After Paris Saint-Germain was removed from the list, I led England to victory!

(Image of the male lead about to participate in the trial)

The day of the trial training has arrived.

The Yan family father and son arrived at the trial training ground early this morning. Standing in front of the gate of the Hoffenheim training base, they looked up at the not-so-grand building.

He had expected to see some impressive facilities, but the venue in front of him looked even more modest than Paris Saint-Germain's youth training base.

"Stop looking at it. Germans value practicality and don't do anything fancy," Dad Yan patted his son on the shoulder.

Upon entering the base, Yan Yuan discovered that it was much more lively than he had imagined.

More than twenty young players had gathered on the playground, including blond-haired, blue-eyed Scandinavians, dark-skinned Africans, and several Asians like him.

The air was filled with conversations in various languages, including English, German, and Spanish, with the occasional Japanese or Korean phrase.

"Looks like the competition is fierce," Yan's father muttered to himself. "But it's okay, I haven't seen anyone more handsome than you yet."

Yan Yuan couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Alright, alright, Dad, this is a trial, not a beauty pageant."

"Who says otherwise?" Yan's father said seriously. "Handsome players can sell more jerseys; looks are an important part of commercial value."

What Yan's father said was absolutely right. Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Beckham—which of these top stars isn't incredibly handsome? Their jersey sales are not only related to their skills and fame, but also to their looks.

To give another counter-example, if Vinicius or Enderik could play like Ronaldo, they might win many honors, but in terms of jersey sales, the two of them combined would not be able to surpass Ronaldo.

Because one of these two people had sausage lips, and the other looked like a sandman.

Don't say that black people are not as handsome as white people; that's not an excuse.

Bellingham is Black, Rodrygo is Black, and Kobe Bryant in basketball is Black. They are all quite handsome, even more so than many white people.

Commercial value really does depend on appearance.

According to the rules of the Hoffenheim club, Yan Yuan went to the locker room to pick up his trial uniform, an ordinary white training vest with his number "17" scrawled on the back in black marker.

When he came out after changing his clothes, he found several men in suits standing on the sidelines, taking notes on tablets.

"See that?" Yan's father nudged him with his elbow. "That guy in the dark blue suit is Nagelsmann."

Yan Yuan looked in the direction his father pointed.

The young coach standing on the sidelines looked even younger than he did on TV. His sharp eyes scanned the players on the field, and he occasionally whispered a few words to his assistant. Nagelsmann had slightly protruding teeth, so his smile was a bit over the top.

"Dad, wasn't it just about selecting young players? Why is the head coach here too?" Yan Yuan asked in a low voice.

Yan's father shrugged: "I heard that Hoffenheim is going to streamline its squad this time and wants to find a few young players with strong immediate impact as rotation substitutes. The Champions League qualifiers will start in August, and they don't have time to slowly develop new players."

Yan Yuan nodded, his heart beating faster involuntarily.

This trial was more important than he had imagined. It wasn't just a regular youth training selection; it was directly related to the Champions League squad for next season.

"Are you nervous?" Yan's father suddenly asked.

Yan Yuan took a deep breath: "A little."

"Come here." Yan's father pulled him aside and placed his hands on his shoulders.

"Listen, son, your mother has always wanted you to go to college. She thinks playing football is unreliable, but I've never thought about it that way."

Yan Yuan was somewhat surprised to see his father's suddenly serious expression.

Dad Yan continued.

"Son, my expectations for you are simple: be healthy, be happy, and do what you love. Football is important, but it's not your whole life."

So play freely today, don't overthink it. The worst outcome is that you'll go back to England to help me manage the business; you definitely won't starve.

Yan Yuan suddenly felt his eyes getting hot. He thought about how his father had put aside his business these past few days to help him with the transfer, how he had arranged everything so meticulously for him, and how he was now encouraging him like this.

He gave his father a tight hug: "Thank you, Dad."

"Alright, alright, stop this pathetic nonsense. Don't wipe your snot on my suit, it's very expensive." Dad Yan was stubborn and didn't cry, but he enjoyed his son's hug.

A moment later, a staff member blew a whistle, signaling all the trial players to assemble. Yan Yuan checked his shoelaces one last time and jogged to join the group.

Nagelsmann walked up to the group, adjusted his glasses, and said, "Welcome, everyone. Today's trial will consist of three parts: technical testing, group scrimmage, and live-fire exercises." His voice wasn't loud, but he enunciated each word clearly.

"We are not looking for superstars, but for players who can immediately play for the first team and are worth developing. So, once the trials begin, please show your immediate impact."

Yan Yuan noticed that after Nagelsmann finished speaking, the expressions of the players around him became noticeably tense.

Staff began distributing vests to groups.

Yan Yuan was assigned to Group B, where he was joined by a tall Nordic center-back, a very fast African winger, and two South American players who looked quite skilled.

"Alright, everyone warm up for fifteen minutes," the assistant coach called out, "and then we'll begin the first test."

Yan Yuan was doing stretching exercises when his gaze unconsciously drifted toward the sidelines.

Nagelsmann was already seated on the makeshift observation platform, surrounded by the youth training director, scouting director, and technical analyst.

The table in front of them was covered with documents and electronic devices, making it look like they were holding some important military meeting.

"Hello, what country are you from?" An Asian player next to me, who spoke English, suddenly struck up a conversation. His English sounded very broken.

"An English citizen of Chinese descent, what about you?" Yan Yuan replied.

"I am Korean."

"Are you here for a trial too?" Yan Yuan asked.

"Yes," the other person nodded, "but I'm a U16 player, which is different from your first team." He lowered his voice, "I heard there are only two spots available today, but more than thirty people have come."

