章節 118: The Wealthy Middle Eastern Tycoon!
On the soccer field, after bypassing two Uruguayan players, Lin attracted the attention of almost the entire Uruguayan team like a magnet.
The nearby Uruguayan players immediately abandoned their own defensive assignments and rushed towards Lin.
Seeing the opponents' stance, Lin decisively passed the ball and calmly sent it to Iniesta, who was unmarked.
With the defensive player lured away by Lin, Iniesta was left unguarded.
After receiving the ball, he moved forward, drawing the attention of two Uruguayan defenders, then passed the ball to Mata on the wing.
After receiving the ball, Mata cut inside and took a cold shot at the goal as he entered the penalty area.
Uruguayan goalkeeper Muslera made a miraculous save, deflecting Mata's high-quality shot.
Although Spain didn't score, the offensive frightened the Uruguayan players into a cold sweat.
They dared not commit heavily to pressing in the opponent's half as before.
Meanwhile, Spain's midfield felt less pressure to distribute the ball because of Lin's initiative to drop back to receive passes.
As the dynamics shifted, control of the game's pace returned to Spain.
During this period, Lin noticeably increased his touches on the ball, deliberately attracting Uruguayan defenders to relieve pressure on his teammates.
Being the most threatening Spanish player on the field, Lin drew two or even three opponents to press him whenever he received the ball.
Lin played smartly; if the pressing defenders made mistakes, he would dribble past them to create space. Whether passing or going for goal himself, he could always pose a threat to the Uruguayan goal.
If the opponents didn't slip up, he would attract enough defenders and then choose the best passing option to facilitate an attack.
In this way, Lin seemed to become the orchestrator of Spain's forward play.
Spain's attacks flowed much smoother through his coordination and distribution.
The effectiveness of Uruguay's pressing tactics gradually decreased, and the ball no longer felt like a hot potato.
Uruguay's coach, Tasvarez, quickly recognized the crucial role played by the opponent in the front and instructed his defensive midfielders to closely mark Lin to limit his space and ball-handling, preventing him from commanding the play so freely.
Monaco's former captain, now playing for Bologna in Serie A, Uruguayan defensive midfielder Perez, took on this task without hesitation.
Perez, 30 years old, was known for his robust body, aggressive defense, and temperamental nature.
He was always ready to handle the tough and dirty work that others might shy away from, seeing it as a chance to prove his worth.
After stepping up, Perez began to irritate Lin with various subtle fouls.
Experienced in these tactics, he would watch the referee's position to stay out of sight and avoid being caught.
This often left the fouled players, including Lin, protesting to a mostly indifferent referee.
Realizing he was dealing with an old trickster, Lin was not one to be bullied or remain silent.
Taking advantage of a moment receiving the ball, he covertly elbowed Perez in the ribs during a turn, almost winding him.
Taking advantage of Perez gasping in pain, Lin decisively dribbled forward, drew the defenders, and then delivered a perfect through ball, assisting Mata in scoring a goal that changed the score to 3:1.
Perez rushed to protest to the head referee, believing Lin's prior foul invalidated the goal.
The referee, who did not see Lin's foul, doubted Perez's complaints.
Lin was known for his clean play and technical skill, not for malicious on-field behavior.
Conversely, Perez was notorious for his antics, making it seem more likely that he was the one at fault.
Perez's protest was in vain, and he was livid.
He glared fiercely at Lin, aware that retaliation might follow.
Lin, realizing this, increased his movement around the referee, staying within his line of sight to avoid any rash actions from Perez that could lead to a red card.
But this only fueled Perez's rage further.
In the 44th minute of the first half, under Uruguayan pressure, Pedro's pass was hurried and weak.
The pass became a "knife-edge ball," with players from both teams having a chance at possession.
Lin immediately raced towards the ball, with Perez spotting an opportunity.
Pretending to chase the ball, Perez slowed down, making it seem like he couldn't catch up to Lin.
As Lin was about to play the ball, Perez seized the moment to slide tackle, aiming not for the ball but for the player.
"Dangerous!"
The Spanish coaching staff, including Bosque, watched in alarm as Perez exposed his cleats.
Unaware of Perez's slide
from the side, Lin reached the ball first, stepping on it and looking to pass.
Seeing Lin stationary and unguarded, Perez rejoiced:
This was his chance!
With a thud, a groan echoed across the field as Lin and Perez collapsed.
Both players writhed on the ground; one clutching his shin and howling in pain, the other lying still, clutching his ankle.
The head referee, realizing the severity, immediately stopped the game to check on their conditions.
"Damn!"
"Murderous butcher!"
On the sidelines, Bosque urged the Spanish medical team to hurry onto the field while cursively accusing the Uruguayan coaching staff of instructing such foul play.
If Lin had been seriously injured, he would have filed a complaint with FIFA, demanding severe punishment for the offenders.
The Spanish players, worried about their teammate, rushed to Lin's side, concerned about potential severe damage to his ankle.
Considering Lin's young age, they feared such an injury could irreversibly affect his career.
This thought turned their sadness into anger, and they were ready to confront the Uruguayans.
But before they could act, Lin suddenly sat up:
"Hey, guys, were you planning to just leave me lying here, or were you going to give me a hand?"
"Lin, you're not hurt?"
Iniesta, both shocked and relieved, quickly helped Lin to his feet along with Pedro.
After standing, Lin moved his ankle around; it was slightly red but not seriously injured.
"I'm not hurt, but I can't say the same for that guy!"
The stadium's big screen replayed the slow-motion footage of Perez's foul:
Just as he was about to bring Lin down, Lin pulled the ball back, positioning it where he had been standing.
