December 15, 2014, the first half of the Bundesliga Matchday 15 game between Wolfsburg and Paderborn had just ended.
Although the score was 1-0, with the home team Wolfsburg leading after a Paderborn own goal (Paderborn was deep in the relegation zone), the Wolfsburg fans at the Volkswagen Arena weren't overly joyful; they were drinking beer and discussing amongst themselves.
"Why is Perisic playing like he's constipated today?! He even missed a penalty! Wasting chances like this will cost us!"
"We've had too many draws this season. Relying on just Dost, the team's attacking firepower just isn't enough! We have De Bruyne, yet our attacking strategy is still to cross high balls to the center forward! It's ridiculous!"
"Yeah, the team's attacking ability is still a bit lacking. Even though we're second in the League standings, we're a full eight points behind Bayern."
"Let's just see if we can buy a good striker during the winter break to secure second place. After all, if we're playing in the Champions League next year, Dost and Perisic won't be enough."
While the fans in the stands were discussing, in the home team's locker room, Wolfsburg's head coach Dieter Hecking was also feeling uneasy:
"The strikers' ability is still a bit lacking. During the winter break, we need to buy a striker who can hold the ball and make breakthroughs, someone like Torres would be very good."
"Torres!" Dieter Hecking suddenly remembered a young player he had just promoted to the first team, a Chinese-descended teenager whom the youth team coach had hailed as the 'next Torres'.
"If the offense still can't open up in the second half, I'll send him on to try. That kid is pretty active in his pressing." Thinking this, he looked at the black-haired teenager in the corner of the locker room.
"Snuffy, when the second half starts, pay close attention to the opposing center-backs' defensive positions from the sideline. Depending on the situation, I might put you on for twenty minutes. You are a talent cultivated by our own youth team, so don't feel any pressure when you go on. Don't disappoint the fans."
The teenager, who had been sitting silently in the corner, suddenly heard the coach speak to him, and his expression instantly changed from silent to surprised: "Don't worry, coach, I definitely won't let you or the fans down." Snuffy's loud reply echoed in the locker room.
Dost, sitting opposite, looked at the excited teenager, a hint of displeasure flashing across his face. As a fellow center forward, he naturally didn't have a good expression for Snuffy, who might replace him in the second half.
"Rookie, don't get happy too soon. I won't give you a chance to play." Dost thought silently, his gaze towards Snuffy becoming increasingly unkind.
The halftime break ended. Snuffy, sitting on the bench, observed the situation on the field, watching Dost and the two opposing center-backs, three giants over 1.9 meters tall, tangled in a fierce struggle in the penalty area.
Snuffy couldn't help but shake his head, feeling a mixture of panic and joy in his heart, then silently chanted in his mind: "System, open my main panel."
Yes, he, Snuffy, was a reborn person, a fan reborn from 2022, and naturally, he also possessed the standard equipment of a reborn person: a football system as a golden finger.
"Main panel expanded. Please check, Host:
Host: Snuffy
Age: 16 years old
Height: 184 cm Weight: 73 kg
Skill Points: 0
Owned Template: Fernando Torres
(Growth ceiling: Overall Rating 88, Superstar)
Owned Skills:
Unbreakable Speed: Bold as a dragon, light as a swallow. Speed, physical confrontation ability, etc., are all greatly enhanced. (Comes with Torres template)
Owned Traits:
Destiny's Holy Child: A lucky Golden Boy. The more important the match, the more he can display his strength, and his luck is greatly increased. (Comes with Torres template)
Steel Body: All injuries reduced by 95% damage. (Initial system reward)
Ambidextrous: Both feet are dominant feet, no weak foot. (Initial system reward)
Current Overall Rating: 75
Evaluation: Main player strength for a mid-tier team in the Top Five Leagues. A red-hot supernova, about to rise.
(Detailed template not expanded)"
Looking at his main panel, Snuffy's mood slowly calmed down. He took a deep breath, and the sense of security brought by his strength filled his heart.
Thinking back to his main panel when the system first loaded, his overall rating was only 60, with no template, no skills, no traits. He was just a teenager who had diligently practiced football skills for ten years since he was six. The system's evaluation was that he could barely play in the Bundesliga 2.
After his rebirth and acquiring the Torres template from the beginner's gift package, half a year of hard training, over 20 youth League matches of experience, and rewards from completing system tasks, he finally gained the strength of a main player for a mid-tier Bundesliga team.
Coupled with his skills and traits, his true strength was not as simple as the apparent overall rating of 75.
Waiting for his chance to play, Snuffy refocused his attention on the field. After the halftime adjustments, Paderborn's players seemed to be full of adrenaline.
