Capítulo 105: Free Kick Scores
The speed of Bayern's response exceeded Lin's expectations; he thought it would take a while longer to reach an agreement, but unexpectedly, Bayern quickly made concessions.
"They agreed to a signing fee of 30 million euros, and the annual salary remains at 6.5 million euros, increasing by 10% every year.
The image rights club will split 50-50 with you, and Bayern's commercial department will assist you in business promotions. They may arrange commercial activities with sponsors for you.
Currently, Bayern's main sponsors are Adidas, Deutsche Telekom, Volkswagen, and Allianz."
Lin currently hasn't been involved much in endorsements or commercial collaborations. Previously, it was due to his low profile and lack of offers. Now, he's consciously avoiding it because the prices are too low, making it not worthwhile.
Before he achieves significant titles or honors, his commercial collaboration value won't be high.
At this point, frequent endorsements and advertisements would only squander his influence, reducing his commercial value. He currently doesn't lack for money and has no intention of tarnishing his reputation.
After moving to Bayern, whether he accepts endorsements or not will depend on how much money the sponsors offer.
If the money is substantial, and the sponsors have a significant influence, and the cooperation is mutually beneficial, then it's fine by him.
If the sponsors' brand isn't well known and the money is less, he might refuse.
Overall, the sincerity shown by Bayern in this contract is not bad. Lin doesn't intend to haggle; he made a phone call, inquiring about Guardiola and Bayern's contract, then nodded in agreement.
Perre breathed a sigh of relief. After negotiating this transfer with Bayern, his agency finally had a start.
The winter break of the Bundesliga arrived quickly. On December 16th, the last round of the first half of the season was played.
After this round, the teams in the Bundesliga would begin a 35-day winter break.
Due to the latitude, Germany's winter is quite cold, so their winter break is probably the longest among the top five leagues.
Compared to the Premier League, which has no winter break, the difference is significant.
Compared to the shorter winter breaks of La Liga and Serie A, their winter break is a full 20 days longer! Even compared to Ligue 1, the league with the second-longest winter break among the top five leagues, it's five days longer.
Considering they only have 18 teams, play 34 rounds, and fewer cup matches than the Premier League, the Bundesliga players have the fewest matches and the longest vacation time, making them very fortunate.
No wonder many young talents like to come here. It's a place where the salaries are high, the holidays are long, there's only one match per week, and no overtime work. Who wouldn't love it?
For the players in the Bundesliga, this winter, with the long holiday ahead, they could take their families to the south for a vacation, enjoying the sunshine and beaches, instead of enduring the snow and severe cold in Germany.
After playing one German Cup match, Lin planned to return to Spain. The winter in Spain is much better than in Germany. This is Lin's first winter in Germany, and he's somewhat struggling to adapt to the climate.
Although Germany's indoors are heated, so there is no feeling of cold inside, during outdoor training and matches, the lack of heating brings some inconvenience in the low temperatures.
Playing and training in low temperatures, without properly warming up the body, could easily result in injuries.
This is just Germany; if it were further north in a place like Russia, which is already covered in snow and ice, it would probably be freezing!
In this round of matches, Werder Bremen continued to host the Nuremberg team at home.
Nuremberg is currently 14th in the standings, with an 8-point advantage over the relegation zone, so they're relatively safe.
Approaching this game, they were already aiming for a draw and to secure a point in their away game.
Hence, the Nuremberg team, playing as the away team, was very conservative.
They stacked up the defense in the middle and back, intending to secure a draw.
If they had any chance to counterattack and sneak in a goal, they would be even happier.
Werder Bremen expected this to be an easy game, but soon after the start of the first half, an unexpected incident occurred.
The team's main striker, Arnautovic, was hit in the head by the opposition's goalkeeper while contesting a header in the penalty area and immediately lost consciousness.
After the team doctor assessed the severity of the injury, he determined that it was beyond his ability to handle, so immediately contacted an ambulance to take him to the hospital for examination and treatment.
As they watched their teammate being taken away by the ambulance, the players of Werder Bremen were very worried.
The severity of their teammate's injury made it difficult for them to concentrate, and naturally, they played poorly.
By the 75th minute of the second half, neither team had broken the deadlock, and the score remained 0-0.
