Loan Arrangement

If the first goal had come from individual ability, then the second had relied on his organizational ability, linking up the team's attack in the final third before eventually finding the net.

"We really shouldn't have conceded that one!"

On the sidelines, the coaching staff applauded the reserves while also expressing some dissatisfaction with the starters' concession.

"Tiki-taka is powerful, sure, but its demands on the players are simply too high!"

"That's right. The first team has a whole group of outstanding midfielders like Xavi, Iniesta, and Busquets. Even an excellent defensive midfielder like Mascherano has been squeezed out of midfield and forced to play at the back."

"Look at the youth team instead. Aside from Lin Quan, our other midfielders are all a level short. Without a strong midfield, and without a scoring machine up front with the individual ability of Messi, it's perfectly normal that we can't replicate the first team's tiki-taka."

It wasn't as though the starters had failed to create chances. In fact, during the period when they had the reserves under siege, they managed three shots, two of them on target.

Unfortunately, the youth team's forwards were far inferior to Messi in terms of individual ability. Their shots either got blocked or were saved by the goalkeeper.

As a result, the starters held a massive advantage in possession but still could not score.

The youth coaches could not help thinking of the Spain National Team.

Spain's internationals were packed with stars. Their midfield masters alone could form an entire team!

Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Fàbregas, Alonso, David Silva, Mata, Cazorla, Navas, and others—nearly every one of them was the midfield core of his respective club.

Such a formidable midfield allowed Spain to seize control of the center of the pitch with ease.

Yet awkwardly, Spain lacked a superstar striker, a finisher like Messi.

As a result, Spain National Team matches often saw them dominate without scoring. Against strong opponents, they found it difficult to break down the opposition goal.

At the South Africa World Cup two years earlier, when Spain faced powerful sides like Portugal, Paraguay, Germany, and the Netherlands in the knockout rounds, they scored only one goal in every match.

It looked efficient enough, but their lack of firepower up front had been exposed beyond doubt.

Although each of those midfield masters could score, none possessed truly elite finishing. Compared with genuine strikers, they still fell far short.

Thus, it was common to see them repeatedly squander glorious scoring opportunities in matches.

If Messi had chosen to join the Spain National Team, then this Barca-based side would practically have been tailor-made for him.

How terrifying such a Spain side would have been on the world stage was almost unimaginable!

But unfortunately, there was only one Messi, and he had chosen the Argentina National Team.

"There's no particularly good solution. Even the national team, with such a powerful midfield, struggles to score, doesn't it? Our problem is similar to theirs, except our players are far weaker. Naturally, scoring is even more difficult for us."

The coaches frowned. The youth team's problems gave them a vague sense of concern.

Once those midfield masters in the first team retired, the current midfielders in the club's youth ranks would probably struggle to take over from them.

Would Barca still be able to continue playing its current tiki-taka then?

This crisis was actually more serious than the youth team's current problems, because the first team's results concerned the survival of the entire club.

Fortunately, they still had one promising prospect in their hands: Lin Quan.

Lin Quan had already been quite capable, and his performance in this match had earned unanimous recognition from the coaching staff.

Although the position he had played today was rather unusual—less like a defensive midfielder and more like an attacking midfielder—

his performance in this match had been so eye-catching that the coaches instinctively overlooked the issue.

Besides, young players' positions on the pitch were never fixed to begin with.

The team's training was also meant to find the position best suited to them, so their potential could be fully developed.

Therefore, not only did the coaches refrain from criticizing Lin Quan, they even reminded the starters' defenders to watch the force of their challenges and not injure him.

He was the jewel of the youth academy. They had to protect him properly and make sure nothing happened to him.

Barca's midfield mantle was still waiting for him to inherit!

Meanwhile, in the youth team Head Coach's office, Enrique pulled a thick stack of loan applications from a drawer.

He began searching through them for a suitable club.

Barca was currently one of the hottest Giant Clubs in football, while the La Masia Youth Academy was overflowing with talent.

As a result, many clubs—especially poorer, smaller clubs with no money for transfers—liked to loan players from them.

Spanish players were known for their refined technique, and Spain produced no shortage of midfielders.

Barca happened to have an abundance of midfielders. Many youth-team midfielders could not establish themselves in the first team and had no choice but to go out on loan for experience.

Once their loans expired, if Barca still had no suitable place for them, they would most likely choose to leave on permanent transfers.

And when they did leave, the clubs that had loaned them would naturally become their first choice.

After all, having adapted and settled in during the loan spell, they could already fit into the team's tactical system.

If they transferred to another club, they might need a long period of adjustment.

For young players, if they failed to produce satisfactory performances during their limited playing time, they would likely lose the Head Coach's trust and then be frozen out.

After all, professional football was extremely cruel.

The capable rose, the mediocre fell. If you were given an opportunity and failed to seize it, punishment was inevitable.

That was exactly what Enrique had in mind. He planned to loan Lin Quan to a club in a reasonably high-level league, one that was not particularly strong but needed results.

Such clubs had little patience for young players. If Lin Quan failed to perform after getting on the pitch, the other side's Head Coach might lose patience with him after only two or three matches.

If Lin Quan then spent a year warming the bench at that club, even if he had some talent, it would likely be wasted.

Furthermore, if he produced no eye-catching performances over that year, Barca would have more than enough reason to refuse to renew his contract.

That way, the task Chairman Rosell had given him would be complete.

Based on those requirements, he eliminated all clubs outside the Top Five Leagues.

The leagues those clubs played in were too weak. Barca youth players could easily secure starting positions there.

The Top Five Leagues, however, were far more competitive. Even a player from the La Masia Youth Academy could not possibly become a regular starter at Lin Quan's age.

Among the Top Five Leagues, the clubs that had submitted the most loan applications to Barca were clearly from La Liga.

But Enrique did not intend to loan Lin Quan to another La Liga club, because those teams would face Barca at least twice a year.

Whenever those teams played Barca, the media would naturally mention the Barca loanee in the opposing squad. That would only deepen Lin Quan's presence in Barca fans' minds, making it harder to erase him from their awareness.

So he ruled out La Liga first.

Premier League clubs had originally been quite good options, with sufficiently intense physical confrontations.

However, young players—especially young Spanish players—had an inexplicable resistance to playing in England.

The cold, damp weather of the British Isles, the fierce physical battles, rough fouls, and referees' lenient standards were all extremely unfavorable to technically oriented Spanish players.

Therefore, Lin Quan was very likely to refuse a loan to the Premier League.

In the end, after weighing every factor, Enrique found a league he considered the most suitable, one the player would not be too likely to reject—the Bundesliga!

And as it happened, a club from the Bundesliga had submitted an application!

In that case, it would be you—Werder Bremen!