Exchanging Jerseys

Dortmund's players felt extremely disappointed. They gave it their all, reaching their limits, yet still lost the game. The sense of defeat and frustration made many of the young players teary-eyed.

At this moment, the Werder Bremen players were gracious. Amidst their celebration, they didn't forget to console their opponents.

Dortmund's performance in this match was excellent. Even as their opponents, it had to be admitted that their fiery spirit and ability to turn the tables in adversity was intimidating.

Realistically, Dortmund's strength is certainly stronger than Werder Bremen's.

Their loss was partly due to not expecting the surprise tactics employed by their opponents, leaving them caught off guard.

On the other hand, their team's mentality was not stable enough. After conceding a goal in the first half, they struggled to regain their form, wasting a considerable amount of time.

Once they fully overcome these issues, they will likely become even stronger in the new season.

"The next time we encounter them, we probably won't be able to win!"

Fritz stood beside Lin, expressing his thoughts with some emotion.

Dortmund's lineup is very young, and their players are still in their developmental phase.

Such a team, as long as there are no major injuries, no player trading, and no captain departures like at Arsenal, will likely remain highly competitive in the Bundesliga for a long time.

Whether they can continue to challenge Bayern is uncertain, but other Bundesliga teams will definitely not have an easy time facing them.

"Heh, I'm afraid they'll bear a grudge and play against us intensely next time!"

Hearing Lin's words, Fritz couldn't help but chuckle: Snatching the championship in the opponent's home, it would be strange if they didn't bear a grudge!

At this point, the Werder Bremen and Dortmund players had begun exchanging jerseys.

In this match, both sides acknowledged each other's strength.

Considering Lin's young age, he initially thought no one would want to exchange jerseys with him.

However, to his surprise, Reus and Götze approached him together, volunteering to swap jerseys.

Götze had a sudden eye problem before the match and sat on the bench throughout, not participating.

His absence was one of Dortmund's reasons for the loss.

Even though he didn't play, Götze felt that he was the core of Dortmund's midfield, while Reus was just a newcomer to the team.

Therefore, Götze believed that Lin would likely exchange jerseys with him, the more famous of the two.

However, to his surprise, Lin chose Reus instead.

Lin deeply admired Reus's character. In the commercialized world of football, there were too few players like him, loyal to a single city.

Compared to the single-city Reus, Lin wasn't particularly fond of Götze.

It's hard to say how much of the 12-13 season's loss in the Champions League should be attributed to Götze, but privately contacting the opponents before the final and then transferring to their team was definitely a significant morale blow to the team.

Even if Götze had transferred away to Bayern after losing the Champions League match, he wouldn't have received as much criticism.

The former seemed more like a conspiracy by Bayern before the final, using the opponents' midfield core to demoralize the opponents.

The latter could at most be seen as Götze seeking to join a stronger team.

In the football world, there were many instances of players joining stronger teams when they couldn't compete. Arsenal alone had three, Henry, Van Persie, and Fabregas, who did such things.

Reus was somewhat surprised that Lin wanted to exchange jerseys with him, so he handed Lin his green number 10 jersey and offered him a hug.

"You played really well in this match. Keep it up, and I look forward to seeing you make a name for yourself in the Bundesliga!"

Lin was also surprised by Reus's affirmation and blessing. So he replied, "Thank you, Marco. The next time we play in Bremen, I'll treat you to dinner!"

Reus nodded in agreement, "Deal, but I can't treat you to dinner today, sorry!"

Lin smiled, understanding that even if Reus offered to treat him to dinner out of courtesy, he would refuse. Otherwise, if the Dortmund fans saw, Reus might find it tough to stay there.

Superficial relations are a big taboo, and Lin, although eager to advise Reus to rest more and prevent injuries, found it inappropriate to say such things so suddenly. He would have to wait until they were more familiar before giving advice as a friend.

He hoped that before that time, his days at Dortmund would be smoother, with fewer injuries!

…

For fear of angering the eighty thousand home fans and causing an accident, Werder Bremen didn't stay at Westfalenstadion for long.

After receiving the awards, they quickly boarded the bus.

The next day at noon, after a full night's rest, the energized Werder Bremen team members returned to Bremen on the ICE high-speed train.

The distance between Dortmund and Bremen isn't too far, and Germany's high-speed trains are extensive, so the team arrived in just an hour.

After returning to the club, the club manager Alofs arrived carrying a briefcase and greeted the entire team joyfully, including the substitutes, with warm hugs.

Then, in front of the players, he opened the briefcase and revealed, "This is the prize money of 300,000 euros for winning the Telekom Cup, received from the Football Association and sponsors!"

Upon seeing the cash in the briefcase, the players seemed to realize something and stopped what they were doing, staring at Alofs.

Werder Bremen is not a wealthy club, and the players' salaries aren't high. After the departures of club veterans like Pizarro and Wiese, the average annual salary for Werder Bremen this season decreased to the level of a lower-tier Bundesliga club. The highest in the team is captain Clemens Fritz, with an annual salary of only 2.2 million euros.

Players like Felix Kroos, who came from the youth team, earn even less. Their weekly wage is estimated to be only around 3,000 euros, with an annual salary not exceeding 200,000 euros.

So, for the players, this prize money of 300,000 euros is very attractive.

"The club will allocate the prize money according to each player's contribution in the matches. If anyone has no objections, you can line up here to sign and receive your share!" announced Alofs.

After the announcement, the staff registered the players and distributed the money directly.

Although Werder Bremen isn't wealthy, the club doesn't intend to touch this money. After all, it's not a large sum, and they had never expected to win the cup in the first place, making this money an unexpected windfall.

It's better to reward the players, motivating them to continue performing well on the field and achieve good results in the new season.

This approach certainly won the continuous praise of the players.

The players had no objections to the distribution plan, so they queued up to sign and receive their share of the prize money.

Lin's performance in these two matches was outstanding as an attacking core, so he received the first-tier prize money of 20,000 euros! There were only five people in this tier, including Lin and four other key players who played well in both matches, including De Bruyne.

The second-tier prize money was 10,000 euros, awarded to key players who played in the matches, and important substitute players.

The third tier was 5,000 euros, rewarded to those on the squad list but didn't play, as well as club staff, and others.

After getting the money, the players' minds immediately shifted away from the training ground, especially the young players who previously had little money or had given it to their parents. They were all over the place mentally!

Seeing this, Coach Schaaf immediately announced a break for the players for three days.

After announcing the break, he cautioned the young players not to mess around outside because the team wouldn't tolerate any negative news they might stir up!