Chapter 21 A Bigger Stage
Before the training started, all the Tyne players who were supposed to come to training stood on the training ground neatly dressed.
But the training did not start immediately.
In front of them, standing opposite them was the coaching staff and four players.
Sonny Dean stood in the team, looking at the scene in front of him suspiciously.
The coaching staff is on the opposite side, which is no surprise.
But why are the three captains and Wang Lie also on the opposite side?
This...
His temples began to jump, giving him a bad feeling.
Then he heard head coach McNeil say:
"Captain Goetz proposed that after discussion with the three captains, it was unanimously agreed that Wang should be the first captain of the team."
As soon as these words came out, there was a commotion in the team.
Some people exclaimed, some whispered, some whistled, and some were stunned.
Wang Lie looked at the reaction of the team in front of him, the expression on his face did not change.
I only found out about this matter ten minutes ago, when head coach McNeil found me alone and told him about it.
The matter of becoming the fourth captain was finalized with McNeil when Wang Lie decided to join Tyne.
So when McNeil approached him about the captaincy, he was not surprised. He thought it was still the arrangement of the fourth captain.
As a result, McNeill opened his mouth and said: "We have decided to make you the first captain..."
Wang Lie was surprised: "It's not the agreed fourth captain. How did you change it? Goetz..."
"It was Goetz who suggested you be the first captain."
"Ah this..." Wang Lie didn't expect Goetz to do this, so he asked: "Did someone put pressure on him?"
"No, he brought it up on his own initiative. To put pressure on him, that's it. You." McNeill then relayed Goetz's words to Wang Lie with a smile, especially his evaluation of Wang Lie.
Only then did Wang Lie realize that what he did in the locker room yesterday had so subdued Goetz, the old captain, that the other party was willing to give him the captain's armband...
However, Wang Lie is not a hypocritical person. He also believes that he is worthy of this armband. It is of course better to be the first captain.
He nodded simply and agreed: "Okay, I will be the captain."
So Wang Lie, who had just joined the team for a day and a half, became Tyne's first captain, which means that as long as he plays, the captain's armband will be worn on his left arm.
In the commotion, the original first captain Elliot Goetz raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet.
After the scene became quiet, he said: "This is my decision after careful consideration last night. I think Wang is the best person who can lead us forward. I also believe that Tai Well, under his leadership, there will definitely be a brighter future than now!"
After that, he handed the captain's armband to Wang Lie.
Wang Lie looked down at the orange-red captain's armband and took it with both hands.
Then he delivered his first speech as captain of Tyne to the new teammates in front of him: "I said everything that needs to be said yesterday, and now I just want to say...relegation is definitely not our goal! We should go to a more Big stage!”
The commotion in the whole team was even greater than before!
Not only the teammates opposite him looked like they had seen a ghost, but all the members of the coaching staff and the three captains behind him also looked at Wang Lie in stunned silence.
※※※
"Dean! Attention! Attention!!"
"Vitini, hurry up! The pace is faster!"
"Good shot!"
"Oh, yes, that's it!"
During offensive and defensive training , Wang Lie's voice sounded on the training ground again, just like yesterday's intra-team match.
Only this time he was not targeting only Sonny Dean, but the entire team. Of course, he still calls Dean's name much more than anyone else in the team. After all, who has the most problematic training attitude of Dean?
During a break between training, assistant coach Varro asked McNeil: "Has Wang ever passed the coaching certificate?"
McNeil smiled, knowing why Varro asked: "I really I asked him a similar question, that was... that happened nine years ago. "
"What's there to say about what happened nine years ago?" Varro curled his lips at McNeil's question. The answer was disappointing.
McNeill didn’t take it seriously and continued: “I was already preparing to take the coaching certificate exam. I don’t know why, but everyone in the Soft United locker room started talking about this topic, and then I asked by the way. I asked Wang if he would consider becoming a coach after retiring, because since then Wang has liked to give orders in training..."
Waro asked: "Like now?"
"Well, Wang is always the noisiest one at the Soft United training ground." McNeil nodded and continued, "I remember Wang told me firmly at the time that he didn't think about things after retirement because he still had He doesn't like to prepare a way out for himself before he retires. When he was a player, he only focused on playing football. "
"In other words, if he wants to take the coaching certificate, he will wait until he retires. ?”
McNeil nodded: “That’s what it meant”
“But this was his answer nine years ago…”
“Ha, Cesar. Er. Do you think there is any difference between the king now and nine years ago?”
