Wednesday, 7:30 AM.
Marco Reus arrived at the training ground on time, riding his road bike.
After joining the first team, he had only made a few appearances, mostly sitting on the bench or not even making the squad list.
Reus still cherished the opportunity, riding his bike an hour early every day to train in the gym.
In the gym, he often saw a familiar face.
Reus always found it incredible: why was a 15-year-old genius, already shining brightly, still working so hard!
Unsurprisingly, Chen Tao was also on the treadmill today, wearing a respirator and heart monitor, training his physical fitness.
According to Reus, the club had specially formulated a physical fitness plan for Chen Tao.
In addition to daily fixed cardio training, his lactic acid levels were also measured twice a week to monitor his physical data and allow for plan adjustments at any time.
What was Reus doing when he was 15?
At that time, he was carefree, thinking he was the best in the world, enjoying the admiration of his teammates in the youth academy.
Now, Nuri Şahin, one of those teammates, was already a core midfielder, while he was still struggling for first-team appearances.
Reus quietly went to the gym equipment to lift weights, and when he took a break after a while, Chen Tao had just finished.
"Here."
"Thanks."
Seeing Reus proactively offer him an energy drink to rehydrate, Chen Tao was slightly surprised and thanked him warmly.
Before, he only had a premonition that Reus would become a star in the future, and their relationship wasn't close.
Recently, they had been seeing each other frequently in the gym, and over time, their relationship became quite good.
"You're training too hard, aren't you? I don't think last week's loss had anything to do with you; it was purely due to the team's tactical disarray."
Reus tried to comfort him, always feeling that this young man was carrying too much unnecessary pressure.
Chen Tao wiped his sweat while gulping down several mouthfuls of the drink, letting out a satisfying burp.
"No, if I could have lasted the full 90 minutes, I might have scored a few more goals. I bear some responsibility for the loss too."
Last weekend, Dortmund lost 1-3 to Hannover 96 at home.
Chen Tao was still upset about that match.
...
In the 39th minute of the first half, Chen Tao broke through on the wing, tearing apart the opponent's defensive block.
He consecutively dribbled past two players outside the box, and amidst the chaos in Hannover 96's penalty area, Chen Tao triggered "Heartfelt Pass," assisting Kuba for a goal at the far post.
Jakub Błaszczykowski, everyone usually called him Kuba.
Chen Tao often substituted for Kuba before, and even temporarily displaced Kuba from his starting position.
Kuba was not jealous of Chen Tao; instead, he worked hard to regain his starting spot and performed excellently as a left midfielder.
When Chen Tao assisted Kuba's goal, Kuba even excitedly ran over and pulled Chen Tao into the celebration.
Borussia Dortmund, riding a four-game winning streak, was high in morale after taking the lead.
Relegation?
What relegation!
We are fourth in the League!
Everyone's goal was consistent: strive for every victory and aim for the Champions League next season!
After taking the lead, Borussia Dortmund continued to pressure Hannover 96's goal, with wave after wave of attacks suffocating the opponent.
Especially Chen Tao's breakthroughs from the right side repeatedly created opportunities.
It was just that his own attempts at goal were wildly off target.
And his passes to teammates, by some twist of fate, didn't result in goals.
If they continued playing this way, they could maintain their dominance in the second half.
By the 75th minute, Chen Tao's stamina was starting to give out.
He had been overly active throughout the match, and the high-intensity confrontations had consumed too much of his energy. Chen Tao was eventually substituted.
Coach Thomas Doll, for safety, also withdrew the main striker Frey, who had discomfort in his leg.
He brought on two defensive players to ensure the 1-0 score would be maintained until the end.
Hannover 96, who had been suffocating, suddenly found breathing room.
They tentatively pushed forward and actually threatened Borussia Dortmund's goal!
Their second counter-attack of the entire match resulted in a goal.
1-1!
Hannover 96 equalized!
Thomas Doll panicked and quickly substituted Kuba with Reus, hoping to strengthen the attack.
But Reus couldn't find his rhythm on the left wing and made no impact.
His defense was also not as stable as Kuba's.
This led to the team's left flank being repeatedly breached.
Within the 4 minutes of injury time, Hannover 96 scored twice from consecutive crosses.
Borussia Dortmund ultimately lost 1-3.
Ending their four-game winning streak.
