Chapter 91: Werder Bremen's Persuasion
After three days of rest, on October 20th, Werder Bremen hosted Borussia Mönchengladbach at home.
Borussia Mönchengladbach was a peculiar team, as described by domestic fans, they were like the DGL (Death God Legion) on the Bundesliga stage - sparing no nameless opponents, specializing in robbing the rich to aid the poor.
They could give Bayern Munich a tough time, always managing to defeat or draw with Bayern in unexpected ways, leaving Bayern embarrassed.
However, when facing other teams, they didn't perform as well.
In this match, Werder Bremen launched waves of attacks, with Lin Quan and De Bruyne, both in top form, scoring goals one after another.
Before the first half ended, the score was already 3:0, with Lin Quan scoring two goals and De Bruyne scoring one.
In the second half, Werder Bremen continued to entertain the home fans with their goal-scoring performance.
In the 67th minute, De Bruyne scored another goal, making it 4:0.
Seeing that the outcome of the match was no longer in doubt, Schaaf decisively started making substitutions.
The goal-scoring heroes Lin Quan and De Bruyne were substituted, as both had played in national team matches and needed rest.
With the outcome decided, there was no need to keep them on the field. In case they got injured accidentally, there would be nowhere to cry.
Although Werder Bremen's frontcourt twin stars were substituted, the substitutes who came on didn't disappoint the fans at the stadium.
In the 77th minute, substitute Felix Krug scored another goal, making it 5:0.
Borussia Mönchengladbach had been thoroughly defeated!
In the end, Werder Bremen triumphed over Borussia Mönchengladbach at home with a score of 5:0, dispelling the gloom of the previous three winless rounds.
In this round of the league, Bayern Munich won 5:0 away against Fortuna Düsseldorf, achieving two consecutive victories and maintaining their lead at the top of the table.
Borussia Dortmund lost 1:2 at home to Schalke 04, widening the gap between them and Bayern Munich to 12 points, dropping to 12th place in the standings.
Although the season was not yet halfway through, the number of people optimistic about Dortmund's title defense was dwindling.
Everyone could see that there were issues with Borussia Dortmund's team this season.
After the match against Borussia Mönchengladbach, the next round of the Bundesliga would take place a week later.
Since Werder Bremen didn't have any European matches, they had no games to play during this week.
Therefore, after the match, Schaaf gave the team three days off to allow the players who had been traveling back and forth for national team matches to rest and adjust their condition.
Upon hearing the news of the break, the club's players cheered one after another.
Some unmarried players suggested going to the nightclub to have some fun and even wanted to invite Lin Quan along.
Lin Quan wasn't fond of such places as nightclubs. Just as he was about to refuse, the team captain, Fritz, spoke up:
"Don't corrupt the kid. Lin is still underage. Don't take him to such places. How about coming to my house this weekend? My wife and I have prepared an outdoor barbecue party. If any of you are interested, you can join us!"
Lin Quan had to give face to the captain. Besides, he didn't have much to do over the weekend.
On the weekend, Lin Quan called De Bruyne to invite him to the captain's house as a guest.
As a result, this guy De Bruyne had returned to Belgium, saying he wanted to bring his girlfriend over to live with him.
After cursing him for being more interested in his girlfriend than friendship, Lin Quan had to go out alone on his bike.
On the way, he bought a small gift. Soon, Lin Quan arrived at Fritz's house.
After ringing the doorbell, it was Fritz's wife, Alena Gebre, who opened the door.
Alena was only 24 years old, eight years younger than Fritz.
Although the age difference wasn't particularly large, Fritz looked a bit anxious, while Alena, being a former model, maintained her skin and figure exceptionally well. When they stood together, they gave off a feeling of an older husband and a younger wife.
"You must be Lin, Clements often talks about you!"
Lin Quan's East Asian appearance was easy to recognize, coupled with Fritz's prior introduction.
After Alena opened the door, she immediately recognized him.
"Hello, sister-in-law. Is the captain at home?"
Lin Quan was quite surprised. He didn't expect the captain's wife to be so young and beautiful. This made him hesitate a bit and he didn't dare to go in easily.
If by any chance, the captain wasn't at home, it would be a bit embarrassing.
"He's here!"
Alena noticed Lin Quan's hesitation and smiled. Then, she called out to the back and Fritz, wearing heat-resistant gloves for barbecue and wearing an apron, walked over.
