Chapter 97: De Bruyne Injured and Substituted, Lin Quan's Revenge!
After Werder Bremen adjusted their tactics, the battle in midfield became particularly intense.
In such a fierce contest, the players from both sides started to play more aggressively.
In the 77th minute, Noichstart failed to get the ball from De Bruyne during a challenge, and in frustration, he fouled De Bruyne from behind, violently bringing him down.
The referee immediately rushed over and showed a yellow card to Schalke's midfielder.
Noichstart, however, was quite arrogant and didn't care about the yellow card.
As he walked past De Bruyne, he shouted at the fallen player, "Kid, watch your legs. You won't be so lucky next time!"
Upon hearing this, Werder Bremen's players became furious.
A group of them surrounded Noichstart, ready to confront him.
Meanwhile, another group surrounded De Bruyne, concerned about his injury.
De Bruyne was in great pain after the injury, lying on the ground clutching his ankle and unable to get up.
"Can you continue?" Lin Quan wanted to lend a hand to help De Bruyne up, but he noticed large beads of sweat forming on his forehead and his face turning pale.
This made him realize that De Bruyne's injury might be serious, so he immediately signaled for the team doctor to come onto the field.
On the sidelines, the Werder Bremen coaching staff stood up nervously, watching the situation intently.
De Bruyne was a key player for the team, an indispensable core in midfield.
If he had to leave the game due to injury, it would greatly impact Werder Bremen's strength, and their attacking system might not function properly without him.
The referee went over to assess the situation and signaled for a stretcher to be brought over, indicating that De Bruyne couldn't continue.
"Damn butcher!" muttered Schaff under his breath as they carried the injured De Bruyne off the field, forced to make a substitution.
He called for Ekici to come on as a replacement.
Ekici, 22 years old this year, came through the Bayern Munich youth system but had never played for the first team.
This season, he hadn't had many opportunities to play for Werder Bremen, as De Bruyne's excellent performances kept him on the bench.
Schaff wouldn't have easily used such an inexperienced young player, especially in such a challenging away game!
However, Werder Bremen's bench lacked depth, and there were no other options besides Ekici.
"Coach, bring on a forward, I'll play in midfield!" Just as Schaff was about to make the substitution, Lin Quan suddenly approached the sidelines and said to him.
"You, play in midfield?" Schaff was taken aback by Lin Quan's words.
He had always used Lin Quan as a winger and had never considered using him in midfield.
He seemed to have forgotten that when they loaned Lin Quan from Barcelona, his position was actually in midfield.
"Yes, I'll play as an attacking midfielder!" Lin Quan said firmly, "Even if it's for De Bruyne, we must win this game. We don't accept a draw, let alone a defeat!"
Seeing Lin Quan's determined attitude and remembering his previous position in Barcelona's youth team, Schaff chose to trust him.
"Okay, then the responsibility for organizing the attack in the frontcourt is up to you. Which forward do you want to cooperate with?" After saying this, Schaff scanned his bench.
Felckrugg, Niels Petersen, and others were on the bench, but Uchida had been substituted earlier and couldn't play.
Upon hearing the coach's words, Felckrugg and Petersen both looked at Lin Quan.
Since the last game against Augsburg, Petersen hadn't started a game. Even when Lin Quan was substituted, Felckrugg was the one who came on, so his chances were slim.
This had demoralized Petersen, and he was considering discussing with Bayern during the winter break to terminate his loan contract and find opportunities elsewhere.
However, if he left Werder Bremen in such a dejected manner, it would be difficult for him to find a good club.
Long periods without playing were fatal for players of his age.
So, upon hearing the coach's words, Petersen looked at Lin Quan earnestly.
At this point, he had no intention of competing with Lin Quan for a starting position, let alone being a core player.
Given Lin Quan's current performance, it was impossible for him to take away Lin Quan's position.
Moreover, the coach consulted Lin Quan before making substitutions, indicating Lin Quan's importance in the team. He was just a fringe player, continuing to have conflicts with Lin Quan would only make himself unhappy.
Thinking of this, Petersen stood up and said, "Lin, choose me. I have speed and impact, suitable for our counter-attacking tactics!"
Lin Quan glanced at Petersen, somewhat surprised by his initiative.
Typically, in the relationship between him, Felckrugg, and Petersen, he would choose Felckrugg first under normal circumstances.
