"Frank, is he in good physical condition?"
"You must take good care of Chen today, those Bayern guys are ruthless!"
"I'm counting on you, Frank."
Frank Heinrich was very depressed.
Facing his family's incessant chatter, he felt like an outsider, and Chen Tao was the couple's biological son.
As Borussia Dortmund's team doctor, he would always be meticulously cautioned by his family before every match.
Chen Tao isn't a fool; he'll definitely protect himself.
In previous matches, Chen Tao had encountered many fouls, and with his flashy style of play, it was indeed very easy for him to be tackled.
Fortunately, Chen was always able to dodge in time, avoiding key areas to prevent injury.
"Don't worry, he's like my brother, I'll definitely take care of him immediately… The car is waiting for me, no time."
"Frank, we'll also cheer for you!"
Aunt Maria finally had a change of heart and remembered he was her biological son.
"Yes, yes, just watch from the stands."
Recently, Borussia Dortmund has been undefeated in 5 rounds, with their performance steadily improving. The entire team seems to have found the winning formula, and their overall training condition has improved.
Frank was still confident about the match against Bayern Munich.
"Frank!"
Before he left, his sister, who had always been aloof from worldly affairs, called out to him.
"What is it?"
"This… can you… give it to Chen for me?"
"Wie bitte? (What the hell?)"
"Please take it to him."
Anna stuffed a small bag into Frank's hand, then quickly retreated.
Only then did she remember something, turning back to add to her brother:
"Thank you."
"Why don't you give it to him yourself?"
Frank squeezed it; it was something soft, probably a wristband or scarf.
It was the first time he had seen his sister so awkward; when had he ever seen her care for someone before?
"He left last night, I didn't have time."
"Never mind, I'm off. Good luck to our team!"
Frank stared at the linen bag in his hand and chuckled wryly.
…
Less than 300 meters outside Westfalenstadion,
Mercure Hotel Dortmund City.
This 4-star hotel is a partner of Borussia Dortmund, close by and saves money.
The night before every home match, the club arranges for players to stay there for unified management.
This prevents some players from going wild and affecting their performance on match day.
Chen Tao, who was eating breakfast in the cafeteria, ran into Frank Heinrich, who was rushing in.
Looking at the small cloth bag with cartoon patterns in his hand, Chen Tao was puzzled.
"Anna's token of love for you."
Frank casually joked about his sister, but when he saw Chen Tao's astonished and embarrassed expression, he laughed even harder.
"Just kidding, I don't know what it is either, see for yourself… Oh, and my family asked me to send you their best wishes."
"Thank you, Frank."
"Play well today."
"I might not even get to play."
Chen Tao sighed lightly.
He had been a substitute super-sub for several consecutive rounds, yet head coach Thomas Doll still didn't give him a starting opportunity.
Even assistant coach Dick Fuhren had privately spoken to Chen Tao alone to comfort him:
"Chen, you need to understand, the head coach has a heavy burden. He's just too conservative and doesn't dare to risk starting you."
"Your physical condition is also a bit strained to play 90 minutes."
Players under 16 years old indeed have a disadvantage in physical fitness, and physical confrontation can also exacerbate energy consumption.
From a conventional perspective, the head coach sending a 15-year-old player on as a substitute is protecting him.
In any team in the world, with any head coach, this approach is theoretically sound.
Chen Tao understood this; what he needed to do was patiently bide his time and seize every opportunity.
Being too eager for success would only affect his own performance.
"You'll definitely play."
Frank gave Chen Tao a thumbs-up and turned to report to the medical team for the pre-match meeting.
"Quick, open it and see."
Nuri Şahin and Hummels both crowded over, curious about what was in the cloth bag.
Chen Tao was also very curious. He opened the cloth bag and pulled out a pair of black knitted gloves.
At first glance, they just looked like ordinary knitted gloves found anywhere in a supermarket, but upon closer inspection, he noticed something peculiar.
On the back of the left hand, two Chinese characters were crookedly sewn with needle and thread:
"Good Luck"
Below that was a line of German:
"Viel Glück! (Wish you good luck)"
Many people in the team knew that team doctor Frank's sister was very beautiful.
It was definitely not normal for her to give Chen Tao such a special gift before the match against Bayern!
"OHHHH—"
Nuri Şahin, Hummels, and other teammates all had knowing smiles on their faces and started to make a fuss.
"Get lost, get lost, we're eating, act like elementary school students."
Chen Tao grumpily shooed away these childish guys.
Is it normal for good friends to exchange gifts?
His relationship with Anna had progressed recently; was there a problem with her caring about him?
Chen Tao randomly jabbed his fork into the vegetable salad on his plate, constantly trying to justify himself.
It was just Frank's casual remark about a "token of love" that inevitably made him flustered.
Chen Tao always considered himself to have the mental age of 30,
But he overlooked that his physical age was only under 15, which is the peak of puberty with surging hormones.
…
Westfalenstadion, a red bus roared into the parking lot.
The huge "FC Bayern" lettering on the side of the bus was imposing.
As the Bundesliga hegemon, countless teams had challenged their authority over the years, and many teams had briefly suppressed them.
Looking at the history of the Bundesliga, they still stood at the top of the food chain.
Wherever the Bayern bus went, it was like the invincible army of a perpetually victorious demon king, destined to bring conquest!
Franck Ribéry got off the bus with headphones on and hands in his pockets, looking up at the magnificent building in front of him and involuntarily whistling.
Soon, he had changed into his training kit with his teammates and went inside the stadium for warm-ups.
There was 1 hour left until the final round before the winter break.
The Bayern Munich players, who had already secured the winter championship, were in a relaxed mood.
The previous 0-0 draw against a relegation-threatened team couldn't spoil their good spirits.
Franck Ribéry was juggling the ball alone, trying to find his rhythm.
He inadvertently looked up at the other end of the pitch.
"Merde! (Holy crap?!)"
Ribéry couldn't help but blurt out a French expletive.
"What's wrong?"
Luca Toni, standing nearby, was curious. Following the direction Ribéry was pointing, they saw an Asian teenager playing around with his teammates.
The home team, Borussia Dortmund, was playing a rondo, with Hummels in the middle as the "ghost," responsible for intercepting passes from those around him.
When the ball was passed to the Asian player, he didn't pass it immediately but instead used various fancy moves to tease Hummels.
He chipped the ball to the back of his neck to avoid a tackle, and when the ball dropped, he lightly flicked it up with his heel, evading a disruptive move from behind.
No matter how Hummels tried to win the ball around him, the Asian teenager could easily evade him, and the ball never left his body.
A "frustrated" Hummels laughed and cursed, about to wrap his arms around the teenager's waist and tackle him.
Just as the Asian teenager was about to fall, he surprisingly used a breakdancing move, supporting himself with his hands on the ground, picking the ball up from the ground,
Controlling the ball while inverted for two or three seconds, before passing the ball backward to a teammate.
Eventually, the surrounding teammates were simply watching his performance, cheering him on.
The Borussia Dortmund camp also had a relaxed and joyful atmosphere.
"Mamma mia! Wow, what can I say?"
Luca Toni's mouth hung open in an O shape, utterly amazed.
Ribéry, however, seemed unimpressed, spitting on the grass.
"Tsk, a circus act."
But a minute later, Luca Toni noticed that Ribéry's words didn't match his actions.
He was hiding to the side, trying to imitate the Asian teenager's moves with the ball, but he couldn't do it as smoothly or fluidly.
"Merde!"
Ribéry simply blasted a shot towards the goal, leaving the young goalkeeper Thomas Kraft with a bewildered look.
"What did I do to upset Scarface?"