Chapter 640: Leaving Customs
Hulay took off his shirt and stood in front of team doctor Tom Middle, with his upper body naked, and then turned his back to him.
Middle then used three fingers to pinch the skin fold under his shoulder blades, pinched it with an instrument that looked like pliers, and then wrote the reading on the side with a pen. Repeat the test again. After three tests, take a middle value.
After taking the skinfold measurement, Hu Lai turned around and asked Middle, "How much, Mr. Middle?"
"6.8. There is progress, Hu, but we have to keep working hard." Dr. Middle answered Hu Lai while filling in the middle value into the table on the computer.
This table records Hu Lai's skinfold thickness when he just joined the team, which is 5.1. In one month, his skinfold thickness increased to 6.8. It was not just a simple improvement, but a great improvement.
Skinfold thickness measurement is an important indicator for inferring body fat content and judging the development of subcutaneous fat. In football events, it is used to detect player body fat content.
What is pinched up with fingers is the fat with the belt, and then the thickness is measured to draw a conclusion on the amount of subcutaneous fat of the player.
Generally speaking, for professional players, the skinfold thickness is between 7 and 12. If it is less than 7, it is considered to be emaciated, and if it is greater than 12, it is considered to be high body fat and needs to be reduced.
Although Hu Lai is not yet at the average level of a professional player, he is already very close to that threshold. Therefore, the team medical team’s advice to head coach Tony Clark is that Hu Lai’s physical condition is good enough to play, and he will not be injured if he collides with the opponent on the field. Generally speaking, if the skinfold thickness data is lower than 5, it is considered Has a high chance of injury.
Of course, until Hu Lai's physical condition fully meets the requirements, I am afraid that Hu Lai may not be able to play in the past few months.
At that time, the player Leeds City spent 12 million pounds to buy, when the team needed the most fighting strength to avoid relegation, was unable to appear because he failed the skinfold thickness test. Don't say that Nevin Ball doesn't agree, and Tony Clark doesn't agree either.
Hearing what the team doctor said, Hu Lai happily put on his clothes and walked out of the team doctor's office, and then met Charlie Potter who was waiting for him outside: "How are you, Hu?"
"Mr. Middle said I have made great progress."
Porter said with emotion: "Even if I don't look at the results of your skinfold test, I know that you have made great progress. To be honest, you said before that you went from a football layman to a Premier League player in just five years, and I did the same. I didn’t believe it…but now I believe it!”
Vieira next to him also nodded and said in Spanish: "I believe it too. Your progress is like getting on a supercar."
Then Porter put his arm around Hu Lai's shoulders and squeezed hard: "Congratulations, Hu. You can be selected for the squad!"
Before each game, Leeds City players will come to team doctor Middle to undergo a skinfold test at the request of head coach Tony Clark to see how their physical condition has changed during this period.
If someone's skinfold test results are not satisfactory, it will be difficult for him to get a chance to be included in the game squad.
Porter didn't know that Hulay had been on the roster a long time ago. Clark asked Hulay to keep it a secret from other players, so Hulay didn't mention a word - he was not only keeping it a secret from his teammates, but actually only from himself. Agents Yong Jun and Li Qingqing talked about this.
He didn't say anything in the Friends group.
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After the training, Tony Clark stood in front of all the players with a hard board. Everyone knew that the 18-man roster for tomorrow's league was going to be announced.
"My name is called, participate in tomorrow's game." Clark glanced at the players, lowered his head and began to read the names.
"Mikael van der Veen, Falek Quinn, Luke Davies..."
Some of the people whose names he read out looked happy, while others looked calm.
It was not until the end that Tony Clark reported Hu Lai's name: "Hu Lai."
Someone among the teammates whistled: "Congratulations, Hu!"
Hu Lai quickly handed over to everyone: "Thank you, thank you!"
In fact, everyone was a little surprised that Hu Lai entered the competition list so late. After all, as the most valuable Leeds City player in the winter transfer window, it was really unexpected that he only entered the match squad a month after arriving. Everyone originally thought that Hulay would be included in the squad in the round of league after the FA Cup match.
After all, everyone knows that he is deeply loved and trusted by head coach Tony Clark.
As a result, everyone once again experienced the strict requirements of the head coach in Hu Lai - even if he named the players to come, he would let Hu Lai practice in training for a month before making the roster.
