Chapter 709: Sympathy (Second Perspective)
After SV Werder Bremen completed the thrilling showdown against Bayer Leverkusen, many media outlets showed strong interest in the game, especially the Asian media.
From the data, young Chinese player Huang Hu and South Korean player Son Heung-Min were indispensable core forces in the contest. The former had a decisive performance with three goals and one assist, while the latter contributed a brace to bite back the score.
"Another heyday for Asian players!" South Korea's "Daily Sports" wrote a related report with this headline, pointing out that with the "Wang Feng effect" driving force, more and more Asian players are going to Europe to participate in high-quality youth training and high-level competitions.
And Son Heung-Min is undoubtedly the representative of the young generation in South Korea. His confrontation with the Asian Cup Golden Boot winner in the Bundesliga can inspire many young people who go abroad to play.
The report itself is relatively objective, but it portrays the comparatively disadvantaged outcome as evenly matched, while subtly defending Son Heung-Min, suggesting that his position is in midfield, mainly playing a role in planning attacks.
The fact that the team lost and Son Heung-Min's statistics were not as good as Huang Hu's does not mean that his level is lower; it only shows that Bayer Leverkusen's overall tactical focus is not on him.
They believe that the current platform is still too small for Son Heung-Min, and he needs to consider moving to a top club as soon as possible.
Compared to South Korea, which is eagerly awaiting the emergence of a super superstar from their country, neighboring Japan is relatively low-key. Their overall development direction is similar to that of China, focusing on practical overseas training to expand the overall strength.
For example, 28-year-old Atsuto Uchida plans to embark on a new journey in his professional career this summer. He has been playing for J-League club Kashima Antlers.
Both the Football Association and the club fully support this decision and actively seek suitable destinations for him. Eventually, he set his sights on HJK Helsinki in the Finnish Veikkausliiga.
This is the most successful club in the Finnish league. They dominate the league championship and may even participate in the Champions League journey. More importantly, the team currently lacks experienced midfielders, so he has a chance to become a regular starter.
So Uchida resolutely gave up the stable domestic environment and salary, embarking on the path of unknown challenges.
Such behavior is worthy of respect and admiration, as many famous domestic stars are resting on their laurels and refusing to step out of their comfort zone.
On February 19th, in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League round of 32, SV Werder Bremen hosted Fiorentina at home.
The Purple Lily is no longer what it used to be. Hajrovic and De Bruyne each scored a goal for the home team, helping them win 2-0.
Huang Hu, who has gradually gained fame, was closely marked, and although he did not contribute statistically, his pulling of the opposition's defense during the game was crucial.
There was also an interesting incident: Fiorentina's starting forward, Egyptian player Salah wearing the number 74 jersey, was very familiar with De Bruyne. After the match, they chatted in the corridor, almost all of which were complaints about Chelsea.
It turns out that in the first half of last year, the two were both regulars on the Chelsea bench. After the Belgian midfielder left in the summer, Salah continued to persevere for half a season before seeking a transfer and loan. After a long journey, he finally arrived at Fiorentina.
"I don't know what the coaching staff and management are thinking, signing young players madly but not giving them playing opportunities," Salah complained bitterly.
During his time at Basel, he could play more than 50 games in a season, and even scored twice against Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League group stage. As a result, when Chelsea recruited him, the Egyptian thought he had impressed them and would be heavily used in the future.
Unexpectedly, what he got was endless cold treatment. In that year, he played less than 10 games and did not play a full match. Being idle for a long time made his shooting boots rusty, and he probably needs some time to get back on track.
De Bruyne naturally had the right to speak on this topic. Both of them sympathize with each other; he wasted more time than Salah did, and if it weren't for the experience of loan spells at Werder Bremen in between, he might have been discarded long ago.
"Thinking about it now, Huang Hu is smarter than us," the Belgian joked, "While we were chasing after top clubs and higher salaries, he chose to quietly improve himself until the right opportunity came along, and then everything fell into place."
Salah didn't have much interaction with the Chinese youngster, but he had heard rumors about him within Chelsea. The young man who, after joining the club, didn't rejoice but immediately asked for a loan is really special.
The second leg between the two sides took place at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence.
Although Serie A has declined somewhat, Italian fans are still passionate. Amidst the roar of the crowd, the home team scored first through Aquilani, narrowing the overall score.
However, in the second half, De Bruyne sent a ground through ball from the center, threading it through the legs of defender Savic and into the heart of the defense. Huang Hu, who followed up, found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper and calmly finished.
The Chinese youngster didn't expect to penetrate so easily; he just instinctively chose to trust his old partner. Savic had closed his legs tightly, but the ball still passed through like it was guided by precision navigation.
In the end, the scoreline settled at 1-1, with a total score of 3-1 over two legs, propelling Bremen into the Europa League Round of 16.
Next, their opponents will be AS Roma, also from Serie A.
During the two Europa League knockout matches, Werder Bremen also faced Hertha BSC in the 22nd round of the Bundesliga at home.
This team also has an Asian player, forward Genki Haraguchi from Japan. He debuted at Urawa Red Diamonds and joined Hertha BSC last summer for a transfer fee of 400,000 euros.
But currently, he is still in a rotation status, waiting for the coach's appreciation or changes within the team.
After a tumultuous contest, the two teams drew 2-2. Substitute Huang Hu had relatively bad luck; he had a threatening shot that hit the post and bounced back into play, narrowly missing the goal and victory.
On March 1st, immediately after the two Europa League matches, Werder Bremen rushed to Wolfsburg, the city of automobiles, to challenge VfL Wolfsburg.
In the first match of the season, they were unlucky to lose to the Wolves, who were eager to give their opponents a headache at their own home ground. However, while ideals were abundant, reality was harsh.
"Fritz advances with the ball, passes to De Bruyne on the right flank, his sprint is fast, shaking off the defense, here it comes! He crosses!"
Amidst the commentator's roar, Huang Hu quickly emerged from the crowd, precisely capturing the Belgian midfielder's floated pass, volleying it with his right foot as it descended.
The angle of the shot was just right, or more accurately, the position where the ball made contact was very clever. This was not only because of the Chinese youngster's keen sense of positioning in front of goal but also because of De Bruyne's precise and accurate delivery of the ball.
The ball passed neatly under the outstretched arms of the goalkeeper Kraft and into the net behind him.
"Goooooooooooooal! Gooooooooooooal!"
"In the 82nd minute of the second half, SV Werder Bremen scored their fifth goal, completely sealing the victory!"
"Once again, it's been an exciting offensive battle. You should still remember the recent goal fest between Bremen and Leverkusen; it's unexpected that a similar situation has almost repeated itself."
"The current score on the field is 3-5. Bremen took the lead shortly after the start of the match, and the two sides then alternated goals without holding back. But in the final moments of the game, the Wolves had the upper hand, as if they were saying, 'We fear no one when it comes to scoring goals!'"
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