Chapter 152: I Will Ride the Wind and Waves to Sea

With a 2–1 away victory from the first leg in hand, Villarreal entered the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund in a relaxed frame of mind.

For the occasion, Villarreal had specially invited the heroes of the 2005–06 season to watch from the stands.

In 2005–06, the Yellow Submarine reached the Champions League group stage after defeating Premier League side Everton home and away in the qualifying rounds. They then finished above English giants Manchester United to top their group and advance to the knockout stage. After that, they eliminated two renowned sides, Glasgow Rangers and Inter Milan, one after another, stunning the football world by reaching the Champions League semi-finals.

But after their two-legged clash with Arsenal, the engine driving the Yellow Submarine forward finally ran out of steam, and the team’s journey ended in the last four. Even so, no praise could be too lavish for that glorious campaign.

This season, Villarreal had a chance to recreate those past triumphs—and perhaps go even further.

Dortmund lined up in a 3–4–2–1 formation. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang led the attack, with Shinji Kagawa and Marco Reus, who had missed the first leg through injury, lurking behind him. Erik Durm and Raphael Guerreiro patrolled the flanks, while Julian Weigl and Nuri Sahin formed the holding midfield pair. Lukasz Piszczek, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, and Matthias Ginter made up the back three, with Roman Burki once again in goal.

Villarreal, meanwhile, paired Dai Zhiwei with Cedric Bakambu up front.

Attack from the opening whistle—that was the plan Escriba had set for Villarreal in the early stages. If they could extend their aggregate lead over Dortmund to two goals, surely their opponents would abandon the contest altogether.

The moment Villarreal kicked off, Bakambu and Dai Zhiwei sprinted into Dortmund’s half, and the attack began immediately.

Rodrigo quickly sent the ball forward to Jonathan dos Santos, then pushed up toward the edge of Dortmund’s penalty area, leaving the task of launching the assault to the flank.

Dos Santos turned and flicked the ball forward with his right foot, sending it swiftly to the left before exploding into motion.

Once he had accelerated, Dos Santos saw Piszczek appear directly in his path. He hooked the ball inward with the arch of his left foot, feinted with his body, then nudged it away with his right and changed direction again, cutting straight into the middle.

Piszczek had no way to stop him. One moment of lost balance was enough for Dos Santos to leave him behind. But the defender reacted quickly, spinning around and charging after Dos Santos as he cut inside, refusing to give up the chase.

Dos Santos did not continue dribbling. He chipped the ball directly into the box.

Dai Zhiwei had been wrestling for position near the penalty spot with Dortmund defender Papastathopoulos, waiting for either a pass or a chance to pounce on a rebound.

The instant he saw Dos Santos lift the ball over the defense, he unleashed every ounce of energy in his body. Papastathopoulos was equally determined, using the fact that he was positioned in front of Dai to try to disrupt his attempt to meet the cross.

But Dai Zhiwei was far too nimble. Before Papastathopoulos could use his famous “bird grab,” Dai had already broken free and launched himself into a diving header.

“Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooal!”

One-nil!

Three-one on aggregate!

Burki had positioned himself correctly this time, but he still could not keep out Dai Zhiwei’s thunderous header.

“Hahaha!” Dai Zhiwei himself had not expected the goal to come so easily. Less than two minutes had passed, and the first shot of the entire match had already found the net.

Sixteen Champions League goals. Achieved!

What a feeling. Absolutely exhilarating!

The Yellow Submarine players celebrated wildly. That goal had instantly turned the match into a clear path toward victory.

Play resumed. Dortmund tried desperately to equalize as quickly as possible, but the Yellow Submarine, energized by their opening goal, grew more and more excited. They were determined to press their advantage.

Less than five minutes after Villarreal scored, Papastathopoulos was forced to foul the exceptionally lively Dos Santos in his own half. Shortly afterward, Dai Zhiwei’s free kick from thirty yards in the center drifted just wide of the post.

Dortmund had their moments as well. In the thirteenth minute, Reus sent a pass in from the left, and Aubameyang fired from twenty-five yards in the middle, only to miss the target. Reus then played another long ball, and Aubameyang shrugged off Ruiz’s marking before racing through one-on-one—only to blast his shot over the bar.

