Bundesliga matchday was approaching, and media outlets were busy building up the hype.
<North Rhine Evening News: Leverkusen aimed to stay unbeaten.>
<Korean media: Son Heung-min was a young talent on the same level as Li Luo.>
<Japanese media: A clash among the Bundesliga's dazzling new generation—Li Luo vs. Çalhanoğlu, Li Luo vs. Kießling, Li Luo vs. Son Heung-min! The midfield commanders' battle of destiny! The heading demon's blood-red dawn! The South Korean forward's deadly interception! How would China's exhausted qilin fight his way out?>
<The Sun: Li Luo had a healthy private life, shunned young models, and focused on football.>
<Xinhua News Agency: Interest in the Bundesliga continued to rise, with young Li Luo winning fans' hearts.>
Comments, likes, and shares kept skyrocketing.
-[Wolfsburg were playing three games in a week. Leverkusen would probably hammer them this time.]
-[Why did I feel like the Korean media were trying to mock us? They weren't doing any damage, though...]
-[Leverkusen were strong in attack and weak in defense, and Wolfsburg hadn't kept a clean sheet this season. This would definitely be a goalfest. All in!]
-[What was The Sun doing? Did they think positive news about Li Luo would get more attention?]
-[Come on, Li Luo!]
A day later.
Li Luo and the club arrived in Leverkusen.
In the late nineteenth century, Bayer had built a factory in the city, gradually turning it into one of Germany's major centers for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.
The employees needed recreational activities, so Bayer founded Leverkusen in 1904.
The club's first crest featured a yellow lion.
For more than a century afterward, that lion had roamed European football, writing countless stories.
The most famous was its achievement as the "triple runner-up" in 2002.
In that year's UEFA Champions League final, Zidane's Celestial Volley had reduced Leverkusen to a backdrop.
"Why did this feel like a match between two factories?"
"Haha."
"Bayer's factory team vs. Volkswagen's factory team."
"The world couldn't do without Bayer. The deworming medicine they invented worked so well!"
The green team bus slowly entered the stadium.
Wolfsburg's players chatted along the way, trying to relax.
Hecking sat beside the Chinese teenager and patiently explained things in a rapid-fire stream. It amounted to: "You're too tired," "A youngster who's only just come of age can't be overused," "You're still growing, and overexertion could leave you with lasting injuries that are hard to treat," "All right, I'll bring you on in the second half," and "That's settled, then."
Li Luo had no objections.
He felt tired, too.
Playing the full ninety minutes in three high-intensity matches in a week was grueling for a young midfielder who covered the most ground in every game.
One of the differences between mid-table teams and elite clubs lay in their bench depth.
Over a long season, injuries and fatigue were a club's most terrifying enemies.
Once those two factors accumulated beyond a certain point, they severely weakened a team's fighting strength.
Leverkusen's training ground.
Assistant coach Dino looked supremely confident. "Boss, my plan is flawless. It'll definitely contain Li Luo! This match will be easy."
Head coach Schmidt handed him Wolfsburg's freshly released starting lineup.
At this point in football history, starting lineups were generally announced about an hour before kickoff.
"Li's on the bench today."
"Huh?"
Dino was a little dumbfounded and checked the lineup again and again.
Schmidt reassured him. "It's fine. We'll stick to the original plan. The club sees all the effort you've put in. Keep up the good work."
With that said,
he picked up another newspaper covering the league in Qatar and began reading with keen interest.
As he read, a smile slowly appeared. If I coached in the Middle East... my annual salary could reach six million euros, without all the pressure of Europe.
The BayArena.
Red smoke bombs went off in corners of the stands.
Thick smoke billowed.
Huge red flags waved constantly.
In the main stand, an enormous tifo quietly unfurled.
"Zhuangdian'er TV! Zhuangdian'er TV! Good evening, viewers."
"We're bringing you live coverage of the fourth round of the 2014–15 Bundesliga season."
"Leverkusen are hosting Wolfsburg."
"The pharmaceutical giants against the Wolves."
"A clash of heavyweights. Meetings between these two teams have never lacked goals!"
"Will we witness another goalfest tonight?"
"Let's wait and see."
The pre-match press conference.