And slipping directly from 4th to 6th in the League table.
The Champions League dream became even more distant.
...
"Speaking of which, last week's loss also had something to do with me."
Reus's expression was quite dejected.
"You know, I once thought I was a unique genius. You can ask Nuri; I was a bit arrogant in the youth academy and didn't take others seriously."
Reus, usually a man of few words, suddenly opened up today.
"Only after coming to the first team did I realize there are many geniuses in the world, and I'm nothing special among them."
"Like you, the first time I saw you play, I even felt fear and wanted to give up football."
"Suddenly, I felt that my previous level was nothing at all, it was truly ridiculous..."
Reus forced a smile.
Chen Tao didn't know what to say.
He was originally just an ordinary student who participated in football tryouts, a common sight in his home country.
His life's highlight moments at most involved outstanding performances in school team football matches.
Enjoying the cheers of all the girls in his class from the sidelines.
And having the school beauty hand him a drink...
No, the school beauty probably preferred basketball players.
In short, if it weren't for a sudden cheat, he would never have appeared on a professional pitch.
But Marco Reus, since childhood, had received the best football youth training in the world, growing up in the best football atmosphere since he was young.
What did he have to feel sorry for himself about?
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, and Chen Tao couldn't help but punch him.
"Ow--"
Reus clutched his shoulder, bewildered.
"You idiot, instead of complaining here, you should train for another hour."
"If Thomas Doll doesn't recognize your talent, then just keep going and wait for a coach who can discover you."
"If you can't wait, then just go somewhere else to shine. With your talent, you'll make it big sooner or later!"
Reus was stunned:
"You think I really have talent?"
Chen Tao didn't answer, but simply asked him back:
"What do you think?"
"I..."
"Think about it yourself."
Chen Tao patted his shoulder and left, almost laughing out loud seeing Reus sitting in the chair with a conflicted expression.
It was indeed more fun to be a riddle-man.
Chen Tao could have told Reus his prophecy, told him that he would definitely be Dortmund's captain and a flag bearer for the Black and Yellows.
But Chen Tao didn't do that; even if he said it, Reus might not believe him.
Let him figure it out himself!
In the cafeteria, he routinely got his nutritional meal, a diet specially formulated for Chen Tao by a nutritionist hired by Borussia Dortmund club.
Fresh fish cakes made of snapper, swordfish, and sea bass, plus a mixed salad of celery, apples, bananas, and other fruits and vegetables, as well as whole wheat toast and an electrolyte drink with added Vitamin B12.
In the half-year at Dortmund, Chen Tao's height grew from 185 cm to 186 cm, and his weight increased from 59kg to around 63kg.
He still looked thin, and his muscles weren't particularly strong.
He was still at a disadvantage when confronting strong African players, but at least he wouldn't be knocked flying.
As long as he could maintain his balance slightly, Chen Tao would have space for ball control and dribbling.
While eating breakfast and scrolling on his phone, Borussia Dortmund teammates also arrived in the cafeteria.
Nuri Şahin, with his head down, didn't go to get food. He plopped down next to Chen Tao and leaned his head closer.
"What are you looking at?"
"Media comments about us."
"The Champions League is out of reach; let them curse all they want," Nuri Şahin sighed, slumping onto the table, feeling helpless.
"Why out of reach? It's just Bayern Munich, Werder Bremen, and those teams. As long as we beat them, we can still turn the League table around."
"In this current state, can we really beat Bayern?"
"They're just defeated opponents; nothing to fear."
"Oh, right, we did beat Bayern."
Nuri Şahin finally recalled the last match before the winter break.
Facing a desperate 0-3 deficit, Chen Tao led the team to a crazy 4-3 comeback victory!
It was just that last time, at Westfalen Stadium, the fans were the team's 12th man.
This time, they were about to go to Allianz Arena.
Could they really do it?
"Let's get past Frankfurt first," Hummels said, sitting down with his tray, once again pouring cold water on the two of them.
"Bayern is in the final match of the season, but Frankfurt is our opponent in three days."
"I heard Alexander will be out for at least 4 weeks. This away game won't be easy to chew."
Last time against Hannover 96.
At the same time, in the club CEO's office.
Head coach Thomas Doll made a pledge to CEO Watzke.
"If we lose to Frankfurt, I will resign voluntarily."