Foster Home
Klaus Fischer, an experienced figure, could tell that Guardiola valued Lin and approved of his abilities.
He believed that with Guardiola's character, he shouldn't be lying. Therefore, Lin's skills should be decent, but being skilled doesn't always translate to being the right fit.
SV Werder Bremen's poor performance was mainly due to their strong emphasis on attacking.
Head coach Thomas Schaaf's 4-4-2 formation involved both full-backs during the attack and even the center-back, leading to an overload of players in the front, leaving the defense vulnerable.
This resulted in the team having the most one-on-one situations in the last Bundesliga season; this was not something to be proud of!
To address this issue, SV Werder Bremen needed a strong defensive midfielder with exceptional interception capabilities. Ideally, someone like Makélélé or Viera, but such high-caliber players weren't within their reach, so they had to search for suitable candidates among the young players from prestigious clubs for loan. The fact that Barcelona offered them an organizing defensive midfielder left SV Werder Bremen perplexed.
With De Bruyne already loaned from Chelsea, the team needed an organizer in the midfield. This meant the defensive midfielder should focus on defense without needing much involvement in the attack.
As a result, Klaus and the team thought it would be difficult for Lin to fit into SV Werder Bremen's tactical system. Hence, they didn't discuss Lin's tactical position or playing time in the team.
Instead, they assured Guardiola that the club would take care of Lin, which put Guardiola at ease. For a financially strained club like SV Werder Bremen, relying on loaned players was common. Their reputation could be damaged if something went wrong with loaned players, making it difficult for them to collaborate with other clubs in the future. Therefore, Guardiola was confident in Klaus's assurance.
So, he and the club discussed Lin's living arrangements. The club provided two options: Lin could live with the club's young players or stay with a die-hard fan's family.
Guardiola respected Lin's decision and agreed to the latter. Thus, Klaus had Siddique drive them to the foster home near the stadium.
The family consisted of a couple in their late thirties and their adorable children. The husband, William Victor, was a local beer distributor, while the wife, Anna, was a government employee at the city hall. This was a typical upper-middle-class family in Germany, with a combined annual income of around €100,000 and a certain social status.
The couple's charming children were Angel, 12, and Grenny, 10, and all four were staunch SV Werder Bremen fans, never missing a home game and attending as a family.
The couple's age was similar to Guardiola's, and given Lin's current status as a SV Werder Bremen player, the conversation went smoothly. Guardiola and Serra were very satisfied with the foster family.
Before leaving, Guardiola warmly gave Grenny a football bearing his personal signature. In return, William's family gifted Guardiola a bucket of their prized pure malt beer.
To adapt to the team as soon as possible, Lin chose to stay in Bremen instead of joining Guardiola and others for skiing in Switzerland, deciding to do early training before the team's training camp began.
The intensity of games in the youth team and the Bundesliga differed significantly. If Lin approached the Bundesliga games with the mindset of playing in the youth team, he would surely struggle. Therefore, there were many things he needed to work on before the season began.
This included building up his physical endurance to adapt to the Bundesliga's game intensity, strengthening his resistance to being knocked over, and studying the team's tactics and plays over the past seasons to better integrate into the team's tactical system.
Klaus was concerned about these issues, but Lin wasn't overly worried. While he played as a defensive midfielder in Barcelona's youth team, after imitating Messi's peak attributes, he could play in multiple positions, including winger, shadow striker, attacking midfielder, and even occasionally as a striker.
After joining Paris Saint-Germain, the older Messi had ended up playing mostly as the team's organizer. Therefore, Lin's duties didn't conflict with De Bruyne's; De Bruyne could handle the organizing tasks while he played as the final finisher.
However, the final decision wasn't his to make. He needed to prove to the head coach that he was capable of playing these positions.
The foster family's home was very close to the team's training base, less than 2 kilometers away, so Lin bought a bike for €200 as his means of transportation to and from work.
That evening, Anna prepared a bountiful meal to welcome Lin. "Lin, don't be formal here; consider this your own home!"
Anna poured Lin a glass of juice with a smile because, being a minor, he wasn't allowed to drink alcohol.
Furthermore, for professional athletes, drinking alcohol is considered inappropriate behavior and can affect their competitive performance.
"Thank you, Mrs. Anna," Lin politely expressed gratitude and accepted the juice.
William poured himself a beer and continued, "SV Werder Bremen has always been very accommodating to young players. The team captain, Fritz, is a very upright guy. With him around, you won't be bullied in the team."
Here, William's eyes dimmed, and he sighed, "It's a pity that fellow Wiese left."
In William's words, Wiese, whose full name is Tim Wiese, was SV Werder Bremen's main goalkeeper in the last season. He was hailed as the heir to the Lion King Kahn, a spirited and fiery goalkeeper.
Such a person easily becomes the spiritual leader of a team, a role Wiese played in Bremen. Wiese's outstanding skills and long-term dedication to SV Werder Bremen earned him the admiration of the fans. His departure left many fans deeply regretful.
William realized that his emotions were affecting everyone, so he stopped discussing this topic, raised his glass, and offered a toast to Lin, "Lin, I wish you to quickly establish yourself in the team and become our pride!"