Before the match, no one could have imagined that the defending champion and last season's double winner could be beaten like this. Even though Borussia Dortmund had defeated Bayern Munich twice last season, they had never achieved such a huge lead so early.
Before the match began, the home team Bayern Munich had at least 1.78 odds for a home win, while the away win odds were around 2.35—Bayern held a slight advantage. However, from Jin Hayes's world-class volley in the 49th second of the opening, this match had already spiralled out of control.
"Three-goal lead!! Borussia Dortmund are unstoppable, and the first half hasn't even reached 20 minutes! It's unbelievable!"
Trailing 0–3 after 20 minutes, everyone at Bayern was stunned, watching the Borussia Dortmund players celebrate, their heads buzzing.
"Awesome! Marco!!"
"You're awesome, Jin! Awesome!"
"You two are both NewBee!!"
Recently, it had become popular for the Borussia Dortmund team to learn Chinese, and the players had picked up many words from Jin Hayes. When learning a new language, the easiest words to learn are naturally the expletives and slang. Including "awesome" (pronounced in a playful, exaggerated way), it quickly became the team's catchphrase. No matter who scored, everyone would send their blessings with that distinctive pronunciation.
"Alright, alright, stop messing around. Hurry back and defend." Jin Hayes quickly called his teammates back to their half; the match wasn't over yet. A 3–0 lead in the first half was nothing to celebrate.
Opening champagne at halftime and then being overturned was not a new phenomenon. One particular team would still be brought up for ridicule two decades later—even though they had already avenged themselves against Liverpool in the Champions League final, no one cared about that.
Everyone would only remember Istanbul.
On a typical team, a 16-year-old kid would only be expected to obey and would have no say in the dressing room. Moreover, a young player from a developing football nation would generally be ignored. However, at Borussia Dortmund, Jin Hayes's words already carried significant influence.
The players he trusted most—Şahin, Reus, Hummels, Subotić, Jakub Błaszczykowski, Schmelzer, and others—almost all looked to Jin Hayes. Only veterans like Alexander Frei and captain Sebastian Kehl still held some sway. Frei had always been very low-key. Sebastian Kehl, on the other hand, greatly admired Jin Hayes, and the captain would support him whenever Jin Hayes spoke, seemingly grooming the youngster for leadership.
"Jin is right! We cannot relax! The high press must be maintained!"
"Brothers, put in more effort! Conquer this stadium!"
"Heja BVB!!!"
In stark contrast to Borussia Dortmund's high morale was Bayern Munich's bewilderment. Trailing by three goals in twenty minutes, Bayern clearly didn't know how to play anymore. With Borussia Dortmund's high press, Bayern could only clear the ball long to the front.
Apart from Ribéry, almost everyone else was sleepwalking, unable to organise any effective threats. Even if Ribéry was strong, he was fighting alone. His overall ability was more comprehensive—speed, dribbling, passing, shooting—but he didn't have Jin Hayes's extreme close control. He could get past one or two players, but he was easily dispossessed when encountering a third defender. Dortmund could then launch another counter-attack.
"Ribéry is triple-teamed on the left wing, and his forced breakthrough is intercepted by Subotić's precise tackle!"
"Today, Borussia Dortmund's two centre-backs are also performing very well, forming a solid defensive wall!"
"Here it comes again, Şahin's long diagonal pass! Quite precise!"
"Reus controls the ball, and his back-heel pass to Jin Hayes is beautiful!! A wall pass!"
Jin Hayes moved to the left to receive the ball, dribbled past Philipp Lahm, and delivered a through ball. Reus's shot inside the box was difficultly saved by Michael Rensing for a corner.
"Borussia Dortmund's seventh corner kick in the first half! Bayern are simply taking a beating, completely helpless!"
Phew! Phew! Phew!
As the match reached the 30-minute mark, Lahm already felt like his lungs were about to explode. Defending Reus had exhausted him, not to mention Jin Hayes. During a stoppage, Lahm quickly leaned on his knees, trying to recover some stamina.
