Snuffy jogged to the center-forward position and stood firm, listening to the sparse applause from the fans, watching the Head Coach gesture to De Bruyne and Gustavo to coordinate their ground attack with him, and thus began his first Bundesliga journey.
"Detecting the Host is making his Bundesliga debut, temporary mission issued: [Rising Star]."
If the Host wins the match and becomes the Man of the Match, all rewards for this match will be tripled.
"Long-term mission issued: [Star of the Field]."
For every official Top Five Leagues match won, the Host will be rewarded with three skill points. If selected as Man of the Match, an additional three skill points will be awarded, along with one lottery chance. For every draw, one skill point can be obtained."
Listening to the voice in his mind, Snuffy's determination to win the match grew stronger and stronger, after all, skill points were the guarantee of his rapid growth, not to mention the extra lottery chances.
After scoring the equalizer, Paderborn's players began to defend tightly in their own half.
After all, the intense pressing in the opening ten minutes had exhausted too much of their physical strength, and now their physical condition no longer supported them to continue pressing against the adjusted Wolfsburg.
Scoring one goal and maintaining the score until the end was already the best option they could make.
Watching Paderborn's five defenders lined up in the penalty area, Snuffy began to make continuous counter-runs inside and outside the big penalty area, trying to create depth and space for his teammates, as both De Bruyne behind him and Perisic on the side had decent long-range shots.
And with Torres' template, his shooting from outside the penalty area, whether in the center or on the flanks, was almost without blind spots; a powerful shot, for him who could shoot with both left and right feet, was a basic operation.
As Snuffy diligently ran up and down, although Paderborn's defense was extremely tight, Wolfsburg still got a few good long-range shooting opportunities.
De Bruyne and Perisic each took a shot, but neither hit the target, and Gustavo, who came up late, also fired a high shot. Snuffy himself was still looking for an opportunity.
When the time came to the seventieth minute of the second half, Snuffy, who had been running for ten minutes, gradually adapted to the intensity of the match and began to find the feeling of playing with his teammates.
While running, he observed the flow of the match on the field. As time went on, the opponent's personnel were now divided into two defensive lines: one was five defenders stationed in front of the small penalty area, and the other was four midfielders, along with a retreating center-forward, pressing in the thirty-meter zone.
There was only about ten meters between the two defensive lines. If he rushed in with the ball from the front, he would instantly be surrounded from all directions. After several consecutive unsuccessful breakthroughs, Snuffy thought to himself that he had to look for opportunities from the flanks.
No sooner said than done, when he dispossessed Paderborn midfielder Rupp in the front field, he did not directly launch a frontal quick attack as before. Instead, he quickly dribbled forward to the right, charging towards Perisic, who was squeezed together with the opponent's full-back.
As the opposing center-backs concentrated on intercepting him from the front, Snuffy calmly passed the ball to Perisic on his left, then continued to run diagonally forward, receiving Perisic's return pass on the right side of the small penalty area.
At this moment, Snuffy faced Paderborn's three center-backs directly, with Paderborn's midfielders chasing him from behind. Without time to think, the skill "Speed is Key" activated.
Snuffy did not slow down; instead, he burst into an even faster speed, taking two steps diagonally forward to the left, then flicked the ball to the right, dodging the nearest of the three center-backs, Strohdiek's tackle.
Then, with another step, a fake shot and a real pull instantly got past Lafa, the middle of the three center-backs. The entire process was completed in a flash of lightning.
"Good play! What explosive power! Snuffy is surging down the flank, and he's only a 16-year-old player, his physical qualities are amazing! Dribbling past defenders! Is he going to shoot?! Oh my god, it's a fake shot and a real pull, Lafa was passed like a wooden stake! He only has one person in front of him!"
The commentator was amazed by Snuffy's beautiful breakthrough and praised him profusely.
Facing Hünemeier, the last center-back who was closing in, Snuffy did not hesitate. He knocked the ball from his left foot to his right, drew his bow, and fired a powerful shot towards the bottom right corner of the goal.
Paderborn's goalkeeper, Kruse, whose vision was obscured by his own center-back, had no reaction whatsoever and could only watch helplessly as the ball flew into his own net.
"GOAL!!!!!!! A wonderful goal! Wolfsburg's prodigy helps the team take the lead in his first Bundesliga match!"
"He also became the new youngest goal scorer in the Bundesliga! What a beautiful breakthrough! Paderborn's defenders were toyed with by Snuffy's dribbling, this doesn't look like a technical move a sixteen-year-old kid could make, he's too calm!"
"That last shot was also beautifully struck! Congratulations, Wolfsburg, you have welcomed a true prodigy!"
