Chapter 34: Chapter 22: Record-breaking Goal

After moving up from the U19s to the first team, Wang Shuo’s biggest impressions came from two areas.

First, head coach Klopp’s tactics were more systematic, and the players’ roles were more clearly defined.

Everyone had a much clearer understanding of what they needed to do once they stepped onto the pitch.

Take Wang Shuo, for example.

Klopp had spoken to him before the match, telling him not to track back so aggressively into the defensive half like he did in the U19s.

His responsibility was the midfield and the attacking third.

“A forward tracking back too much isn’t necessarily a good thing. It can actually disrupt the organization of our midfield and defense.”

The second area was his teammates.

Back in the U19s, Wang Shuo had heard people say more than once, and had also read in the papers, that the Mainz midfield lacked passing ability.

This created a false impression that the Mainz midfielders were all a bunch of brutes.

But after actually joining the first team, Wang Shuo was surprised to discover that wasn’t true at all.

Kalhan had been a Slovakia international since ’95. He was a starter for Real Betis in La Liga during the 99/00 season and performed well, but due to Real Betis’s relegation, he moved to Besiktas in Turkey.

In the summer of 2001, Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg spent 2.8 million euros on him.

That was no small sum at the time.

From ’01 to ’07, Kalhan was a stalwart midfielder for Wolfsburg, competent in both attack and defense, and he was especially outstanding with his assists.

By the 06/07 season, as he got older, Kalhan gradually lost his starting position at Wolfsburg, which is why he transferred to Mainz.

So far this season, Kalhan had also contributed 8 assists.

Daniel Gunkel, who held dual German and Côte d’Ivoire citizenship, looked reckless, but he had previously played for Cottbus and was a key player in their promotion to the Bundesliga, also performing well in the top flight last season.

Back then, he was a more attack-minded midfielder.

And that’s not to mention the holding midfielder, Pekovic. He was a starter for the Serbia and Montenegro youth national team and officially joined the Montenegro national team in ’07.

Since joining Mainz in ’05, he had been the team’s unshakable holding midfielder, playing for the club in the Bundesliga and the UEFA Cup, and his performances had always been solid.

It was just that now, he too was starting to get a bit older.

On the football pitch, strength or weakness often comes down to performance on the day.

Recently, especially since the winter break, Mainz’s performance had been in steady decline.

This made the entire team look weak.

After joining the team, and especially after training with them for two weeks, Wang Shuo truly felt that while many of the players might be old, they were definitely not lacking in skill.

So, when he saw Pekovic pressuring Lintjens to win the ball, he trusted that the consistently composed holding midfielder wouldn’t act rashly.

He would only make a challenge if he was confident.

So, Wang Shuo immediately turned and sprinted forward.

At that exact moment, Paderborn was on the attack, and all their players were focused on Lintjens as he carried the ball forward.

Their entire defensive line was also pushing up.

Wang Shuo’s forward run quickly closed the distance between him and the two center-backs.

As he ran forward, Wang Shuo also spotted the gap that had opened up between Dorin and Duric as the defensive line pushed up.

Just then, he heard the cheers from the fans around the stadium.

He turned his head just in time to see Pekovic use his body to shoulder Lintjens off the ball and win the tackle.

Wang Shuo immediately and forcefully raised his left hand, pointing forward.

’Danger!’

The moment Duric saw Pekovic win the ball, his thoughts immediately went to Wang Shuo in front of him.

After winning the ball, Pekovic hit a direct, long through ball, just as Wang Shuo had signaled, sending it into the space behind Paderborn’s two center-backs.

At almost the exact same time, Wang Shuo spun around and pushed off with all his might, legs pumping.

He shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, blazing past Duric.

By the time the Paderborn center-back tried to stop him, it was too late.

In the U19s, a pass like that might not have been made, or the quality would have been poor.

But on the first team, Pekovic’s pass landed perfectly behind the defensive line, just in front of the Arc Top District.

Sprinting forward at top speed, Wang Shuo caught up to the pass perfectly.

As the ball came down, Wang Shuo gently extended his right foot, using the tip of his boot to cushion it toward the penalty spot in Paderborn’s box, and immediately gave chase.

Duric was quick to react and stayed right on his heels.

The goalkeeper ahead, Carsten Nuer, didn’t come out to challenge.

Wang Shuo was in the same situation Balik had faced earlier; he had to execute the move in one fluid motion.

Any hesitation, and Duric behind him, along with Dorin tracking back from the side, would block his shooting angle.

But unlike Balik, Wang Shuo had consciously positioned his run to the left of the ball.

This both shielded the ball from the pursuing Duric and set him up for a right-footed shot.

Catching up to the ball to the right of the penalty spot, Wang Shuo, while still sprinting at high speed, feigned a shot. In reality, he just gently tapped the ball with his right foot, letting it roll further to the right.

This caused the goalkeeper, Nuer, who was standing just outside the six-yard box, to misjudge, and he dove prematurely.

Wang Shuo quickly caught up to the ball again and struck it with his right foot.

The ball traveled in a straight line and drilled into the back of the Paderborn net.

“GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!”

“The ball’s in!!!”

“In the 29th minute of the first half, Mainz has finally broken through and scored against Paderborn!”

“From the 17-year-old Chinese youngster, Wang Shuo!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep