Westfalenstadion Explodes

"Anno, come here!"

Chen Anno had just finished putting on his kit when he heard Klopp's voice, and he quickly jogged over.

"Listen, Anno. You're going on for Jakub Blaszczykowski. Play right winger!"

Borussia Dortmund was playing a 3-4-3 today, with Marco Reus on the left wing and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the middle.

Klopp held a tactics board in his hands and looked up at Chen Anno. "Do you remember what I told you before? Football is a team sport. You have to combine with your teammates!"

"Sir! I've always remembered!" Chen Anno quickly nodded.

"Good!" Klopp patted him on the shoulder. "But today is different. I need your dribbling and your breakthroughs. Use your strengths to tear open their packed defense! Use your strengths to draw more defenders and create space for your teammates!"

Chen Anno froze for a moment, then nodded again. "I understand, sir."

"Look here!" Klopp pointed at the tactics board. "Their left back—I watched him in the first half. That No. 19 has average pace, and his turning is a little slow too. Your job when you get on is to dribble past him until he's full of holes! Cut inside, look for chances to shoot, or, after disrupting their defensive line, pass to your teammates!"

"Their packed defense has made things very uncomfortable for us. We've already tried the direct-crosses-to-the-striker approach, and we've tried long shots too. You saw it as well—the effect wasn't great. So, Anno, your task is heavy! If there's no chance to shoot, and your teammates' runs aren't in place either, drive into the box. Use your technique to draw fouls in the penalty area, win penalties. Do you understand?"

Klopp's eyes were wide as he looked at Chen Anno in front of him.

"I understand, sir!"

"Good! Go. This is your debut, with more than eighty thousand fans here to witness it! Go prove yourself. Make them cheer for you. I believe you can do it!"

At the side of the pitch, Zeljko Buvac was already waving to him. Chen Anno quickly straightened his shirt and walked toward the touchline.

"All right, welcome back. Neither side scored in the first half, so the score is still 0–0 for now. However, Borussia Dortmund held the overwhelming advantage during the first half, so I believe Dortmund should produce a goal in the second half."

"Eh... we can see Dortmund are making a substitution right from the start. They're bringing on No. 10, Chen Anno, and taking off the starting right winger, No. 16 Jakub Blaszczykowski."

"I hadn't noticed before—Chen Anno is actually wearing the No. 10 shirt. That's the number Gotze left behind last season."

"Dortmund attacked fiercely for the entire first half but still couldn't get a goal. Bringing Chen Anno on at this moment, plus the number he's wearing now, it seems Klopp really values him."

"However, bringing on Chen Anno at a time like this—he has only just turned seventeen. Can he shoulder such a heavy responsibility and bring Dortmund a different kind of change? Let's wait and see!"

"Damn it! Who says my brother can't shoulder the responsibility!"

In the dim living room, the sudden voice gave Chen Shouqing a huge fright.

"Hey! You little brat, didn't you say you were going to sleep? Do you still want to go to school tomorrow?"

"Hehe... Dad, look, my brother's on the pitch now. Let me watch for another ten minutes."

Seeing Chen Xiaolong's shameless look, Chen Shouqing had no choice. "Fine, just ten minutes. After ten minutes, you go straight back to bed."

"Hehe... Thanks, Dad. Don't worry, I'll definitely get up early tomorrow morning. Mom won't even need to call me."

Chen Shouqing rolled his eyes and ignored Chen Xiaolong, his gaze fixed firmly on the television as he watched Chen Anno already preparing to come on.

Westfalenstadion.

The fourth official raised the substitution board: No. 10 on, No. 16 off.

In the South Stand, an old man with graying hair and beard saw the substitution and felt a little puzzled.

"This kid is the one who transferred over from Sao Paulo, right? What was his name again?"

"Anno. Anno Chen," a fan beside him chimed in.

"Anno? Jurgen actually gave Mario's shirt to him. Looks like this kid must have something, huh?"

"Who knows? Maybe this kid has some special relationship with Jurgen?"

"Hey...! Mats, you can't say that about Jurgen. Without him, our team wouldn't have won two straight titles, and we wouldn't have made last year's Champions League final. Maybe we'd all have been relegated to the 2. Bundesliga by now."

Anyone able to sit in the South Stand was a die-hard fan of The Bumblebees, and from the look of him, this old man was a die-hard among die-hards.

The man named Mats was scolded by the old man, but he only smiled awkwardly.

With a whistle, the second half began.

Eintracht Braunschweig's packed defense in the first half had given them hope of taking one point away from Westfalenstadion.

So after kicking off, they had no intention of attacking either. Instead, they began passing the ball around in the backfield.

On Borussia Dortmund's side, the habit of high pressing was already ingrained in their bones. The three forwards in particular pushed up at the same time the moment the whistle sounded.

Chen Anno kept remembering Klopp's instructions before he came on. The opponent's left back wasn't quick, and his turning was a little slow.

So while Chen Anno pushed up to press, he kept watching the opposing No. 19.

Just then, the ball happened to be passed to No. 19's feet, and Chen Anno immediately pounced.

Perhaps because Chen Anno's face looked somewhat young, No. 19 Reichel did not take him seriously, instead receiving the ball at an unhurried pace.

But just as he lifted his right foot to receive it, a yellow figure suddenly flashed past before his eyes.

So fast! Reichel had no time to react at all—the ball at his feet was already gone.

"Wow...!! Chen Anno's press, the speed was too fast! Dortmund's counterpress right on the spot—this is a chance!"

At the same time, a burst of astonished cries erupted from the stands!

After winning the ball, Chen Anno knocked it forward in one explosive touch and reached the left side of the penalty area. As he dribbled, he had already lifted his head to scan the front line, but there was no good passing opportunity.

With the opposing center-back coming over to cover, Chen Anno's feet flashed rapidly over the ball, his body swaying sharply from side to side.

"Whoa... Chen Anno's doing stepovers. His technique is excellent!"

The opposing left center-back, Correia, was left dizzy by the seamless sequence of moves and had no idea how to make a challenge.

Just then, Chen Anno suddenly nudged the ball outward with his right foot.

Correia immediately stepped out with his left foot, trying to block Chen Anno's breakthrough.

But the next instant, the ball that had been pushed away seemed to be attached to a rubber band and suddenly snapped back.

"Elastico!!"

That whole chain of moves was completed in the blink of an eye!

The ball that bounced back brushed against Chen Anno's left foot, and as his right foot kicked off, he darted past Correia on the right!

"Beautiful!! Chen Anno is in, inside the penalty area..."

"He shoots directly with his left foot!!"

"It's there!!! This one's there!! The ball is in!!"

"Less than a minute after the second half began, Chen Anno won the ball himself in the front court, beat the defender himself, and finished the shot himself!!"

"This was Chen Anno's first touch after coming on, and he completed a solo run from start to finish!"

"1–0!"

"Borussia Dortmund has finally broken the deadlock!!"

The instant the goal went in, the entire Westfalenstadion exploded!

More than eighty thousand fans erupted into deafening cheers at the same time, and the whole stadium seemed to shake as if an earthquake had struck.

After scoring, Chen Anno ran straight toward the corner flag and dropped into an incredibly smooth knee slide.