Chapter 1089 Europa League
Joao Valente, who had just finished taking a shower and changed his clothes, approached Xia Xiaoyu and invited him: "Xia! Come to my place tonight, I just bought "Black Myth: Wukong"! Let's play together ! Only with you here can I understand the meaning of many things in the game. You know, this game is made by your country and tells Chinese mythology. You must understand your country’s culture better than me, a Portuguese..."
Unexpectedly, Xia Xiaoyu shook his head and rejected him: "Sorry, Joao. I have to watch the game tonight."
"What game?" Valente was stunned for a moment, and then he thought of it without waiting for Xia Xiaoyu to remind him: "Oh oh oh! Europa League!"
"Yes, our Europa League quarter-finals with Leeds City." Xia Xiaoyu said.
"Hu is coming too..." Valente understood why Xia Xiaoyu had to watch this game.
All the main players of Leeds City came to the away game, and Hu Lai, as the absolute core of the team, is naturally indispensable.
He knew very well Hu Lai's status in Xia Xiaoyu's mind, so he would definitely not let this opportunity go tonight.
But Valente still wanted to try harder: "Hey, where can I watch it? Come to my house and let's watch the game together! We can play "Black Myth: Wukong" for a while before the game starts..."
Xia Xiaoyu still shook his head and refused: "But Ruao, I am going to watch the game live."
Valente was stunned, then frowned: "Scene?"
"Yes, I asked the club for tickets."
Xia Xiaoyu took out a ticket from his backpack, obviously planning to go directly from the training base to Alvara's home stadium, the Lisbon Arena.
"Ah, hell..." Valente looked very disappointed.
Seeing this, Xia Xiaoyu patted his shoulder and comforted him: "Tomorrow, after the training is over tomorrow, I will definitely go and play with you. Goodbye Ruao, I have to go to eat first..."
He waved goodbye, put on his bag and walked out of the locker room.
But he soon met an excited Valente in the club's players' restaurant.
"Xia, I went to the club just now. I didn't expect that they still had tickets left. I got one and we can go see it together!"
Xia Xiaoyu was a little surprised: "Don't you want to play a game?"
"Well, I thought about it. When our team plays in the Europa League, I should still go to the scene to support it. It might not be good to stay at home and play games..." Valente explained. "And if you play games with me tomorrow, I'll watch football with you today, it's reasonable!"
Xia Xiaoyu smiled: "Then finish the meal quickly and let's go."
※※※
When Hulay followed the team on the bus to the Lisbon Arena, Alvara's home stadium, the city was already lit up.
Heading towards the stadium, you will meet many Alvara fans along the road.
Some of them were walking on the street and some were driving.
When you see a bus with the Leeds City crest painted on it, you will wave your Alvara scarf or flag and shout to them.
Of course they were not cheering for Leeds City who had come all the way, but they were demonstrating against them.
Always remind them not to forget – this is Lisbon, Portugal, the base camp of Alvara!
Alvara fans hope to intimidate visiting teams in this way.
But when Hu Lai saw the jerseys worn by these Alvara fans, he couldn't help but think of Xia Xiaoyu.
There are a total of six Chinese players who have gone abroad. So far, only Xia Xiaoyu has not played in the first team at all. He has been training and playing in the reserve team.
Of course, this is also because Xia Xiaoyu is the youngest among the six.
But he's not much younger either.
Xia Xiaoyu is twenty-two years old this year, which is actually only one year younger than Hu Lai.
The 23-year-old Hu Lai has achieved unimaginable achievements in Europe, but Xia Xiaoyu has not even played in the first team.
But Hu Lai felt that Xia Xiaoyu should continue to persevere.
Brother Huan and the others have already seen the light of day. He believes that as long as Xia Xiaoyu can persevere, he will eventually live up to his efforts during this period - his performance in the Asian Cup has proved that even in Alvara He has also improved in reserve team training and games.
The important thing is to stick with it.
Of course, it's easy to say that.
It’s really hard to do.
After all, no one is omniscient and omnipotent, and no one knows how the world will change or how things will develop next.
Therefore, he had no reason to support his views, and he could not impose his ideas on Xia Xiaoyu.
Xia Xiaoyu can only decide by himself whether he wants to persist or not.
Everyone must be responsible for their own choices and cannot let others choose for them.
