Chapter 59: Activating the First Talent

Hanover's goal intensified the tension of the game.

As long as they could score another goal, they would draw level with Werder Bremen, and if they managed to score two goals, they would complete a sensational comeback!

Werder Bremen's players naturally knew they couldn't let the opposition gain momentum like this, so they also began to adopt foul tactics to disrupt their opponent's attacking rhythm.

Werder Bremen's style of play was quite robust, even somewhat rough.

They were bold in their defensive actions, but of course, they also received many yellow cards.

In the previous Bundesliga season, Werder Bremen received the most yellow cards in the league, with a total of 163, averaging 4.79 per game.

They were adept at using fouls to disrupt the opponent's attacking rhythm and extinguish their strong morale.

So, they began to use this tactic against Hanover.

Hanover's players quickly experienced the effectiveness of this tactic, and their attacking rhythm became fragmented.

Every time they initiated an attack, it would immediately be interrupted by a foul.

This made their players somewhat unable to control their temper, almost erupting into conflicts with Werder Bremen's players.

The main referee had long heard of Werder Bremen's notoriety, so he was decisive in his decisions.

In less than ten minutes, he handed out three yellow cards to Werder Bremen.

But after paying the price of these three yellow cards, they successfully thwarted Hanover's recent offensive surge.

In the 76th minute of the game, Werder Bremen got an excellent counter-attack opportunity.

Seizing the opportunity when the opponents were pressing on them, they successfully intercepted the ball in their own half and directly launched a long pass to find their forward in the frontcourt.

Arnautović headed the ball to Lin Quan.

However, to the surprise of Werder Bremen's players, Lin Quan, who received the pass from his teammate, was chased down from behind after only a few steps with the ball.

Fortunately, he fiercely protected the ball, didn't lose possession, and instead caused a foul from the opponent, retaining possession.

Seeing Lin Quan lying on the field, Coach Schaaf abruptly stood up.

"He's out of stamina!"

The fitness coach nearby expressed concern.

"Yeah, let Petersen warm up and prepare to substitute Lin!"

But at this moment, Lin Quan got up, gesturing towards the coaching staff, signaling not to substitute him for now.

He knew he couldn't last the entire second half, so he originally planned to request a substitution around the 75th minute and rest.

However, with the team currently leading by only one goal, he was worried that if he went off, the opponents might equalize.

So, Lin Quan gritted his teeth and opened the system shop, preparing to buy a bottle of stamina potion from the system store.

However, when he opened the system shop and saw his current points, he changed his mind.

Instead of wasting points on consumables, why not just buy a permanent talent?

Before playing against Hanover 96, Lin Quan had already earned 14 points, including 5 points from winning five preseason matches in July and August, 4 points from winning the Telekom Cup against Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, and 2 points from the second round Bundesliga opponent, Hamburg.

In addition to the league, his two appearances for the Spanish U21 team also earned him 2 points.

The system judged the level of the Euro U21 Championship matches to be lower than the top five leagues, falling under the level of secondary leagues of the top five leagues.

These 14 points obviously couldn't afford the top talents that required 100 points, but buying some slightly inferior talents and equipment was no problem.

Lin Quan's current biggest problem was his lack of stamina, which was mainly due to his age and template. Before the end of growth and development, the stamina of teenagers was definitely not as good as that of adults.

And Messi was not the type to run tirelessly. Messi's stamina was sufficient but not abundant.

His running distance seemed minimal, mainly due to his playing style.

The criticized Messi's stroll on the field was mainly because he was observing the positioning of the defending players, facilitating his sudden acceleration after receiving the ball, using the moment of acceleration to open up space, and thus evade the defending players.

Although Messi's running distance was not much, the number of sprint runs and accelerations was not few, which was enough to prove that his stamina was not weak.

Lin Quan's current lack of stamina was mainly due to his young age.

There were quite a few equipment and skills related to stamina. Glancing at them, the best talent was "Endless Runner."

