Chapter 5 An Ke's True Test

The second half was just as Van Marwijk had said. After the half-time break, Bayern Munich applied immense pressure to Borussia Dortmund's goal.

An Ke's true test had arrived.

As the saying goes, "Weak teams have great goalkeepers." Although Borussia Dortmund was an established powerhouse in German football, it had long been relegated to a second-tier team. Even Dortmund's chairman, Niebaum, had to admit, "Borussia Dortmund is no longer on the same level as Bayern Munich." This was discouraging, but it was the truth. Due to the financial crisis, Borussia Dortmund's strength had been greatly diminished. Now, Borussia Dortmund was a bona fide weak team in front of Bayern Munich.

Hashimian (vahidhashemian), who had performed poorly, was replaced by Peruvian striker Pizarro at the start of the second half. Pizarro (Claudiomiguelpizarro), who came on, was particularly active. He was eager to prove his strength to Magath and completely squeeze the mediocre Iranian onto the bench. Compared with Hashimian, who had only joined the team this summer, he also had a more skilled understanding with Makaay (roymakaay).

Frings (torstenfrings), amidst loud boos, used his skills to shake off Borussia Dortmund's defensive midfielder Oliseh (sundayoliseh), and then passed diagonally to Makaay.

Full-back Evanilson (ferreiraevanilson) rushed towards Makaay, attempting to stop his dribbling breakthrough, but Makaay didn't stop the ball. He directly made a horizontal pass, and the ball was kicked to the left side of the field!

The ball drew an arc, bypassing all Borussia Dortmund defenders in the air, and landed directly at the edge of the penalty area! At the same time, Pizarro sprinted at high speed, surpassing all the defenders who couldn't react in time and rushed into the penalty area, stopping the ball with his chest!

"A one-on-one for Bayern!"

Pizarro didn't plan to adjust again. He knew that shooting directly was the best choice! Although his center of gravity wasn't ideal, surprise was key. He waited for the ball to fall a little more and then shot directly, his right leg already swinging up. At this moment, he glanced at the position of the opposing goalkeeper... but he saw a large black shadow rushing towards him, almost within reach!

What?!

Pizarro's shock was no less than that of anyone else on the field. When Makaay passed the ball, he was still in front of the goal. When had An Ke come out?!

An Ke had actually known the opponent's offensive intention as soon as Makaay passed the ball, and then decided to immediately abandon the goal and attack, to buy time. Pizarro, however, had been paying attention to the distance between himself and the defenders to prevent offside. After he sprinted, he turned his head to look at the ball, calculating the landing point, completely ignoring An Ke's existence.

"Go to hell!" An Ke shouted in Chinese, lunging forward, his hands directly grabbing the falling ball in the air! And Pizarro happened to kick into empty air, the force of his leg sending himself tumbling!

Snatching food from a tiger's mouth!

"An Ke attacks! He grabbed the ball before Pizarro! What a close call! Just a little bit more, and he would have kicked him in the head!!" Wang Jianxiang was also taken aback. Just now, in order to prevent a fumble, An Ke arched his body forward, catching the ball in his arms, and his lowered head was directly exposed to Pizarro's "firepower." If he had been kicked hard, it would have been a sure knockout, conservatively speaking, right? Wang Jianxiang was still feeling lingering fear for An Ke, but he saw him seizing the time to launch a counterattack with a hand pass, not taking everything that had just happened to heart at all. Was he really brave, or did he simply not know the consequences of doing so?

※※※

An Ke's save just now won long applause and praise from the fans in the stadium, who cheered for his brave and timely performance. Because at that moment, An Ke's performance was "world-class"!

Even Pizarro couldn't figure out how that goalkeeper had suddenly appeared in front of him. And he even fearlessly grabbed the ball directly, leaving him kicking air. That kid was too fast! He gave a thumbs up to Makaay in the distance, thanking the Dutchman for the wonderful pass, and then took his hand back and shook his head as he ran back.

Next time, next time I definitely won't miss!

※※※

"Well done, An! Worthy of being my student!" Oliver, the drunkard, was yelling and jumping in the stands, looking like a gorilla, a gorilla with a huge, bulbous nose.

Van Marwijk even stood up from his seat. This kid really didn't disappoint my expectations!

And the most excited should be those Chinese reporters. Seeing An Ke's wonderful performance just now, who wouldn't jump up from their chair? Another surprise. Following Zhang Jun, Yang Pan, and the national Olympic team, An Ke was the fourth surprise and unexpected gain for Chinese football!

