Fox in the Penalty Area

Xie Lan was standing on the bus platform waiting for the bus. After moving to a new house, it was a little far away from her work unit.

However, Dongchuan, a small fourth-tier city, is only so big. Even if it is a little farther away, it is not far away. It used to take five stops by bus, but now it takes ten stops. How many.

Now that the Spring Festival is approaching, there are still many people and cars on the street.

Dongchuan is a small city, and it is next to Jincheng, the capital of Andong Province. Usually, many people work, go to school and live in Jincheng. They will return to their hometown during the long holidays such as the Spring Festival. So unlike Jincheng, which turns into a ghost town when the Spring Festival comes, Dongchuan has a lot more people and cars than usual when the Spring Festival comes.

In addition, Jincheng people are keen on self-driving tours around during the Spring Festival. Dongchuan, which usually does not have much traffic jams, is more prone to traffic jams during the Spring Festival.

In fact, this bus station is not the one closest to her home, but she still comes to this bus station every day to wait for the bus to go to work, so she has to walk nearly an extra kilometer.

Xie Lan is still happy.

Because there is no light box billboard on the platform of the bus stop near her home.

Just behind Xie Lan, in the advertising light box on the bus platform is a huge photo of Hu Lai.

This is an advertisement for a domestic energy drink he endorsed.

In the photo, Hu Lai is holding a drink bottle, smiling and reminding every tired commuter at every station: "Lack of energy? Drink a wrestler!"

At first, Xie Lan was quite surprised when she saw her son’s photo on the bus stop in her hometown. Her son told her that she had signed two endorsement contracts, but she didn’t expect to see his son’s endorsement advertisement on the bus stop in Dongchuan. .

This gave her a sense of intimacy, so she would rather walk an extra kilometer than come here and wait for the bus. Seeing this son's smiling face every day, it was like waiting for the bus with her. It doesn't matter how sleepy or tired you are.

In addition to the bus platform, she also saw her son's advertisement in the elevator room of the new elevator apartment.

There are also those buses that travel through every corner of the city. On the bus, you can see another brand advertisement endorsed by Hu Lai, which is the sub-brand of smart home appliances of the local home appliance brand in Andong Province.

At first, when Xie Lan saw these advertisements, she would take out her mobile phone to take pictures, and then looked at them carefully.

I don't know if it's because I miss my son too much, or because of the make-up artist and the photographer. She, Hu Lai's mother, actually thinks her son looks more handsome in the advertisement...

so strange,

But it does look better.

Later, when she found that her son's grinning face could be seen everywhere in the streets and alleys, she no longer took out her mobile phone to take pictures as before, as if she had never seen the world.

But she learned to hide in the crowd and eavesdrop on what passers-by had to say about her son.

It is true that some people think Hu Lai is handsome, which proves that it is not her illusion.

Some people also talked about the championship that Hu Lai brought to Anton Football, which also made Xie Lan, who was mixed in the crowd, happy. He felt happier than the unit that gave out double the bonus.

As usual, when Xie Lan was waiting for the bus, he would have pricked up his ears to listen to what the passengers were saying about his son. But Xie Lan wasn't in the mood today, she was wandering away while waiting for the car.

In the 22nd round of the Premier League five days ago, his son was not selected for the squad, so he sat on the sidelines.

She was unhappy at the time, and then gloated and waited to see Leeds lose, hoping to use the failure to let the manager know the importance of her son.

Her husband also criticized her idea of ​​harming others and not benefiting herself.

Xie Lan ignored it. She was not a Leeds City fan. She is a mother who unconditionally supports her son. What are you talking about?

In the end, Leeds City, who didn't take Hu Lai to the away game, didn't lose at all. Not only didn't they lose, they even won!

They beat Wiggerston 2:1 away.

That game kicked off at eleven o'clock in the evening Beijing time, and it was not even one o'clock after watching it. But Xie Lan didn't watch it—what's so good about a game without his own son?

She only knew that Leeds City had won the game when she woke up the next day and heard from her husband.

At that time, she almost didn't eat breakfast, and felt that the good mood of the day was gone.

Fortunately, in the 23rd round of the league yesterday, Leeds City finally lost when they returned home. They lost 1:3 at home to Liverpool United.

