Chapter 6: This... This level of skill—are you saying he's only eighteen?

On the training pitch, Lin Hao was about to face Magath’s assessment. Meanwhile, coincidentally, in the office of assistant manager Hughes, the tug-of-war between Gassen and Hughes had reached a fever pitch.

"Gassen, my old friend, you have to understand that Lin is only 18! He is the youngest player in the Schalke 04 first team, and he has absolutely no Bundesliga experience. How can you have the nerve to demand playing time? Even that Hao, who was sent over by the Chinese sponsor, didn't make such demands!"

Although Magath had said Lin Hao must be signed, Hughes was still haggling with Gassen, sticking to the principle of saving every penny possible.

"Yes, Mr. Hughes, but as you know, Cottbus agreed to our requirements. And as you said, Lin is only 18; at his age, what he needs most is the opportunity to play! To be honest, Cottbus offered Lin an annual salary of 1 million! Their sincerity really moved us!"

Seeing that Hughes had no intention of budging on the playing time, Gassen decided to try and squeeze some profit out of the annual salary. Even though Cottbus had only offered 650,000, that didn't stop old Gassen from lying through his teeth and throwing out the one-million figure to Hughes. Gassen figured that after hearing a million, Hughes would surely try to negotiate it down.

And the result? Hughes didn't even try to negotiate, simply replying, "1.2 million, no extra stipulations about playing time, a five-year contract!"

*Damn it...* Gassen cursed inwardly as soon as he heard Hughes's offer. *Damn, I asked for too little!* Of course, what Gassen didn't know was that on the other end, Hughes was thinking to himself: *Haha... no need to double it!*

...

"Boss, do you think that kid Lin will be nervous? After all, this is a matchup across two levels of intensity!" On the sidelines, as the fitness coach walked onto the pitch with his whistle, Milnor spoke to Magath with a mixture of expectation and worry.

However, Magath was fully focused on watching Lin Hao, who stood with the ball under his foot waiting for the whistle, and didn't hear his assistant at all. Having watched those videos of Lin Hao, Magath was truly eager to see what kind of performance this young man would put on when facing a lineup of the A-team's caliber.

"Whistle!!!"

At that same moment, the internal scrimmage officially began. As the starting striker for Team B, Lin Hao took the kickoff. After sliding the ball to his teammate Edu, Lin Hao immediately sprinted toward the A-team's half. With an offensive awareness of 80 and a template based on Harry Kane, Lin Hao was able to easily find his positioning on the pitch, even though he didn't know these teammates at all.

Soon, Lin Hao arrived within the defensive range of Metzelder. As one of the most solid defensive rocks for the German national team in the future, Lin Hao knew exactly how strong Metzelder was. Therefore, he didn't blindly engage in physical contact. Instead, seeing his own midfielder, Kluge, blocked by the A-team's midfielder Jones, Lin Hao quickly retreated to Kluge's left.

Once in position, Lin Hao shouted in standard German, "Give me the ball!" and almost without pause, he yelled in their native tongue to Hao Junmin, who was coming up from the wing, "Charge forward!"

Just like that, Kluge, having heard Lin Hao's request, passed him the ball. Hao Junmin, hearing the command to charge, instinctively switched into high-speed mode. He had no choice; he couldn't understand what anyone else was saying all day, so now that someone finally spoke his language, how could he not give it his all?

As for Lin Hao, who had received the ball with his back to the goal, he waited until just before the A-team's powerful midfield enforcer, Baumjohann, could close him down, then used his heel to flick the ball diagonally.

Baumjohann, who had just lunged in, was stunned. He truly hadn't expected this youngster, newly promoted from the U20s, to have such quick feet. He had only just arrived to cover! However, Baumjohann wasn't overly panicked; after all, his full-back, Sarpei, was behind him, so the pass shouldn't have been a big deal. But when Baumjohann turned his head, he realized that the kid's flick had completely bypassed Sarpei and pierced through their entire defensive line.

Hao Junmin, the fellow Chinese player wearing number 8, had already charged into the penalty area like an arrow released from a bow!

*Hiss!!!*

Sprinting, retreating, scanning, calling for the ball, and delivering a perfect diagonal pass with his heel! For just this first touch and the mastery of positioning and timing, Magath, who had let out a gasp of surprise, had already decided that Lin Hao had passed the test perfectly.

But the surprises for Magath were yet to come. After using that stunning back-heel to help Hao Junmin pierce the A-team's defensive flank, Lin Hao didn't stop, sprinting forward to follow just behind Hao Junmin. Baumjohann was in pursuit, and Metzelder, who had been holding his position at the edge of the penalty area, glanced at Hao Junmin—who had reached the top of the box—and had to abandon Lin Hao, who he had vaguely felt was a bigger threat.

However, the moment Metzelder moved, Lin Hao shouted at his "Brother Hao" again. Hearing the command, Hao Junmin, having already tasted the sweetness of following Lin Hao's lead, immediately sent the ball back to him with a cut-back pass.

This pass panicked Metzelder, who had been so confident just moments before. To Metzelder, letting a U20 rookie score right in front of him was worse than death. He immediately twisted his body to pounce on Lin Hao, who appeared to be winding up for a shot. At the same time, the other center-back, Matip, also scrambled toward Lin Hao.

But just as these two top-tier Schalke 04 center-backs were about to sandwich the newcomer, Lin Hao, who had just raised his leg as if to strike the ball, rapidly pulled his right leg back and used his toe to flick the ball diagonally once more.

"Vollkommen!!!"

It was this second pass. Even the usually stern "Iron Manager" Magath couldn't help but praise him loudly. Stunning! Absolutely, utterly stunning! This composure, this calmness, and this vision! Magath’s brain was already in a whirl. This... this awareness and calmness in handling the ball—this guy could even play as an attacking midfielder! How had a player like this been under his nose for a year?

Magath was in a state of confusion, while on the pitch, the diagonal pass from Lin Hao had landed softly at the feet of Charisteas, who was completely unmarked. Without hesitation, Charisteas controlled the ball and hammered it with his right foot. With a "bang," the ball sailed past the hands of a young Manuel Neuer, who hadn't had time to react, and drilled straight into the net!

August 18, 2010. The 18-year-old Lin Hao made his first appearance on the Schalke 04 first-team training pitch, and with a textbook-perfect retreat and assist, he helped Team B—who were usually humiliated by Team A—score the opening goal.

"Whistle!!!"

The temporary referee blew the whistle. At the same time, everyone on the pitch fell silent, all looking in unison at the tall young man. This, of course, included the legendary Real Madrid captain and "King of the Ring," Raúl González Blanco, who was standing in the center circle.