Thomas Essien let out a wry smile as well. "That's just how it is for small clubs. If you don't get results, you can probably scrape by. But once you start doing well, things can actually become even more dire!"
"Tell me about it," Kramny added with a wry smile of his own.
...
The process of signing the youth contract was very simple.
It was mostly a standard contract.
After Wang Shuo signed, Thomas Essien accompanied him to the Mainz office to process some documents and get them stamped.
These were all documents needed for his upcoming visa application.
Meanwhile, Wang Shuo chatted with Kramny for a while.
The U19 head coach had a high opinion of Wang Shuo and wanted him to be prepared.
"This weekend, we're traveling to Offenburg for an away game. Your transfer paperwork should be processed by then, so you'll be traveling with the team."
Although it wasn't the transfer period, Wang Shuo was a free agent, so he wasn't affected by the transfer window.
Once signed, Mainz had to promptly submit the paperwork to the German Football Association.
Since it was an international transfer, it also had to be submitted to UEFA and FIFA.
But as for Wang Shuo's paperwork back in China, Gao Huairen would help get everything in order, so there shouldn't be any major issues.
About a week should be enough time.
On the way back to the hotel from Bruch Road Stadium, Thomas Essien urged Wang Shuo to continue working hard.
"You heard what Kramny said. The Mainz first team is hit by a wave of injuries right now. If they fail to get promoted to the Bundesliga this season, Klopp will very likely choose to leave. When that happens, the deck will be completely reshuffled."
"Given Mainz's current situation, both Peter Neustadter from the second team and Kramny from the U19s are potential candidates to succeed Klopp with the first team. You have to seize this opportunity!"
Wang Shuo nodded solemnly.
Even without Thomas Essien's urging, he would have pushed himself to the limit regardless.
After all, it hadn't been easy. He had fought tooth and nail for this contract and the chance to stay on the team.
"By the way, Thomas, why is it that when a team starts doing well, things can actually get more dire?"
Wang Shuo asked, full of curiosity.
Thomas Essien, who was driving, turned to glance at Wang Shuo and chuckled.
To be honest, he had grown quite fond of this hardworking and endlessly curious young man from China.
He was also more than happy to teach him a thing or two.
"Fans always want the team to perform well, but if the team's performance exceeds expectations and doesn't align with the club's financial reality, that can be absolutely dire."
"Right now, Mainz under Klopp is in exactly that situation."
"The reason is actually quite simple. After consistently performing well and finishing in the top half of the Bundesliga table, the team's once-unknown players started making names for themselves and attracting interest from bigger clubs."
"This has put Mainz in a difficult bind: they can't hold on to their players, but they also can't sell them for a good price."
In the summer of '06, Mainz sold their key midfielder, Antonio Da Silva.
Their top scorer, Benjamin Oer, refused to renew his contract with the team and left for Bochum on a free transfer.
According to the original plan, the team also had a Belgian striker named Turk. But unexpectedly, just before the season began, Frankfurt poached him with a lucrative contract offer.
Mainz couldn't keep Turk, and the situation turned very ugly, causing widespread anxiety in the locker room.
And the Belgian center-forward Marius Niculae, who was a panic buy, only lasted half a year before leaving the team in frustration.
This directly led to Mainz being at the bottom of the Bundesliga table after the first half of the season.
During the winter break, they signed the Egyptian player Zidane from Werder Bremen and brought in Danish midfielder Leon Andreasen on loan, which greatly boosted the team's competitiveness. Their performance in the second half of the season saw a major turnaround.
But it was too late.
They had dropped too many points in the first half of the season, and it was impossible to catch up.
After relegation, it became even harder to hold on to their players.
Andreasen, whom Klopp wanted to sign, was unwilling to join, and Zidane left for Hamburg.
Even the team's Direct Lineage player, captain Manuel Friedrich, transferred to Bayer Leverkusen.
This further weakened Mainz's competitiveness in the 2nd Bundesliga.
Interestingly, Mainz has actually performed very well in the 2nd Bundesliga this season.
In 24 matches, they've only conceded 23 goals, giving them the best defense in the 2nd Bundesliga.
They've scored 39 goals, giving them the fourth-most potent attack.
But from matchday 17 until now, over a span of eight league games, their record is two wins, four draws, and two losses.
This wave of injuries has abruptly halted Mainz's powerful momentum in their push for promotion to the Bundesliga.
The worst part is, it's still running rampant through the Mainz first team.
Wang Shuo listened to Thomas Essien's explanation on the drive, completely stunned.
He had truly never imagined that performing well could actually be a curse.
It completely upended his understanding of things!
...
Back in his hotel room, Wang Shuo immediately entered the [Ball God System].
He had received a notification from the system back when he was in Kramny's office.
"Reward Package Received: One Passive Skill Card. Enter the system to draw?"
Wang Shuo chose [Yes] without hesitation.
The Passive Skill, Breathing, had been a huge help to Wang Shuo, and the improvement in his abilities was extremely noticeable.
Now, he was filled with anticipation. What new Passive Skill would he draw this time?
The massive football suspended in mid-air began to spin again.
Under Wang Shuo's gaze, the giant football went from stationary to spinning at high speed, then gradually slowed down.
Finally, Wang Shuo drew his second Passive Skill.
"Insight: Enhances the ability to read the game and discern opponents' intentions."
Wang Shuo was astonished.
'This is insane!'
If [Breathing] improved his stamina, then [Insight] improved his game awareness.
Based on his experience with [Breathing], Wang Shuo was almost certain that the boost from [Insight] would be no less significant, even though both were currently only at the Professional Level.
'I've really hit the jackpot!'
In his excitement, Wang Shuo soon noticed some changes to the football suspended in mid-air.
Where only one pentagonal panel had been lit up before, now there were two.
Between the two glowing pentagons, a thread that had once been barely visible now seemed to have solidified, radiating a golden light.
When Wang Shuo focused on the thread, he was surprised to discover that with both [Breathing] and [Insight] active simultaneously, aspects like his off-the-ball movement and defensive positioning had also improved.
It was a synergistic boost where one plus one was greater than two!
'This is unbelievable!'
Wang Shuo looked at the massive football before him and couldn't help but wonder, 'If I manage to light up every pentagonal panel and connect all the threads, just how strong will I become?'
'Even if they're all just at the Professional Level, establishing a firm foothold in the Bundesliga should be no problem, right?'
The mere thought of it made Wang Shuo tremble with excitement.
Especially when he thought of the away game in Offenburg in a week's time, he could hardly contain his elation and passion. He grabbed a football and rushed out the door.
"Thomas, I'm going out to train!"
Hearing Wang Shuo knock on his door from the hallway and call out, Thomas Essien was a bit baffled inside his own room.
'He just got back from training, and now he's going out for an extra session?'
But a moment later, he broke into a smile.
'And to think I was worried he'd slack off after signing the contract.'
'Looks like I was worried for nothing.'