Chapter 69 After Losing
Amidst the boos at Aston Road Stadium, Wang Lie passed the ball forward to forward Ryan Graham on the sideline.
Then he quickly pushed forward.
Graham received the ball near the sideline. There was no Clayton Athletic player next to him, so he took the ball forward himself.
At the same time, he also looked up to observe Wang Lie's movement in the middle.
Wang Lie is advancing in the middle, and he is followed by Clayton Athletic center back Dushan Ratkovic.
This central defender, who joined Clayton Athletic last summer with a transfer fee of 85 million euros, a record transfer fee for a central defender, is considered to be very likely to become the new "No. 1 center in the world" in the future. Defender".
He has a height of 1.87 meters and a weight of 82 kilograms. He is also very flexible and not slow. Outstanding frontal defense and strong one-on-one defensive ability.
Under his close defense, it was really not easy for Wang Lie to get a chance to shoot.
Graham's eyes fell on the front of the penalty area, where there was a gap.
Wang Lie was also heading in that direction, but Graham also knew that if Wang Lie really caught the ball at that place, he might not have a chance to shoot.
But what if he suddenly stops and retreats?
Isn’t there a shooting space?
This series of thoughts occurred in Graham's mind in just a flash of lightning, and he decided to pass!
At the same time, Clayton Athletic's left back Lucas Baraski also rushed up to prevent him from crossing.
Graham passed the ball into an inverted triangle!
As expected, Wang Lie suddenly stopped and retreated on his way to the forward point, preparing to receive the inverted triangle pass!
But the angle of Graham's pass was wider than Wang Lie expected...
He passed the ball directly behind Wang Lie!
Wang Lie turned around and stretched his legs to reach it, but still failed to touch the ball...
He could only sit on the ground and watch the football rush past.
And Joshua Parker, who was following Wang Lie, did not expect that the ball would miss from the front point.
In a hurry, he didn't even have time to adjust his steps, so he was forced to shoot with his feet!
Then he kicked the football into the stands behind the goal...
"Fuck!"
Sonny Dean, who was nervously watching the attack from the sidelines, turned around, knelt on the ground, cursed, and at the same time punched the ground in front of the bench...
※※※
Fuck!
Dean punched the steering wheel of his car hard.
The car then made a shrill whistle.
He had driven back to his home, but he still didn't get out of the car.
Sitting in the car, he couldn't help but think about the oversized ball that Graham passed to Wang Lie at the end of the game.
Although several hours had passed since the end of the game, the anger, regret, and disappointment at that time still flooded into his heart again.
Made him feel like he was there again.
It was the last moment of the game. If Wang Lie could score, it could be said to be a tie. Tyne could at least take away a point from Aston Road Stadium, instead of still losing 2:3...
He even couldn't help but think that if the ball was passed by himself, it would never be passed wide. He guaranteed that it would be delivered to the king's feet!
But why was he not on the court at that time, but an incompetent spectator on the sidelines?
Because his physical fitness and game condition are not enough for him to play the entire game against a powerful opponent like Clayton Athletic...
Throughout the past week, the physical fitness coach Faletti is taking him for targeted training.
At first he didn’t take it seriously.
But now he only regrets why he only started targeted training this week.
Damn...
※※※
After returning to Northumberland Football City from Manchester, and then driving back to his home, it was almost nine o'clock in the evening.
But Wang Lie still received a video call from his wife Tang Xingmei.
Wang Lie knew why his wife made a video call to him at almost four o'clock in the morning in the country.
Because he lost the game.
She knew her goal and how serious the consequences of losing this game would be.
She wanted to comfort herself.
And I want to reassure her.
So he connected to the video immediately. He didn't even have time to change clothes. He just put on his down jacket, sat on the rattan lounge chair in the backyard, and had a video call with his wife.
"...I have nothing, really, I won't lie to you."
Facing the front camera of his phone, Wang Lie grinned at his wife.
"Nonsense! We've already lost, but you can laugh and say, 'It's nothing'!" Tang Xingmei didn't take his bait.
"It's true." Wang Lie put away his smile and said in a very serious tone, "If you had just finished the game and you were videotaping me, I would definitely not be able to laugh. When I just lost the game , I was really unhappy, especially the ball Graham passed to me at the end..."