But when the coach asked him just now, he hesitated.
This was obviously because Felckrugg, as a stationary center forward, wasn't suitable for Werder Bremen's current style of play.
His presence on the field had limited impact on the team's performance.
What Lin Quan needed was a player who could make runs, shoot, had good technique, and could cooperate with him.
Felckrugg's positioning awareness and technical skills were not as good as Petersen's.
He was more suitable for a rigid positional game, not for this fast-paced style.
With this in mind, Lin Quan nodded, "Alright, then it's you. Remember, don't stick to the ball after I carry it. You need to charge forward immediately when I have the ball, regardless of whether I can pass it to you. If I can't, it's my problem. If you can't get there, it's your problem!"
Lin Quan's tone was harsh, clearly still bothered by Petersen's ball-hogging in the previous game.
Petersen didn't mind Lin Quan's attitude; he nodded heavily and remembered Lin Quan's instructions.
Whatever the arrangement, as long as he got the chance to shoot, he would seize it!
It had been too long since he tasted the wonderful feeling of scoring!
...
In the commentary box, several commentators expressed regret after seeing De Bruyne leave the field due to injury.
"De Bruyne is an excellent midfielder, the brain of Werder Bremen. Without him, their attacking threat will decrease significantly."
"Yes, without De Bruyne's threat from midfield, Schalke's defense can breathe a sigh of relief. Now they just need to focus on marking Lin Quan!"
"Let's see how Werder Bremen adjusts their lineup. They only have Ekici left on the bench."
"Huh? Werder Bremen has brought on a forward? This isn't a like-for-like substitution; they should have brought on a midfielder!"
"Wait a minute, what's this? Lin Quan seems to have moved to the attacking midfielder position? Does that mean Werder Bremen intends to use him as a replacement for De Bruyne?"
Several commentators were shocked by Werder Bremen's substitution adjustment. They brought on a seldom-used forward and pushed their main striker back to the attacking midfielder position. What were they doing? Was this self-sabotage?
Couldn't the new guy they brought on up front pose a greater threat than Lin Quan?
It's incomprehensible; they can't figure out their thought process.
The game quickly resumed, and immediately, Werder Bremen showed their intentions.
When Noichstart had the ball, Lin Quan wasted no time and aggressively tackled him to the ground.
Noichstart let out a scream as he clutched his leg and rolled on the ground.
The referee ran over and verbally warned Lin Quan but didn't show a yellow card, only asking him to watch his aggression.
In fact, Lin Quan had gone for the player, but he had touched the ball first, so technically, it was a fair challenge.
Lin Quan nodded without saying anything, watching Noichstart roll on the ground, and then slowly backed away.
What goes around comes around!
He used to not understand the rough playing style of several Manchester United captains, especially Keane and Cantona. Their fouls were brutal and wild, sometimes unnecessary.
Sometimes, even if you didn't provoke them, they would come at you with a tackle just to show dominance.
If you did provoke them, well, watch your legs because they would rather get a red card or suspension than let you off easily!
Haaland's dad provoked Keane and got his leg broken by the Manchester United captain, forcing him to retire early.
Now he understood; if you weren't tough on the field, you'd end up being the one at a disadvantage.
Perhaps inspired by Lin Quan, Werder Bremen's players took turns fouling Noichstart in the subsequent game.
In less than ten minutes, Noichstart was fouled five times.
The most ruthless was the team's forward, Alan Hunter, a product of Werder Bremen's youth system. He was quiet but fierce. He seized the opportunity and brought down Noichstart for the fifth time.
The latter once again rolled on the ground, screaming in pain. The referee could see what was happening and knew that if he didn't show a card, the Werder Bremen players wouldn't stop.
So, he showed Hunter a yellow card. Hunter didn't care; he spat at Noichstart, who was pretending to be injured on the ground, satisfied as he returned to his position.
As he passed by Lin Quan, Lin Quan gave him a thumbs-up, and they exchanged a knowing look:
Wait for a chance to get him again later; after all, Lin Quan still had a yellow card to spare.
But Schalke's coach didn't dare to let Noichstart continue playing; he immediately made a personnel adjustment, replacing Noichstart with Hildebrand.
Seeing the butcher being substituted, Werder Bremen's players began to focus more on the game.
After dealing with individual players from the opposition, it was time to deal with the whole Schalke team!
(End of this chapter)