Subsequently, Bayern's several mediocre shots were all caught by the heroic An Ke one by one. Borussia Dortmund maintained a one-goal lead over Bayern after fifteen minutes of the second half. With the defense not performing ideally, it was all thanks to An Ke.

Unlike what some people had predicted before the game, An Ke didn't show a trace of nervousness or panic on his debut. His extroverted personality allowed him to gradually enter the state, and now he was Borussia Dortmund's guardian deity.

But Van Marwijk was still a little worried. If he allowed Bayern to continue like this, An Ke would not be able to hold on either, not to mention that this was only his first Bundesliga game! "Attack! Counterattack! Don't let them continue like this!" He stood on the sidelines, waving his arms and loudly reminding his players.

However, under Bayern's powerful firepower suppression, Borussia Dortmund's counterattack only lasted for a short time. Judging from the situation on the field, it was hard to believe that Bayern was playing away. With less than twenty-five minutes left in the game, Magath didn't want to tie the club's worst start in history in the German derby. Attack, attack, besides attack, it's still attacking! This was Bayern's current tactical thinking.

And during this time, An Ke's name had also become the most frequently mentioned person by Chinese and German commentators.

"An blocked Frings' long shot!"

"An Ke easily picked off this corner kick!"

"Even Makaay's shot is no match for An!"

"An jumped and pushed this shot-like-pass over the crossbar, he won applause again!"

"An is now the most popular player in the Westfalenstadion!"

"We seem to be able to hear the cheers coming from the German venue, the pronunciation of 'An' is very, very clear! An Ke has conquered the discerning Germans with his performance!"

……

Yes, not only had he conquered the audience, even the opponents had to admit that they might be able to easily tear through Borussia Dortmund's defense, but they had run into a "Great Wall of China" on the final shot, which was almost insurmountable!

Once a game-type goalkeeper went wild, he would really block all such shots. Many reactions seemed inexplicable and unbelievable, and even the person involved would admit afterwards that they didn't know how they did it, and could only attribute it to "instinct." But people were more willing to call that a "miracle."

Miraculous save.

Miraculous block.

Miraculous toe poke.

If Borussia Dortmund could ultimately rely on this one-goal advantage to defeat Bayern in this game, then An Ke's performance in this game, except for the first goal conceded, could all be described as "miraculous," and it would not be an exaggeration at all. Now that he was enjoying the fun of saving, he could even save a penalty kick, right?

Yes, definitely.

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Frings found that the opposing goalkeeper was becoming more and more difficult to deal with. No matter how hard he and his teammates tried, they just couldn't break through the goal he was guarding. Even luck wasn't on their side. One of Makaay's powerful shots actually hit the outside of the post and bounced out of the baseline.

Did he have to force him to malfunction? Frings looked at An Ke, then at Magath sitting below and Ballack on the bench with a serious expression. If he couldn't break the deadlock again, he would be replaced, right?

Ze Roberto (zeroberto) passed diagonally into the penalty area. The ball went into the ribs of Borussia Dortmund's defense, and Makaay ran diagonally to chase the ball. But this time, Worns (Christianworns) stared at him, not giving the efficient shooter the slightest chance to shoot.

In this case... Frings realized that now was a great opportunity for him to make a contribution, because Makaay had attracted most of the opponent's defensive attention, and he was unmarked!

He inserted into the penalty area, but didn't wave for the ball. He didn't want to be too conspicuous. He believed that Makaay could see him and knew what to do. Bayern's training level was extraordinary!

Sure enough, Makaay glanced at Frings who was inserting, and unhesitatingly passed the ball back to Frings who was following up!

Jensen (niclasjensen) rushed up, wanting to poke the ball away before Frings could shoot. But how powerful was Frings? He hooked the ball in the opposite direction, just dodging Jensen!

However, this hook made the ball a little too big. It was this little bit that bought An Ke valuable time to attack. When Frings swung his right leg to shoot hard again, he found that An Ke had already rushed in front of him! And his hands were reaching for the ball!

Without the slightest hesitation, the two collided fiercely!

Frings' figure stagnated in front of An Ke, and then somersaulted and fell to the ground behind him. An Ke himself slid out one meter before stopping.

Where's the ball?

At that moment, everyone's biggest concern was whether the ball had gone in. They were looking for it. First of all, it wasn't in the goal, and most people breathed a sigh of relief. Secondly, it wasn't outside the baseline or the sideline either, and it wasn't seen on the field, so could it be...

At this moment, An Ke jumped up from the ground, shouting "Counterattack" and throwing the ball forward again.

