When the captains of both sides completed the coin toss procedure, and the players were all standing on the field, waiting for the kickoff, a banner slowly unfurled in the stands where the away team, Bayern Munich, fans were concentrated.

The banner was very long and large, almost spanning the entire away section.

On the red banner were white German letters, which together formed a sentence: "Stop looking, Götze is with us!"

At first glance, this sentence might confuse some people—looking for what?

It turned out that in the match where Dortmund hosted Atletico Madrid, before the game, Dortmund fans displayed a giant tifo in the South Stand, depicting a Dortmund fan wearing a top hat, looking through binoculars. Behind him was a silhouette of the European Champions Cup, and below it was written, "In search of the lost Big Ears Cup."

The Big Ears Cup is a nickname for the European Champions Cup because the handles on both sides look like ears.

Since winning the European Champions Cup for the first time in history in 1997, Dortmund had never been able to touch this highest honor in European club football again. In this season's Champions League, with their unstoppable momentum, Dortmund fans used this tifo and slogan to express their confidence and expectations for winning the Champions League this season, hoping that this sixteen-year search could come to an end this year.

At that time, this tifo was very famous, and after the game, it attracted much media coverage and discussion.

And the banner displayed by Bayern Munich fans today was a "reply" to that tifo. In the tifo, Dortmund was looking for the championship, and Bayern Munich fans cleverly replied by introducing the hottest topic of the moment—the news about Götze transferring to Bayern Munich, mocking Dortmund for not being able to keep its players, and that their key players were vying to leave and go to their arch-rival, Bayern Munich.

This was simply tearing open Dortmund's barely scabbed wound and then rubbing salt into it...

To openly mock Dortmund at Dortmund's home stadium was simply unbearable.

And the television broadcast immediately focused on this scene in the stands, and quickly cut to a shot of it, so that people all over the world watching the game saw Bayern Munich fans' mockery of Dortmund...

Marcel Reif laughed: "The fans of both sides have started a war of words before the game. The competition between Dortmund and Bayern Munich has always been the theme of the league in these seasons. This season, they will break through the limitations of the domestic league for the first time and extend this competition to Europe..."

Duan Xin didn't say anything because he couldn't understand German. So when this banner appeared, he didn't stop his normal commentary to explain this sudden shot, although he also wondered why the television broadcast suddenly cut to the stands just as the game was about to begin...

Therefore, many Chinese fans watching the live broadcast knew that there must be a story behind this banner, but because the commentator didn't say anything, they didn't know what it was and could only continue watching the game with doubts.

Fortunately, there is now a developed internet. Online, enthusiastic fans quickly provided the answer—Bayern Munich fans were using this banner to mock Dortmund fans!

Online, disgruntled Dortmund fans cursed, and the Bayern Munich fans who were being cursed at fought back.

The feud between Dortmund and Bayern Munich spread from Germany to China, and from the television to the internet... At this moment, the emotions conveyed by football transcended the barriers of language and words and became a universal language.

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Dortmund players also saw this banner, because they were attacking directly in front of the away stand in the first half. They didn't need to deliberately turn their heads or look up, they could see it with a level gaze.

This sentence must have affected the emotions of Dortmund players. Although the matter of Götze leaving was no longer discussed within the team, it was like a thorn, stuck in the hearts of many people... They didn't say it, they were silent, but that didn't mean they didn't care.

Götze's departure had made some Dortmund players wonder if they weren't good enough, not worthy of having excellent players as teammates; and it also made some people feel betrayed, angry, and unwilling.

These emotions, after several weeks, had gradually settled down. But now, they were stirred up by a banner.

It must be said that this move by Bayern Munich fans was premeditated. They were not just mocking Dortmund fans. Mocking the fans was nothing more than being booed for a while, but it was of no loss to them, and had no impact on the team—even without this banner, Dortmund fans' boos for the entire Bayern Munich team would not have been any less.

The most important thing they wanted to do was to affect the Dortmund players on the opposite side. When the Dortmund players on the field could not concentrate on the game, in a battle between experts, a slight lapse in concentration and mistake would tilt the balance of victory.

From this point of view, Bayern Munich fans truly deserved to be called Bayern Munich's best twelfth man.

And Dortmund fans were clearly unprepared for this move by Bayern Munich fans. After Bayern Munich fans issued their mockery and provocation, they could not come up with countermeasures.

"This is simply a disgrace!" In the South Stand, "Old Man" Bruno said angrily, and many people next to him also showed the same expression.

At this moment, Dortmund fans could only express their dissatisfaction with boos, but boos... seemed particularly weak at this time.

If Dortmund really lost the game at home, or were tied by Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich fans' mockery and provocation would simply be the best assist.

