Berlin time, May 13th, 6:30 PM.
Bundesliga Matchday 33, the championship decider.
Wolfsburg vs. Borussia Dortmund.
In the away team's locker room, Jin Hayes was enthusiastically discussing the championship outcomes of other leagues with his teammates.
"Manchester United should be safe, right?"
"It just depends on whether they lose to Arsenal in the next match; a draw will win them the title."
"Liverpool is a pity, only 4 points behind."
"No choice, Manchester United has been dominant in the Premier League these two years. Next season without Cristiano Ronaldo, Liverpool and Chelsea will have a chance."
"Xabi Alonso is also leaving, Liverpool will definitely be hit hard. I guess it will still be Manchester United next season."
"Impossible, it must be Liverpool. With Gerrard and Torres, Liverpool will still contend for the title. Jin, who do you think will be stronger next season?"
Watching the endless debate between Şahin and Hummels, Jin Hayes felt like he was watching elementary school students argue about which Superman was stronger.
"Is it possible that it's Chelsea?"
"Ah? No way?" Both of them couldn't believe it.
"Just wait and see, there will be big news soon."
Chelsea's interim coach, the Dutchman Guus Hiddink, only signed a six-month contract, lasting until the end of the season.
Logically, he had a chance to win both the FA Cup and the Champions League this season, and could have stayed on to continue coaching.
But Guus Hiddink craved 100% autonomy in transfers, which owner Roman Abramovich clearly couldn't agree to.
Coupled with Guus Hiddink's unwillingness to be tied down by a long-term contract, their cooperation was likely to end here.
Abramovich wanted a long-term, stable head coach, and was expected to sign Carlo Ancelotti.
With Ancelotti leading the team, Chelsea could at least win the league title in the Premier League, and Jin Hayes's presence wouldn't affect the Premier League landscape.
He was therefore convinced that Chelsea would win the championship next season.
"Makes sense."
One thing Şahin and Hummels admired most about Jin Hayes was that this kid understood far more than they did.
Whether it was the football landscape of Europe's major leagues, future developments, or the evolution of tactics,
Jin Hayes didn't act like a young player about to turn 17, but more like a veteran who had dominated the field for 20 years, the kind who would directly become a coach after retirement.
Currently, only the Premier League and Bundesliga still had enough suspense, so the teammates didn't discuss other leagues.
In La Liga, Barça led Real Madrid by 11 points, clinching the La Liga title four rounds early.
The next day's Copa del Rey was also a sure thing, with the double crown having no suspense.
It was just a pity that they were eliminated from the Champions League by Borussia Dortmund, shattering Barcelona's dream of a "Grand Slam."
In Serie A, Mourinho's Inter Milan surged ahead, leading their usual rivals AC Milan by 10 points.
They had already won the title three rounds in advance.
If nothing unexpected happened, Inter Milan would be the big boss of the Champions League next season!
The championship battles of Manchester United in the Premier League and Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga were also about to conclude in these two days.
...
Facing the "Bundesliga final" in 30 minutes, the Borussia Dortmund players showed no signs of nervousness.
"You guys are too relaxed, just chatting and bragging here."
Klopp couldn't help but smile; his players were like students completely relaxed after a major exam.
"Coach, it's just Wolfsburg, a piece of cake."
"Exactly, this level of match is a sure win."
Klopp was not angry at his players' relaxation.
On the contrary, he found that his team had evolved through one hellish hard battle after another.
Compared to the beginning of the season, this Borussia Dortmund team now had the confidence of a strong team.
Their relaxation was not due to underestimating the opponent or arrogance, but genuine self-confidence, believing they were stronger than Wolfsburg.
It was like a student who had just passed a Level 6 English test with a high score being given a regular English final exam; they wouldn't be nervous at all.
"Good, then as you said, for yourselves, go and win this championship!"
...
"After the epic battle in the Champions League semi-finals, Borussia Dortmund seems to be playing quite calmly today."
"Their passing and teamwork are much more confident; they already have the feeling of a world-class strong team."
Commentator Scholl couldn't help but start praising Borussia Dortmund from the very first minute of the match.
Bundesliga's Schalke 04 fell in the qualifying rounds, and Werder Bremen was eliminated in the group stage.
Bayern Munich was brutally defeated 4-0 by Barcelona in the quarterfinals, surrendering on the spot.
