"Welcome back to Champions Europe's special program. Today in the studio, Director Zhang and I are going to talk about the 2008/09 Champions League group stage draw—"
"I believe everyone has been waiting for a long time! In the Champions League qualifiers, Dortmund, where Jin Hayes plays, eliminated the strong Atlético Madrid and successfully entered the Champions League. As the only Chinese player in Europe's top leagues, and potentially the youngest player to appear in the Champions League group stage in history, Chinese fans are very concerned about Jin Hayes's performance, so tonight's draw is particularly important."
"In addition, fans of giant clubs including Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan, and Bayern are also very concerned about their team's group situation."
"Exactly." Director Zhang chimed in, referencing the content on the screen.
"Dortmund, which everyone is paying attention to, is a Pot 4 team, while teams like Bayern and Juventus are in Pot 2, so there's a possibility of a 'group of death' forming."
...
"Almost! The draw ceremony is about to begin!"
"Wait, don't rush! This game isn't over yet!"
"What? You started another game? What's the fun in playing against the AI? I'll come and stomp you later."
"You wouldn't understand—I'm going to use Bayern to crush Dortmund!"
Jiangning District, Pharmaceutical University, Group A Dorm 213.
Having just returned to the dorm after the summer break, the students happened to catch the Champions League group stage draw. One roommate was playing a football video game, locked in a fierce battle with the computer AI.
Jiang Wei, a sophomore, sat in front of his computer, chugging ice-cold cola. He browsed the news on Sina Sports' Champions League special, where a CCTV5 live stream was playing in the media player. The hosts, Duan Xuan and Director Zhang Lu, were still discussing the Champions League groups.
Jiang Wei was originally a Premier League Arsenal fan, having followed the great Thierry Henry since the glorious 2003/04 season with their 49-match unbeaten run. After hearing that Arsenal had signed a young Chinese player, Jiang Wei paid extra attention to his progress.
When Jin Hayes transferred to Dortmund and went quiet for three full months, only appearing in the DFB-Pokal, Jiang Wei endured constant buffering just to watch his performances. Through the blurry 360p quality, Jin Hayes's brilliant skills won him over, and he immediately became a fan. At that time, Jin Hayes was an unknown young player, far less famous than Dong Fangzhuo.
Jiang Wei tried to create a Jin Hayes fan club on Baidu Tieba. Unexpectedly, someone had already created it. The club owner seemed to be a Chinese student studying in Germany, who uploaded a bunch of photos from Dortmund's training sessions and some candid shots of Jin Hayes after training.
Initially, the Jin Hayes fan club was deserted. The club owner's valuable posts received no views or replies. As Jin Hayes gradually gained fame, more and more people noticed him, and the fan club finally became lively. On match days, everyone would chat about the game in the "Jin Hayes Fan Club" match threads—the atmosphere was fantastic.
Watching a 15-year-old prodigy grow into Dortmund's key player, leading the team into the Champions League, Jiang Wei suddenly felt a sense of nurturing a star. After shining in the Bundesliga, Jin Hayes could finally make a big splash across Europe. Therefore, Jiang Wei really hoped Dortmund would get a favourable draw and try to advance to the knockout stage, to see how far the Black and Yellows' youth storm could go.
"Why hasn't it started yet?" His roommates had already finished a game, but the UEFA draw ceremony was still presenting awards for last season's Champions League Best XI.
Players like Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidić, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Xavi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba, and Fernando Torres successively came on stage to receive their awards.
Cristiano Ronaldo, as the Player of the Year and Best Forward, stood on the podium for the third time.
He was indeed in his prime last season. With his slicked-back hair, he looked spirited in front of the camera. Without a doubt, this year's Ballon d'Or would also be Cristiano Ronaldo's.
It seemed there was still a while until the draw.
"How about we play another game?"
"Fine, I'll take Dortmund and crush you."
"Bring it on!"
