Enemies on a Narrow Road, We Really Drew Bayern!

Catalonia, Santpedor.

Guardiola was discussing with his girlfriend Sera where to take wedding photos and where to hold the ceremony.

Now that he finally had some free time, he wanted to make up for the years he'd neglected her.

Their relationship had been going on for over fifteen years—it would be inexcusable not to walk down the aisle together soon.

"This spot is nice, near the sea and with an old castle. We can invite friends and family for the wedding without reporters bothering us!"

"Alright, let's settle on this place. But who are you planning to invite?"

Sera looked at Guardiola curiously. She knew he had many friends in the football world, but she wasn't sure if he'd invite them.

"Let's keep it low-key. I don't want too many people intruding on our wedding."

Guardiola thought it over and decided not to send out a wide invitation, only inviting his closest friends.

"Okay, it's your call. But make sure to let Lin know in advance—I'm worried he might not have time to come back for our wedding."

"I'll call him about that, don't worry."

Guardiola spoke. Lin Quan had been in the Bundesliga for two months now.

During that time, he'd been busy with his vacation and wedding prep, and since the Bundesliga hadn't started yet, he hadn't paid much attention to how things were going over there.

It was time to get in touch with him, or else the kid might think his mentor had abandoned him.

With that thought, Guardiola pulled out his phone to call Lin Quan.

But just then, his phone rang—someone was calling.

Seeing an unfamiliar number, Guardiola frowned.

However, noticing the caller ID indicated it was from Germany, he answered anyway.

Werder Bremen. Since accepting the German Football Association's invitation, the entire club had entered intense preparation mode.

The four teams for the German Telekom Cup had been confirmed. Aside from Hamburg, the other two teams were stronger than Werder Bremen.

And not just by a little—at least a full tier above.

So Head Coach Schaaf pragmatically prepared a defensive formation for those two teams, planning to use a counterattack strategy.

In counterattacks, Werder Bremen had to seize their limited chances, or they'd likely lose.

After much deliberation, Schaaf decided to put Lin Quan in the starting lineup, using his excellent scoring ability to boost the team's counterattack power.

Of course, he needed to discuss this with the player himself—Lin Quan was still young and had never started before.

"Lin, I'm planning to put you in the starting lineup for the next match. Any issues? I mean, in terms of stamina?"

Schaaf got straight to the point without beating around the bush.

He might have worried about Lin Quan's mental stability and lack of experience before, but after observing him for so many days, those concerns were gone.

Now he only worried about one thing: stamina.

At sixteen or seventeen, it was a critical time for a teenager's physical development—the second growth spurt.

Boys at this age were generally lean, with less stamina than adults, making it hard to play a full match.

If it were a regular 90-minute game, Schaaf wouldn't easily put Lin Quan in the starting lineup.

But the Telekom Cup matches were only 60 minutes, with two 30-minute halves and a 15-minute break in between.

The stamina pressure wasn't too severe.

If Lin Quan felt fine with it, he could give it a try.

If Lin Quan lacked confidence, he'd scrap the plan and stick to subbing him in during the second half as usual.

Hearing the Head Coach's words, Lin Quan thought it over seriously.

He played as a forward, and the team was executing an extreme counterattack strategy, so he didn't need to drop deep to defend—just focus on the offensive end.

That meant the stamina demand on him wouldn't be too high. Playing the full match should be fine.

If it really came down to it, he could spend one Point in the system to exchange for a Stamina Potion.

With that in mind, Lin Quan nodded firmly:

"Don't worry, Coach. Leave it to me!"

That evening, the Telekom Cup draw began.

Werder Bremen was unlucky enough to draw Bayern Munich, and the result left the players with disappointed expressions.

"If only we'd drawn Hamburg. We'd have a good chance of advancing. Now this..."

Although Bayern Munich had performed poorly in the Bundesliga over the past two seasons, their raw strength—both in player quality and bench depth—was far beyond what Werder Bremen could match.

Still, it was just a cup match, and the kind where upsets were common. Werder Bremen wasn't completely without a chance.

"The odds of drawing Hamburg were too low. We and Hamburg were just brought in to make up the numbers."

The Telekom Cup's main draw is Dortmund and Bayern Munich, so there's no way they'd have them face off in the first round. That'd kill the finals' appeal, and the sponsors definitely wouldn't be happy about that!"

"Exactly, give both those teams a weakling in the first round to warm up, then let them put on a clash of the titans in the finals for the fans—that's the ideal script!"

"Ahem, I'll agree Hamburg's a weakling, but how are we one too? I'm not on board with that!"

"Haha, we weren't that many points above Hamburg last season either. Calling us a weakling isn't too far off!"

"But we've got Lin and Kevin this season—it's a whole different ball game from last year!"

Seeing the players joking and messing around, the coaching staff all breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

They'd been worried that after learning their opponents, the players might be intimidated by the sheer strength of the other teams, get timid, and underperform in the match.

As it turned out, they'd been overthinking it.

Werder Bremen's squad had their mindset right this season. They knew they were just a relegation-battling team, so facing sides like Bayern or Dortmund, they had no psychological burden.

Losing to them was only natural—nothing strange about it.

On the flip side, if they pulled off an upset, that'd be a huge win!

Over at Bayern Munich, the players were just as pleased with the draw.

"Heh, looks like we've got a decent first-round opponent—not too strong, not too weak, just right for warming up."

"Hope Dortmund doesn't get knocked out by Hamburg. That way, in the finals, we can get revenge for getting swept three times last year!"

The players were raring to go, itching to settle the score with Dortmund.

As for Werder Bremen?

Who cares about a trash team like that?