Chapter 28: The Second Klose

When Lin Quan broke through with the ball, many spectators held their breath and involuntarily stood up, seemingly wanting a clearer view.

And when Lin Quan dribbled past the winger, evaded the full-back, cut inside, and slotted the ball into the far corner to change the score to 3:2, the crowd erupted.

A wave of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the stands. Some fans, especially those closer to the field, even shouted at Lin Quan: "Lin, well done!" "Brilliant!" "Hit them hard!" "Score another one!"

Some fans even attempted to climb over the barriers to rush onto the field to celebrate with Lin Quan.

This made the sideline security very nervous, and they quickly stopped those enthusiastic fans.

Lin Quan was startled by the fans' enthusiasm. After a moment of bewilderment, he waved to the fans, thanking them for their support, and quickly ran off.

He had heard that Bundesliga fans were very passionate, especially the die-hard fans.

But he didn't expect it to be to this extent. Bundesliga stadiums usually have high barriers around the field to prevent fans from entering.

But now it seemed that even with the barriers, it wasn't entirely safe.

Lin Quan didn't realize he was so popular among the fans; after all, he hadn't played in any official matches for the team yet, just one friendly.

He didn't know that among the over thirty thousand spectators present today, nearly ten thousand had specifically come to watch this friendly match after seeing his spectacular goal in the previous game online.

With the rapid development of social media, becoming famous with just one goal has become much easier compared to the past.

After Lin Quan scored, the home team's coaching staff finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"It seems that Lin Quan isn't just a one-time wonder. His dribbling and ball control are still sharp. We can put our worries aside."

Assistant coach Rolf had been worried that Lin Quan's impressive performance in the last match was just a flash in the pan, fearing that he would revert to his previous form in the next match.

If such an unexpected situation occurred, it would greatly affect their newly formulated plans for the new season.

Teams like Werder Bremen, a mid-table club, usually rely on ordinary players to play.

It's difficult to keep top-tier stars, as soon as there's a good prospect, they're immediately poached by top clubs.

Just like their former players, Klose and Ozil, they were snatched away by Bayern Munich and Real Madrid at high prices before they even had time to settle.

They knew they couldn't keep potential stars like Lin Quan and De Bruyne, so they didn't entertain the idea of buying out these two players.

They were very pragmatic and just wanted to rely on these potential stars to improve the team's performance and fulfill the club's mission to avoid relegation.

But if these two players' performance plummeted unexpectedly, it would be a thunderbolt out of the blue for Werder Bremen, whose tactics were built around them.

As the game continued, although Werder Bremen's defensive issues weren't resolved after Lin Quan came on, their offensive firepower was completely activated.

Lin Quan's dribbling ability, Phil Grueck's passing ability, De Bruyne's vision, and the outstanding positional play of the team's other elder statesman, left winger Aaron Hunt, linked up to create a formidable attacking system for Werder Bremen, making Aberdeen's goal seem like it was under constant threat.

The immense defensive pressure from the back forced Aberdeen to reduce the number of attackers in the front.

After realizing the threat posed by the opposing striker, Shaaf then substituted in the veteran player Pledl.

Pledl stood at an imposing 194 centimeters tall, giving him a significant advantage in aerial duels.

Combined with his strong physique, weighing in at 94 kilograms, he had exceptional physical confrontation abilities.

This enabled him to hold his position, displace opponents, and disrupt their attacks.

After coming on, he won several duels with the opposing striker in succession, significantly reducing the threat of their attacks.

As a result, Aberdeen's attacks were completely neutralized on both ends of the pitch.

During injury time, Lin Quan broke through and passed the ball, putting Phil Grueck in an excellent position.

He could have taken the shot directly after receiving the ball, but hesitated for a moment.

The opposing defenders pressed forward in time, almost intercepting the ball.

Fortunately, he managed to pass it out clumsily in the end. With two defenders around Lin Quan, he didn't have a chance to turn and shoot after receiving the ball.

