At half past seven on the evening of June 1, the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, the capital of Germany, was brightly lit.

Two huge flags were unfurled in the north and south stands occupied by Werder Bremen and Stuttgart fans.

Before the game even started, the fans of both sides were already fighting.

The singing in the stands on both sides was resounding, and the stadium, which can accommodate 76,000 spectators, was filled with loud singing all the time.

This game is important for both sides, both sides are teams that have not won a title for many years, and if they can win this game, they can rewrite that history.

As a result, fans from both teams flocked to Berlin in the hope of seeing the team win the trophy in attendance.

In addition to the fans who were lucky enough to buy tickets and enter the stadium to watch the game, there were tens of thousands of spectators who came late and failed to buy tickets outside the stadium.

Both teams had some minor troubles when they drove their buses into the field.

However, unlike the opponent's fans who were surrounded by the opponent's fans in the away game, this time, it was the fans of their own team who surrounded their team's bus.

"Come on, kill them!"

"Come on Werder Bremen!"

"Come on Lin, come on De Bruyne, come on Werder Bremen!"

The enthusiasm of the fans infected the players in the bus, and a kind of atmosphere of the competition that can only be found in the final began to permeate the team.

"Don't be nervous, just treat this game as if it were a normal game!"

Head coach Schaaf sensed a change in the mentality of his players and immediately tried to reassure his players.

However, this kind of thing cannot be solved with a few words of appeasement.

Werder Bremen's squad is very young, with the exception of a few veterans such as Fritz, no other player has experienced such an important game.

The shortcomings of the mentality of young players seem to have become a hidden danger for the team at this moment.

In the face of such an important competition, young players can't help but think:

What if this game is lost?

Will the fans blame themselves?

Will you regret it for the rest of your life?

It's not something you can't think about without trying to think about it, because before the game starts, your whole head is full of these problems.

So much so that they couldn't even listen to the tactical arrangements arranged by the head coach!

"Smack!"

Seeing that the players' mental state was too nervous, Schaaf clapped his hands, and after attracting everyone's attention, he spoke:

"I know you are very nervous, but the more nervous you are at this time, the worse the game will be, you have to believe in your own strength, believe in the strength of your teammates, you see, Lin Quan is not nervous at all!"

Shaaf was going to let a few veteran players pass on their experience in the competition, but when he saw Lin Quan's breezy appearance, he instantly changed his mind.

Lin Quan is the youngest player in the team, and it is much more effective for him to speak up than the old players.

The team members all turned their heads to look at Lin Quan, and when they saw that the latter really looked confident, the tension in their hearts subsided slightly.

Lin Quan is the tactical core of the team, since he is not nervous, so what is there to be nervous about?

The sky is falling, and there is a high top!

"Lin, can you tell your teammates why you don't feel nervous?"

Shaaf was also curious, why was Lin Quan's mentality so good?

It's rare to see someone with such a mature mentality among young players.

"The reason is very simple, because the opponent is weaker than us, and it is they who should be nervous!"

This simple sentence was like a basin of cold water on the top of everyone's heads, and it suddenly made everyone feel like they were suddenly opened.

That's right!

We're stronger, the odds are higher, so why should we be nervous?

Thinking of the two wins against Stuttgart this season, the 21st round was a 5-1 bloodbath against them on the road.

The players of Werder Bremen suddenly had confidence in their hearts!

Stuttgart, it's just a defeat!

Seeing that the mentality of the team members gradually returned to normal, Shafu breathed a sigh of relief in his heart and secretly gave Lin Quan a thumbs up.

Good boy, there's a set!

But the players seem to have slipped from one extreme to the other, they were nervous before, and now they seem to be a little arrogant!

"Ahem, the final is different from the usual game, the intensity of the final is higher, the opponent will definitely do everything to prevent us from winning the championship, so we can't be careless, after the opening, we need to score as soon as possible and firmly grasp the initiative of the game in our own hands!"

Schaaf took out his tactics board and reexplained his tactics.

