Chapter 1 A Respectable Team

In the Bundesliga, if you were to ask which team has the most loyal fans, almost everyone would tell you: Borussia Dortmund. There's no doubt about it, their German-style rigor makes people think that way. When Bundesliga giant Bayern Munich's record was poor, the vast stands of Munich's Olympic Stadium were chillingly empty. But last season, when Borussia Dortmund's record was equally poor, the Westfalenstadion, which can hold 83,000 people, was still packed. Although, unable to tolerate the team's terrible record, the fans expressed their dissatisfaction through sit-down protests and sending representatives to negotiate with the team bus, whenever there was a Borussia Dortmund home game, the Westfalenstadion was sure to be full. This is how they used their actions to show everyone what it means to "love you in victory, love you in defeat".

Such fans are worthy of respect, and a team with such fans is happy.

This season, after selling several key players, Borussia Dortmund's results have not been ideal, but the fans still support their team and give the team understanding. This home game against Bayern Munich has touched the nerves of everyone. The Westfalenstadion was already packed an hour before the start of the game. Because Bayern's results were also not good, there were not many fans who came with the team. Magath must be sighing when he sees the Borussia Dortmund fans, how great it would be if the Munich Olympic Stadium and the Westfalenstadion could be swapped. Oh no, it should be the Bayern fans and the Borussia Dortmund fans who could be swapped!

"This will be a tough game!" He said to Bayern's sporting director Hoeness next to him, looking at the "BvB" yellow flags waving in the stands.

"The fans are, but the team won't cause us too much trouble. I heard their goalkeeper was directly promoted from the second team and has no Bundesliga experience at all."

Magath remembered his assistant reporting the situation of that game to him, completely forgetting Guerrero, constantly reminding Magath to pay attention to the Chinese goalkeeper in the camera, and strongly suggested buying him as Kahn's successor when appropriate. "They are almost completely carved out of the same mold!" the assistant said excitedly.

It's a pity that the video of that goalkeeper is too short. This game is just right to observe him carefully.

"Uli (Hoeness), after the game starts, please observe the opponent's goalkeeper more. My assistant told me that he is a very promising young man," Magath reminded.

"That second-team one? Okay, I'll pay close attention," Hoeness nodded.

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"Hey, An, didn't you rest well? Why do you seem to be in a bad mood?" Worns asked this little brother with concern. As the acting captain of Borussia Dortmund, with the regular captain Metzelder and vice-captain Rosicky absent due to injury, it became his responsibility to care for and support the newcomers.

"Haha! An must be nervous, nervous!" Oliseh joked on the side. In just three days, An Ke had made several good friends, and the Nigerian Oliseh was one of them.

An Ke wasn't nervous. He was just still thinking about what happened yesterday afternoon. This game was going to be broadcast live, would his parents watch it?

Van Marwijk walked in. He had just gone to greet Ajax's coach Ronald Koeman. The Dutch coach was also here to watch the game. Ajax will play against Bayern in the Champions League next Wednesday.

"Okay, guys. Everyone knows their positions and tasks, right?"

"Yes!" everyone replied.

"Well, Bayern has several main players not playing today, which is a good opportunity. Now let's go and tell them with our actions whose home ground the Westfalenstadion is!"

Worns was still imparting experience to An Ke in the team tunnel. Today he was the captain and was in front of An Ke when he came out. "Don't be nervous, it's no big deal. Besides, this is our home ground, the pressure should be on the opponent. As long as you perform normally, there will be no problem!"

An Ke nodded, then glanced at a strong man next to him - Oliver Kahn, the main goalkeeper and double captain of Bayern Munich and the German national team. Also his idol. He didn't actually hear much of what Worns said, his mind was all on how to exchange jerseys with Kahn at the end of the game.

On the other side, many Borussia Dortmund players were greeting Frings in the Bayern team. Frings was still a main player of Borussia Dortmund last season, and transferred to Bayern Munich this summer, so he still has some friends in Borussia Dortmund.

Frings obviously noticed the tall figure in front of the team, number 31 "An". "He is the goalkeeper your coach promoted from the second team?" he asked the Brazilian defender Evanilson opposite him.

"Yes, a firefighter, but he's good."

"Japanese?"

"No, Chinese. Have you ever seen a Japanese person that tall?" Evanilson gave Frings a white eye.

