Chapter 714: The Golden Boot is Mine! (Second Perspective)
In the Europa League quarter-finals against Dynamo Kyiv, Werder Bremen drew 1-1 away in the first leg, then won 2-0 at home in the return leg, advancing to the semi-finals with an aggregate score of 3-1.
De Bruyne played a pivotal role in this series, creating all the goals with his passes and shots.
Huang Hu watched the entire game from his hospital bed, feeling his blood boiling with excitement. He couldn't wait to get back on the field. He and the Belgian were not only perfect partners but also rivals competing against each other.
"I can't fall too far behind," the Chinese youngster thought to himself, starting to torture himself with exercise again. It seemed like he had gained some extra fat around his abdomen? He needed to lose it quickly!
Next, Werder Bremen unfortunately drew defending champions Sevilla in the Europa League semi-finals. It would be difficult for them to overcome this challenge without a full squad.
As for the Champions League, besides the familiar faces of Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Bayern Munich, there was also the "new" Juventus.
The opponent of the Galacticos was Juventus, which made Wang Feng feel somewhat dazed. When was the last time they faced Juventus? It felt like many years ago.
The old grudges from the "Calciopoli" scandal faded away with the departure of the Chinese superstar from Inter Milan and Juventus's relegation, but he didn't mind letting the rising new generation experience the despair and helplessness of their predecessors, eventually resorting to cheating.
In terms of cup competitions, Werder Bremen ended their German Cup journey in the semi-finals with a 4-0 victory over Bielefeld, concluding the fairytale run of the second division underdogs.
On the other side, Dortmund advanced to the final with a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich. With the possibility of missing out on European competition next season, the only redemption for the Yellow and Blacks was to win the German Cup. Klopp also decided to leave the team after the end of the season, wanting to leave behind a legacy.
In the league, Werder Bremen drew 1-1 with Schalke 04, lost 0-1 to Borussia Monchengladbach, drew 2-2 with Hannover 96, and won 3-1 against Paderborn.
These results did not change the situation at the top of the table, with Bayern still in first place and Werder Bremen securely in second.
The only noteworthy point was that Alexander Meyer scored two goals in four league matches, bringing his total goals to 22, surpassing Huang Hu's 21 goals once again.
The Chinese youngster couldn't wait any longer!
"Well, according to all the indicators, Huang has fully recovered, but he still needs to avoid intense exercise for a long time," the team doctor explained the examination report to the coaching staff in detail.
Huang Hu sat on the side, nervously rubbing his thighs. Whether he could play or not ultimately depended on head coach Shafer's decision. His requests to return to the field had been rejected several times.
The German coach looked at the Chinese youngster with some amusement. He thought it would be good for him to join the team for training for a while and get back into the rhythm of the game. "Alright, this time we'll take you to Sevilla, but stay on the bench for now."
"Yes, I will strictly follow your training and match arrangements!" Huang Hu said excitedly, feeling overjoyed.
In the first leg against Sevilla at home, the difference in strength between the two teams was evident. Despite De Bruyne's efforts, they lost the game 0-2.
The situation became even more difficult away, with Betto and Banega scoring for the home side in the first half. It seemed like they were already assured of advancing.
With 30 minutes left in the game, Huang Hu was substituted on, marking his first appearance for Werder Bremen in over a month.
He needed to retrain his touch and awareness, and although he didn't perform very well, his presence increased the pressure on Sevilla's defense, preventing them from launching further attacks.
The final score remained 0-2, and Werder Bremen suffered a 0-4 defeat to Sevilla on aggregate, unfortunately ending their Europa League journey in the semi-finals.
This result was roughly in line with what head coach Shafer had estimated earlier. Making it this far in Europe was already fortunate, and the German Cup final would be their main focus.
On May 16th, in the 33rd round of the Bundesliga, Werder Bremen faced Borussia Dortmund away.
As a prelude to the cup final, both teams chose to conserve energy. Werder Bremen had just finished playing in the Europa League, while Dortmund wanted to keep their tactical plans hidden, throwing up smoke bombs.
So, they both fielded reserve lineups, but Huang Hu still started the game, both to compete for the Golden Boot and to find his rhythm.
The final score was 1-2, with the home team winning. Despite Werder Bremen's victory, Huang Hu still didn't score.
The only good news was that Meyer also didn't score, maintaining the one-goal difference between them.
The Frankfurt players felt confident that their teammate would secure the Golden Boot, but Huang Hu himself was not so sure.
However, in a different space, he and Huang Hu almost simultaneously fixed their gaze on the schedule in the locker room. May 23rd, the final round of the league!
"Werder Bremen organize an attack in the frontcourt, De Bruyne passes to Huang Hu, he dribbles forward. Huang Hu! Huang Hu!" As the Chinese youngster approached the danger zone, the commentator's voice became more urgent.
In the blink of an eye, he reached the edge of the penalty area, with Cologne defender Mavraj rushing to intercept. Huang Hu pretended to shoot, causing the defender to fall to the ground, then sidestepped and slotted the ball into the penalty area.
"He's in the penalty area!"
The fans in the Weser Stadium cheered loudly, no longer caring about the outcome of the insignificant game, only concerned about whether Huang Hu could score!
Just as he entered the penalty area, Huang Hu didn't continue to advance, but suddenly shot before the defense and goalkeeper closed in, aiming for a very tricky angle.
Cologne goalkeeper Horn made a save, but couldn't stop the ball from crossing the goal line, hitting the post and going into the net.
"Gooooooooooooooooooal! Gooooooooooooooooooal! The ball's in! Huang Hu!"
"Werder Bremen equalizes the score to 1-2. Oh my God, I'm afraid no one cares about the score now. Huang has scored his 22nd goal, equalizing Alexander Meyer!"
"After being absent for over a month, everyone thought he had no chance of winning the league's top scorer, but he announced his return with this goal!"
"In the other game between Frankfurt and Hertha Berlin, Meyer still hasn't scored. If they continue like this, both of them will share the Golden Boot for the season."
"But look at their game state, they're still attacking relentlessly, obviously not intending to share the glory with the other. This is the dignity of a striker!"
Just as the commentator predicted, both Werder Bremen and Frankfurt teams did their best to feed the ball to Huang Hu and Meyer. Their shots accounted for almost half of the team's total attacks.
They didn't care how many goals the opponents scored, only how many they could score themselves!
In the 84th minute, Huang Hu received a lob pass from Fritz outside the penalty area with his back to the attacking defensive line. With a chest control and turn, he didn't let the ball touch the ground before unleashing a powerful shot with his right foot.
The ball flew like a cannonball towards the goal, and Cologne goalkeeper Horn was very focused, diving to block it away.
"Ah, what a pity."
Before the commentator's sigh ended, De Bruyne suddenly emerged from the distance and controlled the ball, facing an empty goal!
But the Belgian made a lateral pass, allowing the ball to pass accurately through two defending players to the vicinity of the penalty spot, where Huang Hu met it with a powerful shot, and this time no one could stop him!
"Gooooooooooooooooooal!"
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