Aberdeen had become a powerhouse in the Scottish Premiership, so they were naturally no pushovers.
They had struggled to adapt to the Bundesliga's tempo in the first half, and they were unfamiliar with the pitch, so they had clearly been off their game.
After the second half began, Aberdeen picked up the pace and used Long Ball Tactics and the sort of high-impact approach common in the Premier League to deal with Werder Bremen.
Aberdeen's players were fairly rough around the edges technically, and they truly could not match Werder Bremen in a contest of skill.
However, their players were strong and physically imposing, with plenty of impact, while their tall striker up front was exceptional in the air.
After switching to Long Ball Tactics, their attack actually became more effective.
In the 56th minute, a Werder Bremen defender misjudged an aerial ball. Aberdeen's tall striker collected it and laid it back.
Niall McGinn, the forward who had just transferred from Scottish Giant Club Celtic, followed up with a thunderous shot that pierced Werder Bremen's net.
The score became 2–1.
On the sidelines, Coach Schaaf had already risen from his seat.
His brow furrowed. Although Werder Bremen still held the lead for the moment,
the situation on the pitch was becoming unfavorable for Werder Bremen. Their opponent's high-impact tactics had thrown Bremen's back line into disarray.
They had been forced onto the defensive. If this continued, they would very likely concede again.
What he feared came to pass. In the 63rd minute, Aberdeen launched an enormous long ball from deep in their own half.
Aberdeen's tall striker rose high despite being sandwiched between Werder Bremen's two center-backs. He overpowered both defenders and nodded the ball into Werder Bremen's goal with a powerful lion's mane header.
The goal left the more than thirty thousand fans in the stadium in an uproar.
The fans clutched their heads and stared at their own goal in disbelief.
Schaaf's expression was equally grim. He kicked an empty mineral water bottle in front of him away, clearly furious with his team's dreadful defense.
At that moment, he made up his mind: before the transfer window closed, he had to buy a powerful defender from the market.
He simply could not stand this rotten back line any longer.
As long as it did not exceed the club's budget, he could accept a price of up to five million.
On the bench, Lin Quan watched with his jaw hanging open.
Messi's heading ability was rather poor, so Lin Quan rarely used headers to shoot in training or matches.
The less capable someone was at heading, the more shocking it seemed.
That header made Lin Quan instinctively shrink his neck. From so far away, after a pass of more than fifty meters, the man had actually headed the ball into the goal.
If it had been him, he would probably have been knocked unconscious by the ball and carried off on a stretcher, right?
Was the other man's head made of iron?
Wouldn't headers like that cause a concussion?
This was really just the ignorant remark of someone with little experience heading the ball. In fact, players in the middle and attacking thirds of most teams often used headers to contest long clearances from defenders or goalkeepers, flicking the ball on to teammates.
For someone who could not head the ball, being struck by it genuinely hurt.
But those proficient at heading knew how to generate and absorb force, so it was not nearly as uncomfortable.
Lin Quan hesitated. Heading was still quite useful in certain situations.
Especially when there was not enough space on the ground, no room to control the ball, and a teammate sent over a high ball or a waist-high pass.
If he controlled the ball, adjusted, and then shot with his foot, it would give defenders time to react and disrupt the play.
But if he launched an attack with a header, the opponent would have no time to interfere, making a goal more likely.
But with his height, even if he practiced heading, he probably would not be able to win the ball in the air, would he?
Just as Lin Quan's thoughts were running wild, Coach Schaaf called his name.
"Lin, go warm up. Get ready to come on!"
The instant Lin Quan heard that, he sprang to his feet and ran off to warm up without another word.
When the team had conceded the first goal, he had already sensed that he might get a chance to play.
After conceding the second, he became one hundred percent certain that he would be brought on.
Although winning or losing a friendly was not that important, they were playing at home against an opponent who was not particularly strong.
If they still lost, especially after throwing away such a big lead and allowing the opponent to complete a dramatic comeback through consecutive goals, it would have a major impact on the players' mentality.
Werder Bremen's squad was too young, and young players were prone to psychological swings.
If they could not stabilize the situation and win this match quickly, this defeat might plant a huge hidden danger for their upcoming games.
Five minutes later, Lin Quan came on.
After entering the match, he did not immediately launch an attack. Instead, he observed the situation first.
Aberdeen did not seem to take an unknown young player like him seriously. They did not assign special attention to him as Cottbus had before.
That put Lin Quan at ease. With peak Messi's ability, as long as he had enough room to operate, once he got moving, no one could stop him without fouling him.
Aberdeen did not know Lin Quan's abilities, but his Werder Bremen teammates knew them very well.
In the 76th minute, Werder Bremen won the ball in their own half. After just two or three passes through the middle and back, it was quickly delivered to Lin Quan.
Like the winger in the first half, Lin Quan took possession and sprinted down the flank toward the opponent's half.
Seeing this, Aberdeen's players assumed he was going to reach the byline and cross, so they only had their wide player defend him.
The other players consciously moved to cut off the passing lanes between Lin Quan and Füllkrug.
They would not allow Lin Quan to pass to the striker. Meanwhile, because of De Bruyne's outstanding first-half performance, he had also become a target. Aberdeen's defensive midfielder stayed tight to De Bruyne and gave him no chance to receive the ball.
When Lin Quan saw their defensive positioning, he secretly rejoiced. There was a huge gap in their defense.
He feinted as though he were about to accelerate toward the byline. The defender who had been guarding against exactly that did not suspect a thing and immediately sped up to retreat toward the goal line.
But after taking one step back, he was stunned to discover that his opponent had actually cut inside.
Aberdeen's defender immediately reached out and tried to pull Lin Quan down.
But Lin Quan was too fast. The defender did not even touch his shirt before Lin Quan flew past him cleanly.
Seeing Lin Quan glide past Aberdeen's wide midfielder so neatly, everyone on Werder Bremen's coaching bench rose to their feet without realizing it.
Was it coming?
When Aberdeen's fullback saw his teammate beaten, he cursed inwardly and immediately stepped forward to block Lin Quan, refusing to give him a chance to shoot.
In recent years, wingers cutting inside to shoot had become fashionable in football.
Fast wingers who could dribble, cut inside, and shoot were highly sought after in modern football.
For example, Barca's Messi, Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, Bayern's Robben and Ribery, and others.
These players were worth tens of millions, even over a hundred million euros, and were the kind of talent money alone could not buy. They simply were not available on the market.
That was precisely why Tottenham winger Bale, who had been linked with Real Madrid, was reportedly valued at more than eighty million euros.
Even at that price, Tottenham did not want to sell. They still wanted to watch him a little longer.
That showed just how scarce a good winger was!
However, when wingers cut inside, they were often on their weaker foot. If defenders timed it right, it was easy to dispossess them and break up their attack.
Aberdeen's fullback did not believe a young player like Lin Quan had such excellent touch. His left foot definitely could not be as strong as his right.
So when the ball fell to Lin Quan's left foot, he stuck out a leg.
Then he was beaten!
Huh?
The fullback was utterly bewildered!
Where was that brat in front of me?
Where had such a big player gone?
How had he vanished?
When he turned around, oh, there he was—in our penalty area!
Wait, why was the football in our net?
I don't know how to create bonus chapters yet. I'll keep figuring it out.
Before you continue