No one wants to live in another person's shadow forever.
But for Son Heung-min, who plays in the Bundesliga, comparisons to Ye Chen are inevitable.
Especially after some fans commented, "Ye Chen is more suited to be Korean than Son Heung-min," which deeply hurt him.
Because of this, he secretly vowed to defeat Ye Chen fair and square!
When that day comes, he will shout the words he's been holding in his heart... "Who else?"
Of course, he didn't realize that even this catchphrase was something he had picked up from Ye Chen!
Son Woong-jung suddenly uploaded Son Heung-min's training videos online, catching Son off guard. His original plan for revenge seemed to be exposed prematurely.
Winning would be fine, but if he lost...
Son Heung-min took deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.
Today, it's do or die!
Many of his teammates at Hamburg were aware of the situation.
"Son, give it your all today!"
"Son, believe in yourself. You're not any worse than Ye!"
"Son, when you took my starting spot, you didn't break my face, did you?"
"Son, I think you need to face reality. Ye is someone who made history in the Bundesliga. You can't compare to him!"
"Son, give it up. If your power level is 1000, then Ye's is 10,000!"
Not everyone treats you kindly abroad, and Son Heung-min faced some teasing from his teammates.
Players like Ye Chen, who arrived at a new club without needing to wash veterans' boots, earned their respect purely through skill.
But Mane and Wang Chu weren't as lucky. Since joining, they had already washed boots three times in three matches...
January 22nd, 2:30 PM
A bus with the Borussia Dortmund logo slowly pulled into Volksparkstadion, home of Hamburg!
Volksparkstadion is one of UEFA's five-star stadiums, capable of hosting UEFA Cup and Champions League finals, with a capacity of 55,000 spectators.
Tickets sold out early for this match against Dortmund.
Ye Chen, sitting quietly on the team bus, wore headphones and listened to Jay Chou's songs.
Just two nights ago, the school beauty who hadn't contacted him in three years suddenly messaged him, asking to meet up.
He was almost overwhelmed with excitement.
But soon, he saw online news that there had been a wave of account hacks...
As the bus stopped, Ye Chen disembarked with the team.
He hadn't planned to sign autographs, but when he saw a bright red Chinese flag, he paused.
"Ye God! Ye God! Ye God!"
Looking closely, it was the chubby kid he met during a Manchester United U18 match!
"What are you doing here? Aren't you studying in Manchester?"
The kid's excitement was through the roof.
"You remember me! Oh my god, Ye God actually remembers me!"
Ye Chen chuckled. "I'm not that old to have memory problems, haha. Want an autograph or a photo?"
The kid blushed, "I'm an adult now. Can we...?"
"Sure!" Ye Chen agreed without hesitation.
After a quick interaction, Ye Chen left.
"Ye God, good luck! Make sure to teach that Son kid a lesson!"
"Destroy him!"
Ye Chen didn't turn around, just gave an "OK" gesture and walked into the tunnel.
If this were the Son Heung-min from his Tottenham days, Ye Chen might feel a little wary. But the current Son was just a newly established starter in the Bundesliga.
In terms of skill and talent, Ye Chen had the upper hand in every way.
Still, underestimate your enemy strategically, but respect them tactically.
Although Hamburg was fighting relegation this season, they had never been relegated from the Bundesliga. Such teams often unleash surprising energy.
Klopp opted for Dortmund's familiar 4-2-3-1 formation instead of experimenting with new tactics.
As for who would rest between Ye Chen and Lewandowski...
"Ye, how's your shoulder?" Klopp approached Ye Chen with concern.
"Boss, my shoulder is fine!" Ye Chen smiled.
"The team doctor said five days. Are you sure?"
"I'm sure! I recover faster than most people!" Ye Chen confidently nodded.
On January 19th, during a match, Ye Chen collided with Oberhausen's center-back and hit the ground hard.
After brief treatment, he continued playing. Everyone thought it was fine until the medical report revealed a shoulder injury, sidelining him for five days.
That meant missing the Hamburg match on January 22nd.
Dortmund even listed his injury on their official site.
But Ye Chen's recovery seemed almost superhuman. He told Klopp the night before that he was ready to play from the bench.
As a result, Ye Chen rejoined the squad.
Online, some fans were already calling Klopp sneaky, as he previously claimed Ye wouldn't play.
Joining Ye Chen on the bench were De Bruyne, Wang Chu, Mane, and Azpilicueta â four new signings â alongside GündoÄan and reserve goalkeeper Futch.
Weidenfeller, Dortmund's first-choice keeper, strained his adductor in training, sidelining him for three days.
Langerak had another rare chance to start!
"Welcome to Volksparkstadion. I'm commentator Mike, joined by my partner Jack!"
The "Double J" duo was back on air.
"Let's look at the starting lineups..."
"Hamburg's goalkeeper is Drobny... Left winger, Son Heung-min..."
"Son Heung-min starts on the left wing. His excellent form in friendlies earned him this chance!"
"Now for Dortmund's lineup!"
"Langerak starts in goal... Ye is not in the starting XI, as the official site listed him as injured. But Klopp included him on the bench!"
"Today is still an Asian derby â Hamburg's Son Heung-min and Lam Chi-kin versus Dortmund's Kagawa. Korea, Hong Kong, and Japan are strong footballing nations. Even Hong Kong is impressive, but... I mean no offense, but China's national team... well, their association seems amateurish!"
Lam Chi-kin, a Hong Kong-German mixed player, chose to represent Hong Kong instead of Germany.
With competition like Schweinsteiger and Kroos, breaking into the German squad was nearly impossible.
"Otherwise, how could a player like Ye not even make his national team? Even Germany's Löw admires him!"
The match kicked off with Hamburg players eager to impress their fans in the first game of the second half of the season.
Would Dortmund let them have their way?