Hecking patiently explained his starting lineup to the public.
He wasn't explaining it for the media's benefit.
He was explaining it to Wolfsburg's local supporters.
"We certainly aren't giving up on this match. With three games in a week, this is perfectly normal squad rotation."
"Li needs rest. He covers the most ground in every match, and the club has consulted our medical staff and fitness coaches."
"Wolfsburg will take this match seriously."
On the other side,
Leverkusen manager Schmidt looked relaxed.
Most of the reporters' questions had little to do with the match.
There was a story from Schmidt's time coaching the Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg. He had beaten Guardiola's Bayern Munich 3–0. Afterward, Guardiola hadn't been discouraged in the slightest. Instead, he had excitedly grabbed Schmidt and kept talking to him.
In a subsequent interview, he had said, "Schmidt's pressing is incredibly fierce. I've never seen pressing that ruthless in my entire coaching career."
"Within Leverkusen's tactical system, we have plenty of rotation options for the key players in important positions."
"There's no need to worry."
"Why is our midfield linchpin Çalhanoğlu's pass completion rate so low at Leverkusen, yet so high with the Turkish National Team? That's a complicated question to answer."
The players' tunnel.
The atmosphere was tense.
Wolfsburg's weary players looked at the lively Leverkusen lineup, eager to get started.
They immediately felt a little pressure.
De Bruyne looked anxious. He feared nothing himself; he was only worried about his teammates' condition and performance.
Gustavo earnestly reminded young Arnold not to hold on to the ball. He had to move it quickly, or they would be in trouble.
The BayArena.
A hot-air balloon bearing the Bundesliga logo slowly rose into the sky.
The referee team led both lineups out of the tunnel, and waves of cheering swept through all four stands.
"Now, let's introduce the starting lineups."
"Leverkusen are lining up in a 4-2-3-1!"
"Goalkeeper: Leno."
"Defenders: Donati, Toprak, Spahić, and Wendell."
"Two holding midfielders: Lars Bender and Castro."
"Attacking midfielders: Bellarabi, Çalhanoğlu, and Son Heung-min."
"Striker: Kießling."
"Wolfsburg are lining up in a 4-5-1!"
"Goalkeeper: ..."
"..."
"Li Luo isn't starting. Wolfsburg have probably taken the youngster's fatigue into account."
The livestream chat.
-[Bendtner hadn't been let out yet. Wolfsburg had made so many changes to their lineup.]
-[Resting Li Luo made sense. Their youngster Brandt was resting, too.]
-[Whenever these two teams met, there were bound to be at least four goals.]
The coin toss was soon over.
Tweet!
With a blast of the referee's whistle, the match officially began.
Sitting on the bench, Li Luo watched Leverkusen's frenzied pressing. The Spatial Awareness module in his mind swiftly constructed a geometric model that moved at high speed.
Beside him, Malanda looked like an old lady watching a melodramatic romance series. As he watched his teammates on the pitch, his expression shifted between worry and delight.
"They're so fast."
"They're making our pass completion rate really low."
"But theirs is really low, too."
The CCTV-5 broadcast booth.
Coach Zhang spoke slowly.
"Leverkusen's tactical system is designed to speed up the tempo of the match."
"They aren't interested in possession or pass completion rates."
"They disrupt the opposition's structure, then tear through their defensive line."
Leverkusen's players were strong, but Wolfsburg's players were no pushovers either.
In the fourteenth minute,
Çalhanoğlu kept turning his head near the halfway line, surveying the situation on the pitch.
Then he received a pass from a teammate.
He spun sharply, stylishly shaking off Wolfsburg's crown prince, Arnold.
His face was calm and confident.
North Rhine, cheer for your commander...
Smack!
Just as the Turkish midfielder completed his turn and prepared to pass,
he saw a blond-haired young man charging fiercely toward him.
De Bruyne.
"Oh!"
"Brilliant! A clean dispossession!"
"What happened there? Çalhanoğlu is too weak in physical contests. His mind knows exactly what to do, but his movements can't keep up."
"A rainbow!"
De Bruyne didn't linger on the ball. Having already checked his teammates' positions, he decisively chipped a pass over the top.
Leverkusen's high defensive line was torn apart.