It was initially thought that the 2008-09 Bundesliga season would be a year of humiliation.
When Borussia Dortmund was trailing Barcelona 2-5 at home, all German fans were in despair.
Until these young men from Borussia Dortmund fought back, scoring three consecutive goals in the first leg to secure a 5-5 draw at home.
Then at Camp Nou, despite various unfair treatments, they still managed a miraculous comeback, defeating an inconspicuous team and replacing the world's number one title favorite!
Borussia Dortmund's reputation in the Bundesliga completely turned around overnight, gaining immense public favor.
Therefore, in this championship decider, commentator Scholl dared to openly praise Borussia Dortmund in front of all of Germany.
Kahn even chimed in beside him.
"What do you mean 'like a first-class strong team'? Borussia Dortmund has reached the Champions League final; whether they win the title or not, they are already a world-class strong team."
"Ah? Really?"
"Definitely."
The two exchanged smiles.
Purely in terms of squad, Dortmund looked mediocre.
But the performance they showed today was not much worse than peak Manchester United or peak Barça.
Magath's tactics for Wolfsburg were completely ineffective, as Borussia Dortmund toyed with them.
"Gündoğan, Kehl, Gündoğan, Jin, Reus, Gündoğan—Schmelzer, Kehl, back to Gündoğan—"
"Beautiful!! Continuous one-touch passing creating space, Gündoğan passes to Jin in front."
"Jin, is he going to dribble and take on a player? Good play!! A brilliant 'elastico' dribble easily shakes off Makoto Hasebe, the Wolfsburg defense is starting to get nervous!"
The two Wolfsburg center-backs treated him like a formidable enemy; they didn't dare let Jin Hayes dribble past easily, so they pressed up to block his path.
But Reus and Jakub Błaszczykowski charged forward, pushing the full-backs deep into their own half.
The Wolfsburg defense formed the most dreaded "anti-horseshoe" formation!
Logically, if Jin Hayes could only dribble, pressing up like this would be understandable, as he couldn't make a good pass anyway.
But they still underestimated Jin Hayes's evolution speed.
Jin Hayes originally intended to try dribbling past, but suddenly saw several new routes appear in his vision.
The orange route was a back pass to Gündoğan, the yellow routes were to the two wingers.
Both of these passes were too conservative, and the attacking efficiency wasn't high.
But there was a green route in the middle, a through ball that could pierce the defense and find the unmarked Frei!
In the past, Jin Hayes wouldn't dare to make such a risky pass; he was afraid his technique wasn't up to par.
Now, his basic passing skills were solid enough, and with the aid of the perfect passing line, Jin Hayes was like playing a football video game, boldly sending a through ball along the green assist line!
Instantly, Frei made a perfect diagonal run, combining with Jin Hayes in a flawless pass‑and‑move, tearing through the Wolfsburg defense!
"Wow!!! Jin!!! A master‑class pass, a surgical strike tearing through the defense!!"
"Frei is not offside, it's a one‑on‑one!!!"
Alexander Frei, a striker destined to leave the team next season, hadn't expected Jin Hayes to still want to involve him before the end of the campaign, allowing him to retain more happy memories before his departure.
"Thank you, Jin."
The Swiss international took a touch into the box, a gentle push with his right foot, and it was in!
"Gooooooallll!"
"Alexander Frei!!"
"Assisted by Jin Hayes's exquisite through ball, Frei scores, Borussia Dortmund leads by 1 goal away from home!"
0–1!
Wolfsburg's coach Magath was so angry he kicked the dugout's rain cover.
"Fuck!!!"
He had calculated everything—the pressing triggers, the defensive lines, the double‑marking on Reus—but who knew Jin Hayes also had such passing ability?
Are you messing with me?
Hiding a big move in a League match?
Magath, who had been so confident before kick‑off, was now completely flustered. He paced the touchline, barking contradictory instructions that only confused his own players further.
"This is a team victory for Borussia Dortmund!! They are becoming more and more adept at quick pass‑and‑move play!"
"Smooth operation from the midfield and defense, all the way to Jin Hayes's decisive blow!"
"After the Champions League experience, they have clearly completed a deeper level of evolution!"
If they continued with the same core lineup, with some minor adjustments and reinforcements, Scholl truly couldn't imagine how strong Borussia Dortmund could be next season.
Last time against Barça, in desperation, Jin Hayes had awakened a new talent—passing talent.
