Ye Chen had no idea what was happening in Dortmund. Sitting in his spot, he entered the system space directly!
"Ding! Congratulations, host! You scored two goals and provided one assist in the Manchester United U18 match, achieving an SS-level task rating! Rewards doubled!"
"Ding! Congratulations, host! You have obtained a Golden Chest!"
Ye Chen's eyes widened in surprise.
There was an SS-level rating? He thought S-level was the limit!
"Open the Golden Chest for me!" he instructed.
"Ding! Congratulations, host! You've obtained an S-level skill card: Ironman!"
So, the Golden Chest could yield S-level skill cards! Ye Chen began wondering what kind of rewards a Diamond Chest might contain.
After the initial shock, Ye Chen opened his personal stats page. But when he saw the striking "88," he froze!
His stamina had skyrocketed from 68 to 88!
Yes, it had surged dramatically!
Was this the terrifying power of an S-level card?
Not only that, his injury resistance level had risen from 1 to 3!
For those familiar with Pro Evolution Soccer, 1 meant the highest risk of injury, while 3 meant the least.
Perhaps this was the true meaning of the Ironman skill!
The timing couldn't have been better. Dortmund's current tactic was a relentless "mad dog" strategy, and without sufficient stamina, it was nothing more than empty talk.
This also explained why Klopp liked promoting young playersâafter all, younger players had better stamina.
When the plane landed, Ye Chen grabbed his luggage and exited the airport.
Before his arrival, Solskjær had sent him a picture of the assistant coach, Buvac, which Ye Chen had memorized.
But it turned out to be unnecessary. As soon as he exited the terminal, he saw Jurgen Klopp, wearing a cap!
Ye Chen might not be familiar with Buvac, but any football fan would know Klopp.
"Are you Ye? Hello, I'm Jürgen Klopp, head coach of Borussia Dortmund!" Klopp beamed as he enthusiastically shook Ye Chen's hand.
Ye Chen was slightly overwhelmed by Klopp's warmth, but he smiled in return. "Hello, Mr. Klopp. I'm Ye Chen. Just call me Ye!"
Buvac chimed in. "I'm Ole's good friend. He should've told you about me, right?"
"Of course! Hello, Mr. Buvac!"
"You Chinese people are so polite! Let's get some food first, then head to the training base!" Buvac said with a smile.
"Alright!"
Meanwhile, Klopp had already started asking questions.
"Ye, how old are you? How tall are you?"
"I just turned 17, and I'm 181 cm tall."
"Besides striker, what other positions are you good at?"
"..."
It was clear that Klopp was a football fanatic.
Ye Chen knew he would need to adapt to life here and start learning German. Fortunately, he had a foundation in English.
Even with a recommendation, all the usual procedures had to be followed. Klopp arranged for Ye Chen to undergo a physical examânot with the youth team, but with the first team!
With Ye Chen's overall strength rating barely reaching 70, he felt he could hold his own in the Bundesliga.
"Jürgen, the test results are in. Take a look!" Buvac handed Ye Chen's report to Klopp.
Klopp carefully examined it. Ball control and dribbling were excellent, speed and explosiveness were solid, but what stunned him was Ye Chen's staminaâit was rated as "outstanding"!
"This kind of performance, and Manchester United released him? Does their management even understand football?" Klopp asked, dumbfounded.
Buvac chuckled and handed him another tablet.
"Check out the news I compiled last nightâit's all about Ye."
The previous day, Ye Chen's performance in the Manchester United U18 match had gone viral online. Many Manchester United fans were calling him "the next Beckham!"
When they learned Ye Chen had been released, they were outraged, flooding Manchester United's official site with complaints.
In response, the club held a press conference to explain the situation. The Chinese Football Association had contacted Manchester United, demanding disciplinary action against Ye Chen. Domestic public opinion in China had also tarnished Ye Chen's reputation, affecting Manchester United's image in the country. Coupled with Ye Chen's previous two years of training reports, the decision to release him was made.
No one had anticipated Ye Chen's dazzling performance in the U18 match.
David Gill admitted he had made a "rash" decision but insisted he had no regrets. He even privately asked Solskjær to leave Ye Chen out of the matchâa request Solskjær ignored.
The blame ultimately fell on the Chinese Football Association, redirecting fan anger.
The internet's narrative began to shift. Instead of solely criticizing Ye Chen, people started lambasting the state of Chinese football.
"How could such a talented player get expelled? No wonder Chinese football achieves nothing!"
"Now it's clear why China can't make it to the World Cup!"
"Chinese Football Association, bring back our Beckham!"
After reviewing the reports, Klopp chuckled. "Looks like we should thank the Chinese Football Association!"
"Of course! If not for them, Ye wouldn't have joined us for free," Buvac replied with a smile.
"What kind of contract are you planning to offer him?"
"No rush. Let's see his performance in the training match first," Klopp said calmly.
Dortmund's budget was tight. After last year's Bundesliga title win, most players had renewed their contracts, draining resources.
"Alright, I'll gather the players," Buvac said, blowing his whistle to call the team together.
Dortmund's squad featured numerous stars, including World Cup-winning Mario Götze, Bundesliga MVP Shinji Kagawa, and Robert Lewandowski, the striker who once scored five goals in nine minutes.
Last season, however, Lewandowski's performance had been underwhelmingâ8 goals and 1 assist in 33 appearances, 15 as a starter.
Currently, Klopp's primary tactic was a 4-2-3-1, occasionally switching to a 5-3-2.
With Lucas Barrios out injured for two months, Dortmund urgently needed a prolific striker.
Though Klopp wasn't expecting too much from the 17-year-old Ye Chen, any decent performance that could help solve their immediate problems would suffice.
"Gather around, guys!" Buvac blew his whistle.
Ye Chen stood before the team as Klopp introduced him. "Meet your new teammate, Ye, from China. Ye, introduce yourself."
"Hello, everyone! I'm Ye, a striker. I hope we can be great teammates!" Ye Chen said with a smile.
He knew, though, that words were meaningless without performance.
As a footballer, scoring goals was the only way to earn respect. Otherwise, no matter what you said, you'd just be a clown.