It turned out he had saved it! Just when people wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, they were surprised to find that there were a few red marks on An Ke's forehead, reflecting the stadium lights, which were shocking!

It was blood!

An Ke was injured?

Jan Koller (jankoller) kicked the ball out of bounds as soon as he received it.

"Why... why? Such a good counterattack opportunity!" An Ke didn't understand why Koller did that.

But Worns pulled him over and touched An Ke's forehead. "Don't you feel it? You're injured!" He held out his finger for An Ke to see, and the red bloodstains startled An Ke.

Injured? It must have been during the collision just now... Although Frings tried hard to retract his leg, his cleats still caught An Ke's forehead.

The referee, Merk, whistled and signaled Borussia Dortmund's team doctor to enter the field to deal with it.

"Tell him, if it's really not possible, don't force it. I can let Koller play as a substitute!" Van Marwijk specially instructed the assistant coach who followed him. He didn't want to risk another goalkeeper, an excellent goalkeeper, for a derby hyped up by the media.

The team doctor knelt in front of An Ke and began to examine the injury. Several players surrounded him with concern, while some other players from both sides took the opportunity to go to the sidelines for water.

Frings was explaining to Worns on the side: "I didn't do it on purpose, it was too close, I wanted to retract my leg but I couldn't..." Worns patted him on the shoulder: "It's nothing, just a scratch, don't worry about it."

"But you should persuade him. It's good to want to perform in the first game, but don't risk your body, it's very dangerous."

Worns smiled: "He's always like that, even in training. But it's also because of this that he can save many balls that others can't save, right?"

Frings shrugged and said nothing. But he was a little scared in his heart. Fortunately, he retracted his leg quickly, otherwise, otherwise his left eye would have been gone! But it's also good now, he can't be completely unaffected next, I'll seize this opportunity to equalize the score first! Scoring two goals alone is a very remarkable achievement!

After examining the wound, the team doctor said to the assistant coach next to him: "Fortunately! This kick caught him on the left side of his forehead, a little further down and it would have been his temple! Now he just needs to be bandaged, and he'll be fine."

The coach nodded, it looked like he could continue the game. "An, bandage it up to stop the bleeding, and continue the game?"

An Ke nodded. What a joke! It's just a little scratch, and you want me to leave the field?

Due to the special nature of the goalkeeper position, when the goalkeeper is injured, the game will be suspended. Everyone must wait for the goalkeeper to deal with the injury before the game can be restarted, so the team doctor tried to bandage it as quickly as possible, not giving Bayern too much time for injury time.

"Okay! The bleeding has stopped!" The team doctor stood up and said to the referee. Merk personally checked it before signaling both sides to get ready to resume the game.

And when An Ke stood in front of Borussia Dortmund's goal with a bandage wrapped around his head, the entire stadium stood up and applauded him, paying their highest respect to this fighter who was fighting with injuries.

"It seems that An Ke's injury is just a scratch, so after stopping the bleeding, Merk signaled that the game can continue. I think many fans have also breathed a sigh of relief, right?" Wang Jianxiang said.

When she saw An Ke's blood-stained jersey, An Ke's mother felt a pang in her heart, fearing that something might happen to her son. But later, when she saw An Ke standing up again after the team doctor's treatment, and heard Wang Jianxiang's explanation, she breathed a sigh of relief. But her husband, An Ke's father, was still watching TV expressionlessly. Didn't she feel any heartache when her son was injured?

※※※

Frings walked past Makaay and said to him: "Increase the power of your shots, that goalkeeper can't take many hits. The collision just now probably had some impact on his brain." After saying that, he patted Makaay on the shoulder, "Roy, it's up to you."

Makaay followed Frings' advice and obviously increased the power when shooting.

"Makaay shoots! But it's a bit too straight, it will be An..."

The ball hit An Ke's chest, and then bounced out of his arms!

Fumble!

Pizarro was right in front of him, he rushed up to prepare for a follow-up shot! But as soon as he stepped out, An Ke roared like a tiger, pouncing on it and pressing the ball under his body. It looked like he was pressing not a football, but a lively rabbit.

It seems like there really is an impact, hey! Although the ball didn't go in, Makaay didn't care at all. What made him happy was An Ke's fumble.

An Ke got up from the ground and happened to see Pizarro standing in front of him. He smiled and shook his finger at Pizarro: "Don't be nervous, ha!" Now he didn't care what kind of star you were, to him they were all the same, all his enemies, his opponents.

