"Is he a joke? No one's even marking him and he's lumping it long?!"
"Haha, Schalke 04 really has hit rock bottom if this brainless kid can get on the pitch."
"From that far out? You think you're Beckham?!"
"Ugh, Daniel's useless. He'll play any fool now."
"This pass is just—"
The Schalke fans were still jeering when they suddenly fell completely silent.
Even Daniel, who'd been shouting at his players, froze with his eyes wide.
On the Rostock bench, the laughing, chatting substitutes clamped their mouths shut.
Everyone stared at the pitch in disbelief.
The ball Su Bai had smashed soared over the halfway line, then suddenly dipped violently above Rostock's penalty area.
Hankster, the Rostock goalkeeper, was caught completely off guard.
Schalke hadn't managed a single shot in the first half, so he'd stood way off his line, relaxed and half-expecting another Rostock attack.
He'd even been daydreaming about celebrating a goal.
The last thing he expected was a shot from that far out — this was the 3. Liga, not a highlight reel.
At first, Hankster had smirked at the height of the ball.
The technique looked messy, just a big boot. It was so high up, it looked sure to fly over.
But once the ball sailed over his head, panic flooded him.
The spinning ball plummeted like a meteor.
Hankster sprinted backward as fast as he could.
But it was too late.
The ball dipped past his outstretched fingertips and slammed into the back of the net.
Whistle!
The referee in the center circle immediately pointed to the center circle — goal!
The Parkstadion fell dead quiet.
Had it actually gone in?
"Beautiful!
That's a goal!!!"
Wycliffe beside Daniel threw his hands up and roared in delight.
On the pitch, Ben Kersey was the first to sprint over and tackle Su Bai into a hug.
"Su! That was incredible! What a goal!"
Lloyd Angelo, Hardy Hunt, and every other Schalke player swarmed Su Bai, hugging him and ruffled his hair.
But Su Bai himself still hadn't fully processed it.
He'd scored?
It was his very first touch in professional football.
And he'd scored with it.
It just… didn't feel as exciting as he'd imagined.
Almost a little… underwhelming?
On the sideline, Daniel held his head in disbelief.
"This kid…
He's unbelievable.
Shooting from there?
That must've been 65 meters!"
He mumbled to himself, while Wycliffe grinned from ear to ear.
"Gaffer, that substitution was genius! We're back in it within seconds of the restart!"
The words jolted Daniel back to reality.
Right!
This kid scoring was all down to his sharp eye for talent.
In that moment, Daniel found himself really liking this hardworking Chinese boy.
He'd doubted putting him on was a hasty call — but now?
This wasn't reckless.
This was the kind of game-changing substitution only a real manager could make.
He glanced proudly back at the fans who'd been complaining moments earlier.
See that? That's what a top coach does.
One change, one wondergoal.
The fans were still stunned.
There was no live broadcast, so no replay on the big screen.
Only club cameramen and a handful of journalists snapped photos excitedly.
Some fans celebrated wildly; others stared blankly, asking the people next to them what had happened.
"Shit! Did you see that?! That was better than Beckham's goal!"
"I swear to God, I've watched Schalke — first team and youth — for 30 years. That's the greatest goal I've ever seen."
"Damn you, Hulk! You made me look at your stupid phone and I missed it! No replay either!"
"Sorry… I was making fun of him earlier. But that one goal makes him better than the other ten losers out there."
"What's his name? I didn't catch it."
"Bai… Su? Something like that."
"Sounds Chinese."
The small crowd buzzed about the boy at the center of the celebration.
The fastest way to win fans over is to score.
And Su Bai had done exactly that.
None of the fans present would forget that 65-meter wonder strike anytime soon.
In the stands, Wu Qiang had been filming Su Bai nonstop. When the ball hit the net, he'd been the loudest, craziest fan in the whole stadium.
A 65-meter lob!
Even in the 3. Liga, this was a shoo-in for Germany's Goal of the Week.
Most spots went to Bundesliga strikes, but Wu Qiang was sure Su Bai's effort would make the cut.
A goal to make his name.
David Beckham had become a global star with a famous halfway line lob.
Maybe this shy Chinese kid would become China's own David Beckham.
"Our guy's name is Su Bai! He came on, touched the ball once, and scored a 65-meter lob! I filmed it — I'll upload it as soon as I get home! It was insane!"
Wu Qiang posted the update.
The Chinese football forum exploded.
10 comments.
20.
100.
Hundreds of replies flooded in at once.
"NO WAY. 65 meters? Don't mess with us — upload the video NOW!"
"I knew he had it! First game, first touch! He's gonna be a star!"
"If that's real, his name will be in every paper tomorrow. Even in the 3. Liga, a goal like that can't be ignored. He could actually make it big overnight!"
"Someone get a stream on! I'm dying here!"
"65 meters… I haven't even seen the video, but I'm already hyped!"