England, Manchester, Old Trafford.
Manchester United secured a comfortable 1‑0 victory over the mid‑to‑lower table "Black Cats" Sunderland, and the Red Devils players returned to the dressing room in high spirits.
Apart from Chelsea and Liverpool, no one in the league posed a serious threat to Edwin van der Sar's goal, let alone defeating Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson's team was forming its own dynasty.
Under the aura of last season's Premier League and Champions League titles, all Manchester United players were full of morale, ready to challenge a truly difficult record: defending both the league and Champions League titles simultaneously, achieving a "Double" two years in a row.
If not for the Premier League's packed schedule with no winter break, and fighting on four fronts—league, Champions League, FA Cup, and League Cup—requiring strategic abandonment of cup competitions, Manchester United could have even attempted to contend for a treble.
At least in terms of the Champions League honour, the Red Devils' players were determined to win. Since the Champions League reform, no team had successfully defended the title. Cristiano Ronaldo wanted to become the first star player to do so.
After a routine 1‑0 victory over Sunderland, Cristiano Ronaldo had no emotional fluctuations; he even felt like checking his phone.
"11 consecutive wins! How long will Dortmund's youth storm last? The 16‑year‑old wonderkid is still breaking records!"
Huh?
Topping both the goal scorer and assist charts, leading the team to another 3‑0 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach—1 goal and 2 assists—that was already impressive. When he saw the news, Cristiano Ronaldo thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. He refreshed the webpage on his phone several times and rubbed his eyes.
That's right.
After 16 rounds of matches, 12 goals—that wasn't surprising. But what the heck? What was with 25 assists? Are you kidding? How was that possible?
In professional football, especially in top leagues, 30 assists in a single season is pretty much the limit. Players who typically exceed 20 assists are highly likely to win the assist king crown.
Twenty assists in a single season, in any top league team, at any major club, would be revered as the cornerstone for team building for the next decade. A 16‑year‑old, and a Chinese player at that, racking up 25 assists in 16 rounds? Last season, 28 assists had broken the Bundesliga record.
Are you serious?
Even the most outlandish scripts wouldn't dare to invent something like this. It was completely illogical and unreasonable, just making things up.
"Maybe it's fake news? Those Germans must have made it up to fool people!"
Manchester United's core number 10, Wayne Rooney, had just finished showering, wiping his bald head and walking out with his broad frame. Seeing Cristiano Ronaldo gritting his teeth and staring at his phone, Rooney chuckled: "Hey, mate! Did your girlfriend dump you? Wait, which one was this? The 8th or the 9th?"
"Asshole!" Cristiano Ronaldo glared at Rooney irritably, then added after two or three seconds, "The 2nd."
"Impossible! I've seen at least five or six; this has to be at least the 6th girlfriend!"
"When I say it's the 2nd, it's the 2nd. I'm serious this time." Cristiano Ronaldo, exposed by Rooney, lost a lot of his composure but insisted on his point for the sake of his pride. It was common for professional players to change girlfriends; there was nothing to deny.
However, Cristiano Ronaldo cared a lot about his public image, wanting people to see him as a highly professional footballer, not the protagonist of tabloid gossip. Besides his first love, the Spanish model Nereida Gallardo was the second girlfriend Cristiano Ronaldo publicly acknowledged. The few in between were at most fleeting romances.
"And! We're doing great!"
"Alright, alright, doing great. Go to church soon, then." Rooney teased him a bit and then stopped, otherwise, he would really push Cristiano Ronaldo too far. In his opinion, Nereida Gallardo would at most last half a year, and they would definitely break up then.
Cristiano Ronaldo liked Gallardo a lot, but Rooney, as an outsider, clearly saw that Gallardo only wanted to date a football superstar to gain fame and fortune. When the time was right, Cristiano Ronaldo would inevitably be discarded. That's why Rooney complained like that.
"Oh, by the way, you haven't explained why you were so angry just now."