Perez kicked the ball first, knocking down Lin, and although it looked like he had been tripped, Perez hadn't touched him.
The head referee, however, wasn't concerned with these details; he saw Perez's high foot as at least dangerous conduct and issued a yellow card.
Perez, actually injured, sweated profusely in pain and had no interest in contesting the referee's decision.
He hadn't hit Lin, but as Lin fell, he landed squarely on Perez.
Especially as Lin tried to stabilize himself, his elbow supported him on the ground.
This impact felt severe to Perez, feeling like his ribs were broken.
Uruguayan medics confirmed that indeed, two adjacent ribs were broken.
Yet, they couldn't blame the opponent, as it was their own initial aggression.
Injured and unable to continue, Uruguay was forced to make a substitution.
Losing their defensive stronghold, their defense appeared even more fragile against Spain's attacks.
Fortunately, not much time remained in the first half, and Uruguay managed to endure until the referee blew the whistle for halftime.
They walked off the field with heads bowed and faces filled with disappointment, trailing by one goal.
Meanwhile, seeing Lin unharmed, his teammates breathed a sigh of relief.
They returned to the locker room with smiles and a 2:1 lead, relieved and jovial.
Inside, Bosque carefully inspected Lin from head to toe.
After confirming he was indeed unharmed, he finally relaxed.
Then he announced, "Lin, take a break in the second half. Let Villa and Torres get some playing time."
With Spain leading by two goals and the opponent weakened, Bosque felt the match had little uncertainty left.
Moreover, since it was just a friendly match and the opponent had been foul-prone, he was reluctant to risk Lin staying on the field.
"If Lin were really injured, it would be a great loss for Spain."
"Alright, I'll follow your plan!"
Lin happily agreed, so in the second half, he sat with Xavi and others on the bench to watch the game.
In the second half, Spain made several player changes, with Alonso, David Silva, Martinez, Pique, Villa, and Torres coming on.
With Alonso and Martinez in the backfield, Spain's defense became extremely solid, not fearing the opponent's attacks.
However, without Lin, their forward play was somewhat disjointed.
Huluwa and the Holy Child were active in the front, but they couldn't break through.
Uruguay's forwards also tried hard, but against Spain's strong defense, they found no opportunities to score.
Ultimately, the second half ended in a stalemate, with the friendly match concluding at 3:1.
After the match, at the invitation of the sponsor, the Spanish players attended an event in Doha.
This event was part of Qatar's bid to host the 2022 World Cup, as the wealthy Middle Eastern tycoons had recently become enamored with soccer.
Not only were they buying European soccer teams, but they were also
investing heavily in hosting a World Cup on their own turf.
The richest Qataris were bidding for the 2022 World Cup, eager to increase their chances of winning the bid by leveraging a team as influential as the Spanish national team.
The Spanish Football Association was not keen on attending such commercial events, as it increased the players' burden.
But they couldn't refuse, given the substantial offer from the sponsor.
Spain's friendly match brought in over eight million euros in sponsorship fees from the sponsor.
Moreover, all travel and accommodation expenses were covered by them.
The generous Middle Eastern tycoons also gave each Spanish player a welcome gift.
Lin received a Cartier watch; he wasn't knowledgeable about watches but heard from teammates that it was worth 100,000 euros.
With such generous gestures, it was hard for them to refuse.
After ending a series of commercial activities, the team disbanded directly at the Qatar airport, and the players flew back to their respective clubs.
After this match, Spain's next national team game would be in March against Finland in a World Cup qualifier.
...
February 9th, the Bundesliga's 21st round of matches officially kicked off.
Since it was close to the national team game, including Lin, De Bruyne, and Elia, they were all placed on the bench for this match by their coach, Schaaf.
Their opponent, Stuttgart, wasn't particularly strong, currently ranked 12th in the standings, much like the previous Hamburg team, neither threatened by relegation nor hopeful for the championship.
So, this game was expected to be tough for Werder Bremen, lacking many of their main players.
However, unexpectedly, in the first half, Werder Bremen's reserve midfielder Ekici, who hadn't seen much playtime this season, exploded personally.
He scored two goals himself and assisted teammate Hunter in scoring another.
Before the half was over, Werder Bremen was leading 3:0, almost eliminating any suspense in the game.
In the second half, Stuttgart tried to counterattack and managed to pull one back through Traore in the attack.
But as Lin and De Bruyne and other main players came on in the 65th minute, the situation on the field became one-sided.
In the 78th minute, Lin assisted Hunter in scoring his second goal, making the score 4:1.
In the 90th minute, Werder Bremen got another opportunity, and Lin, facing an open goal, chose to pass to De Bruyne.
De Bruyne gratefully accepted the gift, scoring easily, making it Bremen's fifth goal of the game.
Ultimately, Werder Bremen won 5:1 away at Stuttgart, securing a three-match winning streak in the second half of the season.
It's worth mentioning that with two assists in this game, Lin surpassed Bayern's Ribery on the assist leaderboard, moving up to second place, just behind his teammate De Bruyne.
De Bruyne currently had 17 assists, two more than Lin.
With 13 rounds left in the league, Lin still had a chance to catch up to his teammate.
However, realizing that his assist count was nearing the Bundesliga's historical record, De Bruyne also began to show interest in accumulating assists.
Historically, the Bundesliga assist record was set by De Bruyne himself at Wolfsburg with 21 assists in a single season.
This season, thanks to Werder Bremen's strong offensive firepower, De Bruyne's assist efficiency significantly increased.
He was likely to break the Bundesliga record two years ahead of schedule.
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