The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills-Chapter 99 - 44: Long-distance Sprint! Reject Bayern? I’m Going to Out-hustle the World
"This is the best display of the 18-year-old Chinese wonderkid’s ability and talent!"
"During this attack, Wang Shuo not only showed off his astonishing speed but also his outstanding ball control and Dribbling ability."
"Facing Bayern’s defensive line, composed of Van Bitten, Van Bommel, Oddo, Demichelis, and Lucio, Wang Shuo dared to charge into Bayern’s heartland all on his own."
"He, Wang Shuo, used the simplest, most direct methods—a mere push and cut—to get past these famous Bayern defenders."
After the match, Klinsmann defended his players, suggesting they had gotten a bit careless with a three-goal lead, which gave Wang Shuo an opportunity to exploit.
The Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung didn’t disagree with this assessment.
"But for Wang Shuo to still be able to score such a magnificent goal for Mainz despite the blow of being three goals down undoubtedly makes people see the potential and value he possesses!"
The Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung believed that, based on Wang Shuo’s past performances, he was not just a player with speed.
"He is an intelligent player with good technique and an awareness for teamwork."
"More importantly, he is extremely hardworking."
The Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung provided some statistics.
Among all the center forwards who had scored in the Bundesliga so far, Wang Shuo ranked first.
But there was another statistic where Wang Shuo still ranked first, even when compared against all other center forwards from both the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga.
Running distance.
"An astonishing average of 11 kilometers per match!"
The Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung presented a truly shocking number.
What did that number even mean?
Among all the center forwards in the Bundesliga and 2nd Bundesliga, basically none ran more than 10 kilometers per match.
Even reaching 9 kilometers was considered quite good.
After all, who made big center forwards the trend in the Bundesliga these past few years?
Could you imagine big center forwards around 1.9 meters tall, like Dzeko or Luca Tony, trying to run 9 kilometers every match?
Would they have any energy left to score goals?
Forget center forwards—even if you included wingers, wide midfielders, central midfielders, defensive midfielders, and full-backs, the number of players who averaged 11 kilometers per match in the first four rounds of the season was minuscule.
In other words, Wang Shuo, a forward, had a running distance that was on par with even the most tireless midfielders and full-backs in the Bundesliga.
In the forward Domain, he was in a league of his own, far ahead of the pack.
He was truly one of a kind!
The Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung asserted that what Klopp valued most about Wang Shuo last season was precisely his effort and diligence.
But now, this 18-year-old Chinese wonderkid was continuously revealing his own extraordinary talent.
...
Bild also reported on and reviewed the match afterward.
They also gave ratings to the players who participated.
Wang Shuo received the highest rating in the match: a 1.
Moreover, he was the only player in the entire match to receive a 1.
Luca Tony, the Bundesliga’s top aerial threat who had scored a brace and silenced all his critics, only received a 2.
Since it was a crushing 1-3 defeat, the other Mainz players mostly received ratings of 3 and 4.
Wang Shuo’s rating was in a class of its own.
Subotic, who had been tormented by Luca Tony all match, received the worst rating: a 5.
Bild expressed its sympathy for Subotic’s predicament.
For a 19-year-old young center-back to face the formidable Luca Tony was truly a nightmare.
Why give Wang Shuo the highest rating of the match, a 1?
Bild stated that since the start of the season, the 18-year-old Wang Shuo had consistently been Mainz’s best-performing player.
This was especially true in the latest match.
With his extensive running, both in attack and defense, Wang Shuo’s involvement in the game was indispensable to Mainz.
But the most stunning moment was his long-distance solo run when the team was three goals down.
"It was a perfect demonstration of Wang Shuo’s individual ability and talent!"
"With that goal, Wang Shuo outshone everyone on the field, his brilliance even eclipsing that of Bayern’s many superstars."
Bild remarked that it had been a long time since such an exciting young player had appeared in the Bundesliga.
Ribery?
Yes, the Bayern king was about to make his comeback.
But before Ribery came to the Bundesliga, he was already a well-known star.
More importantly, Ribery’s looks were not even in the same league as Wang Shuo’s.
"While many Bundesliga fans were lamenting Van der Vaart’s departure to Real Madrid in La Liga, Mainz’s Wang Shuo is rapidly on the rise!"
This time, Kicker Magazine played the part of an authoritative football media outlet quite well.
They produced a report introducing Klopp’s brand-new Mainz team.
The headline was: Chinese Genius Gives Mainz a Gorgeous Makeover!
Kicker Magazine analyzed Klopp’s Mainz team on a tactical level, concluding that many elements still adhered to the same philosophy Klopp had always championed.
But there were also many changes.
For example, Wang Shuo—at only 1.8 meters tall, with a slightly thin build and lacking in physical strength for confrontations—was clearly not the type of tall center forward that Klopp typically preferred.
Bancé, on the other hand, was more to Klopp’s taste.
But Wang Shuo was the starting forward, while Bancé was stuck warming the bench.
Why?
"Wang Shuo’s qualities are completely different from other players; not only can he bring goals, but he can also help others on the team play better." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶
His extensive running in the attacking half greatly relieved the pressure on the midfield.
This benefited a group of veterans led by Kalhan and Pekovic.
With the addition of Hainauer, Mainz’s attack began to rely more on ground passes rather than the long balls of the past.
