Chapter 122: How Can a Forward Have So Many Assists?
A week later, Werder Bremen hosted Freiburg at home.
This was originally a fairly ordinary match, but because two players were competing for the top spot in the Bundesliga assists chart, this game became somewhat unusual.
In this match, De Bruyne and Lin Quan seemed to be putting on a show, taking turns to deliver exquisite passes to their teammates.
In the 9th minute of the first half, Lin Quan assisted Petersen to score early, bringing his assist count to 16, one behind De Bruyne.
Not to be outdone, De Bruyne quickly assisted Elia in scoring a goal, once again widening the gap between the two to 2 goals.
Freiburg's players were furious!
"What do you think we are?!"
"Are you trying to set records against us?!"
They began to launch a vigorous counterattack!
In the 36th minute, Freiburg's forward Kruse scored a goal, changing the score to 2-1.
Five minutes later, Freiburg's winger Matyadi was fouled inside the penalty area, and the referee awarded a penalty kick.
Matyadi personally took the penalty and scored, bringing the score level.
Seeing the team go from leading to being equalized by the opponent, the fans at the Weser Stadium were dismayed.
"Why does the team feel so strange today?"
"Yeah, Lin Quan hasn't scored today!"
"It seems like De Bruyne isn't passing to him!"
"Huh? Now that you mention it, it does seem true. Are they having some kind of conflict?"
In the locker room, Schaaf was also asking this question.
At the end of the first half, he called Lin Quan and De Bruyne over to ask why they weren't cooperating with each other in this match.
If they could cooperate with each other as usual, they could have scored at least 3 goals in the first half, and wouldn't have ended up being equalized by the opponent.
Facing Schaaf's inquiry, De Bruyne hesitated and said, "I and Lin are competing for the assists chart. I'm afraid that if I pass the ball to him nicely, he won't shoot and waste my exquisite passes."
Schaaf frowned and looked at Lin Quan.
Lin Quan shrugged, "Kevin, if you think like that, I'll be sad. When have I ever wasted your exquisite passes? If you pass it to my feet, whether I can score or not is my responsibility. If you can't pass it, then it's your responsibility."
If they weren't good friends, based on what De Bruyne just said, Lin Quan would have felt like the other party was reporting him to the coach.
"Really? Then I apologize to you. If there's a good opportunity in the second half, I'll definitely pass the ball to you!"
De Bruyne said sincerely, feeling a bit guilty, thinking he had misjudged Lin Quan.
Seeing the misunderstanding between the two resolved, Schaaf also breathed a sigh of relief.
He was really worried that the two would have some kind of conflict!
Now it seemed that he had overthought it.
However, the fact that the two were competing for the assists chart felt a bit strange.
De Bruyne having many assists was understandable. He played the role of organizing attacks in the team, and having many assists indicated that he performed extremely well and fulfilled his duties perfectly.
But Lin Quan having so many assists? What's going on?
Schaaf couldn't figure it out, and the commentators in the box also felt very surprised.
"Hehe, there's an interesting technical statistic that I think everyone will be interested in!"
"The second-ranked player on the assists chart is Lin Quan, and the first is De Bruyne. They happen to be on the same team!"
Another guest exclaimed, "The twin stars of Werder Bremen have been so outstanding this season!"
"So far this season, Lin Quan has scored a total of 28 goals and completed 16 assists. The goals he created account for 68.75% of Werder Bremen's total goals!"
"And De Bruyne has scored a total of 13 goals this season, completed 18 assists, and the goals he created account for 48.5% of the team's total goals."
"Just from the above data, we can see the huge impact they have on Werder Bremen's attacking end."
"Thanks to the outstanding performance of the twin stars, Werder Bremen has scored a total of 64 goals in the league so far, second only to Bayern's 68 goals."
"If you don't have a concept of this data, then we can compare it with third-placed Borussia Dortmund."
"Dortmund, who just won 3-0 at home against Frankfurt, has only scored 54 goals so far, a gap of more than 10 goals from the top two teams."
Although the outside world more or less had heard of the fame of Werder Bremen's twin stars, they hadn't really felt how strong these two were.
But at this moment, seeing the various data presented by the commentators, the fans were shocked:
So the twin stars of Werder Bremen are this amazing?
One of them is approaching the Bundesliga's single-season goals record, and the other is about to refresh the historical record of assists!
"Damn, how did Werder Bremen get so lucky to have such two monster-level players!?"
"Yeah, one is a midfielder, and one is a forward, and they can't afford to lose even one of them!"
"Stop talking, the neighbors' team must be jealous!"
"For over a decade, Werder Bremen fans have come on their own, but these two aren't Bremen's players. Once their loan ends, they'll leave Bremen!"
"Ah, as a ten-year fan who has watched half a season of Werder Bremen's games, I can't imagine the Parrot Legion without Lin Quan and De Bruyne!"
"Yes, without them, Werder Bremen's attacking firepower will definitely be greatly reduced!"
"More than reduced, it might even return to the ranks of relegation teams..."