He formulated the tactic of opening the attack, retreating immediately after the success, and retracting to his own half to play defensive counterattack.

Werder Bremen's strength is already stronger than Stuttgart, and if they are willing to put down their bodies and play defensive counterattacks, then Stuttgart really has no chance at all.

Of course, this tactic may be criticized as utilitarian football after the game, and the only thing in the eyes is victory or something.

But Schaaf didn't care, no matter how good he played, it was in vain if he couldn't win:

"There is no name in the finals, it doesn't matter if the game is good or not, as long as you can win!"

None of the players objected to this statement.

This is the last game, if you win, you can go back to vacation happily, and if you lose, you won't be in a good mood for the whole summer.

Moreover, this game is the last time they and the twin stars in the team will play side by side, and no one wants to leave regrets.

……

At 19:45 minutes, the players began to leave the locker room and enter the players' tunnel, ready to enter.

Before the game, Stuttgart's players couldn't help but peek at their opponents, and the most watched were Werder Bremen's twin stars Lin Quan and Kevin De Bruyne.

They had gossip that De Bruyne had not been in the team for a long time and was afraid that he would miss the game.

As a result, they didn't expect the other party to come in the end, which made them feel very disappointed in their hearts.

It would be nice if the other party didn't come!

In that case, they might actually be able to steal the trophy from Werder Bremen.

But now......

Seeing the strong opponents, the Stuttgart players had little confidence.

After the entrance ceremony, the pre-match handshake and the coin guessing session.

At 8 o'clock in the evening, under the watchful eyes of all people, the final of the 2012-2013 German Cup officially began.

Werder Bremen, who wore the green jersey on the pitch, attacked from left to right, and Stuttgart, who wore the white jersey, attacked from right to left.

The moment the whistle blew, five players in front of Werder Bremen frantically pounced on Stuttgart's half.

The Stuttgart player, who had just passed the ball back, was taken aback and was caught off guard by the opponent to complete a steal in front.

"Danger!"

On the commentary bench, before he could finish introducing the players on both sides, the commentator had to interrupt his introduction because of the sudden change in the situation on the field.

"Werder Bremen pressed frantically in the frontcourt, and Maxim's pass was not decisive and was tackled by the opponent!"

'De Bruyne has the ball, he's watching his team-mates run!'

"He passed!"

"Danger!"

"The ball is in!"

"Oh my God, it's unbelievable that just 15 seconds into the opening period, Werder Bremen took the lead with a mistake from their opponent!"

The goal was scored so fast that the commentator didn't have time to keep up with the rhythm, so that he couldn't even fully describe the process of scoring the goal.

It wasn't until the slow-motion replay of the scene began that he completely explained the whole process of Werder Bremen's attack.

'Stuttgart's carelessness in the opening was the number one reason for conceding this goal, and they were a little caught off guard by the opening attack.

"Maxim just received a return pass from his teammates, and before he could pass the ball out, he was caught by the other two!"

"Werder Bremen's twin stars, De Bruyne and Lin Quan worked together to complete this steal, and after the break, Lin Quan immediately stepped forward to attract the attention of the defenders and open up space for De Bruyne to pass the ball."

"De Bruyne was smart not to choose to pass the ball directly to Lin Quan, but to the central midfielder Hunt, who overdid it and passed to Lin Quan, who opened his position, and then the latter assisted to cut in from the wing, and Elia who entered the penalty area completed the goal."

The whole process of attacking only used four passes, and Stuttgart's defense showed a huge hole, and they all emerged with Lin Quan with the ball, thinking that the opponent would hit the goal.

As a result, he never expected Lin Quan to pass the ball out!

After the goal, the players of Werder Bremen rushed forward frantically, knocking Elija, the scorer, and Lin Quan, who assisted him in the goal, to the ground, rubbing their heads wildly and slapping their bodies.

Before the goal, they were a little nervous.

But after scoring this goal, their tension disappeared completely!

