Chapter 133: Debut at the Peak — Double Champions
"Xia Qi has completed a hat-trick in the Champions League final! In the 57-year history of the Champions League, Xia Qi is the fourth player to score a hat-trick in a Champions League final.
The previous three were Real Madrid legends Alfredo Di Stéfano and Ferenc Puskás, and AC Milan's José Altafini.
This is an honor even the modern greats Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have never achieved."
"Arsenal have retaken a two-goal advantage; they have nearly twenty minutes left to claim the title."
In the Penguin live stream, Zhang Lu was even more excited than Arsène Wenger in the stands.
He had been worried Arsenal might be turned over, but now he could finally relax.
At the 78th minute, having a two-goal cushion felt very secure.
At Arsenal's most difficult and dangerous moment, Xia Qi took on the responsibility of a leading star, and with one goal he gave every Arsenal person a calming pill.
After the goal, Wembley became a sea of red and white; Arsenal fans cheered and sang at the top of their lungs, and Arsenal's anthem "HotStuff" roared to the sky.
After scoring, Xia Qi performed a celebration to the camera.
He called Mario Balotelli, Santi Cazorla, Kevin De Bruyne… and they ran toward the corner flag together, and in the run shared the idea for their celebration.
There was a camera and close-range microphone at the corner flag; Xia Qi and the others sang loudly into the lens: "Theo, don't panic. Everything's fine, the sun is high, we're in front, Theo, don't panic. It's all under control, our team is full of fighting spirit…" (note 1)
Watching the live broadcast in the locker room, Theo Walcott suddenly burst into tears… he decided he would never leave this team in his life! Even if he had to be a supporting leaf forever, he would be willing…
By the touchline Wenger's eyes were wet and he joked through his emotion: "I wasn't moved by Xia Qi's goal, but damn I got moved to tears by his celebration…"
Pat Rice: "Same here. This is what a team should be like. With a squad like this, we can ask for more…"
"That's for tomorrow. Now let's take the Champions League."
Online:
[Xia Qi's two outside-of-the-foot chips were brilliant — the first chip took the ball out of Roman Weidenfeller's area, the second chipped around Neven Subotić at the near post. How can such a difficult chip look as easy for him as eating and drinking?]
[31 goals in one Champions League season — unprecedented; the strongest Champions League Golden Boot in history. Cristiano Ronaldo, the Champions League king, may have to give way.]
["May" give way? That's certain.]
[Calm down. Xia Qi's 31 goals in one season are terrifying, but it's only one season; Ronaldo's reign spans many campaigns. If Xia Qi wants to be the new king he must reproduce this form next season and the season after.]
[I have a feeling this summer transfer window will be explosive — many giants will reassemble their strikeforces to counter Xia Qi.]
[Just name the clubs then — which giants?]
[Do you think Real will try to sign Xia Qi?]
[Why even talk about this? Look…]
[Wow, Xia Qi and the others' celebration is so loving… I'm a fan now.]
On the pitch, Dortmund's morale was low: some held their heads in both hands in despair, some stood with hands on hips staring at the turf, some looked enviously at the celebrating opponents.
No one went to the referee to complain that Arsenal's celebration was time-wasting — maybe time itself was a torment for them at that moment.
At their most spirited, at their strongest thirst for victory, Xia Qi struck back and poured cold water right on them.
When play resumed, although Arsenal were a man down, the whole team played with great patience.
Dortmund, by contrast, grew a bit anxious; their passing dropped off and they took more long-range shots.
At first glance, more shots seemed like an advantage, but in reality few were on target.
Those "shots" were more like clearances for Arsenal.
Klopp paced the touchline yelling and cursing a few times, but with little effect; he had no choice but to make a substitution.
He brought on Kevin Großkreutz (or Sic?) to replace Robert Lewandowski — Klopp was deeply disappointed in Lewandowski.
In Klopp's mind Lewandowski only tears up weak opposition; in high-level matches he still had to prove himself, largely because of his personality.
His temperament resembled LeBron James in the NBA: too focused on stats; when the team needs him to score a decisive goal and things aren't certain, he's prone to blame teammates.
Without comparison there's no pain; in contrast, Xia Qi looked like Kobe or Jordan — when the team needs him he steps up and never runs away.
The more Klopp compared, the more he wanted Xia Qi. He clicked his tongue and told his assistant: "If Liverpool aren't very interested in signing Xia Qi, tell them I can do a wager — if we buy Xia Qi and I don't win a trophy, I accept punishment…"
"Boss, is it worth bet-placing yourself on that kid? What if he's just a flash in the pan…"
"He's worth the gamble, and if we don't buy him he'll become a stone in our path forward. Sometimes we should learn from Bayern."
The assistant took the words in: "Understood. I'll work on a proposal with the agents as soon as possible…"
On the pitch, Lewandowski saw the linesman raise his flag and shrugged his shoulders helplessly. But as he lowered his head, the smile at the corner of his mouth revealed something else.
Two-faced!
The substitute came on!
The new player had once been touted as the next Mario Gómez.
He was strong, physically robust, and powerful in duels — a naturally gifted player who, strangely, had never quite broken through.
