"Is this Europe's 'Devil's Home'? ¡Dios mío! Oh my God!"
Champions League qualifiers, third round, matchday!
In the first leg, Borussia Dortmund hosted La Liga's fourth-place Atlético Madrid. As both teams warmed up on the pitch, the visiting players looked around in awe. Especially Sergio Agüero—the massive thirty-metre-high TIFO deeply shocked him. Below the large "BVB09" team crest was a gigantic skull, as if it were about to swallow the Atlético Madrid players whole. The visual impact made them feel suffocated. There was also a small line of text below the TIFO, dripping with gunpowder:
"Your Champions League journey ends here! Fight to the death!"
Compared to Madrid's relatively loose fan culture, Germany's fan scene appeared more unified and organised.
"It truly lives up to its reputation as a famous home stadium in Europe."
"Hmph! Small potatoes," Uruguayan striker Diego Forlán dismissed with disdain. He had played at Manchester United and had led Villarreal to the Champions League semi-finals. The nearly thirty-year-old veteran had long developed a strong mentality; external interference could hardly affect his performance. As the elder statesman of the team, Forlán also had an obligation to help his teammates.
"Amigos! Brothers! As long as we win this away match, we will enter the Champions League group stage and carve out a bloody path on the European stage! Everyone together is strong—no need to be afraid, just do it!"
"Yeah!! Let's get them!!"
Forlán's passion ignited the fighting spirit of the Atlético Madrid players. Each of them burned with eagerness, faces flushed, ready to jump into battle at any moment.
On the other side of the pitch, Jin Hayes and Marco Reus, wearing training kits, stood side by side, looking like spectators waiting for a show with a bag of popcorn.
"What do you think they're so excited about over there?"
"I don't know. It's still early before kick-off." Jin Hayes spread his hands.
"Yeah. If they get this hyped up now, what if they cool down later?" Reus shook his head, concluding that these Spaniards and South Americans were simply more passionate. Their style was completely opposite to that of the German players on their own side.
…
"Atletico Madrid—we've been studying them for two weeks. The corresponding tactics don't need me to emphasise them too much; you've all practised them on the training ground. I just want to say one thing here."
Jürgen Klopp, uncharacteristically, did not deliver an impassioned speech. He merely stroked his stubble, calmly scanning his players. Seeing everyone's confident faces and shining eyes, with Borussia Dortmund fully prepared, they were still very confident of winning at home.
"Last season, you worked yourselves to the bone just to get a Champions League spot. It would be a real shame to fall here. Whether you can get the official ticket and not let last season's efforts go to waste depends on your performance today. Our opponent is a strong La Liga team—a perfect test for your recent training results. Go, make all 80,000 fans stay until the end, cheering and applauding for you."
…
[Frank, did you give him the thing?]
[…Why didn't you give it to him yourself?]
[I forgot last night—]
[Who exactly wants to develop a romantic relationship with him?]
[We're not dating! We're friends! F.R.I.E.N.D.S!!]
[Yeah, right / perfunctory.emoji]
[/eyeball.emoji]
"Anna, Jin and the others are about to go out. Why are you still on your phone?"
"I—"
"Take this! Wave it! Heja BVB! Heja BVB!!"
Uncle Hans, Aunt Maria, and even Grandpa Fritz had already entered the atmosphere with the surrounding fans, singing and dancing. A yellow and black flag was thrust into Anna's hand. Her beautiful face was full of helplessness.
"Seriously, there's still at least ninety minutes to play, and they're not even thinking about conserving energy."
Complaining under her breath, Anna still raised her slender arm and waved the Borussia Dortmund flag, silently praying for that certain someone in her heart.
Come on. Try to make it into the Champions League.
…
In the dressing room, the Borussia Dortmund players left one after another for the player tunnel. Jin Hayes, however, was stopped by Frank from the medical team.
"Jin, this is for you."
"What?" Frank handed him another sticker—a Champions League logo. Like the lucky four-leaf clover last time, it was also a hand-drawn DIY product. They were all inconspicuous little things, but the meticulousness showed that a lot of time and effort had been spent. The heartfelt sentiment contained within was priceless.
"Anna?"
"That's right. You stayed at the team hotel last night, and she forgot to give it to you. She insisted I put it on for you before the match."
"Always so superstitious." Jin Hayes complained, but he casually pulled out his shin guard from his sock, carefully peeled off the adhesive, and smoothly stuck it on. On the black shin guard, next to the lucky four-leaf clover, was the Champions League logo—as if it truly had some magic power to give Jin Hayes strength.
Thanks to Anna last time, Borussia Dortmund had come from behind to defeat Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena, narrowly securing today's qualification. He believed that this time, Borussia Dortmund also had a chance to defeat Atlético Madrid.
"Help me thank Anna."
"No. If you want to thank her, thank her yourself." Frank turned and left, carrying his medical bag, finding the two young people a bit amusing. They were clearly attracted to each other, yet always cautiously unable to get close.
Was this the pure, sweet, and beautiful innocent love of student days?
Recalling his own school years—he had kissed his crush on the first day he confessed. By the second week, taking advantage of a party and a few drinks, Frank had already completed a home run.
Unfortunately, he and his curvaceous former girlfriend from the school's women's football team broke up after only three months. It came quickly and went quickly. Having changed many partners over the years, Frank had yet to experience true love. Perhaps these two young ones' slow pace had its own advantages. Anyway, Frank already recognised Jin Hayes as his future "brother-in-law."
With Anna in his corner, wouldn't Jin Hayes have to play for Borussia Dortmund his entire life?
