Chapter 55: Mario Götze
At this time, Götze was not the same as the one who exhausted all his luck after scoring in the World Cup final.
He was the attacking core of Borussia Dortmund, capable of playing multiple positions: attacking midfielder, winger, central midfielder, and even shadow striker.
With him on the field, Dortmund's frontline attack was guaranteed firepower. Whether assisting teammates or taking matters into his own hands to finish the game, it was all within Götze's grasp during this period.
Because of this, many people referred to him as the third man under Messi and Ronaldo, basking in endless glory!
Five minutes later, Götze came on as a substitute for Keir.
His entry immediately activated Dortmund's frontline attack, especially striker Lewandowski.
The combination of the two in the front put immense pressure on Werder Bremen's defense.
And with Reus joining in, the attacking prowess of these three players soared to another level.
Defending against all three of them simultaneously was incredibly challenging.
In the 81st minute, after Reus broke through and passed the ball, Götze received it on the left, dodged two defenders, and scored with a low shot to the near corner.
This goal came unexpectedly, especially when facing the interception of two defenders. The fact that he could create space and take the shot caught everyone off guard.
After scoring, Götze excitedly ran to the corner flag, cupping his hand to his ear, gesturing for applause from the crowd.
The Yellow Wall fans immediately erupted into warm applause and cheers for their midfield maestro, a stark contrast to the reluctant applause during Lin Quan's record-breaking moment. Now, they genuinely wanted to show their support for their own star player!
Lin Quan stood with his hands on his hips, watching Götze celebrate, contemplating his next move.
The Bundesliga had just started, and losing the first game was hard to accept.
Although the opponent was strong, they had beaten them before. Difficulty didn't mean impossibility.
However, with the increased defense against him, it became extremely difficult for Lin Quan to break through and score.
Besides being closely marked by Gündogan, there were also other Dortmund players providing support around him.
Once he got the ball, he would immediately face double-teaming. In such a situation, apart from passing, Lin Quan didn't have many good options.
He wanted to break through, to get past the opponents, but they wouldn't give him the chance. Often, just as he started, the opponent would foul him, disrupting his rhythm.
This left Lin Quan feeling somewhat helpless!
Wait a minute, fouls?
Lin Quan glanced at De Bruyne, thinking of an idea.
...
After Dortmund's celebration ended, the game quickly resumed.
As they were trailing, Werder Bremen began to commit more troops to attack, and Lin Quan became more active in his movements and demands for the ball.
The ball soon reached De Bruyne's feet. As the team's frontcourt organizer, he held the power to distribute and coordinate the ball.
Before receiving the pass from his teammate, De Bruyne had already observed the positioning of other teammates, whether there were defenders around them, whether they could pose a threat to the goal, and whether the passing line was safe.
As the biggest threat in the team's attack, Lin Quan was originally his first passing choice.
However, with the opponent's enhanced defense against Lin Quan, De Bruyne tried several times, but either Lin Quan was immediately dispossessed upon receiving the ball or he was fouled by the opponent.
This made him hesitate to continue passing to Lin Quan. But this time, when he had the ball, he saw Lin Quan reaching out for it.
Thinking back to what Lin Quan had said before the game resumed, De Bruyne hesitated for a moment, then chose to trust his teammate and passed the ball to Lin Quan.
It was a good pass!
Seeing De Bruyne pass the ball, Lin Quan accelerated, getting to the ball before the defending players.
Dortmund's players marked him tightly, and seeing Lin Quan receive the ball, they immediately rushed to double-team and pressurize him.
In the past, faced with such pressure, Lin Quan would probably choose to pass.
But this time, he actively dribbled towards the defending players.
The defenders didn't hesitate, immediately extending their feet to intercept the ball.
But instead of kicking the ball, their feet hit Lin Quan's legs, tripping him.
Whistle!
The referee's whistle sounded, awarding a free kick.
Seeing the referee blow the whistle, Lin Quan didn't linger on the ground, immediately getting up and discussing with De Bruyne, who had come to take the free kick.
"How should we take this free kick? Do you need me to play along?"
De Bruyne saw Lin Quan standing in front of the ball and thought he was going to take the free kick, so he asked.
Lin Quan glanced at the distance between the penalty spot and the goal, realizing it was about twenty-five meters outside the penalty area.
"I'll provide cover, you go for a lofted shot directly, the distance is just right!"
"Yeah, got it!"
De Bruyne nodded and stepped back, indicating he was handing over the ball to Lin Quan.
Borussia Dortmund's goalkeeper Weidenfeller, seeing Lin Quan stepping up for the free kick, immediately pondered the opponent's free kick style.
However, to his dismay, he realized he had never seen this guy take a free kick before, so he had no idea about his style.
Thus, he had to instruct his teammates to form a wall to protect the far post while he guarded the near post.
Seeing the wall set up, the referee blew the whistle.
