The final score was fixed at 1–3. Jin Hayes successively unlocked several new achievements: first win in the Champions League main tournament, first victory over a Serie A team, scoring against Buffon, and conquering a new stadium—the Stadio Olimpico in Turin.
A month later, a new entry was added to this list of achievements: the last away team to win at the Stadio Olimpico before Juventus moved to their new ground. Because after facing Borussia Dortmund, Juventus remained unbeaten at home for two months.
Jin Hayes did exactly what he said before the match. He left a lasting memory at the stadium before it was replaced.
There wasn't much to say about the final ten minutes. A physically drained Borussia Dortmund gave up their high press and actively retreated to the penalty area to park the bus. Juventus lacked sufficient ability to break through a packed defence.
Their only tall centre‑forward, Amauri, was limited by Mats Hummels and Neven Subotić in turns. Alessandro Del Piero was getting older and couldn't find many good opportunities. Claudio Ranieri subbed on Vincenzo Iaquinta, but it was to no avail.
Juventus's high line almost led to another conceded goal when Jin Hayes led a counter‑attack, nearly dribbling through the entire defence solo. His cross to the centre for Marco Reus resulted in a shot that Gianluigi Buffon saved, preserving the home team's last shred of dignity. 1–3—at least it wasn't too unsightly.
When the referee blew the final whistle, Juventus's young midfielder Claudio Marchisio even felt a sense of relief.
"The nightmare is finally over."
He wouldn't want to face this player again for the life of him.
"Congratulations, Mr. Klopp. Your team performed excellently."
"Thank you. Your tactics were also great; to be honest, we didn't have many good solutions at first."
"Hehehe, having good players is enough for you guys." The veteran coach Ranieri smiled bitterly. After a friendly handshake with Klopp, he hurried back to comfort his players. Next up were the league and the Champions League match against Real Madrid; everyone needed to maintain a good mindset.
Klopp, meanwhile, habitually threw his trademark three fist pumps to celebrate the team's victory. It was just a pity this was an away game, and there were no home fans to cheer along with him. With the next rounds being home against Marseille and home against Real Madrid, maybe there would be a chance—
"Sigh! I have to say, the away team's performance was indeed perfect. Especially Jin; he put on a dominant display. Despite barely touching the ball in the first ten minutes, he still relied on his individual ability to break the balance of the match."
The Italian commentator for Turin TV had been completely won over by Jin Hayes, offering nothing but praise for the young player amidst the regret. He almost wanted to run to the Juventus owner and hold up a banner suggesting the club buy him.
"In the Group of Death, we lost the first match. The next game against Real Madrid cannot be lost. Every subsequent match will affect qualification... who would have thought that Borussia Dortmund, the recognized weakest team and fourth seed in the Group of Death, would topple the powerful Juventus away from home?"
The situation in the Group of Death became unpredictable. Soon, the other match ended. Real Madrid also suffered a minor upset, drawing 1–1 away at Marseille.
...
"What? Dortmund is actually in first place for now?"
"Wow! The Group of Death isn't all that after all."
"Powerhouses? Powerhouses, my ass!"
The players in the dressing room scrolled through the news on their phones, unable to believe the live standings. They couldn't hide the smiles on their faces. Assistant coach Željko Buvač wanted to remind these youngsters not to underestimate Real Madrid, Marseille, or the return leg against Juventus—they would all be very difficult matches. However, he was stopped by Klopp.
"It's okay, let them be happy for a bit. Today's victory is worth celebrating—"
"Alright."
"Brothers!! Tonight is on me! Whoever knows where the fun spots are in Turin, let's go party together!"
"Ohhh! Hooray!!" The Dortmund players couldn't believe it, and cheers erupted in surprise. The coach was actually taking the lead to go out and play.
"Let me be clear, after partying tonight, if anyone doesn't train seriously afterward, they'll be rotting on the bench just the same!" Everyone was in a state of excitement, and Klopp's follow‑up went ignored.
Looking at the group of crazed teammates, Jin Hayes was stunned. Wait a second? Am I going too?
"Go ahead, Jin. You're the hero of today."
"That's right, it's good to go and relax." Reus also chimed in to persuade him.
Jin Hayes had originally planned to go back to the hotel, take a bath, and enjoy a few pages of a web novel. Lately, he had become a bit obsessed with fantasy novels and was currently following a popular series. Reading before bed was quite pleasant. His Dortmund teammates also really liked fantasy and martial arts tales.
When training in the gym or relaxing their muscles in the sauna, they always liked to pester Jin Hayes to tell them about those bizarre and wondrous worlds.
Unable to decline his teammates' kind invitation, Jin Hayes could only go with them. Italian nightlife regulations were similar to Germany's; there were only rules for alcohol consumption for those under sixteen. At sixteen, one could legally drink but needed to leave the premises before midnight.
The group headed to a nightclub in a grand procession after changing clothes. On the bus, Jin Hayes suddenly received several congratulatory messages. Frank, who was on vacation and hadn't traveled with the team, sent a text to congratulate Jin Hayes on the win. There were also messages from Uncle Hans, Mario Götze, Arsène Wenger, and other close friends.
He was still waiting to see if a new message would appear—to see if that one anticipated name would show up. But what rang instead was the phone.
Jin Hayes's heart was now beating significantly faster than when he had just scored a goal. When Germans call, they don't have long introductions like the British; they are usually very direct.
"Congratulations. Today's performance was wonderful." The voice on the other end was still so lazy and sweet. Jin Hayes could even visualize her curled up on the sofa like a kitten.
"Danke. Thank you."
A brief silence followed. Anna suddenly didn't know what to say. Fortunately, because of the win that day, her parents and neighbors had gone to a bar to celebrate the Champions League victory. Her grandfather had gone to his bedroom to sleep, and Frank was in the backyard on a long call with someone he was dating. Anna was alone in the living room.
