"Ladies! From today, we will officially begin our cooperation!"
"You probably all know who I am, but today I'll still introduce myself! My name is Jürgen Klopp. You can call me Jürgen, or Coach. You can call me whatever you want in private, but on the training ground, I recommend you call me Coach!"
"I don't know how other coaches trained you last season. If there's anyone who's been slacking off and just collecting a paycheck, you'd better contact your agent—there's still time to transfer now! On my training ground, I want to see Spartans! I want to see your hunger for victory and for championships! If you want to secure a starting position, you need to put in more effort and show your training attitude! Understand?"
"Understand…"
"I can't hear you! Louder!"
"UNDERSTAND!!"
The voices on the training ground finally grew louder.
Jin Hayes observed both sides out of the corner of his eye. On the first day of training camp, everyone seemed to have little trust in the new head coach. Some responded actively, while some of the veterans showed clear disdain. Especially Tinga, the Brazilian who liked to be lazy and frequent nightclubs—upon learning that the training intensity would be very high from now on, his expression was visibly displeased.
(The Tinga thing is cap, Tinga was a disciplined player. I guess the author assumed off of Ronaldinho's rep)
In contrast, young players like Mats Hummels, Marco Reus, Nuri Şahin, and Jakub Błaszczykowski were eager to roll up their sleeves and work hard with Klopp. The starkly contrasting attitudes made Jin Hayes worry for the team. Whenever a new head coach arrives, the team inevitably goes through a period of transition. He wondered who in the squad would be the first to fall out of favour.
"Today, we'll start with body fat measurements. Please follow assistant coach Krawietz to get tested. If anyone's body fat is not up to standard, they'll run an extra twenty laps of interval sprints first!"
"Ah???"
The Borussia Dortmund players groaned again. Except for internationals like Alexander Frei, who had been at the European Championship, everyone else had been on holiday. During the break, it was inevitable to overindulge, so most players' body fat percentages had definitely increased.
Sure enough, several players were singled out. Even Nuri Şahin's body fat percentage exceeded 10%—clearly he had gained some weight.
"Hahahaha! Nuri, you're in trouble!" Hummels gloated from the side.
However, after he stepped on the scale himself, his own body fat percentage of 12% was also over the limit.
"Still making fun of me? You're not following the rules yourself!"
"Damn it!" Hummels had indeed let himself go. Because he was too young to be selected for Joachim Löw's European Championship squad, he had spent the holidays having barbecues with friends, and it was easy to exceed the limit.
"Everyone be self-aware! Those who don't pass, go and run!"
Hummels and Şahin both ran toward the track with long faces. They secretly hoped Jin Hayes would run with them. However, Jin Hayes's body fat test came back at only 8%.
The entire Borussia Dortmund team was shocked.
"Did he even exercise during the holidays?"
"He's a tough one!"
"As expected of Jin—he was hard on himself last season."
Everyone vaguely remembered that Jin Hayes was always the first player to arrive at the club and the last to leave. As the youngest member of the team, such professionalism was enough to make everyone feel ashamed.
Klopp was not surprised. These days, he had been busy dealing with player transfers and designing the tactical setup for the new season. Every time he came to the base, he could see Jin Hayes in the gym. It would be unreasonable for such a player not to succeed.
"You all need to learn from Jin. He is younger than all of you, and more dedicated than all of you."
Jin Hayes never expected that one day he would become the example that everyone else was measured against.
Soon, a group of Dortmund players joined the queue for penalty laps. Only Jin Hayes and Reus stood by watching. Reus was quite lean and maintained regular exercise habits, so his body fat percentage had not increased.
"Marco, should we join them?"
"Was?" Seeing his teammates in agony, Reus thought he could just enjoy the show. Who knew Jin Hayes would be so abnormal?
"Let's go. Pre-season training has already started—we have no reason to slack off."
Before Reus could refuse, Jin Hayes had already stood up and rushed toward the group, joining the other players for twenty laps of interval sprints.
"He's really crazy!" Reus shook his head helplessly, hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and ran over. "I'm crazy too!"
…
The Borussia Dortmund players originally thought the first day of training camp was hell. Who would have thought that compared to every subsequent day, the first day was simply heaven?
