Chapter 40: Superb Ball Sense, Heinkes's Astonishment

Gomez's unexpected injury forced Heinkes to replace him with another substitute striker, Mandzukic.

Mandzukic, acquired from Wolfsburg for €13 million this summer, had significant differences from Gomez. While Gomez excelled in shooting, had a keen sense for goal, and was adept at seizing opportunities, Mandzukic lagged behind in various aspects.

However, Mandzukic was a player with strong mental attributes. He displayed full determination on the field and never gave up easily even in adversity.

After coming on, he aggressively pressed in the frontcourt, tirelessly chasing and harassing Werder Bremen players with the ball, creating immense pressure.

Inspired by his efforts, Bayern's forward players further intensified their pressing.

As a result, Werder Bremen players found it even harder to keep possession, leading to more mistakes.

In the 51st minute, Robben broke through and shot, but the ball soared over the crossbar into the stands.

Two minutes later, Ribery crossed from the left, but Mandzukic, under pressure from defenders, headed the ball off target.

Seeing his team under siege, Werder Bremen goalkeeper Militsch tried to delay time by taking his time with goal kicks, giving his teammates some breathing space.

He placed and picked up the ball again, seemingly dissatisfied with the pitch, and pretended to kick it a few times.

This prompted protests from Bayern players, accusing him of deliberately wasting time.

The referee, seeing through his intentions, immediately showed him a yellow card.

After receiving the yellow card, Militsch dared not delay further and kicked the ball forward with a big clearance.

Since the defenders couldn't hold onto the ball, it was better to kick it to the front, as far away as possible.

Werder Bremen only had Arnautovic in the frontcourt, but he managed to win the aerial duel with the opposing defender and headed the ball back to Lin Quan.

Once Lin Quan received the ball, he was immediately pressured by Kroos.

Bayern, learning from their previous mistake of conceding a goal, knew they couldn't let Lin Quan pick up speed.

Facing Kroos's pressure, Lin Quan remained calm, controlled the ball with a turn, and skillfully evaded him.

But Lahm came rushing from the side, while Boateng and Gustavo blocked his path directly.

In the blink of an eye, Lin Quan was surrounded by four opponents.

Unable to continue dribbling forward, he immediately changed direction, moving sideways, taking the ball to the left side of the field.

Bayern players hesitated when they saw him moving towards the sideline.

Except for Lahm, who continued to mark him, intending to cooperate with Kroos in defense, Boateng and Gustavo, the two defenders, didn't dare to follow him.

As defenders, they couldn't afford to lose their positions, as it would allow Werder Bremen's attackers to easily break through their defensive line.

Lahm, with his speed, caught up with Lin Quan and attempted a direct tackle.

Although Lahm's tackle failed to succeed, he collided with Lin Quan, causing him to stumble slightly.

However, Lin Quan persisted and didn't fall, continuing to carry the ball to the sideline. When Lahm came to tackle again, Lin Quan kicked the ball onto Lahm's foot, and the ball rolled out of bounds.

The linesman flagged, indicating it was Werder Bremen's throw-in.

Instead of taking the throw-in himself, Lin Quan signaled for a teammate to come over.

De Bruyne understood his signal and jogged slowly over.

It was more like a walk than a run.

Bayern players protested to the referee, but their protests were ignored.

De Bruyne reached the sideline, glanced at the forwards, and seeing no clear passing option, threw the ball back to their own half.

Bayern players immediately rushed towards the Werder Bremen player with the ball, who passed it back to their defender.

The defender, under pressure from Bayern's forward players, passed it back to the goalkeeper.

The goalkeeper held onto the ball, waiting until the opposing players were almost upon him before launching a big clearance forward.

The charging Bayern players were infuriated!

They felt like they were being toyed with, as if the opponent was taking them for a stroll.

Their energy levels were already decreasing in the second half, and now, with such a sprint, they found themselves gasping for air even more frequently.

After taking the goal kick, goalkeeper Militsch glanced at the Bayern players:

"You guys like to chase after the ball, right? Well, go ahead and chase it! But it's a bit far, so you'll have to run a bit longer."

In this match, Arnautovic had few opportunities in the frontcourt. Werder Bremen had too little possession, and he couldn't get the ball alone in the front.

Apart from a few header duels, he hadn't touched the ball much, so he hadn't sweated much, keeping his energy levels still high.

Seeing the ball flying towards him, Arnautovic leaped vigorously and once again won the aerial duel.

Lin Quan saw his teammate win the first ball and smartly ran to the left. He knew Arnautovic's habit of ferrying the ball to the left side.

Sure enough, just as Lin Quan started moving, the ball fell in front of him.

Meanwhile, Kroos, who was marking him, couldn't keep up with Lin Quan's movement, causing him to lag behind by at least 2 meters!

Two meters wasn't far, and timely recovery was possible when facing an ordinary player because a player's speed with the ball is usually slower than without it.

Kroos desperately chased from behind, while ahead, Lahm had taken position. This time, he wouldn't easily let the opponent pass him.

As Kroos chased, he realized something was wrong.

The distance between them didn't seem to have closed much!

The guy's speed with the ball was almost the same as without it, hardly any slower!

How was that possible?

Kroos was shocked. He believed he couldn't do this!

Not only him, but also people around him, even those he knew, couldn't do it!

Except for that guy, the number 10 for Barcelona!

To achieve this, an outstanding sense of the ball was needed!

And Messi happened to possess a historical level of superb ball sense!

Could it be that this guy's ball sense rivaled Messi's?

Impossible!

Absolutely impossible!

Lin Quan inherited Messi's attributes, naturally acquiring that kind of super ball sense.

So he could effortlessly accomplish this seemingly incredible dribbling in the eyes of others.

Moreover, if one looked closely, they would notice.

Lin Quan's every touch was extremely rational, with even strength distribution, and the distance the ball left his body didn't exceed one meter, even when moving at high speed.

Just this alone was enough to prove his strength, something experienced footballers could see at a glance!

Snap!

Bayern's 68-year-old coach, Heinkes, couldn't sit still. He stood up, hands clenched involuntarily.

At this moment, he understood that he had underestimated this young player on the opposite side.

This young man was even more outstanding than he imagined, even stronger than Messi when he burst onto the scene!

Kroos failed; he couldn't catch up to Lin Quan.

And now, Lin Quan faced Bayern's left-back, Philipp Lahm, once again, one-on-one!

(End of Chapter)