Is This Guy Really Only 17 Years Old?

"Marco Reus, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Sebastian Kehl, Mats Hummels, Neven Subotic, Roman Weidenfeller, Anno Chen—you're one group."

"Papa, Nuri Sahin, Marcel Schmelzer, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Kuba, Julian Schieber, Mitchell Langerak—you're one group."

"Seven versus seven. Everyone else, be ready to stand by at any time!"

And just like that, Chen Anno's first in-team training session after joining Borussia Dortmund began.

What he had not expected was for Klopp to put him straight onto the starters' side.

That made Chen Anno both nervous and excited.

He was nervous because he worried the other teammates might be unhappy with him. After all, to Borussia Dortmund, he was a newcomer who could not possibly be any newer.

What excited him was that Klopp's promise to him back in the café—to develop him as a future core—had not just been sweet talk.

Because it was seven versus seven, both sides lined up in a 2-1-2-1. On Chen Anno's side, he and Marco Reus were the two, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang led the line up front.

With a whistle from Zeljko Buvac, Chen Anno's first in-team scrimmage officially began.

Play started from the goalkeeper. Roman Weidenfeller kicked the ball to Mats Hummels, who passed it to Sebastian Kehl.

The ball came to Chen Anno's feet, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan closed him down at the first opportunity.

To be honest, he felt somewhat unconvinced about Chen Anno being assigned by Klopp to the main group.

He had transferred in from Shakhtar Donetsk during this summer window and had originally thought he would get the No. 10 shirt Gotze had left behind. Who would have thought it would be snatched away by this kid who had appeared out of nowhere halfway through?

Although his personality was introverted and comparatively mild, facing this seventeen-year-old child in front of him, he still inevitably had some feelings about it.

Chen Anno received the ball with his back to goal. Feeling the force coming from behind him, he did not panic in the slightest.

Of course he did not know what Mkhitaryan was thinking, but even if he had, he would not have cared.

On the pitch, you had to speak with ability.

Mkhitaryan tugged at him with his hands from behind, his feet never stopping as he tried to poke the ball away from behind.

Chen Anno pushed the ball forward with his right foot, then quickly turned his body to the left.

Because Chen Anno's back was to him, Mkhitaryan did not see the ball clearly and thought Chen Anno wanted to force his way down the flank, so his center of gravity immediately shifted left.

At that moment, Chen Anno knocked the ball backward with his right heel. The ball happened to pass through his opponent's legs, and Chen Anno pushed off with his foot while swinging his left arm, forcibly bursting out from Mkhitaryan's left side.

By the time Mkhitaryan reacted and wanted to grab him with both hands, it was already too late!

How fast was Chen Anno once he got going?

At that moment, one only had to look at Mkhitaryan's dumbstruck expression to feel it.

By the time he turned around and wanted to chase back, he could not even see Chen Anno's taillights.

After shaking off the defense, Chen Anno strode toward the goal ahead. Seeing this, Sokratis Papastathopoulos immediately stepped forward to cover.

At that moment, Chen Anno lifted his head and glanced at the situation in the front field. His left and right feet slid rapidly over the ball while his body swayed with wide movements.

That string of feints almost made Sokratis Papastathopoulos's eyes spin.

Just as he did not know whether to keep stepping forward or go straight in with a tackle, Chen Anno suddenly nudged the ball with his left foot.

Papa immediately moved his right foot, preparing to block Chen Anno's route of breakthrough, but the next instant, the ball seemed to be pulled by a rubber band and suddenly bounced back again.

A left-footed elastico!

In front of goal, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's figure had arrived at exactly the right spot!

Now!

Chen Anno did not choose to keep going forward. He jabbed his right foot at the ball that had bounced back, and it appeared right in front of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The Gabonese forward himself froze for a moment. He had not seen at all how Chen Anno had sent the ball over.

It was precisely that one second of hesitation.

