Chapter 74: Striving Forward

After scoring in two consecutive matches, Dai Zhiwei successfully secured a spot in Villarreal’s starting lineup, pushing out none other than the renowned Soldado. The old being surpassed by the new is a common sight on the football pitch, where the relentless tide sweeps yesterday’s heroes onto the sands of oblivion.

Dai Zhiwei did not betray the trust of head coach Marcelino; in the 22nd round of La Liga against Granada, he shone brilliantly once again! Though he neither scored nor assisted in this match, it was his personal drive and dribble into Granada’s box in the 55th minute that forced Babin to commit a desperate foul inside the area, leading the referee to immediately award a penalty.

Though Dai Zhiwei won the penalty, he did not step up to take it himself. Instead, he deferred the opportunity to the team’s primary penalty taker and captain, Bruno, who calmly converted from the spot.

In the end, Villarreal secured a 1-0 victory over Granada thanks to that goal. Although Dai Zhiwei had neither a goal nor an assist to his name this match, he received the highest rating on the pitch after the game. It was evident to all who the true architect of the penalty-winning goal was.

Dai Zhiwei’s outstanding performances cemented his place in the starting eleven, leaving the remaining forward spot to be contested between Soldado and Bakambu.

A week later, in the 23rd round of La Liga, Villarreal traveled to face Athletic Bilbao. The San Mamés Stadium is considered one of La Liga’s most intimidating fortresses, and for the Yellow Submarine, not particularly adept at away games, this fixture proved especially challenging.

Because of Dai Zhiwei’s brilliance over three consecutive matches, Athletic Bilbao formulated a dedicated defensive strategy just for him. For the first time, Dai Zhiwei experienced the difference between La Liga and the Chinese Super League; here, both individual defensive prowess and collective tactical discipline were on a level Asian football could scarcely rival.

His sharp-angled feints remained effective, and his ‘Tiger Strike’ shots were still fierce, but this time they yielded no goals.

After Dai Zhiwei’s struggle like a trapped beast, neither Soldado in the starting eleven nor Bakambu off the bench could offer much support. Thankfully, Villarreal’s defense held firm, and both sides ultimately settled for a goalless draw.

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The next morning, while Dai Zhiwei was catching up on news from home, he came across a rather vexing article in a lesser-known Spanish newspaper: “Villarreal’s Newcomer Hits Goal Drought, Yellow Submarine’s Attack in Crisis!”

Upon closer reading, Dai Zhiwei found the article somewhat reasonable. It recapped his previous match-winning and consecutive scoring feats, but then claimed he had completely lost his scoring touch after the Granada match, describing his performance in the following two games as lackluster. The article even asserted that insiders at Villarreal believed Dai Zhiwei was out of form and, if not for sponsorship from China, would be unfit to lead the line. In conclusion, it confidently declared Dai Zhiwei to be in a goal drought, predicting his run of nearly 190 minutes without a goal would only grow longer.

“Just two games without scoring and they say I’m in a drought? What a joke! If a striker could score in nearly every match, he’d be outdoing Messi and Ronaldo at their peaks. And who in the team thinks I’m not good enough? What kind of idiotic media is this?” Dai Zhiwei cursed.

“Pravda?” Dai Zhiwei was bewildered. He only knew of a Pravda in Russia, but clearly this was a local Spanish outlet. “What utter nonsense!”

Still, being called out by “Pravda” for a goal drought left Dai Zhiwei somewhat frustrated—after all, it was true he hadn’t scored in two straight matches. For most strikers, this would be perfectly normal, but for Dai Zhiwei, it was a first and left him feeling a bit downcast.

More concerning was the worry that Marcelino might send him back to the bench.

Fortunately, Marcelino was no ignorant hack, and in the 24th round of La Liga against Málaga, Dai Zhiwei’s name was still on the starting sheet.

This match at Málaga’s Rosaleda Stadium proved tough for the Yellow Submarine, who looked out of sorts compared to their earlier form.

Even so, the technically superior Villarreal soon took the initiative. Shortly after kickoff, Soldado flicked on a header up front, and Dos Santos unleashed a fierce right-footed drive from the edge of the box on the left, only for Málaga’s keeper Kameni to make an acrobatic near-post save.

But the hosts, Málaga, were hardly overwhelmed. Soon after Villarreal’s long-range scare, a neat combination upfield drew a foul from Bailly, and I. Camacho swung a free kick into the right side of the box. Fornals out-jumped Bailly, but his header flashed wide of the far post.