Watching the ball cross the goal line and listening to the commentator's excited roar, Snuffy paused for a moment, then an indescribable excitement surged through his heart.
He ran two steps towards the sideline, but before he could make the celebration he had already planned, he was excitedly embraced by his teammates who surrounded him.
"Well done, kid!"
Perisic, who practically got an assist, was especially excited. He wrapped his arm around Snuffy's head and gave him a big kiss: "How did you do that? Ah! One against three! I almost thought I saw Messi!"
The fans in the stadium also applauded excitedly. Amidst the deafening cheers, they truly recognized the team's talented newcomer, number 49 Snuffy!
"That's it, this kind of breakthrough is exactly what we're lacking right now!" Dieter Hecking raised both hands and jumped excitedly, then said to his assistant coach beside him, "Perhaps we can give him a bit more time and trust!"
After the restart, Paderborn, trailing by a goal, had no choice but to leave their defensive third and launch a desperate final attack into Wolfsburg's half.
Physical exhaustion caused their technical movements to become distorted. Paderborn midfielder Stoppelkamp made a mistake in passing, stopping the ball for Gustavo, who then made a long pass to De Bruyne.
After receiving the ball, De Bruyne quickly advanced. As he approached the thirty-meter zone, he threaded a through ball that bypassed the defender who had moved up to cover, finding Snuffy, who was backing into the opposing center-back Lafa.
Facing a direct pass from a teammate while having his back to the goal, Snuffy, with the Torres template, perfectly demonstrated Torres's turning speed and flair, and flair is almost an innate talent for every Spanish striker.
Without stopping the ball, he directly knocked it with the inside of his left foot, then turned and cut in with the momentum. The entire sequence of movements was smooth and seamless, appearing utterly natural.
As a traditional tall German center-back, Lafa had strong physical confrontation but was slow in lateral movement and turning. This meant that, apart from instinctively sticking out a leg to intercept, he could barely make a second defensive move.
Facing Paderborn goalkeeper Kruse, who rushed out, Snuffy executed a skillful chip shot. The ball flew high over Kruse's head and dropped into the top right corner of the goal.
After seeing the ball clear the goalkeeper, and before it even landed in the net, Snuffy confidently turned around and sprinted a few steps towards the corner flag for a long knee slide.
"GOAL!!!!!!" The commentator screamed wildly, "What a brilliant back-to-goal dribble, and the arc of that chip shot was absolutely perfect! A second goal! Wolfsburg's genius shines at Volkswagen Arena! Cheer! Fans in the stadium!"
On the sidelines, Dieter Hecking, embracing his assistant coach, excitedly exclaimed, "Damn, unbelievable! Perhaps we need to devise a new tactical plan for Snuffy; we have a new option for our frontline before the winter break!"
After calming down, Snuffy gave De Bruyne, who had provided him with the assist, his first thumbs-up of the day. "Kevin, the ball you passed was so comfortable, I didn't even need to adjust much, it just stuck to my foot!"
"This is what I should do, and I didn't expect you to be able to successfully dribble past defenders with your back to goal with that ball."
Facing the enthusiastic Snuffy, De Bruyne seemed a little cool. Perhaps feeling he was being a bit unsympathetic, he patted Snuffy's shoulder and continued to speak to this new young teammate: "Snuffy, your name is Snuffy, right? Keep it up, keep playing well, don't let your talent go to waste!"
As Snuffy scored his second goal, the match gradually drew to a close. Trailing by two goals, Paderborn's players knew it was hopeless to recover the score, and they no longer desperately attacked in the final minutes.
Wolfsburg's players also knew when to stop, continuously passing the ball around in the center circle; everyone in football needs to give opponents some face.
Entering injury time, after only two or three minutes, the Referee blew his whistle, ending the match.
Snuffy, who came on as a substitute and scored two goals in this match, was also named Man of the Match after the game.
Dieter Hecking, tidying his suit which was a bit disheveled from excited embraces, excitedly took the team's core, De Bruyne, to the post-match press conference.
Snuffy himself declined the opportunity to attend the press conference. Eager to go home and check his system rewards, he didn't want to be exposed to the media so quickly.
He knew that before his overall ability reached the standard of a star, which is an overall rating of 80, and before he had enough strength to face the rumors and gossip, excessive exposure would not benefit him.
Dieter Hecking was naturally very satisfied with Snuffy's actions. As a Head Coach, he knew too well the young players' desire for overnight fame, and even more, how valuable it was to remain calm after achieving it.
"Snuffy, if you can just keep this up, your future is far beyond this!" Dieter Hecking was full of confidence in Snuffy's future; it was a visible flair and talent.