But in 2013 he was on the rise, and Dortmund fans didn't criticize Klopp's swap of Lewandowski for him.
Seeing Klopp's change, Zhang Lu in the Penguin stream sighed: "Klopp is gambling it all, but he doesn't have better cards. That's the difference between a giant and an almost-giant."
"There are just over ten minutes left, Dortmund are two goals down. Arsenal are a man down — the sensible approach is to defend and counter.
It will be harder for Dortmund to break Arsenal's goal now than in the earlier open exchanges."
"Football is sometimes like life. Dortmund having an extra man seems good, but not now; Arsenal can rightfully defend fully… it's like the old saying: 'suffering can be a blessing.'"
Arsenal were indeed defending; if they could hold on for the final minutes, Arsenal would claim the club's first Champions League.
At that time, no one wanted to be a hothead.
Xia Qi certainly wouldn't; rationality was his strength.
Facing the passing ability of Kevin De Bruyne, Xia Qi's bursting runs, and Mario Balotelli's playmaking, Dortmund attacked cautiously, timidly even, and increasingly anxious.
The proverb "a substitution is like a new knife" didn't apply to them this time.
As time ticked by, Dortmund players grew more restless while Arsenal grew calmer; Balotelli even began to show tricks.
In the stands, almost no fans were seated — nearly every person was standing.
Dortmund fans prayed to God while watching the pitch nervously and anxiously.
They were two goals down, not one, and time was slipping away second by second.
Could they not be anxious?
Online, some cheeky Chinese fans dubbed a voiceover: "Little time left for Dortmund…"
Arsenal fans meanwhile kept bouncing and singing the anthem, naming every player in the song.
In the VIP box, Emma Watson had put on Xia Qi's No. 9 jersey and stood on the balcony singing Arsenal's song with the fans.
Xia Qi's mother glanced at her from the crowd and then looked away.
"Auntie, you don't like her?"
"Yes."
After Alice got the confirmation, the anthem was sung with even more gusto.
On the pitch,
Dortmund won a corner.
Trailing as they were, the corner became a lifeline. Two 1.9-meter center-backs pushed into Arsenal's box; two fullbacks and Ilkay Gündoğan stayed back to defend.
Marco Reus took the corner from the stadium's left. Samuel Umtiti got above Mats Hummels and headed the ball out of the area.
Outside the box, Nuri Şahin beat Balotelli to the ball and crossed back into the area, again aiming for Hummels.
In the box, Hummels gritted his teeth, muscled Umtiti aside and flicked a header toward the far corner.
But it struck the crossbar, missing the last chance.
At that moment the fourth official signaled added time — the referee awarded a long six minutes of stoppage, and Arsenal fans booed loudly.
"Only ten minutes left for Dortmund, and they're still two goals down."
Martínez restarted with a goal kick. Dortmund's men knew this was their last chance; they pressed like mad on Arsenal's penalty area.
Santi Cazorla, trapped by two attackers left and right, played the ball back to Per Mertesacker.
The two charging opponents immediately continued their pressure on Mertesacker.
Mertesacker was about to pass to his keeper when he heard Martínez shout: "Pass it forward!"
But the forward lane was blocked by two oncoming players. Mertesacker, who had once been taught to handle awkward blows, remained calm; he shrugged and shifted sideways.
The ball reached Serge Aurier, who found himself under pressure and hurriedly passed it back to the retreating Xia Qi as if holding a hot potato.
The ball landed at Xia Qi's feet.
Wembley erupted into deafening cheers.
Arsenal's backline crisis had not yet been completely solved, but the fans' faith in Xia Qi was unshakable.
That faith had been earned again and again by Xia Qi's deeds.
"Boy, in just one season you've walked the path Thierry Henry took in eight years."
Wenger on the touchline smiled and joked with a hint of emotion.
Pat Rice was moved too: "Different. When Henry arrived we were on the road to revival and complemented each other. Xia Qi came when we were sliding down — he dragged us back to the road to revival…"
On the pitch,
as Xia Qi received the ball, Şahin, the substitute, and Perišić rushed to double-team him.
"Ding dong — the Quick Gunner trait activated."
Xia Qi accelerated sharply and brushed past Perišić, who wanted to mark him tightly.
Then Großkreutz surged into Xia Qi's front. Xia Qi suddenly braked hard and feinted a move to the right.
Großkreutz, relying on his physical strength, charged straight through.
Xia Qi deftly pulled the ball back and turned, using a move nicknamed "Hazard's buttery hip," arching his rear into Großkreutz.
Visually:
Großkreutz charged at Xia Qi and then flew off.
The crowd gasped.
Şahin and Perišić, Großkreutz's teammates, stood stunned.
You see this in comedy films often, but on a football pitch…
Şahin and Perišić wanted to ask: are you sent by God to crack jokes?
They were stunned, but Xia Qi was not. He took advantage of the moment and thread the ball through Şahin's legs.
To prevent Şahin from immediately waking up and committing a tactical foul, Xia Qi even ran around from outside the sideline.
Thus, in a flash, Xia Qi used simple but practical moves to break a three-man press.
