"The referee has shown Enzo Pérez a yellow card!"
"The German Team has been awarded a free kick in a good position."
"Kroos stepped up."
"No, he walked away again, seemingly giving the ball to Marc to take..."
"Yes, Marc has taken the ball."
"I'd like to remind everyone that Marc has scored directly from a free kick in the Bundesliga..."
After placing the ball, Marc took about four or five steps back before standing still.
Mascherano, Higuaín, Rojo, and Pérez formed a four-man wall.
Romero, in front of the goal, nervously directed the wall to move, trying to block Marc's shooting angle as much as possible.
After observing for a moment, Marc took a deep breath, adjusted himself, and then, with the referee's whistle, Marc moved!
He sprinted in a straight line, then rushed towards the ball, his left foot stomping firmly to the left of the ball, and his right leg swinging back.
The next second, at the moment of contact, his ankle tensed sharply, and the inside of his instep, like a whip, fiercely struck the middle of the ball!
Bang!
The ball, like a cannonball fired from a barrel, shot out!
Its Speed was so fast that it flew directly over the wall, becoming a black afterimage.
The ball had no spin, rising steadily in the air.
Upon reaching its highest point, it rapidly descended!
"Knuckleball!!!"
As everyone watched in astonishment, the ball had already flown towards the goal guarded by Romero.
Just when everyone thought this knuckleball would threaten Romero, the ball scraped the crossbar and flew out over the end line!
The next second, a gasp echoed throughout the Maracanã Stadium.
Among them were the regretful sighs of German fans and the relieved gasps of Argentinian fans who had been startled into a cold sweat... Romero, on the goal line, remained motionless.
Many Argentinian fans found excuses for him:
"Look, Romero knew this shot would go wide and didn't even make any save attempt!"
"Exactly!"
If Romero could hear the praise of the Argentinian fans, he would definitely tell them:
You think too highly of me!
In fact, it wasn't that he didn't want to make a save; it was that he found himself completely unable to track the ball's trajectory!
Actually, if that knuckleball had been on target, he wouldn't have been able to save it at all!
Watching the ball fly high, Marc's heart remained calm.
Even Júnior couldn't guarantee that every free kick would result in a goal.
Moreover, he only possessed Júnior's exclusive card.
This first shot was to adjust his aim, preparing for the next goal (and accumulating good karma)!
However, his teammates didn't think so.
"Good shot!"
"Well done!"
Müller came right up and slapped Marc on the butt, comforting him:
"Just a tiny bit off!"
"It'll go in next time!"
Marc nodded in response to Müller's comfort.
And just as the German Team created a threat with a free kick, Argentina retaliated!
In the fifty-seventh minute, Mascherano intercepted Özil's pass and immediately gave the ball to Messi in front.
After receiving the ball, Messi feigned with a shoulder drop, then nudged the ball with his foot, nutmegging Kroos.
Immediately after, facing Schweinsteiger, he flicked the ball with his instep and accelerated outwards, changing direction!
Seeing that he was about to be dribbled past, Little Pig immediately went to ground with a slide tackle, his long leg slightly grazing Messi's calf, disrupting Messi's dribbling rhythm.
Even so, Messi adjusted his body posture in a few hundredths of a second and continued to dribble forward.
Dribbling through the middle, he then played a one-two with the retreating Higuaín, and Messi carried the ball to the left front of the penalty area.
"Messi is through!"
Seeing that there was space to shoot, Messi unhesitatingly swung his arm and leg, unleashing a low shot!
Neuer went down to save but couldn't touch the ball.
Turning his head, he saw the ball rolling along the grass, directly towards the far corner of the goal, then slipping past the outside of the post!
This shot also sent a cold sweat down the spines of Neuer and the German fans in the stands.
Normally, Messi in La Liga would score from such a low shot to the far corner nine times out of ten.
However, in the high-intensity confrontation of the World Cup final, and after a long-distance dribble past opponents, he was still slightly affected in the final strike.
Besides goal-threatening opportunities, the battle in midfield between the two sides was truly a fierce, no-holds-barred fight!
And upon realizing that Pérez was marking him, Marc couldn't help but mock himself internally:
"I never thought I'd get the star treatment of being specially marked..."
He had intended to provoke Pérez, who was closely following him, to lure him into fouling him and getting a red card.
