"Welcome to 'Today's Matches,' I'm your old friend, Mehmet Scholl;"
"Beside me are the familiar Oliver Kahn, and Jürgen—"
"Of course, not the Jürgen who is leading the team against Barcelona today, but Klinsmann, who is currently unemployed."
"Hello everyone, I'm Klinsmann."
The handsome, blond-haired Klinsmann was helpless.
Who gets roasted by the host on a show?
t/n: Micah Richards
But there was nothing he could do. His coaching tenure had been difficult, and Bayern Munich's season had unravelled under him, so he deserved the jabs. Klinsmann was already accustomed to the criticism, and he even joined in on the self-deprecating humour.
"It's a good thing the Jürgen on the field today isn't me, otherwise Borussia Dortmund would be in trouble."
"Hahahahaha…" Scholl and Kahn couldn't hold back their laughter.
Getting back to the main topic, there was still one hour until the Champions League match began. According to the programme's usual practice, the three guests in the studio would discuss various aspects, including the starting lineups, recent match performance, season performance, and the tactical battle between the two coaches. While analysing the match-up, they would also predict the outcome of today's game, offering a pre-match appetiser to the fans watching at home.
On the highway, Uncle Hans's burly figure was squeezed into the small car, as if he had filled all the space. Klinsmann's voice came from the radio, making Uncle Hans laugh heartily.
"It's a good thing our coach isn't this Jürgen, otherwise ten Jin's wouldn't be enough."
"Stop laughing, hurry up, the game's already started." Maria, in the passenger seat, couldn't help but complain.
"What's the rush? Don't you see the traffic jam? Everyone's here to watch the game."
"I told you to leave earlier, but you never listen."
"We always leave at the last minute. Why didn't you say anything before?" "
Today is such an important match, there are bound to be more people, aren't you silly?"
"I'm driving, stop rushing me."
Anna, sitting in the back, wore headphones, ignoring her parents' argument in the front. Anyway, they would make up in less than ten minutes. Unfortunately, Grandpa Fritz couldn't join his family at the stadium today to fight alongside them. He was still in the hospital, being cared for by his other children.
Anna was incredibly nervous throughout the journey, even more so than for her final exams. Presumably, at this very moment, Jin Hayes was preparing for his pre-match warm-up, right? She wondered how he would perform today. Anyway, no matter what, Anna would be in the stands with him, facing this tough battle together.
"As expected of a devil's home ground, it's so loud." Dani Alves was wide-eyed, looking around, his mouth agape in shock at the magnificent stands.
"Don't worry, when we officially enter the field, their South Stand will display a huge tifo, which will be especially spectacular then."
"Really? Then I must see it."
"80,000 people, the atmosphere is simply much better than the Bernabéu."
"German fans are professionals, unlike at Real Madrid, where most fans are casual supporters, without true loyalists."
"Hey, hey, hey, Gerard, if this is recorded, you're going to face crazy retaliation from Real Madrid fans."
"What's there to be afraid of? It's not my first time offending Real Madrid fans anyway." Gerard Piqué was fearless. As arch-rivals, what's wrong with saying a few bad things about Real Madrid?
"That's true. Actually, I quite like this atmosphere. The louder the away team's momentum, the more exciting it is when we score." Dani Alves really enjoyed such big occasions.
"Hey, are you two really that relaxed?" Xavi noticed that Alves and Piqué weren't taking their warm-up seriously at all and couldn't help but scold them a bit.
"Of course! Our goal is the final, the championship."
"I feel the atmosphere is pretty good right now." Lionel Messi spoke unexpectedly. "After all, we are Barcelona."
"That's true." Xavi nodded.
He could feel that Piqué and Alves were not arrogant, but purely confident. With their recent winning streak, consecutive victories against strong opponents, a humiliating 6-2 away win against Real Madrid, and a 4-0 thrashing of Bayern in the Champions League, Barcelona's performance had been getting better and better, and their cohesion had improved as the season progressed into the middle and late stages. Now it was very difficult for any team to threaten Barcelona's goal; they almost completely dominated the field, giving the opponent no chances whatsoever.
Pep Guardiola and the coaching staff had thoroughly analysed Borussia Dortmund's characteristics. As long as they maintained possession and prevented Jin Hayes from receiving the ball and advancing, Borussia Dortmund would pose no threat to Víctor Valdés's goal.