At this point, the fans couldn't sit still. They were either using their connections with friends working at the hospital to inquire about Arnautovic's condition, or they were loudly cheering for the team, hoping to awaken the players' fighting spirit and get them to perform better.
The cheering of the fans seemed to awaken the players' fighting spirit, and their performances finally began to improve.
In the 84th minute, Werder Bremen had a great opportunity in the opponent's half.
After evading the defenders, De Bruyne made a clever pass.
After receiving the ball, Lin passed it to an empty space in the penalty area, and substitute Petersen made a well-timed run and took a shot.
His positioning was excellent, but the quality of the shot was lacking, and the goalkeeper managed to save it.
Petersen, who missed the opportunity, knelt down on the field, burying his head in the grass and hitting it hard.
It seemed that he couldn't accept the result of missing the chance!
Lin walked up to him, pulled him up, and patted his shoulder:
"It's okay. Everyone misses opportunities at times. Learn from it, gain experience, and next time, make sure to seize it!"
Petersen nodded heavily and looked at Lin with trepidation:
"Boss, will you still pass the ball to me? You will, right...?"
Seeing the apprehensive look in Petersen's eyes, Lin smiled cunningly:
"Well, that depends on your performance next!"
...
Although Petersen's shot didn't go in, it completely woke up the players of Werder Bremen.
Realizing that time was running out, they began bombarding Nuremberg's goal.
Free kicks, headers, long shots...
They tried every possible means, but couldn't break through the opponent's defense.
Nuremberg's players saw the opportunity of securing one point slipping away and gave up attacking.
They all stayed in their own 30-meter area, determined to defend to the end, knowing that holding on for a few more minutes would allow them to force a draw against Werder Bremen.
Under such a defensive strategy from the opponents, Werder Bremen's attack struggled to pose a threat.
In the 88th minute, Lin attempted to dribble and find a shooting opportunity in the penalty area.
But before he could enter the box, the opponent's player tripped him just outside the penalty area.
After the fall, Lin didn't stay down. He immediately got up and discussed with De Bruyne how to take the free kick.
"Will you take it or shall I?"
The game had reached the 88th minute, and they didn't have much time left.
De Bruyne thought for a moment, realizing that the distance was not suitable for his style of powerful shots.
So, he gave the opportunity to Lin, whose free-kick skills were more diverse, hoping he might seize this chance.
Seeing De Bruyne step back, Lin came forward to the ball.
He glanced at the goalkeeper's position, then at the opponent's wall, and started to slowly move back.
The Nuremberg players were not too familiar with Lin's free-kick abilities. De Bruyne was primarily responsible for taking free kicks at Werder Bremen, and Lin had fewer opportunities to take free kicks himself.
At this moment, seeing Lin move back quite far, they all thought he was going to strike a powerful shot.
With this in mind, the Nuremberg players in the wall prepared to jump to block it.
Although getting hit in the head by a powerful shot from the opponent would be very uncomfortable, if the opponent really scored with this shot, their efforts in the entire game would be in vain.
Seeing the Nuremberg players make a move, Lin made his calculations.
The referee's whistle blew.
Lin started a quick run-up, picking up speed as he approached the ball. When he reached the ball, he leaned back and lifted his right leg high, fiercely kicking the ball.
Surely, he was going for a high shot!
Seeing the opponent make a move to block the shot, the Nuremberg players unconsciously began to jump to defend the goal.
However, as they jumped, the ball rolled past them, not into the air, but along the ground, from under their feet.
What? It turned out to be a ground shot!
Oh no, they were fooled by that kid!
The Nuremberg players still in the air were all shocked and turned to look at their goal subconsciously.
But the goalkeeper's reaction was a beat too slow; it wasn't until the ball rolled into the goal that he attempted to save it.
The goalkeeper also assumed it was going to be a high shot, so he didn't anticipate the ground shot.
He had already reacted quickly to make the save, and he truly gave his all for that ball.
In the end, thanks to Lin's free-kick goal, Werder Bremen secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Nuremberg at home, maintaining their second position in the league standings.
After the match, the players hastily thanked the fans for their support and quickly left the club to head towards the hospital.
They wished to visit their injured teammate and share the joy of victory with Arnautovic if he had woken up.
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