The Winger Cuts In, Isn't This Just a Matter of Having Feet?

Aberdeen being a strong team in the Scottish Premiership doesn't mean they're pushovers.

In the first half, they struggled to adapt to the Bundesliga's pace and weren't familiar with the pitch, so they were clearly off their game.

After the second half started, Aberdeen picked up the tempo, using Long Ball Tactics and a style similar to the Premier League's physical approach to counter Werder Bremen.

Aberdeen's players had rougher technical skills—they couldn't outplay Werder Bremen on technique.

But they were strong and physical, with great impact, and their tall center forward was exceptional at heading.

Switching to Long Ball Tactics made their attacks more effective.

In the 56th minute, a Werder Bremen defender misjudged a header, and Aberdeen's tall center forward collected the ball and laid it back.

Niall McGinn, the forward who'd just transferred from Scottish Giant Club Celtic, followed up with a powerful shot that blasted past Werder Bremen's goal.

The score became 2-1.

On the sidelines, Coach Schaaf had already stood up from his seat.

His brow furrowed. Even though Werder Bremen was still leading, the momentum on the pitch was turning against them. The opponent's physical tactics were battering Werder Bremen's defense, leaving them staggered.

They were on the back foot defensively, and if this continued, they'd likely concede again.

And as if fearing the worst, in the 63rd minute, Aberdeen launched an ultra-long pass from the back.

Aberdeen's tall center forward, sandwiched between two Werder Bremen center-backs, leaped high, overpowered both defenders, and with a lion-like header, nodded the ball into Werder Bremen's net.

The goal sent the crowd of over thirty thousand into an uproar.

Fans clutched their heads, staring at their own goal in disbelief.

Schaaf's face turned grim. He kicked an empty water bottle in front of him, clearly furious with the team's awful defense.

At that moment, he made up his mind: before the transfer window closed, he had to buy a strong defender from the market.

He couldn't stand this shoddy backline anymore.

So, as long as it didn't exceed the budget, he could accept a price within five million.

On the bench, Lin Quan watched in stunned silence.

Messi's heading was poor, so he rarely used headers in training or matches.

The less you could head, the more awe-inspiring it seemed.

That header made Lin Quan shrink his neck instinctively. From such a distance—over fifty meters—and he'd still managed to head it into the goal.

If it were him, he'd probably get knocked out cold and be carried off on a stretcher.

Was that guy's head made of iron?

Wouldn't a header like that cause a concussion?

That was the talk of an outsider with little heading experience. In most teams, midfielders and forwards often used headers to contest high balls from defenders or goalkeepers, nodding them to teammates.

For someone who couldn't head, getting hit by the ball hurt a lot.

But those skilled at heading knew how to control and absorb the force, so it wasn't as uncomfortable.

Lin Quan hesitated. Heading was still useful in certain situations.

Especially when there was no space on the ground, no room to trap the ball, and teammates sent high or half-high passes.

In those cases, stopping and adjusting before shooting with your foot gave defenders time to react and block.

But if you attacked with a header, the opponent had no time to disrupt it, making the goal more likely.

Still, with his height, even if he practiced heading, could he even reach the ball?

Just as Lin Quan was lost in thought, Coach Schaaf called his name.

"Lin, go warm up. You're going in!"

Hearing that, Lin Quan sprang to his feet and immediately ran off to warm up without a word.

When the team conceded the first goal, he'd already felt he might get a chance to play.

And after the second goal, he was a hundred percent sure he'd be on the pitch.

Even though the friendly's result wasn't crucial, losing at home to a not-so-strong opponent—

especially after leading by a big margin and then letting them score consecutively for a comeback—would heavily affect the players' mentality.

Werder Bremen's squad was too young; young players were prone to emotional swings.

If they couldn't stabilize the situation and win this match, this loss could plant a huge hidden danger for their upcoming games.

Five minutes later, Lin Quan stepped onto the pitch.

After coming on, he didn't rush to attack but observed first.

Aberdeen didn't seem to take him seriously as an unknown young player, unlike Cottbus, who had marked him tightly before.

That put Lin Quan at ease. With peak Messi's ability, as long as he had enough space to move, once he got going, the only way to stop him was a foul.

Aberdeen didn't know Lin Quan's strength, but his Werder Bremen teammates were well aware.

In the 76th minute, Werder Bremen won the ball back in their own half. After a few quick passes through the midfield and defense, the ball was swiftly delivered to Lin Quan's feet.

Like the winger in the first half, Lin Quan took the ball and sprinted down the flank toward the opponent's half.

Seeing this, the Aberdeen players assumed he was going to drive to the byline and cross, so they only had their own winger defend him.

The other players consciously cut off the passing lanes between Lin Quan and Füllkrug, preventing him from feeding the ball to the striker. On top of that, De Bruyne's standout performance in the first half had made him a target as well—the opponent's defensive midfielder stuck to him like glue, denying him any chance to receive the ball.

Lin Quan noticed the defensive setup and felt a surge of delight. The gaps in their defense were wide open.

He feigned a burst toward the byline, and the defender marking him, convinced he was going to cross, immediately accelerated backward to the goal line.

But the moment the defender took a step back, he was stunned to see Lin Quan cut inside instead.

Aberdeen's defender reached out to grab him, trying to pull him down.

But Lin Quan was too fast—the defender didn't even touch his jersey before being cleanly beaten.

Seeing Lin Quan glide past Aberdeen's winger with such ease, everyone on Werder Bremen's coaching bench couldn't help but rise to their feet.

Was it about to happen?

Aberdeen's fullback cursed under his breath as his teammate was beaten, then rushed forward to block Lin Quan, denying him any chance to shoot.

In recent years, the trend in football had been wingers cutting inside to shoot.

Wingers with pace, dribbling ability, and the knack for cutting inside to shoot were in high demand in today's game.

Take Barca's Messi, Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, or Bayern's Robben and Ribery, for example.

These players were valued at tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of euros, and they were the kind you couldn't buy on the market even if you had the money.

That's why Tottenham's winger Bale, who had been linked with Real Madrid, was reportedly valued at over 80 million euros.

And even at that price, Tottenham didn't want to sell—they wanted to hold on and see how he developed.

That just showed how rare a good winger really was!

However, when a winger cuts inside, they're often on their weaker foot, making it easier to time a tackle and break up their attack.

Aberdeen's fullback didn't believe a young player like Lin Quan had such great touch—his left foot definitely wasn't as strong as his right.

So when the ball landed under Lin Quan's left foot, he stuck out a leg.

And then he was beaten!

Huh?

The fullback was baffled!

Where did that kid in front of me go?

Where was that big player?

How did he just vanish?

He turned around and saw—oh, he was in their penalty area!

Wait, how was the ball in their net?

I don't know how to add Easter egg chapters—I'll figure it out.