After Lin Quan was substituted, De Bruyne stood at the penalty spot.
Normally, the team's first penalty taker would be the captain, Fritz, but Fritz knew about the good relationship between De Bruyne and Lin Quan, so he willingly gave this opportunity to De Bruyne.
Usually, De Bruyne might have hesitated.
But today, he didn't refuse.
This was a chance created by a good friend, one he absolutely couldn't waste!
He wasn't taking this penalty for himself, but for Lin Quan, who had been injured and forced off the field.
Standing at the penalty spot, De Bruyne took a deep breath.
After observing the goalkeeper's position, he started his run-up.
He chose to aim for the far corner. The goalkeeper guessed the direction right, but unfortunately, his save was a little slow, and he couldn't stop the ball.
De Bruyne scored, leveling the score on the field to 3:3!
In the 59th minute of regular play, Werder Bremen equalized the score.
With only one minute left in the game, including stoppage time, totaling less than five minutes.
If neither team could change the score, they would go to a penalty shootout!
Both teams seemed unwilling to accept a draw, so after the game restarted, they both launched attacks simultaneously.
Dortmund's players ran tirelessly throughout the whole pitch. Many of them were reaching their physical limits, gritting their teeth to keep playing.
But because they were down to ten men, their attacking numbers decreased, making it difficult to break through in positional play.
Werder Bremen's situation wasn't much better. They had played two games in two days, and the team had endured travel fatigue. With inadequate rest, their physical condition was not as good as their opponents'.
So, both teams' attacks lacked a bit of sharpness.
The 60 minutes of regular time quickly passed, with the outcome still uncertain.
So the referee added 2 minutes of stoppage time, which was relatively short.
For both teams, it might only be enough for one attack each.
In the first minute of extra time, Dortmund reached the edge of Werder Bremen's penalty area.
Royce, with the ball, originally intended to break through and shoot himself but saw Lewandowski asking for the ball in the penalty area.
So he chose to trust his teammate, immediately passing the ball over.
The intention behind this pass was read by Werder Bremen's defending players. Substitute center-back Papastathopoulos, who came on, anticipated it and intercepted the ball before Lewandowski could receive it, poking it to his teammate.
After receiving the ball, Seraschi immediately passed it to winger Elia, who, after receiving it on the wing, sped forward swiftly towards Dortmund's half.
As he carried the ball past the halfway line, the referee glanced at his watch. There were only a few seconds left, this might be the last attack of the game.
Elia also knew time was running out, so he dared not stop, relentlessly charging forward along the wing.
The opposition's defense on the wing was relatively weak, giving him enough space and time to advance the attack towards the opposition's sideline.
By the time his teammates rushed into the penalty area, he would deliver a cross, whether successful or not, depended on this moment.
Like Lin Quan, Elia was also feeling exhausted by now. When he reached the opponent's half near the sideline, he was already panting heavily.
And Dortmund's full-back, Koch, had already rushed up, preparing to intercept him.
So he didn't have time to dribble to the baseline, he could only sweep the ball across to the middle.
At the edge of his vision, he seemed to see a teammate in a green jersey rushing up.
Although he wasn't sure if this ball would reach his teammate's feet, at this moment, he could only choose to trust his teammate!
De Bruyne was running desperately, his legs nearing their limit. He could feel his legs weighing like lead, each step becoming especially difficult.
But he didn't want to give up this attacking opportunity.
Watching the opponent's goal in sight, he clenched his teeth again and rushed forward with all his might, getting ahead of the defending players and receiving the pass from his teammate.
Dortmund's defensive player immediately rushed up, learning from the lesson of Hummels' foul in the penalty area earlier.
Before De Bruyne could enter the penalty area with the ball, he fouled outside the penalty area, stopping his progress in advance.
This was a tactical foul, and the referee didn't hesitate to show a yellow card. After hesitating for a moment, he awarded Werder Bremen a free kick in the attacking third.
He seemed to be about to blow the final whistle, but seeing Werder Bremen's number 6 getting up from the ground and bringing the ball to the foul spot, he softened and gave the opponent a chance to take the free kick, rewarding his never-give-up spirit.
"Do you want me to take the free kick?"
Fritz approached De Bruyne and asked.
He could see that De Bruyne was running out of energy.
In this situation, taking the free kick might be difficult for him to perform at his usual level.
"No, thanks, Captain, I'll do it myself!"
De Bruyne refused the captain's kindness. He knew this was the team's last attack, so there was no rush to take the free kick.
After the opposing team set up the wall, the referee signaled him to take the free kick, and he started to slowly back up.
During the retreat, he closed his eyes, thinking about how to take this shot.
Suddenly, he remembered the theoretical knowledge Lin Quan had told him during their practice of chip shots.
At that time, he found it difficult to understand and achieve, but now, on the field, that knowledge seemed to come alive, and it didn't seem so difficult to understand anymore.
So, De Bruyne made a decision. He was going to attempt the most difficult chip shot.
On the bench, getting off the stretcher and receiving a massage from the team doctor with ice packs, Lin Quan's heart skipped a beat when he saw the distance De Bruyne was retreating.
Is this guy going to attempt a chip shot?
He's out of energy, can he still kick a chip shot with a speed exceeding 100 kilometers per hour at this time?
Lin Quan doubted in his heart, De Bruyne's choice seemed a bit stubborn!
He wasn't like this before...
Could it be because of me?
Uh...
Is this guy trying to avenge me?
The idea is good, but this shot is probably not going in... Damn it (inserted a horrified expression here in the backstage of Qidian when publishing)!!!!
Lin Quan had just thought that De Bruyne's shot wouldn't go in, but the latter kicked a high-quality chip shot.
The ball went over the wall, soaring high.
Dortmund's goalkeeper Langrak judged that the ball would be above the goal, so he didn't jump to save it. He didn't think the ball would pose a threat to the goal.
But as the ball was about to fly over the crossbar and into the stands, it suddenly started to descend, dropping strangely just under the crossbar, and went into the goal.
Dortmund's goalkeeper was dumbfounded!
Is this ball cursed!
Can this ball really go in?
Not only him, but all 22 players on the field, including De Bruyne, were stunned after seeing the result of this shot.
The difference is that Dortmund's players, after reacting, one by one looked dejected, seemingly unable to accept this cruel result.
They fought the whole game, only to watch the opponents snatch the championship trophy right at their doorstep, taking away the championship!
While Werder Bremen's players, after recovering from their shock, went crazy and rushed towards De Bruyne.
Lin Quan also leaped from the bench, abandoning even the ice packs, and joined the other substitutes in rushing onto the field.
The referee didn't want to give any more injury time. The 2 minutes of stoppage time had already passed, so after the game restarted, he directly blew the final whistle.
The champion of the 2012 Telecom Cup is the Parrot Legion - Werder Bremen!
I was sprayed and went silent. Today, I posted all the chapters before the Bundesliga match. I'll directly update the Bundesliga match tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)