On July 20, after two weeks of team training, the club welcomed its first preseason opponent—Cottbus.
For Werder Bremen, choosing Cottbus as their first preseason opponent had clearly been a carefully considered decision.
They were a club from the 2. Bundesliga. They had briefly been promoted to the Bundesliga and played there for two seasons, but their lack of strength soon saw them relegated again.
This opponent was not particularly strong, probably about half a tier below Werder Bremen.
Playing them would help the team's young players build confidence. Too many veteran players had left ahead of the new season, so the team had no choice but to rely on these youngsters to carry the fight.
But young players were not mentally stable enough and could easily collapse in the latter half of the season, just like Arsenal, the Master of Securing Fourth Place. Every year, they were fierce as tigers in the first half of the season and pathetic as dogs in the second, somehow suddenly falling apart.
Besides helping the young players build confidence, choosing a relatively weak opponent meant their own back line would not come under too much pressure. They could devote more energy to attacking and better test the results of the team's offensive tactics.
Both Lin Quan and De Bruyne made the matchday squad.
The difference was that De Bruyne was named in the starting lineup, while Lin Quan was only on the bench.
Lin Quan took it very calmly. He had never expected to earn a starting spot right away; after all, his current stamina was still not enough to last an entire match.
Being a substitute and coming on at a crucial moment in the second half to exploit the opponent's declining stamina and break the deadlock was far easier than starting and physically battling opponents at full fitness.
"Dindin, good luck! I'm counting on you!"
Lin Quan raised his fist in encouragement, and De Bruyne nodded shyly.
The match soon began. A total of 23,000 spectators had come to Weser Stadium for this friendly, but more than half the seats were empty.
That was hardly surprising. After all, the team had lost many veteran players, and they were now playing a friendly against a lower-division side. It was not particularly appealing to the fans.
Once the match started, Werder Bremen quickly took the initiative.
Cottbus chose to sit back in their own half and play on the counterattack.
It was a pragmatic choice. When a weaker team faced a stronger one, charging recklessly forward to trade attacks could easily get them ripped to shreds.
Especially against a team as offensively capable as Werder Bremen, failing to strengthen their defense could result in a humiliating rout, which would be extremely damaging to the players' mentality ahead of the new season.
"They really chose to defend!"
Assistant coach Rolf frowned tightly as he spoke with some anxiety.
"Mm, as expected!"
Schaaf, on the other hand, remained calm, as though he had long anticipated the opponent's choice.
"There are too many defensive players in their backfield. We can't break through on the ground, so we can only cross from the wings, but I'm afraid that won't work very well either!"
Another assistant coach, Hennebach, was also worried. Breaking down a packed defense was a worldwide problem, and he was concerned whether the young lads on the field could handle it properly.
"Now we'll see whether these young lads can withstand the pressure and break the deadlock!"
Schaaf sat in the dugout with his arms folded across his chest, calmly watching the players' performance on the pitch.
This match and the following preseason games would be important references in helping him decide the starting lineup for the new season.
Who had greater ability and who performed more outstandingly would be easy to see in actual matches.
The capable would rise, and the mediocre would fall. Werder Bremen would firmly uphold this principle this season.
Besides, even if the team could not break the deadlock for now, he was not worried, because he still had a trump card in hand that he had yet to play.
With that thought, Schaaf turned his head and looked toward Lin Quan, who sat on the bench watching the game intently.
He was looking forward to seeing what kind of surprise this youngster, who had dribbled past countless opponents on the training ground, would bring him in an actual match.
On the bench, Lin Quan appeared to be watching the match with complete focus.
But upon closer inspection, one would find that his gaze was not actually fixed on the field.
Yes, Lin Quan had zoned out.
The moment the referee blew the opening whistle, that dog system, which had been silent for two months, came back to life again.
There was no [Ding] sound, nor did it abruptly issue a quest or anything.
But within Lin Quan's consciousness, a module he could perceive appeared.
When Lin Quan curiously extended his awareness toward it, the module unfolded in his mind.
After the module opened, something resembling an interface appeared inside.
It looked like a game, and the game's protagonist seemed to be himself.
When he opened the player profile tab, his information indeed popped up.
Name: Lin Quan
Age: 16 years, 153 days
Date of Birth: February 20, 1996
Nationality: Spain
Position: Undecided
Club: Barca
League: Bundesliga
League Appearances: 0
National Team Appearances: 0
Current Template: Messi
There was nothing unusual about the first half of the profile, but the final entry surprised Lin Quan somewhat.
Current Template was easy enough to understand, but did the appearance of this term mean he could switch to other Football King templates in the future?
Lin Quan sent the system an inquiry about this.
[Theoretically, yes, but practically speaking, not really. Previous Football Kings have all retired, and their abilities have declined significantly. They can no longer reach Football King-level standards, so their attributes cannot be copied.]
Uh, fine. That did fit reality. Football King templates were not so easy to obtain, after all!
Having the template of peak Messi already satisfied Lin Quan greatly.
So he began exploring the other functions on the interface.
Besides the player profile tab, there were two other modules.
One was the Quest Module, and the other was the System Shop.
This system was really lazy. With only these three things, it still had the nerve to call itself the Football King System?
Even so, he curiously opened the Quest Module and found an unread quest notification inside.
After opening it, a system quest popped up:
[Quest Description: A Football King is not made in a day, just as Rome was not built in a day. They grew through match after match and battle after battle, and you are about to take the first step in your professional career!]
[Quest Requirement: Take the field in Werder Bremen's match against Cottbus and lead the team to victory. Quest reward: 1 Point!]
According to the system's introduction, Points were the key to unlocking the System Shop.
Once he accumulated enough Points, he could unlock the System Shop.
Not only that, but the currency for purchasing items and equipment in the System Shop was also Points.
And Points could only be obtained by completing system quests, winning matches, and similar means.
At first, Lin Quan did not care much about it. Now that he had Messi's template, what more could he possibly want?
What could possibly be better than Messi's template?
So even without the junk in the System Shop, he was still confident he could become the new generation's Football King.
But after browsing the System Shop, Lin Quan could not help shouting, "This is amazing!"
To say nothing of anything else, the talents in the System Shop—things like Injury Immunity, Top Prediction, Never Tire, Big Heart, and Mr. Clutch—were simply too good!
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