"Hey, are you alright, Philipp?"
"I'm fine." To avoid showing weakness in front of Jin Hayes, Lahm forced himself to stand up straight, enduring his fatigue.
"You were right last time. I wish I had taken it more seriously."
"Last time?" Jin Hayes quickly realised that he had reminded Lahm to be careful of Fernando Torres in the European Championship final. He had thought he could change the prophecy, but Spain still defeated Germany 1–0 and lifted the trophy.
Lahm was still filled with self-reproach about it.
In the 33rd minute of the first half of that final, Torres's breakthrough had been defended by Lahm and did not result in a goal. However, just before the final whistle, Torres repeated the same move, scoring against Germany in the same fashion. The prophecy was indeed altered—the goal that was supposed to happen in the 33rd minute was delayed until the 88th minute.
"Anyway, I'm still very grateful to you."
"Oh, what for?" Lahm's straightforwardness flustered Jin Hayes; he had just said it casually.
"We won't lose! I'll do my best to defeat you!" Even trailing 0–3 and being completely passive, with Bayern struggling to get past midfield, Lahm still had not lost his fighting spirit. The shortest player on the pitch had the most intense will.
At that moment, Jin Hayes felt Lahm stood taller than everyone else.
"Go for it! I won't go easy either!"
"Good!"
Before the corner kick, Jin Hayes and Lahm shook hands amicably, then transformed back into enemies to battle it out.
Bayern's corner kick defence focused on players good in the air—Subotić, Hummels, and Alexander Frei. Jin Hayes was only marked by Hamit Altıntop. The Turkish international tightly tugged at Jin Hayes's jersey to prevent him from making a sudden move.
"Brother? Isn't this a bit much?" Jin Hayes looked at his shirt, which was almost being torn. Hamit Altıntop just gave Jin Hayes a complicated, warning glance without replying.
Don't you understand German? Damn it! Unfortunately, Jin Hayes didn't speak Turkish. In reality, Hamit Altıntop was simply extremely tense, fully concentrated on defence—he couldn't afford to be as relaxed as Jin Hayes.
Nuri Şahin took the corner kick.
Mats Hummels, using his height advantage, attacked the near post. The angle was too tight for a direct shot, so he headed it to the far post according to the training ground routine. Hummels, with his back to goal, was confident.
If that guy doesn't mess up, he should be in position.
Just like countless times in training—Hummels was not mistaken.
Jin Hayes's words had made Hamit Altıntop hold back slightly, not daring to pull his jersey too aggressively. However, in a moment of Altıntop's inattention, Jin Hayes suddenly accelerated, darting diagonally from the penalty spot to the far post.
At the far post stood Massimo Oddo, the experienced Italian right-back on loan to Bayern from AC Milan. He had already judged the landing spot and was ready to challenge for the ball. With his vast experience, he was confident.
But just as he was about to head the ball, a black figure rose with incredible speed. His jumping height instantly surpassed Oddo's by half a body length. He stood in front of the Italian like a giant casting a shadow.
"Mamma mia—" Oddo's pupils contracted.
Jin Hayes's forehead met the ball cleanly. The header thundered towards the goal, leaving Michael Rensing with no chance. The net bulged.
Hat trick. In under 35 minutes. The youngest player in European competition history to score three goals in a single match stood in the centre of the Allianz Arena, arms raised, as his teammates mobbed him. The away end erupted. Bayern's players stood frozen, heads bowed. Lahm could only shake his head, a bitter smile on his face.
The nightmare was far from over.
...
"OHHHHHH—Jin Hayes!!"
"Header into the far post!!! My God!!! That's a goal!!!"
"Crazy! The Allianz Arena is absolutely crazy! In the 39th minute of the first half, the away team Borussia Dortmund leads 4–0!"
"The 16-year-old and 86-day-old young player completes his first hat-trick in the Bundesliga!"
"Jin Hayes also breaks the record for the youngest hat-trick in Bundesliga history!"