Tang Xingmei said: "Well, I watched the live broadcast. The live broadcast also gave you a close-up, where you were lowering your head and cursing... What were you cursing at the time?"
"Beautiful Chinese." Wang Lie made a joke.
"Huh?" Tang Xingmei was indeed surprised when her husband said this, "You are still in the mood to play tricks. Are you really fine?"
"Why did I lie to you? "Wang Lie was speechless, "I really have nothing."
"Why? If you lose this game, your ranking will drop from ninth to tenth. You are still fourteen points away from your goal. Point difference... Oh, is it because Soft United didn't win this league game? ”
In the just-concluded 20th round of the Premier League, although Tyne lost 2:3 away to Clayton Athletic, Soft United also did not win in another game later.
They were held to a 1:1 draw by Shuthrow at home...
After Helden’s team suffered a humiliating loss to the Scotsmen, they failed to appease them with victory at home. fans.
So in the last ten minutes of the game, boos rang out for Sven Helden for the first time at Red Rocks Stadium.
There were even fans who sang the "King's Song" at the last moment - the "FIGHTING! FIGHTING! CHINAWANG!"
I don’t know if they really miss Wang Lie, or they are using Wang Lie to disgust Heldon...
Maybe it’s both.
“No, it has nothing to do with Suo Fulian.” Wang Lie shook his head. "I don't care about Soft United's game...remember what I told you before about Tyne's 'mercenary' temperament?"
"I know. You can't play against the wind and are easily defeated." , Habitually lying around and being indifferent to failure..." Tang Xingmei knows all her treasures.
“‘It doesn’t matter to failure’.” Wang Lie interrupted her and emphasized the last thing she mentioned. "When I was still at Soft United, I really experienced firsthand how Tyne's players were indifferent to failure... The game was not over yet, and they seemed to have found excuses to excuse themselves. But this time ...This time is different.”
"Why is it different?" Seeing that her husband seemed to be eager to talk, Tang Xingmei stepped into the role of a qualified listener.
“I went back to the locker room a little late because I had to take a urine test after the game. When I walked into the locker room, I almost thought I had gone to the wrong place - it was as quiet as a morgue... "
"Huh? That's an exaggeration?" Tang Xingmei's eyes widened.
“Let me tell you, wife, it’s not an exaggeration at all. It was so quiet. No one spoke, everyone was just doing their own thing silently. I even felt a little uncomfortable when I walked in... ...Although no one spoke, I could feel the depressing and uncomfortable atmosphere. I could feel that each of them was very dissatisfied with this failure..."
At this time, there was a sound coming from a distance. A harsh car horn interrupted Wang Lie's words.
Seeing her husband suddenly stop talking and frowning, Tang Xingmei asked: "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing... I don't know who honked the horn so late, it's unethical..." Wang After swearing fiercely, he continued to say to his wife:
"Later on the way back to Newcastle, Goetz secretly told me that he had not seen such a locker room after losing the game for several seasons. ...Obviously I'm not the only one who feels that way, Goetz feels it too, so I think if a team is indifferent to losing, there's no hope, but if they can still be bitter and angry about losing the game. If so, then it’s still helpful.”
Tang Xingmei nodded: “You’re right, husband. I feel like this team is different from what you told me at the beginning.”
< br>"Yes, the 'mercenary' temperament in them is not so strong. If they can continue like this, then even if we lose a game today, we can win it back later. It is precisely because of this that I I am no longer as angry and disappointed as before.”
After hearing what Wang Lie said, Tang Xingmei breathed a sigh of relief.
She could confirm that her husband was indeed not affected by the failure in that game.
She expressed her previous worries in a relaxed tone: "You once said you would lead them to win. I am also worried that after losing this game, your teammates will doubt whether you can still keep your word. What you say will affect their confidence in you..."
Then she saw Wang Lie's astonished expression in the video.
“What’s wrong?”
Wang Lie's expression was complicated: "Uh...I really didn't expect to go there..."
Tang Xingmei didn't expect that she was really worried, so she asked anxiously: "Ah? What should I do? Is that possible? Will it be a bit troublesome?"
Wang Lie shook his head: "It's not troublesome. Maybe some people will be shaken by the failure of this game, but as long as we can win in the future, it will be no problem. Win. ”
※※※
“I understand feeling pain, disappointment, and even anger after losing the game, but have you been like this for too long?”
