They left Westfalen Stadium in shambles!
They had never even considered Dortmund a threat!
Never!
The stadium groundskeepers prepared to enter and clean up the field.
The Dortmund players lingered on the pitch and by the sidelines, looking utterly miserable.
They were 3rd in the Bundesliga!
This was Dortmund’s best start to the season in years, in terms of league ranking.
Even if it was only temporary.
But who would have thought that in front of Real Madrid’s superstars, they would be so fragile, so utterly defenseless!
Wang Shuo had ambitiously declared that he wanted to beco the best player in the world, just like Ronaldo, Kaka, and the others.
But tonight, he had been utterly crushed!
Pepe and Ramos alone had completely shut him down!
"This was a match that never should have happened!"
Assistant coach Buvac roared from the sidelines, losing his composure and venting his anger at Klopp.
"Our team’s average age is only 23! We’re so young, we haven’t even fully integrated, and our tactical coordination is far from seamless. And you just throw us out there to fight Real Madrid?"
"And look at us now, thrashed like this! What do we do?"
Klopp didn’t know what to do either.
This was a result no one could have possibly imagined.
Normally, in a friendly match, both sides would show a bit of courtesy to save face for the other.
For example, letting Dortmund score a goal.
Or perhaps Real Madrid could have eased up a bit to make the final score look better.
After all, this was for Dortmund’s centennial celebration.
But what was the result?
Real Madrid ca out and played like their lives depended on it, relentlessly scoring five goals in one go.
Klopp himself knew very well.
His team wasn’t afraid of Bayern.
That was because Bayern’s ball control wasn’t strong enough!
When facing teams like Real Madrid and Barça, who possessed top-tier passing and ball control, Dortmund was at a significant disadvantage.
What’s more, the team had just gone through a stretch of two matches a week and was in relatively poor form.
As the head coach, Klopp didn’t even know how he should console his players.
But he could understand Buvac’s concerns.
If Real Madrid completely shattered their morale, the rest of the season would be incredibly difficult!
...
Wang Shuo took a deep breath.
He tilted his head back and forcefully wiped the sweat from his face with both hands.
Although he still felt awful, he wasn’t so fragile that he’d be easily broken.
He strode over to Reus, who was closest to him.
The kid was lying face down on the grass, his shoulders trembling slightly as if he were crying.
"Isn’t that uncomfortable? If you get grass burns on your face, you’ll be disfigured."
Wang Shuo walked over and gently patted Reus on the head.
"Get up. The match is over!"
With that, Wang Shuo walked over to Grosskreutz on the other side.
The guy was sitting on the ground, his forehead resting on his knees.
"Kevin, let’s go. Don’t just sit there."
Hearing Wang Shuo’s voice, Grosskreutz looked up and saw him.
At that mont, Wang Shuo was even managing a smile.
It was a strained smile, but it was enough.
Wang Shuo went to Shahin, to Sven Bender, to Humls, to Subotic...
One by one, he pulled his teammates to their feet.
Head coach Klopp and team captain Kael also walked onto the field from the sidelines.
Together with Wang Shuo, they helped their teammates up, and they all walked to the edge of the pitch together.
As they bowed to the fans in the stands to show their gratitude, the Dortmund supporters applauded them.
The song "You’ll Never Walk Alone" began to ring out from the stands of Westfalen Stadium.
Reus couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst into tears.
Wang Shuo and Kael led their teammates from one section of the stands to the next, thanking all the fans who had attended.
Finally, after standing in the center of the pitch to thank everyone one last ti, they walked off the field.
But even in the players’ tunnel, they could still hear the fans singing outside.
They just kept singing, on and on...
"We’re sorry, everyone. There was a problem with how we scheduled this match!"
Watzke and Zorc ca to the locker room and apologized to all the players.
It was hard to say whose fault it was.
After all, the match had been scheduled a long ti ago.
And it was only supposed to be an exhibition match.
No one had expected they would lose so badly.
The club’s centennial celebration, marked by a 5-0 thrashing from Real Madrid at Westfalen Stadium, would surely beco a laughingstock for the dia in Germany, across Europe, and even around the world.
...
On the way back to Luckenwalde Castle, Wang Shuo deliberately avoided his usual route.
Because it was peak ti for fans leaving the stadium.
The subway would surely be full of Dortmund fans.
Wang Shuo didn’t know how he was supposed to react if he saw them.
He specifically chose to walk down dark, unlit roads.
He didn’t run. He just walked slowly.
He hadn’t been defeated!
But he wasn’t a machine, devoid of all feeling and emotional fluctuation.
He needed so ti to lick his wounds.
Especially since before this match, he had held such high expectations for himself and for Dortmund.
But reality had proven him wrong!
Compared to the likes of Ronaldo and Kaka, he still wasn’t strong enough!
Compared to Real Madrid and Barça, Dortmund wasn’t strong enough either!
Of course, he wouldn’t admit defeat.
Give him one night. When he woke up tomorrow morning, he would continue his charge toward Ronaldo, Kaka, and ssi!
He had no idea how long he had been walking.
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