Chapter 53: Chapter 34: Saving Mainz

Mainz doesn’t have a large population, with just over 200,000 people.

The urban area isn’t large. From the Rhine River in the east to the ring road in the west, the straight-line distance is less than 5 kilometers.

The core Old Town District is even smaller.

But this very same small Old Town District is hailed by many as an organic fusion of traditional German culture and modernity.

Take the landmark Mainz National Opera House, for example.

Its exterior walls feature a traditional German red-brick style, and its overall design is typical of German architecture.

But its dome is a very modern glass curtain wall design.

The two are harmoniously integrated.

With the opera house as the center, the Mainz State Museum is a short distance to the north.

To the southeast of the opera house stands what is lauded as Germany’s most magnificent cathedral: the Mainz Cathedral.

To the east of the cathedral is another of the city’s landmarks, the Gutenberg Museum.

The square situated between the opera house, cathedral, and museum is called Gutenberg Square, though the locals also call it Market Square.

As the name suggests, this entire area is Mainz’s core and its liveliest commercial district.

It is also the gathering place for Mainz fans to celebrate.

On normal days, a string quartet might play Mozart on the edge of Market Square.

But on match days, their repertoire shifts from Mozart to the Mainz team anthem and fan songs.

For important away games, the city government will even set up a large screen in Market Square, allowing all the local fans to come and watch the match together.

Vendors also flock to the area around Market Square to set up stalls.

Among the most popular attractions are the cylindrical beer barrels, a local Mainz specialty.

They are very large cylinders, capable of holding five liters of beer and fitted with a tap at the bottom.

A few fans will chip in for a barrel, watching the game and drinking amidst the lively atmosphere—sometimes cheering, sometimes sighing, sometimes dancing for joy, and sometimes cursing up a storm. It’s an incredibly boisterous scene.

But when Cologne midfielder Antal hammered a vicious header past Ischdonat’s goal, the bustling Market Square, packed with several thousand Mainz fans, fell utterly silent in an instant!

Marco Rose had been taken off injured.

Just three minutes later, Cologne had scored.

Under this double blow, even the Mainz fans, long accustomed to their team’s underdog status, found it hard to accept.

It was just like the final round of last season, when they conceded a series of goals to Bayern.

’It’s over!’

A wave of despair instantly spread from person to person, eventually blanketing the entire Gutenberg Square.

Dom was a renowned German manager who had been famous for years.

Call him a junkie, say his morals were questionable—it didn’t matter. His coaching ability was undeniably outstanding.

Especially his tactical flexibility.

He had immediately pinpointed the problems that emerged in the Mainz defensive line after Marco Rose’s injury.

Mainz, on the other hand, couldn’t find any effective attacking opportunities.

That Chinese kid, who had been brilliant for several rounds, couldn’t even get the ball in the front field.

“Are we going to lose again?”

It was unclear who had voiced the question.

The square was terrifyingly silent.

No one could answer.

In the first half of the season, Mainz’s morale had been sky-high, their momentum unstoppable. Almost everyone was certain the team would be able to return to the Bundesliga.

Last season’s relegation and failure had seemed like a fluke.

But the second half of the season felt like a replay of last season’s relegation nightmare.

In Mainz, no one would ever question Jurgen Klopp!

He had been in this city for eighteen years. He had dedicated his entire playing and coaching career to this city, to this team.

But, if they failed to get promoted to the Bundesliga, he would leave.

The Mainz of today was no longer worthy of the Klopp of today!

The broadcast cut to the sideline, and everyone saw Klopp’s disappointed expression as he covered his face with his hands.

’If he were still a player, he would definitely step up right now, wouldn’t he!’

’But he isn’t anymore.’

’Even Friedrich is gone.’

’Is there anyone left in Mainz who can step up?’

’There’s no one!’

The feeling of despair spread rapidly, uncontrollably.

On the pitch, the Mainz players’ panic and helplessness were just like a year ago at the Allianz Arena against Bayern.

Cologne, meanwhile, wanted to take advantage of the chaos and continue their attack on Mainz to widen their lead.

’Are they going to concede again?’

“And it’s another attack from Cologne.”

“They’re still looking to attack Mainz’s left flank.”

“Nowitzki presses, goes in for a slide tackle, and wins the ball.”

“The ball falls to a Mainz player, but Cologne immediately presses to win it back.”

“Gunkel has it, but he can’t find an effective outlet.”

“A pass to Pekovic, then back to Subotic…”

Cologne was playing with fierce aggression. Mainz had possession in their own half but were being swarmed, unable to find a way to play the ball out.

The fans in the square were getting very anxious.

’Are we really going to concede again?’

Just then, on the television broadcast, Subotic launched a medium-range pass over the midfield, sending it directly to the left side of the center circle on the halfway line.

It looked more like a desperate clearance, made after failing to find any other option.

Wang Shuo ran over quickly, chested the ball down, and started to bring it back.

Cologne midfielder Suazo immediately tracked back, charging toward Wang Shuo.

But before he could get close, Wang Shuo dished the ball off to Foyelner on the left and immediately turned and ran.

Foyelner was a two-footed player. The moment he received the ball and saw Wang Shuo turn and sprint, he instantly understood and sent a diagonal pass into the space right in front of Wang Shuo.

Right behind Suazo.

“A one-two on the left flank from Mainz.”

“Wang Shuo’s forward run is very quick. Let’s see if this counter-attack comes to anything.”

Ozat had pushed very far forward, and after Wang Shuo’s pass, Suazo had switched his focus to press Foyelner on the left wing.