Nuri Sahin had already arrived from behind and kicked the ball directly out over the touchline.

Having missed such a wonderful pass, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang felt a little embarrassed and quickly raised a hand toward Chen Anno in apology.

Chen Anno merely smiled. It was everyone's first time linking up, so a few mistakes were far too normal.

Back when he had been at Sao Paulo, everyone had already trained together for so long, yet Fabiano still often failed to connect with his passes.

On the other side, Marco Reus watched Chen Anno's effortless escape just now and his instant burst of acceleration, and his eyes lit up as well.

"Hey...! Anno!" Marco Reus gave Chen Anno a thumbs-up.

Chen Anno smiled back in response.

"Anno, I'm really sorry. I honestly didn't expect the ball to suddenly arrive at my feet just now, and I didn't react in time. How did you do that? That was amazing."

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also ran over. At this moment, the arrogance from earlier was gone from his face, replaced by admiration for a genius.

"Hehe... Pierre, when you play with me, you need to stay focused at all times." Chen Anno winked at him playfully.

The moment an expert made a move, you knew whether he had it or not.

At this moment, Henrikh Mkhitaryan finally understood why Klopp thought so highly of this seventeen-year-old kid.

The little guy was downright terrifying. Especially that move just now to break free—never mind how fluid it had been, Mkhitaryan had never seen that kind of instant acceleration before.

"We still need more joint training. That's why they haven't built up any chemistry yet," Kravietz said, shaking his head.

"Exactly. It really does take time," Klopp said with an approving nod. "But... why do I feel like it isn't Anno who needs time to adapt to his teammates, but rather... his teammates who need time to adapt to Anno!"

"Hahaha... I think you're absolutely right, Jurgen."

As time passed, Chen Anno had more or less figured out his teammates' playing habits.

Soon, Hummels sent a long pass straight to Chen Anno on the flank. Chen Anno lifted his right foot slightly, then pulled the ball back.

His touch and turn were silky smooth, like flowing water!

Even Klopp and Kravietz on the sidelines couldn't help applauding, to say nothing of the substitute players watching the excitement nearby.

Having just completed the breakthrough, Chen Anno accelerated again. When he reached the edge of the penalty area, he played a one-two with Aubameyang, then drove into the box.

The moment he drew back his right foot to shoot, Papastathopoulos came sliding in.

Chen Anno suddenly flicked his ankle, faking the shot and cutting the ball instead, then pushed it with his left foot into the far corner of the net.

The applause around them grew even more enthusiastic.

"Beautifully done! Anno, your reactions are way too quick." Reus came up and high-fived him.

"Hey...! Little Anno, at least leave me some dignity," Sokratis Papastathopoulos said from the side with a miserable look.

"Haha..." Chen Anno reached out and pulled Papastathopoulos up. "Bro, this is my first training session. I've got to leave the coach with a good impression."

Then he put an arm around the Greek center-back's shoulders. "But don't worry. When I get the chance later, I'll definitely treat you to a feast!"

"Is this little guy really only seventeen?" Seeing this from the back line, Hummels turned to look at Subotic beside him, a huge question mark practically hanging over his head.

"He... should be?" Subotic replied, not sounding very confident either.

"Heh... looks like our boss found us another genius!" Weidenfeller stepped forward and cut in. "Judging by this little guy's performance, whether it's football IQ or emotional intelligence, he doesn't act like a kid at all. I wonder what kind of family could raise such an outstanding young man."

In short, Chen Anno's first training session not only left a deep impression on the coaches, but also quickly helped him blend in with his teammates.

Everyone felt that Chen Anno was highly capable, emotionally intelligent, humble, easygoing, and did not have the slightest bit of arrogance despite his talent.

Chen Anno had accomplished all of that in only half a day.

A bookshelf grouping function has been added. Multiple books can now be added into groups for classification. If you have any suggestions after using it, feel free to raise them, and we will make further adjustments.