"Let's take a look at this play."
In the CCTV studio, He Wei and Xu Yang both perked up when Werder Bremen suddenly accelerated and launched a counterattack.
"Prödl won the ball and passed it to De Bruyne. Dortmund are racing back at full speed!
De Bruyne passes it—beautiful! That pass was incredibly penetrating. Dortmund's back line is in danger!
Lin Quan receives the ball, glides past Leitner, then beats Ginter too. Those dribbles were clean and decisive. Dortmund's defenders must be completely helpless after being beaten like that!"
"He's through one-on-one! He's going to shoot! Ah, he's been brought down!"
Xu Yang quickly added from beside him:
"We don't know how the referee will rule on this. Dortmund's center-back Hummels brought Lin Quan down from the side and behind. Whether he got the ball or not, that was a dangerous challenge and could draw a card. If he hit the man first, then it could be a red card and a penalty!"
"It's been given! The referee has awarded a penalty and shown Dortmund's number 15, Hummels, a red card. Although Hummels keeps explaining to the referee that he did not foul deliberately, the referee has no intention of changing the decision and simply signals for him to leave the field."
"The Dortmund players look extremely agitated. They've surrounded the referee to argue, seemingly protesting the decision."
"Lin Quan seems to be injured. All the Werder Bremen players have rushed into the penalty area!"
Compared to the referee's decision, He Wei was more concerned about Lin Quan's injury:
"Lin Quan appears to be seriously hurt. He hasn't moved at all since going down. The exact nature of his injury is still unknown, but there is no issue with Hummels receiving a red card for that challenge."
"Yes, tackles from behind like that are extremely dangerous for players. They can't see the tackler coming, so it's difficult for them to evade in time. Once they're caught by the tackle, injury is very likely—possibly even a serious injury that affects their career!"
After sending Hummels off, the referee walked over to Lin Quan, who was lying injured on the ground. After checking him for a while, he signaled for the stretcher to come on.
Werder Bremen's medical team rushed over immediately. Seeing the pain on Lin Quan's face, they were alarmed and hurriedly asked:
"Lin, how do you feel?"
Lin Quan was not actually badly hurt. He had noticed the opponent's sliding tackle and dodged in advance. Though he was still taken down, he had avoided the direct impact.
The main reason he remained on the ground was that, after the intense sprint, he was exhausted and his thigh had cramped. Being completely drained, he had been unable to get back up immediately.
Once they understood this, the medical team breathed a sigh of relief.
They quickly helped Lin Quan straighten his leg and relax his muscles.
A cramp after exercise was not a major problem, but it was still quite painful.
The home fans booed Lin Quan, believing he had dived and that the referee's decision was unfair.
But at that moment, the replay appeared on the big screen and silenced them.
On the screen, Hummels's tackle from the side and behind had not touched the ball at all. He had kicked the player directly.
Even someone who knew nothing about football could see that it was an obvious foul.
They could no longer shamelessly accuse the referee of bias or curse Lin Quan for diving.
Still, no matter what, it was Dortmund's number 10 who had caused the red card and penalty, so booing him was the right thing to do!
Boos filled the stadium as Lin Quan was carried off under immense pressure.
The moment Lin Quan went down injured, Coach Schaaf had already told the substitutes on the bench to begin warming up.
By the time Lin Quan was carried to the sidelines for treatment, Werder Bremen's number 14 winger, Aaron Hunt, had already stepped onto the pitch.
"Is the injury serious?"
Coach Schaaf had no mind to watch the penalty. He walked to the sideline and asked the head of the team's medical staff.
"At the moment, it doesn't appear too serious, but he will need further examination to determine the exact situation."
"Mm. Arrange a full set of examinations for him. Don't leave anything out!"
The moment Lin Quan went down injured, it felt as though something had fiercely gripped Coach Schaaf's heart.
He feared that the promising young talent the team had finally found would be ruined in his hands.
That was why he took Lin Quan's health especially seriously.
Young players might think they were in good physical condition and recovered quickly, so they did not pay enough attention to injuries.
That was clearly the wrong mindset. If injuries sustained early in a professional career were not taken seriously, they could easily leave behind major hidden risks.
When those injuries accumulated over time and worsened or kept recurring, it might already be too late for regret.
Countless talented footballers had been ruined by injuries. Therefore, in recent years, major clubs had placed enormous importance on their medical teams, sparing no expense to hire professional sports and medical experts.
The days when some teams used their gatekeepers as doctors had long since disappeared.
It was not only Schaaf who was deeply concerned about Lin Quan's injury. In Munich, when Guardiola saw Lin Quan lying motionless during the live broadcast, he shot to his feet, his face full of tension and fear.
He knew only too well what an injury meant for a player at that age. It could directly destroy their career!
Lin Quan's career had only just begun. If it were so easily ruined, Guardiola feared that he might never recover from the blow.
"Sorry for the trouble, General Manager Hoeness. I have something urgent to deal with. We can discuss the matters you mentioned another time!"
He stood up and apologized to the other person in the meeting room. After speaking, he turned and prepared to leave.
"Uh, Coach Guardiola, your son's injury probably isn't too serious. Our letter of intent is nearly finalized. We only need your signature. How about signing the agreement first, then—"
Hoeness was rather speechless. Even if Guardiola was worried about his son, there was no need to be in such a rush!
How long could signing his name possibly take?
However, Guardiola had already left the meeting room before Hoeness could finish, leaving only Hoeness and Guardiola's agent staring at each other.
"Say, has Coach Guardiola always been this impulsive?"
Hoeness was somewhat annoyed. He was, after all, Bayern Munich's general manager.
He had spent the entire day talking with Guardiola, taking him to see the club's youth teams, academy, training base, and even the locker room.
Yet when it came time to sign, Guardiola tossed out a sentence and ran off. Hoeness felt slighted, as though he had not been shown due respect.
Orovitg shook his head.
"Not really. Pep is a very humble person and normally would not be so discourteous. But when it concerns someone he cares about deeply, he can lose his composure."
"Are there many people he cares about that much? I'm not trying to pry into Coach Guardiola's private life. You understand—I need to eliminate risks for the club. We can't have our Head Coach casually abandoning the team, can we?"
Orovitg said seriously, "You can rest assured on that point. Pep is a man of feeling, but there is no doubting his professional ethics. I can tell you that there are not many people he cares about this much. Apart from his family, only two people on the football pitch have received that degree of concern from him!"
"Oh? Who are they?"
Hoeness asked curiously.
"Barca's number 10, Messi, and the one you just saw lying injured on the ground!"
Before you continue