Chapter 58: Chapter 37: Achievement: Turning the Tide

“Match Summary: Passive Value Acquired: 10 points.”

“Congratulations. You led your team to defeat an opponent in a crucial battle against the odds. Achievement: Turning the Tide. You have received one Passive Skill Card. Use now?”

As the final whistle blew, Wang Shuo received two consecutive system notifications.

The first one was nothing special.

He got one after every match, but this time the amount was a bit high.

’10 Passive Value points?’

’That’s a pretty good haul.’

He didn’t mind taking a few cheap shots and dirty fouls as long as he earned Passive Value.

Besides, he now had the [Damage Reduction] buff.

But the [Achievement: Turning the Tide] was what truly surprised Wang Shuo.

He had guessed before the match that winning a major game would bring rewards, and he was right.

A Passive Skill Card right off the bat—not bad at all!

Of course, this was just the reward for this one match.

Theoretically, Mainz had not yet secured their spot in the Bundesliga.

In this round of matches, Borussia Mönchengladbach lost 2-3 to Freiburg at home.

Of course, Borussia Mönchengladbach didn’t care.

They were miles ahead of the pack and had already solidly secured their Bundesliga qualification, so a loss was just a loss.

The real surprise of this round was that Rangnick’s Hoffenheim failed to beat Offenbach away from home.

The two sides drew 1-1.

Both goals came from penalties, and both were in the second half.

The reason was simple: Offenbach was desperate to avoid relegation.

Because Kaiserslautern had drawn 2-2 away at Jena this round, Offenbach, currently in 12th place with 38 points, was only 2 points ahead of Kaiserslautern, who were in the 15th-place relegation spot with 36 points.

In between them were Augsburg and Osnabrueck, both on 37 points.

So, Offenbach had truly fought tooth and nail at home for that crucial single point.

Everything would now come down to the final round.

Hoffenheim’s experience showed just how vicious the relegation-threatened teams in the 2nd Bundesliga could be.

With Mainz’s 3-2 victory over Cologne and Hoffenheim’s 1-1 draw with Offenbach, Mainz reached 58 points, leaping from 4th to 2nd in the league standings.

They were now 5 points behind Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Cologne lost and Hoffenheim drew, leaving both teams with 57 points.

However, due to goal difference, Cologne was ranked ahead of Hoffenheim in 3rd place.

After defeating Borussia Mönchengladbach, Freiburg had 55 points.

Theoretically, Freiburg only had a shot at promotion to the Bundesliga if the three teams ahead of them all choked, and they all had to lose.

This was because they also didn’t have an advantage in goal difference.

Mainz now had the upper hand for a Bundesliga spot, but it wasn’t yet in the bag.

As long as they defeated St. Pauli at home in the final round, they would basically be set.

Therefore, the reward Wang Shuo had just received was purely for this one match.

…

“Lads!”

Klopp walked into the locker room, laughing heartily.

He was a completely different man from the boxer who looked like he wanted to eat someone alive at halftime.

His rugged face actually showed a hint of friendliness.

Of course, it was mainly due to his smile.

“I have to say, even though there’s still one round left in the season, I am very, very, very satisfied with your performance today!”

“All the coaches, myself included, and all the Mainz fans are proud of you!”

A wave of cheerful laughter instantly filled the locker room.

Having won the match, everyone felt a sense of relief and joy.

“And here, I want to give a special shout-out to our hero.”

Klopp pointed his hand toward Wang Shuo.

The captain, Nowitzki, led the team in a round of thunderous applause.

One by one, the other players joined in.

Even Borja, his number one rival, had no choice but to clap along.

“Wang, you know what? Calling you up from the U19s to the first team ahead of schedule was the wisest decision I’ve made this season—no, in the last several years!”

“In you, we see the infinite potential of a young player, and we see the future of Mainz!”

From his tone, it was clear that Mainz was going to double down on developing its own young players from now on.

This was understandable, really.

Because Mainz was poor; they simply had no money.

Before this match, many players in the locker room would have felt resentful hearing Klopp praise Wang Shuo like this.

But after today, no one would object.

If Wang Shuo hadn’t stepped up today, Mainz never would have gotten past Cologne.

And their hopes of returning to the Bundesliga would have been completely dashed.

“Everyone, I’m sure after today’s match, you’re all full of expectations for next season.”

“But…”

Klopp’s tone shifted, and his expression grew serious once more.

“We can’t let our guard down yet. There’s still one final round.”

“Only by beating St. Pauli at home will we have truly earned our spot in the Bundesliga next season!”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

The competition was brutal right now—one round could be heaven, the next could be hell.

The slightest slip-up could lead to irreversible disaster.

Hoffenheim was the best proof of that.

“Of course,” Klopp suddenly broke into a smile again.

“After this match, I have even more confidence in you. I believe you can definitely defeat St. Pauli.”

“And next season, in the Bundesliga, we will make every team in the league feel the strength of Mainz once again!”

Wang Shuo joined everyone else in applauding enthusiastically.

’He started to wonder if Klopp had studied the art of face-changing.’

’His expressions changed in an instant, so quickly and naturally.’

