Ralf Rangnick could be considered a typical 'academic' coach in Germany. He is very good at formulating tactical details, analysing opponents, and using different strategies.
Generally, a head coach would find it difficult to let their team deliberately leave the space in front of the penalty area open for the opponent to shoot. This was clearly like handing a knife to the opponent and letting them stab at will.
But Jin Hayes was different. Jin Hayes's scoring efficiency from conventional distances using conventional methods was essentially zero. Rangnick did the opposite; the defenders only intercepted and did not press hard.
As long as Jin Hayes was prevented from getting close to the goal, there was no threat. His teammates were all rotation players, making it difficult to produce high‑quality shots against a dense defence. In theory, it did seem that way.
But Rangnick underestimated Borussia Dortmund's substitute lineup. When Jin Hayes deliberately dribbled diagonally to attract attention, Mario Götze had already made a coordinated cross‑run behind him.
No one was marking him when he shot; he could completely aim at the goal and take a strike calmly. Coupled with Jin Hayes's backheel pass, which looked exactly like a move to beat a player or change direction, it was quite deceptive.
The Hoffenheim players watched helplessly as Jin Hayes produced a wonderful backheel pass. Götze's low drive easily found the back of the net. An undefended Hoffenheim looked a bit foolish in the face of this goal.
"Beautiful!! Mario!"
"It was your pass that was good!"
Mario Götze was extremely excited. He scored in his very first substitute appearance in the league. So much so that he hadn't even planned a celebration; he just went to the South Stand for a knee slide.
They say Jin Hayes is good at creating chances. Only when Götze received the ball himself could he realise how easy it was to finish.
"Again! We're still behind!"
"Okay!!"
It felt great to fight side by side with his idol. Götze became more and more excited as the match went on.
"Mario Götze!! A sharp breakthrough on the left! A shot—oh, very threatening!"
"İlkay Gündoğan, Jin—taking the ball in the middle, flicking it with his toe, beautiful!! Toyed with Luiz Gustavo! A through ball to the left!"
"Götze takes the ball and beats Andreas Beck, nice ball!! He's in! A cutback to Jin Hayes!"
"Jin, gives it to the right again—completely open!!"
"Oh!! Tamás Hajnal's shot went high!! Wasted Jin's excellent pass!"
The chemistry between Jin Hayes and Götze on the left grew stronger; after coming on as substitutes, they completely tore through Hoffenheim's defensive setup. Substitute right‑winger Hajnal's unmarked shot almost helped Borussia Dortmund equalise. The Hungarian veteran was extremely frustrated. Jin Hayes had to step forward to comfort his teammate.
"It's okay, let's go again."
"Sorry, Jin, your pass was great." Hajnal was a substitute after all, and his coordination with Jin Hayes wasn't seamless enough. Jin Hayes's incisive pass in front of the box was too sudden; it not only fooled the opponents but almost fooled his own teammate as well.
Since the right side couldn't be relied upon, Jin Hayes could only coordinate more with Götze. There were still about five minutes left; two goals were still possible.
"Mario!" Jin Hayes quickly called Götze over and gave him some simple instructions. Götze was a bit lacking in confidence.
"Huh? Me?"
"Of course! Be confident, you're very strong!" Jin Hayes clenched his fist to cheer Götze on. Even though he was three days younger than Götze, Jin Hayes felt like a veteran who had fought for many years.
"Okay, I'll try."
Seeing that there was little time left and Hoffenheim was marking him frantically, Jin Hayes decided to play the supporting role and let Götze be the saviour. Rather than believing in the ethereal Causality Shot Enhancement, it was more direct to trust his teammate. Anyone could be a hero.
All Jin Hayes wanted was to win. At least don't drop points at home.
"Including injury time, there are five minutes left. Hoffenheim have already replaced Demba Ba with Swedish defender Per Nilsson, completely setting up a 'park the bus' formation!"
Mehmet Scholl didn't even know how Hoffenheim could lose. Rangnick had switched to a pure defensive system of five defenders and three defensive midfielders. There were even more people in the penalty area than before.
The prerequisite for Jin Hayes to dribble through the whole field was to have space for a breakthrough. Most of his solo goals occurred during counter‑attacks. In a pure positional battle, with bodies crammed into the six‑yard box, they didn't chase the ball or intercept shots—no matter how good the skill, there was no room to break through.
