The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills-Chapter 175 - 55: Devil’s Footwork! Tricking Neuer! That Saucy Stop! He Saves Mainz Again

Chapter 175: Chapter 55: Devil’s Footwork! Tricking Neuer! That Saucy Stop! He Saves Mainz Again

But Wang Shuo was already long gone.

As he watched in despair, Wang Shuo kicked the ball into the unguarded net.

"YEAH!!!"

After tapping the ball into the empty net, Wang Shuo leaped into the air in excitement, pumping his right fist.

The entire Bruch Road Stadium erupted in an instant.

Over 20,000 Mainz fans roared Wang Shuo’s name like a tidal wave.

Wang Shuo excitedly ran off the pitch to the sideline, raising his arms high to soak in the cheers from the stands.

His teammates swarmed him from behind.

"In the 88th minute, the substitute Wang Shuo breaches Schalke 04’s goal with a spectacular individual effort!"

"Another spectacular Swing Pass!"

"We’re seeing Ronaldo’s signature move, and to see it executed by Wang Shuo like that... it’s truly spectacular!"

"And look at that slick first touch! You could call it a work of art. It’s simply incredible."

"To receive a long ball and bring it under control so perfectly—it’s a testament to Wang Shuo’s technical foundation."

"Neuer charged out, only to be humiliated by the Swing Pass!"

"But for a young goalkeeper, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing."

"Neuer still needs to become more mature and composed."

"What should have been a calm, controlled action became a frantic, stumbling mess."

"It was completely uncalled for."

"Of course, what we should really be remembering is this spectacular goal from Wang Shuo!"

"He has saved Mainz yet again!"

...

In the end, thanks to a goal from substitute Wang Shuo, Mainz defeated Schalke 04 1-0 and advanced to the DFB-Pokal semi-finals.

The other three teams to advance to the DFB-Pokal semi-finals were Bayer Leverkusen, Hamburg, and Bayern Munich.

Mainz’s opponent in the semi-finals would be Pharmacy Leverkusen.

The other matchup was Bayern Munich against Hamburg.

This undoubtedly made this season’s DFB-Pokal packed with excitement.

Klopp and Labbadia were both renowned young managers in Germany, and both had been in the 2nd Bundesliga just last season.

Mainz and Bayer Leverkusen were two of the most eye-catching teams in the Bundesliga this season, and their styles of play were also very similar.

Pharmacy’s overall strength was a significant cut above Mainz’s. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

But Mainz had made a habit of upsetting stronger opponents this season, so it was hardly a surprise anymore.

Therefore, it was still anyone’s game.

However, Mainz had one major weakness: they had never won a major trophy.

That’s right, not the Bundesliga, not the 2nd Bundesliga, not the German Third Division, not even the DFB-Pokal.

In their entire history, Mainz had never won any of them.

For a club with a century of history, Mainz’s situation was extremely unusual.

The other matchup, of course, was Germany’s famous North-South derby.

The Southern King, Bayern, traveling to face the Northern King, Hamburg—it was guaranteed to be the most anticipated match for German football fans.

Especially since Hamburg had been performing quite well this season, with their points total on par with Bayern’s.

After the DFB-Pokal quarter-finals concluded, the German media was unanimous in putting Wang Shuo on the front-page headlines.

In particular, the photo of him rounding Neuer in their one-on-one became widely circulated.

For one, the photo itself was stunning, perfectly capturing the expressions of both players at that exact moment.

For another, Neuer’s style of play was highly controversial in Germany.

By comparison, Germans still preferred the style of Adler, the "Little Eagle."

But Bayern’s Hennes had always been a die-hard Neuer fan.

He was adamant that in the future of the German Football Scene, the one to take Kahn’s place would undoubtedly be Neuer.

And that Neuer would one day join Bayern!

This gave Wang Shuo a secret thrill.

’He had just made a fool of the future Bayern goalkeeper.’

’It was just like when Ronaldo showed up Kahn in the 2002 World Cup.’

The German media lavished high praise on Wang Shuo’s performance.

But they still maintained that Wang Shuo’s individual flash of brilliance couldn’t mask Mainz’s overall slump.

"As the season wears on, the effects of the Klopp Syndrome on Mainz will only grow stronger!"

...

「Gelsenkirchen, Germany.」

From Luten’s office, one could see the magnificent Veltins Arena in the distance.

But at this moment, the Dutch head coach of Schalke 04 stood before the window, his back a picture of dejection.

After Schalke 04 was eliminated from the DFB-Pokal by Mainz, he and his team had returned to Gelsenkirchen only to be cornered by furious fans, who gave them a vicious tongue-lashing.

The club’s management had also called him in to discuss his assessment of the team’s current situation and his plans to address it.

The implication was clear: both the management and the fans were deeply dissatisfied with the team’s performance this season.

Last season, Schalke 04 had finished 3rd in the Bundesliga, securing a spot in the Champions League qualifiers.

However, finishing 3rd in the Bundesliga meant they had to go through the third qualifying round for the Champions League.

Luten’s team was thrashed 4-0 away from home by La Liga’s Atletico Madrid in a humiliating defeat.

At the time, he had been able to brush it off, using the excuse that he had only just taken charge of the team.

But then, when they played in the UEFA Cup, they failed to even advance from the group stage—finishing dead last—which left everyone at Schalke 04 extremely displeased.

Of course, Luten felt he had been wronged.

’In the group stage, they had drawn Premier League’s Manchester City, Ligue 1’s Paris Saint-Germain, La Liga’s Santander Athletic, and Eredivisie’s Twente.’

’All five teams were evenly matched. It was normal for any of them to win or lose against the others.’

But now, 22 matches into the Bundesliga season, Schalke 04 was sitting in 9th place, and on top of that, they had just been eliminated from the DFB-Pokal by Mainz. Luten’s situation at Schalke 04 could only be described as a quagmire.