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While Lance was fighting in the World Cup in South America, the Bayer Leverkusen management and coaching staff were not idle.
Club President Michael Schade originally had no great ambitions.
Every season, they aimed to finish in the top four, make a trip to the Champions League, go as far as they could, collect a share of the Champions League prize money, and then happily return to select cost-effective players to strengthen the squad.
Although the Bayer Group behind them is a Global 500 company, it is still Bayer, not some wealthy royal family from Saudi Arabia or the UAE.
Without big stars, without big investments, winning championships was not a big deal.
Being content with modest success—this was Bayer Leverkusen's operating philosophy.
Having consistently followed this approach for many years, Bayer Leverkusen had been doing quite well.
However…
In the 2013-2014 season, Bayer Leverkusen won the Bundesliga.
Although it was just a Bundesliga title, it was still a league championship!
And in the Champions League, they played back-and-forth matches against Barcelona, Manchester United, Arsenal, and Real Madrid, almost reaching the Champions League Final!
It was like an ordinary working-class person, who earned a fixed salary of a few thousand yuan each month, and was very frugal with all his expenses.
Then one day, he won millions in the lottery, went on vacation abroad, stayed in a 5-star hotel's presidential suite, flew first class, ate at high-end restaurants costing 1,000 US dollars per person, and even bought a supercar, just barely touching the threshold of the upper class.
After seeing new sights, returning to a 30-square-meter rented room, continuing to eat 8 yuan fried rice noodles from Shaxian snacks downstairs at the company, commuting to work by crowded bus and subway, with a ride that was just a broken-down shared bicycle…
Anyone would find such a psychological gap unbearable.
Bayer Leverkusen's championship even shook the Bayer Group's top management.
Werner Wenning, Chairman of the Bayer Group Supervisory Board, and Marijn Dekkers, Group CEO, along with the entire Supervisory Board, unanimously approved increased investment in Bayer Leverkusen's football division.
As long as the management and coaching staff submitted reasonable transfer requests, the club's transfer budget would be easily approved with a green light.
Michael Schade, Sasha and Hyypiä now had a happy problem—
Who should they buy for the new season?
First, of course, was Lance's suggestion: his good national team partner, his brother who grew up with him, Kevin De Bruyne.
He was currently owned by Chelsea.
After his excellent performance during the World Cup, De Bruyne's value had increased from 10 million pounds to 35 million.
But!
Bayer Leverkusen acted preemptively!
Before the World Cup even started, the club had already submitted a transfer request.
They eventually reached a deal: 22 million euros, plus some floating clauses, for a total of 25 million to buy De Bruyne!
When spending this money, Michael Schade still felt a pang of heartache for the Group.
25 million for a Chelsea outcast, who played decently at Wolfsburg, but was he really worth that price?
Fortunately, he called Lance for advice, which solidified his decision to buy the player.
Lance only had one sentence at the time:
"Boss, I'll stake my career on it: his future minimum value will be 80 million euros, and his highest value could be over 100 million, so, you understand."
Michael Schade was stunned.
Was De Bruyne that strong?
Fortunately, Lance's 'prophecy' had a guaranteed reputation; Michael knew this kid, at 17, was not to be judged by his appearance, and his words were always impactful.
Later, De Bruyne's performance in the World Cup also proved his talent.
This deal was definitely a huge profit!
It even made Chelsea somewhat regretful.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was fuming in his office.
"Why!! Why sign so early? Why not wait until after the World Cup?"
The staff nearby looked at him with strange eyes.
"Didn't you sign it yourself?"
In short, Bayer Leverkusen's first summer signing—Kevin De Bruyne!
When De Bruyne's official announcement of joining was made on the club's website, the entire small city of Leverkusen erupted.
Coincidentally, De Bruyne, Lance, and Hazard had worked together to lead their team into the World Cup semifinals,
Bayer Leverkusen fans were simply overjoyed!