Next came a flurry of Villarreal attacks. Dai Zhiwei, especially energetic this match, won the ball in midfield and passed for captain Bruno, whose shot from thirty yards out sailed just wide of the top right corner.

Three minutes later, Villarreal pressed again. Suarez threaded a pass to the edge of the box, Soldado’s left-footed shot from twelve yards was blocked and gathered by Kameni—Málaga’s frail defense giving their goalkeeper plenty of chances to shine.

In the 28th minute, Málaga’s Rosales fouled Dai Zhiwei at the edge of the box, but Villarreal’s free kick came to nothing as Trigueros’s effort was safely claimed by the alert Kameni.

With Kameni repeatedly excelling at one end, Villarreal’s own keeper, Areola, was not to be outdone. Two minutes later, Fornals set up Charles, whose fierce shot from eighteen yards was acrobatically parried at the near post by Areola.

Late in the first half, Málaga created another dangerous chance. Fornals played a ball forward, and I. Camacho’s shot from the right edge of the box was too ambitious, missing the near post.

The first half ended with neither side able to break the deadlock. After fifteen minutes’ respite, the two teams switched ends to resume their struggle.

Early in the second half, Villarreal again seized the initiative. Gaspar crossed from the right, but Soldado’s header from fifteen yards flew high over the bar.

At the far post, Dai Zhiwei—already in position—could only grit his teeth at Soldado’s wild miss, echoing the frustration of Marcelino on the sideline.

In the 58th minute, Dai Zhiwei finally got a good shooting chance in the second half. Alas, under pressure from the center backs, his left-footed shot from a tight angle on the left of the box soared over the bar.

Dai Zhiwei didn’t know how others felt, but he was sure Soldado was in a good mood.

Seeing the team’s relentless attacks come to nothing, Marcelino began to shuffle his deck, bringing on the Brazilian striker Leo Carrillo.

“I’d like to rip that shirt off his back!” Don’t misunderstand—Dai Zhiwei’s interest wasn’t in the man, but in the number “10” jersey Leo wore.

In “Captain Tsubasa,” no number carries greater significance than the “10.”

“If I recall, Pato is set to wear the number 10 for Villarreal next season,” Dai Zhiwei mused. “Maybe I’ll get the chance to claim it before Pato does.”

To win the number 10 shirt, the symbol of a team’s attacking core, is no easy feat, so Dai Zhiwei sprang into action.

In the 72nd minute, Trigueros advanced on the left and sent a sudden diagonal pass. Dai Zhiwei, on the left of the box, let the ball run past him to evade his marker, then caught up with it at the edge of the six-yard box and unleashed a Tiger Strike with his left foot.

The ball shot like a white lightning bolt into the bottom corner. Kameni, caught by surprise and at point-blank range, stood no chance.

1-0!

Dai Zhiwei broke the deadlock, giving Villarreal the lead!

“Weren’t they talking about a goal drought? Goal drought my foot!” Dai Zhiwei spread his arms wide, laughing as he celebrated.

Amid the cheers of the thousand traveling Villarreal fans, his teammates rushed to join the celebration.

This was Dai Zhiwei’s third goal in five La Liga matches. Though his name was nowhere near the top fifteen scorers for the season, in the second half of the campaign he trailed only the red-hot Suarez and the legendary Messi and Ronaldo.

Naturally, the home side had no intention of conceding defeat. After Dai Zhiwei’s goal, Málaga launched a near-frenzied counterattack and, seven minutes later, carved out a shooting opportunity—Kop passed back from the right, and Rosales’s shot from sixteen yards grazed the bar.

To break up Málaga’s relentless attacks, Villarreal resorted to frequent fouling. In the 79th minute, Suarez was booked for a foul on Fornals.

The best defense is a good offense; in the 83rd minute, Dai Zhiwei’s shot from the edge of the box was blocked, and his follow-up was struck too straight, nestling harmlessly in Kameni’s arms.

In the closing stages, Málaga mounted several threatening attacks. First, Kop flicked on a header for I. Camacho, whose 25-yard strike was deflected and gathered by Areola.

In stoppage time, I. Camacho burst into the left side of the box and whipped in a cross, but Juankar’s sliding effort at the far post missed both ball and equalizing glory for the hosts.

In the end, Villarreal left the Rosaleda with all three points.

For Chinese fans, the greater joy was seeing Dai Zhiwei score again after two quiet matches.