The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills

Clearly, it had been a terrible match for him.

He had given it his all, but Dortmund had completely suppressed Real Madrid’s midfield.

This was especially true in this match.

Early in the game, Kuba’s attacking runs threatened Marcelo.

With Marcelo’s performance stifled, the threat of Real Madrid’s left-wing attack was greatly diminished.

More importantly, Mourinho had been a little too conservative.

For example, in the first leg, after taking a 3-1 lead, he brought on Khedira and switched to a strategy of defending deep and counter-attacking.

This substitution and tactical adjustment drew a great deal of criticism after the match.

The same defensive counter-attacking style could be highly effective at Inter Milan, even enough to shut down Barça.

But it couldn’t simply be copied and pasted at Real Madrid.

Now, playing away at Westfalen Stadium, the 3-3 result from the first leg had become a sword of Damocles hanging over Real Madrid’s head.

They had to push forward and attack to have any chance of a comeback.

The two legs of a knockout tie are never isolated events.

As Wang Shuo and his teammates, led by Klopp, circled the pitch to thank the fans, the entire Westfalen Stadium roared with applause for them.

After a 14-year absence, they had once again fought their way into the Champions League final!

Fourteen years ago wasn’t just the historical peak for Dortmund; it was the zenith of the Bundesliga.

Back then, the entire Bundesliga was filled with the ambition of becoming the world’s number one league.

Back then, the Kirch Group hadn’t yet gone bankrupt.

Back then, Dortmund wasn’t yet drowning in debt.

But today, 14 years later, Dortmund had fought their way back into the Champions League final!

Klopp stood before the South Stand, listening to the deafening roar of celebration. He threw a strong arm around Wang Shuo’s shoulders.

"Wang, did you ever imagine this day would come?" Klopp asked, his voice booming.

Wang Shuo looked at the heavily bearded head coach and shook his head. "No."

He believed he could become the best player.

But he had never truly imagined he could lead Dortmund to the Champions League final.

Two years ago, when he joined Dortmund, he felt the team had a chance to challenge for the Bundesliga title and shake Bayern’s dominance over the league.

"Neither did I!" Klopp said emphatically.

"But from now on, we need to think long and hard about how to win this Champions League final!"

Wang Shuo nodded gravely.

...

Dortmund’s 2-1 victory at home, eliminating Real Madrid 5-4 on aggregate, quickly became a hot topic of discussion among media and fans worldwide.

The epic showdown between Wang Shuo and Ronaldo, in particular, was on everyone’s lips.

From the 3-3 draw in the first leg, where both stars scored a hat-trick, to the 2-1 result in the second, Wang Shuo ultimately came out on top in his duel with Ronaldo, leading Dortmund into the Champions League final.

This Achievement earned him universal acclaim!

Meanwhile, in the other Champions League semifinal at Old Trafford Stadium, Barça overturned their deficit against Manchester United with a 2-0 victory, thanks to goals from Messi and Villa.

After a 1-1 draw at home in the first leg, Messi put on a masterful performance away from home, scoring one goal and assisting another to help Barça advance smoothly to the Champions League final.

And so, this season’s Champions League final would be contested between Barça and Dortmund.

There were still 24 days until the climactic showdown.

Both sides had ample time to prepare.

After the Champions League semifinal, Dortmund traveled away on the weekend to face Werder Bremen.

Even though there was no midweek match, Klopp still decided to rotate his squad.

Wang Shuo remained on the bench.

But to everyone’s surprise, just five minutes into the match, the French defender Silvestre—who had previously played for Manchester United and Arsenal—scored for Werder Bremen from a corner, breaking through Dortmund’s defense.

1-0!

Conceding a goal just five minutes in threw Dortmund into disarray.

In the 13th minute, Marin received the ball in the center of the box, cut inside, shook off a series of defenders, and fired a left-footed shot into the bottom-left corner of the net.

2-0!

Even after conceding two quick goals, Dortmund remained on the back foot.

It wasn’t until after the 20-minute mark that they gradually found their footing and began to fight back.

In the 27th minute, Lewandowski nearly scored against Werder Bremen.

But he missed by just a whisker.

Afterward, both sides engaged in a furious, end-to-end battle, but neither was able to score again.

The deadlock continued until the second half. In the 55th minute, Klopp brought on Kuba, hoping to strengthen the right-wing attack.

But in the 63rd minute, Werder Bremen’s striker, Pizarro, nearly scored against Dortmund again.

It was at this moment that Wang Shuo went over to Klopp and asked to be put in.

Two minutes later, Wang Shuo was subbed on for Foyelner.

Antonio Da Silva dropped back to defensive midfield to partner with Gundogan.

...

Last season, after Dortmund clinched the title early, the championship reward from the Ball God System was delivered quickly.

But so far this season, the reward for winning the Bundesliga title had still not been issued.

This left a lingering question in Wang Shuo’s mind.

’With the Ball God System’s rigid, by-the-book style, there’s no way it would cheat me out of my reward.’

’The only explanation, then, is that the conditions for issuing the reward haven’t been met yet.’

’The championship was already in the bag; all that was left was the presentation of the Meisterschale.’

’Based on last season, the reward wasn’t distributed based on when the Meisterschale was presented.’

’So, it must have something to do with the fact that Dortmund has maintained an undefeated record so far this season!’

’After all, in the entire history of the Bundesliga, no team had ever won the league title with an undefeated record.’