Chapter 10: Old Ma's Psychology Lecture Begins!
The Next Day!
Lin Hao woke up early and practiced by himself for a while before riding Gaisen’s old, beat-up car to the club.
As soon as Lin Hao arrived, Milner called him over to Old Ma’s office.
“Knock, knock, knock!”
Standing at the door to Magath’s office, Lin Hao knocked lightly on the door, which was already open.
“Come in!”
At Old Ma’s invitation, Lin Hao immediately took a seat in front of him.
This was Lin Hao’s first time having a one-on-one conversation with Old Ma.
He wasn’t sure why Magath had suddenly called him over—could it be because he made it onto the official roster? Was Old Ma about to give him some psychological counseling?
“Lin! To get straight to the point, I’m here to tell you that you’re on the Super Cup’s official roster!”
Just as Lin Hao suspected, Magath confirmed it right away.
All of Germany was saying he was cursed never to win a title, and with the media hype, Lin Hao knew Old Ma must have some concerns about the psychological burden of jumping straight into such a high-level competition.
“Thank you! I will cherish every chance I get to play!”
“No, Lin, don’t thank me. Making the roster is the result of your own hard work. I’ve seen your performance on the training ground these past few days. You’re a smart young man. You don’t seek glory selfishly, and you have excellent tactical vision and fundamentals.”
“To be honest, from observing you these days—both your attitude in training and your personal ability—I believe you absolutely deserve to be on this roster!”
“But kid, I know about all those rumors outside!”
“To me, those rumors are complete nonsense!”
“You not winning a championship isn’t because of some damn curse. It’s because you haven’t faced a truly strong team!”
“You haven’t had teammates who can help you through adversity!”
...
Old Ma spoke passionately, from the initial awkwardness to even sharing stories of how scared he was when he first joined the senior team years ago.
By the end, Lin Hao was genuinely moved!
Though he felt a bit embarrassed.
After all, it seemed the adversity Old Ma mentioned was actually something Lin Hao himself had brought upon his teammates!
...
“Thank you, Mr. Magath!”
The psychological counseling session was over.
Seeing Lin Hao’s clear eyes, seemingly freed from all pressure, Old Ma finally smiled.
“Go on, kid. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself!”
After a final word of advice, Magath dismissed him.
“Boss! You spoke so well! I think Lin Hao really listened to you!”
As soon as Lin Hao left, Milner, who had witnessed the entire psychological treatment, immediately praised his boss warmly.
Old Ma was a very straightforward man; he disliked people who tried to flatter him.
But Milner was different—he had always been honest, which was why they had worked together for so long.
“Boss, what about Lin for the upcoming matches...?”
“Hm, we’ll see when the time comes. But this is the first Super Cup since its revival; we have to do everything we can to beat that old fox Van Gaal!”
“Don’t worry, boss. With Raul and our original lineup, we can definitely give Bayern a tough fight!”
“Yeah, I think it’s fifty-fifty between us and Bayern right now!”
After giving Lin Hao the psychological grounding he needed before the matches, Old Ma suddenly felt invigorated.
He could even vaguely see the scene of himself leading the team to lift the Super Cup trophy!
...
Old Ma’s thoughts were hopeful, but Lin Hao sighed helplessly as he left the room.
Yes, he made the official roster and could earn match points and complete his tasks.
But he felt sorry for Old Ma, who had been so earnest and caring.
Sigh!
What he was doing was truly selfish.
...
Luckily, it wasn’t for our national team, so Lin Hao could live with it.
But poor Old Ma would never know: just because he added Lin Hao’s name, before the match even began, his team’s luck had already dropped by 50%!
...
August 19, 2010.
About seven days remained before the new Bundesliga season began, but for German football fans, the appetizer before the main feast had already quietly arrived.
The German Super Cup!
This domestic cup competition before the league started back in 1977, but after nearly ten consecutive editions, it was replaced by the German League Cup in 1997.
However, in 2008, the League Cup was canceled due to the European Football Championship, and after a two-year hiatus, the German Super Cup finally returned.
Most importantly, this edition of the Super Cup was a showdown between last season’s rivals: Bayern Munich and Schalke 04.
In the league, Bayern finished three points ahead of Schalke 04. In the German Cup, Bayern also scored a last-minute winner against Magath’s confident side, completing a double over Schalke 04.
With this old grudge, neither team was willing to give up the championship trophy.
Just yesterday, as both coaches led their teams to Augsburg, their war of words began immediately.
Bayern’s current coach, Louis van Gaal, bluntly called Magath a loser during a press interview, citing last season’s double crown as proof.
Van Gaal fired the first shot, and the hot-tempered Old Ma couldn’t hold back.
As he led his players into the hotel, Old Ma directly counterattacked the press.
“Double crown? He wants everyone to know he led nearly the most luxurious and expensive team in Germany to lose to a bunch of discarded rejects! 0-2? Hah!”
They say insults shouldn’t reveal weaknesses...
Old Ma’s words were like pouring salt on Van Gaal’s still-healing wound.
...
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