Unexpectedly, the captain was a family cook. Lin Quan felt that he understood the captain a bit more.
"Lin, you're here. Come on in!"
Fritz hurriedly invited Lin Quan in, warmly leading him to the backyard even before Lin Quan sat down.
Even before Lin Quan could sit down, he saw the club manager, Allofs, and the team coach, Thomas Schaaf, sitting opposite, chatting.
Seeing Lin Quan coming, Allofs stood up and shook hands with him proactively.
"Lin, how's your time been in Bremen?"
"Pretty good. The weather here is nice, not as dry and hot as Spain. The teammates in the club are also taking good care of me, especially the captain and others."
Lin Quan couldn't figure out the other party's intentions, so he just exchanged pleasantries.
"Hehe, as long as you like it here, that's good. Bremen may not be an international metropolis, but as long as you live here for a long time, you'll definitely fall in love with it."
Allofs said with a smile, then signaled to his old partner to speak up.
Seeing that he couldn't avoid it, Schaaf cleared his throat and said, "Lin, the team plans to aim for European competitions next season."
Lin Quan heard the club talking about the goals for the next season for the first time.
At the beginning of this season, the club's main goal was just to avoid relegation.
But now, after eight rounds of matches, they are ranked fourth on the points table, not only far from the relegation zone but also with hopes of securing a ticket to the Champions League.
This has led to some thoughts within the Werder Bremen club. They believe that with the combination of Lin Quan and De Bruyne, this season's performance will definitely be much better than the previous season.
At this point, aiming for just avoiding relegation seems too conservative.
Overly conservative goals cannot inspire the players' fighting spirit. Once the players see that they have already achieved the task of avoiding relegation, their enthusiasm on the field will decrease, and they will become indifferent.
But if they set their sights on breaking into the European competition zone, then perhaps the players can maintain their momentum and keep pushing forward.
Perhaps, in the end, they might really make it into the European competition zone.
Even if they don't make it to the Champions League, they can at least compete in the Europa League.
The Bundesliga is one of the top five leagues, and their points in European competitions are only second to the Premier League and La Liga.
Therefore, they can get a total of seven European competition spots each season, including four Champions League spots and three Europa League spots.
Considering that the German Cup has long been monopolized by teams ranked high, this means that the top seven teams on the points table qualify to represent the Bundesliga in the next season's European competitions.
Werder Bremen did not secure a place in European competitions last season due to poor performance.
But this season, as long as they maintain their current form and position on the points table, they are very likely to achieve their European competition goal.
"If we can make it into the European competition zone, whether it's the Europa League or the Champions League, it will increase our revenue and allow us to play high-level European matches, which will also help us attract more outstanding players to join!" club manager Allofs said frankly.
UEFA is relatively considerate to small and medium-sized clubs. As long as they make it to the Champions League, they can receive a considerable amount of prize money.
If they achieve even better results, they will receive even more money.
Of course, big clubs, especially some powerhouses, earn more from broadcasting rights, something that small clubs cannot compare with.
In the era of commercial football, successful and commercially developed powerhouses are in a completely different league in terms of income from ordinary clubs.
And more money means they can offer higher wages and have more funds to buy the players they want in the transfer market.
The main reason why medium and small clubs in major leagues cannot retain their star players is that their salaries are low, they play fewer European matches, and they have poor attraction for star players compared to big clubs, making it difficult to resist the poaching from powerhouses.
Players are very practical; professional football is just about chasing money and honor.
And at big clubs, they may get both money and honor.
If that's the case, between a big club and an ordinary club, they will definitely choose the big club!
If Werder Bremen wants to rise again, they must increase the team's income and reputation.
With broadcasting fees and match bonuses from European competitions, plus sponsorship income from sponsors, the team will have money to buy high-quality players to improve the team's strength and performance.
And improved performance can help them further increase their visibility and commercial value, attracting more fans and better sponsors.
This is a positive cycle!
Werder Bremen was once prosperous. At that time, they not only could compete with Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga but also could challenge other powerhouse teams in European competitions.
But now, Werder Bremen has fallen to the point where they have no European matches to play and are even close to relegation.
If they want to revive and rise again, it's not enough to just keep the current main players; they also need to spend money to bring in more high-level players.
