Chapter 129: The Best Champions League Opening Ceremony in History (Transit)
At 5:00 pm on May 25, Alice knocked on the door of Xia Qi's parents' room.
"Uncle, Auntie, we're about to leave."
The departure time had been agreed on the night before; Xia Qi's parents were already dressed and ready to go.
The Champions League final's scheduled kick-off was 8:30 pm. But before the match there was a 45-minute artistic performance, and with a 60,000-seat Wembley Stadium you need at least half an hour just to pass ticket control and enter, plus time to grab something to eat at the concourse—so leaving at five o'clock was not early at all.
Alice drove with her mother and Xia Qi's parents toward Wembley, while her dad Jack and his mates, singing battle songs and waving flags, walked to the stadium.
There were many fans like Jack who walked in singing; Alice crawled along slower than a snail in her car and finally understood why Jack teased her for driving.
Indeed—walking was faster than driving!
All along the way, the UEFA and Champions League logos were everywhere. Posters and banners for the two teams were plastered all over.
On the route there was a huge promotional poster. One half was yellow, the other red-and-white.
On the pure-white side Marco Reus occupied the most prominent spot; behind him stood Mario Götze, Robert Lewandowski, İlkay Gündoğan…
On the red-and-white side, taking center position was Xia Qi; behind him were Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Wilshere…
The life-sized center images were 1:1 scale, so every fan passing by couldn't resist taking selfies with "him," and some female fans even kissed the cardboard "Xia Qi."
"Gross!"
Alice winced and spat out a curse.
Mr. and Mrs. Xia exchanged a smile.
A half-hour car ride took one and a half hours.
Wembley plaza was filled with Champions League final elements. Although there was still an hour until the 7:30 opening show, the plaza was already packed.
Besides the fans from the two clubs, neutral supporters from many countries and reporters working the crowds were everywhere.
Among them were journalists from China's Penguin Live platform.
Penguin Live had obtained the broadcast rights for Greater China. Zhan Jun and Zhang Lu would be doing the live commentary from Wembley.
That morning the two had risen at six. Zhan Jun took a selfie under the Champions League final poster outside the hotel.
"What are you doing?" Zhang Lu asked.
"Posting on Weibo!" Zhan Jun said.
Zhang Lu refreshed Weibo and saw Zhan Jun's post: "Good morning, Champions League!" with the selfie below.
"You're pretty sentimental."
"This is the first time we Chinese are in a Champions League final," Zhan Jun said excitedly. "If only we could naturalize someone it'd be even better."
"Cut it out. Don't jinx it. I still want to see Chinese elements in the World Cup…" The topic grew heavy and they dropped it. They hastily had breakfast and got to work.
…
Although it was already 1:00 am and two hours before kick-off, many Chinese fans were watching the livestream. Some watched alone at home, others with friends at street food stalls, bars, or school cafeterias.
The broadcast started at midnight, airing pre-match interviews and London Champions League features so domestic fans could see a different side than the official state broadcasts—understanding that the Champions League is more than a match in Europe; it's a culture.
As the Champions League theme swelled, Wembley's 60,000 seats were full.
Suddenly, the music stopped on the TV.
Two lines of the British Royal Guard marched from the players' tunnel, stopping at the tunnel mouths and sounding bugles. The stadium screen displayed the number "10" and a countdown began.
When the counter hit "0," the bugle stopped and a giant horse mascot burst from the tunnel, running between the two guard lines to the center and letting out a great cry.
Amid clangs of metal, club legends representing the two teams—Dennis Bergkamp and Arne Friedrich—walked out from the tunnel through the guards. Dressed in medieval general's attire and wearing light-colored curled wigs, they met at the center for a friendly pre-match handshake.
With them gone, the costumed cavalries entered. First came Dortmund's contingent in yellow medieval armor, followed by an Arsenal-themed medieval unit in red-and-white armor.
They arranged into medieval battle formations on the pitch—phalanxes, serpentine columns, triple volleys…
Once the formations were complete, the mock battle began.
Archers launched the long-range assault first. After the archery, both sides drew swords and engaged in close combat. The staged melee lasted five or six minutes.
