Chapter 58: First Start

Chapter 58: First Start

The debates in Spain were far from Lin Quan's ears in Germany.

Since the weekend's league match was an away game, he promptly boarded a plane back to Germany after finishing the U21 team's game.

These two matches were closely spaced, with only three days between them.

For Lin Quan, who had recently played a full match in the U21 game and then traveled long distances, it was quite a test.

On September 15th, Werder Bremen traveled to Hannover to challenge Hannover 96, who were ranked third in the league.

Due to an injury to Elia in the Netherlands national team match midweek, Coach Schaaf, for the first time, included Lin Quan in the starting lineup.

This took Lin Quan by surprise; he thought it would take some time before he started for the team, but it happened sooner than expected.

"Hannover's home ground is tough to play on, and the opponent's spirit is very strong. This match is a significant test for us."

In the pre-match talk, Coach Schaaf revealed his tactics:

"In this game, our strategy is to take advantage of the first half when our energy levels are high, score as many goals as possible, and secure the win. We don't want to drag the suspense into the second half; Hannover is good at turning games around then. We can't give them that chance, understood?"

"Understood, coach!"

The players responded loudly, feeling a bit inflated after the team's consecutive victories and draws against strong opponents.

It seemed like they didn't take opponents like Hannover 96 seriously!

But underestimating the opponent would come at a cost.

Just 6 minutes into the game, Hannover's midfield core, Huzti, took advantage of Werder Bremen's defensive mistake and scored an early goal.

Despite having Lin Quan, Werder Bremen's attacking firepower was good, but their defense didn't improve much.

Last season, Werder Bremen ranked fourth from bottom in the Bundesliga in terms of goals conceded, showing how poor their defense was.

The goal they conceded was frustrating; Selaški hesitated with his pass at the back, got pressed by the opponents, and Hannover immediately launched a counter-attack.

Werder Bremen's goalkeeper didn't have enough time to react, and the ball flew into their own net.

After conceding, Milicevic felt very angry and shouted at his defenders, asking them to stay focused and not lose concentration.

Fortunately, Hannover's defense was also poor.

In the 18th minute, Werder Bremen capitalized on a counter-attack opportunity, and De Bruyne scored a goal, quickly equalizing the score.

Eight minutes later, Werder Bremen struck again; Lin Quan was fouled in the penalty area, and Werder Bremen was awarded a penalty.

Lin Quan took the penalty kick confidently, changing the score to 2-1.

In these two attacks, Lin Quan showed excellent performance in the attacking third, providing an assist and scoring a goal, leading Werder Bremen's two goals.

After realizing his significant threat, Hannover immediately strengthened their defense against him, not allowing him to receive the ball easily.

In the 31st minute, Hannover's Schlaudraff fouled Lin Quan and received a yellow card.

In the 37th minute, Haggie also received a yellow card while defending Lin Quan.

Although these two fouls resulted in yellow cards for the opponents, their defensive approach made it difficult for Werder Bremen's attacking cooperation in the frontcourt.

Especially for Lin Quan himself, whenever he received the ball, the opponents immediately pressed him, and if they couldn't get the ball, they fouled him.

Before the end of the first half, his jersey was already covered in mud, having been knocked down by the opponents numerous times.

What was even more frustrating was that the fouls were mostly around the center circle, not giving them good free-kick opportunities.

However, not having direct shooting opportunities didn't mean they couldn't capitalize on the free-kick opportunities given by the opponents.

Otherwise, if they allowed the opponents to use fouls to restrict them like this, he suspected other teams might follow suit and adopt a strategy of fouling Lin Quan.

So, in the 44th minute of the first half, when Lin Quan was fouled again while dribbling, he discussed with De Bruyne and decided not to take the free kick directly but to plan a tactical move instead.

Seeing Werder Bremen planning a set-piece play, Hannover's players immediately formed a defensive wall at the edge of the penalty area to block the passing lanes.

