Panenka Penalty and the German Football Association's Invitation

On July 29, Werder Bremen traveled to face their final warm-up opponent of the month, Paderborn from the 2. Bundesliga.

Coach Schaaf didn't adjust the midfield and forward lineup for this match, instead focusing heavily on rearranging the defense.

Paderborn finished fifth in the 2. Bundesliga last season, not far from the promotion zone.

So their club chairman was ambitious, dreaming of achieving promotion to the Bundesliga.

To that end, they invested heavily in transfers this season, bringing in several strong players.

Thus, overall, they were slightly stronger than their previous warm-up opponent, Cottbus.

Both Werder Bremen and Paderborn were teams strong in attack but weak in defense, and this match was a clash of titans.

In the 13th minute of the first half, the home team Paderborn scored first.

Just five minutes later, Werder Bremen equalized with a counterattack goal.

In the 28th minute, Werder Bremen scored directly from a free kick, making it 2-1.

During first-half stoppage time, Werder Bremen had a golden opportunity, but De Bruyne's shot hit the post and bounced out.

After halftime, the teams switched sides and resumed play.

In the 53rd minute, substitute Lin Quan dribbled into the opponent's penalty area and was tripped by a defender, earning a penalty.

Since captain Fritz, the team's primary penalty taker, was resting, Schaaf let Lin Quan take the penalty himself.

Taking a penalty tests a player's mental fortitude, and he wanted to observe Lin Quan's composure and psychological resilience.

Lin Quan carried eight years of Messi's career experience, so taking penalties was second nature to him.

He stood at the spot, studied the goalkeeper's positioning, and began his run-up.

As he neared the ball, he suddenly changed his rhythm to fake out the goalkeeper, and when the keeper instinctively dove, he struck the ball.

Seeing Lin Quan make contact with his toe, Coach Schaaf shot up from his seat.

This kid, he's got some nerve, using that kind of technique for a penalty!

The ball arced high, not fast, with a lofty trajectory.

It sailed over the head of the goalkeeper, who had just hit the ground after his dive, and floated steadily into the net.

Lin Quan scored with a chip shot, making it 3-1.

"That kid, his mental fortitude is incredible, isn't it? Most players would go for the safest option, but he pulls out a chip shot..."

Seeing the goal go in, Coach Schaaf breathed a sigh of relief.

After sitting down, he couldn't help but complain to his colleagues nearby.

"Um, I wonder, could it be that a chip shot is what this kid considers the safest option?"

Hennebach's words left everyone silent...

In the following minutes, neither side managed to change the score.

The final score of 3-1 held until the end, and Werder Bremen secured their third straight warm-up win.

Lin Quan, who had played in all three matches, also earned a solid three points.

Unfortunately, the team had no more warm-up games before the end of the second training phase.

That meant for the next half-month or so, he had no matches to play, which left him a bit down.

The day he could afford a top-tier talent still felt far away!

While Lin Quan was fretting over the lack of games, at the German Football Association headquarters, officials were discussing with sponsor T-Home the invitation slots for this season's German Telekom Cup.

The German Telekom Cup was founded in 2009, succeeding the German League Cup.

This tournament is sponsored by the renowned telecom company T-Home and is held annually.

Four teams participate each time, including the fixed invitations for the previous season's Bundesliga champion and runner-up.

Additionally, one team from the mid-table and one from the relegation zone are invited.

With so few teams, the rules are simple.

The German Telekom Cup uses a random draw for two semifinals, with the winners advancing to the final and the losers playing for third place, totaling four matches.

The prize money isn't high, with the champion earning only 300,000 euros.

Still, having such high-level competition before the season starts helps teams test their transfer success, making it somewhat appealing to invited clubs.

To avoid disrupting team preparations, the Telekom Cup is short, with all four matches scheduled over two days.

Individual match times are also limited, with each half lasting only 30 minutes.

If the score is tied after 60 minutes, the match goes straight to a penalty shootout.

This unique format has made the Telekom Cup a hotbed for upsets.

Even giants like Bayern Munich often stumble; since the tournament's inception, the Bundesliga powerhouse has never won it once.

This season, three of the four invited teams have already been confirmed: last season's Bundesliga champion Dortmund, runner-up Bayern Munich, The team in the relegation zone chosen was Hamburg, which had barely stayed up last season by a single point.

Those three teams were easy to pick, but which mid-table team should be chosen?

On this issue, the German Football Association and the sponsors had differing opinions.

According to the German Football Association, since the Bundesliga has 18 teams, the mid-table team should be ninth or tenth place.

Those two teams were ninth-place Werder Bremen and tenth-place Nuremberg.

But the sponsors felt the cities of these two teams were too small for promotion and marketing, so they wanted to pick Stuttgart, a big city.

Stuttgart is Germany's sixth-largest city, with a larger population and greater commercial value.

Holding the Telekom Cup there would give the sponsors a stronger advertising impact.

The two sides argued back and forth, with the German Football Association insisting on not breaking the rules.

Football is a national sport in Germany with enormous commercial value, so there's no shortage of sponsors.

The reason they partnered with T-Home was purely because it was a local company and past collaborations had been pleasant, which led to their selection.

If they got cocky and started meddling in the association's work, the German Football Association wouldn't mind switching sponsors—Volkswagen, for instance, would be a good choice.

Hearing that, T-Home backed down immediately, saying they respected the association's decision.

Seeing the other side compromise, the German Football Association also gave them a face-saving gesture, choosing Bremen, the slightly larger city, between Werder Bremen and Nuremberg.

Soon, the German Football Association's invitation landed on the desk of club Head Coach Schaaf.

Looking at the invitation, Schaaf hesitated:

Should he accept it or not?

Accepting the invitation meant a chance at the 300,000 euro prize money and a cut of ticket sales.

But it would disrupt the team's training schedule.

Moreover, playing two matches in two days would be a test for the players.

Veterans might handle it, but for the younger players—especially those who had never played in a Bundesliga match—it would be a huge challenge.

In particular, they might face strong teams like Bayern Munich and Dortmund.

If they suffered a crushing defeat, the confidence built from their three-game winning streak might be completely wiped out.

So, instead of deciding on his own, he gathered the coaching staff and also called in Lin Quan and De Bruyne, the two standout young players, to ask for their opinions.

Hearing there were more matches to play, and against the Bundesliga champions and runners-up, Lin Quan's eyes lit up.

This was a match worth two points!

Go, they had to go!