Defeating Juventus was only a momentary joy; returning to the league, Borussia Dortmund still had to readjust their mindset and set out once again. That being said, it seemed the Borussia Dortmund players were still immersed in the joy of their first Champions League victory.
The Champions League group stage match was on September 18th, and September 20th was the 5th round of the Bundesliga. Therefore, Klopp continued to use the lineup from the German Cup to compete in the league.
Flying back to Dortmund from an away game in just two days was too exhausting. All the starting players were completely swapped out, and 18‑year‑old midfielder İlkay Gündoğan welcomed his second Bundesliga start.
Also appearing on the substitute bench was the 16‑year‑old Mario Götze. He had the chance to become the second youngest player to ever appear in the Bundesliga—the record for the youngest belonged to Jin Hayes at 15, a feat unprecedented and likely never to be surpassed.
Originally, in the coaching staff's tactical meeting, Klopp intended to let all the starters have a good rest, not even putting them on the matchday roster. Would Borussia Dortmund, currently at the top of the Bundesliga table, be afraid of a team like Hoffenheim? A team they had never even heard of! It was Jin Hayes who took the initiative to find Klopp.
"Coach, how about letting me play in the next match?"
"What?" Klopp's black‑rimmed glasses almost fell off in shock. "You just finished playing Juventus the day before yesterday, we just got back yesterday, and the match is tomorrow—there's really no need to push yourself so hard. Your physical condition won't be able to handle it."
"I've already recovered. If you don't believe me, you can test me."
Frank happened to be in the coaching staff's office, and he chimed in: "Monitoring Jin's physical data over the past two days, his creatine kinase, lactic acid, urinary ketones, and other data are all within the normal range. Furthermore, his Yo‑Yo test and T‑test completions were excellent; he has already met the standard for appearing in a formal match."
"See, even the team doctor says you—wait? What?" Klopp's glasses really did fall off this time. No, seriously, man? Are you some kind of monster? Even the physical fitness of those veteran African players couldn't compare to his.
Taking advantage of Klopp's hesitation, Jin Hayes quickly added: "Although Hoffenheim is a newly promoted team, their strength shouldn't be underestimated. They are currently ranked 6th, which already speaks volumes."
"That's true." Klopp had naturally studied all the opponents in the league. Borussia Dortmund had completed its financial restructuring that year and had earned over ten million euros by selling players like Mohamed Zidan and Mladen Petrić.
The club had enough money to strengthen the training and competition departments.
Data analysts, scouts—high‑salaried talents for these important positions were specifically poached from other clubs. Before the season started, Klopp already had scouting reports for all the other teams on his desk, including Hoffenheim.
Klopp himself believed that this team was a dark horse that could not be ignored this season. If it weren't for the fact that it was only two days after the Champions League match, he would have wanted to field his starters.
But there was really no other way; everyone was quite exhausted after the travel for the away game, and he couldn't risk forcing them to play even if it meant losing. Since Jin Hayes's physical recovery ability was so abnormal…
"Then I'll put you on the matchday roster."
"Not starting?"
"To be safe, you still need to rest more. You have to understand—anyone can go down, but you can't."
At 16, he should have been playing in youth tournaments; the injury risk of jumping levels to participate in the intense Bundesliga was inherently very high. Klopp truly placed great importance on Jin Hayes.
"Fine, substitute it is." Jin Hayes figured that no matter how strong Hoffenheim was, Dortmund's second string wasn't weak either. The predicted winter break champions would at least need a few rounds of the league to slowly get into form. As long as they could maintain a stalemate with the opponent, there would be a chance to win once he came on.
However, even Jin Hayes didn't expect that the course of the match would escape his control.
"Ibišević!! Super Ibi!!!" "The Bundesliga truly produces a shining newcomer every year! Last season it was Jin Hayes, and this season it's the super striker from the newly promoted Hoffenheim!"
Sitting on the bench, Jin Hayes was dumbfounded, coldly watching the players in blue jerseys on the pitch huddle together to celebrate. One of them—a guy with an unremarkable face who seemed average in his dribbling and passing—was somehow able to find opportunities in the penalty area, severely punishing Dortmund's defensive lapses.
