"Westfalen King Dominates the Match! Teen Sensation Shines in Bundesliga with Three Assists and a Goal!"
"Ruhr Derby Goal Fest: Jin Leads Dortmund to Rout Schalke 04!"
"5-2! Another Statement Victory for Borussia Dortmund!"
"Does the Coaching Staff Still Have Questions? Jin Proves His Worth with a Masterclass!"
The Ruhr Derby, a match that had captured the attention of German football, was over.
Jin Hayes's first Bundesliga start had once again stunned the country.
Whether it was his 1v3 dribble down the wing to cut back an assist, or that absurd, acrobatic piece of skill outside the box to evade Fabian Ernst before chipping in an inexplicable lob…
Jin Hayes had proven he belonged in this league. More than that, he had demonstrated exactly what he meant to this Borussia Dortmund team.
Borussia Dortmund legend Lothar Matthäus, one of the famous "Three Musketeers," updated his column once again.
He heaped more praise on the fifteen-year-old.
"Why were Borussia Dortmund's matches so difficult to watch for a stretch? Why did the team suffer three consecutive defeats after an unbeaten run and the winter break?"
"The answer lies in the mediocrity of the head coach!"
Matthäus launched a direct attack on Thomas Doll.
It was worth noting that Thomas Doll had been a young player in the German national setup after 1991, briefly a teammate of Matthäus. The two had shared a dressing room.
But that history didn't soften Matthäus's words. If anything, it made him blunter.
"As a player, Thomas was simple, resilient, hard-working. He embodied the traditional German footballing spirit."
"Unfortunately, as a head coach, he's brought those same limited qualities to the touchline."
"If all we need is someone to fill out a teamsheet with basic formations, why do we need a coach at all?"
"Every professional player knows the fundamentals of positioning. They could pick the eleven themselves."
"A coach's job is daily training and tactical strategy. It's about having a philosophy, a system."
"And it's increasingly obvious that Thomas Doll has no system of his own. The successful relegation-avoiding tactics from last season? Those came from Jürgen Röber, the previous coach. You could even trace them back to Van Marwijk before him."
"Has Borussia Dortmund's style of play evolved at all in recent years?"
"It's the same wine in a new bottle. Same problems, different season."
"Dortmund fans know this better than anyone. They've lived through it."
"Every loss is the same—frustrating, disjointed. They get outplayed, out-thought, and outfought."
"And the wins? They're just as confusing. No one can explain how they happened. They rely entirely on individual moments of brilliance."
"Alexander Frei, the Swiss international, has bailed them out more times than anyone can count. But you cannot ask a veteran to produce miracles every single week."
"CEO Watzke's best piece of business this season was loaning Jin Hayes from Arsenal. That's the simple truth."
"This kid has almost single-handedly revitalised their right flank. His imagination, his willingness to take players on, his ability to create something from nothing—it's transformed them."
"The evidence is clear. When he plays, they were unbeaten in seven. When he doesn't, they lose three on the trot."
"Jin was playing so well before the winter break. Why was he dropped?"
"Tinga? Blaszczykowski? Federico in the attacking midfield role? Can they do what Jin does? No. They don't have that quality. They're not at the level required for a club with Dortmund's ambitions."
"But the stubborn, the conservative, the inflexible Thomas Doll insisted on proving a point. And all he's proven is that his stubbornness costs points."
"Thomas is wrong. Jin is right."
"Look at the shirt sales. Jin's number 24 jersey is selling over 1,500 units a day. In two months, it's become the most popular shirt in the club shop, far outselling every other player."
"Fans aren't stupid. They know who makes the team win."
"I hope CEO Watzke is paying attention."
Matthäus, as one of the most respected figures in German football, didn't write such a strongly worded column without reason. The fuse had been lit at the post-match press conference.
Borussia Dortmund had won the Ruhr Derby 5-2. The press conference began cordially enough.
Thomas Doll and captain Kehl sat smiling, answering questions about the match.
Until a reporter from the Münchner Abendzeitung asked a rather pointed question.
"Herr Doll, you omitted Jin Hayes from the starting lineup during the three consecutive losses. Now, in his first start, he wins Man of the Match and leads the team to victory in a derby. Does this suggest your previous tactical decisions were… misguided?"
Thomas Doll's smile vanished. His face darkened.
"My tactical approach was not misguided. The three losses weren't because a particular player was absent. They were because the team failed to develop sufficient cohesion, failed to implement my tactical instructions."
He was trying to remain composed, to explain calmly.
The reporter pressed further.
"Then, Herr Doll, how do you evaluate Jin Hayes's performance today? And will he be given a more prominent role going forward?"
Doll's expression hardened.
"Jin is certainly energetic on the ball. He causes problems for the opposition. That's clear."