"Ah, I suddenly feel sorry for Werder Bremen!"
"Sympathy +1!"
...
In fact, there was one piece of data that the commentator did not announce: Lin Quan and De Bruyne not only occupied the top two spots in the assists chart but also ranked high in the Golden Boot standings, first and fourth respectively.
This season, Werder Bremen's attack was indeed supported by these two.
When they leave, Werder Bremen will probably need to adjust their frontcourt attacking system.
After the misunderstanding was resolved in the second half, the twin stars of Werder Bremen once again showed their tremendous power.
De Bruyne not only increased the number of times he cooperated with Lin Quan but also frequently sent him exquisite passes.
Although knowing that scoring would help De Bruyne refresh the assists record, Lin Quan still chose to score steadily.
With tears in his eyes, he scored two goals and provided two assists to De Bruyne. Werder Bremen won 4-2 at home against Freiburg.
After scoring two goals and providing an assist, Lin Quan celebrated the victory with a forced smile and hugged De Bruyne, but sighed in his heart.
Now, the assists chart for this season was completely out of reach.
Not only was the title of assist king out of reach, but also the 10 bonus points!
With three assists in this game, De Bruyne's assist count reached 20.
This data has tied Ribery's Bundesliga assists record set in the 2009-2010 season.
As long as he completes even one more assist in the upcoming matches, he will refresh the Bundesliga's assists record.
Such outstanding performance has attracted more and more attention from other teams.
There were already many scouts who came to Werder Bremen to scout Lin Quan, but now seeing De Bruyne's performance so amazing, they also took the opportunity to scout him.
For this reason, Chelsea's senior scout Deviesser returned to Germany again, specifically to inspect De Bruyne's condition.
"What's the club thinking? Why don't they call Kevin back? His performance in the Bundesliga is so outstanding. He's almost refreshing the Bundesliga assists record. Isn't this enough to prove his strength?"
The rookie scout George Evans, who had been tracking and observing De Bruyne and Lin Quan for a long time, has now officially joined the club.
The club manager, Emanalo, was very satisfied with his work, just regretting that he didn't listen to his advice earlier and bring in Lin Quan.
Perhaps it was because George was considered to have a good eye for talent, or maybe it was thought that he was just lucky.
Chelsea tasked George with scouting young players under 21 from the entire Bundesliga. If there were suitable talents, he would report back to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea would then send senior scouts like Deviser to confirm the situation. If the player's conditions met Chelsea's requirements, they would consider buying them.
Although Abramovich spends money like water and likes to purchase big-name players, the team still needs a large number of talented and promising young players to inject fresh blood.
These players can serve as substitutes, be loaned out, and develop until they mature. If a few top-class stars emerge among them, then Chelsea hits the jackpot.
Even if top-class stars don't emerge, selling them on after Chelsea's development ensures they won't suffer losses, as long as they haven't misjudged the players.
Deviser shook his head and sighed, "The situation at the club is quite complicated. The head coach's selection hasn't been finalized, and the tactical changes have been too frequent, resulting in a severe decline in the team's performance. Both fans and players are in revolt..."
He had been at Chelsea for many years, and he had only seen such chaos once before, under the previous owner Bates' mismanagement, which almost led Chelsea to collapse due to financial difficulties.
But at that time, Abramovich took over and immediately injected huge funds to help Chelsea out of trouble and usher in its peak period.
But now, this situation had little to do with money; it was entirely Abramovich's arbitrary behavior.
He liked to fire coaches too much. In just a few years, the coaches he had fired could form a team.
In the past few years, Chelsea has paid enough compensation to these dismissed coaches that it could have bought a Torres.
Although Di Matteo's coaching ability was not strong, Chelsea's performance in the first half of the season under his leadership was still good.
But because of a misjudgment in one game, Chelsea lost to Manchester United in the league, and then went on a losing streak due to a psychological explosion.
Abramovich, who already had a low opinion of him, fired him in a fit of anger.
After Di Matteo was sacked, his successor Benitez's performance was even worse than his.
Under his leadership, Chelsea's Club World Cup journey ended in humiliation, followed by elimination from the Champions League and FA Cup. It seemed they were about to end the season empty-handed!
This made the Blues' fans very dissatisfied.
Benitez had only been at the club for just over two months, and the fans at Stamford Bridge were already starting to curse him.
Not only that, but at the 16th minute of each match, the Blues' fans would stand up and applaud to commemorate Di Matteo, who was fired.
This made Abramovich very embarrassed and completely cut off the idea of renewing with Benitez, only wanting to change the coach quickly after the end of the season.
With such turmoil within the Blues, Benitez was basically making it up as he went along, completely lacking the intention of promoting youth talents for Chelsea.
As for De Bruyne, he would wait for the next head coach. He didn't have that kind of mindset.
Benitez was also miserable. Since leaving Liverpool, his coaching career had not been smooth.
In 2010, he coached Inter Milan for only half a season and was dismissed by Moratti due to poor team performance.
After two years of unemployment, he finally found a job. But after arriving at Chelsea, he completely failed to adapt to Chelsea's tactical style and couldn't control the locker room.