This summer, even if this was the only signing, they would have been content!
Clearly, Bayer Leverkusen had no intention of stopping there.
Since they decided to strengthen, why not strengthen comprehensively!
Last season, the two center-backs, Spahić and Toprak, made crucial errors that allowed Real Madrid opportunities in the box, leading to their unfortunate elimination in the Champions League semifinals.
The heartache from that time was still vivid.
Strengthening the defense was absolutely paramount.
The question was, who should they replace them with?
While Michael Schade and Sami Hyypiä were at a loss, Hyypiä offered a few names.
"Rüdiger, the 21-year-old center-back from VfB Stuttgart?"
"Harry Maguire, playing in the Championship?"
"Virgil van Dijk, the Dutchman playing in the Scottish Premiership?"
"Stones from Everton?"
Who were these people?
Including the club's chief scout, defensive coach, Sami Hyypiä, and manager Schade, everyone felt puzzled.
The four players on Hyypiä's list combined were worth no more than 15 million pounds.
Bayer Leverkusen didn't have much money, but they weren't that poor, were they?
"Trust me, brothers, these names will all shine in the world in the future."
Hyypiä's tone and gaze were very firm.
He was never someone who spoke without basis, and he rarely went back on his word; since Hyypiä was so confident, he naturally had his reasons.
Perhaps only Hyypiä himself knew that these names were revealed by Lance, somewhat dazed from a beer shower in the locker room, grabbing Hyypiä's shoulder on the night Bayer Leverkusen won the Bundesliga.
Lance claimed at the time to be a 'transmigrator,' returning from the future to 2013, and described the future of football to Hyypiä, casually giving many names.
Hyypiä initially didn't take it seriously, but later sent scouts to investigate… Hey! There was indeed something to it!
After Lance sobered up, he denied saying those things, dismissing them as drunken ramblings.
But Hyypiä kept them in mind, and finally presented this carefully selected list during the transfer window.
"What do you say?"
"Actually, since they're not expensive, even if they don't pan out, it's not a loss. Let's buy a few and try them out."
Next season, they would definitely be fighting on three fronts again, so increasing the squad depth wouldn't be bad.
After some discussion, Hyypiä's transfer list was unanimously approved.
In reality, they themselves couldn't find any suitable center-backs.
Talented prospects with potential were already snatched up by major clubs.
Or their market value was inflated, with clear shortcomings.
At least from the scouts' assessment, these players looked good; they were considered low-key but talented players, just not famous yet.
While Lance was fighting in the World Cup, Michael Schade and his team were busy, finally finalizing three of them.
Borussia Dortmund was also interested in Rüdiger.
Rüdiger was a German international and did not occupy a foreign player slot, making him highly sought after.
Michael Schade was decisive; he immediately submitted a transfer request and sent people to contact Rüdiger's agent.
Bayer Leverkusen's Bundesliga title was more attractive than Dortmund's recent struggles, so a 7 million euro transfer fee officially sealed the deal that changed the timeline.
Rüdiger joined Bayer Leverkusen!
Immediately after, the club announced four more defenders in quick succession, shocking the Bundesliga!
"Bayer Leverkusen officially announces that the young center-back playing for Championship team Sheffield United, Harry Maguire, has officially joined! The transfer fee is only 1 million euros! According to Bayer Leverkusen, this deal is mainly to strengthen squad depth for multi-front competition in the new season…"
"Bayer Leverkusen adds another player in the summer transfer window: 23-year-old Dutch center-back Virgil van Dijk, playing for Celtic in the Scottish Premiership, has joined, with a rumored transfer fee of 3 million euros…"
"Bayer Leverkusen has gone crazy! Buying another defender, Chelsea's youth academy versatile defender, 20-year-old Aké, joins on loan!"
Suddenly, Bayer Leverkusen caused an uproar in European football!
Are they crazy?
Is this an arms race?!!