Chapter 91: Here is Werder Bremen!
Schalke's fans were very 'enthusiastic'. The players of Werder Bremen hadn't even come out of the bus yet, and the road was already blocked by the unruly crowd.
This kind of treatment was usually reserved for the arch-rivals of the Revierderby, Borussia Dortmund.
"Hey, little devils from Bremen, you're doomed!"
"This is Werder Bremen Stadium, you bunch of trash, scurry back with your tails between your legs!"
"Haha, they're all scared stiff, after the match they'll be crying for their moms to feed them milk!"
The fans of the mining team used foul language to harass their opponents.
They were never gentlemen; they were descendants of miners, proud of their grassroots, rough culture.
The team bus was surrounded by the opposing fans, but the players of Werder Bremen did not hurry to get off. They were waiting for the police to arrive and clear the way, as they didn't want any accidents from the opponent's fanatical fans before the police arrived.
Schalke's fans mocked the fact that the Werder Bremen players hesitated to get off, laughing smugly.
They gestured at the Werder Bremen bus while singing their theme song as they entered the stadium in a line.
The players of Werder Bremen were getting annoyed by their opponents!
Although they had their own northern derby, even their matches against arch-rivals Hamburg were not as fiery.
The taunting and humiliation from the opposing fans filled the Werder Bremen players with anger, making them want to step onto the field and crush Schalke to pieces, stomping them underfoot.
Although this game was supposed to be a regular league match, due to the teams' close points and the humiliation from Schalke fans towards the Werder Bremen bus, the game was filled with tension.
Shaw, after arranging the tactical strategy, stayed silent and let the players feel the atmosphere of the Werder Bremen Stadium.
The away team's locker room had poor soundproofing; they could clearly hear the roaring cheers from the stands.
"What do you guys think?"
Shaw saw the players quiet down and scanned them one by one.
"I feel like my blood is boiling all over, and I want to win more than ever. I swear, nothing feels better than celebrating in front of Schalke's fifty thousand fans!"
"I want to embarrass Schalke 04 here and kick them when they're down!"
"Yes, we need to crush them and show them who the real trash is!"
Shaw nodded in satisfaction, "Great, keep up this fighting spirit, remember what you said, go out there and crush them!"
"Crush them!"
The players shouted in unison, then stacked their hands together, "Werder Bremen!"
"Go go go!"
After the rallying cry, the players of Werder Bremen left the locker room with fiery spirits, heading towards the player entrance, ready to step onto the field.
The player tunnel at the Werder Bremen Stadium was designed like a mine tunnel to reflect the history of the mining team.
As they walked through the tunnel-like player entrance, they were greeted by a huge, luxurious stadium with a roof.
Schalke was known as the mining team, but their home ground was much more luxurious than Werder Bremen's!
As they entered the field, Lin took a glance at the magnificent stadium.
Werder Bremen Stadium was packed, a sea of sky blue.
On one of the stands, a huge white and blue emblem slowly unfolded by the fans.
Schalke's fans started cheering, the noise getting louder and louder, making it unbearable without covering one's ears.
The attendance was terrifying; it seemed like there wasn't a single empty seat, maybe even standing tickets were sold out?
Tickets for Bundesliga matches are relatively cheap compared to other leagues, with match tickets often below 30 euros and seasonal tickets even lower, sometimes below 10 euros.
With the average income of Germans and the relatively cheap ticket prices, the Bundesliga's attendance rates were the highest among the top leagues, with every match played in front of a full house.
Germans really love watching football!
Of course, with so many fans, these low-priced tickets are hard to come by.
If regular fans want to attend a match, they often have to buy tickets from scalpers at high prices, who are not friendly at all!
Schalke only allocated 2000 tickets for away fans, which meant that out of the over 5000 Werder Bremen fans who traveled with the team, more than half didn't get tickets.
Lin searched for a while and finally found a small group of green fans surrounded by sky blue in the corner of the southeast stand.
Their seats were not only very bad, but they were also surrounded by Schalke fans. If not for the police separating both sets of fans, Lin suspected that Schalke's fans would have actually rioted and even fought.
As for Werder Bremen, they remembered this grudge. When Schalke goes to visit Weserstadion, we'll also provide 2000 tickets to the mining team's fans, leaving them with no seats!
Chelsea's scout George Evans also couldn't get a ticket and had to pay a high price to snatch a ticket from a scalper, and it cost him 320 euros, which really made him sore!
"This ticket is more than ten times the original price! Are Schalke's fans too passionate? It's just a league game, is it necessary?"
George struggled to push through the crowded people and finally made it to his seat. He complained while adjusting his disheveled suit.
Even before he sat down, there was an ear-splitting cheer, making his ears ring!
