As a Backup Goalkeeper, I Rise to Glory Through Prediction

Yu Tianzheng was seven, playing on the dirt field at Linhe District No. 4 Primary School. No one wanted to stand guard at the goal, so the coach pointed at him on a whim and made him the goalkeeper. Twenty-one years later, from the yellow earth of Bayannur to the substitutes' bench at Zhongwei Zhengbei, he was “just making up the numbers” in his coaches' eyes and the “mascot” to the fans. His official match record: two appearances, two losses. Then, at the age of twenty-eight, a point-blank shot slammed into his head. He was unconscious for three days. When he woke, the world had changed. Before an opponent could shoot, he could see the faint trail of the ball's path: passing lanes, shooting targets, all within his expectations. But seeing it did not mean he could save it. From the Bayannur Cup to the FA Cup, from the AFC Champions League to the national team, he trained that half-second of “knowing in advance” into a goalkeeping legend that even the top keepers of Japan and South Korea had to admire. Everyone thought he was only a backup goalkeeper there to make up the numbers, until he took his place in front of the goal. Every shot was within his expectations.