I thought it would take some effort for them to break through the opponent's goal, but I didn't expect to score on the first attack!

The opponent is really like what Lin Quan said, he is not vulnerable at all!

Coach Schaaf on the sidelines didn't expect the goal to come so quickly, and after seeing Elia open the score, he excitedly rushed out of the coach's box and hugged every colleague around him and even the substitute players to celebrate.

On the other side, in the dugout in Stuttgart, everyone was stunned by the result.

After only 15 seconds in the opening period, how can this game be played?

An atmosphere of despair began to spread among them!

What made them even more desperate was that after the restart, Werder Bremen stopped attacking, and they all retracted into their own half, leaving only one striker in front.

The other party actually set up an iron bucket array!

The head coach of Stuttgart couldn't wait to scold his mother after seeing this scene!

That's shameless, isn't it?

You're second in the Bundesliga, and we've been bloodied over two legs, what are you afraid of?

Come out and fight us!

Werder Bremen said that it is only a fool to play against you!

We are leading the score, isn't it good to play defensive counterattacks with peace of mind?

Stuttgart are 13th in the league this season and belong to the middle of the Bundesliga.

One of the big problems that bothers them is that they are weak!

In 34 Bundesliga games this season, Stuttgart have scored just 33 goals, an average of less than one goal per game.

This figure ranks second from bottom in the Bundesliga, just over Clover Fürth's 26 goals.

It is precisely because of the weakness of the striker that Stuttgart's strategy before the game is to play defensive counterattacks to see if they can take advantage of the opponent's mistakes to steal one or two goals.

If you can't steal the ball, you can't let the opponent score and try to drag it to the penalty shootout.

They know very well that they are not as good as their opponents and they need to put themselves in the right frame of mind and put themselves in the position of underdogs.

But the plan can't keep up with the change!

Before they could defend and settle down, the opposition scored.

It's okay now, you can't defend, you have to go out and play the offense that they're not good at.

The Stuttgart players were trembling and attacking Werder Bremen.

And then......

I was beaten back and fought back!

In the ninth minute, Rudiger crossed from the right and Maxim's left-footed shot went just wide.

Werder Bremen launched a quick counter-attack, and De Bruyne went straight to Lindin in the box.

Lin Quan didn't have a good angle to shoot, he chose to cross from the left side.

Arnautovic leaped high to beat Stuttgart defender Molinaro with a header.

The goal was very close and Arnautovic's header was of great quality.

Looks like a must-score!

However, the Stuttgart goalkeeper Ulreich contributed a god-level save at this moment, like a god possessed, and bravely blocked the close shot.

Arnautovic hugged his head in disbelief when he saw the ball fly out.

I feel like I have it after the ball is over, but the opponent can even save this ball?

Is this still human?

It's much harder to get a header than a shot with your foot!

Such a close distance, such a sudden shooting action, is a great test of the goalkeeper's reaction speed and basic skills.

Not to mention Arnautovic feeling incredulous, even Lin Quan couldn't help but look at the goalkeeper more.

is worthy of being the goalkeeper favored by Bayern, this guy really has two brushes.

The goalkeeper's brilliant save seemed to inject a bit of courage into the Stuttgart players.

They got even bolder in the aftermath!

In the 24th minute of the game, Stuttgart had a good chance to attack.

Maxim's free-kick flew straight into the Werder Bremen penalty area, where the Werder defender rose to the top and gave the opposition striker a header.

It's a pity that Ibisevic didn't seem to be ready, and his hasty attack on the top of the goal was too positive, and it was directly confiscated by the goalkeeper.

After confiscating the ball, Militz quickly launched a quick counter-attack.

He threw the ball into the center circle with one hand and found Lin Quan near the center circle.

After receiving the ball, Lin Quan shook the grabbing Boca and dribbled the ball to the front of the opponent's penalty area.

After observing Ulreich's position, Lin Quan swung his leg and made a motion to shoot.

Stuttgart's two defenders did not suspect him and immediately stepped forward to block.