Jiang Wei opened his football game, decisively chose Dortmund, and skillfully selected the 4-3-3 formation, placing Jin Hayes at the attacking midfielder position. Unfortunately, the game patch still had Jin Hayes's stats at his previous rating of 72. His dribbling accuracy was 99, speed 82, short pass accuracy 75—making his solo runs very effective—but his shooting accuracy was only 35, making goals a bit difficult. He had clearly scored four goals in the last game against Bayern; his shooting stats should be adjusted higher.
While Chinese fans were focused on the Champions League draw, German fans were equally attentive. Sport1's Champions League special live broadcast was underway, with commentators and guests like Oliver Kahn, Lothar Matthäus, and Mehmet Scholl chatting about the group situations in the studio.
"I feel Dortmund are very competitive this year. If they perform well, they have a chance to reach the quarter-finals."
"It's not that easy. La Liga and the Premier League are very strong. If they draw a giant club, advancing from the group stage might not be certain."
"Dortmund aren't as bad as imagined. The last game against Bayern has already proven that they have the strength to play tough matches."
"Perhaps Bayern Munich has lost its dominance—"
Just as the guests were chatting excitedly, the prelude to the UEFA ceremony was nearing its end. After a lengthy speech, UEFA Secretary-General David Taylor finally announced that the draw ceremony had officially begun.
"Jin, which team do you hope to draw?" In the Heinrich living room, Frank suddenly asked.
"Me? Actually, I'd rather face Barcelona. They're very strong this year."
"No way, I still feel the Premier League is stronger. Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool are terrifying!"
Last season, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool had swept the top three spots in the Champions League, and the final had become an all-Premier League affair. For the past few years, at least one Premier League team had reached the Champions League final—the Premier League's dominance was unquestionable. Frank was very worried about being eliminated by those powerhouses in the group stage.
"No, I have a hunch that the Premier League's good days are coming to an end."
"Is that so…" Frank knew that Jin Hayes's hunches were always accurate. Especially in football, he had accurately predicted the scores of several matches in the European Championship final, as well as the final champion. It was a pity that professional players couldn't participate in gambling; otherwise, he would have dragged Jin Hayes along to make a fortune.
Because the pre-draw ceremony was simply too dull, Anna seemed to be falling asleep. Jin Hayes clearly felt her body leaning more and more, and then she simply slumped onto him. Through her thin pyjamas, Anna's soft presence made Jin Hayes's mind wander, and his heart rate couldn't help but quicken.
While the Heinrichs weren't paying attention, Jin Hayes lowered his head to look at the sleeping girl on his shoulder. Her breathing was even, and her long eyelashes fluttered—she was absolutely adorable.
If not for her parents, brother, and grandfather nearby, Jin Hayes would definitely not be able to resist kissing her. To make Anna more comfortable, he even spread his arm, letting her lean on his chest so she wouldn't be poked by his shoulder blade.
Unexpectedly, in her drowsy state, Anna wrapped her arms around Jin Hayes's waist, treating him like the giant teddy bear in her bedroom. Jin Hayes almost couldn't hold on. He sat up ramrod straight, secretly observing the Heinrichs. Thankfully, they were all focused on the TV and didn't notice this side, so Jin Hayes breathed a slight sigh of relief.
But was this really okay? Being so intimate with their daughter right in front of them had completely exceeded the bounds of friendship. His heart raced, torn between the warmth of the moment and the fear of being caught. Anna shifted slightly, nestling closer, and Jin Hayes felt his face flush. He tried to focus on the television screen, where the draw was finally beginning, but all he could think about was the girl sleeping peacefully on his chest.
...
"Alright, let's get to today's main event! Let's take a look at the group stage draw for the 2008/09 Champions League!"
"Ladies and gentlemen, a round of applause for today's draw guest—Bruno Conti!"
The 2009 Champions League final would be held in Rome, Italy. Bruno Conti, as a former Roma legend, was invited to be the draw guest.
