Dieter Hecking's mind naturally drifted toward David Qin, whom he had essentially overlooked for the past ten days.
Truth be told, a single training scrimmage wasn't enough to put his mind entirely at ease. He needed more evidence, more consistency.
"If the opportunity arises in the DFB-Pokal the day after tomorrow..." Hecking murmured to himself.
Meanwhile, in Munich, Pep Guardiola stared at the transfer news in a state of utter bewilderment. He had just finished a meeting with the board only to find out that the player he'd scouted on the public pitch had been sold.
Sure, Bayern had made 1.5 million Euros, but since when was Bayern Munich short on cash?
Was this a joke? He dialed Erik ten Hag immediately. After receiving confirmation, Pep felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. For some inexplicable reason, he had a premonition that Bayern had just lost something invaluable. It was a visceral feeling he hadn't even experienced when Toni Kroos left for Madrid.
"Erik, in the future, please notify me before any personnel changes are made in the reserves," Guardiola sighed, his voice heavy with resignation.
He couldn't really scold Ten Hag; the man was doing a decent job, and rumor had it the board was heavily involved in the decision. He heard that Bayern had even gone toe-to-toe with Volkswagen's legal team, but the youth contract David had signed was essentially a standard development agreement. In legal terms, there are very few binding constraints on players under sixteen. They can practically jump ship at the end of a season by simply submitting an application.
Even though David was sixteen, no one had bothered to offer him a professional extension yet. He was still on academy terms. Consequently, Volkswagen's lawyers had made short work of the case.
"Don't worry, Boss. David is just an average player. This won't affect anything," Ten Hag replied, sounding quite pleased with himself. "Besides, Wolfsburg was very generous. They paid a great price."
Ten Hag was gloating. Offloading an expendable player for over a million Euros looked like a masterstroke on the balance sheet. The board was equally satisfied; selling him to the Chinese Super League wouldn't have fetched much more than that. Ten Hag was convinced that, commercial value aside, David's actual ability would see him back in China before the season even ended.
Guardiola didn't argue. He hung up in silence and looked at his transfer list. Lewandowski, Bernat, Benatia, Xabi Alonso... they had spent roughly 50 million Euros. But the sales of Kroos and Mandžukić had brought in 53 million. Effectively, they hadn't spent a dime.
Even the frugal Pep didn't want to complain about the budget. When he saw the name Sinan Kurt on his list, a spark of hope returned. This seventeen-year-old prodigy was not only technically gifted but incredibly fast, hailed by many as the "Next Marco Reus." As fate would have it, Kurt played the same position as David Qin. With David gone, Pep naturally shifted his expectations onto the newcomer.
Time slipped away like sand through an hourglass, and August 18th arrived. The first round of the DFB-Pokal was underway.
At the Stadion am Böllenfalltor, Darmstadt 98 was hosting VfL Wolfsburg. Since CCTV hadn't purchased the broadcasting rights for the cup, eager Chinese fans had to flock to amateur streaming rooms to catch the action.
"Good evening, brothers and sisters!" the streamer shouted into his mic. "Wolfsburg just released the squad list, and David Qin is officially on the bench! We might actually see him make his debut today."
"Also, don't overthink it—bet all your 'Happiness Beans' on Wolfsburg. They're playing a 2. Bundesliga side; this should be a walk in the park."
"The match has started. The quality is a bit grainy, but this is the best source I could find."
"By the way, for those who don't know, the DFB-Pokal is Germany's premier knockout tournament. It's open to both pro and amateur clubs. The winner gets a spot in the DFL-Supercup and direct entry into the Europa League. Though since 2011, it's basically been a private tug-of-war between Bayern and Dortmund. Maybe David can 'hitch a ride' to a trophy this year."
The streamer prattled on, while the live chat scrolled by like a blizzard.
—
@VWDriver: VW is really going all out to sell cars. They even squeezed David into the matchday squad.
@Cantonona_7: David and the Wolves have been posting non-stop on Weibo lately. Let's just call him the "Weibo Ballon d'Or" from now on.
@Simp4Qin: Can the camera man give us a shot of the bench? If I can't see him play, at least let me see his face!
@TacticalWanker: Relax, Wolfsburg is stacked on paper. They'll destroy these guys.
@Doomer_99: What if they don't?
@Luckyluke: No 'what ifs'! I spent all my stream points on the Wolves. They HAVE to win!
@Pissat_Hater: David needs to score a hat-trick so the clickbait media can finally run that "Wolfsburg Wins, David Wears a Hat" headline they've been dying to use.
—
Soon, however, the smiles in the chat vanished, replaced by nervous tension.
"Is Darmstadt seriously parking the bus this hard? Every time the ball reaches their third, they just hoof it clear!" the streamer wailed. "Their midfielders are collecting yellow cards like Pokémon cards just to keep the Wolves away from the box. Tintin's kit is completely covered in mud!"
"No way... is this really going to be a draw?" The streamer let out a pained howl, mourning his lost betting points.
As the camera panned over the bench, David Qin sat there looking thoroughly bored. Dieter Hecking had used up all his substitutions within the regulation 90 minutes. David was destined to spend his debut match for the Wolves firmly rooted to the wood.
It was disappointing, certainly. But he knew Hecking wouldn't gamble on an unproven kid in a crisis.
"David, you think we're actually going to lose this?" Junior Malanda asked nervously. He and David had become fast friends, chatting frequently during training.
"I don't know. I hope we pull through," David replied, shaking his head.
Under the current DFB-Pokal rules, professional teams had to fight from the very first round. If Wolfsburg lost here, their cup journey was over before it even began.
"If you ask me, the Gaffer should have given you a shot," Malanda whispered, glancing warily at Hecking. "Our left side is toothless. We can't create anything, so they're just stacking the middle and the right wing."
In the short time they had trained together, Malanda felt he knew David better than anyone—mostly because he had been humiliated by David's dribbling in 1v1 drills multiple times. He had a very clear understanding of David's skill level. What shocked him most was David's rate of improvement; the kid looked like a different player every single day.
David is going to be the carry in the future, Malanda thought. I need to make sure I'm his best friend now. He saw in David that same innate, effortless talent he saw in De Bruyne.
"Extra time is over! It's still 0-0! Is Wolfsburg really getting knocked out?" the streamer cried. "Does this make their new signing, David Qin, a lucky charm or a jinx? Let's head to the penalty shootout!"