The kick-off time of this game was the same as the previous game, and Xie Lanshou watched the whole game in front of the TV, even though her son was still not included in the squad.

Throughout the live broadcast, she was cheering for Liverpool United in blue, causing her husband to roll his eyes.

Leeds City lost the game and accumulated 19 points, ranking 18th, third from the bottom, and still in the relegation zone. All the rankings that had been promoted after winning the last game fell back.

Making Tony Clark "outsmart Wiggerston" seems like a waste of time.

At the post-match press conference yesterday, a Chinese reporter asked Clark whether he would consider giving Hu Lai a chance when the team's performance did not improve.

Clark did not answer directly at the time, but said that he would make a decision based on Hu Lai's physical condition and the opinions of the coaching staff, but he also assured that Hu Lai would not be too far away from playing.

"Hu Lai has never played in the European league before, and each of us is helping him adapt to the rhythm of the Premier League as soon as possible."

It's not that Xie Lan didn't ask her son on WeChat what was going on. Didn't it mean that the coach appreciated him so much, why did he hide it for Xue after he went there? It's been twenty days since he joined the team, and he hasn't played even a minute.

What is this called?

But Hu Lai answered every time: "The coach has the final say", "I listen to the coach", "Mom, don't worry", "Step by step, lay a solid foundation"...

Then her husband is still on Hu Lai's side, thinking that he should be patient in the early stage, do what he should do well, and let the opportunity to appear on the stage go with the flow. All right?

Xie Lan took out his mobile phone and opened the "Goal" website app. The next league round of Leeds City kicked off at 8:30 p.m. on January 29th, which was the earliest game to kick off.

And that day is the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, the Spring Festival.

※※※

"Here, here! Pass the ball!" Hu Lai ran to the space and raised his arms to shout for the ball.

The full-back Farreck Quinn, who shrunk to defend in the penalty area, ran away.

The moment Hu Lai stopped the ball with his chest, his shoulders shrugged and he pushed it up.

Tony Clark, who saw this scene off the court, stared.

The moment he cared about the most came.

Hu Lai, who was jumping in the air to stop the ball, had no way to rely on it. He was hit by Quinn and fell forward, as if he was about to fall to the ground, and the ball stopped a little bigger.

But then I saw Hu Lai's left leg take a step forward, firmly planted on the turf, his thigh muscles bulged, and the sharp lines stood out one by one, helping him stabilize his figure, even if it was only temporarily , is enough.

Because immediately after, he swung his right leg and pumped the football that had just fallen from the air towards the goal in an awkward posture!

Boom!

The football flew into the goal before van der Ven pounced!

"Oh! Beautiful!!" Hu Lai's teammates cheered on the training ground.

Hou Lai turned and spread his hands to Quinn, made a face, and then ran to find Charlie Potter who passed him the ball.

Although Porter is a bit ugly, as a right midfielder, he doesn't play ugly. The kick just now accurately found Hu Lai who was running to the back point.

"Aha, Hu! I thought you were going to waste the wonderful pass I gave you just now!"

Charlie Potter is not very good looking, but his personality is not affected by his appearance at all, he is very cheerful and lively. After spending twenty days with him, Hu Lai discovered that this kid was the favorite of the team...

Everyone liked to joke around with Potter, and Potter didn't mind.

Uncle Yong once said that Lorraine Peretz, who was sold by the club as soon as the winter transfer window opened, is popular in the team, but obviously Porter's popularity is obviously better.

Thanks to him, Hu Lai integrated into this group faster than both he and Uncle Yong expected.

※※※

Off the court, Tony Clark and strength and conditioning coach Anthony Clement raised their arms and high-fived each other.

This is his thanks to Clement for his work.

For the ball just now, Hu Lai supported himself without falling when his body was almost out of balance, and he also completed a high-quality shot. His waist and abdominal muscles and thigh muscles played a crucial role in this. role.

You must know that when Hu Lai shot, his upper body was still leaning forward, and his whole body seemed to be folded. This is not a standard shooting action at all. His body couldn't open, and he couldn't exert his strength well, but Hu Lai still hit the ball in such a situation.

Although there is credit for his own shooting ability, the importance of core strength is self-evident.

"Honestly, Tony, I was a little surprised myself." Clement shook his head and said after high-five. "In twenty days, he improved so fast, I have never seen another person in my career..."

