"All right, lads, move back. Lin has already signed more than enough shirts today."
"Come back for the next match, assuming you can get tickets."
None of the reporters had left the post-match press conference, even though Hierro and Xavi had already arrived.
Leo Lin was not there, and they refused to leave until he showed up.
None of the Spain players had left the dressing room either. Hierro had already finished speaking, and Zubizarreta had told them they were free to go.
Yet every Spain player remained there, waiting for Leo Lin to return.
Leo Lin had spent more than ten minutes signing autographs, and Spain supporters were beginning to crowd around as well. There were simply too many people asking for his signature. With Zubizarreta's help, he finally managed to get away and return to the dressing room.
"I think you'd better sprint back after the next match. Otherwise, you might never make it back at all."
Morata lifted Leo Lin's right hand and saw that it was trembling slightly. He had signed far too many autographs.
Rodri took Leo Lin to the press conference, where the reporters finally got to see the man they had been waiting for.
"They refused to leave. They said that if they couldn't interview you today, it wouldn't count as a real post-match press conference!"
Hierro pulled out a chair for Leo Lin.
"Lin, beating Sweden in this European Championship group match seems to have shown us the true strength of this young Spain side!"
"Before the tournament, quite a few people said you wouldn't be able to win the title as you did at the World Cup. But you've already defeated Sweden, the greatest threat in this group."
"Is Spain's objective to win the European Championship? Are we about to see you win two consecutive major international tournaments?"
Leo Lin rested his slightly trembling right hand on Hierro's shoulder. Hierro shrugged, letting him answer however he pleased.
"We did beat Sweden, but they played very well."
"The other teams in our group are excellent too. We face Poland in our second group match, and we'll try to reach six points as quickly as possible, just as we earned these three against Sweden."
A reporter in a Spain shirt bearing Pedri's name asked a question from the back row. He was clearly a Pedri fan.
"Lin, Pedri's performance today reminded me of you in the opening group match of the World Cup."
"People say he performed the role you once played extremely well. Is there anything you'd like to say to Pedri?"
Leo Lin still remembered Pedri's performance clearly. Playing so brilliantly in his first European Championship match was more than enough proof of his quality.
"Don't say he's like me. Pedri has his own qualities!"
"I enjoy playing alongside Pedri in midfield. He makes everything feel very comfortable, and he even surprised Rodri. He can contribute so much to Spain, and I believe he'll become an outstanding player."
By the time he finished answering the questions, Leo Lin was exhausted. Hierro then led him away from the press conference.
Nearly an hour had passed since the end of the match.
Leo Lin had not rested for a single moment. He left the stadium and boarded the team bus. Spain needed to head straight to the airport and fly to the venue for their next group match.
Since the matches at this European Championship were not even being held in the same city, every team had to spend more time traveling because of the unusual format.
The Spain players stood beside the bus with backpacks over their shoulders. When Leo Lin appeared, they approached one after another and gathered around him.
Leo Lin was the first to board. Hierro and the others followed, and Spain officially set off.
"Don't think about Poland yet. Get some proper rest. You'll have plenty of time to sleep on the bus and the plane."
Hierro chatted with the players from the front of the bus, Xavi sat in the middle, and Zubizarreta occupied the back row. Their only concern now was helping the players relax.
"You have no idea what it was like. The Spain and Sweden supporters almost started fighting over Lin! I don't even know where the Swedish fans found so many of his shirts!"
"If I hadn't dragged him away, they would've kept hold of him and refused to let him leave!"
Zubizarreta described the scene while Leo Lin had been signing autographs.
Morata was clearly envious. Pedri had never experienced anything like it.
"If supporters from another team asked for my autograph, I'd happily sign from sunrise to sunset. I'd keep going until the match against Poland started, then rejoin the squad!"
Oyarzabal imagined Poland supporters asking him for autographs as well. While everyone else chatted excitedly, Leo Lin curled up beside Rodri and fell sound asleep.
Despite all the noise, he slept soundly.
They reached the airport an hour later, and Hierro woke him. Leo Lin had recovered much of his energy by then, and once they boarded the plane, he joined the conversation.
Zubizarreta was recounting everything he had achieved with Liverpool over the past two years.
"When we fell behind in last season's Champions League final, I wasn't worried in the slightest. I knew Lin would score."
"And I'll always remember those earlier finals against Real Madrid and Bayern."
"They're the kind of matches you only play once, yet you can still remember every detail when you're eighty!"
"If any of you want to become Ballon d'Or winners like Lin, you'll have to perform as well as he does in matches like those!"
Pedri moved closer to Leo Lin, wanting to ask how he had managed to win consecutive Champions League titles and so many other trophies.
"Don't listen to Zubizarreta. I was the one playing, not him. Just listen to how pleased he is with himself."
Leo Lin immediately undermined him, but Zubizarreta did not care and burst out laughing.
"Matches like those come down to whether you truly want to push yourself to the highest possible level."
"Just look at Rodri. He's worth one hundred million now, but before winning two Champions League titles, he wasn't even worth thirty million."
"He finished third in last year's Ballon d'Or rankings and almost caught me. Do you think I wasn't nervous?"
Krawietz, who was on the phone with Zubizarreta, immediately remembered recommending that Klopp sign Rodri.
"This is where I have to mention the transfer recommendation I wrote for the boss. I very seriously stated that Rodri had the potential to win the Ballon d'Or!"
"Now that he's finished third, it proves my original assessment was correct!"
Before Krawietz could finish congratulating himself, Klopp spoke from beside him.
"What transfer recommendation?"
"I never received any transfer recommendation. Signing Rodri was entirely my own idea."
Zubizarreta had grown accustomed to discussing his tactics with the two of them after matches, checking whether there had been any flaws in his plans.
Although this was a Spain match, neither Klopp nor Krawietz had any coaching duties of their own.
They were happy to talk with Zubizarreta and equally eager to join the Spain players' conversation.
"Boss, if that's how you're going to put it, then I'm rebelling today!"
Klopp's agonized scream immediately came through the phone.
"Lin!"
"Save me!"
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
p-@-treon/GhostParser (65 Chapters Ahead)
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.