But then he remembered that besides "puta" and "vamos," he only knew the Spanish insult "te doy dos hostias" (I'll give you two punches), so Marc could only abandon this tempting idea.
However, this didn't mean he had no way to deal with the clingy Pérez.
So, he also started learning from Özil, constantly interchanging positions and running in the ribs, making Pérez run with him while also disrupting Argentina's defensive formation.
This tactic indeed increased the difficulty of Argentina's defense.
Soon, Pérez faced a dilemma:
To follow or not to follow?
If he followed, Marc ran into the area between the two defensive midfielders and the center-backs, which was already his teammates' defensive zone;
If he didn't follow, once Marc ran into space to receive the ball, he could carry the ball to tear open the defense or create opportunities for his teammates.
As Marc used his deterrence and ghostly runs to pull Argentina's defensive attention, his teammates also gained more opportunities!
In the sixty-third minute, Özil came to the left, crossed at a forty-five-degree angle, and found Klose in the penalty area.
Klose made a diving header, but the angle was too direct, and Romero comfortably collected it.
In the sixty-ninth minute, Marc attracted defense in the middle and played a one-two with Müller on the right.
The latter broke into the penalty area and cut back, but Marc's shot, under Mascherano's interference, just slid wide of the goal.
Originally, the Argentinians, in a defensive counter-attacking posture, consumed more physical energy than the Germans.
In addition, Pérez's physical energy consumption accelerated, causing him to fall further and further behind Marc's runs.
In the seventy-fifth minute, Marc ran from the middle to the left, looked back, and seeing that Pérez hadn't followed, immediately raised his hand for the ball.
Kroos didn't hesitate and passed the ball directly.
Stopping the ball and turning, Marc looked at the belated Pérez, dropped his shoulder as if to accelerate and break through on the outside, but he tricked the latter into shifting his weight to the left, and then flicked the ball outwards with the outside of his instep!
A sudden acceleration and change of direction easily bypassed Pérez, and Marc dribbled inwards, cutting into Argentina's rib area.
At this moment, both Özil in the middle and Müller on the right were accelerating their runs forward!
Suddenly, driven by this rookie Marc, the German Team charged towards Argentina's half with a roar!
As the barrier in the middle, "Little Masche" Mascherano was the first to confront him.
However, Marc suddenly swung his legs, drawing several arcs in front of the ball, performed several step-overs, then flicked the ball outwards with the outside of his left foot, followed by a hop and a push forward, cleanly dribbling past Mascherano as if he were a wooden stake!
At the moment of brushing past, Mascherano had only one thought:
He can't get past!
So, he reached out and grabbed Marc's jersey, then pulled hard.
However, whether it was because the jersey was soaked with sweat or because Marc's Speed was fast enough, the jersey actually snapped away from Mascherano's hand!
"Oh no!"
After dribbling past Pérez and Mascherano, Marc's stamina was also affected.
Facing the charging Biglia, Marc didn't choose to continue dribbling but decisively passed the ball to the middle.
Özil, receiving in the middle, didn't stop the ball but directly played a diagonal pass with his left foot to the unmarked Müller on the right, who stopped the ball, observed, and then delivered a curling cross into the penalty area!
Klose, despite being pulled by Demichelis, still won the first ball and completed a volleyed flick!
The next second, with a "thump," the ball hit Romero's outstretched arm and bounced away.
"Oh!"
"The German Team missed a golden scoring opportunity!"
After Marc came on, he was almost unstoppable on the wing!
And using his superb individual ability, he made sure all three of Argentina's midfielders each received a yellow card!
As a result, their defensive actions didn't dare to be too reckless.
This also led to a significant reduction in the defensive intensity Germany faced when attacking.
And their threatening attacks were also increasing, seemingly getting closer and closer to a goal!
However, the Argentinians were also very resilient.
As Germany pushed forward to attack, their overall formation moved higher, and while holding their ground, they organized one quick counter-attack after another, giving Germany a hard time, even though their midfield lacked the ability to transition and organize.
But Messi dropped deep to get the ball and orchestrate attacks, then repeatedly used his individual ability to dribble forward, playing the crucial role of a superstar's solo breakthrough and drawing defenders.
Even under a two or three-man press, he could still shield the ball and pass it to his teammates.