"Newbie? It seems we can take advantage of this," Frings thought to himself. Ballack was not playing in this game due to a cold, and he just got the attacking midfielder position he had dreamed of. Magath asked him to be the team's offensive core.

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"CCtv5, viewers, now broadcasting for you is the fifth round of the 04-05 season of the German Football Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund at home against Bayern Munich. Everyone must have learned from the media reports in the past two days that the goalkeeper for Borussia Dortmund in this 'German Derby' is a young Chinese player, number 31 An Ke. It is said that he was originally an overseas student who was discovered in a friendly match with the Borussia Dortmund youth team, and then joined the Borussia Dortmund youth team as an apprentice. Now that Borussia Dortmund's two goalkeepers are injured and out of action, An Ke, who has already secured the main goalkeeper position in the youth team, was naturally called up by Van Marwijk to help. This game is also his first Bundesliga game." Wang Jianxiang introduced An Ke's situation to the audience. In fact, fans who have been paying attention to sports reports these days should know that a Chinese player suddenly appeared in the German giant Borussia Dortmund, and that is An Ke.

"That's right, it's a serious test for An Ke to participate in such a high-profile focus battle for the first time in the Bundesliga. Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are both giants in German football. Historically, the collision between the two teams has been very intense and is called the 'German Derby'. An Ke's performance in this game will directly determine his position in the Borussia Dortmund first team in the future." Li Lianwei, who is in charge of Bundesliga broadcasts, is also Wang Jianxiang's partner in Bundesliga commentary. The two analyzed An Ke's current situation in a coordinated manner.

In front of the TV, An Ke's father was sitting on the sofa with a livid face, watching the German live scene given on TV. The Westfalenstadion was packed, and yellow was almost the only color. The magnificent singing, although transmitted over a long distance by satellite signals, was still clearly audible.

An Ke's mother was sitting on the other side, carefully watching her husband, trying to see his inner thoughts from the changes in his expression, but unfortunately her husband always had a straight face, without any expression.

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"Okay, let's go on!" Worns shouted back from the front, and the team moved. Led by the referee Merk and two assistant referees, the two teams entered the stadium.

At that moment, the decibels in the Westfalenstadion suddenly increased several times.

The moment An Ke stepped on the stadium grass, hearing the huge shouts of the fans, the blood in his heart boiled!

This is professional football! This is the Bundesliga! I'm here, I'm standing here! I want to prove myself!

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"Now appearing in the camera is An Ke, 1.9 meters tall, 87 kilograms in weight, number 31, position goalkeeper! His performance will be our Chinese fans' biggest concern. Borussia Dortmund's lineup: goalkeeper number 31 An Ke; defenders are number 4 captain Worns (Christian Worns), number 2 Evanilson (Ferreira Evanilson), number 29 Rammel (Sascha Rammel), number 15 Jensen (Niclas Jensen); midfielders are number 16 Oliseh (Sunday Oliseh), number 6 young player Kringe (Florian Kringe), who replaced Rosicky (Tomas Rosicky), who was injured in the last game, and will serve as Borussia Dortmund's offensive organizing core, number 5 Kehl (Sebastian Kehl); forwards number 24 Odonkor (David Odonkor), number 12 Ewerthon (Henrique de Souza Ewerthon), and center forward Czech Jan Koller (Jan Koller)."

"On the Bayern side, Ballack (Michael Ballack) has been placed on the bench due to a cold. This is the first time he has been a substitute since November 20, 1999. In addition to Ballack, Deisler (Sebastian Deisler) is also out of action due to a heel injury. Magath (Felix Magath) has made a big adjustment to the midfield. Frings (Torsten Frings) replaces Ballack as the offensive organizer, while Jeremies (Jens Jeremies) considers more defense. Young player Schweinsteiger (Schweinsteiger) appears in the right-wing position originally held by Deisler. The goalkeeper is still number 1 Kahn (Oliver Kahn). Defenders number 20 Salihamidzic (Hasan Salihamidzic), number 3 Lucio (Ferreira da Silva Lucio), number 25 Thomas Linke (Thomas Linke), number 15 Tobias Rau (Tobias Rau). Midfielders number 31 Schweinsteiger, number 16 Jeremies, number 8 Frings, number 11 Ze Roberto (Ze Roberto), forwards are partnered by number 9 Hashemian (Vahid Hashemian) and number 10 Makaay (Roy Makaay)."

