August 12th, eight in the morning, three days before Liverpool's first Premier League showdown.
Randall was escorting Lin Chen.
The youth academy was not far from Liverpool's First Team headquarters.
"What's with your hair?"
"I have a bottle of hair gel right here, spray a lot to set it."
"When you meet Klopp later, make sure to speak slowly and remember to adopt a humble posture; you're still a young man."
Randall frantically reminded Lin Chen all the way, afraid that Lin Chen would say something wrong when he met Klopp.
They arrived at the headquarters about ten minutes later, and the security guard at the entrance let them through.
Randall led Lin Chen through several turns, found the staff building, and went straight to the third floor.
Exiting the elevator, they turned left and went directly to the Head Coach's office.
Randall was about to give a few more reminders before knocking, but he happened to run into Klopp, who was opening the door to go to the restroom.
They bumped into each other, meeting in this way.
Klopp looked at Lin Chen, suddenly feeling the atmosphere was a bit awkward, and said:
"You must be Lin."
Lin Chen nodded.
"Hello."
Translated into English, it was hello.
Randall's face instantly turned green.
The little devil in his heart roared frantically.
'What hello?'
'What the hell are you saying hello for?!'
'He's the Head Coach, at least say 'Good day, Boss,' bow your head and bend your waist.'
Lin Chen immediately extended his hand to shake Klopp's hand, neither arrogant nor humble.
There was no arrogance, no conceit, but also no inferiority, instead, it was exactly how a 17-year-old should be.
Klopp had been wondering what kind of person Lin Chen would be, but after this brief meeting and greeting, he was certain that, at least in terms of personality, Lin Chen was the type of player he wanted.
If Lin Chen had bowed and scraped or even acted subservient during the meeting, it would have destroyed the image Lin Chen had originally in Klopp's mind.
After a brief chat, Klopp sent Randall away, who had wanted to stay for dinner.
"Coffee?"
Klopp shook the coffee in his hand.
Lin Chen got up to take the brewed coffee, and the two finally began to get down to business.
"Do you know why I wanted to see you?"
Lin Chen nodded and said, "Because of my video."
Klopp smiled.
"Your performance is indeed good, you're growing very fast."
"Many youth academy staff have praised you to me, saying you are disciplined and possess a maturity different from other young people."
Lin Chen was about to be modest when Klopp immediately continued.
"Since everyone praises you so much, why did you kick that Fan?"
Just as he was about to say a few humble words, Lin Chen swallowed them back the next second.
"I kicked him because he deserved it."
"Some things, no matter who does them, are wrong."
"If you choose to do wrong, you must be prepared to bear the consequences."
Hearing this, Klopp's admiration for Lin Chen grew even more.
Football players must have personality, otherwise, on the field, they are, at best, softies.
"Simply put, I will give you the opportunity to train with the First Team."
"If you perform well, perhaps you can get some League playing time."
"Whether you can stay in the First Team or return to the youth academy with a youth contract, the initiative is in your hands."
Klopp was very good at motivating young players' desires.
"Lin."
"The First Team needs Midfielders."
"If you can become the person I want, I guarantee that your life will become exceptionally rich from now on."
"You will earn in a week what an ordinary person cannot earn in five, or even ten years."
"You'll drive a Rolls-Royce or a ferrari, with countless beautiful women lining up, crowding around, just to sit in your passenger seat."
"You can enjoy steak grilled with gold leaf, drink milk tea costing hundreds of pounds a cup, and wear clothes worth tens of thousands of pounds."
"No matter the occasion, others will respectfully stand up to greet you, say hello to you, and extend their hand to you first."
"More importantly," Klopp said, changing his tone here, his eyes fixed on Lin Chen.
"You will enjoy the cheers and applause of tens of thousands of Fans at Anfield, the most formidable home ground in all of Europe."
"Holding a ball boy's hand, walking through the player's tunnel, and stepping onto the pitch under the dazzling stadium lights."
"Then you will showcase your unique football talent to Fans all over the world, everyone will shout your name, and cheer madly for you."
"This is the charm of football."
Lin Chen's inner desire was burning brightly, wishing he could step onto the Premier League pitch immediately.
He stood up and spoke to Klopp.
"Just tell me where the training ground is."
With that simple sentence, Klopp smiled.
Life in the First Team was dreamlike, with a more luxurious cafeteria and more attentive service.
Here, besides playing football, you don't need to worry about anything else.
Not to mention, seeing top football world stars like Henderson, Salah, Mane, and Firmino, watching them greet him kindly, and then training with them—this feeling was wonderful!
August 13th, 9 AM.
Lin Chen arrived at the training ground at 8:30 AM, thinking he would be the first to arrive, but Firmino was already doing shooting practice.
Seeing Lin Chen, he excitedly greeted him.
Afterward, players gradually arrived for tactical training in preparation for the first round of the Premier League, mainly focusing on small-group confrontations.
Klopp was in front, Klavitz on the left.
First Team training was very serious and fast-paced, with six-on-six small-group confrontations. Lin Chen was quickly assigned to Firmino's group.
Opposite them were Salah, Wijnaldum, Gomez, and Mignolet; it seemed clear that the opposing team had more starters.
On Lin Chen's side, besides Firmino, there was also Milner; the rest were substitutes or players who rarely got playing time.
Klopp deliberately arranged it this way to see if Lin Chen truly possessed the strong pressure resistance shown in the video.
He personally monitored the small-group confrontations, holding a form to constantly record player performance data.
Wijnaldum was full of confidence.
Facing a young player, as a senior and big brother on the team, it wasn't too much to make him pay some tuition, was it?
After the confrontation began, Wijnaldum indeed actively engaged in confrontation, pressing very aggressively.
With Firmino's kick-off, Lin Chen received the ball and passed it back to Ojo.
Ojo was also allowed to train with the First Team.
But he was clearly very nervous; receiving Lin Chen's back pass, his eyes even seemed a bit lost.
Facing high-pressure, he instinctively kicked a long ball, but the power was insufficient due to a mistake, only going a few meters.
Wijnaldum sprinted forward, ready to intercept the ball; if he could intercept it, his team could launch a counterattack!
The more he thought this, the faster Wijnaldum's steps became as he rushed to steal!
Like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey, he headed straight for the first landing spot!
He was about to chest trap the ball.
Suddenly!
A dark shadow beside him, like a giant rock, forcefully squeezed him aside!
It was Lin Chen!
Wijnaldum couldn't save face and desperately tried to steal the ball from behind again.
But Lin Chen's solid body and powerful strength, like a rock, firmly protected the ball in front of him.
No matter how Wijnaldum tried to steal, he remained motionless!
For a moment, all the players on the field were somewhat stunned.
Firmino was the closest and saw it clearly.
"Is that real?"
"Physically battling Wijnaldum???"
"He's just physically battling him!"