The mining fans at Werder Bremen Stadium were extremely enthusiastic; they had once created 129 decibel high-pitched cheers. Under such terrifying noise, any player's performance would be affected.
At this moment, they were in an extremely crazy state, cheering for every Schalke player as they took the field.
But when Lin and his teammates set foot on Werder Bremen Stadium, they were met with the boos of over fifty thousand home fans.
Well, this was to be expected. If it weren't for the difficulty of orchestrating coordinated insults, they would probably have been greeted with verbal abuse instead.
Schalke 04's fans couldn't possibly welcome them, but their players might.
Before the game started, Schalke 04's Japanese right-back, Daisuke Uchida, politely ran over to greet Lin, hoping to exchange jerseys after the match.
Lin was puzzled by Uchida's show of warmth; he didn't even know him, so why was he being so nice?
Did the rumors hold true that Japanese people are very deferential and submissive towards those stronger than them?
He didn't know many people at Schalke; a player from China had been there before but had already transferred. The national team's former captain, Raul, was also no longer at Schalke. So, considering the unpleasant scene from the Schalke fans before the game, Lin, feeling unsatisfied, refused Uchida's request to exchange jerseys.
Although rejected, Uchida still bowed politely to him. "Maybe Lin doesn't know my abilities and doesn't want to exchange jerseys with a nobody!"
Well then, I'll just prove my worth on the field.
As long as I can stop Lin, prevent him from scoring, I believe I can impress him and get the qualification to exchange jerseys after the match.
Uchida's bowing gesture towards Lin caught the attention of both teams' players.
"What's going on?"
De Bruyne nudged Lin with his elbow, asking curiously.
"He asked to exchange jerseys with me, but I refused."
"Why did he bow to you then?"
De Bruyne looked puzzled. Shouldn't he be annoyed?
"Perhaps it's their country's etiquette?"
De Bruyne pondered; in Japanese anime, these characters often bow to others. Lin's explanation seemed to make sense.
Atsuto Uchida moved from the J-League's Kashima Antlers two years ago, with a transfer fee of only 1.1 million euros. After two years at Schalke 04, he earned the coach's trust and finally secured a regular position for this season.
But compared to him, Lin, who came from a top club, immediately secured a regular position in the team upon arriving in the Bundesliga, even becoming Werder Bremen's front-line attacking core.
Atsuto Uchida was very envious of this; he felt that Lin had been given an advantage because of his top club background; his own ability might not necessarily be inferior.
But as the game continued, Lin swept through the Bundesliga, even breaking Bayern Munich's goal multiple times. This made Atsuto Uchida realize that he and Lin were not of the same level.
Thus, his jealousy towards Lin completely disappeared, and was replaced with deep admiration.
A yellow-skinned person achieving such success on the European stage made Atsuto Uchida, who knew how tough it was to succeed in the top five leagues, greatly admire him.
Of course, admiration didn't mean surrendering.
"Lin, in this game, I'll do my best to keep up with you and not let you score easily!"
After bowing, Uchida returned to his position, secretly determined in his heart.
At 4:30 PM, the game started on time.
Both teams were very cautious when they stepped onto the field, trying to feel out their opponents slowly, like feeling out each other's strengths and weaknesses, not daring to go all out in attack right away.
For Werder Bremen, they were playing as the away team, focusing on defense was their original plan.
As for Schalke 04, they were behind Werder Bremen in the standings.
Playing on their home turf, they surely hoped to defeat their opponents.
If not, when they visited the opponents' home ground, it would be tough.
This season, Werder Bremen was in good form. If they didn't fall behind in the second half of the season, the team competing with Schalke 04 for a Champions League spot would definitely include Werder Bremen.
Therefore, if Schalke 04 wanted to secure their Champions League spot next season, they had to beat their opponents head-on.
The same went for Werder Bremen.
So, this game was worth six points, nobody wanted to lose, and nobody could afford to lose!
After five minutes of probing, both sides finally started to commit more troops to attack.
Schalke, playing at home, took the initiative.
In the 13th minute, Schalke exhibited excellent teamwork in the opponent's half.
Last season's Bundesliga top scorer, Huntelaar, took a powerful shot in the penalty area but was saved by the Werder Bremen goalkeeper Mielitz.
It was a high-quality shot; the Dutch national's technique was undeniable, and if Mielitz's positioning hadn't been spot on, Huntelaar might have scored.
A minute later, Werder Bremen responded. Huntelaar received a through pass from Lin, turned and shot, but the goalkeeper parried it with one hand.
It was another beautiful shot, and Schalke's young goalkeeper Unnerstall displayed excellent skills, resolving this dangerous moment.
After this exchange of attacks, both sides completely let go of their reservations, thinking the opponent's strength was just average, so they threw more troops into launching attacks.
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