"Both sides have main players missing in this game, and both teams are not in good shape at the moment, so it is difficult to predict the final result. Ah, the referee blows the whistle. The game officially begins!"

The game had just started, although it was Borussia Dortmund's home game, Bayern Munich had the advantage on the field. Especially Frings seemed very active. At the start, his long shot was only slightly off, scaring An Ke into a cold sweat. However, Borussia Dortmund fans responded to the former Borussia Dortmund player with huge boos. The fans were so dissatisfied with him because he left Dortmund in its most difficult moment to pursue his championship dream at Bayern.

"It seems Frings is in good shape!"

"He has always been like this. He always performs well when facing his old club. Two years ago, when he joined Borussia Dortmund and returned to Bremen for the first game, he took the lead in scoring to help the team win 4:1 against his former club. I wonder if he will take the lead in scoring again this time against Borussia Dortmund?"

"If he scores, doesn't that mean An Ke..." Wang Jianxiang reminded.

"Oh, then we still hope he doesn't score, haha!"

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Frings took the ball again. As the core player replacing Ballack, he will control Bayern's offensive and defensive rhythm.

When Makaay and Hashemian saw Frings taking the ball, they began to run diagonally, running to the two wings on the left and right, and pulling the two center backs Worns and Rammel. Borussia Dortmund's young midfielder Kringe was quickly chasing back Frings. But there was no one blocking Frings in front of him!

An Ke had a premonition that Frings would shoot, but he didn't know how to shoot, when to shoot, or where to shoot, so he could only rely on his feeling at that time.

When Frings saw that his former teammates were so generous to him, he didn't hold back. He shot with his foot at the arc!

Here it comes!

An Ke aimed at the direction and flew out! The direction is correct, the feeling is good...

"gooooooAL!!"

Frings roared and rushed to the corner flag, waving his arms to the Bayern fans in the stands, asking them to roar with him and suppress the voices of the Borussia Dortmund fans. For a while, the voices of the Bayern Munich fans did cover the voices of the home team fans, because the Borussia Dortmund fans were all silent.

An Ke jumped up from the ground, then picked up the football from the goal and kicked it back to the center circle with a hard kick.

Worns came up to comfort him and turned away. It could be seen that he was a little unprepared for conceding a goal so early.

Later, Borussia Dortmund fans erupted with huge boos. This made Wang Jianxiang frown: "It's an unfavorable start for Borussia Dortmund and An Ke to concede a goal only four minutes into the game, and those fans' boos..."

In fact, the fans were not booing An Ke, but Frings. They thought it was normal for Frings to score a goal. But the fans felt that he was a little ungrateful for being so excited after scoring a goal.

And this goal was not entirely An Ke's fault. It was really that Borussia Dortmund's midfield defense was equal to zero, allowing Frings to take the ball calmly to the front of the penalty area, and the defenders were afraid to act rashly because of the threat of Makaay and Hashemian. In this situation, it was normal for Frings to take a shot like he usually does in training.

But An Ke took all the responsibility. He saw Frings shooting before he made a move. Doing this in the youth team was no problem with his reaction speed, but now it was the Bundesliga, and he was facing a member of the German national team. When he saw the opponent's shot and then made a move, the football had already flown into the goal before him.

This is experience, An Ke is still far behind in experience!

Rheinberg also came to the scene to watch this game specially, and Oliver came with him. He was forcibly pulled out of the bar by Rheinberg. The old drunkard clamored that watching the game in the bar had atmosphere, but Rheinberg knew that he was just looking for an excuse to drink, so he said that he could see An Ke's performance carefully at the scene, and Oliver obediently followed. It seems that An Ke is slightly more important to him than wine.

"That idiot!" Oliver cursed, "He still watches before he pounces when facing a Bundesliga player's shot. It's no wonder he concedes a goal! Really, how much of what I taught him did he remember?"

Rheinberg also frowned and looked worriedly at An Ke standing in front of the goal with his hands on his hips. Facing this situation in his first appearance, he didn't know if he could handle it.

At this moment, many Chinese fans watching the live broadcast were also worried about An Ke, although they were seeing An Ke's game for the first time, and they didn't know much about him before. But as fellow Chinese, no one wants his performance to end in failure.

An Ke's mother was even more worried to death in front of the TV, but her husband, An Ke's father, was still staring at the TV with a straight face, without sighing or being depressed.

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An Ke stood in front of the goal with his hands on his hips, watching his forward teammates prepare to kick off. Unlike others who were worried about him, An Ke didn't feel much frustration or fear at this time. Since he had already conceded a goal, there was no use in being frustrated. On the contrary, it would only make his subsequent performance worse. It's better to calm down and devote himself to the game and play well for the remaining eighty-six minutes.

This is An Ke's true thought now.

On the other side, Frings, who scored a goal, was secretly pleased in his heart that he was lucky to meet a newbie. To be honest, if that shot had been Kahn, it would never have gone in, and even Weidenfeller wouldn't have conceded it. Now that goalkeeper must have suffered a lot of blows, so it will be much easier to deal with next. Although it's a bit cruel to a newbie, for himself and for Bayern, it's better to throw that boring sympathy aside as soon as possible.

"Borussia Dortmund kicks off, the game restarts. What kind of performance An Ke will have after conceding a goal is probably everyone's concern. There are still eighty-six minutes left in the game. I hope An Ke doesn't rush. The most important thing for a goalkeeper is to be calm. In addition, we shouldn't ask for too much since it's his first game and he's facing a strong opponent like Bayern..." Wang Jianxiang had already started to pour cold water on the Chinese audience who had high expectations.

While he was speaking, Bayern attacked again with the momentum of the first goal. Frings was dribbling the ball again, Makaay and Hashemian were running to cover, and Schweinsteiger and Ze Roberto were responding. On the other hand, Borussia Dortmund only had three people in the midfield, which made the team very difficult in both defense and attack, and once again allowed the opponent to directly face the defenders.

This situation made Rheinberg shake his head. If this continues, it's only a matter of time before they concede another goal, plus An Ke's current mood...

"Good job! This is just right to give An Ke a chance to perform!" Oliver had a completely opposite view to Rheinberg. He shouted on the side, "An! Save one and let them see!"

An Ke was ready this time. In his opinion, Frings could choose to shoot himself, or he could pass straight to the two forwards, or pass to the wing... Kehl stepped forward to block, but Frings took the lead and shot with a powerful long shot!

The football drilled under Kehl's crotch from a distance of twenty-five meters and flew towards the goal with a whistle!

The football was a little floaty and kept rushing upwards during its flight. What would An Ke react this time? Directly push it over the crossbar?

This time An Ke didn't wait for Frings to shoot before he pounced out. He moved almost at the same time as Frings, flying towards his left, hovering in the air, his eyes locked on the football, and then his body stretched out, his 1.9-meter height made him look like a moving barrier!

Feeling good!

An Ke stretched out his hands and firmly grasped the incoming ball in the air, while pressing his hands down, and his body fell down. When landing, he pressed the football to the ground first, then his shoulder, hip, and legs. After landing, he immediately retracted his hands into his arms to protect the football.

"Beautiful! Standard save!" Wang Jianxiang couldn't help but praise.

An Ke got up from the ground and held the football tightly in his arms. It was great! This is the solid feeling of holding the football! I really want to hold it more, like hugging a beautiful woman, oh yeah...

"Long pass, counterattack!" Worns' roar woke up An Ke, who was indulging in self-admiration. He realized that Borussia Dortmund was still behind, and every offensive opportunity was precious, let alone this kind of counterattack opportunity! So without saying a word, he swung his right leg and kicked the ball hard, sending the football to the forwards.

Because Borussia Dortmund has the highest point on the field, the 2.02-meter Jan Koller, An Ke's kick was like a plane crashing into the World Trade Center, accurately hitting it. With his height and weight, Koller squeezed Thomas Linke behind him, and then headed the ball to the rushing young player Kringe, who organized the attack.

Although Kringe is a young player, he is very capable. After the start of the game, he has shown a high level of offensive talent in Borussia Dortmund's limited number of attacks.

Borussia Dortmund had a sharp counterattack, but unfortunately Ewerthon didn't stop Kringe's through pass well, and the chasing defender Rau kicked the football out of the sideline.

In the subsequent game, An Ke gradually entered the state, and his stable performance gave the team great confidence. Wang Jianxiang and thousands of Chinese fans seemed to be able to breathe a sigh of relief.

With the guarantee of the defense, Borussia Dortmund gradually opened up the situation in the attack, after all, it was their home game. And this young attacking midfielder Kringe, who played for the first time, gradually grasped the rhythm of the game. His through passes and passes made Bayern's equally poor defense even worse. If it weren't for Kahn's high blocks and blocks, the score would have been equalized or even surpassed by Borussia Dortmund long ago. Speaking of which, Borussia Dortmund's attack has always been good, but their poor results are due to the defense. There is a lack of effective protection between the defense line and the midfield, and the low level of the main goalkeeper Weidenfeller is also a reason. Since Lehmann left, Borussia Dortmund's goalkeeper has become a position that makes people worry.

I don't know if An Ke's arrival will finally make people feel at ease, or will it continue to make people uneasy?

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After Ewerthon wasted a great opportunity, he finally seized a loophole in Bayern's defense in the fortieth minute and scored an equalizer.

It was another assist from Kringe. His performance made Rosicky, who was sitting in the stands, feel a sense of crisis.

Ewerthon's goal made the Westfalenstadion erupt. The fans shouted Ewerthon's and Borussia Dortmund's names. They had been depressed for a full thirty-six minutes, and now they can finally use their roars to respond to Bayern and Frings.

And An Ke also breathed a sigh of relief. Now that the score has been equalized, his guilt for conceding a goal can finally be reduced a little. If they surpass the score again, he will be relieved. Only then did he have the mind to look up at the spectacular yellow and black waves in the Westfalenstadion stands. It is said that Borussia Dortmund fans are the best, and it is indeed well-deserved today. Having such fans is really a kind of happiness.

An Ke was feeling emotional when he suddenly heard another cheer from the fans!

What's going on? Did they score? He hurriedly looked towards the front court, but he just happened to see Ewerthon hugging Kringe to celebrate. Was it a celebration for scoring a goal?

"Penalty! Kringe forcibly broke through the penalty area while dribbling the ball, causing Lucio to foul! Merk awarded a penalty, and this penalty did not cause any protest from the Bayern players. After all, Lucio did have a very obvious hand-pulling action after Kringe broke through him. But it is still very dramatic. The opening goal made people think that Borussia Dortmund would be very difficult, but they equalized the score within three minutes and also got a penalty!"

Penalty?! An Ke was overjoyed. He was just thinking that it would be better to surpass the score, but he didn't expect to really get a penalty! God, you are so cute!

Ewerthon took the penalty and scored with one kick, sending the ball into Kahn's goal. 2:1! Borussia Dortmund surpassed the score before the end of the first half!

From this moment on, the singing at the Westfalenstadion continued until the halftime break.

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"Okay, the first half is over. Borussia Dortmund came from behind and is temporarily leading Bayern Munich 2:1. And An Ke played normally except for conceding a goal at the beginning. Plus Borussia Dortmund basically pressed Bayern in the first half, and An Ke didn't have many opportunities to perform. I don't know if he will continue this normal performance in the second half." Wang Jianxiang was summarizing the first half.

On the other hand, An Ke and Ewerthon were receiving praise from the players and the coach in the locker room. Everyone thought that the first goal conceded was the overall mistake of the defense and could not be blamed on the goalkeeper alone.

An Ke was a little surprised by everyone's tolerance. He originally thought that he would be despised by his teammates, but now it seems that everyone is taking care of him, a young man. In fact, they have to take care of him. Borussia Dortmund only has this one goalkeeper now, and no matter what, they must protect him from interference. In the future, his performance will determine Borussia Dortmund's results.

For most of the halftime break, An Ke sat alone in the corner, unusually silent. He was still recalling his first Bundesliga first half. During the game, the tense atmosphere made him unable to think about it at all. And now when he looks back, he finds that he can't remember anything except that one conceded goal and a few saves, oh, and Borussia Dortmund's two goals.

How ridiculous, is this all he remembers from his first Bundesliga game, which is so memorable? What if he wants to write an autobiography in the future? An Ke leaned his head against the wall and thought mockingly.

"An." Van Marwijk's call brought An Ke back to reality, "Bayern will increase their attack in the second half, and your pressure will also increase exponentially, don't relax! Do you understand?"

An Ke nodded. Increase the attack? Ha! That's exactly what I want! Come on, come on! Let the storm come more violently!

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ps: Friendship advertisement: "The Legend of Leiter" has restarted its update. I hope people who like it will go and take a look, hehe!

Shao Ting