He could see the success rate of each passing route before making a pass, and it appeared as dynamic auxiliary lines in his vision.
Green: Perfect timing and route for the pass, attacking success rate infinitely close to 100%;
Yellow: Problems with passing timing or route, attacking success rate 50–70%;
Orange: Passing timing or route makes it difficult to create a direct threat, attacking success rate less than 50%;
Red: Unreasonable timing or pass choice, attacking success rate less than 10%.
Ordinary players take risks with every pass and cannot be sure of the final passing effect.
This can lead to hesitation in passing or poor execution of lines when facing good opportunities, causing them to miss the best chances.
Master‑level passers like Xavi, Pirlo, Xabi Alonso, etc., rely on talent and experience to make instantaneous judgments and deliver deadly threatening passes at the first opportunity.
Jin Hayes now had passing talent, guided by auxiliary lines.
He didn't need to rely on the Heartfelt Pass for everyday passing; he just needed to confidently send the pass according to the guide line the moment the passing option turned green.
This pass would undoubtedly be a deadly threat. It might not directly assist a teammate, but at least it would turn the tide, piercing through the opponent's defensive tactics with one pass.
But the cost wasn't too fatal—his daily sense of direction would be affected. Simply put, he would become directionally challenged.
This was fine, much better than the cost of the speed talent.
Before the passing talent, the cost of the speed talent somewhat affected the game: the loss of heading ability.
That's right! Jin Hayes's previous frequent scoring method, utilizing his jumping advantage to score with headers, was now gone. After awakening his speed talent, his heading ability was lost; he couldn't hit the target no matter what.
Otherwise, in the last match against Barça, Jin Hayes wouldn't have needed to risk an overhead kick for the final goal; he could have simply headed it in, which would have been more direct. On the internet, fans thought his overhead kick was a display of confidence, a show of flair. In reality, it wasn't; he simply no longer had the ability to head the ball!
Relatively speaking, the cost of the passing talent was acceptable. Losing his sense of direction? No big deal, just use navigation. With the gradual development of mobile navigation, there's no need to rely on eyesight for directions anymore.
To counter Borussia Dortmund's quick short passing and penetration, Magath temporarily instructed his players to adjust their defensive tactics, positioning themselves as densely as possible, and breaking Borussia Dortmund's short passing rhythm through local numerical superiority.
He ordered his midfielders to drop deep and crowd the central channels, hoping to force Dortmund wide and reduce Jin Hayes's time on the ball.
But Magath was gravely mistaken if he thought Jin Hayes only knew how to make short through passes!
Before the end of the first half, he found another opportunity.
"Jin takes the ball in midfield, again Makoto Hasebe is defending."
"Makoto Hasebe doesn't dare to press, just maintaining distance to intercept, preventing Jin Hayes from breaking through—wait!!! Jin Hayes, a direct long pass!"
"What is he doing?"
Jin Hayes suddenly launched a quick diagonal long pass from near the center circle in his own half.
The ball became a meteor, streaking across 60 meters of the field, directly finding Reus in front of the box!
"What a pass!!!"
Reus was stunned!
When had Jin Hayes's passing become so precise? He didn't even need a difficult first touch; the ball comfortably dropped right in front of him. Reus only needed to easily dribble the ball into the box and send a shot past Diego Benaglio's goal!
"Jin–Reus connection! A delightful long pass combination! Wow!!"
"Borussia Dortmund has changed their attacking style, and Wolfsburg simply can't cope!"
The Volkswagen Arena fell into a stunned hush. Wolfsburg's defenders stood frozen, looking at each other in disbelief—how could a teenager switch play with such surgical accuracy from that distance?
On the touchline, Magath threw his tactical clipboard to the ground. His plan to congest the middle had backfired spectacularly; by compacting centrally, his side had left the flanks wide open, and Jin Hayes had exploited that space with a single, devastating pass.
Reus, still grinning, pointed at Jin Hayes as he jogged back to his own half.
"You're ridiculous, you know that?"
Jin Hayes just shrugged, but inside he felt the same thrill—the green line had appeared again, this time arcing over the entire defense, showing him exactly the weight and trajectory needed. It was as if the pitch had become a canvas, and he was painting with the ball.
"At halftime, Borussia Dortmund leads by 2 goals away from home!"
"They are marching towards the Bundesliga title!"