Due to the upcoming 2008 European Cup in Switzerland and Austria, the Second Bundesliga's current schedule was quite packed.
After the weekend's 27th-round match against Aachen, the first team's training focused primarily on recovery.
The intensity wasn't high.
For Wang Shuo, there was no issue with adapting at all.
Especially at the start of training, he felt like he hadn't had nearly enough.
Midway through training, Thomas Essien appeared at the edge of the first team's training ground with another person.
At first, not many people paid them any mind.
But before long, Club President Harald Strutz and General Manager Christian Heidel also arrived.
Head Coach Klopp walked over to them as well.
This immediately caught the attention of the players on the field.
"Who are those two? Both the president and the general manager are here."
"They look unfamiliar."
"I remember now. The tall guy is from the Adidas football division. I've seen him at an event before."
"Why would someone from Adidas come to our club?"
"Our sponsorship deal with Lotto expires at the end of this season, doesn't it?"
"Is Adidas going to sponsor us?"
"I thought it was supposed to be Nike."
"Whatever. Nike, Adidas, or Puma, they're all pretty much the same."
"I actually think Adidas would be a little better."
"Does this mean we'll have to wear Adidas boots and kits from now on?"
The players started chatting amongst themselves while they trained.
As a German team, they had a natural affinity for Adidas.
"You still have energy to talk?"
Hearing the players' chatter grow louder, Zeliko Buvac immediately barked at them.
"Get your heads in the game."
Wang Shuo remained completely focused on training, only glancing toward the sidelines during breaks.
He had already received a call from Thomas Essien, so he knew Adidas wasn't here to sponsor Mainz, but to sign a formal sponsorship contract with him.
But he didn't elaborate.
What nobody expected was that midway through the session, another person arrived.
"Holy shit, look! Isn't that Bayern's chief scout, Wolfgang Dreimler?"
"Good God, are my eyes playing tricks on me? Is that really Dreimler?"
"It is Dreimler! Why is he here?"
"Duh. Dreimler's obviously here to scout a player. What else would he be here for?"
Hearing this, everyone looked at each other, completely dumbfounded.
Who was he here to scout?
Many of them turned to look at Neven Subotic.
The 19-year-old center-back had been outstanding in the Second Bundesliga this season. He and Nowitzki were considered the best center-back pairing in the league, attracting attention from many clubs.
It seemed he was the only one likely enough to attract Bayern's attention.
But Subotic immediately shook his head. "It's not me."
Then who could it be?
Just as everyone was speculating without reaching a conclusion, Klopp, in the distance, turned and waved toward the players. "Wang, come over here a second."
In an instant, two or three dozen pairs of eyes all shifted to focus on Wang Shuo.
Everyone was stunned.
'It's him!'
'The kid who just got promoted from the U19s?'
"He isn't the guy who scored a hat-trick against Bayern Munich U19 yesterday, is he?"
After watching Wang Shuo jog over, someone asked in astonishment.
Although the first team and the youth team trained only two hundred meters apart, they rarely interacted.
Professional players generally just showed up, trained, and left, treating it like a nine-to-five job.
However, they had all heard about the Mainz U19 team's 4-3 comeback victory against Bayern Munich U19 yesterday afternoon.
They just didn't know the details of the match, only that the U19s had played a fantastic game.
Now, hearing this, they were all shocked.
"A hat-trick?"
"For real?"
"From that kid?"
Neven Subotic also watched Wang Shuo's retreating back with astonishment.
He recalled how Wang Shuo had politely greeted him in the locker room earlier. He never imagined the kid would cause such a huge stir.
But with this new information, everything made sense.
'He scores a hat-trick in a U19 match, leads Mainz to a victory over Bayern, and that catches Bayern's eye. So they send their chief scout, Dreimler, to come watch him personally.'
'Wow, it looks like he's on the verge of joining Bayern!'
Once everyone realized this, their gazes toward Wang Shuo were filled with envy.
Who among the players at Mainz wouldn't want to join Bayern?
"Coach, is Adidas here to sponsor our team?"
After finally recovering from the shock of seeing Bayern's scout Dreimler watching Wang Shuo, the players started speculating about the other matter. During a break in training, they ran over to ask Buvac.
"No, our sponsorship is already settled. Starting next season, we'll be sponsored by Nike."
"Nike? Then what's Adidas doing here?"
The players were all extremely curious.
"Adidas must be here to sponsor Wang Shuo, to discuss the contract signing," Buvac said, though he wasn't entirely certain.
"What?"
The twenty-odd players standing around were shocked once again.
'Sponsor Wang Shuo?'
'Isn't that a bit ridiculous?'
Forget the fact that Mainz was just a Second Bundesliga team; even back when they were in the Bundesliga, no player on the squad had ever managed to land a personal sponsorship deal with a behemoth like Adidas.
At best, they would just participate in events for the team's sponsor, Lotto.
