Coach's Determination

The next day, Lin got up early, had breakfast, then rode his bike to the training ground with a football. SV Werder Bremen's training ground was near the Weser Stadium, a landmark in Bremen city, so even as a newcomer, Lin wouldn't get lost as long as he knew the direction of the stadium. 

Because the team was on break, the club was in semi-holiday mode. The security guard, Uncle Graywing, was quite surprised that a player came for training at this time.

"Hey, kid, are you really a player on our team?" He glanced at Lin. Since he had never seen him in the team before and Lin wasn't wearing SV Werder Bremen's jersey, he had his doubts about Lin's identity.

"Absolutely. If you don't believe me, you can call the club's management, Mr. Ersin, or Mr. Allofs. If you have the club president Klaus Fischer's number, you can call him too." Lin stood calmly at the gate, facing the security guard's interrogation without any nervousness.

After Lin fluently recited several names of the club's management, Graywing was mostly convinced. Due to Germans being quite strict, he called the club manager, Allofs, to confirm Lin's identity. Allofs was surprised to hear that Lin came to the club for extra practice and drove himself over to bring Lin into the team's training ground.

He guided Lin through the different facilities at the training ground. After introducing everything, Allofs paused and said earnestly, "It's good to practice voluntarily, but be cautious about the training volume. Don't overtrain and hurt yourself. You're still young and have plenty of time, no need to rush!"

Even though he didn't completely believe that Lin could perfectly integrate into SV Werder Bremen's tactical system, Allofs admired and liked hardworking players like Lin, especially when the player was still young. This ability to resist the temptations of the flashy world outside the football field, and earnestly solidify one's skills, was a commendable quality.

Lin nodded. After some interaction, he found Allofs quite easy to get along with.

It was clear that Allofs had affection for the club. However, his troubled look indicated that the rumors about him wanting to leave were probably true. In Lin's original timeline, Allofs left SV Werder Bremen in 2013. In that season, SV Werder Bremen barely avoided relegation until the last match. It was this dismal performance that likely prompted him to make the decision to leave.

This matter was not significant to Lin; he was only on loan for a year, and after his loan contract ended the next year, he would most likely be leaving. At that point, it wouldn't matter much whether Allofs and head coach Thomas Schaaf chose to stay or leave.

Afterward, Lin diligently attended the club's daily training.

The main training content consisted of ball and non-ball training, and regular training for professional teams. At first, the training intensity was low to prevent injury, but as his body adjusted, the training volume gradually increased. Once it reached a certain level, the volume stabilized, and there was no further increase. 

Lin was in a stage of crucial physical growth, and excessive training could cause irreversible damage to his body.

Every time Lin trained, Allofs quietly observed from the sidelines. A week later, there was another person on the sidelines. Lin didn't recognize him, but seeing how familiar he was with Allofs, he guessed the man's identity. They didn't interrupt Lin's training; they only occasionally came to observe and exchange a few words.

"Thomas, what do you think of him?" After observing Lin for two weeks, Allofs was very familiar with Lin's technical capabilities He also saw a shadow of Xavi-Iniesta and even Messi's qualities in him. He seemed to have combined the strengths of all three, possessing both organizing and finishing abilities. He seemed to be a quality product from La Masia.

Unfortunately, with no actual training to confirm his assessment, he couldn't be sure of his judgment. So, he brought in his good friend and colleague, SV Werder Bremen's head coach, Thomas Schaaf, to observe Lin's training.

Schaaf gazed intently for a while before gently replying, "His skills are very good, but he's too young."

Football has many promising young talents, but not many actually make it through in the end. For instance, take the Golden Boy award. Any player who wins this award must have received unanimous recognition at the time of winning. However, their future careers are not always as smooth, and many don't make it, ending up being labeled as a "super flop." For example, Manchester United paid a high price for the European Golden Boy Anderson, but he didn't live up to expectations, which led to a lot of criticism for this 20 million Euros signing.

Anderson joined Manchester United when he was at least 19 years old, while Lin is only 16 years old this year. The risk placed on him is probably even greater than the risk Sir Alex Ferguson took with Anderson.

Allofs clearly disagrees with this statement: "I think we shouldn't dismiss his skill just because he's young. Remember, you hold SV Werder Bremen's record for the youngest appearance. If your coach had dismissed young players like you back then, could you have succeeded?"

"Schaff, you've changed, you've become more conservative. Is it because of the team's poor performance that you've become more cautious and lost your previous composure and confidence?"

After hearing his friend's words, Thomas Schaff remained silent and couldn't help but wonder: Have I really changed? The club was in the title-contending group three seasons ago. The season before last, there was a sudden collapse, and they directly fell into the relegation zone.

Last season, the situation worsened, and the team almost entered the abyss of relegation. This summer, including the main goalkeeper Wiese, 14 players transferred out, and half of them were the team's main players.

In this scenario, the pressure for the team to avoid relegation in the new season is unprecedentedly huge and doesn't tolerate any mistakes.

Under such tremendous pressure, he probably became conservative. "You're right, I shouldn't be so conservative!"

"With our current lineup, being so cautious can't guarantee our survival. In that case, we might as well take a chance!"