But he had to admit, with Klopp’s burly frame, unique aura, and the image of a middle-aged man with a full beard, his words carried a special, infectious power.

’How should I put it?’

’It just made you feel like he was the epitome of manliness!’

…

As it was a crucial match for promotion from the 2nd Bundesliga, the battle at Rhein Energie Stadion quickly sparked heated discussion across Germany after it ended.

Bild was the first to publish a commentary, with the headline: “Mainz’s Genius Shines on the Rhine Riverfront!”

A photo of Wang Shuo’s decisive, last-minute goal earned him his first appearance in the pages of Bild.

In the photo, Wang Shuo had faked out the Cologne goalkeeper, Mondragon, and was shooting at the open goal, his eyes filled with determination.

As the backdrop, goalkeeper Mondragon’s expression, though blurred, still conveyed a sense of utter despair and helplessness.

One had to admit, the German media’s ability to capture the exact moment of a goal was truly incredible!

The entire photo was incredibly atmospheric, telling the player’s story all on its own.

In the article, Bild was also full of praise for Wang Shuo’s performance.

With two assists and one goal, he single-handedly orchestrated Mainz’s comeback.

Bild rated Wang Shuo as Mainz’s most threatening player and the leading figure in their recent resurgence from rock bottom.

The Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung also provided extensive coverage of the match.

They even ran a separate feature story on Wang Shuo, allowing readers to get to know the young Chinese star better.

At the post-match press conference, coach Klopp stated for the first time in no uncertain terms that Wang Shuo had become Mainz’s most important player!

“Even though he’s only 17, and even though we really don’t want to put too much pressure on him, I feel he should take on more responsibility!”

“I believe he has the ability to do so!”

It was also at this press conference that Klopp admitted for the first time that he had been in contact with Dortmund.

However, he had not made any promises to them.

“I only told them that I would only consider other options if Mainz fails to get promoted to the Bundesliga.”

Klopp then added, “And right now, I am full of confidence that this team will return to the Bundesliga!”

As the team rode the bus south from Cologne back to Mainz, a German radio program was playing.

The guest commentators mostly agreed that after Mainz’s comeback against Cologne, they would most likely secure the second promotion spot to the Bundesliga.

“I don’t think Klopp’s team will lose to St. Pauli when the situation is so favorable.”

As for who would play the tragic role between Cologne and Hoffenheim, the commentators were divided.

If Mainz was a “county team,” then Hoffenheim was a “village team.”

Cologne, on the other hand, is the fourth-largest city in Germany, financially powerful, backed by a world-renowned institution like the Cologne Sports Academy, and boasts an outstanding squad, not to mention that Dom is one of Germany’s top-tier managers.

But who would have thought that Cologne would lose to Mainz at home?

In the next round, facing a Kaiserslautern team fighting for survival, and playing away from home—could a heavily pressured Cologne guarantee a win?

Hoffenheim’s fate was also uncertain.

What was interesting was that during the radio show’s call-in segment, many fans who phoned in were asking the same question.

Who is Wang Shuo?

The host and guests clearly didn’t have much information on hand, vaguely introducing some basic facts.

The one point that was repeatedly mentioned was that, starting in January, Wang Shuo had been on trial with 18 different teams in Germany.

Hearing this, his teammates on the bus were intrigued.

“Wang, did you really have trials with that many teams?” Foyelner stood up from his seat at the front, a curious look on his face.

Wang Shuo smiled and nodded. “It was indeed 18.”

Everyone around him was astonished.

Given the skill and talent Wang Shuo was now displaying, were those 18 teams all blind?

Sure enough, the fans calling into the radio station thought so too.

This left the host and guests with even less to say.

Finally, they only mentioned one thing. “According to our information, Frankfurt fired their U19 head coach, Oscar Corochano, because Corochano abused his authority during Wang Shuo’s trial, causing Frankfurt to miss out on this talented striker.”

Wang Shuo was a bit surprised to hear this.

It was the first time he’d heard the reason for Corochano’s dismissal.

’It was because of me?’

’No way… right?’

As the team bus entered the city of Mainz, fans in cars started following behind.

They formed a massive procession all the way to Bruch Road Stadium.

By the time the team arrived at their home stadium, the roads were already completely blocked by swarms of fans.

When the passionate Mainz fans saw the team bus, they all erupted with excitement.

They chased the bus, shouting. Some chanted “Bundesliga,” some chanted “Mainz,” and others chanted the players’ names.

Wang Shuo could clearly hear many fans shouting his name.

It moved him.

Wang Shuo didn’t know what it was like in other countries, but the football atmosphere in Germany was truly amazing!

Blocked by the passionate fans and unable to move, President Strutz and General Manager Heidel personally came out to calm the crowd and arranged for players to greet and interact with them.

Klopp and captain Nowitzki both spoke on behalf of the team.

They vowed that in one week, the team would defeat St. Pauli at home.

Klopp clenched his fists excitedly, veins bulging on his temples, as he roared with all his might.

“We’re going to fight our way back into the Bundesliga!”

“Back to the Bundesliga!”

The fans’ cheers shook the heavens.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep