novelraw Chapter 284 - 71: Absolute Dead Corner! Bayern’s Nemesis! Peerless Hero
Chapter 284 - 71: Absolute Dead Corner! Bayern’s Nemesis! Peerless Hero
After coming to a stop, he placed his hands on his hips and took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.
Few people knew that Wang Shuo could actually take free kicks with either foot.
And his skill level was about the same with both.
But to make it more convincing, he chose to stand to the left of the ball.
Shahin was a left-footed player, so naturally, he would position himself to the right of the ball.
This was also to make everyone believe that Shahin was, in fact, the one taking the kick.
Just as with all the other free kicks in this match and throughout the season.
Wang Shuo was just there for show.
In the first half, Dortmund’s goal was at the South Stand end. After switching sides for the second half, Bayern’s goal was now there.
At this very moment, Wang Shuo stood outside Bayern’s penalty area, facing not only the wall and the goal but also the South Stand behind them.
The South Stand at Westfalen Stadium was a legendary and fearsome sight in the world of football.
It was unlike the stands at any other stadium, and it was even different from the other three stands at Westfalen Stadium itself.
The other three sides were two-tiered stands.
But the South Stand was one single, massive tier.
It was 100 meters wide, 52 meters deep, and 40 meters high. The entire slope had an incline of 37 degrees, making it incredibly steep.
The entire stand was like a steep slope, holding a full 25,000 standing fans.
After arriving at Dortmund, Wang Shuo had heard many people say that the Ruhr District was a mining region. The fans here had inherited the spirit of the old miners—full of passion, astonishingly resilient, and incredibly united.
These 25,000 standing-room-only fans in the South Stand were all Dortmund’s most die-hard supporters, hailing from hundreds of local fan clubs. Moreover, they all held season tickets that renewed automatically.
How ridiculous was it?
Of the 25,000 season tickets, the number of cancellations each year was only in the single digits.
They were a rare commodity that you couldn’t buy even if you wanted to.
For every match, they would wear yellow jerseys and don yellow-and-black scarves.
Before entering, the fans would eat and drink their fill. Fueled by alcohol, they could stay hyped for the entire match.
How wild did Westfalen Stadium get?
The noise level rarely dropped below 100 decibels for the entire match.
Near the South Stand, it was over 120 decibels.
And what Wang Shuo saw before him now was all 25,000 of those fans, holding their yellow-and-black scarves high in the air.
Countless flag-bearers from the fan clubs vigorously waved their banners.
All 80,000-plus fans in the stadium were singing in a massive, unified chorus.
The scene reminded Wang Shuo of a line from a poem: "To the underworld I go to rally my old legion; with a hundred thousand banners, we shall slay the King of Hell!"
It was truly a spectacular sight!
It made his blood boil with excitement!
His entire being was instantly ignited!
When the head referee, Kircher, finished arranging the wall and blew his whistle, the fans in the South Stand all lowered their scarves.
The banners also stopped waving.
They were all afraid their movements might interfere with the free kick.
But the fans kept singing, still cheering on their players.
Wang Shuo glanced at the wall and the positioning of the goalkeeper, Butt. Bayern’s usual free-kick defense strategies flashed through his mind...
There are generally two types of direct free kicks. One is to go for speed—sheer power.
The most famous practitioner was Carlos.
Ronaldo’s knuckleballs and Pirlo’s dipping shots were basically this type.
But this required powerful leg strength.
The other type is to go for placement and curve.
For example, Beckham’s banana kicks, or Little Juninho’s bizarrely curving shots.
Wang Shuo’s leg strength wasn’t quite there yet, so he was aiming for placement.
After the referee blew the whistle, he took everything in at a glance, rapidly analyzing and predicting the outcome.
After taking a deep breath, he began his quick run-up.
[Insight] [First Move] [Swift] [Ball Sense] [Eagle Eye] [Coordination] [Spiritual Light]...
All related passive skills were pushed to their absolute limit in that instant.
Each step of his run-up landed exactly where he had predetermined.
The air currents in the stadium, the wind speed, the slickness of the ball’s surface...
He ran through it all in his mind.
As he planted his left foot, he could almost feel it. The way the turf compressed under his new Adidas cleats was exactly as he had anticipated.
He had played so many matches in this stadium, after all.
His body leaned sharply, coiling like a fully drawn bow. Then, his right foot swung out and struck the ball with precision.
The ball was the arrow he had just loosed!
Everyone in the stadium was stunned!
They had all assumed Wang Shuo was just making a feint and that the real kicker would be Shahin.
But nobody expected that after his run-up, Wang Shuo would strike the ball himself.
With a sharp THWACK, the ball shot forward at incredible speed, tracing an arc that curved around Bayern’s wall.
At that moment, the players in the wall had barely even jumped.
They were waiting for Shahin.
The arc was truly beautiful.
The ball’s speed might not have been extraordinary, but the curve was immense, and the angle was wicked.
The goalkeeper, Butt, was positioned to defend against a set-piece play from Shahin.
But by the time he reacted and judged the trajectory of Wang Shuo’s direct shot, the ball was already over the wall.
By the time he reacted, launching himself into a diving save, it was too late.
The ball drilled precisely into the top-right corner of Bayern’s goal.
It flew in right at the junction of the crossbar and the post.
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!"
"It’s in!!!"