Chapter 17: Unstoppable Momentum (Signed—Please Add to Your Collection)

“Oh! Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooal!”

“What a goal! Absolutely brilliant! Incredible!”

“I’m his fan! I’m his fan!” Zhang Jun, the star football commentator of the Guangdong-Taiwan Sports Channel, was once again shouting at the start of the live broadcast.

His partner, Wang Zhun, observed his exaggerated display with disdain. As a supporter of Guangzhou R&F, the city rivals of Evergrande, Wang Zhun harbored deep resentment towards every Evergrande player, and naturally, Dai Zhiwei—dubbed the “Prince of Tianhe”—was no exception.

This match they were commentating was Round 10 of the Chinese Super League—Evergrande’s away clash with Shanghai SIPG.

Evergrande had just brought the score back to 1:1, leveling the playing field, but the match was already deep into the second half.

At the 68th minute, Shanghai SIPG pressed forward, but Evergrande’s Zhao Xuyang intercepted their attack at midfield and launched a swift, booming pass to the left side, finding Gao Lin.

Gao Lin, without a moment of hesitation, began a wild sprint with the ball, while Dai Zhiwei and others dashed forward, heading straight for SIPG’s penalty area to offer support.

Despite the relentless pursuit of SIPG’s Wang Jiajie, Gao Lin had already gained an advantage from the outset. Wang Jiajie was never known for his speed, and now, with Gao Lin charging forward comfortably, any attempt to catch up was futile.

Gao Lin tore down the flank, reaching near the byline, and glanced into the box. Dai Zhiwei and Huang Bowen were primed and ready, and now, Goulart and Zheng Zhi were quickly approaching the edge of the penalty area.

Before SIPG’s defenders could rush in, Gao Lin, with ample time to adjust, swung in a cross.

With that adjustment, Gao Lin’s delivery was fast and direct, heading straight for Dai Zhiwei.

Dai Zhiwei braced himself against the SIPG defender behind him, constantly judging the ball’s trajectory to position himself for the perfect header.

“Get in there!”

Dai Zhiwei roared, leaping high in place. Wang Yanchao, marking him, jumped as well, hoping to beat Dai Zhiwei to the ball and clear it.

Ordinarily, Dai Zhiwei’s leap might be considered premature—the ball hadn’t arrived yet, and he was already airborne. Wang Yanchao, shadowing him, jumped simultaneously.

But as soon as they left the ground, Wang Yanchao’s energy drained away, and he began to descend.

Meanwhile, Dai Zhiwei, with his remarkable spring, lingered in mid-air. Gao Lin’s cross arrived perfectly atop Dai Zhiwei’s head.

It was a leap worthy of the legendary Tsubasa!

Such a golden opportunity could not be squandered—even Dai Zhiwei would not forgive himself for missing it.

Without any further adjustment, as the ball hurtled toward him, Dai Zhiwei snapped his head, sending the ball hurtling toward the bottom left corner of the goal!

Although Yan Junling was one of the country’s top goalkeepers, faced with a close-range header struck at pace, even in peak form he was powerless. He could only watch as the ball slipped beneath his palm and into the net.

“Gooooooooooooooooal! The scorer this time is our ‘Prince of Tianhe’ from Evergrande—what a splendid header! This must be Dai Zhiwei’s first headed goal! Wang Yanchao actually tried to challenge Dai Zhiwei in the air—I truly sympathize with his intelligence at this moment. Dai Zhiwei seemed to hang in the air as if he’d grown wings. Oh my God! He ought to compete in the high jump! It’s simply unfair to his opponents!” Zhang Jun exclaimed, full of admiration.

At that moment, Dai Zhiwei was tackled to the ground by Goulart and his teammates, mercilessly mobbed in celebration.

“This is Dai Zhiwei’s eighth goal in his last seven matches. Apart from the 0:0 draw away to Seoul FC, he’s scored in every game. I see a terrifying new young striker emerging before our eyes!”

“Currently, with 14 league goals, he stands alone atop the Super League’s scoring chart!”

“Even in this season’s AFC Champions League, Dai Zhiwei has netted twice!”

“With such outstanding performances, who dares to say Dai Zhiwei is merely a shooting star? On the contrary, Dai Zhiwei is a superstar, a rising titan of the new generation of Chinese strikers!” Zhang Jun continued to heap praise on Dai Zhiwei.

