"Marco Reus, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Sebastian Kehl, Mats Hummels, Neven Subotic, Roman Weidenfeller, Chen Anno, you're one team."
"Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Nuri Sahin, Marcel Schmelzer, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Jakub Blaszczykowski, Julian Schieber, Mitchell Langerak, you're the other team."
"Seven versus seven. Everyone else, stay ready to step in at any time!"
Chen Anno's first internal training session after joining Borussia Dortmund began just like that.
And to his surprise, Klopp had placed him directly on the starting side.
That left Chen Anno both nervous and excited.
He was nervous because he worried the other teammates might be unhappy with him. After all, to Dortmund, he was a newcomer in every sense of the word.
What excited him was that Klopp's promise in the café—that he would be developed as a future core player—had not been empty words.
Since it was seven versus seven, both sides lined up in a 2-1-2-1 formation. On Chen Anno's side, he and Reus formed the pair of two, while Aubameyang played furthest forward.
At the sound of Buvac's whistle, Chen Anno's first internal scrimmage officially began.
Starting from the goalkeeper, Weidenfeller kicked the ball to Hummels, who passed it to Kehl.
The ball arrived at Chen Anno's feet, and Mkhitaryan immediately closed him down.
To be honest, Mkhitaryan was somewhat unconvinced that Klopp had assigned Chen Anno to the starting group.
He had transferred from Shakhtar Donetsk during the summer window, originally thinking he would inherit Gotze's number ten shirt. Who would have thought this kid who had appeared out of nowhere would snatch it away from him?
Although he was introverted and mild-tempered, he could not help feeling a little resentful when facing this seventeen-year-old kid.
Chen Anno received the ball with his back to goal. Feeling the pressure against his back, he did not panic in the slightest.
Of course, he had no idea what Mkhitaryan was thinking. But even if he had known, he would not have cared.
On the pitch, strength was what spoke.
Mkhitaryan tugged at him from behind, his feet constantly moving as he tried to poke the ball away from the back.
Chen Anno pushed the ball forward with his right foot, then swiftly turned his body to the left.
Because Chen Anno had his back to him, Mkhitaryan could not clearly see the ball at his feet. Thinking Chen Anno was going to force his way down the flank, he immediately shifted his center of gravity left.
At that moment, Chen Anno flicked the ball backward with the heel of his right foot. The ball passed perfectly through his opponent's legs, and with one push off the ground and a swing of his left arm, Chen Anno burst past Mkhitaryan on his left side.
By the time Mkhitaryan reacted and tried to grab him with both hands, it was already too late!
Just how fast was Chen Anno once he got going?
One look at Mkhitaryan's stunned expression said it all.
By the time he turned around to chase back, he could not even see Chen Anno's taillights.
After shaking off the defense, Chen Anno charged toward the goal ahead in long strides. Seeing this, Sokratis Papastathopoulos immediately stepped up to cover.
Chen Anno glanced up at the situation ahead, his feet rapidly gliding over the ball as his body swayed dramatically.
The string of feints left Sokratis Papastathopoulos completely dazzled.
Just as he hesitated between continuing to close down or going straight for the tackle, Chen Anno suddenly nudged the ball with his left foot.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos immediately moved his right foot to block Chen Anno's route, but in the next instant, the ball seemed to be pulled by an elastic band and suddenly snapped back.
A reverse elastico!
In front of goal, Aubameyang had arrived at just the right spot!
Now!
Chen Anno did not continue forward. Instead, he poked the rebounding ball ahead with his right foot, sending it perfectly into Aubameyang's path.
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The Gabonese forward froze for a moment himself. He had not even seen how Chen Anno had delivered the ball to him.
In that one second of hesitation,
Sahin had already rushed in from behind and booted the ball out of bounds.
Having wasted such a wonderful pass, Aubameyang looked a little embarrassed and quickly raised his hand toward Chen Anno.
Chen Anno merely smiled. It was their first time playing together, so a few mistakes were perfectly normal.
Back at Sao Paulo, they had trained together for so long, yet Fabiano still often failed to receive his passes.
On the other side, Reus's eyes lit up as he watched Chen Anno's calm escape from pressure and explosive burst of speed.
"Hey... Anno!" Reus gave Chen Anno a thumbs-up.
Chen Anno smiled in response.
"Anno, I'm sorry. I really didn't expect the ball to suddenly come to my feet. I didn't react in time. How did you do that? That was incredible."
Aubameyang ran over as well. The arrogance he had shown earlier was gone, replaced by admiration for a prodigy.
"Hehe... Pierre, if you're going to play with me, you need to stay focused at all times." Chen Anno winked at him mischievously.
When an expert made a move, everyone knew whether he had the real thing.
At that point, Mkhitaryan finally understood why Klopp thought so highly of this seventeen-year-old kid.
This little guy was simply terrifying. Leaving aside how fluid that escape had been, Mkhitaryan had never seen anyone possess such explosive acceleration.
"They still need more time training together. That's why they haven't developed chemistry yet." Kravietz shook his head.
"That's right, they do need time." Klopp nodded in agreement. "But... why do I feel it isn't Anno who needs time to adapt to his teammates? Rather... it's 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 wing. Chen Anno slightly lifted his right foot, then dragged the ball back.
The first touch and turn were as smooth as flowing water!
Even Klopp and Kravietz on the sideline could not help applauding, and the substitutes watching from the side were even more enthusiastic.
Having just completed the breakthrough, Chen Anno accelerated again. Near the edge of the penalty area, he played a one-two with Aubameyang before breaking into the box.
Just as he swung his right foot to shoot, Sokratis Papastathopoulos came sliding in.
Chen Anno suddenly flicked his ankle, feinted a shot, and cut the ball inside. Then he used his left foot to place it into the far corner.
The applause around them grew even louder.
"Beautifully done! Anno, your reactions are unbelievably quick." Reus stepped up and high-fived him.
"Hey! Little Anno, at least leave me some dignity." Sokratis Papastathopoulos stood nearby with a miserable expression.
"Haha..." Chen Anno reached out and pulled Sokratis Papastathopoulos up. "Brother, this is my first training session. I have to leave a good impression on the coaches."
Then he put an arm around the Greek center-back's shoulders. "But don't worry. I'll definitely treat you to a big meal when I get the chance later."
"Is this little guy really only seventeen?" Seeing this, Hummels turned to Subotic beside him, a huge question mark hanging over his head.
"Probably... right?" Subotic replied, sounding uncertain himself.
"Hehe... looks like our boss has found another genius for us!" Weidenfeller chimed in. "Judging by this kid's performance, whether it's his football IQ or emotional intelligence, he doesn't seem like a child 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 allowed him to quickly become one with his teammates.
Everyone felt that Chen Anno was capable, emotionally intelligent, humble, and easygoing, without the slightest trace of arrogance over his talent.
Chen Anno had accomplished all that in only half a day.
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