Klose II

When Lin Quan took the ball and broke through, many spectators held their breath and rose to their feet unconsciously, as if trying to see more clearly.

When Lin Quan beat the wide midfielder, beat the fullback, cut inside, and curled a shot into the far corner with the outside of his foot to make it 3-2, the fans erupted.

A wave of enthusiastic cheers burst from the stands. Some fans seated closer to the pitch even shouted themselves hoarse at Lin Quan:

"Lin, well done!"

"Beautiful!"

"Destroy them!"

"Get another one!"

Some fans even tried to climb over the barriers, wanting to rush onto the pitch to hug Lin Quan in celebration.

The security guards on the sidelines were extremely nervous and hurriedly stopped those overly excited fans.

Lin Quan was startled by the fans' enthusiasm. After freezing for a moment, he waved to thank them for their support, then quickly ran away.

He had long heard that Bundesliga fans were passionate, especially the die-hard supporters.

But he had not expected them to be this passionate. Bundesliga stadiums generally had high barriers around the pitch precisely to stop fans from climbing onto it.

Yet now, it seemed that even barriers were not entirely safe.

Lin Quan had not expected to be so popular among the fans. After all, he had yet to play an official match for the team and had only appeared in one friendly.

What he did not know was that, among the more than thirty thousand spectators present today, nearly ten thousand had watched his spectacular goal from the previous match online and had specifically come to the stadium for this friendly.

In this age of rapidly developing social media, becoming famous from a single goal had become far easier than before.

After Lin Quan scored, the home team's coaching staff finally relaxed.

"Looks like Lin Quan isn't the sort of player who shines only briefly. His dribbling and ability to beat defenders are still sharp. We can stop worrying."

Assistant coach Rolf had been worried that Lin Quan's brilliant performance in the previous match had been nothing more than a flash in the pan. He feared that Lin Quan would immediately revert to his true level in the next match.

If that happened, it would have greatly affected the plans they had already made for the new season.

A modest club like Werder Bremen usually relied on ordinary players.

They found it difficult to retain top stars. Whenever they produced a promising talent, Giant Clubs would immediately come trying to poach him.

Just like Klose and Özil, who had come through their squad. Werder Bremen had barely had time to enjoy them before Giant Clubs like Bayern and Real Madrid snapped them up for high fees.

They themselves knew they could not keep rising talents like Lin Quan and De Bruyne, so they had never entertained the fantasy of buying out the two players.

They simply wanted to pragmatically use these talented young players to improve the team's results and complete the club's relegation-survival mission.

But if the two of them suffered a massive drop in form in real matches, it would be a bolt from the blue for Werder Bremen, who had built their tactics around them.

The match continued. After Lin Quan came on, Werder Bremen's defensive problems remained unresolved.

However, their attacking firepower was completely ignited.

Lin Quan's dribbling ability, Füllkrug's link-up play, De Bruyne's passing, and the excellent off-the-ball movement of the team's other senior figure, left midfielder Aaron Hunt.

The four of them linked up Werder Bremen's attacking system in the final third, leaving Aberdeen's goal under constant threat.

The immense defensive pressure in the back forced Aberdeen to reduce the number of players committed to attack.

After recognizing the threat posed by the opposition's tall striker, Schaaf also brought on the veteran Prödl.

Prödl stood 194 centimeters tall, giving him a major advantage against aerial balls.

Combined with his powerful physique and 94-kilogram frame, he was extremely strong in physical duels.

This allowed him to hold his position, muscle opponents away, and stop or disrupt their attacks.

After coming on, he won several consecutive battles against the opposing tall striker, greatly reducing Aberdeen's attacking threat.

Thus, Aberdeen were completely silenced at both ends of the pitch.

In stoppage time, Lin Quan broke through and laid the ball off. Füllkrug was in an excellent position.

He could have shot immediately after receiving the ball, but he hesitated.

An opposing defender promptly closed him down and nearly won the ball.

Fortunately, he still managed to stumble through a pass. Lin Quan had two defenders around him and had no chance to turn and shoot after receiving it.