On the TV in front of her, the Sport1 studio was still discussing the exciting Champions League battle. The commentators and guests were praising Jin Hayes in every way possible, accompanied by detailed replay footage, analyzing his praiseworthy ball handling frame by frame.
Looking at the handsome face on the television, Anna—who had intended to send a text—had somehow dialed the number instead. Before she could hang up, Jin Hayes had answered in a split second.
She was always the type to text rather than call—what should she say? Anna's blue eyes betrayed a hint of panic.
What if Jin got impatient and hung up?
What if he thought she was boring?
Luckily, Jin Hayes was very patient; he didn't hang up and stayed on the line with her.
Anna didn't know that at this moment, Jin Hayes's brain was also racing, not knowing what to say for a while. After his social instincts had been unexpectedly dulled, he could talk eloquently with his teammates and tell them fantasy stories, but he was speechless when facing a girl.
Damn it!
If only there were a software that could collect all the dialogue techniques of master conversationalists into a large model and automatically generate replies based on what the girl said. Unfortunately, such a thing might only exist in science fiction.
Such advanced AI would probably take at least fifty years to develop, right?
Jin Hayes was a bit frustrated.
On the other side, Anna in the living room tilted her head to hold the phone with her shoulder, while quickly flipping through a book she had secretly bought not long ago: "So fängst du Jungs an!" — translated directly into English, it would be 'This is How You Catch Boys' or 'How to Flirt with Guys'.
A third‑rate street stall book she had happened upon at a newsstand had become Anna's lifeline. Since that big wooden block who only knew how to play football wouldn't take the initiative, she would have to make the move herself.
"Listen—" The book was written in great detail: First Meeting Chapter, Dating Chapter, Relationship Warming Chapter… There! Phone/Text Chapter. "Let me see, phone conversation techniques… Emm, Section One: Naturally Starting a Conversation—Start with shared experiences, the other person's interests, or something that just happened… The rule of moderate praise: avoid general compliments and instead relate to personal traits, starting from details—Got it!"
Anna thought for a moment and spoke according to the methods instructed in the book: "Jin, that outside‑of‑the‑foot pass of yours just now was so beautiful! They're analysing it on TV! How did you do it?"
"Hehe, it was cool, right? I didn't actually think much at the time; it was purely instinct. It's a pity you weren't there to witness it in person—"
"Does that mean you were hoping to see me?" Anna blurted it out but quickly regretted it. Luckily, no one could see that her face had turned red all the way to her neck. How could she say something so cheesy? The book didn't teach it like that.
With a pounding heart, she heard Jin Hayes's voice on the other end of the phone, calm and steady: "Yeah, I really wish you were here."
!! Aaaaaah!
On the other side, Frank finished his call and was about to enter the house. However, through the window, he saw Anna lying on the sofa with her phone, squirming like a caterpillar, her little feet kicking back and forth.
Frank's hand was already on the doorknob, but he pulled it back. He went straight back to the swing in the backyard and sat down, laughing in spite of himself. "That ridiculous look should be recorded on camera. When the two of them get together, I'll play it for them at the ceremony."
…
Thump! Thump!
The deafening bass almost exploded in Jin Hayes's chest. The noise in his ears was much more intense than the stands at the Westfalenstadion. Laser lights scattered everywhere, and men and women on the dance floor were gyrating to the DJ's electronic beats.
Nuri Şahin had already targeted a goth woman dressed in skimpy clothes and piercings, swaying closely behind her.
In the booths on the second floor, veterans like Sebastian Kehl and Alexander Frei, who had families, sat together drinking and chatting about the victory they had just won. The noise was so loud that even though they were close, they could only communicate by shouting.
"Jin, why don't you go down and have some fun?" Marco Reus teased Jin Hayes from the side. He pointed down at the many gorgeously dressed young women with striking figures. Many of them were models from the fashion world. With Jin Hayes's looks and his distinctive good looks, he'd probably be surrounded in minutes if he went down.
"I won't go; it's too noisy."
"Oh, oh, oh, I get it." Reus looked at him with an ambiguous gaze. After all, with a beautiful girl like that at home, who would care for these commonplace beauties in a nightclub?
"Why don't you go?"
"I wouldn't dare." Reus shook his phone; his wallpaper was a plain‑looking young woman.
"Oh right, you're already taken." Reus's relationship had started during his middle school years. He had always been very low‑key; only a few people like Şahin and Hummels knew about it. Şahin had even secretly complained that the girl wasn't good enough for him, given how high Reus's looks were. But it was enough that Reus liked her.
"It's just…"
"What?"
"Never mind, it's nothing! Come, cheers!"
"Cheers!"
Even though Jin Hayes refrained from spoilers, a scene suddenly flashed through his mind of Reus being heartbroken after a breakup and drinking his sorrows away, only to later date a blonde supermodel and eventually marry her. After all, it was Reus's own life progress; Jin Hayes had no reason to interfere.
By this time, Klopp was already tipsy; with bleary eyes, he raised a beer bottle and shouted loudly to the whole venue: "Heja BVB! Dortmund is bound to win!"
The customers in the nightclub turned their heads one after another, looking on with glares. Jin Hayes could hardly hold him back. Having just defeated Juventus, Klopp was being a bit too reckless on someone else's turf.
A fight might break out if things went south.
Fortunately, many in the bar were Torino fans; they were gloating over the misfortune of their rivals Juventus and raised their glasses along with Klopp, shouting "Heja BVB!"
Jin Hayes was certainly gaining some new experiences now. Hopefully, when they went to Madrid next time, Klopp could be just as hyped. When that time came, he would definitely have to take a picture of the coach's state.