Super Marshal

Soon to be twenty-six.

Lars Ricken, wearing Dortmund's No. 18 jersey, reminded himself once again.

He was born in Dortmund and received professional football training in this heavy industrial city since he was a child, but his style is completely different from this city. He has delicate foot skills, excellent organizational skills, good personality, good academic performance, and a typical German. With all-round development of intelligence, body, art and labor, he is a three-good student in the eyes of everyone.

Since he was a child, he has been the future standard-bearer that Dortmund has high hopes for.

He entered the first team at the age of seventeen, and the head coach Hitzfeld gave him the chance to make his Bundesliga debut.

Three days after his debut, he qualified and scored his first Bundesliga goal, and made his European debut six days later in the UEFA Cup against Inter Milan, scoring his first European goal .

Since then, Ricken's development in Dortmund has rocketed into the sky.

He can play as an attacking midfielder, as a shadow forward, and as a right wing...

The then head coach Heathfield gave him enough space to grow, gallop and bloom his talent.

As a result, he became a genius in the eyes of everyone.

He once shot Ferguson's Manchester United at Old Trafford, at a critical moment in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final.

He once came off the bench at the Olympiastadion in Munich, used an amazing lob shot, played tricks on the Italian goalkeeper Peruzzi, and buried Juventus, the strongest in Europe at that time, with his own hands.

At that time, he was only twenty years old.

At that time, everyone felt that he would become the best talent in German football in the next ten years.

Entering the national team, the media hype, fans pouring in from all directions... everything has become a matter of course.

But the plot seems to be gradually deviating.

A serious injury made him bid farewell to the game for two months, and it also left him with a psychological shadow.

After returning to the game, he was somewhat resistant to physical contact, which made his playing style less and less threatening.

But everyone is still full of confidence in him and believes that everything will gradually get better.

But no one expected that the team encountered turmoil and frequently changed coaches. After returning from injury, Riken, who was already lacking in confidence, became more and more timid.

What scares him even more is that whether in the club or the national team, there are gradually emerging new players who are constantly challenging and even occupying the positions that belonged to him.

Ballack, who is the same age, has gradually occupied the core position of the national team's midfielder by virtue of his outstanding performance in the club. Even Deisler, who is four years younger than him, has become the main force on the right side of the national team. .

No one discusses him anymore, and no one cares about whether Rickon can get back to his previous state.

What made him feel even more threatened was that the team introduced Rosicky from Sparta Prague, who had shined in the European Cup. This Czech midfielder, nicknamed Mozart, provoked the team's midfielder and won. He has won the love of more and more fans and has become the core of the team's midfield.

what about me?

What am I going to do?

Rickon asked himself time and time again, but on the court, he could only continue to play the role of a supporter.

The stability after Sammer took over the team made the management ambitious and wanted to do a big job. In the two transfer periods, a transfer fee of 100 million marks was used to create Jan Kohler, Everton and Amoruso's golden trident.

Coupled with the joining of powerful international players such as Rosicky, Kyle and Metzelder, the strength of the team has greatly increased.

Rickon can clearly feel the improvement of the team's strength, and he can also feel the eager expectations of everyone on the team.

But he also knows very well that he needs to do better to prove his value in the team and to get a ticket to the national team for the World Cup in Korea and Japan.

At the Calderon Stadium, when Atletico Madrid gradually regained its form and stabilized its rhythm, Dortmund played more and more difficultly.

Playing ball possession and passing and cutting are the Spanish team's forte, and Dortmund can't do it.

But allowing Atletico Madrid to continue to control the situation is tantamount to slow suicide.

Jan Kohler, who is 2.02 meters tall, is under the defense of the same tall central defender Pablo Ibanez, and his tactical role is greatly reduced. Amoruso and Everton are also closely guarded.

Rosicky was under the close defense of Marcos Senna, except for that shot, there was no bright spot.

At this time, someone must stand up, break through the iron wall of the sheet army, and find a way to send the ball behind the goal guarded by the Czech goalkeeper.

This person can only be him!

He needs to turn the tide at critical moments like he did when he shot Manchester United and Juventus back then.

He's a bumblebee, all his life.

In public and private, he has to do this.

So, when he saw Rosicky with the ball, but was marked by Marcos Senna, trying to find the ball, he immediately ran over and raised his hand for the ball.

Rosicky accurately passed the ball to Rickon's feet, and it stopped very comfortably. A thought immediately flashed in Rickon's mind, go for it!

Just like when we played against Manchester United and against Juventus!

Thinking of doing it, Rickon immediately dribbled forward with the ball.

Harvey Alonso was a little surprised and stepped back immediately, but Deco next to him quickly posted over.

In the dense defensive area, Rickon's dribbling speed was not fast enough, and he was immediately approached by Deco.