And now, Adidas had come all this way to sponsor Wang Shuo?
And judging by the looks of it, this guy from Adidas had to be important in their football division. Both President Strutz and General Manager Heidel had come out to meet him.
"This new kid on our team is a bit of a monster, isn't he?"
"Haha, I agree. Attracting the interest of Bayern, landing a sponsorship deal with Adidas... neither of those are things you'd expect a Mainz player to achieve."
"I bet he's really leaving. Joining Bayern, signing with Adidas—it's the logical next step, isn't it?"
"Too bad for us."
...
Long after the training session ended and all the players were back in the locker room, they were still talking about Wang Shuo, Bayern, and Adidas.
Both of these achievements were things most Mainz players could only dream of.
And now, they had been accomplished by a 17-year-old rookie who had just come on the scene.
Naturally, the first-team players were filled with envy.
But some also breathed a secret sigh of relief.
'A rookie this ferocious... thank God he's going to Bayern!'
When Wang Shuo returned to the locker room to change, the way his teammates looked at him was completely different.
All one could say was that the morning's training session had delivered a massive shock to them.
"Wang, are you going to Bayern?"
Prompted by glances from his teammates, Subotic—the only one besides the captain, Nowitzki, who had spoken to Wang Shuo—spoke up.
His voice wasn't loud, but everyone else in the locker room was straining to hear.
"No, I turned them down."
"You turned them down?"
A fresh wave of astonishment rippled through the locker room.
"Why?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't you take the chance to go to Bayern?"
"It's such a great opportunity! It's Bayern!"
The players immediately crowded around, chiming in one after another with concern.
Of course, some were driven by gossip, while others were thinking about the competition within the team.
Wang Shuo chuckled at his teammates. "Dreimler said I could only join the U19s, and at best, I might get to go to Bayern's second team next season. He couldn't even guarantee my playing time, so I wasn't that interested."
After hearing his explanation, everyone suddenly understood.
'If those were the terms, then it definitely required careful consideration.'
Still, turning down Bayern was a decision that felt like a huge waste to them.
What Wang Shuo didn't say was...
In private, Strutz, Heidel, and Klopp had all promised him that Mainz would do everything in its power to apply for a special permit to let him play in the Second Bundesliga this very season.
Even if they couldn't get it this season, he was guaranteed a spot on the first team next season, and they promised to do everything they could to develop his talent.
For Wang Shuo, the most important thing was playing time.
With a guarantee of playing time, the difference between Mainz and Bayern wasn't that significant.
After all, he was a young man with a system.
Regarding Wang Shuo's decision to stay, many expressed regret, some were understanding, and others became wary.
Subotic was among those who understood.
"By the way, did you sign with Adidas?" Subotic asked curiously.
Currently, no player on the Mainz squad had a personal sponsorship contract.
If Wang Shuo signed one, he would be the first on the team to do so.
"I've already signed an initial contract with them. Today was just to confirm the terms. The official contract will be signed in a few days at Adidas Headquarters, as part of a global promotional campaign they're doing."
It was called a "global" promotion, but the main battlefield was actually the Chinese market.
Wang Shuo knew perfectly well that the ultimate reason Adidas valued him so highly was because of his home country.
Realizing this didn't disappoint Wang Shuo; on the contrary, it motivated him even more.
'Since I'm getting this benefit, I can't bring any shame to my country. I have to work even harder to improve and prove myself.'
The fee for his first professional sponsorship contract wasn't actually that high.
Adidas had already spent a considerable sum helping Wang Shuo get a trial in Germany, and they also had an ongoing collaboration with the Huairun Football School.
In the coming years, Adidas would continue to sponsor players from the Huairun Football School for trials in Europe.
This was also a way for Wang Shuo to give back to the Huairun Football School now that he had established a foothold in Europe.
If Wang Shuo's trial had been a failure, Adidas probably would have lost interest in continuing the collaboration.
As for Wang Shuo's personal sponsorship, the first contract was for only 100,000 euros a year.
Thomas Essien privately told Wang Shuo that while the fee was indeed low, it was just the beginning.
As long as Wang Shuo performed well in the future, Essien could negotiate a better deal for him, even before the current contract expired.
So, the most important thing right now wasn't to get hung up on the size of the fee, but to improve his skills as quickly as possible and deliver more convincing performances.
Wang Shuo had no problem with that.
100,000 euros, which was about one million yuan, might be a trivial amount to Adidas or to a Bundesliga pro.
But to Wang Shuo, it was already an astronomical sum.
With this money, he could build several houses back home and do countless other things.
So, Wang Shuo readily accepted Thomas Essien's advice and decided to sign with Adidas.
Adidas would be presenting a plan soon, and both Wang Shuo and the Huairun Football School would have to cooperate with Adidas's promotional and marketing activities in China.
The specifics of all that were left for Thomas Essien to handle.
Wang Shuo had only one task: play his heart out.