Wang Zhun, meanwhile, recalled Dai Zhiwei’s consistent displays since the fifth round against Liaoning Hongyuan, and even he, reluctant as he was, had to concede—

After Evergrande’s 7:0 thrashing of Liaoning Hongyun, they played eight matches in the past month, excluding one insignificant FA Cup fixture. There were five Super League games and two AFC Champions League encounters.

In those seven matches, Dai Zhiwei started every game and scored eight goals, winning over many who previously knew little of him.

In five Super League fixtures, Dai Zhiwei scored in every match—so far, he’s netted in every league game, setting a new record for scoring in ten consecutive rounds since the season began.

On April 17, Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao hosted Hangzhou Greentown for the sixth league round, with Dai Zhiwei starting once again.

The first half saw Evergrande and their visitors locked in a fierce attacking battle, but neither side found the net.

In the 54th minute, Yu Hanchao delivered a cross from the right, and Dai Zhiwei, unmarked at six yards, volleyed home with ease.

It was the only goal of the match!

April 21 saw the fifth round of the AFC Champions League group stage, with Evergrande Taobao visiting Seoul FC.

The match ended 0:0, and Guangzhou topped the group with ten points from five games, advancing to the next round. This fixture also halted Dai Zhiwei’s streak of scoring in every appearance.

However, Dai Zhiwei did not fall into a goal drought.

On April 26, Round 7 of the league brought a high-profile duel—Evergrande Taobao at home against Jiangsu Sainty. Both sides played aggressive, attacking football, and it was Dai Zhiwei who opened the scoring for Evergrande.

In the 10th minute, Jiangsu Sainty attacked, Ren Xing cleared, Huang Bowen passed, and Dai Zhiwei broke free from the defense to calmly slot the ball home.

Five days later, Evergrande Taobao faced Shanghai Shenhua away, winning 3:0, with Dai Zhiwei netting the final goal. Moreover, after breaking through on the right, he assisted Gao Lin, ending Gao Lin’s goal drought.

On May 5, the final round of the AFC Champions League group stage commenced. With top spot already secured, Evergrande Taobao hosted Western Sydney Wanderers.

For Evergrande, the match should have been pressure-free—they took the lead in the eighth minute. Goulart burst into the right side of the box and fired a powerful shot, saved by the Wanderers’ keeper. The defender’s headed clearance failed, and Dai Zhiwei pounced at eight yards to volley home ahead of the Sydney defenders.

But during the match, Evergrande’s fans suffered heartbreak as Elkeson sustained a muscle injury in his right leg during an attack, sidelining him for at least three months and casting a shadow over Evergrande’s pursuit of titles on two fronts.

Yet, just five days later in Round 9 of the league, as Evergrande Taobao hosted Shanghai Shenxin at Tianhe Stadium, Dai Zhiwei demonstrated to all, with his performance, that with Elkeson out, Evergrande still had an even more terrifying Dai Zhiwei!

Dai Zhiwei—again, Dai Zhiwei!

That was the lasting impression from the Evergrande vs. Shanghai Shenxin match. Without Elkeson, Evergrande demolished their opponents 6:0, with Dai Zhiwei contributing two goals and three assists, directly involved in five goals and shining across the pitch!

In the first half, Dai Zhiwei brought a “black three minutes” upon Shenxin—at the 33rd minute, a defensive error in Shenxin’s backline allowed Dai Zhiwei to intercept and launch a long-range shot, leaving the keeper Wu Yancheng helpless.

Two minutes later, Zhang Linpeng passed to the surging Dai Zhiwei on the right, who cut inside and hammered another shot. The ball struck the crossbar and rebounded into the net.

Those two goals stunned Shenxin, who were 0:3 down by 35 minutes.

The rest of the match was still all Dai Zhiwei—through balls and crosses from the byline led to more assists, completely dismantling Shenxin.

Afterward, “Sports Weekly” even described the match as Dai Zhiwei’s solo recital!

And in the clash against Evergrande’s strongest challenger this season—Shanghai SIPG—after trailing for nearly an hour, it was Dai Zhiwei, with his first headed goal, who leveled the score.

Now, with the match evenly poised, Evergrande sought to press for a late winner, but waited for the right opportunity, making the game rather dull.

In the end, the top-of-the-table battle concluded with Evergrande and SIPG shaking hands on a draw—a result acceptable to both sides.

While Evergrande still had to contend with several teams on the league table, on the scoring chart, Dai Zhiwei, with 14 goals in ten rounds, stood alone at the summit, tasting the loneliness of the heights.

No one doubted that this season’s Golden Boot was already in Dai Zhiwei’s pocket!