Cesar Varro looked at Wang Lie who was chatting with his teammates in the rest area and said with emotion: "I think we have an extra coach..."
McNeil said: "No, that's fine. Okay? I think Goetz made a very right decision - we have never seen this scene when he was the captain."
"Of course, I didn't. I can't say..." Varo explained, and then asked McNeil: "Sam, what do you think Wang means by 'bigger stage'?"
"What else can it be? Let’s fight in Europe,” McNeil replied casually.
"Then do you think Tyne... we can do it?"
McNeil shook his head: "I don't know, let's give it a try. Anyway, the task given to us by the club is to successfully avoid relegation. If we can really qualify for the European War, the task of avoiding relegation will definitely be completed."
※※※< br>
“Hey, what do you think the ‘bigger stage’ Wang said means?”
Sonny Dean had just walked to the door of the locker room after finishing training when he heard something inside Someone asked.
And he just happened to push open the door to the locker room.
Someone in the room glanced at him and quickly looked away, apparently not paying attention to him but joining in the lively discussion in the locker room.
"What else can it be? Of course it is to qualify for the European competition! You can't just get a mid-table ranking in the league and be on a bigger stage, right?"
"Wang may be hoping that the team If you can finish seventh in the league at the end of the season, you will have the opportunity to participate in the UEFA Europa League..."
"Does Wang fancy the UEFA Europa League? Even if we don’t like the Fed Cup...”
“What can we do if we don’t like it? With our current points, we have to thank God for qualifying for the UEFA Europa League!”
Everyone was having a heated discussion, but Sonny Dean, who was stuck at the door, was very embarrassed...
He almost had PTSD from Wang Lie now. Whether he heard or saw Wang Lie, he was so embarrassed. uncomfortable.
We have to face this old scoundrel on the training ground. There is no way.
But now that the training is over, why can he still hear everyone talking about Wang Lie when he returns to the locker room...
You must know the old scoundrel and Vitini. The idiot is still practicing on the training ground. He shouldn't be in the locker room!
At this moment in the locker room, everyone should be talking about what to eat tonight, where to go to play, where are the hottest girls, have you heard any good music recently, making appointments to play games online... and the like.
This is the normal team atmosphere!
Instead of like now, how about one Wang Lie at a time, how about Wang Lie... Whatever he says casually, you all have to discuss it here for a long time.
What are you doing! He is not the sun and needs us to revolve around him!
And by coincidence, just as he opened the locker room door, he heard everyone's discussion about Wang Lie.
If it had been earlier, if he had heard what his teammates were saying before he pushed the door open, he would have turned around and left.
But now that he has appeared at the door, would it look... too deliberate if he turns around and walks away? It's as if I'm afraid of that old scoundrel!
Tsk, no, we can’t admit defeat at this time!
Thinking of this, Dean pretended to enter the room as if nothing had happened, walked through the lively crowd, went straight back to his cabinet, and started to change clothes.
His movements were obviously faster than usual. He didn't even take a shower. He took off his training clothes directly and started to put clothes on himself.
He didn't want to stay in this "royal" locker room for a minute longer!
While Dean was changing clothes quickly, the discussion in the locker room was still going on and became more and more heated.
"Why can't it be the Champions League?"
This sentence suddenly popped up during the heated discussion, making the locker room quiet.
Even Dean stopped what he was doing and looked up to find out who said this.
He saw that everyone was turning their attention to Matje Katic.
The former world’s No. 1 central defender who came to Tyne from the top giants Madrid FC faced everyone’s gaze and repeated what he just said:
“Why can’t it be the Champions League? What? Do you think the UEFA Champions League is considered a 'bigger stage'?"
The team's main right back Jacob Barnabas said: "Ma Jie, you are right. Wang probably doesn’t regard the UEFA Europa League as a ‘bigger stage’, and he may not even pay attention to the Europa League. But... do you think we can participate in the Champions League at our current level?”
His words were agreed by many people in the locker room: "Yes, doesn't Wang know this?"
"Has he not changed from the mentality of a wealthy club? Are we really compared to Soft United?" "Hey, didn't Soft United also play in the Champions League?"
"It's hard for me to understand..." Matje Katic responded to everyone's questions, "Logically speaking, Wang should know that proposing unrealistic goals like that is not good for the team - —What’s the use of saying it if it’s a goal that’s destined to be impossible to achieve? But I don’t believe he would think that the UEFA Europa League is a ‘bigger stage’, so...”