This was simply the strangest match Scholl had ever seen. Rangnick was a crazy gambler; he was betting that except for Jin Hayes, no one else in Borussia Dortmund had the ability to score.
Jin Hayes was also gambling. He was betting that Götze could score.
"İlkay!!"
Borussia Dortmund formed a siege in the attacking half, with Gündoğan passing the ball around on the outside. The dense crowd gave him a headache. Jin Hayes's continuous sudden stops and starts finally managed to shake off Gustavo by a body length. Gündoğan quickly passed to Jin Hayes.
In front of the box, the moment Jin Hayes received the ball, Gustavo stuck to him again like chewing gum. No matter how Jin Hayes feinted with his shoulders, Gustavo remained cautiously unmoved, maintaining a distance of about two metres and blocking the inside lane.
In that case—
Jin Hayes didn't hold back, suddenly exploding with a burst of speed and frantically knocking the ball ahead in front of the box.
"Is he crazy?" Gustavo was stunned. By knocking the ball so far ahead in front of the box, even if he shook him off, the ball would be out of control. Sure enough, Jin Hayes's dribble left his feet, and defender Marvin Compper stepped forward, preparing for a big clearance.
Just at the edge of the penalty area line, as the clearance was about to be successful, Jin Hayes suddenly accelerated, took a diagonal step ahead of time, and used his right foot to pull the ball back at the limit.
"This ball!! Jin!! He saved it!" What was thought to be Jin Hayes's mistake turned out to be within his plan. He deliberately showed a flaw to lure Compper into a clearance. Jin Hayes then used a Marseille Turn to beat the defender and squeeze into the penalty area.
"Charge! Charge! Charge—"
A unified slogan echoed through the Westfalenstadion. Every time Jin Hayes dribbled the ball to launch an attack, the home fans would coordinate with him. It was as if they added a layer of energy to his every move.
The sudden turn of events disrupted Hoffenheim's deployment. Per Nilsson and Mathias Jaissle, the two center‑backs, both stepped forward to intercept Jin Hayes. Tobias Weis and Luiz Gustavo were also desperately tracking back. Jin Hayes had almost no space to maneuver inside the penalty area. Even if it were Lionel Messi, there would be no possibility of handling the ball here.
Yet everyone watched dumbfounded as Jin Hayes, amidst the encirclement of four players, used extreme ball control to dodge within a tiny space of one square metre, not losing the ball for a full two seconds.
"How is that possible?"
Jin Hayes pulled the ball with his left foot to avoid a challenge, leaned his body against Nilsson, and blocked Jaissle with his left arm. He braced himself against the first wave of impact from the two centre‑backs.
Before Gustavo could snatch the ball, he used an extreme toe flick followed by an aerial elastico to bypass the Brazilian. Unexpectedly finding a gap, he turned his back to the goal and took a step with the ball, keeping the four defenders behind him and gradually luring them toward the edge of the penalty area.
The only advantage was that none of them dared to foul and give away a penalty, which gave Jin Hayes enough room to operate. Seeing more players join in, forming an unbelievable six‑man encirclement, Jin Hayes pulled the ball with his left foot to dodge, and the moment he flicked the ball up, he suddenly flicked it backward.
"What?!" A lob over the top? Jin Hayes's flick was almost without warning; the Hoffenheim players couldn't react in time. When they turned their heads, they found to their despair that a small figure in a yellow jersey had controlled the ball with his chest. At the edge of the six‑yard box, he fired a direct volley.
"Götze—my god! He scored again!! The 16‑year‑old youth academy player Mario Götze has completed a brace on his Bundesliga debut! Jin Hayes attracted everyone's attention; no one saw him making the run from behind! The chemistry between the two is simply seamless! Jin Hayes almost delivered the ball right into his mouth twice! Borussia Dortmund pull another one back!"
2–3. Time had already reached injury time. There was still hope.
"Yes!! Yes!!!" Jürgen Klopp couldn't hide his excitement and thrill. He had thought they would suffer a major defeat and had even prepared a draft of his apology for the press conference. Who would have thought that in despair, there would still be a glimmer of hope?
"It's not over yet!! One more goal!!" Jin Hayes didn't celebrate immediately; he turned and rushed into the goal to retrieve the ball.
As long as the score was behind, his active efforts to save time could be seen; similar scenes had appeared countless times. Mario Götze, influenced by him, didn't dare to celebrate too much either and quickly ran back to the centre circle with Jin Hayes.
"One more goal!!"