"It's just the German media making things up. You know that 16‑year‑old Chinese player, right?"
"I know." Rooney nodded.
All of Europe knew about this prodigy, the 2008 Golden Boy Award winner, who through his excellent performance in the Bundesliga last season and his dominant performance this new season, was selected among the top 30 for the 2008 Ballon d'Or.
At 16 years old, being selected among the top 30 for the Ballon d'Or—that was a terrifying thing. Rooney remembered that he only made a name for himself when he was 18, with his famous goal against Arsenal, finally making it big and becoming a key player.
The European youth training system is well‑developed, with U15, U18, U19, U21 categories, and a large proportion of players are filtered out every year. Only less than 10% of the talents in the group of prodigies can truly reach the top league.
Among those 10%, only 1% of the absolute top talents can be selected among the top 30 for the Ballon d'Or. Rooney wasn't good at maths, but that was the gist of it. A 16‑year‑old wreaking havoc in the Bundesliga—Rooney didn't know why Cristiano Ronaldo was so angry.
"He has 25 assists in 16 rounds. How is that possible!"
"Huh?"
Rooney's first reaction was also that the media was making things up. He worked hard all season, assisting Cristiano Ronaldo as a supporting player, and even then, he only managed to get 10. Twenty‑five assists in half a season—wouldn't that mean he was aiming for 50 assists in a single season?
This truly made no sense. Rooney also couldn't help but pull out his phone from his locker, open the browser, and check.
The Daily Mail, The Sun, The Times—these media outlets' sports sections had also updated the news from the Bundesliga. Multiple media confirmed it: indeed 25 assists in 16 rounds. And Jin Hayes occupied both the goal scorer and assist charts. Dortmund's winning streak this season was precisely because the 16‑year‑old was carrying the team forward.
Rooney couldn't help but gasp. And this emotion seemed contagious; after Rooney's surprise, it was Nani, Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher, and van der Sar's turn. Everyone was a bit in disbelief. Such a formidable player—they wondered whether the Bundesliga level was too weak, or if this person's strength was simply too extraordinary.
Seeing the shocked expressions on the others' faces, Cristiano Ronaldo felt a bit unconvinced.
"No need to make a big deal out of him. It just means the Bundesliga level isn't good," Cristiano Ronaldo scoffed. "Anyway, they're first in their group, basically guaranteed for the knockout stage. Worst case, we meet them in the knockout stage, and then you'll see if I crush them or not."
As soon as Cristiano Ronaldo said this, the other players in the Manchester United dressing room dared not object. Ferguson's favoured team leader had the status of unlimited shooting power.
To protect Cristiano Ronaldo, Sir Alex Ferguson did not hesitate to let go of Ruud van Nistelrooy, the "King of the Six‑Yard Box." For Cristiano Ronaldo's status, even Wayne Rooney, the powerful forward who once dominated the Premier League, had to play a supporting role.
Carlos Tevez had argued with Cristiano Ronaldo about his tendency to hold the ball too much on the pitch, which could sacrifice Cristiano Ronaldo's possession. The club even went back on its word and did not buy out Tevez, letting him go to Manchester City. Besides Rooney, who dared to offend him?
"Yes, yes, yes, that's for sure."
"That's right, Ronaldo, you are the world's number one, the opponent is just a kid, there's no need to be afraid at all."
"Exactly, we are the Champions League champions, what kind of champions are they?"
Amidst his teammates' flattery, Cristiano Ronaldo smiled triumphantly. Rooney hesitated to speak, also putting his arm around Cristiano Ronaldo and joking with everyone to lighten the mood.
Only the taciturn Paul Scholes smacked his lips, feeling that the team's atmosphere was not right. Dominating the Premier League, they didn't encounter many opponents, and with the idea of defending their title, they didn't take anyone seriously.
The group stage had been played too casually, almost leading to an upset. Later, in the knockout stage, could such a Manchester United truly make it all the way to the final and win the trophy?
