YouTube, the video-sharing website that gradually rose in popularity in 2005, has become the favorite online video platform for German netizens. The most-viewed video on YouTube Germany recently was from the German Cup semi-final, Werder Bremen vs. Borussia Dortmund.
The YouTube blogger appeared to be sitting in the away stands, recording with a home DV camera. The scene took place in the 75th minute of the second half; the Dortmund fans in the away stands were in a gloomy silence, while the home stands, just across an aisle, were wildly boisterous and taunting.
Werder Bremen fans were frantically making 2-0 gestures at Dortmund, and the entire stadium chanted in unison, "Bring Jin Hayes on!" Borussia Dortmund fans were powerless to respond. Their team was two goals down away from home, with only 15 minutes left in the match.
Furthermore, Jin Hayes had just played a league match two days prior, making it highly unlikely he would play. Barring any surprises, Borussia Dortmund would be eliminated by Werder Bremen, ending their German Cup run in the semi-finals. The German Cup might be a bit of a consolation prize, but being eliminated would still be upsetting.
Werder Bremen fans cheered wildly as if it were a holiday, until the moment the fourth official on the sidelines raised the illuminated board. In the blogger's DV footage, the Werder Bremen fans were visibly stunned; the noise and singing abruptly stopped. Number 10, Jin Hayes, substituted on.
Since the Werder Bremen fans wanted Jin Hayes to be called on, what would they say now that Jin Hayes had actually come?
Just three minutes after coming on, Jin Hayes successively dribbled past Mesut Özil and Torsten Frings, then lofted a pass over the top to the space behind the defence. Mario Götze successfully beat the offside trap, and without taking a touch, volleyed a shot into the far corner, scoring. 2-1.
In the 83rd minute, Jin Hayes and Götze interchanged positions; Jin Hayes broke through with a rainbow flick at the edge of the box and cut it back to Götze. Götze, almost unmarked, comfortably slotted another low shot into the net. 2-2.
In the 87th minute, Werder Bremen committed a foul by pulling a player outside their box, and Jin Hayes stood over the ball, preparing to take the free kick. The YouTube video blogger deliberately aimed the camera at the stands; the Werder Bremen fans' previous revelry took a sudden turn, as everyone clasped their hands together, praying to God. Some fans in the stands were even completely panicked, chanting, "Take Jin Hayes back!" But it was too late; inviting a god is easy, sending one away is hard.
Jin Hayes stood directly in front of the goal, and unleashed a powerful knuckleball free-kick, delivering a devastating strike. The ball, like a cannonball, smashed heavily against the underside of the crossbar and bounced into the goal.
Now the Werder Bremen fans couldn't smile at all; it was the Dortmund fans in the away stands' turn to mock the opposition. "Jin Hayes is here! Jin Hayes is here! You wanted to see Jin Hayes, and he's brought victory with him!"
Who can't make up a song? This video was uploaded to YouTube and quickly became a trending video with over a million views, topping the YouTube homepage. Besides that, the YouTube homepage also featured videos filmed by Jin Hayes himself. He created an account on YouTube, occasionally posting harmless short videos from the Borussia Dortmund locker room. The DV camera he had purchased earlier faithfully recorded a lot of exclusive material. Soon, Jin Hayes also became one of the biggest internet personalities on the platform, with his channel subscriptions exceeding 300,000 and still growing.
"Brothers, smile! Another victory!"
"Yeah!! Look at this!"
Facing Jin Hayes's DV camera, Götze was very excited. Jin Hayes's two assists helped Götze win today's German Cup MVP trophy. His numerous breakthroughs in the first half and his two equalizing goals in the second half were quite spectacular. Jin Hayes's playing time was too short, so the MVP spot was perfectly given to his younger teammate.
"Two matches down, what's next? Guys?"
"Barcelona!!"
"Yeah!! Barcelona! Barcelona!! Messi, wait for us, we're coming!"
Mats Hummels was a bit over-excited, not realizing Jin Hayes was uploading this video to YouTube. Challenging Messi from afar? Since that was the case, Jin Hayes simply joined in.