The morale of the entire Borussia Dortmund team soared; everyone's eyes were red with determination. On the contrary, the previously high‑spirited Hoffenheim had now become a bit timid.
Jin Hayes had just drawn six defenders at the edge of the box, held on for at least four seconds without being dispossessed, and instead created a wonderful assist. This brought a massive shock to the souls of the Hoffenheim players.
It's not scientific! How can someone be like this?
...
After the restart, Hoffenheim clearly hadn't recovered yet. Everyone played very cautiously, trying to stabilise the rhythm and stall through injury time as much as possible. Once momentum is lost, it's very hard to regain. In contrast, Borussia Dortmund launched a high press, forcing Hoffenheim into a hurried clearance.
"In the final minute, Borussia Dortmund's frantic pressure!! Hoffenheim can only hoof the ball to the midfield! It's Jin Hayes again!! He's competing for a header in the backfield! He won it!! He jumped very high! He is simply everywhere!"
Using his enhanced physical ability to win the header, Jin Hayes immediately sprinted to the final third after landing. İlkay Gündoğan took the ball and sent a through ball. It was just the right amount of lead, allowing Jin Hayes to accelerate and shake off Gustavo.
"Good chance!" The defensive formation had been stretched, and there was enough space ahead. The Hoffenheim players were already panicking; they followed the coach's deployment and focused on contracting toward the middle. However, Jin Hayes unexpectedly didn't dribble to break through. He took two steps with the ball and decisively sent a through ball to the left.
"Jin, gives it to Götze!! A beautiful play!" At a moment that could make him a hero, Jin Hayes actually didn't hog the ball. If it were last season, he would have definitely put his head down and dribbled mindlessly. Hoffenheim was clearly dazed.
Götze accelerated on the wing, driving straight in, easily cutting inside to beat Andreas Beck and entering the penalty area.
"Mario Götze!! A nimble breakthrough! Borussia Dortmund actually has another talented player!" Mehmet Scholl watched as the 16‑year‑old Götze successively shook off the full‑back and then beat centre‑back Marvin Compper, already having an angle to shoot. Hoffenheim swarmed toward Götze again to stop him from shooting. But in the crowd, Götze unexpectedly sent a timely cutback pass.
The real genius, Jin Hayes, received the ball at the edge of the penalty area, facing the goal. Centre‑backs Nilsson and Jaissle were in total disarray, lunging in with sliding tackles from both sides. Even if they gave away a penalty, they had to stop Jin Hayes from beating them.
Jin Hayes, however, predicted their sliding tackles, clamped the ball with both feet, and lightly jumped to avoid them both.
"Rainbow Flick!! He jumped over!!" Jin Hayes chose the flashiest way, still daring to perform such a move under immense pressure. The rainbow flick bypassed the two centre‑backs, putting him face‑to‑face with the goalkeeper.
The 25‑year‑old young goalkeeper Daniel Haas still kept his cool when facing Jin Hayes, focusing intently on the ball. Everyone knew that when Jin Hayes was face‑to‑face with the keeper, he would surely try to beat him and score into an empty net. He immediately rushed out of the goal, diving toward Jin Hayes and accurately predicting Jin Hayes's move to change direction to the right. He blocked the ball with both hands.
Just half a second before his gloves touched the ball, Daniel Haas's heart skipped a beat. He saw Jin Hayes's ankle flick lightly. This guy actually passed.
The ball carved a delicate arc, falling from the right side of the goal to the left. At the far post, a figure appeared that made people despair.
"Mario Götze!!! A completely empty net!!! Goal!! A last‑second equaliser in stoppage time! A miracle at Westfalen has occurred!"
Jin Hayes's chip was perfect; Götze only needed a light header in front of the goal, even easier than on the training ground. The moment the goal went in, the pressure in the Westfalenstadion stands completely exploded.
The boys on the pitch, they did it.
In the absence of Marco Reus, Jakub Błaszczykowski, Nuri Şahin, and other key players, Jin Hayes still led the two youngsters Gündoğan and Götze, along with many substitutes from the reserve team, to successfully defend their home ground. Defending their unbeaten record for the new season.
Years later, Mario Götze experienced highs and lows. In his most frustrated and darkest moments, he would still think of that night at Westfalen, of his debut hat‑trick, and that night of the frantic last‑second equaliser.
Is there a God in this world? Götze's answer was yes. God is not in heaven, not in the Vatican, but at Westfalen, wearing the yellow and black number 10 jersey.