After scoring his first goal, Dai Zhiwei grew increasingly excited. He was now just one goal away from matching Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of seventeen Champions League goals in a single season, set in 2013–14.

Near the edge of the penalty area, Dai raised his hand repeatedly, calling for the ball. Rodrigo delivered it immediately.

Papastathopoulos covered a great deal of ground, but not enough to leave Dai Zhiwei helpless. Dai did not take Rodrigo’s pass. Instead, he let it run past him.

Papastathopoulos had never imagined Dai would allow the ball to go through. Dai’s body had blocked his view, and by the time he saw the ball roll past his feet, Dai had already slipped swiftly around him.

Papastathopoulos swung at empty air. He tried to turn and give chase, but Dai had already left him far behind.

After escaping the defender, Dai Zhiwei sprinted at full speed and finally caught up with the ball just before entering the penalty area.

The instant Dai reached it, he broke into the box from the left. Dortmund’s other defender, Ginter, had been dragged away by Bakambu and could not recover in time to provide cover.

Dai Zhiwei was completely unmarked.

Before Ginter and Piszczek could close him down, Dai struck a low shot toward the far corner.

Burki was utterly helpless. He could only watch as Dai’s driven effort pierced the Dortmund goal.

Effortless. Simplicity itself.

Two-nil!

Four-one on aggregate!

Dortmund’s players and supporters were stunned. They had been dreaming of turning the tie around away from home, yet before halftime they were already facing elimination.

On the touchline, Thomas Tuchel could only sigh helplessly. He realized that Dortmund’s Champions League campaign was probably coming to an end.

Dai Zhiwei beamed as he threw an arm around Rodrigo to celebrate. A goal this easy normally would not have sent him into such raptures, but he had scored twice in a Champions League quarter-final, and his tally of seventeen goals had placed him level at the top of the list for most goals by a player in a single Champions League campaign. How could he not be delighted?

Villarreal were now overwhelming favorites to reach the last four. Dai still had at least two more matches ahead of him, and breaking Ronaldo’s record no longer seemed particularly difficult.

Before the match, Dai Zhiwei had not expected Dortmund to be so fragile. He had thought the tie would be as dramatic as the one against Manchester City, but it had turned out to be even less competitive than Villarreal’s group-stage battle with Tottenham.

The first half was not even over, yet Dortmund were already two goals down. The players’ faces had darkened, and the away supporters had fallen silent. Villarreal’s fierce lightning attack had completely stunned them.

Tuchel seemed to have given up as well. When Dortmund emerged for the second half, they were visibly dispirited, and Villarreal, buoyed by their home crowd, controlled both the tempo and the flow of the match.

In the fifty-fifth minute, Rodrigo produced a beautiful nutmeg before sending the ball out to the flank. Gaspar broke forward, cut inside, and unleashed a long-range effort from outside the box that sent another shiver through the Dortmund players.

Five minutes later, Bruno won the ball in his own half and passed it to Rodrigo. With a series of confident touches, Rodrigo surged toward the front line.

Dai Zhiwei moved at the same time. The moment he did, Dortmund’s entire defensive line was forced to shift with him.

Rodrigo had barely cut inside before Dortmund’s players surrounded him. Rather than force the issue, he glanced toward the edge of the box and immediately sent a diagonal pass into Dai’s path.

Dai Zhiwei was not exactly in an easy position either. Dortmund’s defenders had no intention of allowing him a clear route into the box, and Papastathopoulos appeared in front of him at once.

Dai gently pushed the ball to the right with the outside of his right foot. Papastathopoulos shifted his weight, preparing to react—but Dai’s right instep suddenly flashed toward the ball and struck it sharply, sending it flying back to the left.

Dortmund’s biggest problem over the two legs had been their stubborn insistence on playing with three defenders while leaving Papastathopoulos to mark Dai Zhiwei alone. Dai had completely overwhelmed him, and in doing so had brought Villarreal’s entire attack to life.

Faced with Dai’s trademark right-angle body feint, Papastathopoulos stumbled awkwardly and nearly fell. By then, Dai had already stormed into the penalty area.

The El Madrigal erupted. Every Yellow Submarine supporter leapt to his feet, shouting wildly toward the pitch.

Dortmund’s defenders panicked. Piszczek had just shaken off Bakambu and prepared to intercept Dai, but he saw Dai slide the ball past the tips of his toes and into Bakambu’s path.

