After obliterating Gibraltar, the German Team played one more friendly match before being disbanded.
It is worth mentioning that, although they are the biggest rivals for the League title.
Mark was not isolated by the Bayern Faction within the National Team; in fact, they all got along quite well with him.
Especially Müller, who was close to Mark both on and off the field.
On one hand, it was because Müller had a good personality, was the team's mood-booster, and got along with everyone.
On the other hand, Mark's outstanding ability earned him Müller's respect.
Of course, wherever there are people, there is conflict.
Conversely, Kroos, who left Bayern for Real Madrid and stated in an interview that "Real Madrid is a tier above Bayern," was isolated by the Bayern Faction.
And this year, because Bayern poached Lewandowski again, the Dortmund Faction was even more hostile towards the Bayern Faction.
Often when eating in the cafeteria, the Dortmund Faction and the Bayern Faction sat at different tables, clearly separated.
Kroos, meanwhile, was absorbed by the Neutral Faction outside of the two major groups.
Fortunately, they were all professionals.
No matter how incompatible they were privately, on the field they devoted themselves entirely to the game for the sake of the team and victory.
As the National Team duties concluded, Mark did not immediately return to Wolfsburg but instead came to Berlin to meet Hisch, who had just finished walking in a Fashion Week show.
The two of them had a cup of coffee and walked around together for a bit before she received a work call and had to leave early.
Mark then returned to Wolfsburg alone.
He had barely settled down after getting home when he received a call from Raiola: "Hello?"
"I'm downstairs at your place. Security won't let me in. Can you talk to them?"
After a pause, the voice of a security guard came from the other end of the line: "Mr. Lane?"
"Hello, I am Lane, residing in 611. This Mr. Raiola is my agent; please let him in."
After speaking, Mark thought for a moment and added, "Oh, and help me record his fingerprint data. That way, he can come straight up next time."
"Understood."
Before long, the doorbell rang.
Mark opened the door for Raiola.
Raiola, dressed in a black down jacket, looked exhausted from travel.
"How do you have time to visit?"
"I happened to be handling some matters in Berlin. After all, the Winter Transfer Window is just a month away..."
"The security here is good."
Pausing, Raiola untied the scarf around his neck and said, "However, you need to be careful when bringing women back. After the last party, your new address was exposed, and many paparazzi are staking out the apartment."
Hearing Raiola's warning, Mark nodded and turned toward the kitchen: "I know. Tea?"
"I'll take a hot cocoa..."
"By the way, have you been in contact with that English woman recently?"
The "English woman" Raiola referred to was naturally Keeley Hazel.
Hearing this, Mark continued pouring cocoa powder while saying, "Why are you so concerned about my romantic life?"
Raiola simply spread his hands and laughed, "No choice, you're my superstar client after all..."
As one of the most prominent players in all of Germany right now, Mark had already shown the demeanor of a superstar.
His performance on the field was even more dazzling than that of superstars like Ribéry, Robben, and Reus.
Most importantly, less than a year after signing with Mark, major brands rushed to him, earning millions of euros in commission.
And as Mark's fame and influence grew, he, as the agent, would only earn more and more!
Therefore, Raiola had long regarded Mark as his key development target!
Moreover, Mark's image was far superior to that of Pogba, his other key development target.
He possessed immense potential in terms of commercial development!
This was why he personally handled every matter concerning Mark.
Of course, this was also his consistent principle when dealing with players.
In the eyes of his players, he was like a mentor, an older brother, or even a father!
Mark felt a warmth in his heart regarding Raiola's concern and immediately replied, "We've been in contact all along. She plans to come visit me in a couple of days."
After making the hot cocoa, Mark handed it to Raiola.
After taking a big gulp, Raiola continued to ask, "What about the model?"
"You mean Hisch? I just had coffee with her in Berlin today and walked around a bit..."
Hearing this, Raiola raised an eyebrow and said bluntly, "You rascal, are you dating two women at once?"