The young substitute goalkeeper, 21‑year‑old Marcel Höttecke, had already fished the ball out of the net for the third time, his expression one of complete bewilderment.
The numbers on the scoreboard were cold and piercing: Borussia Dortmund 0–3 Hoffenheim.
Vedad Ibišević had contributed goals in the 9th, 25th, and 51st minutes, completing a hat‑trick. The match had already reached the 70th minute, and Klopp still hadn't made any substitutions. Jin Hayes had warmed up at least six times.
It was clear that the teammates on the pitch felt like a group without a leader; no one was stepping up to guide them. The current midfield core was Gündoğan, but Gündoğan was too young and sorely lacked match experience.
Facing a 3–0 deficit, he appeared very helpless.
"Coach?" While warming up, Jin Hayes deliberately passed by Klopp several times. Klopp was originally frowning as he seriously observed the match, and he was a bit annoyed by a figure repeatedly blocking his view. Taking a closer look, it turned out to be Jin Hayes… then it was fine.
"This brat."
"Give him 20 minutes. Since the medical team said there's no problem, let him play. Although we might not necessarily win, at least we can't surrender at home." His assistant, Željko Buvač, gave a serious suggestion.
"Mhm." Klopp nodded. He had to admit, he had still underestimated Hoffenheim.
On the other side, at the Hoffenheim bench, the refined manager Ralf Rangnick, wearing glasses and a trench coat, looked toward Klopp.
"Still not bringing out the ace?"
Rangnick had long since conducted a thorough study of Jin Hayes and had arranged tactics specifically targeting him. As a result, his punch had hit nothing but air; Jin Hayes hadn't even played, which left Rangnick feeling a bit lacking in achievement. The win was too easy.
The Bundesliga broadcast cameras were also locked onto Jin Hayes as he warmed up on the sideline.
The commentator, Mehmet Scholl, was feeling anxious on behalf of Borussia Dortmund.
"As a strong title contender this season, a team that maintained an eight-game winning streak across all competitions at the start of the season and defeated Bayern by a large margin—to be trailing by three goals against a newly promoted team is truly a bit much. Most of the starters didn't even make the matchday roster; perhaps only Jin Hayes on the bench can do something."
Inside the Westfalenstadion, seeing the team perform like this, the fans were very distressed. Everyone knew Klopp was rotating and giving squad players a chance, but no matter what, they didn't want the team to lose.
No one knew who started it, but soon the singing of 80,000 people in the stands gradually converged, echoing above the Westfalenstadion.
"He shines in Westfalen!"
"Under the Yellow and Black banner, you are crowned a god!"
"Every dribble is a Yellow and Black storm, your skill makes Germany fall!"
"He is the young magician, he is the saviour in the Yellow and Black light!"
"Trapping and turning like a tango, the nutmeg at the byline is a lethal weapon!"
"A tornado destroying the opponent's defence—"
"Jin Hayes! Jin Hayes—Westfalen crowns you!"
The Song of Jin Hayes.
On the pitch, Vedad Ibišević, who was focused on his positioning, suddenly heard the commotion from the stands. A chorus of tens of thousands of people was shocking enough even through a TV screen, let alone being there in person. Ibišević was so stunned that his teammate's pass slipped past his feet and went out of bounds.
"Sorry, sorry." He apologised repeatedly; he had truly been a bit shaken just now. It was hard to imagine a 16‑year‑old player could be so adored by the home fans. Even trailing 3–0, the fans could still expect him to come on and save the day.
"Is this guy really that special?"
Amidst the high expectations of the crowd, Jin Hayes put on the number 10 jersey and stood by the sideline. The applause and whistles of 80,000 people were deafening, like a hundred‑metre tidal wave crashing down. In fact, Dortmund made two substitutions at once—Jin Hayes and the youth academy talent Mario Götze came on at the same time—but the spotlight was entirely on Jin Hayes, and Götze beside him was also very envious.
"It's so nice. I want to have applause like that too."