"An Ke fumbled just now, fortunately his second reaction was quick. But I don't know if this fumble has anything to do with the collision just now." Wang Jianxiang said worriedly.

※※※

Since you have problems now, then I'll make you fumble again! After receiving a wonderful pass from Frings, Makaay fired again at the corner of the penalty area, another powerful shot! What he was thinking was that it would be great if this kind of ball could go in directly, but even if it didn't, it would cause the goalkeeper to fumble, creating opportunities for Pizarro lurking in the penalty area.

His wishful thinking was good, but An Ke took a step laterally this time and steadily caught the ball in his arms, without fumbling!

This surprised Makaay a bit, but he thought it was because his shooting power was not enough. So with the next shot, he added more force, but to his surprise, An Ke caught it steadily again, without fumbling.

How would he know that An Ke's first fumble was caused by the fact that An Ke had not fully adapted to the increased power of his shot, and that An Ke, who had already adapted to the next two shots, would naturally not fumble again. As for Frings' collision, I didn't even take it seriously! An Ke would definitely say that in his heart.

After a period of frenzied bombing by Bayern, they needed to recover their strength, while Borussia Dortmund didn't have much extra energy to deal with Bayern, and could only rely on the cooperation between two or three people to occasionally harass them, with little success. The game entered a stalemate stage after a climax.

An Ke wasn't as busy as before, but it wasn't a good thing for him personally. A game-type goalkeeper needs to constantly put himself in danger to be able to exert his true strength. At that time, he often relies on his instinct, rather than experience or skill, to guard the goal. But once the situation eases, the body will also cool down, and when facing a shot again, there may be some inexplicable mistakes.

As the battle situation eased, the cameras also had free time to focus more on An Ke. In nearly seventy minutes of the game, this young man who was making his debut had become the most dazzling player in the stadium.

※※※

Lin Jia and her companions came out of the school gate, turned a corner and separated. She walked towards the apartment alone. There was a large-screen color TV in the window of a shopping mall along the street, which was currently broadcasting a game, and some people had already gathered outside.

Lin Jia originally wanted to detour and walk straight past, but the conversation between two people next to her made her stop.

"That Chinese goalkeeper is awesome! If it weren't for him, we would have been behind long ago!"

"Yeah, yeah. The entire Bayern can't score a goal in front of him!"

Chinese goalkeeper? This made Lin Jia interested in the game. Could it be that An Ke... She squeezed open a gap and happened to see the camera giving a close-up of half of An Ke's face, very, very clear, it was An Ke without a doubt!

But why was he wearing a white bandage on his forehead? Was he injured?

"Frings said that he used to be one of us in Dortmund, but he not only scored a goal first, but also collided with An, it's really too ungrateful!"

"Hey! Don't forget that his specialty is dealing with his old club! When he first arrived in Dortmund and led the team to a 4:1 victory over Bremen, didn't we cheer for him too?"

So he really was injured! When Lin Jia put her attention back on the TV, she realized that An Ke was gone, oh no, there was no An Ke in the camera anymore. The team in red jerseys was passing the ball, they seemed to be on the offensive.

※※※

Frings observed Borussia Dortmund's player positioning. The four defenders were standing in parallel, which was a good opportunity to play behind the defense! When the ball came back to his feet, he launched the offensive with a direct pass!

It was still Makaay, but this time he didn't shoot hard after stopping the ball, but chose to lob the far corner - he knew that under frequent powerful shots, the opposing goalkeeper would always pay attention to his direct shots, and would not prevent other ways of shooting. Now An Ke was standing a bit too forward, which was to block his shooting angle.

Makaay thought that this shot was very sudden, but An Ke's performance made him feel even more sudden.

An Ke jumped up from the ground, soaring into the sky like a rocket, with his hands stretched out high, grabbing the rising football firmly in his hands like rebounding!

This kid's explosiveness is too good!

"Perfect performance! Superman An!!" The commentators in Germany had to use "Superman" to describe An Ke's performance just now, they really couldn't find a better word.

※※※

The fans around him cheered with their arms raised, shouting An Ke's last name as loudly as the fans in the stadium: "An! An!! An!!!"

Lin Jia was a little surprised by their performance, why were they so crazy, she didn't understand football, and didn't know how beautiful An Ke's move just now was. But she also knew that these people were so excited for An Ke.

The TV was replaying An Ke's save just now. Lin Jia found that An Ke was so handsome at that moment, so handsome that he didn't seem like the An Ke she knew.

The indifferent An Ke, the drunk An Ke, the lecherous An Ke, the An Ke on the football field, which one is the real An Ke?