So he pretended to receive the ball, shifted early, drew the defenders away, and deliberately let the ball slip to Aaron Hunt, who was surging from behind.

Hunt didn't waste the chance created by Lin Quan; after receiving the ball, he took a shot and scored.

After scoring, Aaron was very happy, pointing to Lin Quan, indicating for him to celebrate together.

Although this goal wasn't assisted by Lin Quan, his maneuver created an even greater threat than a direct pass.

Because he drew away the defending players and disrupted their judgment.Principio del formulario

Lin Quan naturally wouldn't refuse the opportunity to bond with the team's senior players, so he called over De Bruyne to celebrate together.

After the celebration, he specifically approached Phil Grueck, patted him on the shoulder, and said:

"When you have a chance, take the shot. If there's no opportunity, then pass. Whether shooting or passing, don't hesitate!"

Phil Grueck blushed and said somewhat embarrassedly:

"Thank you, Lin. I know what to do now!"

He actually knew that his performance just now was too hesitant, missing the best opportunity.

Although he always wanted to play a supporting role and avoid stealing the limelight.

But he was, after all, the team's only striker. If he didn't take shots even with such good opportunities, then he wouldn't pose a threat as a forward.

Once the opponents saw this, they might ignore him in defense and focus on marking his teammates instead.

In that case, with his teammates restricted and him not taking shots, the team's offense would be paralyzed.

So, even if he didn't want to stand out, he still had to take the shot when it was crucial.

Phil Grueck was dubbed the "Second Klose" by Werder Bremen fans, hoping he could achieve the same success as his predecessor.

But judging from his future achievements, he was still far from this goal.

While Klose may not seem outstanding in terms of skills, there is still a gap between him and those flashy superstars in terms of playing style.

But his technique is very comprehensive, mastering every aspect of the game.

Moreover, his ability to sniff out chances and make runs off the ball are top-notch. Give him a pass, and he always manages to put the ball in the net in an extremely rational way, as if it were effortless.

And this, in itself, is a kind of strength.

However, this kind of low-key player, both in playing style and personality, is far less famous than those flashy superstars, leading many people to underestimate his abilities.

If Phil Grueck really wants to make Klose his goal to strive for, then he will need to double his efforts at least.

Perhaps Lin Quan's guidance had an effect because Phil Grueck finally stopped hesitating when the game resumed.

In the final minute of injury time, Lin Quan was brought down by a defender when he was dribbling outside the penalty area.

De Bruyne took the free-kick, and the position of this shot was within his range, so he chose to shoot directly.

The quality of this shot was very high, with fast speed and a tricky angle. The goalkeeper jumped high, but couldn't reach the ball.

De Bruyne saw the ball go past the goalkeeper's outstretched hands and was already preparing to celebrate his first hat-trick.

But because he pursued the extreme angle too much, the ball hit the crossbar and bounced back.

De Bruyne regretfully grabbed his head; if he hadn't pursued the angle so much, he would have scored.

After the ball bounced back, there was chaos in Aberdeen's penalty area.

Several players went for the first ball, and the ball ended up outside the penalty area, falling to Phil Grueck's feet.

Phil Grueck hesitated for a moment, seemingly unprepared.

He saw the defending players rushing towards him and instinctively wanted to pass, but then suddenly remembered what Lin Quan had said earlier.

At this moment, his teammates' positions weren't favorable, with crowded penalty areas making passing highly likely to be blocked.

On the contrary, his position was the best.

So, without making any adjustments, he directly swung his leg to shoot.

It was a low shot, and the goalkeeper's vision was blocked by both sides' players, unable to see the ball initially.

By the time he noticed the opponent's shooting motion and tried to save, it was too late; the ball flew into the net close to the ground.

Just to let everyone know, this book hasn't been recommended yet. The website currently ranks recommendations based on follow-up reading, so I'm not sure if my lack of recommendation is related to this.

So, I earnestly request everyone not to abandon the book. After the update, please open it and take a look. Give it a follow-up read. Thank you all!

(End of this chapter)