It was just that, with huge physical exertion, his teammates found it difficult to receive the ball and complete attacks under such high-intensity pressure.
At this moment, witnessing Higuaín once again miss an opportunity to break into the penalty area, Argentina's coach Sabella on the sidelines directly swore aloud:
"Damn it! Fuck!"
In his opinion, Messi had done everything he could, but his teammates were simply too poor.
In so many counter-attacks, if they could have seized just one opportunity, they would have already taken the lead.
Since the frontline isn't performing, then change it!
Thinking this, he waved his hand and made two substitutions:
He first replaced the ineffective Lavezzi with Aguero, and then replaced the repeatedly wasteful Higuaín with Palacio!
However, he seemed to have overlooked the player who most needed to be substituted.
That was Pérez, who was panting heavily behind Marc!
And Marc, whose stamina was not originally considered good, had sharp eyes, constantly turning his head to observe and read the situation on the field.
Perhaps it was because he had increased his [Stamina] from 62 to 65 before the match, or perhaps it was the adrenaline of playing in the World Cup final, but Marc didn't feel overly tired.
Although he had known for a long time that the German Team would reach the final.
However, facing what might be a once-in-a-lifetime World Cup final in his career, he was unwilling to be a VIP spectator on the field and watch Messi be crowned king.
Since he was on the field, he had to personally get his hands on the world cup trophy!
With the two fresh players, Aguero and Palacio, entering the field, Germany's defensive pressure suddenly doubled.
However, Löw on the sidelines showed no intention of making substitutions.
He just bit his fingernails while staring intently at the situation on the field.
He had a strange feeling, as if telling him:
A goal would come very soon!
As the match reached the eightieth minute, the deadlock on the field was finally broken!
During Germany's possession, Marc once again swapped positions with Özil, moving to the center.
Seeing Marc drop back, Schweinsteiger, under Aguero's interference, passed the ball.
But the pass was slightly too strong, and Marc stretched his foot to stop it, but the ball bounced up, reaching his waist height.
In that instant, just when everyone thought Marc had miscontrolled the ball, Marc performed an incredible move:
He extended his right foot, flicked his toe, and chipped the ball into the air!
Chip, turn!
The next second, the ball flew over his head, and also over the head of Pérez behind him, then landed behind Pérez.
This move was Ronaldinho's signature back-to-goal skill—the chip over the opponent!
"A genius dribble!"
Just as Marc chipped the ball and turned past Pérez, he was about to dribble forward.
Fortunately, Mascherano came up in time to cover, body-checking Marc, which prevented him from accelerating.
However, this action also made the referee blow his whistle!
Beep~~~
The referee rushed forward, reaching into his pocket, seemingly about to show a card.
And Mascherano, realizing he already had a yellow card, quickly waved his hand to the referee, explaining:
"I didn't do it on purpose!"
At this point, Schweinsteiger also stepped forward to pressure the referee: "Hey, that's a tactical foul! It deserves a yellow card!"
Seeing that this foul could potentially break the balance on the field, the surrounding Argentinian and German players all gathered around.
One side pleaded with the referee, while the other pressured him.
Ultimately, the referee, unwilling to change the balance of the match with a red card, still did not show Mascherano a second yellow card.
Such a conservative ruling also drew a chorus of boos from the German fans in the stands!
However, although there was no yellow card, the German Team still got a set-piece opportunity.
This time, the foul occurred about thirty-four or five meters from the goal, not much different from the distance of Marc's slightly high free kick.
Gripping Schweinsteiger's hands, Marc stood up, and Little Pig patted his shoulder, saying in a deep voice:
"Just as you convinced us back then, let the whole world be convinced by your free kick!"
Hearing this, Marc's eyes sharpened, and he nodded heavily.
The black-haired youth once again stood in front of the ball.
He placed the ball, then took several steps back, and then stood still.
The Argentinians dared not be negligent and once again formed a four-man wall.
Everyone held their breath.
Whether it was the coaches and players of both sides, or the fans of both teams in the stands, including Esther Hitsch, who came specifically to watch Marc, everyone held their breath, watching the black-haired youth.
This time, Marc didn't observe the position of the goal; he just stared intently at the ball, blocking out all external sounds, and then muttered to himself in Chinese:
"Marc, you can do it!"
"You can score this goal!"
"This ball will definitely go in!"
"Believe in yourself!"
.....
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