Yan Yuan swallowed hard. The acceptance rate of less than 10% was even more brutal than he had expected.

After the warm-up, the first technical test began.

The players were divided into four groups and took turns testing their passing, dribbling, and shooting skills.

Yan Yuan was the third player to go on the court. He noticed that every player's performance was being recorded by cameras on the sidelines, and Nagelsmann was writing something in his notebook from time to time.

After the trial training officially began, Yan Yuan quickly got into the swing of things.

The first technical test consists of four parts: 30-meter sprint, passing accuracy, dribbling past cones, and shooting from outside the penalty area.

In the 30-meter sprint, Yan Yuan ran a time of 4.13 seconds. Although he was 0.4 seconds slower than the black winger from Nigeria, he was already second among all the trial players.

Nagelsmann nodded slightly on the sidelines and noted the data down on the evaluation sheet.

The subsequent passing and receiving test revealed Yan Yuan's true strength.

In the continuous passing test over a distance of 20 meters, he made 28 out of 30 consecutive passes that hit the target area and 26 standard ball control, which is still a very good result.

This stems from Yan Yuan's own fundamental skills and Di Maria's ball control attributes.

The scouting director couldn't help but lean close to Nagelsmann's ear: "This kid's ball control is so mature, it's like it's glued to his feet."

During the dribbling and driving through the cones, Yan Yuan truly impressed everyone.

He used a combination of inside cuts and outside shots, with each movement flowing smoothly and maintaining a stable ball control rhythm throughout. In the end, he finished a full 1.3 seconds faster than the second-place finisher.

Nagelsmann adjusted his glasses and wrote "Excellent dribbling rhythm, outstanding ball control" in his notebook.

The final shooting test became Yan Yuan's personal showcase.

He stood at the edge of the penalty area and unleashed five consecutive shots, all hitting the top corner. Three of them were Cavani's signature Matador's Thrust, the kind of curved shot with a strong spin.

The goalkeeping coach shook his head, saying, "That's right, even if you know the direction of the shot, you can't save it."

During halftime, Yan's father quietly came over and handed him a bottle of water: "How was it?"

Yan Yuan wiped his sweat: "It was alright, but I held back when I shot, afraid of tearing the net."

Yan's father laughed loudly: "You brat, still pretending with your dad."

Before the second group competition began, Nagelsmann suddenly changed his original plan.

He pulled Yan Yuan aside: "Your name is Yan, right? I've noticed your technique is quite unique. Would you like to try different positions?"

Yan Yuan nodded without hesitation: "No problem, coach, I can play in the attacking third."

In the subsequent group matches, Yan Yuan appeared in three positions: left winger, attacking midfielder, and right winger. He demonstrated remarkable adaptability in each position.

On the left wing, he assisted his teammates to score with three accurate 45-degree crosses;

After switching to attacking midfield, he tore apart the opponent's defense with his delicate short passing combinations;

When he finally played as a right winger, he even scored a brilliant goal after dribbling past three players.

The technical analyst stared at the data screen in amazement: "This kid's positional awareness is incredible. His heatmap for the right wing area is perfect, while the other two positions are slightly weaker, but there's still plenty of room for improvement."

Nagelsmann's notebook was filled with observations about Yan Yuan: no weak foot, broad vision, multiple positions, and relatively decisive decision-making. He also marked it with three big emphasis symbols.

The afternoon's live-fire drills brought the trial training to a climax.

Nagelsmann personally designed an 8v8 small-court scrimmage to test players' ability to apply their skills under pressure.

Yan Yuan was placed in a weaker group, but this actually gave him more opportunities to perform.

In the 7th minute of the match, he dribbled past three defenders with a "frittata" move, and then delivered a penetrating through ball, assisting his teammate to score a one-on-one goal.

This move drew gasps from the sidelines, and even the usually composed Nagelsmann couldn't help but applaud.

In the 15th minute, Yan Yuan received a high ball in midfield and, before the ball hit the ground, unleashed a powerful volley that flew straight into the top corner like a cannonball.

This goal ignited the training ground, and even the opponents couldn't help but cheer for him.

The youth academy director muttered under his breath, "Damn it, is Paris Saint-Germain really that extravagant these days? How could they let a player like this go for free?"

Nagelsmann said thoughtfully, "Who knows? Maybe they only have eyes for the superstars already in their sights."

Throughout the entire practice match, Yan Yuan delivered a perfect performance with 2 goals and 3 assists, leading his team to a resounding 5-2 victory over their opponents.

After the match, several trial players came over to give him high-fives, and the Nigerian winger even joked, "Brother, you should give me a chance to shine."

At the end of the trial that day, Nagelsmann specifically stopped Yan Yuan: "You performed exceptionally well, young man. Can you tell me why Paris gave up on you?"

Yan Yuan pursed his lips and said with a helpless expression, "They signed Neymar and Mbappe, coach."

Nagelsmann paused for a moment, then understood, and gave a meaningful smile: "It seems I should thank Paris for its generosity. By the way, your German is very good."

After the trial training ended, on the way back to the hotel, Yan's father kept staring at his phone until 8 p.m. when the email notification finally went off.

After reading the email, Yan's father showed a rare serious expression.

"What's wrong, Dad?" Yan Yuan asked. "Didn't it pass?"

Yan's father handed him the phone: "Hoffenheim wants to discuss the contract at 10 a.m. tomorrow, and they are offering a formal contract for the first team, not the youth team."

Yan Yuan took his father's phone. The email clearly stated: "In light of player Yan Yuan's outstanding performance during the trial, we sincerely invite you to come to the club tomorrow to discuss a first-team contract..."

"Dad, you're awesome!"

"My good son is even more awesome!"