Guardiola's Personal Visit

Werder Bremen is the northernmost club in the Bundesliga, located in Bremen State, with its home ground at Weser Stadium, situated on the banks of the Weser River that runs through the city center.

The team's training base is right next to the stadium, making it easy to find.

Lin Quan and the others landed at Bremen City Airport.

Unlike other airports far from city centers, Bremen City Airport is only 3.5 kilometers away from downtown.

So, after getting off the plane, the group reached their destination in just over ten minutes.

Guardiola's sudden visit caught the entire Werder Bremen club off guard and stunned them.

Many staff members couldn't hide their delighted surprise when they saw Guardiola:

Could it be that this legendary young coach's next stop is Werder Bremen?

Thinking it over, it didn't seem impossible.

This season, due to the team's poor performance, club manager Allofs had grown restless and planned to join another Bundesliga team, Wolfsburg.

And Allofs's close partner, Head Coach Thomas Schaaf, who had led the team for thirteen years, also considered leaving after hearing the news.

These two had been the founding pillars since taking over the club in 1999. If they left, it would be a massive earthquake for Werder Bremen.

Thus, the club needed to start looking for a new head coach and club manager.

And the fans and club executives, fed up with the team's declining results, might just grit their teeth and spend big to bring in the hottest legendary young coach in football today—it wasn't entirely out of the question.

Given Guardiola's achievements over the past few seasons, if he actually came to coach Werder Bremen, the fans would probably be laughing in their dreams.

Upon hearing the news, Werder Bremen's club president Klaus Fischer, along with first vice president Hessgrug Nevald, sports director Essien, and club manager Allofs, personally came out to welcome Guardiola and his group.

"Coach Guardiola, whom the entire football world has been searching for, has come to Bremen at this time—we're truly surprised!" President Klaus said politely, shaking Guardiola's hand before introducing the club management around him one by one.

Guardiola took the opportunity to introduce his family. After the mutual introductions were done, President Klaus asked with some confusion, "May I ask what brings Coach Guardiola here so suddenly?"

He was sure he hadn't sent Guardiola a coaching invitation. Werder Bremen was just a mid-to-lower-tier small club; they couldn't afford a head coach of Guardiola's caliber.

Not to mention anything else, just Guardiola's salary alone was beyond their means.

Werder Bremen's total revenue last season was only 73 million euros, while Guardiola's salary alone was 10 million euros.

They simply couldn't afford that kind of wage.

Besides, there was no way Guardiola would be interested in a small club like theirs!

So, he was eager to know what exactly brought the man here.

The most likely scenario was that Guardiola had his eye on one of their young players and came in person to recruit him.

But it was already the end of May, and the Bundesliga season had ended a month ago.

Werder Bremen had been on break for over half a month, and the players had all gone home to their families.

Coming to the club to find a player now was like climbing a tree to catch a fish—pointless.

The more he couldn't figure it out, the more curious he became.

Guardiola had anticipated that his arrival would cause unnecessary trouble. Fortunately, he came so suddenly that no reporters caught wind of it; otherwise, there would be plenty of baseless reports the next day.

So, he quickly explained, "It's like this: Werder Bremen previously submitted a loan request to Barca. I'm here about that."

"A loan request?" Klaus looked at sports director Essien, who thought for a moment and nodded, "Yes, that's right. Our midfield lacks bench depth. Following the head coach's instructions, we sent loan requests to six Giant Clubs. Only Chelsea and Barca responded, agreeing to loan us players."

Hearing the name Chelsea, Lin Quan paused and interjected, "What's the name of the player Chelsea is loaning?"

Essien glanced at Lin Quan, then looked to the club president for guidance.

Loan deals like this were uncertain until the player actually reported to the club.

The parent club could back out at any time, and other teams might swoop in during the transfer window.

Since the new season hadn't started yet, they didn't want to reveal too much information early on, to avoid negatively impacting their own preparations.

So, Lin Quan's question was a bit of a taboo.

But Werder Bremen's president, Klaus Fischer, waved his hand generously and said, "That player is named Kevin De Bruyne, a 21-year-old young midfielder."

Hearing that name, a smile spread across Lin Quan's face.

So it really was De Bruyne. Lin Quan remembered that after joining Chelsea, he struggled to fit into Mourinho's tactical system.

He was then loaned out to the Bundesliga for a stint.

And the team that loaned him seemed to be Werder Bremen. It looked like his memory was correct—De Bruyne was indeed coming on loan.

Just thinking about working alongside this future midfield maestro next season filled Lin Quan with even more confidence about the upcoming campaign.

Seeing Lin Quan's delighted expression at the mention of De Bruyne's name, the Werder Bremen staff were completely baffled, wondering what he was so happy about.

Could he be a fan of De Bruyne, making a special trip to Werder Bremen just to chase after his idol?

No way?

De Bruyne might have some reputation, but it wasn't that huge, was it?

"Ahem, well, Chairman Klaus, the midfielder Barca loaned to your club is actually my eldest son!"

Seeing that Lin Quan had derailed the conversation, Guardiola cleared his throat and quickly steered it back on track.

He solemnly introduced his adopted son to the Werder Bremen staff:

"He plays as a defensive midfielder in the youth team, with the refined footwork and excellent game vision typical of La Masia players.

Before I left Barca, I was grooming him as Xavi's successor, and today, I entrust him to you in all seriousness. I hope you'll nurture him well and not waste his talent.

Trust me, you'll be proud to have him!"

After Guardiola finished speaking, the Werder Bremen people across from him were stunned.

No way?

The legendary young coach of the football world made a special trip just to plead for his own son?

That was some serious backing!