Katic shrugged. He shrugged and did not continue because he didn't know what to say.
Wang Lie’s words are just like the person he is, which is really difficult to criticize.
To put it nicely, it is called "a sparrow knows the ambition of a swan", but to put it badly, it is "arrogant", "grandstanding" and "mysterious"...
Why does Katich set such a goal for Wang Lie? He couldn't explain why, but his mention of "Champions League" made the locker room even more lively.
Someone really started to discuss it.
"The Champions League... does that mean we have to finish in the top four of the league? Who are the top four in the league now?"
Someone asked, and someone answered: "Hackney Knights, Gramps Leyton Athletic, Scorsese and Soft United currently have 37 points.”
"Thirty-seven points doesn't seem like a lot..."
"Ha! But we only have 21 points now, which is 16 points behind!"
"Champions League, Champions League, Champions League...I haven't played in the Champions League yet..."
"I have played in the Champions League, but it's the English Champions League... Ha!"
Sang listened silently. Ni Dean really wanted to wake them up by drinking it loudly:
If you don't look in the mirror, can this bad team even think about what the Champions League will look like?
He really didn't understand why Wang Lie's casual words could cause such a big stir in the locker room and make so many people obsessed with him, and dare to discuss playing in the Champions League!
A bunch of lunatics!
He didn't have time to sort it out, so he stuffed all the changed things into his backpack, zipped it up, threw it over his shoulder, turned around and left.
If his brain is sick, he will not go crazy!
Except for Elliot Goetz, no one cares about Sonny Dean's departure. Everyone is still discussing the Champions League and UEFA Champions League.
Goetz kept staring at Dean's back until he disappeared outside the locker room door.
Logically speaking, it’s not a big deal for Dean to be in a hurry to leave the locker room. Maybe he is in a hurry to meet a girl he met online?
But Goetz still relied on his familiarity with each teammate and his keen intuition to sense that something was wrong with Dean - if he were normal, he should not be as angry at Wang Lie's arrogance at this time as he was yesterday. Is it possible for Daji to ridicule him?
As a result, while everyone was discussing, he packed up his things and ran away without saying a word...
※※※
"Wang, when you say 'bigger stage', do you mean the European war?"
During the extra training after the game, Vitini held himself back for a whole day. Questions from the training session were thrown to the idol.
Wang Lie nodded: "Of course, the European war."
Vitini frowned: "But we were eliminated in the third round of the FA Cup..."< br>
On the same day that Wang Lie caused a scene in the stadium because he refused to be substituted by Heldon, Tyne lost 1:2 away to the British Championship team Macfield Athletic in the third round of the FA Cup.
It is somewhat of an upset for a Premier League team to lose to a Championship team.
However, Wang Lie’s incident quickly became the headline of British football news after the game, so Tyne’s failure did not cause any waves. It only had a certain impact in Newcastle and Macfield. Influence.
Besides, Tyne's goal this season is to avoid relegation, such as the FA Cup, which is completely unimportant in the face of relegation. Losing might be a good thing, as it would allow Tyne to avoid fighting on multiple fronts.
As for the League Cup, Tyne was eliminated earlier - at the end of December, they were eliminated in the fourth round of the League Cup.
Therefore, if you want to participate in the European War next season, no matter which cup it is, you can only rely on league ranking.
This is really difficult.
Wang Lie comforted him: "It doesn't matter, the FA Cup winner cannot participate in the Champions League."
"That's right, you can't...ah?" Vitini looked at Wang Lie in surprise, "Do you mean the Champions League by 'bigger stage'?!"
Wang Lie spread his hands: "Otherwise? What bigger stages are the UEFA Europa League and the Europa League?"< br>
Vitini was a little confused and stammered: "We...we, can we participate...in the Champions League?"
Wang Lie shrugged: "Why not?"
"But... we only have 21 points now..."
"Don't count the points, Vitini. You just need to focus on the things in front of you, train hard and hard during training, and strive to win during the game. . Just win one game after another.”
“Is it really possible?” Vitini was still unsure.
Wang Lie said seriously: "If you doubt it, it definitely won't work."
Vitini quickly shook his head: "I believe, I believe, I believe you can lead us to win, Wang!"
Wang Lie also shook his head: "It's not that you believe in me, but that you believe in yourself. Football is a collective sport, and I can't do anything by myself. If I am the only one in the team, or a few people believe that we can If you win, if others don’t believe it, you still can’t win.”