"Messi! We're coming!"
...
La Masia training ground, early morning.
Lionel Messi sat down with his tray, ready to enjoy his cereal, low-temperature roasted chicken breast, broccoli salad, accompanied by a specially prepared mate tea. A beautiful day of training was about to begin. Before he could even start eating, Gerard Piqué excitedly came over with a laptop.
"Hey, I've got something good to show you."
On the screen, there was a chaotic group of young men in the dressing room, acting as if they were drunk.
"Two matches down, what's next? Guys?"
"Barcelona!!"
"Yeah!! Barcelona! Barcelona!! Messi, wait for us, we're coming!"
"Messi! We're coming!"
Messi, who was called out from afar, didn't understand why.
"So?"
"They're challenging you, Leo! These Dortmund guys are really arrogant!"
"It's normal, we get just as crazy when we win."
"They think they can go head-to-head with Barcelona?"
"Why not? They eliminated Manchester United."
Messi's expression was quite serious. Ever since Borussia Dortmund was drawn into the group of death, Messi had a good feeling about this team. Not many teams can beat Bayern 5-0 at the Allianz, and Barcelona didn't have an easy time there either.
Therefore, Messi had always been optimistic about Borussia Dortmund's potential, watching them consecutively eliminate Premier League giants Arsenal and Manchester United, and now it was his turn. In this Champions League semi-final, Barcelona might not necessarily advance with their eyes closed.
On the other hand, Messi was not afraid either. Now, Barcelona's tiki-taka system was refined, unrivaled worldwide. Messi had enough confidence to lead Barcelona to the final, win the ultimate Champions League title, and make the final push for an unprecedented treble.
The intense preparations passed day by day, and now it was almost the last day before the match. The entire city of Dortmund was practically in a state of preparation, filled with the tension of an impending major battle. Jin Hayes suddenly had a sense of déjà vu, like a student preparing for the college entrance exam, about to step into the examination hall for the final judgment. This match might be the toughest battle of the season, if not the toughest.
In recent tactical meetings, the club's analysts and coaching staff had taken the players through a frame-by-frame analysis of Barcelona's pass-and-move system. Especially Barcelona's two-legged matches against Bayern Munich, where their system made the Bayern players run around in circles, almost suffocating them.
After careful study, everyone came to the same conclusion: there was no easy way to deal with it.
High press? Barcelona's intricate short passing could slice through Borussia Dortmund's defensive lines like a hot knife through butter. If they pushed up, Barcelona's fluid movement from midfield to attack could instantly find gaps, allowing Lionel Messi to roam and create havoc.
If they dropped deep and parked the bus, Barcelona could still stretch the formation and, with a sudden change of tempo or a moment of individual brilliance from Messi, carve out a goal-scoring opportunity. And parking the bus was not something Borussia Dortmund was good at—they were built to press and attack, not to sit back and absorb pressure.
But looking across Europe, who really dared to go toe-to-toe with Barcelona in an open attacking battle? Most teams would be picked apart before they even had a chance to score. They couldn't attack freely, and they couldn't defend staunchly. This was Pep Guardiola's Barcelona—the unsolvable system of the Dream Team era.
So in the end, Jürgen Klopp couldn't offer much more from a tactical perspective. He could only hope to ignite the potential of his players with words.
"Guys, actually, it's not a big deal if we lose these two legs. The club has reached the semi-finals and has already earned enough from Champions League broadcast revenue. We can totally continue to buy players next season, strengthening the squad with that money.
After defeating Manchester United, outsiders weren't optimistic about us either. Barcelona's style is too much of a counter to ours. If we're eliminated in these two legs, the media and fans will understand. I want to thank everyone in advance—we've played really well in the Champions League this season and successfully completed our mission. Now, you can fully enjoy this semi-final."
Jin Hayes listened, waiting for the 'but.' Sure enough, after a few moments, Klopp's tone shifted.