Wolfsburg's center forward, Dost, sprinted with everything he had.
His finishing was far more reliable than that of Bendtner, who had been locked up.
He stood 196 centimeters tall and weighed 85 kilograms.
<Maxed out his shooting stats from the start and stormed to the Eredivisie Golden Boot!>
But
why couldn't he secure a starting spot for the Netherlands National Team? Because his weaknesses were obvious.
He was slow.
His physical strength in challenges was relatively poor.
His playing style was one-dimensional.
Fortunately, he had met De Bruyne after coming to Wolfsburg.
"That was a great pass from De Bruyne."
"Dost, controlling it straight into his stride! He's onside!"
"One-on-one!"
"Oh, he's not quick enough! Come on, get moving!"
"Leverkusen's 34-year-old veteran, Spahić—we saw his explosive pace at the FIFA World Cup a few months ago. He's still got it."
Bang!
With the defender about to catch him, Dost decided to take a speculative shot.
The ball thundered into Leverkusen's goal.
0–1!!!
"That went in?"
"No way!"
"What was Leverkusen goalkeeper Leno doing?"
"Beautiful!"
"De Bruyne linked up with Dost to break the deadlock and put Wolfsburg ahead."
Leno spread his hands.
He had covered the near post.
He hadn't expected Dost's powerful long-range punt to find the net.
Having warmed up all the way down the touchline, Li Luo and Malanda happened to reach the corner flag area just in time to join the team's celebration.
Everyone bounced around, hugging each other in excitement.
"Fantastic."
"We actually took the lead!"
"I know what the boss will do next."
"He'll definitely have us park the bus."
On the touchline.
Hecking stood proudly in his technical area.
He looked every inch a master tactician.
He basked in the respectful looks around him.
I'm so damn lucky. Even that hopeful punt from Dost went in.
On the other side.
Schmidt sat in the dugout, diligently writing and sketching.
His assistant, Dino, made exaggerated gestures at the players on the pitch.
A moment later.
Play restarted at the center circle.
"In their last few matches, once Hecking's side took the lead, there was no coming back against them."
"Wolfsburg have settled into a low block."
"But Leverkusen's attacks against a set defense have plenty of dimensions."
The fat wolf in armor quietly guarded its gate.
The impatient lion bared its fangs and claws.
In the twentieth minute.
Çalhanoğlu kept turning his head, surveying the situation on the pitch.
Then he moved quickly.
He received a teammate's pass at the deeper edge of zone 14.
With nobody pressuring him, his passing ability shone to its fullest.
Smack!
The ball skimmed the grass like a razor-sharp blade, piercing Wolfsburg's defensive line.
Wolfsburg's defenders were no pushovers. They reacted immediately.
But Leverkusen's towering striker, Kießling, possessed not only exceptional heading ability but also exquisite footwork, earning him the nickname "Little Ibrahimović."
"Wow!"
"Lingbo Microsteps!"
"Kießling received the through ball and feinted twice inside Wolfsburg's penalty area, creating an angle to shoot!"
"He's 1.91 meters tall, yet he's so nimble!"
"It's in!"
Benaglio dived at thin air.
The white net rippled.
1–1!!!
Applause swept through the BayArena.
Kießling jogged to the corner flag area, then tugged down his shorts to show the crowd his underwear.
"His lucky underwear."
"Back in 2010, his form was inconsistent. His wife told him to wear those to a match, and sure enough, he broke his goal drought!"
"Underwear should be washed and changed regularly. Children watching at home shouldn't copy Kießling."
"Çalhanoğlu's through ball was crucial. You could say that when he isn't under physical pressure, his passing is utterly exquisite."
On Wolfsburg's bench.
Malanda looked anxious. "We might not be able to hold them off."
There were plenty of reasons they might fail to hold out.
Li Luo didn't agree aloud. He didn't want to talk his own team down; the Spatial Awareness model in his mind kept running, dissecting the match.
Farther away.
Hecking fought to suppress his panic and appear calm.
"Damn it, Leverkusen force us into a shootout every time."
"Keep defending?"
"We can't hold out. The back line is too tired. Wolfsburg's players burn more energy in a low block."