So he feigned an attempt to receive the ball, moved early, dragged the defenders away, and deliberately let the ball run through to Aaron Hunt, who was arriving from behind.

The latter did not waste the golden opportunity Lin Quan had created. He unleashed a powerful shot after receiving the ball and sent it into the net.

Aaron was delighted after scoring. He pointed at Lin Quan, signaling for him to celebrate together.

Though the goal was not assisted by Lin Quan, his dummy had created even more danger than a pass would have.

He had dragged away defenders and disrupted the opposition's judgment.

Naturally, Lin Quan would not refuse an opportunity to strengthen his friendship with the team's senior players, so he called De Bruyne over to celebrate as well.

After the celebration, he specifically walked over to Füllkrug, patted him on the shoulder, and said:

"If you have a chance, shoot. If you really don't have one, then pass. Whether you shoot or pass, don't hesitate!"

Füllkrug blushed and said somewhat embarrassedly:

"Thank you, Lin. I know what I need to do now!"

He himself knew that he had hesitated too much just now and missed the best opportunity.

He had always wanted to be a supporting player and did not want to steal the spotlight.

But he was still the team's only striker. If he refused to shoot even with such a good scoring opportunity, then he posed no threat to the opposition at all.

Once the opposition saw through that, they would likely ignore him defensively and focus on marking his teammates.

Then, with his teammates restricted and him unwilling to shoot, the team's attack would be frozen.

So even if he did not want to steal the spotlight, he still had to shoot when it mattered.

Werder Bremen fans called Füllkrug Klose II, hoping he could achieve what his predecessor had achieved.

But judging from what he would accomplish in the future, he was still far from that goal.

Although Klose did not appear particularly outstanding technically and was somewhat behind those flamboyant superstars in terms of style.

His skill set was extremely comprehensive. He could do everything, whether with his head or his feet.

Moreover, his instincts in front of goal and off-the-ball movement were both world-class. If you passed to him, he could always put the ball in with an exceptionally sensible finish, as though it were effortless.

And that itself was a kind of strength.

It was simply that players with understated styles and understated personalities were far less famous than flamboyant superstars, causing many people to underestimate their ability.

If Füllkrug truly wanted to use Klose as his goal, then he would at least have to work twice as hard.

Perhaps Lin Quan's advice had worked. After the match restarted, Füllkrug finally stopped hesitating.

In the final minute of stoppage time, Lin Quan was brought down by a defender while carrying the ball outside the penalty area.

De Bruyne took the free kick. The position was within his range, so he chose to shoot directly.

It was a high-quality strike, fast and wickedly placed. The goalkeeper leaped high, but could not reach the ball.

Seeing the ball sail beyond the goalkeeper's fingertips, De Bruyne spread his arms, already preparing to celebrate his first hat-trick.

But because he had pursued the angle too much, the ball struck the crossbar and bounced back out.

De Bruyne grabbed his head in frustration. If he had not chased such a perfect angle, it would have gone in.

After the ball rebounded, Aberdeen's penalty area descended into chaos.

Several players fought for the first ball. No one knew who had headed it out of the box, but it fell at Füllkrug's feet.

Füllkrug froze for a moment, seemingly unprepared.

Seeing the defenders rush toward him, he instinctively wanted to pass, but suddenly remembered what Lin Quan had said earlier.

His teammates were not in particularly good positions right then. The penalty area was packed with players, and any pass had a high chance of being blocked.

On the contrary, his own position was the best.

So, without taking a touch, he swung his leg and shot.

It was a low drive. The goalkeeper's view was blocked by the bodies of players from both sides, and he did not see the ball immediately.

By the time he noticed the shooting motion, it was too late to make the save. The ball skimmed along the ground and flew into the net.

I want to mention that this book has not received any recommendations yet. The site currently ranks recommendations based on follow-up reads, and I don't know whether my lack of recommendations is related to that.

So I sincerely ask everyone not to stockpile chapters. After an update, please open it and take a look to count as a follow-up read. Thank you, everyone!