Chapter 321: Chapter 76: Tying the Legend, Half-Season Champion, Football Faith and the Hundred Years’ War, Celebration Banquet, and the Charge for the Championship

You could say the quality of this achievement was absolutely top-notch!

Especially their three-game winning streak in December, which was absolutely exhilarating to watch.

Scoring 39 goals and conceding 15, this record was by no means inferior to the one set by Magat’s Bayern, which had scored 35 and conceded 12.

And almost all media outlets turned their focus to the team’s top scorer, Wang Shuo.

In the more than 40 years since Gerd Müller set the Bundesliga’s all-time half-season scoring record at 20 goals, not a single player had managed to match it, let alone surpass the historic achievement.

Last season, both Wang Shuo and Ibisevic came close, but they ultimately fell short.

Now, Wang Shuo had finally matched it.

The equaling of a historic record that had stood for over 40 years immediately sparked a heated debate throughout the German football scene.

Inevitably, everyone began comparing Wang Shuo to Gerd Müller.

Both had scored 20 goals, but the circumstances were actually quite different.

In the ’68/’69 season, Gerd Müller’s 20 goals only earned Bayern 35 points.

A key reason was that he only scored in 11 of the 17 matches he played.

This included one four-goal haul, one hat-trick, and four braces.

So, what about Wang Shuo?

His 20 goals were spread across 16 matches.

With the exception of the matchday 14 game against Hoffenheim, Wang Shuo had scored in every single match.

Furthermore, across those 17 matches, Wang Shuo also provided 10 assists.

Gerd Müller had only managed 3.

"This season, there was even a long period where the media criticized Dortmund for suffering from an over-reliance on Wang Shuo."

Bild argued that unlike a pure goalscorer like Gerd Müller, Wang Shuo was a much more complete player.

"He’s even capable of completing an entire attacking sequence all by himself, from winning the ball back to scoring the goal!"

As a German media outlet, Bild naturally wouldn’t belittle Gerd Müller.

They attributed this difference to the evolution of the game and tactical revolutions.

It was also, however, a move born of necessity for Dortmund.

When Klopp first arrived and began rebuilding the team, Dortmund relied heavily on Wang Shuo’s individual brilliance to win games.

In contrast, Gerd Müller received far more support at Bayern, so he naturally didn’t need to take on those responsibilities.

Besides Bild, other authoritative media outlets like Kicker Magazine and Süddeutsche Zeitung also named Wang Shuo the most outstanding player of the first half of the Bundesliga season.

He even overshadowed Bayern’s own stars, Ribery and Robben.

Süddeutsche Zeitung even issued a call to the German Football Association and the head coach of the Germany National Team, Lővér.

"The fact that Wang Shuo has yet to make an appearance for any national team is simply incredible."

"We can’t fathom the reasons why, but this is German football’s opportunity!"

Süddeutsche Zeitung argued that the German Football Association and the national team should make an exception and call up Wang Shuo to play for Germany.

"It would be a joyous occasion that would thrill everyone!"

What they clearly didn’t know, however, was that over the past year, the German Football Association had already reached out to Wang Shuo on multiple occasions—through Mainz and Dortmund, and even through sponsors like Adidas and Porsche.

They had promised that if Wang Shuo was willing to play for the Germany National Team, they could fast-track his German citizenship, and Lővér had even promised him a spot in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Even Klopp and Heynckes had called Wang Shuo, urging him to consider playing for Germany.

But Wang Shuo’s stance had always been perfectly clear.

He would not play for the Germany National Team!

Because naturalizing as a German meant renouncing his Chinese citizenship, something he could never accept under any circumstances.

It was just as he had told Subotic when advising him once before.

His parents, his family, his relatives, and his friends were all in China.

How could he possibly convince himself to play for another country?

This news story was destined to go nowhere.

...

The differences between Dortmund and Mainz were apparent in every way.

Take Christmas, for example.

Wang Shuo truly hadn’t expected Dortmund to have so many Christmas events.

Take Wang Shuo’s schedule, for instance.

The day after the league went on break, he and several teammates, including Reus, went to a hospital to visit a seriously ill young fan who was said to have supported Dortmund since birth.

The first-team players were all split up for different activities.

Afterward, Wang Shuo had another event scheduled: a visit to an elementary school in the northeast of the city to participate in their Christmas festivities.

"Our situation now is actually pretty good."

Goalkeeper Weidenfeller explained with a smile to Wang Shuo and the others in the van on the way to the elementary school.

"Did you know? Four or five years ago, when the team was really struggling, we even had to work as escorts."

"Escorts?" Subotic asked, surprised.

Foyelner exclaimed excitedly, "Do you mean *that* kind of escort?"

Of course, Weidenfeller knew what kind of escort the perv Foyelner was talking about. He nodded with a grin.

"Pretty much. We just didn’t sell our bodies."

"Holy shit, that’s awesome!" Foyelner said, his face a mask of envy.

The others all groaned.

Of course, everyone knew he was just kidding.

"The club was genuinely broke back then. We sold the stadium’s naming rights, sold the stadium itself, and were still drowning in debt. We couldn’t even make payroll."

"So, you guys had to go be escorts?" Foyelner was still hung up on the *escorts*.

"Our club founded a company specifically to organize commercial events. It’s still around now, and the guy in charge is that Plas fellow."