"Put pressure on Çalhanoğlu! Trade attacks with them!"
On the other side.
Leverkusen's coaching staff briefly celebrated.
Dino continued gesturing to the players, making further attacking adjustments.
In the thirtieth minute.
The situation changed abruptly.
South Korea's Son received a pass from the back near the halfway line.
He didn't waste a moment.
He immediately knocked the ball ahead and burst down the flank.
"Huh?"
"He's so fast!"
"Like lightning!"
"Wolfsburg's back line is dropping and narrowing quickly. Guilavogui steps out to confront him and block Son Heung-min's route."
"What?"
"Son Heung-min changes direction at full speed? He's cutting inside!"
Bang!
Son Heung-min reached the left side of the penalty area, lifted his arm, and swung his leg.
The ball traced a curling arc, spinning fiercely as it flew into the top-right corner of Wolfsburg's goal.
2–1!!!
Applause swept through the BayArena.
"Another goal."
"Leverkusen have turned it around."
South Korea's Son ran to the corner flag area and made a "taking a photo" gesture toward the stands.
Leverkusen's fans responded with thunderous applause.
In the livestream chat.
-[Whenever these two meet, both defenses turn into sieves.]
-[The first half isn't even over, and we've already had three goals. This is awesome. Order takeout! Order takeout!]
-[What do we do? Wolfsburg look like they're going to lose.]
-[So what if they lose? Li Luo hasn't even come on. Wolfsburg lost, but our Luo didn't.]
-[Oh, it's fine. Bayern Munich lost to Mönchengladbach too.]
Hecking looked forlorn.
How had he become someone else's backdrop?
The Leverkusen coaching staff next door had become what he had been over the previous few matches.
In the away stand, the Wolfsburg fans who had traveled with the team refused to give up, still loudly cheering their players on.
Having come from behind to take the lead, Leverkusen didn't slow the game down.
Instead.
They kept trading attacks!
The minutes slipped by unnoticed.
In the forty-fifth minute.
The situation changed again.
"Beautiful!"
"De Bruyne intercepted Çalhanoğlu's pass."
"Wolfsburg break forward in transition."
De Bruyne didn't pass immediately. He had already surveyed the space between Leverkusen's two lines.
Instead, he drove forward several strides with the ball.
He forced Leverkusen's midfield screen to step up, widening the gap between their lines.
Smack.
Still running, the Belgian decisively struck the ball to launch the attack.
De Bruyne surpassed Çalhanoğlu in several areas: passing accuracy on the run, passing accuracy under physical pressure, and quicker thinking.
"Dost!"
"Here he comes!"
"Can he equalize? Oh, he's too slow."
The towering Dutch striker stumbled twice and fell to the turf.
Leverkusen's 34-year-old center-back, Spahić, comfortably regained possession.
Anyone still playing center-back in the Bundesliga at his age had something special. Spahić had kept up with the times and developed a degree of ball-playing ability, so the changing game hadn't left him behind.
"One transition attack turns into another."
"Kießling flicks it on with his head."
"Bellarabi controls it, then serves it up to his senior teammate, Çalhanoğlu."
"A long-range shot."
"It's in again!"
Çalhanoğlu never stopped scanning, so his attacking positioning was excellent. His one flaw was that he took far too many touches to set himself.
Having pushed forward, Wolfsburg couldn't get back into position and rebuild their defensive line in time.
They could only watch the ball blast into the net.
3–1!!!
The BayArena erupted.
From trailing, to taking the lead, to beating the handicap.
Çalhanoğlu spread his arms toward the stands. North Rhine, cheer for your Leverkusen talisman! One goal, one assist—a performance to dazzle the crowd!
"And now the referee blows the whistle for halftime."
"Visitors Wolfsburg are already two goals behind."
"They're in a very difficult position."
"Heh heh, but I think there are more goals to come. Think about it: when Schmidt played Bayern Munich, he wouldn't sit back even with a three-goal lead. Why would he now?"
"Leverkusen keep disrupting your rhythm, forcing you to play like them: less possession, less buildup, and wide-open, end-to-end attacking."
The Wolfsburg fans' hearts sank to rock bottom.
Two goals down in the first half.