"But! Are you willing? Willing to be eliminated by Barcelona? Willing to fall at the doorstep of the final? The treble prospect we talked about earlier—aren't you all tempted?" He paused, letting the question hang in the air. "I believe in your ambition. Tell me—you haven't planned on giving up, have you?"
Of course not! The Borussia Dortmund players had been worried that if the coach surrendered before the players had given up, what was the point? Your subjects are ready to fight to the death—why does Your Majesty surrender first? So Klopp was waiting for this.
"Of course not!"
"Never give up!"
"Fight to the death!! Fight to the death!!"
The tactical meeting room became a zoo, with a group of warriors howling wildly. Jin Hayes felt like he was in the scene of a cavalry charge, shouting as they charged towards the enemy. No way, guys, are you this hyped before the game even starts? That's what he thought—but Jin Hayes shouted even louder than Mats Hummels.
Ever since Anna knew Jin Hayes liked to browse the Kicker forum and Baidu Tieba, it had become her hobby too.
After school, Anna originally wanted to wait for Jin Hayes to come for tutoring, and then walk home together, holding hands. Unfortunately, Jin Hayes was doing extra training on tactical coordination with his teammates, deepening their chemistry before the ultimate battle against Barcelona.
There was nothing Anna could do but go home alone, throwing her bag on the sofa as she entered, and then throwing herself onto the sofa as well. She kicked off her slippers, revealing her fair, delicate feet, and curled her legs up like a kitten.
She wanted to pick up her phone and message Jin Hayes, asking if he was tired from training, if anything pleasant happened, if he missed her—but she lingered on the message interface for a long time, and it was still just their conversation from this morning.
Anna:I'm starting class now, gotta go 13:15
Jin:Mhm, me too, getting ready for training 13:15
Anna:Good luck ~ xx00 13:16
Anna:I'm home now 17:21
Anna:typing... Honey, are you done with training? Remember not to overdo it, or my heart will ache...
After thinking for a moment, Anna deleted what was in the chat box. She didn't want to be too clingy, because the book How to Flirt with Guys said that boys don't like overly clingy girls. If she constantly pestered him, it would make him feel suffocated, which would be counterproductive.
In a healthy relationship, it's best to maintain an appropriate balance—sweet but not cloying is what lasts. No matter how much Anna missed him, she could only force herself to close the chat interface and open the Kicker forum in her browser.
"10 Reasons Why Borussia Dortmund Will Beat Barcelona"
"BVB is truly fierce this year, let's strive to overturn Barcelona!"
"Bayern fans should support their brothers tomorrow, fight together"
"The challenge of the season: can Dortmund stop the Catalan machine?"
"Those who support Dortmund report here"
After browsing around, Anna initially thought everyone was very optimistic about Borussia Dortmund, but in reality, most were cautiously sceptical. Having overturned defending champions Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund should have been full of momentum, charging towards the final.
However, many Bundesliga fans on the forum, including a large portion of Borussia Dortmund's own supporters, felt that their chances of winning this time were truly very low—even lower than against Manchester United. It was clearly a scene of impending doom.
Anna was a little unconvinced and couldn't help but reply to a post. "BVB is very strong—why do you all say they're so bad?"
Soon, someone left a comment below: "Identified as a Barcelona fan, clearly trying to jinx Dortmund."
"Where is Dortmund strong?"
"Winning against Manchester United was entirely due to United's mistakes—they got timid after going 3-0 up."
"Jin Hayes just hasn't met Barcelona yet. Let's see if he can still perform against them."
Eventually, Anna was so angry that she threw her phone on the sofa, hugged her knees, and pouted unhappily.
Ding— the moment her phone chimed, Anna pounced like a hunting kitten, grabbing her phone.
Jin:Finished extra training, heading home 17:32
Jin:So tired—I need a hug to recharge 17:32
Anna:No 17:33
Anna hugged her phone, a smile playing on her lips. In the kitchen, Maria, who was preparing dinner, saw this scene and couldn't help but smile like a doting aunt.
"This child…"