This talent costs 100 points to activate. After activating it, the player's stamina recovery speed can increase by 200%, and the stamina limit can increase by 80%.

If this talent is activated, basically, there's no need to worry about stamina issues anymore.

Moreover, thanks to the super recovery ability, even with a schedule as intense as playing two or even three matches a week, there's no need to worry.

The next best talent is "Unyielding," with the effect of increasing the player's stamina recovery speed by 100% and increasing the stamina limit by 50%.

With this talent, as long as a professional player meets the stamina requirements, they can ensure they're running across the field without any stamina issues.

Unfortunately, this talent is also quite expensive, costing 80 points.

Lin Quan couldn't afford such an expensive talent, so he had to look for something within his budget.

After looking through talents ranging from 100 to 10 points, his gaze fell on the talent in the second-to-last row.

This talent only costs 10 points, and its effect is not as good as the previous ones. After activating it, the player's stamina recovery speed can increase by 20%, and the stamina limit can increase by 10%.

Considering that it only requires 10 points, the price is quite fair.

The only concern is whether there will be a discount when upgrading talents in the future after purchasing a stamina talent.

Fortunately, the system promptly provided an explanation, relieving Lin Quan's worries.

In that case, these points wouldn't be wasted.

After all, earning points wasn't easy for him, and every point had to be carefully considered before spending!

After spending ten points to purchase this talent, Lin Quan immediately felt a warm flow spreading throughout his body.

As the warmth passed through the muscles all over his body, it carried away the lactic acid and fatigue.

This made him feel relaxed, and his legs seemed much lighter than before, no longer as heavy.

The feeling of almost being exhausted from running just disappeared completely.

This pleasantly surprised Lin Quan. He didn't expect the talent's effect to be so good. It seemed like spending these 10 points was really worth it!

If talents bought with 10 points have such effects, then those more expensive talents...

...

"Lin Quan seems to be out of energy already. I wonder why the Werder Bremen coaching staff doesn't substitute him?"

In the commentary booth, He Wei couldn't help feeling a bit concerned.

"Maybe Coach Schaaf is worried that replacing the team's attacking core might reduce Werder Bremen's offensive firepower?"

Xu Yang could only provide some reasonable explanations as much as possible. After all, he wasn't Werder Bremen's head coach, so he naturally couldn't know what they were thinking.

Online, seeing Lin Quan miss this counter-attack opportunity, some fans who just started watching Werder Bremen matches this season lamented.

"Lin seems to have a bit of stamina issue!"

"Indeed, but you can't blame him. After all, Lin Quan is barely 17 years old and hasn't fully developed yet."

"Talking about young players, when LeBron James first entered the NBA, did you hear anything about stamina issues?"

"Stop kidding, when LeBron entered the NBA, he was almost 19 years old, while Lin is only 16, almost three years younger!"

"Your Lin needs some endurance!"

After Lin Quan was tripped, the main referee awarded a free kick.

De Bruyne stood at the free-kick spot, looking at Lin Quan with some concern, and asked:

"Are you okay with your stamina? If you can't run, just stay in the frontcourt for a while, and I'll find a way to pass the ball to your feet, and you can relax and eat cake!"

Lin Quan had just exchanged for the talent, and at this moment, he was full of energy!

However, hearing De Bruyne's words, he was still touched. This guy is quite considerate!

"Thanks, my stamina is fine. When you pass the ball later, try not to pass it to my feet. Give me a little space ahead so I can shake off the defending players!"

After saying this, Lin Quan jumped a few times in place to indicate that he was fine with his stamina.

De Bruyne thought that the other party was just trying to save face. Clearly, he had no strength left, yet he still asked for space ahead?

If he really gives space ahead, and he can't run, wouldn't that be giving the ball away to the opponent?

However, out of consideration for maintaining his friend's dignity, he didn't express his worries.

(End of this chapter)