Lin Quan took a run-up, feigned a shot, but instead let the ball roll past him.
Meanwhile, De Bruyne, who had stepped back earlier, came forward and kicked the ball.
Dortmund's wall was caught off guard, unable to jump in time, and the ball flew over their heads.
Weidenfeller widened his eyes, feeling deceived.
He had anticipated Lin Quan aiming for the near post based on his run-up direction, but De Bruyne's shot went for the far post.
Quickly adjusting his position, Weidenfeller attempted a diving save but missed the ball, only to hear a loud thud as the ball hit the crossbar and bounced out!
In the stands, Dortmund fans initially thought they were conceding a goal when they saw their goalkeeper miss, only to watch the ball bounce off the crossbar.
Relieved, they sighed and cheered, feeling as if they had dodged a bullet.
Lin Quan, seeing the trajectory of the ball, thought he had scored, only to be surprised as it hit the crossbar. Nevertheless, he acknowledged De Bruyne's skill in executing the shot.
So, he gave De Bruyne a thumbs up, praising him for the good shot.
De Bruyne nodded expressionlessly, but inwardly felt a bit frustrated. If only the shot had been a bit lower, they wouldn't have wasted the opportunity Lin Quan created.
Such an excellent opportunity for a free kick in the frontcourt wasn't easy to come by!
As it turned out, De Bruyne overthought it!
Two minutes later, almost from the same position, Lin Quan, dribbling the ball, was fouled again by the defenders, and the referee awarded another free kick.
Once again, De Bruyne and Lin Quan stood before the penalty spot.
"Uh, was that intentional?"
De Bruyne quickly realized that Lin Quan deliberately chose the most heavily defended path toward the middle rather than the better options available, indicating he was actively seeking to draw a foul for a free kick.
This confirmed De Bruyne's suspicion that the opponent was aiming to deceive for a free kick.
"Well, sort of. If I could penetrate a bit further, it would've been a penalty, but unfortunately, their defense was too solid to break through!"
De Bruyne was speechless. Normally, when faced with such dense defense, most players would steer clear. But Lin Quan did the opposite.
How confident was he in his dribbling ability? Wasn't he afraid of losing possession?
"How should we take this one? The same as before?"
De Bruyne, still regretting the missed opportunity earlier, found it surprising that another chance came so quickly.
So, he decided to replicate the previous approach, but this time with a better grasp after learning from the previous experience.
"No, let's try something different. They might be prepared for our previous tactics. Look, the Dortmund goalkeeper is positioned at the far post, ¡guarding against you!"
De Bruyne looked up and indeed saw Weidenfeller stationed at the far post, apparently wary of his previous shot.
After discussing tactics with Lin Quan, De Bruyne pretended to prepare for the free kick and then stepped back to a distance sufficient for his run-up.
Weidenfeller ignored Lin Quan completely, considering he had never seen this guy take a free kick before, and focused on De Bruyne instead.
After all, De Bruyne had almost scored with his last attempt, and in the previous Telekom Cup final, he had scored a free kick to win against Dortmund.
So, anyone would think that De Bruyne posed a greater threat.
Observing the wall and the goalkeeper's position, Lin Quan began his run-up.
Because he had previously provided cover for De Bruyne, no one suspected anything different from him.
But to everyone's surprise, after Lin Quan ran up, instead of letting the ball roll past him again, he directly took a shot, sending the ball flying.
Dortmund's wall, unprepared for Lin Quan taking the free kick, failed to jump in time, watching helplessly as the ball sailed over their heads.
Weidenfeller, equally surprised by Lin Quan's decision to take the shot, saw the ball's trajectory and hurriedly moved.
But by then, it was too late.
The ball curved beautifully in the air, sailing into the top left corner of the goal, hitting the net.
In the 88th minute, Lin Quan scored directly from the free kick, breaking Dortmund's goal for the second time.
The score on the field became 2-2, with both sides back to square one!
On both sides of the coaching benches, after witnessing this goal, Shauf and Klopp almost simultaneously stood up.
Their reactions were quite different, with Shauf feeling pleasantly surprised while Klopp appeared shocked.
"I didn't expect Lin Quan to have this trick up his sleeve. It seems we have another candidate for taking free kicks in our team in the future!"
Shauf joyfully remarked to his assistant coaches, becoming increasingly curious:
How many secrets does this kid still have? What other surprises can he bring to us?
On the other side, Klopp's expression turned grim.
When his player fouled Lin Quan for the first time just outside the penalty area, he didn't think much of it.
But when it happened again in almost the exact same position, Klopp realized something was amiss.
Consecutive fouls on the same player in the same spot didn't seem like a coincidence!
However, before he could remind his teammates, the opponents capitalized on this opportunity and scored directly from the resulting free kick.
This left Klopp feeling speechless. He realized that their number ten not only had excellent technical skills but was also a psychological mastermind.
This trickery completely toyed with Dortmund's players.