Once the tiki-taka system was in motion, Borussia Dortmund could only defend passively, like a group of players being constantly played with by Barcelona. If Borussia Dortmund didn't believe in evil and insisted on an attacking game against Barcelona, that would be exactly what the visitors wanted. Just as the outside media predicted, Barcelona players also believed today's match could be a one-sided affair.
"Let's first look at the predictions from various media outlets. According to the information collected—"
"Bild predicts Barcelona's winning probability exceeds 70%, and Kicker also predicts an away win for Barcelona, eliminating Borussia Dortmund over two legs."
"As for Mundo Deportivo and Marca, needless to say, they certainly believe the Spanish team will return with a big victory."
On the studio screen, predictions from well-known football media from various countries were displayed. All of them predicted a Barcelona victory. Only the Turin Sports Daily went against the grain, believing that Borussia Dortmund would defeat Barcelona 3-2 / 4-3 / 2-1.
"It seems our media colleagues in Turin are being very generous, ha ha ha—" Scholl gave a few awkward laughs, "How do you two view today's match-up? I'll go first. I predict Borussia Dortmund will lose narrowly at home to Barcelona, 2-3. What do you two think?"
"You don't think highly of the Bundesliga team?" Klinsmann smiled, "I think Dortmund is a very resilient team. From being underestimated in the initial group stage, they have fought their way into the semi-finals with a strong performance. On paper, their strength doesn't seem that great, but a superstar like Jin Hayes is enough to lead the team to victory against anyone. So, even if the opponent is Barcelona, widely considered the favourite to win the championship, a super team with impeccable tactics and personnel, these young lads from Borussia Dortmund definitely have a fighting chance."
Klinsmann spoke eloquently with a faint smile on his face.
"So, show us your prediction."
"Uh—well—" Klinsmann flipped over the small whiteboard in his hand, on which was clearly written 1-3 / 2-4. He had praised Borussia Dortmund for so long, yet this guy predicted Barcelona would win by at least two goals.
"Jürgen, you're too naughty." Kahn couldn't help but laugh out loud again. "I'm different from you two. I genuinely have high hopes for Borussia Dortmund, but this match is indeed more difficult than imagined—" Oliver Kahn turned over his answer board, on which was written 3-3 / 3-2, a home win or draw for Borussia Dortmund.
"Oh? Why must it be three goals?"
"Because I believe in Jin. He is a typical big-game player, and he has already demonstrated his ability to create opportunities in this Champions League."
"Barcelona's defence is not invincible; they also fear sharp counter-attacks."
"Jin's individual ability might be the key to breaking the deadlock, capable of breaking through Barcelona's high-press blockade with extremely strong individual combat skills, creating counter-attack opportunities."
"Furthermore, Jin Hayes, Marco Reus, Jakub Błaszczykowski, and others are all players who excel at quick counter-attacks and possess extreme speed."
"If Borussia Dortmund really gets counter-attack opportunities, Barcelona won't be able to handle it."
Oliver Kahn's analysis, accompanied by his writing and drawing on the whiteboard, made the other two guests nod frequently. Borussia Dortmund might not get many opportunities, but it's unlikely they'll get no opportunities at all throughout the match. No matter how low their possession rate, Borussia Dortmund would always create a few attacking chances. If their ability to seize opportunities was just a tiny bit stronger, Barcelona's goal wouldn't be an impregnable fortress.
"That makes sense, then I'll change mine too. I predict Borussia Dortmund has at least a 40% chance—"
"Wait, you can still change it?" Mehmet Scholl laughed; Kahn and Jürgen Klinsmann really made for good television. As this was one of the most important matches of the season, against one of the world's strongest teams, Barcelona, the viewership for ZDF, Germany's second television channel, soared today, almost reaching its highest rating of the year. Indeed, the influence of the Champions League semi-finals was significant enough.
...
As evening approached, most people had finished work. They either found a bar to watch the game with strangers or went home to prepare some snacks and watch the big match with loved ones and friends. Their hometown team, which had been struggling for 12 years since their last championship, almost becoming a relegation team, suddenly rose up one day, stormed into the Champions League as a dark horse, reaching the semi-finals, eliminating strong opponents, taking down the biggest favourite Manchester United, and now in the semi-finals, they met the biggest favourite after Manchester United—the even more terrifying Barcelona.
Borussia Dortmund was practically a ghost town, except for the area around Westfalen Stadium. The three blocks surrounding the stadium were completely jammed with traffic; the road leading to the spectator parking lot was utterly impassable, completely blocked. Not only were there local Borussia Dortmund fans, but there were also many foreign licence plates on the road. Even people from Spain had driven all the way here.
