The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills-Chapter 57 - 36: Bundesliga, Here I Come

The Lebanese center-back had it all figured out, but Wang Shuo’s sudden step threw a wrench in his plans.

As Wang Shuo turned, he could almost see a smile on his face, and a thought flashed through his mind.

’Damn it, I got tricked again!’

"He’s past him!!!"

"A beautiful knock and run!!"

"My God, the 17-year-old forward Wang Shuo, with an absolutely beautiful knock and run!"

"Mainz on the fast counter-attack!"

"Could this be their chance?"

After slipping past Muhammad, Wang Shuo pumped his legs with all his might, breaking into a full sprint.

On the sideline, in front of the visiting team’s bench, Klopp leaped to his feet in excitement.

"Go, Wang Shuo, go!"

In front of the home team’s bench, Dom was horrified. "Stop him! Somebody stop him!!!"

"Don’t let him get past, no matter what!"

All 50,000 Cologne fans in the stadium looked on in horror.

Once Wang Shuo hit his stride, he just kept accelerating.

"Good God, it’s already the 87th minute, and he can still pull off a burst of speed like that! It’s incredible!"

Mackenna, the last man in the defensive line, sprinted back for dear life.

Wang Shuo caught up to the ball to the left of the penalty area and took a touch, carrying it into the box.

Mackenna closed in with huge strides but didn’t dare get too close.

He was afraid Wang Shuo would look to draw a foul, which would mean a penalty.

But precisely because Mackenna was afraid to get close, Wang Shuo, upon entering the box, suddenly flicked the ball sideways with the outside of his right boot and slammed on the brakes.

To guarantee he could shake Mackenna, Wang Shuo had stopped on a dime from top speed.

For a split second, the ball was no longer under Wang Shuo’s control.

But the goalkeeper was still far away.

And Mackenna?

At over 1.9 meters tall and sprinting at top speed, trying to stop abruptly was impossible; he couldn’t halt his momentum.

After Wang Shuo stopped and changed direction to get to the ball, he saw something out of the corner of his eye: Mackenna had lost his balance, his feet slipping, and had fallen inside the left of the box.

But he couldn’t spare it a thought.

He could see the onrushing goalkeeper, Mondragon, lunging toward him.

Wang Shuo had no time for a second thought. After catching up to the ball, he faked a shot, then gave the ball a gentle nudge forward.

The two actions were executed in lightning-fast succession. Mondragon was completely fooled, diving to the ground to block the shot.

But he found nothing but air.

Wang Shuo accelerated sideways, reached the ball, and tapped it into the unguarded net with the inside of his right foot.

Only at that moment did Mitnitsky finally make it back into the penalty area.

But the ball had already rolled into Cologne’s goal.

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!"

"IT’S A GOAL!!!!"

"The 87th minute! It’s the 87th minute, and Mainz have breached Cologne’s goal once more!"

"A swift counter-attack down the left flank!"

"The 17-year-old starlet Wang Shuo has done it again!"

...

"WOOOOW!!"

"Wang Shuo! You’re incredible!"

"Way to go, Wang Shuo! That was simply divine!"

"Oh my God, he actually did it!"

"Holy shit, I’m completely at a loss for words!"

"I can’t believe it. Is he really one of our own players from China?"

"My God, he’s just incredible!"

"He’s only seventeen! He’s just a kid!"

"I’m so emotional I could cry. When have we in China ever produced a player like this?"

"It’s so moving that he was able to accomplish something like this."

On online forums, countless fans watching the live broadcast burst into tears as they saw Wang Shuo sprint off to celebrate his goal.

It was true that they had placed high hopes on Wang Shuo before the match.

But they had never imagined he could achieve something on this scale.

Two assists, plus this final, climactic goal.

He had single-handedly dragged Mainz into the Bundesliga!

...

At almost the exact same moment in Mainz, Germany, the entire city erupted the instant Wang Shuo scored.

Countless cheers erupted from the streets and alleyways of the city.

This was especially true in Gutenberg Square, where fans had gathered.

In an instant, it was as if the nearly ten thousand fans had been set ablaze. They were all cheering, roaring... some even breaking down in tears of joy.

In Germany, Mainz was just a small, unremarkable city.

And Mainz Football Club was an even more unremarkable club.

In the club’s century-long history, it had won a grand total of four titles: one amateur football championship in the ’80s and three Southwest German Cups.

Never heard of them?

Exactly.

Even many Mainz fans themselves had no idea what the hell an amateur football championship was, let alone the Southwest Cup.

For the fans of Mainz, winning a title was never something they could dare to dream of.

Getting into the Bundesliga was the absolute pinnacle of their dreams!

And Wang Shuo had helped them achieve it!

The delirious fans sprayed the Black Forest beer in their hands, singing and dancing with wild abandon.

But every single person was chanting the same name in unison.

"Wang~ Shuo~~"

...

On the field, Cologne attacked with frantic desperation.

Dom had completely lost it.

The renowned German coach roared and bellowed hysterically on the sideline, constantly screaming for his players to attack.

But at this stage of the match, both teams were completely exhausted.

Spurred on by Wang Shuo’s goal, Mainz’s morale was sky-high. Every player gritted their teeth, fell back to their own half of the field, and defended for dear life.

In the end, they managed to hold on to the 3-2 score until the match ended.

The moment the final whistle blew, the Mainz players collapsed onto the grass one by one.

Foyelner buried his head deep between his knees, his shoulders wracked with sobs.

Having experienced the nightmare of relegation last season, they knew just how difficult it was to return to the Bundesliga.

Wang Shuo stood on the field, ramrod straight, with his hands on his hips and an expression full of pride.

’Bundesliga, here I come!’

Back in China, countless fans were cheering for Wang Shuo!

After so many years, they were about to see a Chinese player on the Bundesliga stage once again!