But Lin Quan didn't shoot, but gently knocked the ball across the left side of the penalty area.

De Bruyne, who came in from behind, was unmarked and fired a blast past Stuttgart.

There was nothing Ulreich could do about it, although he had already made a save, and even touched the ball.

But De Bruyne's shot was so powerful that he couldn't change the direction of the ball, and he could only watch as the ball flew into his own net.

The score became 2:0, and one foot of Werder Bremen was already standing on the podium!

The Stuttgart players were very frustrated, it was their attacking round, but they didn't score, but the opponent scored.

Werder Bremen's terrifyingly quick counter-attacking ability left the Stuttgart players at a loss.

Most of their players were still in the opposing half, just involved in the attack, and before they could withdraw it, the opponent started a quick counterattack.

If they continue to play like this, they will probably lose the ball again.

As a result, the Stuttgart players did not dare to continue the attack.

They became much more conservative in the ensuing period, they didn't attack, and Werder Bremen, who had a two-goal advantage, were not in a hurry.

The first half ended quickly and Werder Bremen returned to the dressing room with a two-goal lead.

At halftime, Schaaf did not adjust his tactics and insisted on carrying out the tactics of defensive counterattacks to the end.

This disappointed Stuttgart, and their fans started to curse!

The other party is so shameless, the strong team beats the weak team, and he leads by two goals, but he still plays so conservatively!

Not to mention them, even the neutral fans on the pitch couldn't stand it.

They came for the name of Werder Bremen who were good at playing offensive football, but what they saw was Werder Bremen with a bus set up.

Where is the team that regularly plays flashy offense in games?

It seems to be to fulfill the wishes of the fans!

In the 65th minute of the second half, Werder Bremen changed the style of defensive counter-attack.

Suddenly, there was a frantic press in front of the field, and a fierce attack on Stuttgart.

The abrupt change left Stuttgart unguarded, having become accustomed to their opponents hustaring down in their own half of the zone and waiting for them to attack.

As a result, I didn't expect the opponent to suddenly change his strategy!

As a result, they were a little lax in their consciousness, and they tasted the consequences very openly.

After Werder Bremen made a successful tackle in front, he passed the ball to the right with three or two feet.

Lin Quan won the ball on the right side and cut into the penalty area, and suddenly plugged De Bruyne, who was inserted in the back.

De Bruyne delivers a low, flat cross that hits the ground and is penetrating.

Directly past the attacking goalkeeper to find Lin Quan!

In the face of the empty goal, Lin Quan easily pushed the goal and rewrote the score to 3:0.

This goal completely killed the suspense of the game.

After falling behind by a big score, Stuttgart lost their fighting spirit, and the initiative on the field was completely controlled by Werder Bremen.

In the 81st minute, Schaff opted for a substitution.

He replaced the winning man Lin Quan, who had two assists and scored a goal, and let him receive the cheers of the fans in attendance.

Lin Quan trotted to the bench and applauded the fans in the stands over and over again.

Thank you to them for their support and companionship this season!

This time, he may not have the opportunity to wear the green jersey of Werder Bremen again.

In addition to the fans in Stuttgart, more than 40,000 fans stood up and applauded Lin Quan.

Two minutes later, Schaff brought on De Bruyne again.

Let him also accept the applause of the fans at the scene.

It was also De Bruyne's last game at Werder Bremen.

His eyes were a little red when he left the field, and after hugging Ekitzi, who was good at the bench, he stood on the sidelines, looking at the court and his teammates on the field, and did not return to the bench for a long time.

Although Stuttgart tried to rewrite the score after the departure of Werder Bremen's two main players.

But their offense failed to gain anything.

In the end, Werder Bremen won the German Cup final with a score of 3:0 and became the champion, winning the first championship trophy in nearly four seasons!

In Queen's classic song We Are the Champions, the entire Werder Bremen team took to the podium.

The 2012-2013 season was a time when Werder Bremen's golden generation was frozen.

A new journey is about to begin!

(End of chapter)