He Wei was very happy.
After envying Duan Xuan for an entire season, it was finally his turn to commentate on Jin Hayes's match. He had sent many gifts to Director Jiang of CCTV5, and it was with great difficulty that he managed to get himself scheduled for this Juventus vs. Dortmund match. The guest commentator was the "King of Tahiti," Coach Gong Lei.
"Coach Gong, what do you think of Juventus's defensive deployment? It feels like Jin Hayes didn't have many opportunities at the start—"
"Yes." Although Coach Gong was often criticised by fans for making verbal slips and mispronouncing players' names, he could still provide many professional tactical insights and reviews. "Ranieri is a very pragmatic coach; he knows who Dortmund's core is. As long as Jin Hayes doesn't touch the ball, Dortmund poses no threat."
"It looks like a 4-4-2 formation, but in reality, almost the entire team is tucking inside, completely giving up the flanks. Look at Nedvěd and Camoranesi; they are almost overlapping with the defensive midfielders. Jin Hayes's operating space is almost entirely compressed; he's surrounded by Juventus players in every direction. The key to defending against Jin Hayes isn't just marking him closely, but marking his teammates out of the game—"
From Jin Hayes's perspective, it was exactly as Coach Gong said. He was surrounded by Italians in black and white striped shirts—oh, and behind a Czech man were Del Piero and Amauri. In midfield were Camoranesi, Marchisio, Tiago Mendes, and Nedvěd. Further back were Grygera, Chiellini, Legrottaglie, and Molinaro. And in front of the goal was the final insurance, the Italian guardian and the world's number one goalkeeper—Gianluigi Buffon.
Jin Hayes suddenly had a strong sense of déjà vu. These defensive lines formed three impenetrable walls surrounding him. As for why those three names came to mind, Jin Hayes didn't know. It was probably a setting from some obscure manga; none of that mattered. What mattered was how to find a breakthrough through these walls. What mattered was how to gain possession. Whether the ball was at his feet or not made Jin Hayes's threat level completely different.
"Pass it here!!!"
Borussia Dortmund was controlling the ball in the backfield, and before Jin Hayes could even raise his hand to ask for it, Mats Hummels was already being hounded by Amauri as he prepared to pass. Despite being Brazilian, Amauri didn't have any of that Brazilian flair; instead, he had taken Italian citizenship and become a part of Italy's iron defence, diligently forming the first link in the chain.
Faced with this obstruction, Hummels didn't dare pass. Nuri Şahin's passing lanes were also cut off by Del Piero, so Hummels had no choice but to give the ball to Sebastian Kehl. Captain Kehl was better at defensive interceptions; it was also difficult for him to make a precise pass to Jin Hayes through the opponents. Forced into a corner, he had to distribute it to the right wing.
The right wing was left unblocked, as Nedvěd had run over to Jin Hayes's side. Right-back Patrick Owomoyela drove forward with the ball over a long distance, and only when Nedvěd stepped up did he hand it off to Jakub Błaszczykowski ahead of him.
"Over here!!"
Jin Hayes lowered his head and sprinted forward, intending to support Błaszczykowski. The Czech Iron Man, Nedvěd, stuck to him again, colliding hard into Jin Hayes.
What the hell? Buddy?
Why are you bumping into me when I don't even have the ball!
Born in 1972, this Czech veteran was already 36 years old this year, yet he was still running on a top-tier professional pitch. Jin Hayes had noticed this Czech Iron Man during the 2000 European Championship. The long golden hair on the green field had left a deep impression on him. He never expected that one day he would actually be able to test his skills against the star he saw on TV.
Jin Hayes was knocked off balance for a moment, but he still used his powerful physical coordination to stabilise himself. Using the momentum, he ran diagonally to bypass Nedvěd's defensive zone.
"Kuba!" Jin Hayes called for the ball a second time. Błaszczykowski finally noticed him, intentionally stopping and cutting the ball to shake off Molinaro before squaring it into the middle.
"Good ball! Jin Hayes has finally received the ball!" He Wei secretly praised him. Jin Hayes's adaptability during off-the-ball movement was hard for fans to catch, but it was absolutely crucial. He Wei widened his eyes, ready to enjoy the young star's performance.
Marchisio and Tiago Mendes formed an iron gate in front of Jin Hayes. Nedvěd was to his back-right, while Camoranesi watched like a tiger on the other side. Juventus also reacted quickly, forming a pocket to envelop him.
"Is it really this tough?"
Jin Hayes scanned his surroundings with his peripheral vision; he was still surrounded by black and white stripes. Trying to find teammates in yellow jerseys was nearly impossible, as they were essentially all cut off. He could only try to dribble the ball himself first.
Knowing how sharp Jin Hayes's breakthroughs were, the two Juventus defensive midfielders maintained a distance of over two metres, lowering their centres of gravity and slowly retreating, waiting for the pocket to tighten completely. Jin Hayes, however, dribbled forward unhurriedly. In the blink of an eye, he had passed the thirty-metre zone and was approaching the edge of the box.
"Hey! Pass!"
"Jin!"
"Over here!"
Marco Reus, Błaszczykowski, and Alexander Frei were all running and calling for the ball from three different directions. Behind him, Şahin was also coming to assist; the entire Dortmund squad had pushed into the attacking half.
A decision needed to be made in a flash. Right or wrong, there could be no hesitation. Jin Hayes's first instinct was still to trust his own technique, and he suddenly accelerated.
"This guy!"
Marchisio was stunned. Facing a two-man block with a solid defensive line behind them and Juventus players all around, was this 16-year-old really this brave? Such individualistic breakthroughs that were disconnected from tactics might happen in La Liga or the Premier League. But in Serie A, this was an absolute taboo; everything had to follow the tactical plan.
