Chapter 146 Mourinho: I Want Lin Quan!
"Why hasn't De Bruyne arrived yet?"
"Is he not coming?"
"This guy, did he abandon us after getting new teammates at Chelsea?"
As the date of the match approached day by day, De Bruyne had not yet appeared.
The atmosphere within Werder Bremen began to grow uneasy. Players whispered, speculating about what might be happening.
Even Lin Quan himself felt something was amiss. He knew De Bruyne's character; he wasn't the type to abandon his teammates.
So, he decided to call De Bruyne privately to inquire about the situation.
To his surprise, the call couldn't go through.
Now Lin Quan was really uncertain.
Had something happened to De Bruyne?
London, inside Chelsea Football Club.
De Bruyne, who was preparing to leave for Berlin to participate in the match, was stopped by Chelsea Football Club.
"Why aren't you letting me go to the match?"
De Bruyne was furious. He had fought alongside his teammates for the entire season, and just before they were about to reap the rewards of their efforts, Chelsea prevented him from participating in the match.
Facing De Bruyne's anger, Chelsea's sporting director, Anneson, remained indifferent.
"Kevin, you know, your loan contract with Werder Bremen ends on the day the Bundesliga season ends. Now you belong to Chelsea, and you have no obligation to fulfill duties for Werder Bremen anymore!"
"But Werder Bremen's matches this season aren't over yet. I need to go back and fight alongside my teammates!"
De Bruyne argued. The final German Cup final was more important than any match in the entire league.
He didn't want to miss it, nor did he dare to!
If his absence led to the team losing the game and losing the championship, he would feel guilty for the rest of his life!
"Kevin, do you know who the club's new coach is?"
Anneson saw that De Bruyne was stubborn and had to further remind him.
"The team's head coach position is currently vacant. The next head coach has been decided; it's José Mourinho, who has just resigned from Real Madrid. If nothing unexpected happens, he will sign with the team and be officially announced in a few days."
"Mourinho's coaching style is completely different from the previous coach, Benitez. He will carry out radical reforms on the team!"
"And we have many good players in Chelsea's midfield. What you need to do now is to try to please Mourinho as much as possible, rather than worry about your damn Werder Bremen. Is their game more important to your future in Chelsea?"
Anneson was so angry his beard shook. If he didn't value the other party so much, he wouldn't have been so agitated.
De Bruyne fell silent. He could feel that Anneson's words were for his own good.
Indeed, he couldn't leave the team at such a critical moment of the coaching change.
In the position De Bruyne played, there were Hazard, Mata, Oscar, and others in Chelsea's midfield.
It was rumored they were also interested in Willian and Schürrle. If these two joined, the competition would only become more intense.
Leaving at this time might leave a bad impression on Mourinho.
Moreover, he was not the type of player Mourinho liked, and considering both factors, he might end up sitting on the bench at Chelsea!
Was he really willing to gamble with his career?
As De Bruyne hesitated, the images of Lin Quan, Coach Sha, and his other teammates at Werder Bremen flashed through his mind.
As well as the scenes where they fought side by side!
I can't be a deserter!
De Bruyne finally made up his mind!
"Mr. Anneson, I still want to go to Berlin to participate in the match!"
Anneson stared at De Bruyne, his gaze firm and even stubborn.
De Bruyne did not look away as he did before but chose to lock eyes with him.
"Go find Ennaro. If he agrees to your request, let him send someone with you to Berlin. Your loan contract has ended, and even if you want to play for Werder Bremen, it is not legal in terms of procedure."
Anneson finally provided some help. If he didn't remind De Bruyne, with his stubborn personality, he might really run to Berlin alone.
After sincerely thanking Anneson, De Bruyne quickly left his office to find the club's general manager, Ennaro.
"Manager Ennaro went to Portugal. It may take several days for him to return. Kevin, do you have something to discuss with him?"
The assistant's reply left De Bruyne feeling half-hearted.
If the person wasn't there, what should he do about his match?
He tried to find someone else to help, but he was still new to Chelsea.
He didn't have much rapport with the club's people, and neither were they willing nor dared to take matters into their own hands.
Such matters had to be approved by the club manager!
"Do you have Manager Ennaro's phone number?"
After a round of fruitless attempts, De Bruyne wasted a lot of time.