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When Zhou Yi saw this banner, he shook his head. It was simply a logical mess... The tifo made by Dortmund fans was meant to express the desire to find the championship, what does your reply of "Götze is here" have to do with where the championship is...

Did Götze represent the championship? Does getting Götze mean getting the championship?

That didn't make sense either...

Zhou Yi felt that this kind of approach of arguing for the sake of arguing was too low-level. He didn't bother to pay attention to it and quickly turned his attention back to the field.

It didn't matter how much they argued before the game, the key was to win. The winner takes all. Victory was the most powerful response to this kind of provocation and mockery.

※※※

The small episode before the game quickly passed, and the television broadcast refocused on the field. Both teams were already standing in their respective positions.

Then, Peter Gagelmann, the referee for this game, blew the whistle to start the game!

"The dress rehearsal for the Champions League final has begun!" Marcel Reif said in a joking tone. "When the two teams first played against each other this season, Dortmund tied Bayern Munich 1-1 away. At that time, Zhou Yi's goal helped Dortmund hold on to the hope of competing with Bayern Munich for the league title today. Otherwise, it is very likely that Dortmund players would have formed a guard of honor to welcome the champions before today's game..."

"With the referee's whistle, the Bundesliga 'National Derby' has begun!" Duan Xin said, raising his voice. "The suspense of this season's league title is very likely to end in this game... Both teams are in very good condition. In fact, based on their performance this season, it would be fair and reasonable for either of them to win the championship in the end. But there is only one champion, and one side must be sad..."

"This is the third meeting between Bayern Munich and Dortmund this season. They have previously met in the Super Cup and the league, and the German Cup respectively. Bayern Munich's record is two wins and one draw, remaining undefeated. They won the Super Cup and eliminated Dortmund in the German Cup... From the data, Bayern Munich has the advantage this season... But don't forget, today's game is being played at Dortmund's home stadium, Westfalenstadion!"

After the game started, the commentators began to introduce the situation of both sides to the audience.

"Bayern Munich's performance this season can be described as 'earth-shattering' compared to the previous two seasons," Marcel Reif said. "At the beginning of the league, they defeated Dortmund in the Super Cup, ending the embarrassing record of not winning against Dortmund in the previous two seasons. Then, after the league started, they created a historical best start with an eight-game winning streak, while establishing a twelve-point lead over Dortmund. But Dortmund's performance gradually returned to the right track, and they slowly caught up, especially when they tied Bayern Munich away, only four points behind Bayern Munich. After the winter break, both teams went full throttle, and Dortmund surged all the way, first creating a league winning streak record of eleven consecutive victories. Of course, Bayern Munich was not willing to be outdone, and also maintained a full victory, always leading Dortmund by two points. Such a fierce chase is extremely rare in my career as a commentator..."

"...The longest winning streak in a single season in the fifty-year history of the Bundesliga is jointly held by Borussia Mönchengladbach and Wolfsburg..." Duan Xin was also popularizing the strength of these two teams today to the Chinese television audience. "The former first created this record in the 1986-1987 season, winning ten consecutive games in a single season. Subsequently, Wolfsburg tied this record in the 2008-2009 season. Currently, the longest winning streak in the Bundesliga is Bayern Munich's fifteen consecutive wins completed across the 2003-2004 season and the 2004-2005 season. At the end of the last league round, Dortmund defeated Düsseldorf, and they have tied Bayern Munich's fifteen-game Bundesliga record. If they can defeat Bayern Munich in this game, they will surpass Bayern Munich and create a new record. If they can keep winning until the end of the season, then while winning the Bundesliga title, they will also surpass Inter Milan's longest winning streak record in the top five European leagues—turning seventeen consecutive wins into eighteen consecutive wins... But I think this is definitely something that Bayern Munich is unwilling to see, because Dortmund is surpassing their predecessors in the Bundesliga..."

After Dortmund tied Bayern Munich 1-1 away this season, they have been winning in the league ever since, and have now won fifteen consecutive league games. Bayern Munich, on the other hand, were tied 1-1 by Borussia Mönchengladbach at home in the seventeenth round of the league, and have been winning ever since, winning fourteen games so far.

If Bayern Munich can defeat Dortmund away, they will not only establish an advantage in winning the title, but also prevent Dortmund from surpassing Bayern Munich between the 2003-2005 seasons and creating a new record. In addition, while stopping Dortmund, Bayern Munich can also tie the fifteen-game winning streak record, and the team with the opportunity to create a new record will change from Dortmund to them, Bayern Munich. This is truly a win-win-win victory.

A game that carries the belonging of the league title and the Bundesliga winning streak record is truly extremely rare...