Chapter 315: Chapter 75: Golden Ball Award Ranking! The Fourth Superstar of World Football! How a Legend Is Forged! The Shock from China

"He’s performing even better at Dortmund. His improvement is obvious."

"This is very important for a young player."

"And now, I’m even more convinced of my initial judgment."

"Perhaps they don’t even have to wait for the future. Maybe right now, Bayern is already starting to regret their decision!"

Of course, Beckenbauer added a few face-saving remarks for Bayern afterward, but it was these first few sentences that spread the most widely.

The weight carried by the Football Emperor’s words was recognized by media and fans all over the world.

And when Beckenbauer mentioned Wang Shuo’s future in the same breath as Messi, Ronaldo, and Kaka, Wang Shuo was no longer the same.

This skyrocketing fame also affected Wang Shuo’s life to some extent.

For example, in Luckenwalde Castle, reporters often loitered around Wang Shuo’s front door.

The upside was that Lina Gerk’s fashion brand, despite being aimed at the female market, absolutely exploded at its launch because of its connection to Wang Shuo.

Thanks to Wang Shuo, the German supermodel’s career also took off, and her popularity soared to astonishing heights.

Then there was Thomas Essien.

He began receiving more calls from sponsors and brands, all inquiring about Wang Shuo.

When it came to commercial sponsorships, Wang Shuo’s attitude was quality over quantity.

This was also a suggestion from Lina Gerk.

She was now essentially Wang Shuo’s personal image consultant, while also helping Thomas Essien build Wang Shuo’s personal brand.

As for Wang Shuo himself, he continued to pour most of his energy into training and matches.

He always remembered Heynckes’s advice, and Klopp repeatedly urged him to stay grounded. Even Gao Huairen, all the way in China, made a special call to remind him not to lose his original focus just because he was becoming famous.

They were all genuinely looking out for Wang Shuo’s best interests, so he humbly accepted their advice and dedicated himself even more to his training.

「...」

When he left Mainz to join Dortmund, Wang Shuo had thought about one question more than once.

If he were to face Mainz on the pitch in the future, how should he react when facing the teammates he once fought alongside?

’Go all out?’

’That was a given.’

So, in the November 21st home game where Dortmund faced Mainz, every time Wang Shuo got the ball, he charged at Mainz without holding back.

Almost every time, he managed to throw the Mainz backline into chaos.

Thomas Tuchel knew Wang Shuo’s strength well and understood the threat he posed, so he paid special attention to him.

He even had center-backs Bo Svensson and Kirschhoff play as deep-lying midfielders. They, along with Bungert and Nowitzki, with Lővér on the left and Hogland on the right, worked together to contain Wang Shuo and Dortmund.

This was the most Mainz could do.

Schürrle, Kalhan, and Helle played in midfield, with Bancé up front, ready to counter-attack.

They knew each other inside and out and took the match seriously, so the game was incredibly intense.

But what no one would likely believe was that there wasn’t a single yellow card in the match.

Wang Shuo, Subotic, and Foyelner had all come from Mainz, as had Head Coach Klopp.

As a result, the atmosphere of the game was excellent.

Incidentally, Mainz was currently ranked 7th in the Bundesliga, even higher than Bayern.

After 42 minutes of hard-fought battle, Dortmund finally broke through. On the left side of the field, Reus received a pass from Schmelzer, dribbled forcefully to cut inside, and then sent a low pass into the penalty area.

Wang Shuo made a horizontal run, controlled the ball with his right foot, and then unleashed a shot with his left, breaking through the goal defended by Heinz Müller.

Heinz Müller had joined Mainz from Barnsley in the summer of ’09 for 300,000 euros.

After arriving, he quickly replaced Dimo Wahe to become the team’s starting goalkeeper.

And after the goal, the entire stadium erupted in cheers, but Wang Shuo did not celebrate.

This was his way of showing respect to his former club.

In the end, Dortmund defeated Mainz 1-0.

「...」

"You little brat, you really didn’t show me any mercy when you got past me!"

The moment the final whistle blew, Captain Nowitzki "swung" a fist at Wang Shuo.

The other Mainz players also came over one by one to greet Wang Shuo.

In truth, they had already greeted each other before the match in the player tunnel.

At the time, Nowitzki and Bungert had repeatedly told Wang Shuo to take it easy on them.

But unexpectedly, they still couldn’t hold him off in the end.

"Captain, I really didn’t want to embarrass you. I was actually holding back. I probably only used just a tiny bit of my strength..."

Wang Shuo deliberately made a gesture with his right index finger and thumb, pinching them close together, which made Nowitzki look like he was about to fly into a rage.

’Who is he trying to humiliate?’

That kid, Andre Schürrle, had been performing quite well this season.

If one were to name the biggest beneficiary of Wang Shuo’s departure, it would definitely be Schürrle.

He had now truly become the new star that Mainz was promoting.

However, they were in frequent contact on a regular basis, so their reaction wasn’t as enthusiastic as the others.

A new monarch brings new courtiers.

After Tuchel took over, his criteria for selecting players were clearly different from Klopp’s.

For example, Gunkel immediately lost his spot.

Pekovic’s position wasn’t very stable now either.

This was due to the difference in the head coaches’ philosophies.

What surprised Wang Shuo was that Marco Rose had made a comeback and was on the team roster.

When the two met in the player tunnel before the game, Wang Shuo was genuinely surprised.

He had originally thought Marco Rose was about to retire.