Pressing, attacking, and then frantically pressing again after losing possession. Paderborn's players' tireless running and positive attitude caught the Wolfsburg players on the field a bit by surprise.
Although they were a team deep in the relegation zone, Paderborn's players played with great spirit. They knew that compared to Wolfsburg, who were second in the League, their technical skills were not an advantage, so they could only rely on frantic pressing.
While they still had plenty of energy at the start of the second half, they aimed to create some chances to equalize the score, and then defend for a draw, as every point was extremely valuable to them.
In contrast, Wolfsburg's players were currently a bit relaxed due to their lead, and weren't as aggressive in challenging for 50/50 balls.
This allowed Paderborn's midfield to continuously launch high balls to their forwards, creating opportunities to attack Wolfsburg's penalty area.
In the 50th minute of the second half, Paderborn's midfielder Bacalorz intercepted the ball and sent a long pass to left midfielder Mea, who was outside Wolfsburg's big penalty area on the left side.
Upon receiving the ball, Mea immediately accelerated, taking advantage of the opportunity while both teams' midfielders were tangled, and dribbled diagonally into the big penalty area.
Wolfsburg midfielder Gustavo frantically chased back, shouting loudly to signal center-back Naldo to block Mea's path.
Thirty-two-year-old Naldo immediately stepped forward to block, intending to cut off the path and wait for Gustavo to track back, but Mea ignored him and, relying on the fact that he was already in the box and the opponent wouldn't dare to foul him casually, charged straight towards the goal.
As he rushed past Naldo, Naldo saw that Gustavo was too far back to recover, and could only use his body to obstruct Mea's path of attack. The two collided, and Mea fell to the ground.
The Referee's whistle also blew at this moment, pointing one hand to the penalty spot and pulling out a yellow card with the other, showing it to Naldo.
Seeing the yellow card and the penalty decision, Wolfsburg's players felt some dissatisfaction and began to pressure the Referee, especially Gustavo, who kept following the Referee and chattering.
Seeing his teammates in disarray, De Bruyne, who had been established as Wolfsburg's core this season, stepped forward. He went up and separated the Referee and his teammates.
"Hey, brothers, listen to me, calm down, Gustavo, stop talking! Do you want a yellow card too?! Everyone spread out, stabilize the situation, it's just an equalizer, we still have a chance!"
Under De Bruyne's persuasion, Wolfsburg's players gradually calmed down, lined up, and watched Mea, who had won the penalty, personally take the shot.
Wolfsburg's goalkeeper Benaglio looked at Mea standing at the penalty spot, took a deep breath, and began to sway from side to side, making movements to try and distract Mea, but it had no effect, and Mea still scored the penalty.
Watching the change in the situation on the field, Dieter Hecking, on the sideline, loudly admonished the players on the field to calm down and defend, while also walking over to Snuffy, patting him on the shoulder and saying to him:
"Snuffy! Your chance has come. Start warming up now. Around the sixtieth minute, I'll put you on. Use all your abilities to fiercely attack the space between their center-backs! I'll tell De Bruyne to pass you more ground balls. You must seize this opportunity! No matter what, kick that damn ball into their goal!"
After hearing the coach's words, Snuffy immediately stood up, took off his tracksuit, and began jogging on the sideline to warm up, completing each warm-up exercise perfectly.
Snuffy's gaze towards the field became increasingly calm. He knew he was ready to show his talent to the world.
In the 59th minute, with a dead ball situation, the linesman signaled a substitution: number 12, Dost, off; number 49, Snuffy, on.
Seeing himself being substituted, Dost walked off the field with a displeased expression, ignoring Snuffy completely and heading straight for the bench.
Snuffy didn't mind Dost ignoring him. On the football field, the strong rule. Even if Dost was unhappy about being substituted for him now, after a few games, his strength would make them concede.
The live commentator was quite surprised by this substitution decision.
"Number 49, Snuffy, yes, it's the Wolfsburg youth team's prodigy. This Wolfsburg youth team star, at 16 years, five months, and 21 days old, is coming on at a time when Wolfsburg is in trouble! Let's see his performance. Fans in the stadium, let's give a round of applause for our youth team's genius on his debut!"
Following the live commentator's words, Wolfsburg fans sparsely applauded Snuffy's entrance.
Although most of Wolfsburg's loyal fans knew that a genius had emerged from the youth academy this year, they didn't have much hope that he could salvage the team's predicament.
Reality isn't a fairy tale; after all, who could expect a child under 17 to bring victory to the team? Entrusting the team's fate to a child? Dieter Hecking truly made a crazy decision!