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In Lance's professional career, he learned to bide his time, to fight with the vigor of a newcomer, to patiently wait for opportunities, and to find weaknesses in adversity to counterattack. Lance also gradually grew from a youth academy player to a well-known potential star, a strong contender for the 2014 Golden Boy award, and a future superstar comparable to Lionel Messi!
However, on the path to becoming a superstar, there was one final lesson. "How to face failure, how to rise from failure, and continue on the journey." This lesson was the most painful, yet it was a lesson many stars had to learn on their way to the top.
Lance opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling; the sky outside was just beginning to lighten. He didn't know how long he had been lying in bed before his alarm clock finally rang. He picked up his phone and saw it was exactly 7:00 AM.
Lance sprang out of bed with a carp jump, a decade-long habit of getting up, washing up, changing into his training gear, and grabbing his gym bag. He went to the garage and looked at his Aston Martin and Mercedes-Benz AMG GT.
"Who should I favor today?"
He hadn't driven the Mercedes-Benz AMG in a while, so he decided to take it out. He ignited the engine, felt the uneasy rumble of the sports car, and drove out of the garage with a press of the accelerator.
Accompanied by the powerful drumbeats of AC/DC, Lance skillfully and gracefully drove his sports car into a Bayer Leverkusen club parking spot. Of course, from his teammates' perspective, Lance parked very carefully, slowly turning the wheel two or three times before finally straightening the car.
Julian Brandt didn't know why, but he simply stood there, staring blankly as Lance parked his car and turned off the engine.
"Julian? What's wrong with you, why aren't you going in?"
Lance was a little puzzled. Julian Brandt was always the first to rush to the cafeteria; he seemed to do everything with a fiery energy and boundless vigor. Today, however, he was standing there in a daze, like an elderly person with dementia, which was not his style at all.
"I… I don't know, I'll wait for you to park and we can go together."
"Get lost, that's a bit disgusting."
"Even you think I'm bad?"
"This…"
Lance was just joking; it felt a bit odd for grown men to wait for each other like that. However, seeing Julian Brandt's dejected expression, his mood today seemed genuinely bad.
When they arrived at the cafeteria, other teammates gradually arrived at the base, each looking a bit listless. Usually, they would have already started talking loudly and telling dirty jokes to liven things up, but today the whole cafeteria felt quite deserted, and the temperature seemed to have dropped several degrees.
The scene of a group of people sitting at the dining table, silently eating breakfast, made it seem like they were in some island nation.
"Brothers?"
It wasn't until Lance spoke that everyone looked up at him.
"Is no one talking?"
"That's right, guys, think about it, we've actually been very successful."
Captain Simon Rolfes noticed Lance's intention and felt it was necessary to liven up the atmosphere again. After all, besides the Champions League, there was still the Bundesliga title to contend for. Such a low atmosphere was not good.
"Yes! We still have the Bundesliga title!"
"Anyway, this season can be considered history-making."
"That's right! We've already done great!"
Everyone tacitly agreed, trying their best to activate their positive side, and the atmosphere became lively again. However, Lance saw clearly that the regret in everyone's eyes would still take a long time to erase.
That's right. Yesterday, Bayer Leverkusen lost the Champions League match. Ömer Toprak fouled Casemiro in the box during stoppage time. The referee, Howard Webb, decisively blew his whistle, awarding a severe penalty: a red card plus a penalty kick.
The moment Cristiano Ronaldo scored the penalty, Lance and the Bayer Leverkusen players all felt their heads buzzing. He could barely remember how the game ended. Everyone walked dazedly towards the locker room, allowing the Real Madrid players to celebrate wildly on the field, as if they had won the championship.
Defeating a team like Bayer Leverkusen felt to Real Madrid like defeating powerhouses such as FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich, or Chelsea. Lance didn't even bother to check the news from yesterday. He didn't know how the outside world would evaluate them; whether it was praise or criticism, Bayer Leverkusen lost, and that was that.
Originally, the club had planned to give them a day off today, but the Bayer Leverkusen players collectively stated that they didn't need a day off; the day after the big battle, everyone would train normally!
During the training session, Sascha Lewandowski and Sami Hyypiä marveled from the sidelines.
"Don't you think they've grown a lot after this defeat?"
"Yes, before, only Lance was the most diligent; everyone else was as perfunctory as could be… Now they all know how to train seriously? What were they doing before?!"
"It's still good, it's not too late to train seriously now."
Hyypiä was still quite pleased.
"Alas, what a pity…"
Sascha Lewandowski's eyes were bloodshot, clearly having not slept all night.
"We did our best, didn't we?"
"That's right. Now that it's come to this, there's no reason to lose the Bundesliga title."
Sascha clenched his fists, his bones cracking.
...
It was already evening after training. Lance finally relaxed his muscles in the cold water pool, and out of boredom, he picked up his phone to check social media comments. On Twitter, the topic of yesterday's thrilling Champions League match was trending very high.
#RealMadridNarrowWin
#BayerLeverkusenDiedStanding
#ChampionsLeagueSemifinalPenaltyControversy
#16YearOldChinesePlayerIsAmazing
Many terms were trending on Twitter.
"Bayer Leverkusen, though defeated, is still glorious! They once pushed the mighty Real Madrid to the brink! Lance's brace, two solo runs and goals, were nothing short of a football superhero's feat!"
"Anyone who watched yesterday's match would hardly question the strength of this Bayer Leverkusen team, nor would they question Lance's future achievements. They died standing, and they too deserved that Champions League Final ticket!"
"Unfortunately, a match can only produce one winner. Real Madrid can only be said to have had better luck in the end. Whether Casemiro's breakthrough was truly a foul, and whether it warranted a penalty and a red card, is a subject of ongoing debate on the internet, but unfortunately, the referee's on-field decision is final."
"Some are calling for the introduction of VAR technology for video arbitration… Regardless, Real Madrid still managed a thrilling last-minute victory with that penalty, successfully setting up a clash with Atlético Madrid in the 2013-2014 Champions League Final."
"Following last season's Bundesliga giants meeting in the final, it's another year where teams from the same league, and even the same city, have reached the final to compete for the ultimate Champions League title."
"In defeating Bayer Leverkusen, Real Madrid also paid a heavy price. Key midfielders Xabi Alonso and Luka Modrić will unfortunately miss the Champions League Final due to accumulated yellow cards in the semifinal second leg, as the 'yellow card reset rule' does not apply…"
"Key attacking midfielder Ángel Di María suffered a muscle strain in a challenge and was deemed by Real Madrid's medical team to be out for 6 weeks, regrettably missing the final. At the same time, right-back Dani Carvajal and center-back Sergio Ramos also have muscle strains, and their participation in the final is currently unknown."
"Who would have thought that two matches against Bayer Leverkusen could push favorite Real Madrid to such an extent. As the biggest dark horse of this Champions League, Bayer Leverkusen has given the world too many surprises and earned everyone's respect!"
"Especially Lance, who achieved so much in his first season. It remains to be seen if he will hit a rookie wall in his second professional season, and if he can become a global superstar!"
"Of course, I hope Bayer Leverkusen can quickly shake off the shadow of this defeat and give their all in the final two Bundesliga matches. With a 1-point lead, they have the chance to end their club's embarrassing record of never winning a trophy and successfully lift their first club championship trophy!"
"Go, Bayer Leverkusen!"
The column by former Borussia Dortmund and Germany legend Lothar Matthäus highly praised Bayer Leverkusen's performance. Upon reading this, much of the regret in Lance's heart dissipated.
That's right! There's still another championship waiting for us! Now is not the time for dejection!