The father stood at the bedroom door, knocking on the open door, and said to his son Clayton Vitini.
Lying on the bed and covering his head with a quilt, Vitini answered his father angrily: "Dad, you don't understand, I'm not angry, I'm worried, worried!"< br>
"What are you worried about? Are you worried that you won't be able to qualify for the Champions League next season?"
Hearing what his father said, Vitini lifted the quilt, turned over and sat up in bed, and looked at his father: " Of course I'm worried about this. But compared to this, I'm more worried about Wang being disappointed with us!"
"Disappointed?" Dad didn't expect Vitini to be in this angle.
"Everyone knows that the victory against Scorsese was actually due to Wang alone. Without his hat-trick, we would have lost long ago! In the game against Brighton and White Mountain, Wang also opened the game for us with a goal. If not His two goals gave us the lead in the first half, and we don’t know what the game will be like..."
Vitini said.
“In this game between Clayton Athletic and us, anyone with a discerning eye can see that they did not defend against the king, but restricted our entire team! Because it is obviously easier to restrict us than defending against the king. !"
His father nodded in agreement: "That's right...when I watched the live broadcast of the game, the commentator kept saying this, saying that Cochea chose the most correct approach."
< br>"Yes! This is the fact, dad! The fact is that Tyne, except the king, is known to be weak! Everyone knows that we are the king's weakness! Clayton Athletics has already told how to restrict the king. Everyone, we lost this game, what about the next game? I don’t believe our next opponent will not study this game!”
The father's expression became solemn, and his son revealed a very bad reality.
"Wang said he would lead us to win, and he did it in the first four games. He proved that he was not lying. But we did not prove that we were worthy of him! He clearly said that' We are very strong...but we let him down, we betrayed his trust!"
Vitini cried at the end.
It can be seen that he is indeed not painful and angry about the failure, but... afraid!
He was afraid of losing Wang Lie's trust and disappointing Wang Lie.
Seeing this, my father had no choice but to comfort him: "Calm down, Vitini, calm down! This is just a game. Besides, given the overall strength gap between you and Clayton Athletic, isn't it normal to lose to them? I believe Wang can understand. . And I watched the live broadcast of the game. You were still trying to equalize the score until the end of the game... Wang should have seen your performance. He should know that you are different from before. If you are still worried, then in the following training and games, show your best and help the team win the game. I think the best thing is to prove that you have lived up to the king's trust with practical actions and victories. The right thing to do."
Vitini's eyes gradually brightened when she heard her father say this while sitting on the bed.
After hearing the end, he simply jumped out of bed and paced back and forth in his room, as if he couldn't wait to start training, to start the next round of competition, to prove to Wang Lie that they— -At least he himself-will not let down the trust and hope of his idol!
"You are right, Dad! You are right! I will go to training tomorrow! Although the boss gave us a day off, I will go to train tomorrow afternoon!"
※※※
"My dear, don't think about the game that is over. No matter what, the past is in the past. Give yourself a good holiday tomorrow and let's take the kids to the beach..."
Northumberland In the bedroom of a villa in the luxury area, Anna Katich gently hugged her husband from behind.
She had just put her three lovely children to sleep one by one.
When I returned to the bedroom, I saw my husband still sitting silently on the sofa.
He was already like this before she went to take care of the child. When she came back from taking care of the child, her husband did not even change his sitting position...
She could feel her husband's annoyance and displeasure after losing the game.
So she wanted to use her family to divert her husband's attention and let him get over his failure.
She has tried this trick many times before.
For a husband who values his family, she and her children are the best "healing medicine"
This was often the case when her husband played football for Madrid FC.
Madrid FC is one of the most successful giant clubs in world football today, and those who can play there are either loyalists trained by their own youth training, or the best players in the world.
Playing football in a situation of high attention and high exposure, you may be scolded after one mistake in a game.
Every game and every season faces fierce competition and the judgment of others. The pressure is so great that ordinary people can hardly imagine it.
Every time my husband feels stressed and out of breath, he spends time with himself and the children. During this period, I did not look at my mobile phone or pay attention to anything related to football.
After he completely released the pressure, he returned to the court as if he was fully charged.
So why did her husband leave Madrid FC at the age of thirty-three and go to Tyne, a team acquired by oil capital, to retire?
Of course, the pressure accumulated from playing in the highest level team all year round made him tired. He once complained to himself that if he continued to play at Madrid FC, he might hate football. of.