The current players in the club, except for a few national team players, are average. They are practical players with no big reputation and not high wages.
Relying on these players to play in the league and avoid relegation is acceptable.
But relying on them to make further progress and breakthroughs on the European stage is not enough.
So, they really want to keep Lin Quan and De Bruyne, these two young players.
If they can keep them, perhaps the cornerstone of Werder Bremen's revival will be laid.
Lin Quan feels that the club doesn't need to explain so much to him.
Coach Shaofu could have announced this in the dressing room; there was no need to make it so grand, especially by sending both the club manager and the head coach to do his job.
Unless their purpose is not just to set goals so simply!
It seems that news about his contract with Barcelona has spread to Germany.
"Coach, rest assured, I will give one hundred percent effort and play well in every game," Lin Quan said.
The other party didn't make it clear, so Lin Quan could only pretend to be confused.
"Lin, I want to make you the core and build Werder Bremen's attacking system around you!" Coach Shaofu said earnestly.
"With your attacking ability in the frontcourt, coupled with De Bruyne's assist ability, our frontline attack group is basically built. What's left to do is to continue to improve the strength of the midfield and defense and introduce a group of strong players!"
Coach Shaofu tried to depict Werder Bremen's grand blueprint to attract Lin Quan to stay.
But Lin Quan knew that neither De Bruyne nor himself could stay at Werder Bremen.
Coach Shaofu's grand blueprint is destined to be unattainable!
"Coach, you can rest assured that before the end of the loan contract, I will fulfill my duties as a professional player, score more goals for the team, and try to win every game!" After saying this, Lin Quan stood up and bid farewell to the two.
Sure enough, the captain calling him over was not just about attending some barbecue party.
Lin Quan sighed. He had actually understood the implicit meaning of the other party's words long ago, but he had been avoiding discussing this matter directly.
He had a good time at Werder Bremen, but this could not be his final destination.
Sooner or later, he would leave Bremen for somewhere else.
If the topic is not made clear, it's good for both sides to maintain such a cooperative relationship.
But once the topic is made clear, it would be difficult for both sides to return to the beginning.
Therefore, he cannot give the other party the opportunity to clarify the topic; he must leave immediately.
"The barbecue will be ready soon. Why not eat first before you leave?" Fritz saw Lin Quan about to leave and tried to persuade him to stay.
"No, Captain, I have something urgent to attend to. I'll leave now. Thank you for your and your wife's hospitality!" Seeing Lin Quan's resolute departure, Coach Shaofu and Allofs looked at each other with a bitter smile.
Sure enough, they couldn't keep him!
"Disappointed?" Allofs asked his old partner.
Coach Shaofu shook his head: "There was never any hope to begin with, so what's there to be disappointed about?"
He was quite open-minded and didn't sigh or lament.
There was never any hope to begin with; it's just that they received news that Lin Quan's contract only had six months left, and the termination fee was not expensive, giving them a little hope.
"Werder Bremen's stage is too small for him. Staying here is a shackle for him. It's better to let him go and let him soar freely!"
"What about De Bruyne?"
"Same as him, there's not much hope. In fact, De Bruyne's loyalty to Chelsea is much higher than Lin's loyalty to Barcelona."
After working with Lin Quan for a long time, Coach Shaofu discovered that Lin Quan didn't really have any thoughts about returning to Barcelona.
And because of this, they had a bit of hope to poach him.
It's just a pity that even if he doesn't go back to Barcelona, it's unlikely that he'll stay at Werder Bremen.
Allofs also understood that what the other party said was right, but he still held a glimmer of hope in his heart.
How would they know if they didn't try? If they tried and failed, at least they wouldn't regret it in the future.
"After De Bruyne comes back, I'll try to contact him again. He's different from Lin Quan. There might not be a place for him at Chelsea."
Allofs sighed. Even if the hope is small, they have to try. For the revival of Werder Bremen, even if there's only a one-in-a-million chance, he won't let it slip away.
...
Lin Quan guessed that the club might also try to persuade De Bruyne to stay, but he didn't inquire about it.
These days, he has been training seriously and actively preparing for the upcoming league matches.
He calculated his points and found that he was not far from 20 points, which meant that he could soon purchase a talent with 20 points.
And the next talent, undoubtedly, he would choose to reduce injuries.
(End of this chapter)