Chapter 404: Chapter 88: King of Iduna! Clash with Atletico Madrid

"I’ll handle these things. For now, keep a close eye on Wang Shuo for me. I need to know his every move!"

"Alright," Martin Ferguson agreed.

...

Similar scenes were playing out in the North London Suburbs and the West Manchester Suburbs. Aboard a luxury yacht at Canary Wharf in London, Chelsea’s Abramovich had also started to take an interest in the Bundesliga striker.

In Spain, the two football giants in Madrid and Barcelona grew even more interested in Wang Shuo.

Even in Serie A, Andrea Agnelli—who had just decided to take over Juventus with the goal of reviving the Italian giant—also began to take notice of the young Chinese striker.

Let alone in Germany itself.

Media outlets like Bild, Kicker Magazine, Ruhr News, West German Newspaper, and Süddeutsche Zeitung all scrambled to publish reports.

Kicker Magazine even featured the Arabic numeral ’18’ on the cover of its mid-week special issue.

Inside was a feature article dedicated entirely to Wang Shuo.

Bild went even further, running the front-page headline ’King of Iduna’ and showering Wang Shuo with praise for his four-goal performance.

Since it was Klinsmann’s legendary record that Wang Shuo had broken, Bild made a special effort to interview him after the match at his home in the United States, where he is currently retired.

Klinsmann stated that he was very impressed with Wang Shuo.

"Even back when he was playing for Mainz, I knew he was going to be a special player."

Klinsmann revealed that Bayern had also considered signing him, but it didn’t work out for various reasons.

"I was very disappointed about that."

Klinsmann congratulated Wang Shuo on breaking the historic record he had set in the UEFA Cup.

However, he denied that Wang Shuo was anything like him. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

So why were people saying Wang Shuo was like Klinsmann?

Some media outlets had even given him the nickname ’Black Bomber,’ derived from Klinsmann’s own ’Golden Bomber.’

This was because both of them had an official height of 1.81 meters in the Bundesliga.

This was the sort of thing the media loved to do.

Any Argentinian player 1.7 meters or shorter was dubbed the ’next Maradona.’

A fast Brazilian striker just over 1.8 meters tall? He was the ’next Ronaldo.’

But Klinsmann stated that Wang Shuo was not like him at all.

"Because of modern football tactics, Wang Shuo is more well-rounded than I was. His speed, explosive power, and skill on the ball are all far superior to mine. But most importantly, he has a quickness of movement you just don’t see in a player who’s 1.8 meters tall."

As a former world-class center-forward who is also around 1.8 meters tall, Klinsmann said the most surprising thing about Wang Shuo was his quickness.

"In my career, I’ve encountered plenty of strikers who could run well. I’ve also met strikers with incredible technique and strikers who were exceptionally fast. But I have never seen a 1.8-meter-tall player who is as quick as he is."

In Klinsmann’s opinion, Wang Shuo was already outstanding.

"I completely agree with Beckenbauer’s assessment. Wang Shuo will become the next top superstar in world football after Kaka, Ronaldo, and Messi. But that’s only on the condition that he doesn’t leave the Bundesliga too soon!"

Why?

Klinsmann explained that Wang Shuo wasn’t mature enough yet.

His physicality wasn’t strong enough, and he was still a bit green when it came to match experience.

But most importantly, he was currently in a phase of rapid development.

"What’s most important during this phase is a stable tactical environment!"

Klinsmann noted that he was 24 when he left the Bundesliga for a new challenge in Serie A, which was known as the ’Little World Cup’ back then. However, he added, players mature earlier these days.

"I would advise him to stay in the Bundesliga for at least two more years. At the very minimum, he should play through next season’s Champions League before making any decisions."

Klinsmann stated that the overall atmosphere at Dortmund was great, and the team’s quality was also excellent.

The squad still had some weak spots.

If the team makes some targeted signings at the end of this season, he believed Dortmund could achieve great things.

When Bild published the report, they also privately faxed Wang Shuo and included Klinsmann’s contact information.

Wang Shuo, in turn, politely called Klinsmann to thank him for his praise.

After all, Klinsmann had been singing his praises.

Aside from the major, authoritative outlets, plenty of other German media reports grew increasingly exaggerated.

Some outlets even claimed Wang Shuo’s current market value was 45 million euros.

However, for any team to poach Wang Shuo from Dortmund, they would have to pay a transfer fee of at least 90 million, or perhaps even 100 million euros.

Making him arguably the hottest wonderkid in the European Football Scene at the moment!

The West German Newspaper, however, cautioned Dortmund that based on their performance this season, selling Wang Shuo would cause the team to sink to a second-rate level.

"After watching their games this season, no one can doubt it."

"With Wang Shuo and without him, Dortmund are two completely different teams!"

At noon on the day after Dortmund’s 6-0 thrashing of Benfica, the draw for the UEFA Europa League semi-finals was held at the UEFA Headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. Dortmund was drawn against Atletico Madrid of La Liga.

As a side note, besides Dortmund, the other three teams to reach the UEFA Europa League semi-finals this season were Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, and Fulham.

Dortmund would face Atletico Madrid, while Liverpool would play Fulham.

The first leg of the semi-finals was scheduled for April 22nd, with Dortmund set to host Atletico Madrid.

However, neither Wang Shuo nor Dortmund had much time to dwell on the matter.