"Mario, carrying these expectations is very heavy."
"Eh?"
"You must maintain your best form at all times, otherwise, it will come back to haunt you one day."
Mario Götze scratched his head, not particularly understanding Jin Hayes's words. Wasn't becoming a hero to the fans a great thing? How come it felt like Jin Hayes didn't enjoy the halo on him that much.
It wasn't until many years later that Götze suddenly recalled Jin Hayes's words: He who wears the crown must bear its weight. It was hard to imagine how much pressure and responsibility the 16‑year‑old Jin Hayes was carrying on his shoulders at that time.
…
"Hoffenheim have taken the initiative to adopt a defensive posture, hoping to use a compact defence to limit Jin Hayes. Trailing by three goals, time is running out for Borussia Dortmund."
After Jin Hayes came on, the entire Hoffenheim team showed great discipline, with everyone retreating to defend their own penalty area. Only the strike duo of Demba Ba and Ibišević were left up front to create threats, while everyone else's primary task was to limit Jin Hayes's performance.
Without Marco Reus, Jakub Błaszczykowski, and Alexander Frei to draw attention, Jin Hayes would likely find it hard to succeed alone.
Ralf Rangnick had seen it long ago. Jin Hayes's shooting was probably his biggest shortcoming. Even if he was first on the top scorers list, it was hard for him to score through conventional means; the goals he scored were all high‑difficulty worldies.
Hoffenheim could deliberately leave space for Jin Hayes to shoot. You can shoot as much as you want, pass as much as you want, as long as you don't dribble through the goal, anything goes. This made it very difficult for Jin Hayes to play.
"Jin! Over here!"
"Here! Pass!"
He had the ball in front of the arc, and his teammates were all raising their hands for it. But in their positions, they all had defensive players marking them; passing to them would hardly create a threat.
He didn't have space to break through either; all the Hoffenheim players were cooped up in the penalty area and wouldn't come out to press. The double pivots, Luiz Gustavo and Tobias Weis, kept their distance, constantly blocking the path in front of Jin Hayes, not giving him the chance to dribble past them.
"Jin Hayes, trying to break into the penalty area! Oh, there are too many people!" Surrounded by Hoffenheim players, no matter how delicate Jin Hayes's footwork was, he couldn't get in without space. He was truly surrounded, forced into a tight spot.
For an ordinary striker, they would have shot long ago with no one blocking them; Jin Hayes clearly had no one defending within two metres, a simple shooting opportunity. But he just couldn't take it.
"You guys are too ruthless, deliberately letting me shoot?" Standing at the edge of the box, Jin Hayes leisurely wound up his leg, almost wanting to just try a blind shot. The opponents didn't care at all, just forming a wall and letting Jin Hayes fire away. Fortunately, he held back; shooting would easily lead to losing possession.
Just then, footsteps rounded from behind him, and Jin Hayes instantly had an idea, suddenly cutting the ball to the left.
"Stop him!!" Gustavo, Weis, and centre‑back Marvin Compper were all on high alert, strictly following the coach's deployment, simultaneously blocking Jin Hayes's path. Shooting was okay, but advancing was not. Who knew what kind of tricks this guy could pull off at the byline.
"Jin Hayes! Still going deep! Dribbling toward the byline!" Seeing that the Hoffenheim players had already closed off all space at a tight angle, Jin Hayes had no chance left. But then, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, he unexpectedly flicked the ball with his heel.
"Oh no!!" It wasn't a heel flick to change direction, but a pass. In a position no one was watching, a flash of yellow burst out from among the blue.
Facing Jin Hayes's pass, the newcomer didn't make any adjustments and just struck it. The shot from the edge of the box formed a low‑driven strike, like an arrow from a bow, darting toward the bottom corner of the goal.
"This ball—Beautiful!!! The goal is in!! The 16‑year‑old Jin Hayes has connected with Mario Götze! Dortmund's substitution had an immediate effect, pulling one back within three minutes!"
Now it was the Hoffenheim manager Ralf Rangnick's turn to be dumbfounded. There's another talent?