Dominating Football with Perfect Ball Control

Chapter 38: 38. Bundesliga starter!

Hannover City.

The capital of Lower Saxony, Germany, a small city with a population of 510,000, has become a center for exhibitions and tourism.

Hannover 96 has experienced ups and downs in the German league, but in recent seasons, they have shown good performances.

Starting from the 2008-2009 season, they have almost consistently surprised people every year.

Occasionally, they would defeat Bayern Munich, causing a sensation in Germany with an upset victory;

Or, in the 2010-2011 season, they climbed to the top of the Bundesliga table, temporarily suppressing Bayern;

Last season, Hannover 96 ultimately ranked 9th, belonging to the type with some strength, but not a lot.

They could achieve a 4-0 victory over VfL Wolfsburg, a 3-2 victory over Bayer Leverkusen,

They could also be swept 11-1 by Bayern Munich in two rounds.

Therefore, when Bayer Leverkusen welcomed the challenge from Hannover 96 this time, Sascha Lewandowski felt a bit nervous.

Before the match, he emphasized again in the locker room.

”Today, Lance is starting, don’t think I don’t value this match... On the contrary! I value it greatly! The 3 points from Hannover 96 are 3 points we must get as planned!”

”If you want to play in the Champions League next season, then play seriously! Otherwise, if these 3 points are lost, from whom will we recover the missing points? Bayern Munich?”

Sascha has a fiery temper and often gives his players the ’hairdryer treatment’ in the locker room.

The Bayer Leverkusen players were used to it, and each of them dared not be negligent, approaching the match with a serious attitude.

...

The Eastern Great Nation.

Sina Sports live broadcast room.

Zhan Jun, who had been busy commentating on the Premier League, surprisingly took the initiative to request a shift change, asking to commentate on Bayer Leverkusen’s match today.

”Teacher Zhan, can you handle commentating on 3 matches this weekend? And there are still programs to record.”

”No problem, I can hold on.”

”Alright. Be sure to take care of yourself, don’t overwork.”

Zhan Jun is the ace commentator of the Sina Sports live broadcast room; many fans tune in specifically for him.

His initiative to commentate on the Bundesliga was to personally commentate on Lance’s matches and witness Lance’s brilliant plays firsthand.

As one of the first media professionals in China to notice Lance, Zhan Jun felt it was necessary to let more people know about this kid.

”Oh? We see that Lance is in the starting lineup today.”

————

Bayer Leverkusen 4-4-2

Goalkeeper: Bernd Leno

Defenders: Donati, Spahic, Toprak, Boenisch

Midfielders: Simon Rolfes, Lars Bender, Sidney Sam, Son Heung-min

Forwards: Eren Derdiyok, Lance

————

Hannover 96, 4-2-3-1

Goalkeeper: Zieler

Defenders: Hiroki Sakai, Schulz, Salif Sané, Pander

Midfielders: Andreasen, Edgar Prib, Zlatko Junuzovi?, Bittencourt, Ya Konan

Forward: Stindl

————

”Coach Slomka’s team is currently ranked 8th in the Bundesliga standings, and the gap with Bayer Leverkusen is not very large. They have achieved good results with minimal investment in the past two seasons.”

”Hannover 96 is more adept at defensive counterattacks, with the center-back pairing of Schulz and Sané, and the tactical setup of three defensive midfielders, it won’t be easy for Bayer Leverkusen to break through.”

”It’s worth mentioning that including the opposing Hiroki Sakai, Bayer Leverkusen’s Son Heung-min, and Lance, all three are Asian players, and they form an ’Asian Derby’ of China, Japan, and Korea.”

After Zhan Jun briefly introduced the teams using his extensive player information, the match had already begun.

Hannover 96 kicked off first, playing relatively cautiously; after a simple attack, they completely gave possession to Bayer Leverkusen.

Allowing Bayer Leverkusen to press into the attacking third, while they could calmly defend and counterattack.

”Bayer Leverkusen is attacking, Hannover’s three-defensive-midfielder ’iron barrel’ formation is quite solid. They are well aware that Lance is a strong point, and both defensive midfielders are around Lance, ready to double-team at any moment.”

”The central passing lanes are blocked, Bayer Leverkusen can only try to cross from the wings.”

”Son Heung-min!! A sudden burst of speed down the wing!”

Zhan Jun’s eyes lit up; this Korean player was performing very well!

After Park Ji-sung, another Son Heung-min emerged.

Japanese players were even more numerous, with Makoto Hasebe, Hiroki Sakai, Atsuto Uchida, and the core player of Borussia Dortmund, Shinji Kagawa.

It made one envious!

The only consolation prize, this season, Lance was discovered... Although he is Belgian, isn’t he Chinese!

Son Heung-min broke through to the byline, pulled back, and crossed with his right foot.

”Son Heung-min, attempting a cross to the far post!”

”Derdiyok’s header flick-on!”

”Lance!!!”

In the box, Derdiyok headed the ball down to the penalty spot.

Lance, with his right foot, took a step ahead, chipped the ball over the defender to the other side, turned, and volleyed!

Clang——

The ball struck the post and went wide.

The Hannover 96 players collectively broke out in a cold sweat.

”A shot of extremely high quality! Just a bit unlucky! This is Lance, possessing an incredibly strong ability to seize opportunities in the penalty area! He is best at creating shooting space with high-quality first touches!”

That chip over the defender was simply masterful, even Zidane couldn’t do better!

Anyone who watches two of Lance’s matches would find it hard not to become his fan.

...

At the same time, in the backend of the Sina Sports live broadcast room.

Editor-in-chief Chen Tong was staring at the real-time data.

Generally, for Bundesliga matches not involving Bayern, the number of viewers is usually not very high.

If it’s on the scale of tens of thousands, then advertising sponsors will gradually withdraw their funding; if there’s no popularity, what kind of conversion rate can ads have?

At that time, having lost sponsors, Sina Sports would also consider canceling most Bundesliga matches and focusing on broadcasting Premier League matches.

The Premier League’s BIG6 strong teams all have their own fans, and the sheer volume is much larger than that of the Bundesliga.

This season, thanks to Lance, the number of Bayer Leverkusen matches increased, and the live broadcast room’s viewership stabilized at around 50,000 from an initial 10,000-plus.

”Eh?”

Suddenly, the number of online viewers in the live broadcast room surged dramatically.

50,000, 80,000, 100,000, 120,000...

And it was still rising! It was already close to Premier League matches, and even gradually approaching the level of Champions League group stage matches!

”What’s going on?”

”It must be some big influencers promoting it.”

Indeed, upon closer inspection, it was discovered that football influencers like Huang Jianxiang, Zhang Lu, He Wei, and Qiu Mi Hui (Fan Club) had all reposted Zhan Jun’s Weibo.

One person’s influence might be relatively small, but several big football influencers reposting together had already covered enough fans.

Coincidentally, Bundesliga matches are relatively early, and many fans waiting for La Liga and Premier League blockbusters were bored, so they clicked in to take a look.

And just as they watched, they happened to see Lance’s mesmerizing shot inside the penalty area.

Fans spread the word, attracting many more friends.

Especially university student fans, with a little shout, the entire dorm gathered to watch.

”Holy cow!”

”He’s pretty flashy!”

”Wait, I’m going to buy beer, let’s watch together.”

”When did Bayer Leverkusen get a Chinese player?”

Sina Sports Editor-in-Chief Chen Tong suddenly realized.

”Lance seems to really be breaking into the mainstream!”