At the moment when Deco bullied him, a picture suddenly flashed in Rickon's mind.

Four years ago at the Alm Stadium in Bielefeld, in the ninth round of the Bundesliga, he first blocked the shot of Bielefeld's Greek defender Stratos into his own goal, staged an own goal, and helped Bielefeld open the scoring .

Then in the 80th minute of the game, he was injured in a fight with the opponent.

That game was not only a nightmare for his career, but also a nightmare for Dortmund.

This defeat caused Dortmund to suffer a three-game losing streak and five games without a win. In the first nine rounds, they only got two wins, three draws and four losses. They only scored nine points. As the defending champion, they fell into the relegation zone of the standings.

Since then, Dortmund has opened a turbulent prelude!

What happened four years ago, the moment Deco approached, resurfaced in Rickon's mind, which made his dribbling pace stagnate. I broke out in a cold sweat.

Big trip!

Deco was very shrewd, and he didn't make any moves when he got close, but when the Brazilian midfielder saw that Ricken was going big, he made a move without hesitation.

The ball is broken!

The entire Calderon Stadium was filled with overwhelming cheers in an instant.

After stealing the ball, Deco couldn't care less about Rickon, and immediately caught up with the ball and brought it forward.

After Rickon stabilized his figure, fear instantly filled his whole body.

He is well aware of what it would mean if Deco dribbled the ball into his backcourt.

"Return to defense, return to defense!" Rickon exclaimed in surprise, ignoring other things, he quickly chased back.

But Deco seemed to have eyes behind him, and before he could catch up, he kicked the ball to the left.

Jankulovski moved forward quickly and continued to move forward after receiving the ball.

This damn Czech is even faster than Rosicky!

Rickon could no longer care about Deco, and quickly passed by the Brazilian midfielder, and continued to chase back.

He has only one thought now, absolutely not to let Atletico Madrid score, absolutely not!

In any case, the nightmare of four years ago cannot be allowed to reappear.

Kakala came to the left to respond, and Jankulovski passed the ball accurately to Kaka's feet.

After seeing the Brazilian skillfully stop the ball, he turned around deftly and left Kyle behind.

Danger! ! ! !

The audience burst into exclamation!

Everyone knows that Kaka is right-footed, and as soon as he gets rid of Kyle, he can directly hit the goal.

Rickon knew it too, and he also saw clearly that after turning around, Kaka swung his right foot to hit the door!

At this moment, Rickon couldn't care about anything else, and just fell to the ground and slid the shovel.

Another burst of exclamation came!

But Rickon couldn't hear clearly anymore, he just vaguely remembered that he seemed to have shoveled something...

Is it a ball?

seems not!

Immediately afterwards, a clear whistle, from far to near, reached his ears.

When he turned his head, he saw the referee running over with a silver whistle in his mouth, his right hand was thrusting into his left breast pocket, as if by magic, a red card was conjured up!

Rickon was dumbfounded at the moment.

When he turned his head again, he saw Kaka lying on the ground, hugging his right calf, on which the bloodstains from the shoenails were clearly visible.

It's over!

It's all over!

He heard boos from the entire Calderon Stadium, as if it was like a scourge, trying to swallow himself in the stadium.

Regret, fear, panic...

He tried desperately to hold back, but tears still flowed out.

red card!

He clearly saw that the head coach Sammer on the sidelines tightly covered his mouth with a look of disbelief.

He also clearly saw that every teammate showed an expression of disbelief.

The reality is such an irony.

He longed to be a hero, but turned out to be a sinner.

He stood up like a walking dead, accepted the comfort of his teammates, and left the court mechanically.

He felt the warmth of coach Sammer's embrace, but he was still chilled all over.

The moment he entered the tunnel, he saw Kaka being carried off the field, and Atletico Madrid's team doctor was treating him urgently, and it seemed that there was nothing serious.

He also saw that on the field, the right back of the Sheets Legion stood in the position of the free kick, waiting to take the free kick in this excellent position.

He couldn't imagine that if the goal was scored...

When he walked to the visiting team's locker room, deafening cheers came from the stadium.

He heard the announcer chanting the name of Dario Srna on the stadium broadcast.

There is no doubt that the Croatian right-back seized his opportunity and calmly put the ball into Lehmann's goal.

It's over!

It's all over!

Rickon feebly pushed open the heavy locker room door, and walked to the seat in front of the closet with heavy steps.

He buried his head deep between his legs like an ostrich, and the sides of his thighs blocked his ears so hard that he couldn't hear the roar and tsunami of the fans celebrating from the Sheets Legion outside.

But he couldn't help sobbing, and finally burst into tears.

The super genius who attracted the attention of the whole of Europe back then is dead!

He is already twenty-six years old!