Beierlorzer was still feeling excited when assistant coach Risch suddenly spoke up: “Achim, how much longer do you think this kid can stay in our squad?” “Can’t you say something nice at a time like this?” Beierlorzer said in annoyance.
“Even if he gets promoted to the first team, he was still developed by us!” He paused, watching Rolin running on the pitch.
“The Youth League stage is too small for him.
The Bundesliga is the battlefield he belongs in.” In the stoppage time of the first half…
Płacheta’s shot inside the penalty box was saved by the keeper, and the ball fell near the top of the arc.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Rolin met the ball with a powerful strike.
Neuwirth put his hands behind his back, attempting to block Rolin’s shot with his body.
But he was a step too slow in the end.
The ball flew past his side, heading straight for the top corner of the net.
Menzel dived to make a save, and though his fingertips brushed the ball, he still couldn’t stop it from nestling into the net.
3–0!
Menzel slammed his hand onto the turf, his face filled with despair.
The referee blew the whistle for the end of the first half, and RB Leipzig headed into the break with a three-goal lead.
The Wolfsburg players walked off the pitch with their heads down, their morale at rock bottom.
Beierlorzer high-fived the players one by one, continuously telling them well done.
Leading by three goals at half-time, the coaching staff discussed it and subbed Rolin off.
Given the current form of both teams, it was almost impossible for Wolfsburg to equalize.
They would be lucky if they could just hold the difference and not concede any more goals.
Rolin was a key prospect for them, so with a large lead, there was no need to keep him on the pitch.
Rolin wasn’t at all unhappy about being subbed off.
However, he was very puzzled as to why his system had been completely quiet.
What happened to issuing tasks like it was supposed to?
No matter how he called out to the system, there was no response.
He had originally thought he would receive a task today, given that Wolfsburg was a strong opponent.
But the system still showed no reaction.
Still, these six months hadn’t been entirely without reward; hard work in training had paid off after all.
[Ball Control]: 78 → 79 [Dribbling]: 75 → 76 [Shooting]: 78 → 80 [Low Pass]: 78 → 80 [Lofted Pass]: 76 → 77 [Defending]: 75 → 76 [Tackling]: 72 → 73 Although his stats had improved, he was still a little disappointed.
At the same time, a guess formed in his mind: He would only receive tasks from the system once he played in a higher-tier League.
This guess made his desire to play in the Bundesliga even stronger.
After the second half started, VfL Wolfsburg finally found their rhythm.
Saglam orchestrated several threatening attacks, but their final touch was always lacking.
As the final whistle approached, everyone thought the match would end 3–0.
Subbed-on Fabrice Hartmann unleashed a worldie from the top of the box.
4–0!
The RB Leipzig players celebrated wildly, while the Wolfsburg players collapsed to the ground.
With the sound of the referee’s whistle, this battle of giants came to an end.
RB Leipzig won big away against VfL Wolfsburg, consolidating their top spot in the League.
— On October 16th, Rolin came to the Red Bull Arena again to watch the first team’s match.
Round 7 of the Bundesliga.
RB Leipzig faced Werder Bremen at home.
Bremen was in a slump this season, having collected only four points in six rounds to sit fourth from the bottom of the table; RB Leipzig, on the other hand, remained unbeaten with three wins and three draws, ranked fifth in the League.
The Red Bull Arena was packed to capacity today, with over 40,000 fans in attendance.
As the melody of RB Leipzig’s anthem, “Stolz des Ostens,” began to play, the entire stadium sang together: “Leipzig in the past, Leipzig forever, Red and white are the only colors in our eyes.
Olé-Olé Olé-Olé Olé-Olé, The pride of the East belongs to Leipzig.
Our city stands tall forever…
—” As a born-and-bred Leipzig native, Rolin was singing along as well.
Before long, the voice of announcer Tim Tolkei echoed throughout the stadium.
“Dear fans, now let me introduce our starting eleven.
First, our goalkeeper, Number 32, Péter Gulácsi!!!” With every name Tolkei read out, the fans shouted along, filling the atmosphere to the brim.
Standing on the sidelines, Rolin was full of envy, a scene of the entire stadium chanting his name naturally popping into his mind.
The players from both teams lined up and walked onto the field as the big match was about to begin.
Demirović was like he had ADHD, his legs trembling nonstop: “When can we play here?
I want to experience the feeling of fans chanting my name in unison too.” “Keep it up, kid.
Dreams come true one day,” Rolin patted his shoulder, speaking with an air of mock maturity.
Demirović slapped Rolin’s hand away, muttering softly: “I don’t have your kind of talent.
The first person in our team to step onto a Bundesliga pitch will definitely be you.” Rolin merely smiled faintly, offering no words of comfort.
After all, not everyone had a system like him, allowing them to bypass the U23 team and go straight to the first team.
Although Demirović and the others had performed brilliantly in the Youth League, if they were promoted to the U23s, it would be difficult for them to even secure a starting spot.
As the referee’s whistle blew, the match officially kicked off.
RB Leipzig launched a fierce attack right from the start, but Bremen’s defense was rock solid, with their goalkeeper making consecutive brilliant saves to withstand wave after wave of pressure.
Forty minutes passed, and though RB Leipzig controlled the tempo, they struggled to break the deadlock.
In the 42nd minute of the match, the deadlock was finally broken.
Forsberg delivered a cross from the left wing.
Facing the incoming ball, the keeper chose to punch it out with both fists, but it didn’t travel far.
Keïta, making a central run, struck the ball with a powerful volley that drilled into the bottom left corner!
1–0!
Tim shouted the goalscorer’s name over the loudspeaker.
The die-hard fans in the South Stand led the chants first, followed closely by the rest of the stadium, filling the entire venue with chants of Keïta’s name.
Keïta ran toward the corner flag with a smile and quickly threw a flurry of punches.
That celebration was really something; it turned out he was a boxing enthusiast too.
The first half ended quickly, with RB Leipzig heading to the locker room holding a one-goal advantage.
The teams swapped sides for the second half.
In the 74th minute of the match, Keïta scored again, extending his team’s lead.
Bremen didn’t give up fighting and pulled one back through Gnabry just two minutes later.
Conceding a goal didn’t rattle RB Leipzig at all; they played methodically on the pitch.
With two minutes remaining before the final whistle…
Demme delivered a precise cross from the left, and substitute Selke headed it home, sealing the victory for RB Leipzig.
In the end, the score was set at 3–1.
RB Leipzig secured the victory at home, maintaining their unbeaten streak.
After the match, Beierlorzer waved to Rolin from afar, gesturing for him to come over.
Rolin didn’t think much of it and strode over with long strides.
When he arrived, he realized that standing next to Beierlorzer was none other than the first-team head coach.
Ralph Hasenhüttl proactively reached out his hand, a warm smile on his face: “Rolin Bachmann, the star of our U19 squad, am I right?” Rolin gave a modest nod and shook hands with the handsome middle-aged manager.
Before he could speak, Ralph Hasenhüttl continued: “Beierlorzer and Sporting Director Ralf Rangnick have mentioned you to me more than once, not to mention your agent Mino Raiola—my ears are practically growing calluses.” Rolin looked at Beierlorzer gratefully, but the latter just waved his hand without speaking.
Ralph Hasenhüttl pulled back his smile, his tone turning serious: “I called you over specifically to inform you that starting next Monday, you are part of the first team.”