If they kept playing like this in the second half, the consequences would be unthinkable.
Halftime.
The Wolfsburg dressing room.
Hecking pulled out the tactics board and moved the little magnetic markers around.
His words came in a rapid-fire barrage.
He made a series of tactical adjustments.
"Don't rush."
"We're two goals down, but we have time to equalize. There are plenty of holes in Leverkusen's defense."
"First, we need to take control of the game and the center of the pitch. Don't let them disrupt our rhythm."
The Wolfsburg players were physically and mentally drained.
"One last thing."
"Li will come on at the start of the second half!"
The Wolfsburg players' fighting spirit instantly reignited.
The Chinese media weren't quite used to this.
Usually, at this point, highlights of Li Luo's brilliant plays would dominate the trending lists across the internet.
Instead, everything was utterly quiet...
Some fans checked foreign websites and found the South Korean media heaping praise on their Son Heung-min, while making sure to tear Wolfsburg down.
The fifteen-minute break soon ended.
The players from both sides returned to the pitch.
"Hecking has made his first substitution."
"Li Luo is coming on."
"For Dost?"
"A midfielder replacing a center-forward."
"Are Wolfsburg going to play without a striker?"
Wave after wave of cheers erupted from the away stands.
The Leverkusen fans weren't impressed. We're two goals ahead, and Wolfsburg were a complete mess in the first half. Can bringing on one genius midfielder really solve their problems?
"Bayer, Bayer 04, we stand by you!"
Leverkusen's club anthem echoed around the BayArena.
The breeze along the North Rhine playfully stirred a white shirt and black hair.
Li Luo felt no negativity at all.
He had watched from the bench for forty-five minutes and had already completely dissected Leverkusen's setup for this match.
Two goals down?
No problem.
Tweet!
With a blast of the referee's whistle,
the second half officially began.
Leverkusen had possession.
Kießling took the kickoff and passed back.
Li Luo immediately charged across the halfway line, roaming between the opposition's two lines.
"Beautiful!"
"Gustavo has successfully won the ball off Çalhanoğlu."
"He passes to De Bruyne."
"De Bruyne doesn't hesitate. An exquisite long pass along the ground."
"Li Luo!"
On the touchline.
Assistant coach Dino stood in Leverkusen's technical area, brimming with confidence.
He had studied how to contain the Chinese prodigy.
At halftime, he had even made a point of reminding the midfielders and defenders.
"Don't just try to outmuscle him."
"Cut off his passing lanes."
"Then keep the right distance between you and combine to shut Li Luo down!"
Head coach Schmidt sat quietly in the dugout, smiling broadly, certain that victory was his.
On the other side.
Hecking and his middle-aged assistants wore grave expressions.
They were two goals down.
Li Luo moved toward the rolling ball.
His Spatial Awareness told him that the nearby Leverkusen players were closing in fast.
Instinctively, he wanted to follow up with a Front-Facing Reception Escape.
For a fleeting moment,
a golden, bald silhouette took shape in his vision.
Tap.
The instant he received the ball,
it sprang away from his instep.
Spahić, who had stepped in to challenge him, looked utterly bewildered. Where's the ball? Where's he gone?
Tens of thousands of spectators in the BayArena were left stunned.
"Dragonfly Skimming."
"Ball-and-Player Split."
"Elegant!"
"So elegant."
"The instant Li Luo touched the ball, tap! He changed its trajectory, sending it around the Leverkusen defender."
"At the same time, he turned his whole body and went around the defender on the other side."
The commentator was getting a little tongue-tied.
Coach Zhang was deeply worried. Pushing a midfielder forward meant facing immense pressure. Beating one man wouldn't solve the problem.
The instant Li Luo touched the ball again,
a Leverkusen defensive midfielder came charging at him.
The bald silhouette in his vision took shape once more.
He nudged the ball gently forward.
His Spatial Awareness model spun furiously.
He anticipated the distance between their positions.
He planted his right foot on the ball.
His body rotated.
The instant the gap closed,
he dragged the ball back with his left foot.
The entire stadium was dumbstruck.
Hecking was overjoyed.
Dino stared, tongue-tied.
"Marseille Turn!"
"It's a Super Marseille Turn!"
Before you continue