Marchisio's reaction was half a beat slow, and Jin Hayes was already close. He hurriedly reached out to block Jin Hayes's shoulder while moving to the right to block the direction of the breakthrough.
While running sideways, he wasn't worried about Jin Hayes changing direction; Marchisio could turn in time to keep marking him. The innate defensive genes of a Serie A player allowed him to deal with the attack more calmly. Average players would find it hard to get past this, and even Ronaldinho would have to put in some effort.
Jin Hayes didn't care about any of that. He was completely unreasonable.
He flicked the ball with the outside of his right foot, then suddenly stopped and pulled the ball laterally to shake off Marchisio.
"Dio mio!!" Playing so recklessly? Marchisio had clearly underestimated Jin Hayes's audacity. A sudden lateral pull in the final third might shake one person off, but there were still teammates. The ball was already out of Jin Hayes's physical control.
Tiago Mendes had already stepped forward, making a motion to swing his leg for a clearance.
"Childish."
In his eyes, Jin Hayes was acting purely on impulse, losing possession just to beat a man. Stupid!
Just as Tiago Mendes was about to kick the ball, a foot unexpectedly reached out and hooked it away. He actually kicked air.
"Impossible!"
Before Tiago Mendes could react, the opponent had already fluttered past him like the wind.
"Jin Hayes!!! He used a timely Marseille Turn to beat him!! He's at the edge of the box!" He Wei was getting hyped.
Jin Hayes's daring lateral move looked like it had taken the ball too far. But a moment before the opponent could clear it, Jin Hayes actually arrived a step faster, hooking the ball and performing a Marseille Turn in one smooth motion, beating two men in succession. In an instant, the balance on the field was broken.
In such a dangerous position in front of the penalty area, they couldn't let the opponent take a long shot. Giorgio Chiellini sprinted almost desperately, reaching the edge of the box in a few large strides. This was a defender's instinctive reaction; he didn't care if Jin Hayes was actually going to shoot or not.
"Heh?"
Jin Hayes had been worried that the defenders would stay hunkered down in the back. If they just let him shoot, he might not even score. Chiellini's aggressive challenge actually provided an opportunity. A right-foot elastico came naturally; the moment Chiellini was fooled into committing his stride, Jin Hayes had already hooked the ball through his legs for a nutmeg.
"I fell for it!"
Even though he knew this guy could do the elastico, Chiellini already regretted it halfway through his stride. But he couldn't just not move, otherwise Jin Hayes would have turned the feint into reality and actually broken through on the right.
"Jin Hayes! He's in!!" After beating Chiellini, Jin Hayes had bypassed three men in a row and charged into the Juventus box all by himself, leaving only a trembling Nicola Legrottaglie inside. Reus, Jakub Błaszczykowski, Alexander Frei, and Jin Hayes—four yellow jerseys were in the box, while only Legrottaglie and Gianluigi Buffon stood in front of the goal.
"Who the hell am I supposed to mark?"
Amidst the hesitation, Jin Hayes intentionally took a step with the ball to the right, pulling the defensive line further to the right while simultaneously drawing Buffon's attention.
"Heartfelt Pass!" The succession of high-difficulty dribbles triggered the mark, and the accumulated effect was activated. A no-look pass—Ronaldinho's signature move—was easily executed by Jin Hayes. That hidden kick while dribbling almost pierced the hearts of the Juventus fans; the 50,000 people in the stadium felt their hearts go cold.
It's over!
They could only watch helplessly as the handsome blonde Marco Reus swung his leg, using the most standard shooting form to side-foot the ball into the near corner from close range.
"This is in."
Jin Hayes had already raised his arms, ready to go celebrate with Reus.
However.
"Buffon!!! A world-class save!!"
On the TV, He Wei's voice erupted in disbelief.
This...
Jin Hayes's pupils shrank in shock. The Wall of Lamentation. He watched as Buffon, who was originally at the far end of the goal, dove laterally to the near side and reached out while falling. Before the ball could roll into the net, it was touched by his fingertips, changing direction and flying out just past the post.
"WTF?" Reus couldn't believe it either, holding his head and sighing toward the sky. He had aimed for the bottom corner and hit it fast; how could that be saved?
Jin Hayes and Reus looked at the veteran Buffon lying on the ground almost at the same time. The Juventus players frantically pulled him up, hugging him in a passionate celebration.
"Bravo!!"
"Che roba! What the hell, that was too incredible!"
"I love you!"
Chiellini almost wanted to give Buffon a kiss. No matter how excited his teammates were, Buffon remained as steady as a mountain.
"Keep it up, brothers! Defend the corner!"
"Roar!!!"
Across the distance of several metres, Buffon and Jin Hayes's eyes met. There was no arrogance in the veteran's eyes, only a composed self-confidence.
"Want to win? Get past me first!"
"I will!"
The world's number one guardian and Europe's current star had successfully locked eyes. Jin Hayes wasn't discouraged; instead, an even more vigorous fighting spirit ignited within him. He came to the Champions League precisely to compete against the world's best.
"Jin Hayes did everything perfectly. His series of dribbles in front of the box was a masterpiece of individual brilliance, finding the only crack in Juventus's iron defence. He was like a lone swordsman carving through the enemy lines, only to be denied by a goalkeeper standing like an immovable fortress."
"Buffon anticipated Jin Hayes's passing intention in advance and returned to the near corner in time. Reus's shot was very precise, yet it was still to no avail. This match, whether in terms of tactics or individual ability, has seen players from both sides reach a world-class state!"
Even though the goal didn't go in, He Wei was still very excited. The match was even more spectacular than he had imagined. The good news was that only ten minutes of this brilliant contest had passed; there were still eighty minutes to go.