"Didn't you eat? Put some effort into it!"
"Nuri! Don't slack off!! Faster, faster!!"
"Beep—Mats!! I saw you stop. Another ten round trips as punishment!"
"Ah?!" Mats Hummels was almost in tears. He had only stopped for a few seconds to catch his breath. Was the coach a devil?
***
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, northern Germany.
Grosser Weidedamm Beach.
Borussia Dortmund conducted two weeks of pre-season physical training here. A group of players sweated profusely on the sand, trudging forward with heavy tyres. From time to time, they were urged to speed up by the assistant coach's shrill whistle. Even the training fanatic Jin Hayes almost couldn't hold on. Large beads of sweat dripped from his forehead, and he felt as if his whole body was filled with lead—every step consumed a vast amount of willpower.
If not for his physical conditioning, Jin Hayes probably would have found it difficult to walk out of this beach alive. It felt like being an ancient prisoner exiled to the desert, whipped and urged forward by merciless guards.
"Only thirty minutes left! Keep pushing!!" Assistant coach Željko Buvač blew his whistle coldly. Head coach Klopp, meanwhile, lay comfortably on a beach chair, a stark contrast to the players.
After enduring the last gruelling half hour, Nuri Şahin, like a dead dog, dragged his almost collapsed body toward a chair next to Klopp. Hummels quickly stepped forward, using his physical advantage to push Şahin off.
"Mats, stand up. Don't lie down right after intense exercise." Klopp not only showed no sympathy but also chased them off the beach chairs.
"Coach, why are we doing this?" Şahin complained with a hoarse voice. "I'm afraid we'll die here before the season even starts."
"What do you think is important for a team to achieve good results?"
"Goals!"
"Tactical coordination?"
Several young players guessed back and forth.
"It's stamina, right." Jin Hayes's answer made Klopp smile with satisfaction.
"Jin is right. With the development of modern football, physical fitness is especially important. One could even say it's the cornerstone of the team."
"Ah? Isn't tiki-taka popular now?" Şahin couldn't believe it. Spain had just defeated Germany in the European Championship final, lifting the trophy. The Spaniards, relying on their possession-based style, had left the German national team with no answer.
"Yes, tiki-taka is very important. But what do you think is needed to play good tiki-taka, and how can you break down the opponent's tiki-taka?"
This question was beyond their scope; the young players couldn't think that deeply. During Thomas Doll's time last season, the team hadn't had many complex tactics. The entire squad's understanding of tactics was relatively lacking. Only Jin Hayes listened to Klopp's explanation thoughtfully. He seemed to grasp the essence of Klopp's new approach.
No matter what, physical fitness was always the most crucial part. A higher average running distance for the whole team meant a larger range of activity on the pitch. Even if their technical skills or individual abilities were inferior to the opponent's, by relying on relentless running and powerful stamina, they could still wear their opponents down.
Facing the questions from the young players, Klopp just laughed heartily and kept them in suspense: "You'll find out later. Remember, in my team, all of you have a chance to secure a starting position. As long as you show your training attitude, you will naturally get more opportunities."
…
The hellish physical training lasted for two weeks. Every Borussia Dortmund player was thoroughly exhausted. During this period, the club also made some personnel adjustments, clearing out a number of players. Jin Hayes almost daily discovered that another teammate had disappeared from the dressing room. The jersey hanging behind him was also taken down, empty, awaiting a new owner.
A group of older or fringe players successively left the team. Borussia Dortmund's average age was visibly dropping, making them one of the youngest clubs in the Bundesliga.
Of course, the departure of players was also accompanied by the arrival of new ones. 20-year-old Bosnian-Herzegovinian centre-back Neven Subotić joined from Mainz, following his mentor Klopp to Dortmund, with a transfer fee of €3.5 million. Borussia Dortmund also brought in Kevin-Prince Boateng on loan from Tottenham, hoping to strengthen the midfield. Other young talents were added to the squad, further lowering the average age.
Looking at these newly joined players, Jin Hayes's instinct told him that Borussia Dortmund were getting on the right track. With the new Bundesliga season opener getting closer and closer, Jin Hayes was already eager to throw himself into the action.