Chapter 108: Free Kick Goal, Unexpected Turn of Events!
Bayern's response exceeded Lin Quan's expectations. He thought it would take a while to reach an agreement, but unexpectedly, Bayern quickly conceded.
"They agreed to a signing fee of 30 million euros, and the annual salary remains at the previous 6.5 million euros, increasing by 10% annually.
The image rights club and you split it 50-50, with Bayern's commercial department assisting you in commercial promotion. They may arrange some commercial activities with sponsors for you.
Currently, Bayern's main sponsors include Adidas, Deutsche Telekom, Volkswagen, and Allianz Insurance, among others.
If you sign with Bayern, these brands may approach you for endorsements or collaborations."
Lin Quan hadn't taken on commercial endorsements or advertisements much before. Initially, it was because of his low profile; no one approached him.
Now, it's because he didn't want to accept them, as the prices offered were too low to be worthwhile.
Before he wins significant championship trophies or honors that carry enough influence, his commercial value won't be too high.
Frequent endorsements and advertisements at this stage would only squander his influence and diminish his commercial value.
He's not short of money for now, and he doesn't intend to tarnish his reputation.
As for when he gets to Bayern, whether he accepts endorsements or not will depend on how much money the sponsors offer.
If they offer a substantial amount and the sponsors have significant influence, and it's mutually beneficial, he has no problem working with them.
If the sponsors' brand isn't well-known enough and they offer little money, he might choose to refuse.
Overall, Bayern's offer in this contract is quite sincere.
Lin Quan also isn't planning to haggle. After making a call and inquiring about Guardiola's and Bayern's contract details, he nodded in agreement.
Pere breathed a sigh of relief. After negotiating this transfer with Bayern, his agency could finally kick off.
The winter transfer window hadn't even started yet, and he could already ensure a revenue of at least 2 million euros.
The Bundesliga's winter break arrived quickly. On December 16th, the Bundesliga concluded its final round of the first half of the season.
After this round, Bundesliga teams would begin a winter break lasting 35 days.
Due to its latitude, Germany experiences a cold winter, so their winter break is the longest among the top five leagues.
Compared to the Premier League, which has no winter break, it's undoubtedly a relief.
Compared to the shorter winter breaks in La Liga and Serie A, their winter break is a full 20 days longer!
Even compared to Ligue 1, the second longest winter break among the top five leagues, they have an extra five days.
Considering they only have 18 teams and 34 rounds of matches, plus fewer cup competitions compared to the Premier League, Bundesliga players play the fewest matches and have the longest vacation time. It's genuinely quite comfortable.
No wonder many young talents like to come here. It's a place with high wages, long vacations, one match per week, and no overtime. Who wouldn't love it?
For players in the Bundesliga, this winter, with their long vacation, they can take their families to the south for a holiday, enjoying the sunshine and beaches, without enduring the snow and cold in Germany.
Lin Quan also plans to return to Spain after playing a German Cup match. The winter in Spain is much better than in Germany. This is his first winter in Germany, and he's slightly unaccustomed to the climate here.
Although there's heating indoors in Germany, it doesn't feel cold inside.
But during outdoor training and matches, there's no heating, and the low temperatures can cause some inconvenience.
Playing and training in low temperatures, if the body isn't properly warmed up, it's easy to injure oneself.
And this is just Germany; if he were to go to Russia, where the latitude is even higher and it's already snowy and icy, playing football there would probably freeze him!
In this round, Werder Bremen continued to host Nuremberg at home.
Nuremberg is ranked 14th in the standings, with an 8-point advantage over the relegation zone, so they're relatively safe.
Coming to challenge Werder Bremen, who is ranked second in the standings, they naturally didn't believe they could win.
From the start, they came with the mentality of playing for a draw and snatching one point away.
Therefore, Nuremberg, playing away, appeared very conservative.
They amassed heavy troops in the middle and backfield, intending to hold onto a draw.
If they could find an opportunity for a counterattack and steal a goal, they would be even happier.
Werder Bremen initially thought this would be an easy game, but an unexpected incident occurred shortly after the start of the first half.
The team's main striker, Arnautovic, was knocked unconscious by the goalkeeper while competing for a header in the penalty area.
After the team doctor examined the injury, it was determined to be too severe for them to handle, so they immediately contacted an ambulance to take him to the hospital for examination and treatment.
Watching their teammate being taken away by the ambulance, the Werder Bremen players were all very worried.
The serious injury to their teammate made it difficult for them to concentrate, and their minds were not on the game, naturally resulting in a messy performance.
