Almost Believed It

The singing in the stands was deafening. The fans' movements seemed perfectly synchronized, red-and-white flags and scarves churning like waves, weaving the entire stadium into a red-and-white stronghold filled with belief.

"Is this the Bundesliga?"

Chen Anno sat on the bench. Behind the goal to his left was the South Stand, where Augsburg's die-hard fans were gathered, and some of them had already set off fireworks.

Compared with the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A, the atmosphere of the Bundesliga felt completely different to Chen Anno.

Although the fans were all extremely passionate, in the stands back in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A, their cheering felt more spontaneous. More than anything, everyone treated each match as their own carnival.

The Bundesliga, however, was entirely different. The orderly, resonant war songs, the roar of voices wrapped in the city's everyday fire and smoke, the flying flags, and the scarves the fans held aloft all showcased their organization.

All the fans seemed to have twisted themselves into one rope, becoming the twelfth man on the pitch, fighting alongside their team!

Although WWK Arena was not large and could only seat a little over thirty thousand people, it left Chen Anno utterly shaken.

Amid the waves of sound from the fans, he felt as if the entire stadium was vibrating along with the rhythm.

Before coming, Chen Anno had looked up the Augsburg club online.

This was a team located in Bavaria, Germany. Founded in 1907, they had only just been promoted to the Bundesliga in the 11-12 season, their first time reaching Germany's top division since the club was established.

Last season, Augsburg had only finished 15th in the league, just two points above the relegation zone, narrowly completing their mission of staying up.

Their first match of this season was against title contenders Borussia Dortmund. Even playing at home, the odds were probably stacked against them.

But after the match began, what Chen Anno found somewhat baffling was that their head coach Markus Weinzierl had actually chosen to trade attacks with Borussia Dortmund.

Was it because Borussia Dortmund's attacking line had almost completely changed this season, giving Markus Weinzierl the illusion that Augsburg could already go toe-to-toe with Borussia Dortmund in an attacking battle?

Or was it because this guy had played one season in the Bundesliga and had already become arrogant, thinking that with his own ability, he could wrestle with Klopp?

Chen Anno could not help looking toward the other side of the bench. Klopp was chatting with Kravietz about something, his expression very relaxed.

"Hey! Old Klopp! That guy across from you is looking down on you. Aren't you going to show him something? Get him!"

Of course, Chen Anno could only mutter those words in his heart.

"Hey...! Anno." Klopp's voice suddenly sounded beside his ear, giving Chen Anno a fright.

"Papa... move over a bit. I'll have a word with Anno."

Klopp patted Sokratis Papastathopoulos, who was sitting beside Chen Anno. The Greek dared to be angry but did not dare to speak.

Chen Anno felt a little uneasy. Had Old Klopp heard what he had just been muttering in his heart? That should not be possible!

"Don't be nervous, Anno." Klopp directly put an arm around Chen Anno's shoulders and pointed toward the pitch with his left hand. "Watch the match carefully. Observe your teammates' runs and playing habits, and also look at the opponent's defending... mm... though our opponent today is very weak."

Good grief! You really don't take Augsburg seriously at all!

If Markus Weinzierl on the other side heard you say that, who knew whether he would wave his hand and have them attack even more fiercely.

Chen Anno silently sympathized with Markus Weinzierl for one second, then nodded to Klopp.

"Observe the match more. If you have any questions, you can come and ask me at any time, or you can write them down first and ask later. By observing your teammates and then putting it into practice in our usual training, it will help you integrate into the team much faster."

"Mm, I understand, Klopp." Chen Anno nodded seriously.

"Good! I believe in you!" Klopp gripped Chen Anno's shoulder with his right hand and squeezed, then stood up. "By the way, you can just call me Jurgen from now on. Being called sir feels a little strange."

No sooner had Klopp finished speaking than a goal was scored on the pitch. The big German man's expression instantly changed, and he bared his teeth, charging excitedly to the sideline while swinging his right fist.

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Chen Anno stared, stunned, and could not help worrying for Klopp in his heart. With that sudden burst of acceleration, aren't you afraid of pulling a muscle?

The scorer was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The Gabonese forward had just joined this season and had been entrusted with an important role, replacing the previous Lewandowski.

Scoring on his debut could also be considered repayment for Klopp's trust in him.

"Anno..." Once Klopp left, Papa naturally moved back over. "Did you already know Jurgen before?"

"No." Chen Anno answered honestly. "In fact, I've only known Jurgen for about a week."

"Uh..." Sokratis Papastathopoulos looked at Chen Anno's expression. It did not seem as if he was lying.

"That really is enviable. I also came over from Serie A side Genoa this summer window, and in total, I haven't even said ten sentences to him."

Chen Anno only smiled when he heard that. This was not a topic he could really continue, though in his heart he was still very grateful to Klopp.

"Could this be the difference between an ordinary player and a genius player?" Sokratis Papastathopoulos silently thought to himself.

The match on the pitch continued.

Augsburg did not change their strategy because they had conceded, and they were still trading attacks with Borussia Dortmund.

Soon, the first half ended. The score was still 0:1, with Borussia Dortmund temporarily leading away from home.

But judging from the way the first half had gone, if Borussia Dortmund had not been slightly lacking in their ability to seize chances, the score would long since have become 0:2 or 0:3.

During halftime, Chen Anno went with the teammates on the bench to warm up on the pitch.

He also carefully pondered his impressions from the first half. The tempo of the Bundesliga was faster than the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A—much faster—and the physical confrontation was also more intense than in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A.

He finally understood why, back when Lucio had been giving him extra training at Sao Paulo, he had always emphasized physical confrontation.

So, back then, Lucio had already been preparing him in advance for his future move to Europe.

He had previously thought that the old guy Lucio had deliberately wanted to mess with him. Thinking about it now, he had judged a noble man's heart by his own petty standards.

"And this was still the Bundesliga. If it were the Premier League, known for its physicality, what kind of experience would that be?"

Hm? This trick again?

Catching a glimpse of a soccer ball seemingly flying toward him out of the corner of his eye, Chen Anno instinctively tilted his head aside and stopped the ball with his back.

Then he lifted his heel, sending the ball flying around to his front. His thighs moved up and down, and the ball bounced on Chen Anno's legs like an obedient little sprite.

Chen Anno stylishly kicked the ball back.

A burst of applause rang out. "Anno, your feel for the ball is seriously too good!"

It was Kehl. The Dortmund captain had not started today, instead sitting on the bench just like him.

"Heh... Captain, if you want to ambush me, you'll have to come from behind next time."

Before Kehl could reply, Chen Anno spoke again. "But even from behind, it depends. If the ball isn't too fast, I might still sense it."

Kehl raised an eyebrow, his gaze full of suspicion. "Kid, there's no need to brag that hard, is there? Don't tell me you've got eyes in the back of your head. You can sense even that?"

"I was born with it. You can think of it as a kind of ball sense."

Kehl smiled and shook his head. Chen Anno's confident tone almost made him believe it.