"What should we do? We're going to be late." With only 45 minutes left until the match, Maria was burning with anxiety.
"Don't panic, don't panic." Uncle Hans comforted his wife, while racking his brain for a strategy. Then he heard his daughter in the back seat suddenly say, "Go around, take the stadium's back entrance."
"Huh?"
"Hurry up!"
"Right, right! My daughter is smart after all!" Uncle Hans also remembered that last time they had entered the parking lot through the staff entrance. In this emergency, he had no choice but to shamelessly use the staff entrance again. They were, after all, family members, and Frank was a staff member.
Uncle Hans sharply turned the steering wheel onto a small, unblocked road nearby, leaving a group of drivers wide-eyed. After circling the stadium for half a lap, they finally found the back entrance parking lot. The security guard raised a hand to stop the car.
"Excuse me, for viewing the match, please go to—" Uncle Hans was about to make an excuse, but the security guard saw the people in the car and immediately broke into a smile. "It's you all! Come on in!"
This security guard was not the same one from last time, but everyone already knew the famous Heinrich family. This family were regulars in the stands. Jin Hayes often hugged the Heinrich family after scoring, and they had been on television many times, so they were already recognised.
Moreover, the media had revealed that Jin Hayes was living with the Heinrich family—their entire family's status had risen another level. They were Jin Hayes's adopted family. The Heinrich family was definitely the VVIP guest of the entire club. No paper proof was needed; they could enter the parking lot freely and without obstruction.
As the family hurried from the back entrance to the stands, they happened to encounter the Borussia Dortmund players, who had finished warming up and were about to enter the dressing room to prepare for the match, in the stadium corridor.
"Oh oh oh oh—"
The elfin blonde girl Anna was simply too eye-catching; the Dortmund players immediately noticed the family. Mats Hummels led the teasing.
"Jin, we won't bother you."
A group of young men, with knowing smiles, quickly left, leaving Jin Hayes standing there.
Jin Hayes was both surprised and delighted. Facing the big match against Barcelona, seeing the visitors warming up on the other side of the pitch, watching their fluid passing and coordination, Jin Hayes himself felt uncertain. The opponent was the 'Dream Team' from his instincts—the team that won six titles. Could he really defeat them? Could he truly change his destiny against them?
The closer it got to kick-off, the more anxious Jin Hayes became. Until he saw Anna in the stadium, his mood instantly calmed down. All negative emotions, all nervousness, vanished at that moment.
"How did you all get here?"
"Hehe, we snuck in through the staff entrance. Uh—Jin, don't feel pressured. No matter what the result is today, you're our hero."
"That's right, you've been training extra every day and you look thinner. No matter what, our whole family will face this with you." Hans and Maria came forward together, embracing Jin Hayes tightly as if he were their own child.
"Cough, cough, cough… Danke."
Jin Hayes's ribs almost broke again. The couple didn't get too sentimental; they simply offered a few words of encouragement and then went to find their seats.
In the corridor, only Jin Hayes and Anna remained, their eyes locked. "So, the game starts in less than half an hour. Any pre-match reward?"
"Dream on, you should focus on the game." Anna covered her mouth and chuckled, giving him a bright, playful glare.
"Boring."
"Don't get distracted. I'll be in the stands, facing everything with you." Anna stepped forward, her fair arms gently encircling Jin Hayes's waist. She lowered her head to sniff his slightly sweaty scent, resting her pretty face against his firm chest. Just as Jin Hayes was about to hug her, Anna stopped short, her nimble steps evading his sudden move.
"Naughty."
"Hehe, I'm going to the stands now."
Seeing that it was time for Jürgen Klopp's pre-match motivational talk, Jin Hayes also had to go back and rejoin the team. He could only turn and leave, immersing himself in the game's mood.
"Honey!"
"Hmm?"
The call from behind made Jin Hayes stop and turn around. The next second, a fragrant breeze swept in, and Jin Hayes felt a cool, soft touch briefly graze his lips. The girl retracted her tiptoed foot, shyly fleeing the scene. Because not far away, Klopp happened to be passing by.
"Jin."
Klopp patted Jin Hayes's shoulder, sighing at how wonderful youth was. "How's your form today?"
"I'm in great form!" Jin Hayes rubbed his fists, brimming with fighting spirit.