"First, let's look at the seeded teams. Based on UEFA coefficients from past seasons, Pot 1 includes the following teams: Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Lyon."
There wasn't a single Bundesliga team in Pot 1. Hans and Frank shook their heads. "When will the Bundesliga rise again?"
To this, Jin Hayes could only think that the Premier League's dominance would soon end, and there might be an all-Bundesliga final in the future. Of course, he didn't dare to speak up, fearing Hans would discover his daughter lying in his arms. After all four pots were displayed, it finally came to the most tense part of the draw.
Guest Bruno Conti would draw one team from each of the four pots. He plunged his hand into the glass bowl, stirred it around, and finally pulled out a small ball, unfolding the paper inside.
"Chelsea F.C.!"
"Let's see who their opponents are—Roma—Porto, and—CFR Cluj!"
Seeing this name, Frank visibly breathed a sigh of relief. Chelsea and Roma were tough opponents; Dortmund might not be able to qualify from that group.
"The best outcome would be to draw into Lyon's group." Frank silently made the sign of the cross and prayed. Among the Pot 1 teams, Lyon was undoubtedly the weakest. If Dortmund also drew teams like Porto or Sporting CP, they would surely qualify.
"Don't you agree, Jin!"
"Yes, yes, yes, exactly." Jin Hayes could barely pay attention to what Frank was saying.
Soon, subsequent pairings were drawn one by one, but it never came to Dortmund. Jin Hayes was almost at his limit. He was more nervous now than when playing against Bayern Munich on the pitch. To avoid any further complications, he quickly woke up Anna in his arms.
"Hey, wake up! It's our turn!"
"What?" Anna vaguely opened her eyes and found herself nestled in Jin Hayes's arms. Her first reaction was to hug him tighter and burrow further into his embrace.
"Ah!"
It wasn't until she was halfway through burrowing that she suddenly realized, like a startled fawn, and abruptly sat upright.
"What's going on with you two?" Uncle Hans, holding a beer, narrowed his eyes and looked suspiciously at the pair.
"Nothing."
"No, nothing!" They spoke in unison.
"Alright." Uncle Hans didn't notice anything unusual and continued to focus on the draw on TV. Only Frank wore a faint smile, pushing up his glasses. "Youth is truly wonderful."
Anna wished she could bury her head in her chest—that was so embarrassing.
"Why didn't you wake me up?" She whispered into Jin Hayes's ear to avoid her father and brother noticing. The girl's breath, like orchids, blew into his ear, making Jin Hayes feel ticklish to his core, almost causing him to shiver all over.
"Who told you to sleep like a log?"
"You're the log! Hmph!" Anna quickly put some distance between them, but leaning against Jin Hayes's chest earlier had felt inexplicably comforting, and she had slept very soundly. "It's over—I must be seriously ill."
As teams were drawn one by one, Dortmund was still not called. Frank suddenly had a bad feeling. "Oh no! It can't be—"
Sure enough, Bruno Conti drew the second-to-last group, Group G, and the first slip of paper contained a famous team.
"Real Madrid!"
Applause erupted at the draw ceremony, followed by another heavyweight team.
"Juventus F.C.!!"
The entire venue was in an uproar. Could it be that a group of death was about to be born?
"Olympique de Marseille—"
The third-tier team was revealed—Ligue 1 powerhouse Marseille. The group of death structure had already formed. Almost all fans worldwide were focused on the fourth-tier team. Frank's sign of the cross on his chest was almost frantic; he desperately prayed to God. "Not Dortmund, not Dortmund!"
Unfortunately, God was playing a joke on him.
"The fourth team in Group G is—... Borussia Dortmund!"
Dortmund!
Frank: "Oh no!!!"
Uncle Hans: "Listen—"
Back in China, Jiang Wei and his roommates in the dorm were all stunned: "Holy crap!!! Dortmund's draw luck is insane!"
Only Jin Hayes raised an eyebrow: "Excellent! This is getting interesting!"