So, when Wang Shuo caught up to the ball, there wasn’t a single defender near him.

But center-back Muhammad quickly got into position, blocking Wang Shuo’s path.

The other center-back, Mackenna, was also repositioning.

The opportunity was fleeting!

As Wang Shuo received the ball, his eyes were locked firmly on Muhammad.

His Regional Level [Ball Sense] meant he didn’t even need to look down at the ball. His feet could dribble skillfully, and he could feel the ball’s position and state at all times, controlling it as if it were an extension of his own limbs.

All of his attention was focused on Muhammad, watching his every move.

Closing in, closer…

As a Lebanese international, Muhammad had joined the national team in ’99. In all that time, he had played against the Chinese team only once.

It happened to be in January of ’08.

In that friendly match, Muhammad had perfectly helped his country shut down China’s offense.

0-0!

He had always felt that if Antal had played, they definitely would have won that match.

’Chinese forwards?’

’They’re not strong at all!’

Because of this, Muhammad felt not a shred of fear toward the 17-year-old Chinese youngster in front of him.

But he still remained sufficiently vigilant.

He guessed that Wang Shuo wanted to get past him.

’But when a player tries to dribble past you, isn’t that also the best time to make a tackle?’

As Wang Shuo charged into his defensive zone, the Lebanese international didn’t rashly stick a foot out. He waited.

But he soon realized that things were not going as he had expected.

As Wang Shuo got closer, every movement looked like a feint, yet it also looked real.

This surprised him slightly. He immediately took a step back to create some distance, shifting his focus from man-marking to watching the ball.

But in the instant he looked down, Wang Shuo, who had been waiting for this opportunity, suddenly accelerated. He stepped out with his left foot, dipped his left shoulder, and leaned his whole body to the left.

’It’s real!’

’This is definitely real!’

Muhammad was absolutely certain that if he didn’t block him, Wang Shuo would be past him in a flash.

So, he immediately shifted his weight, wanting to close him down.

But in the next moment, after planting his left foot firmly, Wang Shuo’s whole body shifted to the right, his right foot simultaneously knocking the ball to the right.

A STEP-OVER!!!

Simple, but incredibly effective!

The key was, it was fast!

The two didn’t even make physical contact; Wang Shuo went straight past Muhammad.

The Lebanese center-back didn’t even have a chance to turn and give chase.

After beating Muhammad, Wang Shuo took a touch toward the center, then used the inside of his right foot to knock the ball forward again, changing his diagonal run toward the middle into a straight sprint into the left channel.

Cologne’s other center-back, Mackenna, who had been coming over to provide cover, could now only sprint with all his might to catch up to Wang Shuo.

It wasn’t until this moment that the 50,000 Cologne fans in the stadium let out their first collective gasp.

On Gutenberg Square, the Mainz fans were all on their feet, breathing rapidly as they stared intently at the big screen.

In the next instant, Wang Shuo reached the ball first and took a long stride to push it forward.

Mackenna was desperately chasing, only half a body length behind.

But Wang Shuo was right-footed.

Cologne’s goalkeeper, Mondragon, also immediately rushed out, leaving his goal line and charging out of the six-yard box to close down Wang Shuo’s shooting angle.

The goalkeeper and center-back were working together, trying to box Wang Shuo in.

Having anticipated this scenario, Wang Shuo glanced toward the center as he sprinted with the ball.

After charging into the left side of the penalty area, he seized an opportunity and used the inside of his left foot to slide the ball horizontally.

The timing of the pass was perfect. It went right through the gap between Mondragon and Mackenna, just as they were about to close in on him.

The quality might not have been top-class, but the ball wasn’t moving too fast either.

On the other side, Balik was making a high-speed forward run. On the right edge of the six-yard box, he met Wang Shuo’s pass and tapped the ball into Cologne’s unguarded net.

“GOAL!!!!!!”

“In the 29th minute, just seven minutes after conceding, Mainz has successfully equalized!”

“The 17-year-old rising star from China, Wang Shuo, assists Balik for a tap-in into an open goal!”

“1-1!!”

“The match is back on level terms!”

The moment Balik scored, the entire RheinEnergieStadion erupted with gasps.

And at almost the exact same time, in Gutenberg Square in Mainz, the several thousand Mainz fans erupted in ecstatic cheers.

“WOOHOO!!!”

“We’ve tied it up!”

“Way to go, Mainz!”

“1-1, we still have a chance!”

“Fuck Cologne!”

Countless fans scrambled to hug each other.

Many had already spilled the beer from the cups they were clutching.

The air in the square was filled with the smell of Black Forest beer.

This only further spurred on the fans in the square, and they cheered even more wildly.

“Wang Shuo is incredible!”

“My God, is he really only 17?”

“He’s an absolute genius!”

“Wang, I fucking love you!!”

The broadcast also showed a close-up of Wang Shuo as he celebrated with teammates who had rushed over to him.

At the same time, a slow-motion replay of the entire attacking sequence was being shown.

Everyone could see Wang Shuo’s brilliant performance.

From start to finish, there was no physical contact.

The Cologne players didn’t even manage to grab his shirt.

“This goal is hugely important for Mainz!”

“We can see Klopp doing his shadow boxing on the sideline again.”

“In a way, this goal has saved Mainz.”

“The 1-1 scoreline brings the game back to square one. Mainz can finally breathe a temporary sigh of relief.”

Dom, meanwhile, stared at Wang Shuo on the pitch with a complicated expression.

He had miscalculated!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep