Chapter 1 Frankfurt

Frankfurt is the fifth largest city in Germany.

It's also a hub of Germany.

Even an important European commercial, financial, and transportation center.

It is one of the few cities with a skyline.

As of 2016, eight of the ten tallest buildings in Europe were in Frankfurt.

Tracing back through Europe's short history.

Frankfurt was once called "the root of all evil."

Because this important hub allowed Germany and France to fight for hundreds of years.

If the timeline is stretched further, we have to talk about the Holy Roman Empire...

....

Frankfurt Airport.

The Bayer Leverkusen players walked out of the arrival gate.

Li Kang took out his phone and turned off airplane mode.

The notification bar popped up madly.

All Morata's messages, no text content, this guy likes to share his highlight reels.

Sliding the screen to the end.

Then he saw Asuka-chan's message.

"Li-san, the cherry blossoms on the banks of the Main River have bloomed."

...

The cherry blossoms in Frankfurt bloom earlier than in Asuka-chan's hometown.

The neon girl is on the rise in her career, and in just over half a year she has become a darling of Asian fashion magazines, often flying to Europe to shoot on location.

The two of them had lost contact again recently.

Li Kang did not reply to the message, but turned off his phone and put it in his backpack.

No matter how strong the opponent is, he should focus on the game at this time.

...

Leverkusen is only a two-hour drive from Frankfurt, why take a plane?

Because during this special period, the route from North Rhine to Hesse is heavily affected by the refugee crisis.

For example: Many areas of Germany have become hell... no, India.

The value of the Leverkusen players adds up to more than 100 million euros, and the club can't afford to take the risk.

....

There were no twists and turns along the way.

The entire Leverkusen team finally arrived safely at Frankfurt's home stadium: Commerzbank Arena.

Because the game is held in the afternoon local time, the pre-match press conference seems particularly rushed.

The Frankfurt coach's nickname is "Dumb," Thomas Schaaf!

In 2004, he led Werder Bremen to achieve the "double crown"!

Why is he called Dumb?

He hardly speaks...

His teacher is even more famous, Otto Rehhagel!

A super, super, huge world-renowned coach!

The creator of the "Kaiserslautern miracle"!

The envoy of the "Greek Mythology"!

A legendary coach who would only dare to appear in novels.

The fantasy level of his two coaching experiences is comparable to: leading the national football team into the World Cup semi-finals!

......

Commerzbank Arena.

Crowded, with no empty seats.

Frankfurt's strength is very weak this season, but fan support is very strong.

The 12-year-old eagle, Attila, soars in the green field.

It is the mascot of Frankfurt.

A hot air balloon with the Bundesliga logo slowly rises into the air.

"Ctv5! Ctv5! Hello viewers!"

"Welcome to the fifteenth round of the 2015/16 Bundesliga season!"

"Frankfurt at home against Leverkusen!"

"I am the commentator for this game, Duan Xuan!"

"Now I will introduce the starting lineup for both sides!"

"Frankfurt has lined up in a 4-4-2 formation."

"Goalkeeper: Hradecky!"

"Right back: Makoto Hasebe!"

"Center back: Zambrano, Abraham!"

"Left back: Oczipka!"

"Double defensive midfielder: Russ, Stendera!"

"Central midfielder: Aigner, Husti!"

"Forwards: Seferovic, Meier!"

"Leverkusen is still in a 4-3-3 formation!"

"Goalkeeper:..."

.....

As soon as the game started.

Frankfurt has possession.

There is no intention of defending.

No matter who the opponent is, resolutely attack to the end!

"The speed of advancement is very fast!"

"Makoto Hasebe!"

"A very versatile Japanese player who can play multiple positions on the field!"

"Although he is a full-back! But we see that he likes to advance along the middle!"

"Frankfurt is mired in the relegation quagmire!"

"Thomas Schaaf advocates offensive football!"

"Even when facing the top team in the Bundesliga, the eagle Attila is never afraid!"

As soon as the words fell!

Bellarabi intercepted Hasebe Makoto's advance!

Quickly passed the ball diagonally to Leverkusen No. 10 who came to respond!

Li Kang passed the ball with one touch to Borges, who was cutting in from the wing!

The latter rode away!

Easily broke through the double team of Russ and Aigner!

Dribbling to the ribs!

Borges crossed 45 degrees!

The football drew an arc in the air and plunged into Frankfurt's penalty area!

The landing point is not very good.

But Frankfurt's defense is very fragile.

Kießling took a simple run-up and jumped high! Overpowering Zambrano and Abraham, he headed the ball into the goal!

0:1!!!

Meek and docile in the Champions League, heavy punches in the Bundesliga!

"Frankfurt has paid the price for its madness!"

"The gap in strength is a bit big!"

After Kießling scored a goal, he rushed to the camera in the corner flag area and excitedly patted his forehead.

He is 32 years old this year, has played for Leverkusen for ten years, won the Bundesliga Golden Boot, and is known as the "low-profile version of Ibrahimović."

He was only selected for the 2010 South Africa World Cup squad, and his total substitute appearance time for the German team was less than 45 minutes.

His career is closely linked to Leverkusen: he has never won a championship!

....

There were no twists and turns in the game.

Frankfurt was unable to complete the strangulation by relying on the numerical advantage in midfield.

Li Kang steadily controlled the rhythm of the game, gradually helping Leverkusen to completely control the advantage on the field.

The intense situation of attacking each other quickly disappeared.

Frankfurt was frantically rubbed in the penalty area.

How else can they attack each other?

They can't even grab the ball!

"Phenomenal dominance!"

"Li Kang is the most stable midfielder in the Bundesliga this season!"

"So far this season! His average passing success rate in each game is as high as 86%! Close to the peak Xavi and Pirlo!"

"Of course, this statistic is slightly one-sided, and it must be compared according to the intensity of the league to be meaningful!"

.....

38th minute of the game.

Li Kang sent a precise through ball!

Son Heung-min甩开奥奇普卡。

Like a loach, he sneaked into Frankfurt's most delicate and dangerous area!

After receiving the ball and making some adjustments, he fired a powerful shot!

Frankfurt's net was torn again!

0:2!!!

Son Heung-min excitedly ran back to Li Kang and high-fived to celebrate!

"Asian connection!"

"Once, we also had a player who played for Frankfurt! Contributed a lot of wonderful goals!"

......

At the sidelines.

Old man Topp suppressed the urge to celebrate.

After all, he was once a meritorious coach of the Eagle Corps.

Dino called on the players on the bench to seize the time to warm up.

Two staff members of the coaching team are quietly preparing the technical and tactical analysis for the Champions League quarter-final.

On the other side.

Thomas Schaaf's expression was calm, and he still gestured gently to the players on the field.

His style is very consistent with Frankfurt: attack! Still attack!

....

68th minute of the game!

Bellarabi received Li Kang's lob pass and kicked it wide!

The football softly rolled into the arms of goalkeeper Hradecky.

The latter has a special skill: a super powerful throw.

Deeply loved by players in the game!

The football whistled towards the vicinity of the center circle!

Meier, who had been lurking for a long time, suddenly started!

This player is very strange, other abilities are very mediocre, but he is particularly lucky, and has scored many strange goals!

Unfortunately, he didn't run a few steps before he was blocked by a tall and burly figure.

Van Dijk!

Meier felt despair.

The Dutch center-back's ability is not only reflected in retreating.

Facing a slightly weaker opponent.

Van Dijk showed a terrifying frontal interception ability!

With a snap!

Leverkusen regained possession again.

.....

This contest completely lost its suspense.

Leverkusen completely crushed their opponents on both ends of the offense and defense.

92nd minute of the game, stoppage time.

Li Kang fired a world-class shot from 35 meters away from the goal!

Frankfurt's goalkeeper was stunned!

0:3!!!

"Beautiful!"

"This ball is in!"

"The referee blew the whistle to end the game at this time!"

"Congratulations to Leverkusen!"

"Three enjoyable victories after the winter break!"

"Champion form!"

"Five days later, Leverkusen will be sitting in North Rhine, facing the Premier League giants - Chelsea!"

"Let's wait and see!"

....

Live broadcast room.

-【Leverkusen has closed, carried out a large-scale rotation, it is clear that a massacre could have been made in Frankfurt!】

-【The Champions League quarter-finals are in a few days! Understandable, it's good not to have replaced Li Mingdeng!】

-【Leverkusen should not be able to survive the Chelsea hurdle... Hazard has exploded Van Dijk several times in the Premier League.】

-【Not necessarily, Li Mingdeng is invincible at home!】

-【Who knows, the football is round!】

....

Commerzbank Arena.

Security personnel are dispersing the audience in the stands on all sides.

The players of both sides did not have time to exchange jerseys and thank the fans.

Special period.

Only after shaking hands with the referee team.

They hurried back to their respective locker rooms to prepare to leave.

......

Post-match press conference.

The media reporters asked questions enthusiastically.

Thomas Schaaf was silent.

He is a famous "dumb coach" in Germany, and he doesn't like to talk when facing the media.

Old man Topp seemed to be in a good mood, talking eloquently:

"Frankfurt is very tenacious, they did not give up attacking until the last moment of the game!"

"Offensive football will not be drowned by the tide of the times!"

"Forget the score! From the perspective of the field, Frankfurt has not been defeated!"

"Refugee riot? I just want to talk about football now."

There was thunderous applause from the audience!

Many of the local reporters in Frankfurt are also home fans.

They have not forgotten the great contributions that old man Topp made to this club in the last century!

....

Half an hour later.

The entire Leverkusen team returned to the hotel where they were staying.

Son Heung-min, Kramer and others did not dare to go out to experience the local customs, what Baffask Street full of colorful neon lights... is a goblin disaster area.

Fortunately, the hotel is a bit high-end, with many supporting leisure facilities.

Old man Topp rented a small conference room, and the staff of the coaching team quickly devoted themselves to intense tactical deployment.

Li Kang returned to his room alone, and his teammates knew his habits and would not deliberately disturb him.

Pulling open the curtains, the quiet banks of the Main River came into view.

The system prompt sounded quietly.

[Ding! Congratulations on completing the Bundesliga random treasure chest weekly task!]

[Task reward: Frankfurt Legend·Golden Treasure Chest. ]

[The treasure chest is opening...]

[Congratulations on obtaining: Yang Chen's "Pathfinder" module!]

[I was refrigerated at the start, and I actually joined Frankfurt!]

The module melting furnace suddenly stood in front of him.

Black mist filled the entire room!

Three low-level modules, glowing with white light, floated above the melting furnace!

[The modules are merging...]

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Ronaldinho's "Devil's Arc" module (special)!]

[He not only has the steps of an elf, but also can set off a devilish arc!]

[Additional attribute increase: Arc 85→95!]

[Additional effect: You will be immersed in the game and enjoy the joy of football. ]

In a trance.

Everything around Li Kang changed dramatically.

....

2002 World Cup.

Brazil vs England.

22-year-old Ronaldinho, with a green smile.

Became a god in one battle.

....

The river of time flowed again.

Li Kang came back to his senses.

The pleasant emotions gradually dissipated.

From the memory fragments of the shadow, he realized that the "Devil's Arc" is not a passive module, and it does not only work on set pieces, but all the way the ball is played... and shots!

Picking up his phone, he found that only three minutes had passed.

Several messages popped up in the notification bar.

It's still Asuka-chan.

It turned out that she was transferring in Frankfurt and would be staying for one night.

The neon girl is on the rise in her career, and in just a few months she has become the most beloved model for Asian fashion magazines, often flying to Europe to shoot on location.

Li Kang declined the invitation.

He didn't want to go out to see the cherry blossoms in Frankfurt.

In every corner of this city, there are restless refugees lurking.

Five days later is the Champions League quarter-final, and the opponent is still Chelsea.

....

An hour later.

Asuka-chan came to the hotel room.

"Li-san, I brought you a gift."

She combed up her bangs, and her face was cold when she didn't speak.

The two walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the bleak banks of the Main River.

The sycamore treetops on the river bank grew tender buds.

After a long silence.

The atmosphere was a bit subtle.

Asuka-chan's cheeks were flushed, she looked a little cramped, and said nervously: "Li-san, I..."

Li Kang smiled.

The neon girl was stunned, and couldn't help but smile shyly.

The two met in the humble beginnings.

At that time, Leverkusen No. 10 had not yet shaken off the "mascot" title, and was fighting in Japan for the Spanish national team for the first time.

At that time, Asuka-chan's career had improved slightly.

In a trance.

Asuka-chan recalled the dim street lights of Ginza Avenue, the sycamore leaves of Rambla Avenue, and the wind on the banks of the Thames River.

She smiled even more intoxicated.

Li Kang then had the opportunity to take a closer look at the other party up close.

Long eyelashes.

The skin is very white, like snow, like the snow of Hokkaido.

Cold reality will eventually shatter the beauty.

"Li-san, I can't give up my career."

"You will definitely meet a better girl."

"I'm sorry..."

Asuka-chan mustered up great courage, closed her eyes, and stood on tiptoe...

After a long time.

She frowned and opened her eyes.

Where did Li-san go?

Where did the sweet first love go?

.....

Li-san went to Havertz's and Brandt's room next door to sleep on the floor.

What sweet first love?

He didn't kiss Asuka-chan at all.

Must be self-disciplined.