"Wahahaha—"
Frank felt delightfully wicked, using his own sister as bait to secure a future superstar with unlimited potential. "For the Borussia Dortmund dynasty, Anna's sacrifice is worth it!"
…
"How do I watch the qualifiers? Does anyone have a link?"
"Try looking on Zhibo8?"
"No, it's only text commentary!"
"Ugh! Aren't the qualifiers part of the Champions League? Damn it!"
At 2:45 AM, a group of fans back home were as anxious as ants on a hot pan. It was still during the Olympic period, so the sports channels couldn't broadcast any other events.
Turning on CCTV5, it was either a replay of women's tennis doubles, or long jump, high jump, discus, or pole vault. Watching Zheng Jie and Yan Zi on the screen swinging their rackets, fans could only open their computers and try to find links to foreign live streams. Borussia Dortmund vs. Atlético Madrid—such a great match, yet they couldn't watch it. Were qualifiers considered inferior?
"There's a live stream on a German website! But the buffering is slow."
On Baidu's Jin Hayes Bar, a netizen shared a link to a foreign live stream. Fans clicked in one after another, enduring the incomprehensible German commentary, still patiently waiting for it to buffer, watching the circle spin endlessly. Finally, after much effort, it finished loading, only to reveal extremely poor 360p quality—barely watchable.
It didn't matter! It didn't matter if they couldn't understand the German commentary! Being able to watch Jin Hayes play was a win.
The screen just happened to show the starting lineups for both teams. The players had completed the pre-match rituals and entered their respective halves, waiting for kick-off. Accompanied by the familiar string melodies of the Champions League anthem, everyone saw a familiar name:
10 - Jin Hayes
Having followed Borussia Dortmund for most of the previous season, fans were quite familiar with the team's lineup.
Goalkeeper: Roman Weidenfeller;
Defenders: Patrick Owomoyela, Mats Hummels, Neven Subotić, Dedê;
Midfielders: Sebastian Kehl, Nuri Şahin, Jin Hayes;
Forwards: Marco Reus, Alexander Frei, Jakub Błaszczykowski.
This was the 4-3-3 system that head coach Jürgen Klopp had built for the new season, about to face a heavyweight test. On the bench were also young players like 18-year-old defensive midfielder İlkay Gündoğan and 20-year-old youth academy left-back Marcel Schmelzer. With Jin Hayes anchoring the team, Borussia Dortmund's first-team average age reached 23.43 years—the youngest in Europe. The black and yellow youth storm was about to sweep through.
When fans looked at the away team Atlético Madrid's lineup, they immediately felt a strong sense of threat.
Goalkeeper: Grégory Coupet, former French national goalkeeper.
Defenders: Georgios Seitaridis, John Heitinga, Luis Perea, Antonio López;
Midfielders: Paulo Assunção, Maniche, Maxi Rodríguez, Simão;
Forwards: Diego Forlán, Sergio Agüero.
The substitutes included Raúl García, Éver Banega, Ignacio Camacho, and Luis García. Anyone who had played Pro Evolution Soccer 8 would be familiar with these names.
Fans on Baidu's Jin Hayes Bar had already started discussing:
"The opposition are all internationals—their lineup is a bit luxurious."
"It feels like it's going to be tough. Atlético Madrid are very good at using both wings, and our left and right flanks are a bit weak defensively."
"The scariest thing is their forward line—they produce world-class strikers."
"So what should we do? We can only rely on Lord Jin's performance."
"Lord Jin will definitely be the key player today! I boldly predict a 3-0 win."
"I don't think it will be easy. Probably a 2-2 draw."
In the eyes of many Jin Hayes fans and Dortmund fans, this match was a 45 to 55 split in Atlético's favour. With this squad, if Atlético Madrid played well, reaching the round of sixteen would be no problem, and they could even hold their own against Premier League giants.
Borussia Dortmund, on the other hand, had the characteristic instability of a youth storm. Their ceiling was uncertain, but their floor could be very low. On paper, they were far inferior to Atlético Madrid. The conservative predictions from fans on the Chinese internet were already generous.
On Spanish forums, they were already uncorking champagne for Atlético Madrid.
"Let's finish the battle quickly—we want to watch the Champions League proper!"
"8-0 over two legs! Forward, Madrid!"
"It's just a qualifier. Our Madrid team has no pressure at all!"
"Today, at least 0-4 to start. We are number four!"
Before the match, outside the Westfalenstadion, German television reporters also interviewed a group of emotional Madrid fans. They made a 3-0 gesture to the camera: "Our La Liga will crush the Bundesliga! At least three goals!"
Crazy! The surrounding German fans wanted to retort but had nothing to say. Klopp's 4-3-3 formation had indeed not been tested against strong teams. As for Schalke 04 from the Ruhr Derby? Just defeated dogs, not worth mentioning.
Spain's Marca newspaper had already started imagining Atlético Madrid's Champions League group: "Atlético Madrid eliminating Borussia Dortmund is not difficult. If the draw is favourable, four La Liga teams could simultaneously appear in the knockout stages."
Even today's German commentators, Mehmet Scholl and Oliver Kahn, were relatively pessimistic about Borussia Dortmund.
"According to media statistics, pre-match predictions generally favoured Atlético Madrid. Even considering the home factor, Atlético still holds a significant advantage."
"Yes," Kahn added. "Their forward line is very strong, and their three lines are balanced. Their 4-4-2 formation is quite resilient—strong in both attack and defence. It just depends on how the young players perform today."
"Alright! With the referee's whistle, Borussia Dortmund begin their first Champions League journey—which could also be their last!"