All he can do is give Xia Xiaoyu some confidence...
Or tell the Alvara Club: Chinese players are very powerful. As long as you trust him and give him a chance, he will definitely not let you down!
For example, I, Hu Lai, am the best proof!
※※※
When Xia Xiaoyu and Valente walked into the Lisbon Arena, this professional football stadium that can accommodate 50,000 people was almost full.
Fortunately, the tickets in their hands were all obtained from the club.
For each home game, the club will have the right to allocate a batch of tickets. These tickets are usually given to the players' families, but they are also given to young players in the echelon, allowing them to watch their team's games live, which helps cultivate their sense of honor and increase their belonging to the team. feel.
In some important games, the echelon will even organize the entire team to come to the stands to cheer for the first team.
This is how Xia Xiaoyu and Valente obtained their tickets.
Especially the latter, he just decided to watch the game on an impromptu basis.
If he decided to come to the game on the spur of the moment like an ordinary fan, he would not be able to enter the stadium because he would not get a ticket at all.
As Portugal's top club, Alvara has a huge number of fans in this capital city.
Today's game is another European match, and the fans are very enthusiastic.
So when the two came to the stands, the Alvara fans were singing together, creating a breathtaking home atmosphere.
"Oh! It's really fascinating!" Valente said in admiration to the packed stands after entering the stands. "Sorry, Xia. But I have to say, this will definitely be a terrifying night for Hu and his Leeds City!"
Xia Xiaoyu looked at Valente, who had entered Alvara fan mode, and smiled without refuting.
※※※
In the locker room, Leeds City head coach Tony Clark was mobilizing his players before the game.
"Guys, this is our first Europa League game. It's really sad to say that - in the first half of the season we were in the Champions League, which is a higher level, and now we are only playing in the Europa League. Already..."
When Clark said this with an exaggerated expression of frustration, the players burst into laughter in the locker room.
"Well, the fact that we're still in the European competition is amazing in itself. After all, think about North London Wanderers, who were knocked out of the Europa League in the group stage!"
The players laughed again.
"This is very important for us. Being able to stay in Europe allows us to fly to various places in Europe in the middle of the week and play against opponents we have never faced before... It is like a trip. We Coming to a strange country, meeting a beautiful woman in a strange street, and then we fell in love at first sight and spent a wonderful night together... This feels great! ”
Everyone laughed non-stop.
After everyone was almost laughing, Clark said a little more seriously: "I hope you know very well that even if the Europa League is not as good as the Champions League, it is still a European-level competition. A football that can reach the knockout stage of this competition The team is not a good team. Otherwise, if you think about it, even the Rangers would not be able to enter the knockout stage... This is definitely not a game that can be won by just kicking as some people think. ”
The players lost their smiles and looked intently at their head coach.
"But at the same time, I still want to tell you, don't think that just because we are a new team participating in the Europa League for the first time, you should think that we are rookies that others can bully... If anyone still has questions about this, you can think about it. How we beat Catalonia at the Sagrada Familia! ”
Clark's voice rose, and the Leeds players looked proud.
That game was truly Leeds City’s masterpiece in Europe this season.
And it was precisely because of the loss to Leeds City at home that Catalonia lost first place in the group in the Champions League - they lost to Vesuvius away from home in the final round of the group stage. In the end, they could only enter the knockout rounds as second place in the group.
Then he was drawn together with the Bundesliga giants Blue and White Munich in the knockout draw.
That is a very, very difficult opponent to deal with.
Although the knockout rounds of the Champions League have not yet begun, if Catalonia are eventually eliminated by Blue and White Munich, then it can be said that their tragic fate stems from their loss to Leeds City at home.
So this is really a great honor for the entire Leeds City team.
"So, guys, don't underestimate your opponents, but don't underestimate yourselves either. Play with a fearless mentality, even on the road... Speaking of away games, which one do you think is scarier, Lisbon Arena or Bay Stadium?"< br>
The players looked at each other and smiled.
They felt the enthusiasm of the Alvara fans during the warm-up, but to be honest, compared with the Turkish stadium that madly spat out all kinds of swear words at them for ninety minutes, the Lisbon Arena was too gentle...< br>
Seeing the smiles of the team members, Clark punched the palm of his hand:
"So, we have seen big scenes!" (End of Chapter)