Vitini was a little worried: “But Wang, didn’t you see everyone’s reaction during training today? It's like being scared by you. So in this team, maybe...there are only a few people who believe that they can win."
Wang Lie didn't take it seriously: "There has to be an adaptation process, take your time. Don’t worry, the second half of the season has just begun, and there is one more important thing.”
"What?"
"Of course no one will believe it easily if you just say it with your mouth. It is unconvincing. We still have to rely on actions to prove that we have the ability to win."
"Proof by actions? "
"Yes." Wang Lie nodded, "Before others believe that we can win, we must really win."
※※※
Vitini's father noticed that his son was in a very excited state from the time he came home to having dinner, so he curiously asked him: "Did anything special happen in training today?"
Vitini nodded repeatedly: "Wang has become the captain of the team!"
Dad was not surprised: "With his fame and status, it would be a surprise not to become the captain of Tyne. Right? "
"No, Dad, he is not a simple captain, he is the first captain! Goetz handed his captain's armband directly to Wang!" Vitini didn't seem to fully understand this. He emphasized the shocking degree of this incident.
Dad was also surprised, his eyes widened, and then he shook his head and exclaimed: "This is what he will do, this is what he can do - Goetz is a true 'team priority'. ”
Vitini added: "What's more! As soon as Wang took over the captain's armband, he told our team that relegation is not our goal, we should go to a bigger stage! Then the whole team was shocked! Can you imagine Is it like that, dad? When he said these words, the entire training ground was in chaos, even...even our coach, and Goetz, who just handed him the captain's armband, They all looked at him with this expression..."
Vitini imitated the expression he saw, his eyes widened, his neck crooked and his mouth twisted, as if he had seen a ghost.
The father was amused by his son: "Wang is really... ha! It's really... ha!"
Vitini continued: "Later, during additional training, I asked Wang' What does 'bigger stage' mean? He said it was the European Cup. I was still frustrated that we were eliminated from the FA Cup and League Cup... but Wang comforted me and said, 'It doesn't matter, the FA Cup winner won't be able to participate in the Champions League anyway.' !”
Dad’s laughter stopped abruptly: “He said Champions League?”
"Yes, the 'bigger stage' he said is the Champions League!" Vitini clenched his fists excitedly.
Looking at his son who was so excited, his father frowned and said, "Have you forgotten how we were 'cheated' into coming to Tyne in the first place? Isn't it because of the 'UEFA Champions League'?"
Wei Before Tiny came to Europe, he was actually a young Brazilian talent that many European clubs were paying attention to, including many wealthy clubs.
But what is shocking is that Vitini finally chose Tyne, a team ranked in the middle and lower reaches of the Premier League.
Why?
On the one hand, of course, it was because Tyne, who was backed by the oil boss in the Middle East, gave too much at the time, and on the other hand, they were attracted by Tyne's ambitious plan:
Tyne promised to let the eighteen-year-old Vitini plays the main role in the first team, instead of signing him and loaning him out like other giants.
In addition, Tyne also guaranteed that the team will appear in the Champions League within three seasons.
A team with a lot of money, ambition, and a commitment to his starting position... It can be said that both Vitini and his father thought this was the most perfect start to Europe.
Who would have thought... In addition to money and the realization of the main players, the Champions League ambitions were torn to pieces by the cruel reality. So much so that Vitini's father always believed that Tyne had deliberately made false promises that could never be fulfilled, just to steal his son from other competitors.
Both he and Vitini were tricked by Tyne!
This is also the main reason why they have never negotiated a contract extension with the club in the four seasons they have been in Tyne and want to leave.
Dad does not want his son to be completely trapped in the quagmire of Tyne.
He is only twenty-two years old now. As long as he chooses the right platform, he can still have a bright future!
Tyne is obviously not the right choice.
Vitini was also aware of his father's worries, but he still told his father: "Actually, I also think it will be difficult to qualify for the Champions League, which means we have to finish in the top four of the league at the end of the season. But... I am willing Believe in Wang and fight with him."
"Why? Why do you want to believe in him?"
Vitini shook his head: "Of course it's not that simple. Am I such a mindless star-chasing person, Dad? Wang told me that in order to make others believe that we can win, you must first really win..."
"This sounds like nonsense at first. But if you think about it carefully, it makes sense." Dad nodded thoughtfully. People are always willing to follow those who can deliver on their promises.
"Really? Ha! I think so too, so why do I believe Wang? Because he said he would go to the Champions League, and he really did it!"
(End of this chapter)