In the end, he had to find Ennaro's assistant.
"Yes, I'll send it to you!"
After receiving Ennaro's phone number from the assistant, De Bruyne immediately dialed.
In a mansion somewhere in Portugal, the phone of Chelsea's general manager, Ennaro, rang.
He glanced at it and saw it was an unknown number, so he chose to reject the call.
He was currently enjoying a drink and a chat with the legendary José Mourinho and had no time to deal with unknown callers.
If it was really something important, his assistant would notify him.
This kind of unknown call was likely someone who got his number from some channel and wanted to enter Chelsea through his connections!
He had seen many such players before and didn't care much about them.
Compared to such trivial matters, discussing serious matters with Mourinho was the real priority.
"This is the pre-selection list for the team's transfers next season. If there's anyone you're interested in, Mr. Abramovich will fully support you in bringing him in. Money is not a problem!"
Mourinho nodded expressionlessly, glanced at the list of players, pointed to a name, and said:
"I want him. Can you buy him?"
Ennaro looked at it and almost spewed out the wine in his mouth.
"Well, this, this is difficult!"
The player Mourinho was interested in was none other than Lin Quan.
Ennaro thought to himself, this is not an ordinary player!
He is currently the most anticipated superstar in the football world after Messi. Many clubs want to buy him, and although Chelsea is rich, such matters are no longer about money.
In the case of many top clubs vying for him, the initiative lies entirely in the hands of the player himself.
This reminded him of the cold reception he received when he visited Guardiola.
Guardiola seemed to have some prejudice against Chelsea and was unwilling to come to Chelsea to coach.
So, as influenced by him, would Lin Quan also have such prejudice against Chelsea?
Ding Dong!
His phone rang again.
He picked it up and saw it was the same unknown number.
Feeling somewhat annoyed, Ennaro chose to reject the call and block the number.
Damn it, do they call at any time without considering the situation?
De Bruyne was a little dumbfounded. Why wasn't anyone answering the phone?
If he couldn't reach the club manager, who could help him with the procedural issues?
Just as he felt lost and helpless, the phone in his hand rang.
Thinking it might be Ennaro returning his call, De Bruyne answered the phone immediately and exclaimed:
"Mr. Ennaro, I need your help arranging for a staff member to accompany me to Germany to handle the relevant procedures. I want to help Werder Bremen finish their last game!"
The person on the other end of the phone was momentarily stunned:
"Cough, Kevin, it's Lin Quan!"
He's been late to arrive, turns out there were issues with the procedures, no wonder!
I knew it, De Bruyne isn't the kind of guy to abandon his teammates!
"Lin, I... I'm sorry, I might not be able to make it to the match, I'm sorry..."
As soon as De Bruyne heard Lin Quan's voice on the other end, his emotions began to crumble.
It wasn't a call back from Manager Ennaro, which shattered his last shred of hope.
"What's going on? Tell me what happened, maybe I can help!"
Hearing De Bruyne's tone full of frustration and distress, coupled with what he had said at the beginning of the call, Lin Quan judged that he might have encountered some major trouble!
At this moment, De Bruyne felt like he had found a lifeline, and he spilled out all the troubles he had encountered on his end.
After listening to De Bruyne's words, Lin Quan breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed like this matter wasn't too difficult to resolve, it's just that De Bruyne hadn't found the right solution!
"You hurry back and pack your things, book the next flight to Berlin directly, leave the procedures for entry to me!"
"Okay, I'll leave right away!"
De Bruyne didn't ask Lin Quan how he could help him, but in his heart, Lin Quan was the one who could do anything.
Since he said it's okay to leave it to him, then he must be able to handle it!
...
After hanging up the phone with De Bruyne, Lin Quan opened his phone's contacts and found Ennaro's contact information.
This was the contact information he had written down from Ennaro's business card when Ennaro visited Spain to meet Guardiola.
Although he had Ennaro's contact information, he had never contacted him before.
De Bruyne must have also tried to contact Ennaro, but apparently without success.
This meant that he probably wouldn't answer calls from strangers, he needed to find someone familiar.
Lin Quan first thought of George Evans, the Chelsea scout who had been hit by his football.
...
