There is such a young man,

He has been here;

He is still there.

When the ball left his toes and jumped high, the scene in front of him was blurred. The panicked opponents were no longer Dimo ​​Vache, Vidic, and Levi. They transformed into Peruzzi and Fela.

La, Deschamps...

At that moment, his soul flew into the sky with the football. Above the clouds, he seemed to see the championship cup that he had dreamed of, shining in the sun.

That was the pinnacle he had ever touched. Perhaps he would never have the chance to stand on that stage again, but no one could erase the traces of his existence.

Maybe I no longer have a future, so let’s use this ball to commemorate the youthful self who once wore bright clothes and angry horses!

He Yan was abandoned on the middle road and drifted to the edge of the ancient prison.

Although buried in dust and useless, it can still soar to the sky every night!

※※※※※※

"1 to 3, in the 85th minute of the game, Lars Riken got a point back for Dortmund."

After more than ten seconds of silence, Reddy finally spoke. His voice became hoarse, and his tone was as tired as if he had just gone through a heart-wrenching battle. If you are in the studio, you can find that,

There still seemed to be tears on his face.

This may be the most unprofessional commentary he has given in his decades of experience.

But he doesn't care.

If he still wanted to make up for Mainz's unprofessional performance when he scored the first goal, then this time, he didn't care at all - because even if it happened again, he would have the same performance, the same

Lost my voice, choked with sobs.

No one who is familiar with Ricken can remain moved after seeing this goal, and Reddy is certainly no exception.

"Dortmund counterattacked quickly. Ricken dribbled the ball from the right and broke through. Thirty-five meters away from the goal, he took a look at the goalkeeper's position, then took off his right foot and lobbed the goal."

"I don't think I need to say anything more about such a goal. I believe that even friends who cannot watch the game today, as long as they hear these few words, the scene eight years ago will definitely appear in front of your eyes."

"Eight years have passed. For a person's life, eight years may not be that long, but for Ricken, this may be all he has."

"We often call 1976 a great year in football history. In the past, present and many years to come, we have experienced Nesta's defense, Ballack's shortcomings, Totti's loyalty, Shevchenko's

Elegance, Ruud van Nistelrooy's coolness, Ronaldo's phenomenon, and Recoba, Kluivert, Seedorf, Camoranesi..."

"Among that group of great names, few people mention the existence of Lars Ricken anymore."

"But I will never forget that when the 'Troika' grew old and the old German tanks could no longer maintain their former glory, it was the young man who emerged at the Olympic Stadium who brought hope to all of us.

”

"Perhaps time is the most elusive thing in the world. We are afraid of it because it turns youth into ashes, turns black hair into white hair, and turns all the good things in the past into memories buried deep in our hearts; but

We are also grateful for it, because only after experiencing the washing of time, those memories buried in the past will deeply touch your heartstrings when they surge again, just like Ricken today."

"I think youth will retire one day, but memory will not."

※※※※※※

Ricken collapsed on the court.

After scoring this goal, the muscle injury in his left leg seemed to burst out suddenly, making him unable to stand any longer.

Dortmund's team doctor has already arrived.

When they checked Rickon's injuries, their faces were solemn.

"The initial judgment is that the soleus muscle fiber of the left leg is torn. It is definitely impossible to continue the game. Let the stretcher come in."

The leading team doctor made a decision and was ready to wave the stretcher on.

"Wait a minute," Ricken suddenly said, "I want to walk off on my own."

"Lars, don't be willful, as that will probably aggravate your injury again."

"That's not important anymore," Ricken continued. "On the stretcher I could only see the sky, but I still wanted to see Westphalia again."

He said this with a smile, although there were clearly tears in his eyes.

Yes, how could Ricken, who has been on the sickbed for many years, not know what such an injury means?

Perhaps, when he forcibly supported the shot, he had already made his final decision.

The team doctor looked at him deeply:

"Okay, Lars, let me help you."

"Thank you."

"No," the team doctor put Ricken's hand around his neck and put it on his shoulder, "it's me who should say thank you, it's everyone here, except you, Lars."

Ricken didn't speak anymore, perhaps because the pain made it difficult for him to speak. With the support of the team doctor, he limped along the sideline toward the players' corridor.

That is the road he has walked for more than ten years, and perhaps, this will be the last time.

If this is farewell, then I have tried my best.

……

All 68,000 fans in the audience stood up. At this moment, both the home team fans and the away team fans applauded Ricken.

They watched Ricken go away step by step, as if they were bidding farewell to a hero, a hero who had not been seen for a long time, but the goodbye has become eternal.

Ricken stopped at the door of the players' tunnel, turned around, and looked at this familiar place, the familiar lawn, the familiar goal, and the familiar 68,000 faces that had cheered for him.

How he wants to continue to protect this place!

Reddy's commentary sounded at this moment:

"When the time train passed through Westphalia slowly, the twenty-eight-year-old Ricken was there, looking over with affectionate eyes, filled with the shadow of his twenty-year-old self."

"The fading figure silently took away the pride and glory that once belonged to him, but guided the people who followed him to pursue that lost time."

"When the years turn around quietly with tears in their eyes, the twenty-eight-year-old Ricken is there, the starting platform, remembering how he looked when he was seventeen years old when he picked up his luggage."

"Have a nice trip, Lars."

※※※※※※

One day many years later, when Levi, who had become famous, was interviewed by the "Yorkshire Post", the reporter asked him this question:

"Li, in your career, apart from those glorious moments when you won the championship, what is the scene that impressed you the most?"

He lowered his head and pondered for a long time before slowly saying:

"It should have been when I was in Mainz. I had just entered the first team and went to Westphalia for the first time. In that game, I scored a goal, provided an assist, and planned an attack to score.

We were three goals ahead of Dortmund, and the whole of Westphalia was speechless."

"You know, I had some unpleasant troubles with the Bundesliga fans at that time, so I am very proud to be able to make the most ardent Dortmund fans bow their heads."

"I thought I was the protagonist of that game."

"But Ricken showed up, and I watched him helplessly, almost desperately trying to score that wonderful goal. After the goal, he came off due to injury."

"Later I learned that he had a third-degree tear in the muscle fibers of his left leg. He was only 28 years old, so he retired because of this."

"I will never forget the scene when he came off the field. Nearly 70,000 fans stood up to pay tribute to him, including the Mainz fans. Our victory seemed insignificant at that moment. The whole meaning of that game,

It’s just a grand farewell.”

"I used to think that the whole purpose of playing football was to win and win the championship. For a player, without honor, he is nothing."

"But at that time, I suddenly felt that maybe there was something more important on the football field than victory and championship."
Chapter completed!