Then the combatants quickly closed into a circle. The leaders of each side performed a duel, and soldiers and fans in the stands cheered for their teams.
Since it was a performance, neither leader prevailed; they shook hands at the end.
Then the most spectacular scene unfolded: performers rushed to the halfway line, leaned their weapons together to form a "blade mountain" reminiscent of initiation rites in martial tales. As the camera moved through it, viewers at home felt as if they were walking down the corridor of weapons. The glint of blades overhead gave a chilling, awe-inspiring impression.
After the close-ups, the armies split into two again and the staged battle exploded once more—an impressive, give-and-take spectacle. As the skirmish wound down and the staged casualties accumulated, a bugle sounded and the two competing club crests appeared on the pitch.
Blowing the horn again, the club legends jointly carried out the Champions League trophy to the center and declared the final officially open.
Lights dimmed and the audience rose in applause.
When the lights came back on, the performers had left the pitch and the music returned to the Champions League anthem. To the chorus the players entered hand in hand with the ball boys, led by the match officials.
"Penguin Sports!"
"Penguin Sports!"
"Dear viewers, welcome to Penguin Live's live coverage of the 2013–2014 UEFA Champions League final at Wembley on the 25th!"
"I'm your old friend Zhan Jun."
"Hello viewers, I'm Zhang Lu."
"The players are in!" Zhang Lu raised his voice involuntarily.
Even with his noise-canceling headset on, the roar when the teams entered was so explosive that Zhang Lu couldn't help boosting his volume, as if the TV and computer viewers needed it louder to hear.
Zhan Jun scanned the monitors looking for the broadcast's "lead" — Xia Qi.
Soon the live feed gave Xia Qi a close-up. Wembley's cheering grew even louder.
Hearing the crowd chanting for their son, Xia's dad and mom thought of all the moments from his childhood training and tears welled in their eyes.
Xia's dad hastily took out the zoom camera he'd prepared and began furiously pressing the shutter, snapping photo after photo at Xia Qi.
Alice watched and recalled her first singing competition; her father had done the same. It seemed all parents were alike.
"Listeners, can you hear it? The whole stadium is cheering Xia Qi," Zhang Lu said.
"Here, Xia Qi is effectively playing as if it's a home match," Zhan Jun added.
The feed then gave a close-up to Lewandowski; there were cheers for him too, but much quieter.
"These are the main scorers for tonight's two teams," Zhan Jun said. "Neither coach has won the Champions League in their managerial careers, so tonight we'll have a new champion."
"The referee is checking his watch; the match is about to start. Let's announce the starting lineups."
Wearing yellow and attacking from the left of your screen to the right is Borussia Dortmund, in a familiar 4–2–3–1:
Goalkeeper: Roman Weidenfeller
Left-back: Marcel Schmelzer
Center-backs: Mats Hummels, Neven Subotić
Right-back: Łukasz Piszczek
Double pivot: İlkay Gündoğan, Sebastian Kehl
Three attacking mids: Marco Reus, Mario Götze, Jakub Błaszczykowski
Forward: Robert Lewandowski
Substitutes: Mitch Langerak, Kevin Großkreutz (Kirch in transliteration), Santana, Nuri Şahin, the Bender brothers, Ivan Perišić, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (or Schieber depending on squad)...
On the other side in red is Arsenal, attacking from the right of your screen to the left, also set to play 4–2–3–1.
Goalkeeper is… (omitted — same as listed in the Real Madrid match).
…
"Ding dong."
"Please choose 'Training' or 'Match' mode."
"Match."
"Please choose your pitch position: A Forward, B…"
"A."
"Detected team in current circumstance; matching host with the [Quick Gunner] attribute."
"Ordinary worker doesn't work overtime; foot speed is time, time is money…"
"Please choose 'Autonomous Mode' or 'One-Click AFK Mode'."
"Warm tip: During AFK, the system will automatically complete action metrics for the host."
"One-Click AFK!"
"Relaxed AFK, one-click auto-complete, free your feet and bring the host a relaxed and joyful pitch experience! Match experience officially begins."