As the second half progressed to the 75th minute, neither team had breached the other's goal, and the score on the field remained 0-0.
At this point, the fans in the stadium couldn't sit still. They inquired about Arnautovic's condition through their friends working at the hospital, while loudly cheering for the team, hoping to awaken the players' fighting spirit and bring them into form.
The cheering seemed to awaken the players' fighting spirit, and their performance finally began to improve.
In the 84th minute of the game, Werder Bremen obtained an excellent opportunity in the frontcourt.
After escaping the defense's marking, De Bruyne sent a clever pass.
Lin Quan received the ball and passed it horizontally to the space in the penalty area. Substitute Petersen instinctively moved forward, received the ball, and shot.
His positioning for this shot was excellent, but the quality of his final kick was not high, and the ball was saved by the goalkeeper.
Missing this opportunity, Petersen knelt down on the ground, burying his head in the turf and pounding the ground vigorously.
It seemed that even he couldn't accept the result of missing this shot!
Lin Quan walked over, pulled him up, and patted his shoulder:
"It's okay, everyone misses opportunities sometimes. Learn from it, gain experience, and seize the next opportunity!"
Petersen nodded heavily, then looked at Lin Quan nervously:
"Boss, will you still pass to me? You will, right...?"
Seeing the apprehensive look in the other's eyes, Lin Quan smirked: "Whether I pass to you next time depends on your performance!"
...
Although Petersen's shot didn't go in, it completely woke up the Werder Bremen players.
Realizing that time was running out, they began bombarding Nuremberg's goal.
Free kicks, headers, long shots...
They tried every means, but still couldn't break through the opponent's turtle shell.
Seeing victory within their grasp, the Nuremberg players even gave up on attacking.
Each and every one of them stayed within their own thirty-meter area, determined to defend to the end.
As long as they persisted for a few more minutes, they could force a draw against Werder Bremen away from home and snatch a point from them.
Under their opponents' turtle-like defense, Werder Bremen's attacks struggled to pose a threat.
In the 88th minute of the game, Lin Quan attempted to dribble through, trying to find an opportunity to shoot in the penalty area.
Before he could enter the penalty area, the opponent's player fouled him just outside the box.
After falling down, Lin Quan didn't stay down. He immediately got up and discussed with De Bruyne how to take the free kick.
"Will you take it, or should I?"
The game had reached the 88th minute, and time was running out.
De Bruyne thought for a moment, realizing that this distance wasn't suitable for his trademark curling shots. The distance wasn't enough.
So he handed the opportunity to Lin Quan. Lin Quan's free kick skills were more diverse, and he might seize this chance.
Seeing De Bruyne step aside, Lin Quan approached the ball.
He glanced at the goalkeeper's position and then at the opposing wall, starting to slowly back away.
The Nuremberg players weren't very familiar with Lin Quan's free kick abilities. Werder Bremen's free kicks were mainly taken by De Bruyne, and Lin Quan had fewer opportunities to take them himself.
At this moment, seeing Lin Quan back away so far, they all thought he was going to take a powerful shot.
Thinking this, the Nuremberg players forming the wall prepared to jump to block the shot.
Although getting hit in the head by a powerful shot would be very uncomfortable, if the opponent really scored with this shot, all their efforts throughout the game would be in vain.
Seeing the Nuremberg players' expressions, Lin Quan calculated in his mind.
The referee's whistle blew.
Lin Quan began a rapid run-up, getting faster and faster. When he reached the ball, he leaned back, raised his right leg high, and fiercely kicked towards the ball.
Sure enough, it was going to be a high shot!
Seeing the opponents raise their legs to block the powerful shot, the Nuremberg players all instinctively jumped to intercept.
But as they jumped, the ball flew out, not into the air as expected, but along the ground, rolling past their feet.
What? It's a ground shot! We're done, we've been fooled by that kid! The Nuremberg players still in the air, one by one, were shocked, subconsciously turning to look at their own goal.
But what they saw was the goalkeeper's delayed reaction. It wasn't until the ball rolled into the goal that he made a save attempt.
The goalkeeper also thought the opponent was going to shoot high, but he didn't expect it to be a ground shot.
He did his best to make a save, and he really did try hard.
In the end, thanks to Lin Quan's direct free kick goal, Werder Bremen won 1-0 at home against Nuremberg, maintaining their position as second in the standings.
After the game, the players hastily thanked the fans who supported them on site and hurriedly left the club, heading to the hospital.
They wanted to visit their injured teammate. If Arnautovic woke up, they would share the joy of victory with him.
(End of this chapter)