The pass was perfectly timed. Had it been delayed by even half a second, Bakambu would have been offside. As he ran onto the ball, he found himself completely alone with the goalkeeper.

Bakambu had little time to set himself, because Burki was already rushing off his line.

But what was there to fear?

Bakambu unleashed a ferocious strike, and the ball rocketed into the top corner.

“Goooooooooooooooooooooooooal!”

The commentator screamed in excitement, while the Yellow Submarine supporters roared in response. Every one of the club’s celebrated players from the 2005–06 season leapt to their feet, waving old jerseys above their heads and cheering at the top of their lungs.

Three-nil!

Five-one on aggregate!

For Dortmund to mount a comeback, they would have to score four goals in the next thirty minutes.

Was that even possible?

Villarreal’s second-ever appearance in the Champions League semi-finals was now a certainty.

Bakambu let out a mighty roar after scoring and pulled Dai Zhiwei into a fierce embrace.

Bakambu’s feelings toward Dai were complicated. On one hand, Dai had taken away his place as the team’s leading striker. On the other, Bakambu had to admit that Dai was simply the better player—clearly a level above him.

“If Dai weren’t here, would I have been able to play in a Champions League semi-final, or score in the quarter-finals?” Bakambu had asked himself in the instant after scoring.

The answer was obvious.

“But he’ll definitely leave in the summer.”

Bakambu stared at Dai’s back with a complicated expression as the thought silently crossed his mind.

The match resumed soon afterward. With qualification effectively secured, Villarreal played with increasing freedom, finally displaying the full extent of their ability and taking complete control of the game.

Their confidence continued to grow. Dortmund were badly out of form, and Villarreal kept them pinned down without mercy.

In the seventy-sixth minute, Dortmund suffered another blow.

Villarreal center-back Ruiz won the ball deep in his own half and sent a diagonal pass to Costa. The Villarreal full-back immediately surged forward along the flank before launching a long ball toward the edge of Dortmund’s penalty area.

And there stood Villarreal’s number ten.

If Dai Zhiwei continued forward with the ball, he would enter the box unchallenged. Burki was the only man between him and the goal.

With no other choice, Dortmund defender Papastathopoulos brought Dai down just outside the area. The referee showed him another yellow card.

The El Madrigal erupted once more. Papastathopoulos had already been booked. Two yellows meant a red, and Dortmund were forced to continue with ten men.

Villarreal’s morale soared to its peak. Their midfield had already dominated Dortmund, and now their opponents were a man down. There was no reason they should fail to win the match.

However, with Champions League qualification already secure, Escriba was no reckless youngster. He had no intention of completely humiliating a Bundesliga giant like Dortmund. If the German players lost their heads and injured a few of his own men, it would hardly be worth the price.

So Dai Zhiwei was quickly replaced by Rafael.

As he walked toward the sideline, Dai raised both hands and applauded the supporters in the stands. The Yellow Submarine faithful were clearly delighted with the performances of both their team and their star player. They held their scarves high and chanted Dai Zhiwei’s name.

Dortmund finally scored in the eightieth minute. Dembele powered past Costa down the right and crossed from the byline. Reus arrived in the middle and swept the ball into the upper-right corner, salvaging a little pride for his team.

It was Reus’s eighth goal in all competitions that season and his fourth in the Champions League.

“Sigh. Players like that are becoming rarer and rarer.”

Sitting on the bench, Dai Zhiwei watched Reus celebrate and sighed with genuine emotion.

Among all the players in modern football, Reus was certainly one of those Dai admired most.

Now twenty-seven, Reus was still clinging to an unfinished dream. He had watched countless people come and go.

Jurgen Klopp had left. Robert Lewandowski had left.

Shinji Kagawa, Nuri Sahin, and Mario Gotze had left—and later returned.

Only Reus had remained here all along.

For the supporters, their feelings toward Dortmund and Reus had once been simple: they had fallen in love with a man because of a city. Now, they stayed loyal to a city because they loved a man.

Reus’s goal could not prevent Dortmund from suffering defeat. In the end, Villarreal completed a two-leg sweep of Borussia Dortmund, advancing to the Champions League semi-finals with a 5–2 aggregate victory and reliving the miracle of years past.