"He also breaks the record of 17 years and 264 days set by Jérémy Ménez in Ligue 1! Becoming the youngest hat-trick scorer in all of Europe!"
Commentator Mehmet Scholl rattled off the statistics, unable to help but exclaim: "Jin Hayes is truly a record-breaker in European football, specifically breaking all kinds of records! Scoring a hat-trick at 16 years old is truly hard to imagine!"
"According to L'Équipe, Jin Hayes has already been nominated for the 2008 Golden Boy award. If there are no surprises, this year's Golden Boy award should be his—"
As the European Golden Boy award selection in November drew closer, Jin Hayes was infinitely close to this award. Look at this year's candidates: Manchester United's young Brazilian, Anderson; Arsenal's speedy winger, Theo Walcott; and last year's Golden Boy winner, Sergio Agüero.
According to Golden Boy tradition, previous winners are usually not considered again unless there's truly no one else. But in 2008, there was one person who simply couldn't be overlooked. He was truly too brilliant in Europe.
"Look at his performance in this match; he almost single-handedly orchestrated the dismantling of Bayern, maintaining a high level of performance throughout the year, and constantly evolving!"
Scholl truly felt that if the Golden Boy award went to anyone else, the award itself would completely lose its meaning. It wasn't that Jin Hayes needed the Golden Boy award to prove himself, but rather that the Golden Boy award needed Jin Hayes to ensure its prestige.
"Let's return to this match. Bayern Munich have clearly lost the ability to fight back."
"Trailing by four goals in the first half—Klinsmann will probably be in trouble after the match."
Scholl and Oliver Kahn couldn't help but feel sympathy for Bayern's plight. Their performance indeed had shortcomings, but Borussia Dortmund were in peak form today, displaying overwhelming combat effectiveness.
In the final stages of the first half, Borussia Dortmund, who had maintained a high press for 40 minutes, finally slowed down their tempo slightly. Bayern also didn't launch a counterattack; they were still digesting their low morale. The match temporarily became peaceful, with neither side threatening the other's goal.
On the Kicker forum, Bayern fans were already numb. Before the match, they had been wildly mocking Borussia Dortmund, jumping up and down with excitement. Now, each of them was playing dead, not daring to make any sound.
"Where are they? Weren't they saying Bayern would crush Dortmund?"
"Hoeneß lied—didn't he say Bayern couldn't lose!"
"We're 4, you're 0!"
"Bundesliga king? Please."
No matter how angry Bayern fans were, they couldn't do anything. The huge scoreline left them with no choice but to vent their anger on the coach and players.
"Klinsmann out!!"
Klinsmann had just taken over and hadn't even coached three matches, yet calls for his dismissal had already emerged.
Even more shocked were the domestic fans. The various forums were almost crazy.
"Holy crap? Dortmund are too strong, aren't they?"
"Lord Jin is the strong one—he's invincible!"
"A hat-trick at 16—I can't even believe it!"
"Who would believe it? That one day, a Chinese player could lead a team to crush Bayern!"
Even those who supported Bayern were now genuinely proud of Jin Hayes's performance. They wouldn't even dare to dream this big.
…
"In the second half, we must not take them lightly. Continue to do our job well!"
In the away dressing room, Klopp, after his initial excitement, reminded his players not to relax too much. A four-goal lead still carried the risk of being overturned. Last season, hadn't Dortmund often come from behind?
There was even an instance of scoring three goals in stoppage time to reverse a situation. Until the final whistle, everyone had to give 100% focus.
On the other side, in the home dressing room, the atmosphere was subdued, eerily quiet. Coach Klinsmann simply didn't know what to say to boost morale. He just looked at the bald man on the bench.
"Arjen, how's your physical condition?"
"No problem, coach."
"Alright. In the second half, I'll probably have to put you on early."
"Leave it to me!"
Arjen Robben was already prepared. Jin Hayes's performance in the first half had made him itch with anticipation. Finally, he could face this young player head-on.