Arsenal fans screamed in ecstasy again.
Xia Qi accelerated into the box.
Schmelzer came forward to block him, but Xia Qi changed direction and got past him.
His "lovers" — Jakub Błaszczykowski and Ilkay Gündoğan and keeper Roman Weidenfeller — all charged at Xia Qi.
Weidenfeller went down to block.
Błaszczykowski and Gündoğan slid in together.
Arsenal fans held their breath, expecting Xia Qi to take on the whole team alone,
but that didn't happen.
Xia Qi was rational. In that instant he passed the ball to the middle.
There, Mario Balotelli, like a runaway horse, raced forward, received Xia Qi's pass and slotted into an empty net.
"4–1!"
When Balotelli scored, every Dortmund player collapsed onto the turf, utterly drained.
"It's over. Although eight minutes remain, there's no suspense left."
Wenger thought so too and began making substitutions to give the bench players some minutes and to waste a little time.
Thomas Vermaelen, Jack Wilshere, and Kieran Gibbs came on to replace Per Mertesacker, Kevin De Bruyne, and Xia Qi respectively.
When Xia Qi left the field, the whole stadium rose to applaud, including some Dortmund fans.
Mertesacker clapped while responding to the fans and said to Xia Qi: "Thanks to you, I'm enjoying this kind of treatment for the first time."
"No, it's the fans who gave it to you. You stood on despite the injury and moved them."
"I know you're lying to me, but I believe you."
De Bruyne chimed in nearby: "And me too…"
Xia Qi didn't sit on the bench; he and the others stood by the sideline, arms linked in a line cheering on their brothers on the pitch. Theo Walcott also emerged from the dressing room.
He had been sent off with a red card and couldn't be with Xia Qi and the others on the field; he stood at the player tunnel ready to rush onto the pitch at the final whistle.
Dortmund continued to press, but by now Arsenal were entrenched in "park the bus" defense and Dortmund's attacks lacked conviction.
Time ran out and many Arsenal fans in the stands began to cry tears of joy…
In the Penguin stream, Zhang Lu and Zhan Jun stopped commentating on tactical detail and chatted casually.
"Before the season, when I heard Robin van Persie had defected to Manchester United, I thought Arsenal were fighting for fourth again…"
"I still don't understand what went wrong at Manchester City that made them sell their academy golden boy?"
"That's fate! Who at the time would have known Xia Qi would be a lucky charm? People expected maybe a Golden Boy at most…"
"Will Xia Qi win this year's Golden Boy award?"
"Golden Boy and Ballon d'Or this year? Xia Qi wouldn't dare say it's nailed down, but he's certainly the favorite."
"Xia Qi might be the first in history to win Golden Boy and Ballon d'Or in the same year. Before him only Messi had won both awards in his career, but not the same year."
"Xia Qi is the kind of player who debuts at the peak…"
"Pah! Xia Qi's peak is far from over."
"..."
Beep!
A whistle!
Wembley erupted in thunderous applause!
"The match is over! Arsenal beat Borussia Dortmund 4–1. Xia Qi scored a hat-trick and contributed an assist."
"Congratulations to Arsenal and to Xia Qi for winning the 2012–2013 UEFA Champions League."
"This is an incredible achievement. Along the way they beat the world's three strongest clubs — Huang-Sa-Ren — and in the final overcame Europe's strongest young guard Borussia Dortmund to lift the heavyweight big-eared trophy."
"They are champions worthy of the title!"
"This is Xia Qi; this is Arsenal's first Champions League. We sincerely wish them more trophies in the future."
"Dear fans, please stay tuned — after the break there will be the award ceremony."
At Wembley, the Arsenal players and coaching staff who had been waiting by the sideline rushed onto the pitch at the final whistle to embrace the "heroes."
Wenger fought the urge to dash onto the pitch and first shook hands with Jürgen Klopp.
Klopp congratulated Wenger on his first Champions League.
Wenger comforted him: "Your tactics and command were excellent; your squad is very young — the boys were fantastic. Maybe next time I'll be the one congratulating you."
"Thank you. I look forward to facing you again."
After seeing Klopp off, the old man felt rejuvenated and sprinted onto the pitch himself…
…
As runners-up, Borussia Dortmund went up first to receive their medals. None of them wore smiles — they looked humbled, took the medals quickly, and disappeared.
After Dortmund collected their awards, Wembley erupted again in huge cheers.
Arsenal players, led by the captain, ascended the podium to receive the trophy…
When Vermaelen lifted the cup above his head, golden confetti sprayed into the air and fluttered everywhere.
In that instant Wenger's eyes were wet; he remembered the day Xia Qi and his agent knocked on his office door…
Many fans could no longer contain themselves and flooded down from the stands onto the pitch.
Among them were Xia Qi's parents, Jack, Alice, and Emma Watson…
In pubs across London many stripped off their shirts and raised their glasses:
"We Arsenal are invincible!"
In an office in Manchester an old man clutched his chest and turned off the TV:
"Arsène really is lucky. Klopp's still a bit green. Looks like I'll delay retirement for a season — the red of the Premier League will stay Manchester's red a while longer."
(END CHAPTER)
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