If it weren't for Abramovich firing coaches so ruthlessly that no other coaches wanted to come to Stamford Bridge, given Abramovich's character, Benitez would have been fired long ago.
With Chelsea in such chaos, De Bruyne also felt a bit hesitant.
He was doing well at Werder Bremen. If he returned to the Premier League from the Bundesliga, he was worried he wouldn't get stable playing time.
If he hadn't proven himself in the Bundesliga, he could accept being a substitute at Chelsea.
But now, after experiencing a very successful season with the team, De Bruyne's mindset had changed.
He believed he had the ability to compete for a starting position. If Chelsea didn't give him that opportunity, he needed to consider it seriously.
Seeing that they were about to challenge Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena, De Bruyne appeared absent-minded on the training ground, which worried Lin Quan.
So Lin Quan took the initiative to ask him about the situation.
De Bruyne explained the chaotic situation at Chelsea and his concerns, then asked, "Lin, do you think I should return to Chelsea after my loan expires?"
His worry was realistic. The World Cup was coming up soon. If he returned to Chelsea at this time and couldn't get playing time, the Belgian national team might abandon him.
Although he was very loyal to Chelsea and grateful to them for discovering him from the lower leagues and bringing him to the big stage of the top five leagues, between the national team and the club, De Bruyne would definitely choose the national team without hesitation.
Lin Quan knew that Mourinho was likely to be Chelsea's next head coach, but he couldn't be sure at the moment.
In history, Mourinho was abandoned by Real Madrid after losing the Champions League and the league title.
He didn't know how big of a butterfly effect his appearance had. If Real Madrid hadn't been eliminated by Dortmund and had reached the Champions League final instead, then everything would be different.
Even if they didn't win the championship in the end, reaching the final would still prove Mourinho's ability. At least under his leadership, Real Madrid was steadily moving forward.
So he could only comfort De Bruyne, saying, "Don't rush to make a decision. Chelsea's head coach hasn't been decided yet. Wait until the head coach is determined and the team's tactics are finalized. Then see if you fit the coach's tactics.
If you think you can adapt, I support you returning to Stamford Bridge. If not, I think it's better to stay at Werder Bremen!"
Mourinho had coached De Bruyne for a while, and his performance under him was not good.
Although De Bruyne's defensive ability had improved somewhat, it still didn't meet the standard of a defensive player.
And under Mourinho, except for superstars like Ronaldo who had privileges, all other players had to participate in defense.
De Bruyne wouldn't have as high a tactical status in Mourinho's hands as he did at Werder Bremen. He would likely be placed on the wing.
And wingers had to take on heavy defensive responsibilities, at least being able to limit the opponent's wingers' attacks.
De Bruyne was weak in physical confrontations, and his defensive abilities were lacking, while the Premier League emphasized physicality.
If Mourinho were to place him in this position, his performance would inevitably decline significantly, and he would never achieve the same level of performance as at Werder Bremen.
In this case, in Mourinho's mind, he might be labeled as a flop, and then De Bruyne's chances of playing would be even smaller.
From this perspective, Lin Quan felt that it was better for De Bruyne to stay at Werder Bremen.
De Bruyne nodded, feeling that Werder Bremen had at least been his team for a season, and he had some feelings for them.
He also didn't want the team's results to plummet as soon as he and Lin Quan left.
However, with Werder Bremen's financial situation, they might not be able to afford him.
"Oh, by the way, how many years did you sign with Chelsea?"
Seeing that De Bruyne had thoughts of staying, Lin Quan asked curiously.
He remembered that when De Bruyne transferred to Wolfsburg, the Wolves paid €25 million.
This price was a bit of pressure for Werder Bremen, but with a little effort, it was not impossible to come up with.
Last year, at the start of the Bundesliga season, De Bruyne's estimated value in the transfer market was €18 million.
Now it was probably over €20 million. If Werder Bremen wanted to buy him, they would need to offer more than €25 million.
Chelsea wasn't stupid. They wouldn't ignore De Bruyne's value and sell him at a low price.
"I signed for five years, and the contract expires in 2017!"
De Bruyne guessed Lin Quan's thoughts and shattered them with one sentence.
"Uh, okay, it seems like the initiative for the transfer is in Chelsea's hands."
Lin Quan sighed. With a five-year contract, only one year had passed, and there were still four years left.
With such a long time, Chelsea had no need to rush at all. On the contrary, the side buying the player would be in a hurry.
Last year, when the Bundesliga had just started, De Bruyne's value in the transfer market was estimated at €18 million.
Now it was probably over €20 million. If Werder Bremen wanted to buy him, they would need to offer more than €25 million.
Chelsea wasn't stupid. They wouldn't ignore De Bruyne's value and sell him at a low price.
"In fact, I have one more worry!"
De Bruyne suddenly spoke up.
"What?"
"If other teams submit higher offers to Chelsea than Werder Bremen, then it will be even harder for me to stay at Werder Bremen!"
(End of this chapter)