You have to know that with his ability at the time, it was actually no problem to continue playing at Madrid FC. Even if he could not be the main player, he would be more than enough to be a main rotation player - in fact, no matter whether he was the head coach of the team at the time , and the club’s general manager all advised him to consider staying.
But the husband still resolutely quit the club, said goodbye to the club, and came to Tyne as the "world's best central defender" to earn the last big contract of his career and provide for himself and his family. future plans.
To be honest, Newcastle is not a good place to "retire" at all. Whether it is weather or food, it is far from Madrid.
So their house in Madrid has not been sold yet, because they plan to go back to live there after they retire.
The only reason why I chose Tyne is that the money given by Tyne is too much...
The annual salary and tax are 9 million pounds, which is about 11 million pounds. EUR.
This is a number that cannot be obtained by any other team - unless he does not stay in Europe.
It's really a very favorable condition.
You must know that for so many years at Madrid FC, his highest salary was an annual salary of 10 million euros after tax.
From Madrid FC to a mid- to lower-tier Premier League team like Tyne, I can still get more annual salary than before. If I hadn’t met a talent like Tyne, I would have never dared to think about it. .
So even if the weather is bad and the food tastes bad, it is not a big shortcoming in the face of the annual salary of nine million pounds after tax. It can be completely accepted and overcome.
My husband, who was 33 years old at the time, signed a four-year contract with Tyne in one fell swoop. He was quite as ruthless as catching a sheep until it died.
He seems determined to retire when his contract expires.
He will be thirty-seven years old by then, which is the right age to retire.
Feeling the warmth and softness of his wife's embrace from behind, Matje Katich gently held her hand.
He knows that this is his most solid backing.
No matter what difficulties and pressures he faces, as long as his family is by his side, he can find peace.
But today he might disappoint his wife.
"Sorry, Anna. I can't accompany you tomorrow, I have to go to training."
He said.
Ana Katic was surprised: "When you came back, didn't you tell me that your head coach gave the team a day off?"
"Yes, but only for Those who participated in today’s game only have one day off. Those who did not participate in the game will still go to the base to train tomorrow afternoon.”
"But you participated in this game and played the whole game..."
"But we lost."
"Losing is not your responsibility..." The wife bowed down She leaned over her body, leaned her head over, gently touched her husband's face, and whispered softly in his ear.
The husband was unmoved:
“But I also have a responsibility. Moreover, I bet that Wang will go to train tomorrow afternoon... I don’t want to be looked down upon by that guy. .”
※※※
Sonny Dean was woken up on time by the alarm clock he set at eight o'clock in the morning.
Then he got out of bed and went directly into the bathroom. After taking a shower, he walked out and looked for new clothes naked.
As soon as he put on his clothes, he heard a muffled sound like a drum coming from outside.
He walked to the sidelines, opened the window screen, and saw a figure playing football in the neighbor's backyard.
The muffled sound was made when he hit the ball.
Dean looked at the time on his phone, it was eight eighteen.
It seems that he always went out to practice football with his children at 8:30, mainly to take care of his children.
The child was not around, but he came out earlier.
Wang Lie, alone, kicked the football toward the movable small goal in the distance. After kicking all the footballs under his feet, he ran and kicked them one by one into the small goal on the other side.
Just kicking and running back and forth like this, as if one person is playing two roles in a tennis match.
After looking at it for a while, Dean turned around and left the window.
Then he went downstairs to find a football, and also went to the backyard separated by a wall from the next door.
After a simple warm-up, he started to play the ball.
The banging sound over there is endless.
After about twenty bounces, Dean bounced the football very high.
Then while the football was still in the air, he took a step back, supported his body with his right foot, and pulled his left foot back to get into a posture.
When the football fell, his left foot was also hit.
Bang!
He kicked the football high towards the courtyard wall, flew over and landed in the backyard next door.
The continuous muffled sound suddenly stopped.
Dean cleared his throat, and then shouted: "Ah, I'm sorry. Can you kick the ball back to me?"
Not long after, there was a muffled sound, The football was kicked back.
"Thanks!"
Dean ran to retrieve the football and started warming up again.
When he was done, he bumped the ball again.
After the same bump, he kicked the football over again.
