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This was Lance's second time setting foot on the Iberian Peninsula.
The last time was Barcelona, where Lance led his team to an upset victory over FC Barcelona at Camp Nou, successfully advancing to the semifinals.
It was obvious that Borussia Dortmund, having lost so many key players, would definitely not be able to stop Real Madrid.
As expected, the second city in Spain was unlocked, and Lance arrived in Madrid with the entire Bayer Leverkusen team.
While waiting for luggage at the airport baggage claim, the teammates huddled together, discussing something, their expressions all happy, with a hint of anticipation in their eyes.
Lance thought they, like him, were all anticipating the clash with Real Madrid.
But when he went over to listen...
"...I went there last time, it was really good!"
"Is it as good as Berghain in Berlin?"
"Roughly, although it can't compare to Berlin, it's at least one of the top 5 clubs in all of Europe."
"Then there must be a lot of beautiful women."
"Absolutely! There must be a lot of supermodels."
"What should we do, I want to go today."
"Just hold on for now, once we beat Real Madrid, we'll go have fun together!"
Good heavens, Lance forced a helpless smile, his mouth twitching.
These guys were still discussing nightclubs!
He had thought they had changed, but it seemed impossible to expect professional players not to go out and have fun.
Lance was certainly not some morally upright saint.
With an annual salary of 12 million, he could totally have a wild time at a nightclub.
But on one hand, his age limit prevented him from fully letting loose.
On the other hand, Lance considered the development of his professional career and would not indulge in it.
Compared to squandering and enjoying himself, he still felt that his football dream was more important.
Heaven gave him a football system, which was at most an auxiliary for growth; more importantly, he had to rely on his personal efforts to maximize the system's power.
If Lance were to rest on his laurels and not train at all from then on, even with the system, the ceiling of his professional career would be just that.
Work hard until he is 35, get all the honors he should get, then he could play however he wanted, wouldn't that be more enjoyable?
Don't look at Lance being only 16 years old; his self-awareness and plans for the future were much clearer than many players in their twenties.
Sascha Lewandowski must have also heard that the nightclubs in Madrid city were quite fun, and he repeatedly emphasized to the players:
"Remember, our opponent is not just any random team; you are about to face the strongest team this year!"
"We actually don't have much pressure; even if we lose these two matches and get eliminated, Bayer Leverkusen will still have made a lot of money..."
"But!"
"What if?"
"You've already reached the semifinals, don't you want to push harder and try to reach the final?"
"Don't you want to stand at the pinnacle of European football and try to touch that damned championship trophy?"
"Answer me loudly, do you want the championship?!"
"Hell Yeah!!!!"
"Champion!!!"
Inside the bus from the airport to the hotel, the crazy Bayer Leverkusen players howled like ghosts.
On a Madrid night, this moment of the young Bayer Leverkusen players screaming wildly might become a precious memory for the players.
Lance couldn't help but pull out his phone to record this scene, a group of warriors on an expedition to Spain, shouting before the battle.
As Lance became famous and broke into the mainstream, he also registered his Weibo account and had it officially verified as a big V through his agent team, occasionally posting selfies or daily training routines in Germany.
The "lively" Weibo account allowed Lance's fan base to grow to over 5 million.
Although he couldn't compare to entertainment stars like Chen Kun and Yao Chen, who were currently the most popular on Weibo, Lance was already considered a very influential public figure on Weibo.
The Weibo post he had just published had instantly soared to over 999+ comments and likes in less than 1 second.
"Go, Lance!"
"Holy crap! Am I first?"
"Grab first!"
"Who did I see?!"
"Lance, what about the match the day after tomorrow?"
"Go for it, beat Real Madrid!"
"Support Lance!"
After overturning FC Barcelona, domestic fans couldn't help but feel a little anticipation.
They knew it would be difficult to play Real Madrid, but the team had Lance, who had repeatedly created miracles.
What if?
While Lance was posting on Weibo, the bus was already completely hyped up.
The Bayer Leverkusen players were singing their team song loudly, looking passionate and spirited.
It made Sami Hyypiä shake his head and grumble:
"Buddy, aren't you getting too emotional too early? There's still some time until the match."
If the pre-battle mobilization had been right before the match, it would have been fine.
But to rouse morale right after getting off the plane in Madrid, what if that momentum faded by the time of the match?