"But the victory belongs to the entire squad. It cannot be attributed to one individual."
"Moving forward, the coaching staff will select the lineup based on training performance. Anyone can start. Anyone can be substituted."
The assembled reporters exchanged glances.
What tactical superiority had Dortmund displayed today?
Their usual short-passing, possession-based approach had been completely ineffective against Schalke's relentless pressing.
Anyone with eyes could see that this victory had been built on Jin Hayes's individual brilliance.
If an ordinary player had been out there, Dortmund would most likely have been overrun. They would have lost the derby at home to their fiercest rivals.
This was a textbook example of individual inspiration winning a game.
Any football person could see it.
The head coach couldn't?
Or wouldn't?
The reporters looked at each other, and the following days saw Thomas Doll's comments splashed across the back pages, his words twisted and exaggerated.
Some Dortmund fans had, until recently, held a degree of gratitude towards Thomas Doll. He'd worked hard to keep them up last season. Even without silverware, he'd put in the effort.
Now, it seemed increasingly obvious that Thomas Doll was holding them back.
The team had momentum. With the right guidance, they could be challenging for European places.
Instead, Thomas Doll had dragged them towards the relegation scrapheap.
The "conservatives" in the squad—players like Brazilian midfielder Tinga—looked disinterested, going through the motions.
Only the young players—Nuri Şahin, Mats Hummels, Jin Hayes—still seemed to care about winning.
What was the coaching staff thinking?
And so, Matthäus's column landed like a bombshell, firing on all cylinders.
...
The media frenzy surrounding the coaching staff continued to rage.
But the storm passed Jin Hayes by. He remained immersed in his routine: train diligently in the mornings, attend classes at school in the afternoons.
The only change was this:
Anna, who used to deliberately avoid leaving school at the same time as him,
Now found reasons to wait.
Sometimes after class, Jin Hayes liked to join the boys from his year for casual matches, soaking in the cheers and admiration of his schoolmates.
His footwork—the same skills that tormented professional defenders in the Bundesliga—made him an absolute deity on the school pitch.
The Scholl-Geschwister Comprehensive School had actually introduced a new rule. Specifically for Jin Hayes.
"No class is permitted to invite Jin Hayes to join their team."
To prevent any misunderstanding, the principal had personally called Jin Hayes into his office and politely explained the reasoning.
It wasn't that they had any issue with him. Quite the opposite. They were worried his presence would completely destroy the competitive balance of school matches.
Whenever Jin Hayes stepped onto the pitch, the other team simply had no chance.
Watching the seventy-year-old principal fussing around, making tea with his own hands and speaking to him like he was a visiting dignitary, Jin Hayes felt thoroughly bewildered.
What was happening here? Was he the principal, or was Jin Hayes?
Wilhelm Scholl, principal of the Scholl-Geschwister Comprehensive School, was a refined, silver-haired gentleman with a strong artistic temperament.
He was also, as it happened, a lifelong Borussia Dortmund fan.
Once the official matter was settled, he kept Jin Hayes chatting, eager to discuss Bundesliga gossip and Dortmund's prospects.
"Jin, I do hope the head coach gives you more playing time. Every time you're on the pitch, we fans feel safe. When you're not out there, even if we're winning, there's always that knot in the stomach."
"I'll do my best to perform," Jin Hayes replied, slightly nonplussed.
What else could he say? He was just a player.
That bet he'd made with Thomas Doll in the car park—that had been pure impulse, a moment of frustration.
The head coach hadn't mentioned it since. Perhaps he'd forgotten. Or perhaps he was pretending to.
In training matches over the past few days, Jin Hayes still wore the yellow bib of the substitute team. Nothing had changed.
It didn't really matter.
His loan contract appearance clauses had already been triggered. Eight league appearances, two cup ties.
During the team's three-match losing streak, Jin Hayes had featured in the third round of the DFB-Pokal, helping Dortmund edge past Alemannia Aachen 2-1 to reach the quarter-finals.
That made ten appearances in total. The minimum requirement from Arsenal was satisfied.
Even if Borussia Dortmund never gave him another minute this season, there would be no breach of contract.
If the club didn't value him, fine. He'd go back to Arsenal next season and see what happened.
The only thing that would sadden him was leaving the Dortmund fans behind.
People like Principal Scholl. The Heinrich family. The neighbours on his street who always greeted him with warm smiles.
Every time Jin Hayes walked through the neighbourhood, he was met with waves and hellos.
He had become, quite clearly, a favourite son of this city.
He didn't know if he'd start the next match.
Until the day before the home game against Hertha Berlin, the coaching staff circulated the internal team sheet.
And there it was.
Jin Hayes's name. In the starting eleven.
Two consecutive starts.