Facing Raiola's complaint, Mark merely shrugged and naturally delivered a classic player line: "What are you talking about? We're just good friends. I haven't given them any promises, and if they want to see me, I won't refuse."
Since dealing with the three women—Pamela, Hisch, and Jili—Mark quickly discovered a problem:
Dealing with women was time-consuming!
Whether it was exchanging messages daily or going on dates, their words and emotions would affect his daily life and extra training schedule.
Of course, he didn't realize that this was due to him dating two women simultaneously.
Therefore, Mark thought that instead of him being proactive, it was better to let the women take the initiative.
"Just make sure you play around responsibly and don't mess things up."
"Don't worry, I know my limits."
"Getting back to business, I came this time because I have something important I want to discuss with you."
With that, he pulled out his phone, opened the YouTube App, and clicked on a video.
"Take a look at this video..."
Mark, feeling confused, took the phone and watched.
The content of the video was actually a highlight reel of his best moments.
However, the entire compilation was presented in reverse chronological order.
At the beginning of the video was the finger-snapping celebration he performed in front of the camera after scoring the youngest hat-trick in German Team history at the Nuremberg home stadium.
Then, accompanied by a magic special effect, the scene transitioned, officially starting his highlight reel.
From his spectacular goals for the National Team to his incredible goals and dribbles for the club, the short video of just over thirty seconds fully demonstrated his individual ability.
And this video, lasting barely thirty seconds, already had over ten million views on YouTube!
In the comments section below, besides praise for Mark's exquisite skills and various declarations of love, many people thought his celebration move was too cool and perfectly matched his nickname, "Bundesliga Magician."
"The video is well-made. What's next?"
Raiola smiled and continued, "After discussion with the Publicity Department, they think your finger-snapping move is excellent and can definitely be used as your exclusive celebration move!"
The celebration moves players perform after scoring are an indispensable element of football culture.
A personal, signature celebration move can increase a star player's memorability, helping more fans remember them, thus boosting their fame and influence.
In the football world, there are many star players whose exclusive celebration moves are widely discussed:
For example, Klose's backflip, Batistuta's machine gun spray, Raúl's ring kiss, Cantona's King's gaze, Ronaldo's finger wag, Di María's heart hands, Kaka and Messi pointing two fingers to the sky, and C
Ronaldo's'Siuuuu'... As for finger-snapping, no star player in the entire football world uses it.
In Mark's memory, the most influential finger-snapper was Thanos from the Marvel Movies.
Thanos, after gathering the Infinity Stones, annihilated half the population of the entire universe with a single snap!
This move was indeed good, and very cool.
When Avengers 3 is released, his finger-snapping move will definitely become even more popular!
Thinking of this, Mark gladly accepted Raiola's suggestion to use the finger snap as his exclusive celebration move!
After the last International Break of the year concluded, the five major leagues reignited their battles.
Two key matches of the twelfth round of the Bundesliga were the first to be served up for the fans:
These were Bayern, second in the League, hosting Hoffenheim, fifth in the League.
And League leaders Wolfsburg challenging Schalke 04, who were eleventh in the League, away from home... For Wolfsburg, playing away against Schalke, who were in mediocre form this season, was an opportunity to gain points.
However, considering that the team's key players had just finished National Team matches, their physical condition was not optimal.
Furthermore, Perišić and De Bruyne both had minor muscle strains, and they were scheduled to face Chelsea three days later.
Therefore, Hecking made a limited rotation of the squad.
Mark started the match, continuing to play as the left winger.
Following his sudden rise to fame during the World Cup and his massive personal improvement, the young Mark's tactical standing in the team soared.
This season, Mark was basically fixed in the position of left winger.
Moreover, Hecking also gave him sufficient freedom to attack.
Often, Wolfsburg's left flank became the team's main attacking route.
And in this match against Schalke, Wolfsburg primarily attacked down the left!
"A beautiful dribble!"
"It's Mark again!"