As for Hu Lai himself, facing such treatment, he did not complain or be frustrated, but came to train every day with a positive attitude. Everyone saw this and had a much better impression of this new player.
If Hu Lai enjoys privileges just because he is the coach's favorite, many people will look down on him in their hearts without saying anything.
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The eighteen players who were selected for the game squad lived in the dormitory building of the training base directly after the training. Unlike the bunk beds where they took a nap, this time they lived in a special dormitory. Two people per room, in the podium next to the main building.
Because of the special nature of Leeds City's training base and home court, the club is able to save hotel and transportation costs for home games.
Those players who did not need to participate in tomorrow's game showered and changed in the locker room and then left.
Hu Lai went to the restaurant for dinner with the other seventeen teammates who were going to participate in the game.
There he discovered something strange.
The first is Ms. Mia Schmidt, the nutritionist who always appears in the restaurant during the players’ meal time. She wore a bright red suit today, and she looked particularly festive with her slightly chubby figure.
In addition, there were some staff from Leeds City TV, the official media of the Leeds City Club. They carried cameras. Apparently they had been waiting for a long time. When they saw Hulay entering the restaurant, they pointed the camera lens at him.
Leeds City TV often appears on the sidelines of the training ground to film the players' training highlights. Hu Lai is accustomed to their presence, and he doesn't pay special attention to the fact that the camera lens is pointed at him. He focuses on the windows of the restaurant. .
Compared with lunch, there are more red window grilles on the restaurant windows in the evening.
In the Leeds City TV footage, Ms. Schmidt served Hu Lai his dinner next to him: "Happy Chinese New Year, Hu!"
Hu Lai looked down at the dumplings on the plate and asked curiously: "Thank you, Ms. Schmidt, are these dumplings stuffed with chicken breast?"
Ms. Schmidt frowned slightly: "Are there any dumplings stuffed with chicken breast? No, these are stuffed with beef."
"Wow, are these dumplings? Do we have any, Ms. Schmidt?" The other Leeds City players who followed Hu Lai in saw their eyes widened when they saw what Hu Lai had on his plate, and they were very envious.
"Of course. Today is the Chinese New Year. The team restaurant has specially prepared beef dumplings for everyone." Ms. Schmidt pointed to the dining table. There was a stainless steel vat on it, with dense dumplings floating in the soup. .
They are real Chinese dumplings, with white skin and large fillings, tumbling in the soup.
"I had it at Red Hot Chili Peppers, and it was delicious..." Charlie Potter boasted.
Ms. Schmidt next to her put her hands on her hips and asked: "Charlie, when did you sneak away to eat Chinese food?"
"Uh..." Potter didn't expect that he would be exposed by bragging.
Seeing his embarrassment, the restaurant burst into joyful laughter.
It’s really a bit of a New Year’s atmosphere.
After dinner, the club also prepared some activities specifically for the Chinese New Year. For example, they took turns sitting in front of Leeds City TV cameras, speaking the Chinese they had just temporarily learned from Hu Lai, and sending gifts to Chinese fans thousands of miles away. Holiday greetings.
As China's influence becomes stronger and stronger, China's traditional festival Spring Festival has naturally gained a certain status around the world. Especially in European football, many wealthy teams will launch similar small activities during the Spring Festival to please Chinese fans for the Chinese market.
However, in the past, this kind of activity had nothing to do with the small club Leeds City.
After all, they are thousands of miles away from the Chinese market and cannot reach it.
If you try so hard to please Chinese fans, you might just be laughed at for being crazy about money.
Not only Leeds City, but also many non-rich clubs do not deliberately conduct any promotional activities for the Chinese New Year.
But now Leeds City has changed. With the addition of Chinese players, it is natural for them to do a Spring Festival special.
This is why the club's commercial director Harry Bradley hopes Tony Clark can include Hulay in the squad for this game.
He doesn't care about other games, but Hu Lai must be in the squad for this game.
Because this game coincides with the Chinese New Year.
If Hulay is not included in the squad, all the promotional activities planned by the club for the spring will be meaningless.
Chinese fans will not think that Leeds City respects them, they will only think that Leeds City is using them to make money.
Although everyone knows that a player from a European club speaks Chinese stumblingly, he must be hoping to take money out of the pockets of Chinese fans. But since you want to make money from us, you must first make us happy by serving you. If you are happy, I will reward you with something. That is normal.