Besides Dortmund, Scholes was more worried about another formidable opponent. The football Barcelona was playing now had a subtly invincible aura; Manchester United still needed to go all out.
"Sigh." Manchester United's Class of '92 veteran, Scholes, shook his head and walked out of the locker room. Inside, there was still a scene of laughter and joy.
…
For the last Champions League match against Juventus, since they had already secured first place in the group, Jürgen Klopp simply brought out the reserve squad for training, allowing more young players to experience the Champions League atmosphere and also letting everyone experience what a European giant club felt like.
16‑year‑old Mario Götze had been playing two matches a week for a continuous stretch; the kid was almost exhausted, with multiple physical indicators showing red flags. Marco Reus's injury absence during this period made Götze bear pressure he shouldn't have at his age. He simply wasn't included in the matchday squad.
Alexander Frei, in the forward position, recently suffered a muscle strain and might be out for about two more weeks. On the defensive line, Neven Subotić and Mats Hummels also needed rotation; they had been almost ever‑present this season—young and resilient, but they couldn't be pushed too hard.
The injury woes brought by the packed schedule were gradually affecting Dortmund, and their high‑pressing style of play consumed even more energy. Klopp was already worried, almost daily monitoring the medical team, constantly checking the players' health status. Every training session, he watched his players like a hawk, ready to pull anyone who showed the slightest sign of fatigue.
"So, I can't play again?" Jin Hayes asked, already knowing the answer but still hopeful.
"That's right, take a break. I'm begging you." Klopp was almost on his knees. Why was Jin Hayes's fighting spirit so strong? Didn't he care about his own body? The kid had already played more minutes than anyone else on the team.
"I just want to train myself by playing against strong opponents." Jin Hayes's eyes sparkled with competitive fire.
"Then is 20 minutes enough for you?"
"45 minutes."
"25 minutes."
"Half an hour, final offer."
"Deal."
Jin Hayes successfully negotiated, a smile playing on his lips as he casually jogged off. Klopp then realised he had been tricked. Jin Hayes was just testing the waters; if he had sternly refused, that would have been that, but he actually let himself be persuaded. He shook his head, half annoyed, half admiring.
"Is it worth it?" assistant coach Željko Buvač asked quietly.
"What's worth it?" Klopp didn't quite understand his assistant's words.
Looking at Jin Hayes's retreating figure, Buvač pushed up his glasses on his nose, his expression serious. "You know, Jin won't settle in one place; he's a very ambitious player."
"So what? It's normal for players to be ambitious."
"But that means that if one day he gains enough honours here, he will inevitably choose to leave. Fans treat him as a king, but he will at most treat this place as a stepping stone." Everyone understood this principle, but Buvač still shattered Klopp's illusion. "You're cultivating him as the cornerstone of the team, but why bother? Even if Jin Hayes were a one‑club man, everyone knows what kind of person Hans‑Joachim Watzke is; if the price is right, you can't keep anyone."
"Sometimes I really hate you." Klopp grimaced in annoyance.
"Can't help it, I'm just stating a fact."
"Don't think so far ahead. Let's focus on this season first; it's too early to talk about winning the championship."
Who doesn't have ambition?
Klopp himself had ambition. He came to Dortmund not just for a job; he wanted to build a club with potential into a dynasty. Like Sir Alex Ferguson, Bill Shankly, or Rinus Michels—to leave his name in football history, forever becoming a mark of an era.
The emergence of Jin Hayes, coupled with many promising young stars like Reus, Götze, Şahin, İlkay Gündoğan, and Hummels, gave Klopp hope. Assuming they all stayed with the team and strengthened the squad for four or five years, perhaps that day could truly be seen. Unfortunately, the reality of modern football made that dream increasingly unlikely.
"Damn it, that guy is so annoying!" Klopp muttered, referring to Buvač's inconvenient truths. But deep down, he knew his assistant was right. Still, that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy the ride while it lasted. And with Jin Hayes leading the charge, this season was shaping up to be something special.