Sascha Lewandowski, being an optimist, smiled carelessly:
"Look at the boys' condition, are you still worried about morale?"
"We're playing Real Madrid, the strongest team in the world right now, so there's no need to worry about their morale at all."
Sami Hyypiä thought about it and agreed.
Bayer Leverkusen might be inconsistent, with defensive errors always creating opportunities.
Perhaps the match content wasn't very offensive, mostly relying on defensive counterattacks.
But they had given away goals, squandered chances, and never cowered!
Under Lance's leadership, the stronger the opponent Bayer Leverkusen played, the better they performed!
Playing Real Madrid required no motivation at all.
Just go for it!
...
One day before the Champions League semifinal match day, the entire team went to the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium for an adaptive training session.
It was also Lance's first time stepping into the hallowed ground of world football, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium!
When he was about seven or eight years old, his father Lu Yongping had some free time and took Lance to Spain to play, and they once walked around the outside of the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
The magnificent stadium brought a small shock to young Lance.
It was just a pity that it was the summer off-season at the time, with no matches, so he could only visit as a tourist.
Looking at the green pitch from afar, Lance couldn't help but imagine when he would be able to enter this stadium as a player?
If he could play a match at the Santiago Bernabéu in this life, he would have no regrets.
At that time, he was still training with the KRC Genk youth team, and Lance never thought he would one day become a professional player.
Today, he had initially fulfilled that dream!
Standing at the Santiago Bernabéu as a player!
However, the opponent was the owner of this stadium, Real Madrid!
The empty Santiago Bernabéu was very quiet, with only some staff and cleaners preparing for tomorrow's Champions League match.
Lance could not yet feel the spectacular scene of over 80,000 people cheering in unison.
Back at the hotel, everyone watched the first leg of the semifinals.
Atlético Madrid drew 0-0 with Chelsea at home.
To an outsider, it was just a dull draw.
To an insider, it made the Bayer Leverkusen players secretly click their tongues in admiration.
"If we had faced Atlético Madrid and Chelsea, the matches would have been tough to play."
"Yes, Atlético Madrid is really underestimated this year, they're quite strong."
"Their defensive coordination is too good!"
Compared to Atlético Madrid's disciplined, iron-like defense, Bayer Leverkusen's midfield and backline defense seemed like a joke.
For a moment, everyone's mood was a bit low, until Captain Simon Rolfes stepped forward.
"It's okay, we have offense! We have Son, we have Lance, and we have Stefan, and begrudgingly, Julian Brandt..."
"Huh? Am I not strong? Why begrudgingly include me?" Julian Brandt protested, unconvinced.
The Bayer Leverkusen players laughed heartily at his indignant expression.
"Alright, alright, we'll include you! Brothers, we are actually very strong. Let's push hard tomorrow and show the whole world our strength!"
On the eve of the Champions League semifinals, many people had trouble sleeping.
Lance's roommate, Julian Brandt, tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
"Lance, you say, what if we... Lance?"
He turned his head and saw that Lance, who had just finished washing up and lay down not long ago, was already sound asleep.
His strong mental fortitude made Julian Brandt secretly click his tongue in amazement.
"Sleeping so fast? My God. Not nervous at all?"
At this moment, Lance's lips had already curved into an arc.
In his dream, he even defeated Real Madrid, entered the Champions League final, and then defeated Atlético Madrid in the final to successfully win the championship!
However, at the moment he was about to lift the trophy, Lance couldn't touch the trophy no matter what, even though it was within reach.
The entire Bayer Leverkusen team stood on the Champions League champions' podium, eagerly waiting for Lance to lift the trophy.
But he couldn't grasp the handle of the Big Ears Cup no matter what.
"Damn it!"
Lance woke up, the sky outside was already faintly lit.
He checked his phone, it was 5:45 AM Madrid time.
His roommate, Julian Brandt, had kicked the quilt onto the floor and was sleeping sprawled out in a mess.
Lance ignored him and went straight to the balcony, feeling the cool breeze of the Madrid morning.
"This dream is really weird."
It seemed that in dreams, it was difficult to experience things one had never done before.
For example, some rather steamy dreams often changed at the most crucial moment.
"It seems necessary to give it my all. Since I can't grasp the Big Ears Cup in my dream... I'll try to grasp it in reality!"