubel,
Defenders: Günter Kutowski, Thomas Helmer, Michael Schulz,
Midfielders: Michael Lüsch, Murdo MacLeod, Andreas Müller, Michael Zorc, Thomas Kroth,
Forwards: Frank Mill, Jürgen Wegmann.
Sampdoria, 4-4-2, two wide midfielders and two forwards:
Goalkeeper: Pagliuca,
Defenders: Marco Lanna, Verchowod, Pellegrini, Mannini,
Midfielders: Dejan Lu, Pari, Dossena, Lombardo,
Forwards: Vialli, Roberto Mancini.
"We aren't surprised at all by Dejan's start, but the name Marco Lanna still comes as quite a surprise."
"Boskov has always been bold when using young players, so let's see how he performs during the match."
Dejan Lu and his teammates were carrying out their final warm-up.
He was fairly familiar with the Little World Cup. As for Dortmund, Rosicky's generation was more famous. Looking over Dortmund's players, he recognized only a few.
Andreas Müller went without saying.
In German football, anyone named Müller was basically a big deal.
This one was even more heavyweight, hailed as Beckenbauer's successor. His talent was more than enough to earn recognition.
But he had one major problem: his mental strength was not particularly good. His performances always swung between hero and coward. He could score a last-minute winner in one match, then disappear completely in the next.
Players like that were rarely seen in football.
As for Thomas Kroth, Dejan Lu knew of him because he became an agent after retiring. While reading the news, he had discovered that Kroth was behind the moves of most Japanese players in the Bundesliga. Shinji Kagawa, Shinji Okazaki, and Yuto Nagatomo were all under him, while Neuer would become his future star client.
Zhang Xizhe, who had scored a hat trick, had been moved to the Bundesliga through him, and he later worked with Wu Lei as well.
This guy had an extremely sharp eye for the Asian market.
The last one was Jürgen Wegmann. Dejan Lu had read reports about former Dortmund players, and Wegmann was an example of someone who had not made it.
Still, since they had won the German Cup and German Super Cup, this team certainly had quality.
At seven in the evening, Soviet referee Alexei Spirin blew the whistle to begin the match.
Roberto Mancini played it sideways, and Vialli immediately gave it to Dejan Lu.
Thomas Kroth charged straight at him. The future agent tycoon was quite powerfully built, but Dejan Lu had no intention of battling him physically. He simply nudged the ball with his left foot, then knocked it forward at once.
He was playing on the left today. With that simple knock-and-run, he accelerated forward.
By the time Thomas Kroth turned around, he had already been completely left behind.
"Fuck."
Zorc cursed and hurried toward the flank to cover.
His technique was not outstanding, but he knew how to use his brain when he played. After reaching Dejan Lu, he slowed down instead of sticking out a foot, constantly maintaining pressure on him.
Dejan Lu glanced from the corner of his eye. His teammates were not making enough forward runs, so he did not accelerate again.
In that brief moment, Kroth had already raced back, trying to join forces with Zorc.
Seeing Zorc close in, Dejan Lu knew he could not wait any longer.
Using his right foot as a pivot, he spun counterclockwise. His left foot dragged the ball around Kroth, naturally evading the pressing Zorc as well.
Beautiful!!!
Boskov fiercely pumped a fist on the bench.
This move was called the Maradona turn. Who had used it first was impossible to verify, but in Serie A, Diego Maradona had used it the most.
Dejan Lu's center of gravity was not as low as Maradona's, but he was far more fluid and elegant.
The two Dortmund players clearly had not expected that move. By the time they restarted and chased back, they were already a step too late. Dejan Lu carried the ball toward the middle.
MacLeod abandoned his own zone and rushed at Dejan Lu with almost no hesitation. While running, Dejan Lu laid the ball back to the advancing Dossena.
Dossena received the ball and saw that Dejan Lu had already charged to the edge of the penalty area, with three defenders around him from every direction. Just as he hesitated, an angry roar came from the touchline, and he instinctively passed the ball.
"Give it to Dejan!!!"
With his back to goal, Dejan Lu received the ball, flicked it with the outside of his right foot, and turned. Before he had fully faced the penalty area, he snapped his ankle and chipped the ball with the outside of his boot.
Smack—
With a crisp sound, the ball sailed over Helmer and Schulz's heads toward the left side of the penalty area. The charging Vialli cushioned it on his chest, then after it bounced, swept it in with his left foot and easily beat the goalkeeper.
The goalscoring Vialli sprinted wildly toward Dejan Lu.