From such a distance, shooting directly wasn't possible; the opponents were likely to choose to cross the ball into the penalty area, creating a chance for a header.

However, what they didn't expect was that De Bruyne's free-kick didn't aim for the high points in the penalty area but was passed to Lin Quan on the side of the penalty area.

Lin Quan immediately broke into the penalty area after receiving the ball, causing the opposing players to rush out in a frenzy, wanting to restore their three defensive lines and expand their defensive area.

But at this moment, Lin Quan made a sudden stop and lifted the ball before passing it out.

The Hanover players rushing out watched helplessly as the ball flew over their heads, unable to stop due to their momentum.

With a sudden decrease in the number of defenders around him, Arnautović, who was unmarked, saw the ball flying towards his head and instinctively nodded it towards the goal.

Hanover's goalkeeper made a symbolic attempt to save, but he didn't even touch the ball.

The score on the field became 3-1!

After scoring, Arnautović was ecstatic, rushing to Lin Quan and lifting his passing foot, placing it on his knee, pretending to shine his shoes.

The pass was just too beautiful, as if it had eyes, finding his head directly in the crowd.

Not to mention him, even if they brought his 80-year-old grandmother over, she could easily score.

When did scoring become so easy?

Ultimately, it was all thanks to Lin Quan's great pass!

Seeing his teammate not wasting the chance he created, Lin Quan was also very happy.

Having been nauseated by Hanover's foul tactics for so long, it was finally a relief.

After conceding this goal, Hanover indeed toned down their aggression a bit. In the remaining time of the first half, they didn't dare to foul easily again.

Two minutes later, the first half ended, with Werder Bremen returning to the locker room with a two-goal lead.

Inside the locker room, Schaaf praised the players' performance in the first half.

But he also criticized the conceding of goals early in the game.

"Lin, are you feeling alright physically?"

After discussing the tactics for the second half, Coach Schaaf approached Lin Quan alone, asking with concern.

Since Lin Quan hadn't started before and hadn't played for such a long time, Schaaf couldn't judge whether he could last the entire game.

"For now, I'm fine. If I really can't hold on, I'll request a substitution!"

Lin Quan estimated that he could play for about 75 minutes. In the previous Telekom Cup match, he could play for sixty minutes, and during this time, he had improved his physical fitness significantly, so he should be able to play for an additional ten minutes or so.

As long as the second half didn't suddenly accelerate, and both sides didn't engage in that kind of fast-paced attacking, there shouldn't be any problems.

The second half started quickly, and Hanover, unwilling to lose at home, indeed intensified their attack.

They substituted a defensive midfielder for a forward, showing a desperate stance.

With the cheering of the home fans, Hanover's offense surged like waves, one stronger than the other.

In the 66th minute of the game, Hanover won a corner, and surprisingly, there were eight attacking players from Werder Bremen contesting for headers inside the penalty area.

Although they didn't win the initial header, they managed to win the second ball.

Fortunately, goalkeeper Milicevic showed bravery and made a close-range save from the opponent's header.

But the crisis in front of Werder Bremen's goal was not resolved as the ball rebounded back to the opponent.

Again, it was Milicevic who, seeing the opponent about to shoot, instinctively extended his leg and deflected the ball that seemed destined for the net.

The home fans couldn't help but sigh; they were so close to scoring, but that darn goalkeeper from the other side shattered their hopes.

However, Hanover's offensive onslaught did not end there.

Just as Coach Schaaf emphasized before the match, Hanover was a team with very strong fighting spirit, and they had a strange phenomenon: their performance in the second half often surpassed that of the first.

It felt like they hadn't woken up in the first half, playing with drowsiness.

But in the second half, they suddenly awakened.

For a period of five minutes, they launched continuous attacks on Werder Bremen's goal.

Finally, in the 66th minute of the game, Hanover's midfielder Andreasen launched a long-range shot from outside the penalty area, scoring, and the score became 3-2.

Indeed, Hanover's home ground was not so easily conquered!

(End of this chapter)