The UEFA Europa League fourth qualifying round, first-leg match on August 20, 2009, was destined to be extraordinary for Polish striker Robert Lewandowski.
It wasn't just because it was a home game, nor was it just because their opponent was the Bundesliga giant, Dortmund.
It was also because the day after the match, August 21st, would be Lewandowski's 21st birthday.
He'd made an early birthday wish for himself: to score a goal!
To score against Dortmund!
As the previous season's Best Rookie in the Polish Ekstraklasa, Lewandowski, who seemed born to score goals, was very confident.
More importantly, there was someone on the Dortmund team.
A young striker from China, Wang Shuo!
In the fourth round of the previous Bundesliga season, during Mainz's crushing defeat to Bayern, Wang Shuo had scored a spectacular goal.
This shot him to fame, and the news even reached Poland.
It was after that match that Lewandowski heard Wang Shuo's name for the first time.