Afterward Xia Qi's whole bearing gained that executive, captain-like aura…
Under Jürgen Klopp, Borussia Dortmund had sparked a wind of youth across football. With young stars such as Mats Hummels, Marco Reus, Robert Lewandowski, and Łukasz Piszczek, they played aggressively, pressing high and sustaining pressure.
In 2011–12 Dortmund even edged Bayern to win the DFB-Pokal and the Bundesliga, securing the double.
This season Bayern suppressed them in the league and Dortmund failed to defend their title. But in the Champions League they rose to the occasion—topping their group ahead of Real Madrid.
In short, they were not easy opponents.
This young Dortmund was fearless!
What of the Premier League champion?
What of the Champions League's highest-scoring Golden Boot holder?
They'll be erased!
Right from kick-off, Dortmund pressed on three lines, aiming to exploit Arsenal's early instability with an opening assault. Immediately after the whistle Lewandowski fed a quick pass to Götze, then sprinted forward with Reus and Błaszczykowski into Arsenal's box.
Dortmund fans began singing their club anthem.
When it comes to atmosphere, the Bundesliga knows how to do it—Dortmund fan culture is second to none.
With the crowd behind them, Dortmund surged forward. Götze received the ball and instead of passing immediately he drove forward—dribble after dribble…
Suddenly, during the run he played a through pass. Götze, still brimming with youthful flair, delivered a surgical through ball that pierced Arsenal's defensive line perfectly.
Błaszczykowski timed his run onside and raced for the ball.
"Danger!"
"Get back!"
Lewandowski charged through the middle while Reus positioned himself on the left of the box.
Within six seconds of kick-off Dortmund had created a three-pronged threat at Arsenal's goal.
On the touchline Klopp clenched his fist in excitement as Błaszczykowski collected the ball—he had a strong premonition a goal was coming and prepared to throw his famous "farmer's three punches" to the fans.
But as Błaszczykowski lifted his head to assess his teammates, Luke Shaw, who had tracked back, nicked in from behind and won the ball away.
"Great recovery!" someone called. "Cazorla chases the ball."
On the pitch, Santi Cazorla sprinted to the touchline and snatched the ball from Błaszczykowski before he could recover and lofted it to the right.
Theo Walcott raced forward, planted the ball at his feet, and as Kehl closed in he nudged it forward with his toe, then pushed off the ground to explode past him.
A perfect body-and-ball separation.
Walcott surged into the right upper corner of the box.
By then the penalty area was crowded. The nearest attackers were Mario Balotelli and Xia Qi slightly further back.
Both were double-marked, and a pass risked being intercepted.
As Walcott prepared to play a cut-back to Kevin De Bruyne to reorganize the attack, he noticed Xia Qi…
Inside the penalty area Subotić was marking Xia Qi, keeping him behind and watching the striker's movement with one eye, while also tracking Walcott's handling of the ball.
Suddenly Xia Qi stopped contesting the first passing lane along the Walcott–Xia connection and instead ran toward the left post.
Xia Qi had scored 28 goals in this Champions League campaign—already the most goals in a single edition in the competition's history.
Subotić could not afford to leave him unmarked.
He followed closely.
The experienced Subotić stayed tight on the inside line, using his body legally to shepherd Xia Qi out of the box.
Walcott, at the right edge of the penalty area, saw Subotić between him and Xia Qi; Balotelli was similarly marked.
Just as Walcott was about to play the cut-back, he saw this:
Xia Qi abruptly came to a stop and spun.
It was like Shaquille O'Neal's post spin in the NBA—stopping and turning so the defender who was in front ends up behind.
But Xia Qi did it facing the goal—he used Subotić as a pivot to spin, so both Subotić and the goal were behind him.
The pass route between Xia Qi and Walcott was suddenly wide open.
Xia Qi turned, spread his arms, and leaned back forcefully, pinning Subotić solidly behind him.
Walcott didn't hesitate; using the arch of his foot like a golf putt he nudged the ball forward.
The ball threaded through a crowded mass of legs and rolled accurately to Xia Qi's feet.
(END CHAPTER)
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