After winning the friendly against Aberdeen, Werder Bremen had only one final warm-up match left in July.
Coach Schaaf was very satisfied with the attacking coordination in the midfield and front line over these two matches.
With the additions of Lin Quan and De Bruyne, Werder Bremen's attacking firepower this season had not diminished compared with last season; if anything, it had improved.
However, the problems in the team's back line still remained, so he began searching the transfer market for the defenders he wanted.
He first made a €1.5 million offer for Liberec's 26-year-old defender, Theodor Serey.
Liberec had won the Czech First League last season and would be competing in the Champions League next season.
Therefore, they were unwilling to sell off their own player cheaply at this point. Faced with Werder Bremen's offer, they flatly rejected it and stated that Serey was not for sale.
However, because the Czech league's standard was relatively low and it received little attention, it was difficult for them to keep players who had been invited by the Top Five Leagues.
As long as the other side offered enough to move them, they would ultimately agree to let the player transfer.
Schaaf knew this very well. After all, leagues in Eastern Europe, such as those in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, and even Ukraine, were practically Bundesliga territory.
If they wanted to buy players from those places, unless the player was also wanted by Giant Clubs from the Top Five Leagues, there was no one they could not bring in!
So he added €300,000 to the €1.5 million offer and made another bid of €1.8 million.
Liberec was swayed by the offer. In their eyes, Serey was not an indispensable, absolute starter.
With the €1.8 million offered by Werder Bremen, they could return to the transfer market and buy some young prospects to develop. As long as one of those prospects turned into a star, they would make a profit.
So they accepted Werder Bremen's offer and finalized the transfer.
Serey could play both fullback and wide midfielder, making him a versatile player.
However, the center-back position still had not been reinforced, and they needed to continue buying players.
Before bringing anyone else in, he first had to buy Sokratis Papastathopoulos, the starting center-back the team had loaned from Genoa.
The Greek was 24 years old, right in his prime, and his valuation had already reached €8 million two years earlier.
However, after joining AC Milan in the 2009-10 season, fierce competition within the squad had left him without enough playing time, causing his value to plummet to €2 million.
Werder Bremen had loaned him last season, and after a full campaign, his performances had won unanimous recognition from both the fans and the club.
Schaaf believed he was a player with great ability and potential, so he offered €2 million to buy him outright.
Although Genoa had no intention of recalling Papastathopoulos, they did not want to sell him so cheaply either.
Especially considering how well he had performed in the Bundesliga last season, €2 million was nowhere near enough to tempt them.
So they rejected Werder Bremen's offer and leaked word that it would take at least €5 million to take the Greek away.
That price exceeded Werder Bremen's limit. Schaaf gritted his teeth and raised the offer to €3.5 million, telling Genoa that this was Werder Bremen's final offer. Any higher, and they would not buy.
The moment Genoa heard the offer, they immediately agreed to the deal, making Coach Schaaf realize he had been played. He was furious.
But anger aside, he still knew in his heart that he had picked up a huge bargain.
€3.5 million for a starting center-back who could serve the team for at least seven or eight seasons—this deal was incredibly profitable!
Moreover, based on Sokratis Papastathopoulos's performances in the Bundesliga Field last season, if he could continue his outstanding form this season...
Then he would be highly likely to attract the attention of some Giant Clubs. If the team wanted to sell him on later, they would have no trouble finding buyers and could even make a huge profit.
So he informed the club and swiftly signed Papastathopoulos.
After buying two defenders, Werder Bremen's budget was nearly exhausted.
Therefore, they could only sign Lukimya, Fortuna Düsseldorf's center-back from last season, on a free transfer with no transfer fee.
Although Lukimya was a free agent, his ability was not weak.
He had been the defensive cornerstone of Fortuna Düsseldorf's push for the Bundesliga last season and had originally planned to transfer to Bundesliga side Cologne.
However, Cologne had unexpectedly been relegated last season, causing the transfer to fall through.
Unwilling to play in a lower-tier league, he naturally accepted Werder Bremen's olive branch without hesitation.
After signing three defenders and promoting a young player from the academy, cash-strapped Werder Bremen ended their transfer business for the season.
That summer, Werder Bremen earned €11.25 million from outgoing transfers and spent €6.25 million on purchases and loans.
That left them with a net profit of €5 million, a modest gain.
Unlike Werder Bremen's frugal and meticulous approach, the wealthy clubs in the European transfer market that year spent money like water, crazily buying the players they wanted.
Russian Premier League powerhouse Zenit Saint Petersburg took Porto forward Hulk away with a €50 million offer, showing the world the terrifying financial power of Russia's oligarchs.
Paris Saint-Germain's €42 million, the second-highest fee in history, for AC Milan's starting defender Thiago Silva not only came close to breaking the record transfer fee for a defender, but also showed the world just how extravagant the Middle Eastern tycoons were.
Not to be left out, Bundesliga giant Bayern Munich bought Athletic Bilbao's starting defender Javi Martinez for €40 million.
This transfer directly broke the Bundesliga's historical transfer record, raising the benchmark from €33 million to €40 million by a huge margin.
Athletic Bilbao, Martinez's club, had not wanted to let him go, so Bayern could only pay his release clause and force through the move for Martinez.
This transfer also gave Bayern the final piece of their championship puzzle.
The madness of the wealthy clubs seemed to ignite the major Giant Clubs' enthusiasm for buying players.
So they all made their moves as well.
Chelsea bought Hazard from Lille for £32 million.
Real Madrid took Modric from Tottenham for £30 million.
Arsenal captain Van Persie joined Red Devils Manchester United for £24 million.
The endless transfer news was overwhelming. Originally, none of it had anything to do with Lin Quan and the others.
But over in Barcelona, Mundo Deportivo revealed a piece of insider news:
A Scottish Premier League club had offered Barcelona €5 million, hoping to bring youth team player Lin Quan to the Scottish Premier League.
Because the report was very short and had no follow-up, it was quickly forgotten.
Lin Quan himself was completely unaware of it.
But on Barca's side, someone could not sit still.
"Damn it, what exactly did that kid do? Why are there already offers for him before the Bundesliga has even started?"
There might be a recommendation slot this Sunday. When the time comes, please don't leave the book sitting there—open it up and read a little more...
Before you continue