Matchday 23 of the U19-Bundesliga Southern Division: Mainz U19 challenged Frankfurt U19 in an away game.
After more than a month, Wang Shuo once again set foot in Frankfurt.
The difference was, this time he was stepping onto Frankfurt's home pitch, the People's Bank Stadium.
The wealthy and ostentatious Frankfurt even scheduled their youth team's matches at their main stadium.
However, not many fans came to watch the match in person—only about three or four hundred.
When Wang Shuo walked onto the field of the People's Bank Stadium wearing a Mainz U19 jersey, the Frankfurt U19 side was completely taken by surprise.
This was especially true for their head coach, Oscar Corochano, who was bearing the brunt of it.
Both teams were in the U19 league, so of course Frankfurt had heard about Mainz U19's recent winning streak. They were particularly aware of the 4-3 victory over Bayern Munich U19.
Wang Shuo's consecutive goals, including a hat-trick against Bayern Munich U19, had attracted Bayern's chief scout to Mainz to observe him. All of this helped Wang Shuo begin to make a name for himself in the football world.
Why hadn't a player like him been discovered during his trial with Frankfurt U19?
Corochano was held accountable by Frankfurt's senior management.
Why?
What was even more laughable was that before this match, Wang Shuo's agent, Thomas Essien, had revealed in an interview with the local Mainz media that during Wang Shuo's trial at Frankfurt, he had been used as a goalkeeper and given a humiliating three minutes of playing time.
How could that be explained?
Oscar Corochano didn't even have a chance to explain, not that he could have.
Frankfurt officials had already informed him in no uncertain terms that because his actions had turned the club into a laughingstock, his coaching contract would not be renewed after it expired at the end of the season.
Given his current situation, his coaching career in Germany was as good as over.
Corochano blamed Wang Shuo for all of this.
And just recently, since Mainz's first team had not yet secured a special playing permit for Wang Shuo, he had to continue playing for the U19s—just in time for the away game against Frankfurt.
Time to settle old and new scores alike!
"You all should know Wang Shuo, right?"
"He trained with you just over a month ago, so you must be well aware of his abilities."
"In this match, Mainz will be using him as their main striker. Our job is to knock him down a peg and show everyone that he's no so-called 'star of the future'!"
Belengal Buschman, Patrick Hillse, Christian Hoffer.
Frankfurt U19's three center-backs.
They were also Corochano's most important weapons, assigned to shut Wang Shuo down completely.
"We're playing at home for this match, which gives us a huge advantage!"
"Remember, don't give him a single opening!"
"A clean sheet!"
"I want a clean sheet against Mainz!"
At Corochano's command, all the surrounding Frankfurt U19 players responded in unison.
They had all trained with Wang Shuo and remembered the Chinese forward.
Even if he had improved some since joining Mainz...
...how much could he really have improved in just over a month?
Especially in the eyes of the three tall and burly German center-backs, shutting down this skinny Chinese forward should be a piece of cake, shouldn't it?
Corochano intended to use a resounding, brilliant victory to prove that his original decision had been the right one!
...
The moment the head referee, Florian Steenberg, blew the whistle to start the match, Wang Shuo, who was taking the kickoff in the center circle, passed the ball to Schürrle.
After kicking the ball, he immediately sprinted forward at top speed.
He was incredibly fast, holding nothing back.
Frankfurt's defensive line scrambled back to keep up with him.
After receiving the ball at the base of the center circle, Kirschhoff launched a long pass, trying to play it directly in behind the defense.
Goalkeeper Jonas Stolz rushed out and got to the ball first, smothering it in his arms.
As Wang Shuo brushed past the goalkeeper, he saw a faint smile on the other's face.
Over a month ago, in the only friendly match he played for Frankfurt U19, he had been the one to substitute for Jonas Stolz.
Wang Shuo really wanted to tell him: 'I'm not the same person I was a month ago.'
After getting up, Stolz started an attack with a hand-thrown ball.
But Mainz U19 launched a high press, putting pressure on Frankfurt U19 in their own half.
The two sides engaged in a fierce battle, with possession changing hands frequently.
Then, just over three minutes into the game, Mainz won the ball in the midfield and quickly switched it to the right flank.
Frankfurt was playing with a three-back formation, and the player responsible for marking Schürrle was the young Turkish player on the left, Gunei Guener.
As a result, upon receiving the ball, Schürrle knocked it past his man and burst forward, using his raw speed to shake off Gunei Guener and charge toward the right side of Frankfurt's penalty area.
After catching up to the ball, Schürrle didn't slow down. He drew Buschman out of position, broke through to the byline, and sent a cross in front of the goal.
Inside the box, Wang Shuo, who had been marked from behind by Hillse, suddenly made a dummy run to get in front of his defender. He met the cross with a right-footed push, sending the ball into the bottom-right corner of the nearby Frankfurt goal.
Although Stolz made a diving save, how could he possibly get there in time?
1-0!
"WOOHOO!"
After scoring, Wang Shuo excitedly raised both fists and took off running.
Schürrle, Medinitz, and the others all rushed over, grabbing him from both sides in celebration.
The surrounding Frankfurt players were stunned.