Chapter Forty: The Noilnau Vanguard

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In the seventh round of the Bundesliga, Munich 1860 faced off against Hertha Berlin. In the first half, veteran Martin Max scored a goal, and by the end of the match, Munich 1860 triumphed over Hertha Berlin with a decisive 1-0 victory, securing all three points.

In the eighth round, Munich 1860 did not include Momo in the squad list, seemingly sending a clear message to the outside world: Momo was not indispensable and was available for transfer.

Under these circumstances, a new wave of offers began flooding in from various clubs. However, in the same round, Stuttgart delivered a crushing 4-1 home defeat to Munich 1860.

(In actual history, Stuttgart would finish this season ahead of Borussia Dortmund to claim second place in the league.)

This was a formidable team. Lahm had been loaned to Stuttgart, and Germany’s national coach Löw had once managed the club.

Players like Mario Gomez, Freddy Bobic, and Kevin Kuranyi had all played for Stuttgart, and by now, the club had twice won the league title.

In the ninth round of the Bundesliga, Munich 1860 hosted Schalke 04. Momo was in the starting lineup, about to face off against the future top goalkeeper Neuer — or should one say goalkeeper-midfielder hybrid!?

(P.S. Neuer’s first official start was in 2006; before that, he played in various youth squads. But I couldn’t wait and brought it forward early, attributing it to Momo’s player chat system!)

Momo was no longer anxious about missing a match; at worst, he could practice fancy tricks in the trainer system.

Or, he could enter the star player chat system and tease some of the players still developing, like the late bloomer Toni, the heartbroken Klose, the not-yet-beast Drogba, the shy Messi, and the narcissistic, arrogant Ronaldo.

Yet, as he prepared to face Neuer on the field, Momo couldn’t help but feel a bit excited!

Momo: “Neuer, Neuer, are you there?”

Neuer: “Here! First start, really excited.”

Momo: “If you weren’t a goalkeeper, what position would you want?”

Neuer: “Definitely a forward!!!”

Momo: “Alright then, forward Neuer, what do you think of Momo tomorrow?”

Neuer: “I hope he challenges me—I’ll show him how tough I am.”

Confident Neuer! I’ll make you understand why the flower is so red.

Momo: “Ibrahimovic, you big goof, are you asleep?”

Ibrahimovic: “If you keep this up, I’ll drag you like a stray dog and make you count your teeth on the floor.”

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Momo wore a carefree expression; after waking up, he would forget everything that happened in the player chat system.

Momo: “Haha, really!? What do you think of Momo?”

Ibrahimovic: “I don’t know why, but every time I wake up, I feel like punching Momo. We have no conflicts, but somehow he just seems punchable.”

Momo fell silent. Could it be that even without memory, the system retains affinity? Or is it just first impressions? (There was a subtle hint about Van der Vaart’s behavior after waking up earlier.)

Momo decided it was better not to provoke Ibrahimovic for now and sought other entertainment.

However, after calling a few others, no one responded, leaving Momo somewhat down, especially since Ronaldo and Ronaldinho stayed up very late—such party animals!

Momo: “Messi! Messi! If you’re not here either, I don’t believe it.”

Messi: “…”

Momo: “Messi, who do you admire most?”

Messi: “I like Ronaldo (the alien) the most; I often imitate his moves. Of course, now there’s also Momo, the Chinese forward about my height.”

(At that time, Ronaldinho was still at Paris Saint-Germain. To avoid spoiling the truth, I had to explain this first—recently I’ve been impressed.)

Momo felt a bit proud, but then Mino called him.

“Kid, are you sure you want to go to Porto? How about joining Juventus with Zlatan to form a front line? Juventus is interested in you.”

Mino had some connections with Juventus’ chairman (not made up). They already had close cooperation in some areas.

In fact, this was a win-win situation: a good agent needs channels to attract players, and a good club needs to maintain close ties with people who have talented players.

“No, Mino, I’ve decided—I’m going to Porto. What do you think about Lahm and the others?”

Mino was silent for a moment, then said,

“Thomas Muller has good positioning awareness, but I’m not optimistic about him. Another defender had some unique qualities back then but his physique is too weak (Lahm). The other might be a decent midfielder, but that’s about it (Piglet).”

Momo looked a bit awkward. Searching for players in China was difficult; there were many people but few who played football.

As for the clubs? Mino had no interest—they trained their bodies from childhood!

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What kind of international joke is this? Weightlifting? Players training their bodies from childhood? Are you serious? Technique! Technique!!!

“Mino, I still want to recommend some players to you—Neuer, who’s facing me tomorrow. Also try to find Toni and, ah, Drogba?”

Sometimes talent is like pregnancy—it only becomes apparent with time. Honestly, Momo’s suggestions made Mino somewhat amused and bewildered.

Come on, he hadn’t even heard of these guys. He was aiming for the elite route.

“Alright, I’ll watch Neuer during your match. But if—I say if—you mess me over again, kid, I think Zlatan’s been missing you lately.”

On the other end of the line, Momo could hear Mino’s teeth grinding and that feeling of betrayal from someone who trusted deeply but was let down.

“Mino, trust me, they’re definitely all… Hello!? Hello!?”

Fine, Mino hung up directly. Momo could imagine Mino saying, “Kid, just wait! Trying to fool me again.”

Momo wanted to protest, feeling wronged: “How could I fool you? You’re so smart, how could I possibly?”

In the ninth round of the Bundesliga, during the days leading up to the match, Momo spent most of his time calling Neuer to vent.

The Allianz Arena resembled a vast blue ocean, with a solitary Chinese flag standing out vividly.

There were also banners like:

“Once a Blue, Always a Blue.”

To Momo, he was not for sale.

Such devoted fans! Yet both the Munich 1860 management and Momo understood clearly that his future lay beyond the “Lions” of Munich 1860.

Neuer looked very nervous. He didn’t know why, but it was as if someone had repeated a thousand times that this match was crucial.

Shaking his head, Neuer’s eyes filled with determination: Come on! You will witness the rise of a legendary goalkeeper.