「March 15, 2008.」
「Reidwald Youth Training Camp, Frankfurt, Germany.」
A friendly match was underway on the pitch.
Frankfurt U19, from the Southern Division of the German U19 league, was clearly a cut above the lower-tiered Darmstadt U19.
Eighty minutes into the game, the score was already 4–0.
In terms of performance, Frankfurt U19 had been dominating Darmstadt U19 from the start.
Even though it was just a youth team friendly during the March international break, it had still drawn several hundred local fans to watch.
They were gathered in the stadium's only east-side stand.
Everyone's attention was fixed on the all-but-decided match. Absolutely no one noticed that on the athletics track to the west of the pitch, a 17-year-old Chinese boy was jogging out to warm up every few minutes.
Though no one was paying him any mind, the Chinese boy performed every warm-up exercise meticulously, with intense focus.
He worked hard to keep his body in a state where he could be called onto the pitch at any moment.
Only when he heard the referee's whistle would he instinctively turn his head, his eyes fixed on the match with fervent anticipation.
He was waiting.
But the Frankfurt U19 head coach, Oscar Corochano, never once glanced in his direction.
By the 80th minute, Frankfurt U19 had already used ten substitutions.
Corochano still hadn't called the boy's name.
...
Wang Shuo was born in a small, remote mountain village in a southeastern province of China.
Before the third grade, he had no idea what football even was.
Then one day, Jiang Pengju, the former captain of the provincial team, donated some footballs to all the elementary schools in the county. That was when Wang Shuo first encountered the sport in gym class.
From that day on, he and his football were inseparable.
He even slept with the ball in his arms.
When he was twelve, Jiang Pengju secured corporate sponsorship to organize a county-wide elementary school football tournament.
It was in this tournament that Wang Shuo stood out, earning the title of best player and a recommendation from Jiang Pengju to the Huairun Football School in Hu City.
This football academy, founded by former national team head coach Gao Huairen, brought together young, hand-picked talents from all over the country.
Wang Shuo spent five years there, receiving the best and most advanced youth training in the country. Through his own relentless hard work, he became one of the top players at the Huairun Football School.
Last year, Principal Gao finally managed to persuade their sponsor, Adidas, to grant them a precious slot for a trial in Germany.
In January, Wang Shuo didn't even go home for the Spring Festival. Bearing Principal Gao's high hopes, he flew to Germany, aiming to secure as many trial opportunities as possible during the German teams' winter break training camps.
But reality was far crueler than anyone had anticipated.
The teams he applied to for trials were all reserve squads or U19 teams from the Bundesliga and 2nd Bundesliga, which naturally scheduled some friendly matches during the winter break.
Wang Shuo trialed with numerous teams but only managed to get on the field nine times.
And all of them were in garbage time, just before the matches ended.
When February arrived, the leagues resumed with official matches. As a trialist, Wang Shuo wasn't eligible to play and sometimes wasn't even allowed to train with the team.
Under these circumstances, Wang Shuo was cast aside by the coaches and left to fend for himself.
He finally made it to mid-March, when the leagues paused again.
With his three-month short-term visa about to expire, Gao Huairen's friend, the German agent Thomas Essien, was desperately pulling every string he could to get Wang Shuo one last trial opportunity.
Wang Shuo, for his part, was incredibly diligent. Whether it was a trial or just a regular training session, he never dared to slack off in the slightest.
At the same time, he was eagerly awaiting his tenth trial appearance.
Just one more appearance, and he would activate Ball God Possession.
Frankfurt U19 was the eighteenth team he had trialed with in the past two-plus months.
Thomas Essien had gone through a youth academy manager he knew at the club to have a word with Head Coach Oscar Corochano, securing a chance for Wang Shuo to play.
But now, with less and less time left in the match, Corochano still showed no intention of subbing Wang Shuo in.
This not only made Wang Shuo, warming up on the track, burn with anxiety, but also had Thomas Essien jumping up and down in frustration on the sidelines.
It wasn't until the 88th minute, just as Wang Shuo was returning dejectedly from his warm-up on the track, that he heard the familiar name.
"Wang, get ready to go in."
"You're replacing Jonas Stolz."
Wang Shuo didn't know anyone on this Frankfurt U19 team.
It wasn't until he ran onto the pitch that he suddenly realized the player he was replacing was the team's goalkeeper.
Wang Shuo thought there must be a mistake and immediately turned to look questioningly at Head Coach Corochano.
Corochano just nodded back at Wang Shuo, a cold smirk on his face.
'A forward?'
'No, go play goalkeeper for me!'
...
"You promised me yesterday you'd give him a chance to prove himself."
As Wang Shuo put on the gloves and stood in front of the goal, the match restarting, Thomas Essien stormed up to Corochano like an enraged lion.
"Yes, I did," Corochano said, his tone icy as he refused to even spare Essien a glance.
"He's getting a chance to play now, isn't he?"
Thomas Essien was speechless. "For three minutes? And as a goalkeeper? You're deliberately humiliating him, Oscar! He's just a seventeen-year-old kid, how can you do this to him?"