Chapter 20: First Appearance, Wearing the Number Ten Jersey!

Seeing all these things, Lin Quan became excited.

Just imagine, how terrifying would Messi be without any physical limits or injuries?

With the explosive power and dribbling skills from twelve years ago, combined with nineteen years of tactical organization ability, how comprehensive would that be?

He would undoubtedly become a deity!

And this is the strength of Lin Quan under the system's blessing.

He seemed to have already envisioned himself activating these talents, becoming a feared demon king on the soccer field!

As the match continued, Werder Bremen's attacks surged.

After overcoming the initial nervousness, the performance of the team's young players visibly improved.

Especially notable was the commanding performance of De Bruyne in midfield; he was exceptional.

The entire first half was practically De Bruyne's stage.

Utilizing his excellent vision and passing, he delivered several threatening balls.

However, the forward Nielsen Petersen, loaned from Bayern Munich, seemed to have forgotten his shooting boots, wasting several golden opportunities and leaving De Bruyne shaking his head in frustration.

Apart from playing a significant role in orchestrating attacks, De Bruyne also made outstanding contributions defensively.

After so many days of one-on-one training with Lin Quan, while he still couldn't stop Lin Quan, his defensive abilities had significantly improved compared to before.

His proactive tackling and interceptions in the frontcourt frequently stifled the opponent's counterattacks.

It was not easy for ordinary players to break through his defense.

This surprised the coaches on Werder Bremen's sidelines!

"This kid seems even stronger than in training!"

"Yeah, his attacking ability is already top-notch, but I didn't expect him to have such excellent defensive skills!"

"With his aggressive tackles, fearlessness in challenges, and tireless running, it reminds me of a player!"

"Who?"

"Nedvěd!"

Hearing this name sent shivers down everyone's spine.

The Czech Ironman was a hexagon all-around warrior, a symbol of indomitability.

Was Coach Shauff's evaluation of De Bruyne really that high?

"Still, this is just a friendly match. We need to continue observing. If, I mean, if his performance remains outstanding like this, then the goal of avoiding relegation in the new season might not be so difficult!"

Everyone nodded in agreement. They had loaned three players this season, and while Nielsen Petersen's performance was mediocre, De Bruyne had brought them a pleasant surprise.

Now, only the young player from Barcelona, who had yet to make an appearance, remained. If Lin Quan's performance exceeded expectations, then perhaps the goal of avoiding relegation in the new season might truly be achievable!

Kottbus quickly realized the threat posed by De Bruyne and strengthened their defense against him.

This significantly reduced De Bruyne's ability to deliver threatening balls. Moreover, during counterattacks, they consciously avoided the midfield and initiated attacks from the wings.

This tactic quickly paid off. After several dangerous counterattacks, Werder Bremen's wing players began to show signs of hesitation.

They were less willing to participate in the attack and instead focused a lot of energy on defense.

With the absence of wing midfielders, Werder Bremen's attack also began to lose its threat.

As a result, the game entered a stalemate.

At halftime, the score remained 0-0. Neither side could breach the other's goal.

On the sidelines, Coach Shauff stood up and headed towards the locker room, realizing the team's issues on the wings and preparing for adjustments.

...

This level of friendly match usually garners low attention in Asia.

Especially when the AFC U-23 Championship is in full swing, most viewers choose to watch matches involving their national teams, as it provides more immersion.

Therefore, on a domestic online streaming platform, only one obscure football-loving anchor was broadcasting this match.

At the same time, there were no less than ten anchors choosing to broadcast another AFC U-23 Championship match between China U-22 and North Korea. The difference in attention between the two matches was evident.

The viewers watching this friendly match mainly consisted of Werder Bremen fans and some fans who enjoy watching European leagues but have no matches to watch due to the major leagues not yet starting.

During halftime, the audience and the anchor chatted casually:

"Anchor, why aren't you broadcasting the national team's match like everyone else? Why insist on showing a friendly match of a Bundesliga team? Look, no one's watching!"

Upon seeing the audience's question, the anchor replied with a smile, "I have a weak heart, watching the national team's matches might be too much for my heart!"

Upon hearing this response, the audience in the livestream room burst into laughter.

In recent years, the national team's strength has been declining, and their match results have plummeted. Especially last year, the highly anticipated national team even failed to advance past the group stage of the Asian Cup, deeply disappointing the fans.

"Damn, useless national team, can't even beat North Korea!"

"RNM, refund!"

"National team, do you even deserve us?"

"Their skills are inferior, their attitude is inferior, what's the point of playing soccer? Go home and raise pigs!"

"These bunch of losers, watching them play makes me angry!"

"I bet the national team is completely finished!"

"Hey, you just realized it? Hasn't the national team been finished for a long time?"

...

The conversation was going smoothly when suddenly a large group of new viewers flooded into the livestream room.

After these viewers entered the livestream room, instead of watching the match, they immediately started cursing in the comment section.

Huang Wei, seeing the rapid increase in viewership in his livestream room, initially felt quite happy.

But when he looked at the comments, they were all insults, which scared him quite a bit.

However, upon closer inspection, it seemed that these people were not insulting him but rather the national team, which puzzled him.

So, he glanced at the scoreboard next door.

Sure enough, the national team was once again falling behind!

In the 43rd minute of the first half, North Korea scored a goal, and the current score on the national team's side was 1:0.

On the other side, upon seeing the national team fall behind against North Korea, many viewers who were watching the national team's match left the livestream room, disgruntled, and came to this relatively unknown livestream room.

"Let's watch some high-level European matches to cleanse our eyes!"

"Eye-cleansing +1!"

"Eye-cleansing +2!"

"Brothers, watching preseason matches of Bundesliga teams, isn't this much more comfortable than watching the national team's matches?"

"Indeed, without instant heart relievers, who would watch the national team?"

...

With so many new viewers suddenly arriving, Huang Wei felt both excited and nervous, so he pulled himself together and began commentating seriously.

He looked through the information of the two teams and suddenly exclaimed, "There's a young player in Werder Bremen's squad who seems to be Chinese, and it seems like he's on loan from Barcelona!"

"Woah, is that for real? A player from Barcelona, Messi's teammate? That's amazing!"

"Hehe, I guess he's bought to be a mascot, right?"

"Tch, guy upstairs, this is a player from Barcelona. Does Barcelona need to buy mascots?"

"Whether he's a mascot or not, we'll know if he gets to play in the match, right?"

"That's right, if he represents Werder Bremen in the match, then he's not a mascot. But if he sits on the bench without getting a chance to play, then he's undoubtedly a mascot!"

Amidst the audience's doubts and expectations, the second half of the match began.

Werder Bremen made a personnel adjustment, and Lin Quan, wearing the number 10 jersey, took to the field, replacing the number 11 winger, Elia.

Upon seeing Lin Quan's number on his jersey, the livestream room erupted.

"Wow, number 10 jersey, are they grooming him to be the core?"

"He's from La Masia youth academy, playing as a winger, and wearing the number 10 jersey, he's so much like that man!"

"Their heights are similar too!"

"He's just nine years younger than the Boss Messi, perfect succession plan!"

"Let's see if this Messi successor can really live up to Messi's legacy!"

(End of this chapter)