The noisy Westfalenstadion instantly fell silent.
Some fans buying snacks had not even sat back down before their team conceded?
The West German media had hyped this match for a long time. Both teams were title challengers, and everything had seemed positive so far.
But what the fuck was this?
Dortmund's fans could barely believe their eyes.
"Damn it, why didn't you give it to me?"
Roberto Mancini ran over and complained, "Are you getting back at me because I didn't buy you a Ferrari?"
"Mancio, the bonus for one more goal isn't even four hundred thousand dollars," Dejan Lu reminded him.
"Bastard, don't call me that!!!"
Roberto Mancini said, waving a fist.
He always felt that the nickname "Gentleman Mancini" sounded especially sarcastic coming from Dejan Lu.
Dossena stared at Dejan Lu's right foot several times before asking, "You used your left foot more before, but you've used your right a lot today too. Which foot is actually your stronger one?"
"You guess."
Dejan Lu said.
Dossena shook his head. He really could not tell.
Dejan Lu smiled and said, "Secrets make men more manly."
Roberto Mancini sourly raised his middle finger.
Still, whether it was that pass or the spin that beat two men, it had been too cool. Dejan Lu's movements were smooth and graceful, far more pleasing to watch than when other players used them.
He even felt it should not be called the Maradona turn. Calling it the Dejan Spin would be more fitting!
Dortmund had clearly been stunned. After the restart, they immediately wanted to launch a quick attack.
Michael Lüsch chose to take on Lombardo as soon as he got the ball. Lombardo's defensive ability was average, but he was a smart player.
He deliberately pressed straight forward, giving Lüsch no time to think and forcing him toward the middle.
Dossena timed it perfectly, stuck out a foot, and hooked the ball to his own feet.
With possession changing hands again, Dossena nudged the ball with his right foot and looked up. Seeing Lombardo burst forward, he chose the right flank.
His pace on the right was very quick. After changing rhythm at a crucial moment and accelerating again, he successfully shook off MacLeod. The Scottish player, whose smile resembled Jim Carrey's, was not known for his defending either.
Boo!
Boo!
Boo!
Westfalenstadion erupted in deafening boos.
Some fans nervously lifted themselves from their seats.
They had just conceded one. Were they about to concede another?
Even Beckenbauer could not help focusing completely on the match.
Even if he was not a Dortmund legend, as a fellow countryman, he still did not want Dortmund to lose too badly.
"How will they handle this? Both teams' players are near the right side. Dejan isn't on the left, but Lanna has pushed up. Giving it to Lanna would be better!"
"He passed it—it's Dejan!!!"
Caught between defenders in front and behind, Lombardo did not think twice before playing the ball square to Dejan Lu at the top of the arc.
Click.
Dejan Lu stepped forward and controlled the ball with the outside of his right foot. Helmer faced him like a formidable enemy.
Dejan Lu's earlier performance had already put the international defender on full alert. He lowered his center of gravity, trying to move with Dejan Lu immediately.
But the next second, he wanted to curse.
After controlling the ball with the outside of his boot, this kid switched feet and pushed it forward with the inside of his left.
The movement was small.
As an experienced defender, Helmer knew something was wrong from that one motion alone.
Sure enough, the next two touches were still small, but when the ball reached his left foot, Dejan Lu exaggerated the movement.
Helmer did not dare take it lightly and could only move quickly to his right.
But Dejan Lu did not continue knocking the ball into the penalty area with his left foot. Instead, he played it square to the right.
???
The fans behind the goal barely dared breathe, afraid that one lapse of attention would see their team concede again.
The other two defenders also rushed toward Dejan Lu.
But Dejan Lu gave them no chance. With a flick of his right foot, he sent the ball back to the left again.
Helmer, who had only just managed to reset his balance, could only slow down and steady himself to avoid falling.
Schulz surged past him from behind first. Without nearly any hesitation, he threw himself into a sliding tackle, trying to block Dejan Lu's shooting lane.
Bang—
At the same time, Dejan Lu swung his left foot through the ball.
A thunderous strike!
Deubel, crouching in front of goal, had clearly not expected a high shot. His stance had been prepared for getting down quickly.
From such close range, there was no way to get back up. He could only stretch his arms as far as possible, but he could still only watch the ball fly past his fingertips and into the net.
Two goals in less than two minutes.
Europe's most terrifying devilish home ground had fallen just like that!
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Old Ye caught a cold again recently. He still had not been exercising enough. Take care of your health too, everyone.
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