"People all think Lin Quan is Messi II, but after careful study, I found that his threat on the offensive end is no less than Messi's, and the help he brings to the team on the defensive end far exceeds Messi's. And such a player is most suitable for my coaching team!"
Mourinho didn't care about any difficulties on Ennaro's side, since the other party said he could choose freely, then he wanted Lin Quan.
Others could be left out, but this summer, he hoped to see Lin Quan appear at Stamford Bridge.
Ennaro's forehead started sweating, he didn't dare to agree too firmly, because this matter was too difficult.
"I'll try my best to work on this!"
Mourinho was not satisfied with Ennaro's response, just about to continue making demands, when Ennaro's phone rang again.
Ennaro breathed a sigh of relief, looked at the caller ID, and found it was his scout.
So he quickly answered the call.
At this point, even if it was a stranger's number, he had to answer it.
The pressure Mourinho brought was too great, Ennaro felt like he was walking on thin ice in front of him.
"Hello, George, what's up?"
"Hmm? Who did you say wants to find me?"
"Lin Quan??"
"Why are you still dazed? Hurry up and let him call me, no, give me his number, I'll call him myself!"
After hanging up the phone, Ennaro smiled.
Lin Quan actually took the initiative to find him, could it be that he's interested in Chelsea?
If that's the case, then Mourinho's request, from the club's perspective, would be fulfilled satisfactorily!
Soon, George sent over Lin Quan's phone number.
Without any hesitation, Ennaro immediately made a call.
After Lin Quan called George and waited for his callback, he received a call from Ennaro.
Unexpectedly, Lin Quan was a bit surprised: Wasn't the plan for me to call him?
How did it turn into him calling me?
Well, never mind, it doesn't matter who calls who.
"Hello, Manager Ennaro, it's Lin Quan. I'm calling you mainly to ask for a favor..."
Putting down the phone, Ennaro's expression was quite depressed.
He thought the other party was actively approaching Chelsea, but the situation turned out to be completely different from what he had expected, leading to a false alarm.
"Abromovich's call?"
Mourinho asked casually when Ennaro finished the call and returned from outside.
The only person in Chelsea who could cause such a big change in Ennaro's mood apart from Abromovich, was difficult to think of anyone else.
"No, it's a call from Lin Quan."
"Hmm? He called you?"
Mourinho's eyes lit up, couldn't help but mutter to himself:
"Ennaro, you're really something. You even got the player's phone number. You're here complaining to me, saying it's difficult."
"It's Lin Quan's call, but it's not what you think."
Ennaro had to patiently explain once again.
After listening, Mourinho was also disappointed.
"It's okay, as long as we have a way to contact him. Arrange a time for you to meet with him another day, I'll personally talk to him!"
Mourinho felt that for players like Lin Quan, if the head coach didn't personally explain his coaching philosophy to him, as well as his tactical position within the team, it would be really difficult to attract them to join!
Whether it could be done or not, it had to wait until they actually met to determine.
...
On May 31st, with less than a day left before the match, De Bruyne finally arrived at the training base.
He arrived first, and Chelsea then sent staff over shortly after.
The efficiency was so fast that even Lin Quan was a little surprised.
Ennaro still valued Lin Quan's request very much. He didn't want to mess things up and leave a bad impression on Chelsea and himself in Lin Quan's eyes.
With the help of Chelsea staff, De Bruyne and Werder Bremen signed a supplementary agreement.
The supplementary agreement did not extend his loan period, it just specifically added this German Cup final to the original contract.
This way, De Bruyne could continue to represent Werder Bremen in the match!
"Sorry for being late and causing trouble for everyone!"
After sorting out these matters, De Bruyne finally breathed a sigh of relief.
As soon as he arrived at the training base, he immediately apologized to all the team members and coaching staff.
"What are you talking about? It's not your fault!"
Lin Quan walked up to him, gave him a punch, and put his arm around his shoulder:
"But being late will definitely be punished, right everyone?"
"Yes!"
"So, how should we punish him?"
"Why not make him wash our socks? It's so hot these days, after one training session, I have to change several pairs of socks. If they're not washed in time, they'll start to smell!"
Peter suggested a very mean punishment.
Just by listening to the other's words, De Bruyne seemed to smell the stinky socks, his face changed suddenly, and he whispered:
"Can I still make it if I run now?"
(End of this chapter)