"Every time Mark gets the ball, he exudes a feeling of agility! It's as if his feet are performing an elegant dance..."
"He beat another player! Pass!"
"Oh no, the pass was slightly too heavy! Olić threw his entire body out but couldn't reach the ball!"
It is worth noting that the Munich Daily had reported on Schalke's historical record against Wolfsburg before the match, suggesting that Schalke, who had a slightly superior record and were playing at home this round, were likely to be the team to halt Wolfsburg's momentum.
Of course, the Munich Daily did this clearly to cheer Schalke on.
There are many factional relationships in the Bundesliga.
Among them, Schalke and Bayern share a considerable history.
In the 2000–01 season, Schalke was champion for four minutes.
But because Bayern defender Andersson scored from an indirect free kick inside the box in the final seconds of the match, they handed the Championship Salad Bowl over.
Ten years later, Schalke 04's star player, Neuer, was successfully poached by Bayern again.
After transferring to Bayern, Neuer gradually became the world's top goalkeeper.
Furthermore, in matches against his former club, he maintained an "annoying" record of all wins and zero goals conceded.
Although they are sworn enemies with Bayern and still cannot forgive Bayern for poaching Neuer years ago.
However, they did not intend to help Bayern stop Wolfsburg's winning streak at home.
Of course, they also needed a victory at home to halt the team's poor run of form.
It must be known that Schalke's season goal set before the match was a Champions League spot!
Yet, after eleven rounds, they only had 14 points, placing them in the middle of the table.
However, they were only five points away from the Champions League zone.
Therefore, Schalke fielded all their main players for this match!
Unfortunately, the team had many injuries, and key players like Draxler, Farfán, Goretzka, and Kolašinac were all absent due to injury.
Even so, Schalke, who had secured three wins, one draw, and one loss in their last five matches, would not fear Wolfsburg.
The Miners, playing at home, still set up their formation and engaged in an attacking battle with Wolfsburg!
And Meyer, another talent in the Schalke squad, became the most active player on the field for Schalke.
"Meyer receives the ball in the front field, turns, and gets past Arnold!"
"Shot!"
"This sudden long-range shot from outside the box was unexpected, giving Benaglio a slight test..."
"Meyer gets the ball again and plays a wall pass with Jérôme Boateng!"
"He breaks into the box!"
"One-on-one... a chip shot!"
"GOAL!!!"
The deadlock was finally broken in the twenty-third minute of the match.
Schalke, playing at home, managed to pierce Wolfsburg's goal with a wall pass in the attacking third!
And the scorer was none other than Max Meyer, wearing the number seven shirt!
Because the team's core player, Little Draxler, retired injured in the match against Augsburg at the end of last month, Meyer received more starting opportunities this month.
In this match against Wolfsburg, Meyer was pumped up, acting extremely excited.
The short-statured Meyer possessed extremely skillful and refined footwork.
Although he played as the number ten attacking midfielder, he repeatedly dropped back to receive the ball, then used his dribbling to push forward, adding agility to the team's offense.
After scoring, Meyer excitedly ran to the corner flag, celebrating with shouts and fist pumps.
Meyer and Mark first met in February of this year.
They were the same age.
At that time, Meyer was the highly anticipated prodigious youth of both Schalke and Germany.
There were even rumors that Löw intended to call him up to the National Team, allowing him to travel to Brazil to experience the atmosphere of the World Cup.
Mark, however, was just an unknown rookie promoted from the youth team back then.
But just a few months later, everything changed!
It wasn't Meyer who was called up, but Mark!
Watching Mark board the plane bound for Brazil, only able to watch him on TV, caused him immense psychological imbalance!
Why? Mr. Löw clearly favored me first, so why did you have to jump in?!
In Meyer's view, Mark's emergence not only stole his chance to participate in the World Cup but also snatched away the opportunity for fame that should have been his.
Therefore, upon learning that he would start in this match against Wolfsburg, Meyer secretly resolved never to let Mark steal his spotlight again!