Miracle Comeback for the Championship
After Lin left the field, De Bruyne stood at the penalty spot.
Originally, the team captain Fritz was supposed to take the penalty, but Fritz knew about the good relationship between De Bruyne and Lin. Therefore, he willingly let De Bruyne take the shot instead.
Under normal circumstances, De Bruyne might have declined.
But today, he didn't refuse.
This wasn't a goal for himself; it was for Lin, who had been forced off the field due to injury.
Standing at the penalty spot, De Bruyne took a deep breath.
After observing the goalkeeper's position, he started his run-up.
He chose to aim for the far corner. The goalkeeper guessed the direction right, but unfortunately, his save attempt was a little slow, and he couldn't stop the ball.
De Bruyne scored, bringing the score on the field to 3:3!
The regular match progressed to the 59th minute, with Werder Bremen equalizing the score.
With just one minute of regular time left, plus added injury time, totaling less than five minutes, if both teams couldn't change the score, they would head into a penalty shootout!
Both teams seemed unwilling to accept a draw, so after the restart, they both launched attacks simultaneously.
Dortmund's players covered the entire field, but many were reaching their physical limits, with some experiencing fatigue due to being reduced to 10 men, making it hard to make headway.
Werder Bremen wasn't in a better condition either, having played two days in a row and facing travel fatigue, resulting in inferior physical condition compared to their opponents.
As a result, both teams lacked the edge in their attacks.
The 60 minutes of regular time quickly ended, the game remained undecided, and so the main referee allowed an extra 2 minutes of injury time, which was relatively short.
For both teams, it was probably only enough time for each to launch one attack.
In the first minute of extra time, Dortmund reached the edge of Werder Bremen's penalty area.
Reus initially planned to push past and take a shot, but he saw Lewandowski open in the area and immediately passed the ball to him.
The intended pass was seen through by the Werder Bremen defenders, and substitute center-back Papastathopoulos made an early anticipation, sticking his foot in to poke the ball away before Lewandowski could receive it.
Selassie received the ball and immediately passed it to winger Elia, who, upon receiving it on the wing, quickly dashed towards Dortmund's half.
As he crossed the halfway line with the ball, the referee glanced at his watch; there were only a few seconds left. This might be the final attack of the match.
Elia was aware of the urgent situation, so he didn't dare to stop, pushing forward eagerly along the wing.
The opposition's defense on the wing was vulnerable, giving him enough space and time to advance towards the opponent's touchline.
When his teammates rushed into the penalty area, his delivery into the box would be crucial.
Similar to Lin, Elia was also running out of energy; by the time he reached the opponent's half, he was already panting.
Dortmund's full-back Koch had surged forward and was ready to intercept him.
Unable to take the ball to the byline, Elia instead played a cross into the middle.
On the edge of his vision, he seemed to see a teammate in green rushing forward.
Even though unsure if this pass would reach its target, he had to trust his teammate at that moment.
De Bruyne, running desperately, his physical limit nearing, felt like his legs were made of lead, each step a struggle.
But he didn't want to give up this chance to attack.
As he neared the opponent's goal, he gritted his teeth, giving it his all and receiving the pass from his teammate before the defending player could intervene.
Dortmund's defensive player at the back immediately rushed forward, learning from Hulmes' previous foul in the penalty area.
Before De Bruyne could enter the penalty area with the ball, he was fouled outside the box to prevent his progress.
It was a tactical foul, and the referee didn't hesitate to show a yellow card; hesitated a moment but eventually awarded Werder Bremen a free-kick in a forward position.
He seemed to be about to end the game but witnessing number 6 from Werder Bremen stand up, holding the ball and coming to the spot of the foul, softened his stance, giving them an opportunity for the free-kick, rewarding their perseverance and spirit.
"Do you want me to take the free-kick?"
Fritz approached De Bruyne, asking, noticing De Bruyne's lack of energy.
"In a case like this, it would be challenging to perform at your usual level."
"No, thank you, Captain. I'll take it myself."
De Bruyne declined the captain's offer, knowing this was their final attack, no rush for the free-kick.
Once the wall was set up, the referee stepped back, signaled for the free-kick, and De Bruyne started to slowly retreat.
As he stepped back, he closed his eyes, contemplating how to take the shot.
Suddenly, he remembered the theoretical knowledge Lin had shared during their elevator ball practice before. While challenging to grasp at first, in that moment on the field, it made more sense, becoming clearer.
Thus, De Bruyne made a decision; he would attempt the most difficult elevator shot.
Watching De Bruyne back off, receiving a massage from the team doctor with an ice pack on the stretcher, Lin, making a mental note, was taken aback:
Is he really going for an elevator shot?
Already exhausted, can he deliver a shot exceeding 100 kilometers per hour now?
Lin hesitated, De Bruyne seemed unusually determined! Was it because of me?
Uh...
Is he seeking revenge for me?
The thought was noble, but this shot probably won't go in... Oh my god!
Lin was about to comment on De Bruyne likely missing the shot, but De Bruyne unexpectedly executed an extraordinarily high-quality elevator shot.
The ball sailed over the wall and high into the air.
Dortmund's goalkeeper Langerak estimated the ball would fly above the goal, so he didn't jump to save it, not expecting it to threaten the goal.
But as the ball was about to clear the crossbar and soar into the stands, it suddenly began to descend, grazing the underside of the crossbar, inexplicably dropping into the net.
Dortmund's goalkeeper was dumbfounded!
Did that ball just go in?
Not just him, all 22 players on the field, including De Bruyne, were left stunned by the outcome.
However, Dortmund's players, upon realizing, hung their heads in desolation, seemingly unable to accept this cruel result.
After fighting hard throughout the match, they could only watch helplessly as their opponents clinched the championship right at their doorstep, taking away the trophy!
The Werder Bremen players, recovering from their shock, went wild, rushing towards De Bruyne.
Lin also leaped from the bench, leaving behind the ice pack, and dashed towards the field with the other substitutes.
The head referee didn't want to extend the added time, as the 2-minute injury stoppage time had already elapsed. Therefore, after the game restarted, he blew the final whistle, signaling the end of the match.
The 2012 Telekom Cup champions are the underdogs- Werder Bremen!