Tony Clark was not surprised at all. He smiled and said, "Otherwise, why can he change from a middle school student who can't play football to a Premier League player in only five years?"

"Even if I saw it with my own eyes, I still feel incredible. He has gained three kilograms now and weighs 70 kilograms, which has greatly helped his strength."

"Anthony, do you think the current Hu, can he withstand the collision of the Sydenham defenders?"

Clement did not give a positive answer, but said: "Although Quinn played as a full-back, he has the stature of a central defender."

Hearing him say that, Clark laughed.

Regarding Quinn always making trouble for Hu Lai during training, he, as the head coach, not only knows but also why Quinn does this. But he didn't mean to intervene at all, but let the two people confront each other with a little bit of gunpowder in the training.

He felt that this was exactly the training effect he wanted, and Quinn's hostility towards Hu Lai could instead allow him to fully experience what it would be like to be in an actual confrontation in the game.

And what Quinn did wasn't too much, it was just that he worked harder in the confrontation training.

So Clark is happy to see it happen.

This level of competition is allowed, even encouraged, by the team.

Besides, if you can't even stand the confrontation in training, why play?

No matter how much he admired Hu Lai, he wouldn't say that he would hold Hu Lai in his mouth and fear that he would lose it. It was precisely because of his appreciation of Hu Lai that he had to undergo a more severe test.

After all, everyone now felt that his wealth and life were tied to Hu Lai, so how could he give his professional life to a softie?

※※※

After training, Tony Clark came down from the training ground and when he returned to his office, he met Harry Bradley, the club's commercial director, at the door. He looked anxiously waiting for someone.

Seeing Clark coming, he took the initiative to meet him: "Tony, is Hu ready?"

"What's the matter, Mr. Bradley?" Clark asked very politely.

"It's been almost a month since Hu joined the team, but he hasn't even made the roster... Don't you know? The Chinese fans are going to rebel... But that's not important. A Chinese company, they also hope to see Hu play as soon as possible."

"Is it the company that plans to put their brand logo on the stadium roof?"

"That's right. You know, it's about how much they're willing to pay in the end..." Bradley explained. "And I checked, Tony. The day we play Sydenham at home in the next round of the league, it happens to be the Chinese Lunar New Year. The Chinese people care about this festival very much. If Hu Lai can play at that time, the effect will definitely explode It's..."

Speaking of this, Bradley saw Clark frowning, and quickly realized something, and explained: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interfere with your employer, Tony. I just made a suggestion. I think the effect of letting him play at that time It would be better...Of course, in the end it is up to you to make the decision."

Clark was silent for a while, and while he was silent, Bradley kept looking at him, worried and afraid to speak, as if hesitating to speak.

After silence, Clark sighed: "Mr. Bradley, thank you for your understanding. But I did intend to let him play in the next round of the league. It's just that you say it now, it seems like Hu's appearance It's not my decision, it's the club's decision."

"No, no, no, no. You decide, you decide." Bradley waved his hand quickly.

"I can't promise you anything now, Mr. Bradley. All I can say is that I can put him on the roster, but how he will play in the end depends on the specific game situation at that time."

"Of course, it's reasonable." Bradley finally got the answer he wanted, and a smile appeared on his face while taking a long breath.

Clark also smiled and said: "Please rest assured Mr. Bradley, I am with the club. You need money from Chinese companies, I can understand. I don't know much about business operations, but I know , if Hu's performance in the team is getting better and better, you may regret the price you negotiated now..."

Bradley understood Clark's words, and he also smiled: "That's okay, Tony. Our stadium and the roof of the stands on three sides are bare... As long as the Chinese pay enough money, we don't even have the right to name the stadium." It can be sold! In addition, the naming rights of the training base can also be sold, as well as the naming rights of the main building, the naming rights of the podium...and many other things, and we can also carry out a number of in-depth cooperation with Chinese companies. This is not a problem."

Clark shook his head, he really didn't understand this. Just thinking about the future that Bradley paints...he doesn't know if it's good or bad.

Will the Flanders Stadium be renamed after a certain Chinese company?

Then he hopes to call it "Red Pepper Stadium". At least the food in this Chinese restaurant is really good...