"Ah, I'm sorry, can you...forget it, I'll come and pick it up myself, I won't bother you, just open the door for me!"
After shouting at the top of my lungs , Dean turned and ran to the front door.
Wang Lie looked at the football that landed in his backyard, and then looked at Dean's backyard.
Not long after, the smart watch on his wrist vibrated, and a message reminded him that someone was ringing the doorbell.
He clicked on the message notification, connected to the security system's camera, and sure enough he saw Sonny Dean in sportswear.
Wang Lie directly opened the small door with his watch.
Seeing Dean walk in, he used his watch to close the door again.
Dean in the camera looked back at the closed door, hesitated, but still walked straight to the backyard.
He easily found his way to the backyard. When he arrived at the backyard, Wang Lie was doing shooting training.
He first kicked the football toward a net bag leaning on the ground, and then ran forward.
The football hit the net bag and bounced up. At this time, he had rushed to the spot where the football landed. Without waiting for the football to completely hit the ground, he directly pumped the ball towards a 1 meter by 1.5 meter ball about ten meters ahead. In the small goal.
The football flew low against the turf and finally got into the goal.
Despite the support, the small goal was tilted backwards and shook before it stabilized again.
Dean whistled: "Good ball!"
Wang Lie looked back at him: "Your ball is over there."
He pointed to a lonely football next to him.
Dean walked towards his football and kicked it towards the net bag. After the football bounced, he also tried to shoot directly towards the small goal.
However, this kind of volley shot is very difficult, and the goal is indeed too small. On a real football field, the size of this goal is approximately equal to the four corners of a regular goal.
So the football he shot flew straight past the small goal and did not stop until it hit the wall that separated his home from Wang Lie's home.
“Fuck!”
Dean cursed, ran to find another football, and repeated the action just now.
Football missed the goal again.
Not believing in evil, he continued to look for the ball.
It wasn't until his fourth try that he accurately shot the football into the far goal.
Then he opened his arms and ran in the backyard of Wang Lie's house, shouting:
"GOOOOOOAL!!!"
Wang Lie didn't understand the whole process. When he spoke, he just looked at him like he was a fool.
After he finished celebrating, Wang Lie kicked the football at his feet into the net bag and followed up with the shot.
The football hit the net again.
Then he turned to look at Dean, and at the same time kicked a football next to him.
That means: it’s your turn.
But Dean kicked the football back and said: "We will practice passing the ball next. Come on, pass it back!"
He also hooked Wang Lie.
When Wang Lie saw him like this, he raised the corners of his mouth and really passed the ball with his feet.
The dull sound of hitting the ball sounded again, but this time it was much denser than before.
※※※
“I figured out a problem after I went home last night...”
On the way from the coach’s office to the first team training ground, the assistant coach Cesar Varro said to head coach Sam McNeil who was traveling alongside him.
McNeil asked him: "What's the problem?"
"In the last few minutes of yesterday's game, when we fell behind 1:3, you said it was a crushing of overall strength. We and Clayton Athletic were not at all. On one level."
McNeil nodded: "Yes, that's what I said. Isn't that true?"
"Of course it is true." A fact that is irrefutable, a fact that you have to accept even if you don’t want to. I was just wondering why I knew this was a fact, but when you said that, I still felt bad and didn’t even bother to respond. You."
McNeil turned to look at him.
Varro continued as he walked: "I returned home from Manchester yesterday and finally figured out this question. Because I know that we are not as good as Clayton Athletic, but I still want to win. Because I have a problem with our strength. Matching ambitions and delusions. Because I don’t want to accept the fact that it’s normal to lose against opponents who are stronger than us.”
While the two were talking, they had already reached the edge of the first team training ground. McNeil has his sights set on the training field.
Then he was surprised to find that there seemed to be more people than normal... this afternoon.
In addition to the first-team players who did not play in yesterday's game, there are also many faces that should not appear on today's training ground.
Wang Lie, Vitini, Goetz, Cohen, Katic, Dean, Graham...even center Peter Olivier, who has just recovered from injury, is among them!
It was not just these few that he saw at a glance, but there were many others whom he had not looked at for a while.
At this time, they should be with their families, resting, playing, shopping, shopping... no matter what they do, they should just enjoy the holiday.
But now they are all on the training ground.
Almost all members of this first team are here!
※※※
PS, I wish everyone a happy National Day!
(End of this chapter)