There's not even Hu Lai in the game, so how can you be happy?
If the Chinese fans are unhappy, Leeds City will not make any money!
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Earlier, some people gathered outside the gate of the Flanders Park training base next to Leeds City's Flanders Stadium. They were all waiting for the Leeds City players to come out after training.
There are photographers, reporters, and ordinary fans here.
However, due to the unsatisfactory results of the team, there were far fewer fans blocking the players at the training ground to ask for autographs, but there were more and more photographers and reporters, obviously they all wanted to find out more about the outside world from the players. Unknown inside information about the team.
During a time when the team is in turmoil, internal gossip is what the media is most concerned about.
Among the reporters outside there are Chinese reporters. They are also concerned about these internal gossips, but they are more concerned about Hu Lai.
So even though today is New Year's Eve, they still stick to their jobs, just to get more news about Hu Lai.
When reporters asked Hu Lai when he would get a chance to play in the Premier League, he said that he was undergoing retreat and practice, so he didn't know when he would play, and he didn't care much. Anyway, everything was arranged by the head coach.
He may not care, but fans across the country do...
Especially at this time, I pay special attention!
The door to the training base opened and players drove away one after another.
Some of them stopped to accept brief interviews with reporters, or signed autographs and took photos with fans, while others drove away directly in their cars.
It wasn't until no more cars came out that the Chinese reporters realized one thing: they didn't seem to see Hu Lai just now...
A group of people looked at each other, and then these experienced football reporters all reacted - what does it mean to stay at the training base instead of going home the day before the game?
This means that Hu Lai has entered the squad for tomorrow's game!
Almost all reporters lowered their heads and turned on their mobile phones at the same time. Although Leeds City Club has not yet announced the official roster for the game, they can't wait to publish their discovery online.
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The Spring Festival Gala was playing on the TV, and people outside the TV were sitting in various corners of the room.
Xie Lan sat on the sofa, scrolling through his phone and taking time to watch TV. But whether it was the mobile phone or the TV, she actually didn't pay attention to it.
She was in a daze, bored, and didn't know what to do.
Even on this busy New Year's Eve.
She specially returned to her parents' home with her husband, and now she is at her parents' home, accompanying her father and mother, as well as her second sister's family who came from other places to celebrate the New Year, and her eldest brother, second brother and eldest sister who were originally in Jincheng. The whole family.
The ninety-square-meter old house was packed with people. The men were smoking and chatting on the balcony. The second brother was asking Hu Lixin how to get the football coaching qualification certificate. The women were watching the Spring Festival Gala with their father and mother at home. They were chatting about how difficult the acrobatic show just now was.
Young people and children were not interested in the Spring Festival Gala and sat around the dining table chatting on their mobile phones.
Grandpa, who was sitting in the middle of the sofa, looked at the large family and felt extremely satisfied.
After so many years, everyone can sit down so happily again.
There is only one person left...
At this moment, Peng Hao at the dining table suddenly shouted: "Little aunt!"
His voice attracted everyone's attention.
The women who were watching the Spring Festival Gala, the men who were smoking and bragging on the balcony outside the living room, and the young people at the table next to him couldn't help but cast glances at him.
In front of everyone, Peng Hao excitedly raised his mobile phone: "Auntie! Hu Lai... Cousin Hu Lai has entered the roster for tomorrow's competition!"
"Really?" Xie Lan exclaimed, then jumped up from the sofa and ran towards Peng Hao.
Then he grabbed his cell phone.
Above that is a news page from the "Goal" website.
The news content is very simple, just a short paragraph:
Leeds City has announced its squad for tomorrow's home game against Sydenham, and Chinese player Hu Lai has been selected.
She threw her head back and laughed.
Others gathered around and passed around Peng Hao's cell phone.
"Yeah? It's true!"
"Oh, congratulations, little sister!"
"Now you can watch football tomorrow!"
The eldest brother waved his hand: "Go to my house for dinner tomorrow night, and watch the football together after dinner! Cheer for my nephew!"
Xie Lan was still laughing, tears welling up in her eyes as she smiled.
January 28, 2025, the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, New Year’s Eve.
On this night, all Chinese fans knew that their "hope of the whole village", Hu Lai, who had been training in seclusion in order to adapt to the confrontational rhythm of the Premier League game, was released. (End of chapter)