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Chapter 22 Whoever wins, whom will they help?
"Dean!"

Wang Lie's roar rang out on the first-team training ground, and this was not the first time in this team match.

This is an intra-team match, and the players' performance in the game determines whether they can appear in tomorrow's official game.

Just like last time, Wang Lie and Sonny Dean were assigned to the substitute group.

Then everyone could hear Wang Lie calling Dean's name again.

Although this match is related to the roster for the next game, everyone thinks that it is 100% impossible for Wang Lie to participate in tomorrow's game.

Because he only came to the team for training in the afternoon of the 21st, and had only trained with the team for three and a half days in total, how could he possibly make it to the league on the 25th?

No one thought that head coach McNeill would select Wang Lie into the roster, but it seemed that Wang Lie did not think so.

He was very active and hard-working in this team match, and was unwilling to miss any chance to score a goal.

That's why he clearly ran to the empty space in the middle with no defensive players around him. Goalkeeper Goetz was attracted to the near corner by Dean. As long as Dean passed the ball to him, he could score into the empty goal. However, Dean chose to shoot at a small angle while being surrounded, and the ball went wide... which made Wang Lie so angry.

He pointed at his feet with both hands and shouted to Sonny Dean: "I'm in the open space in the middle! It's there, why don't you pass it?!"

Dean shrugged and spread his hands. "When a striker passes three defenders in a row and faces the goalkeeper, anyone can shoot. Isn't that always the case with you?"

Wang Lie said sternly, "But I can score. Did you score a goal just now?"

Dean was annoyed by the old rogue's specious arguments - can you score goals every time? Have you forgotten the nickname given to you on the Internet, "The King of Shooting"?
However, he did not argue with Wang Lie. Instead, he spread his hands and said in a coaxing tone like a child: "Okay, okay, I'll pass it to you next time."

After saying that, he turned and ran away.

When the main team's goalkeeper Elliot Goetz saw this scene, he couldn't help but cast a worried look at Wang Lie, fearing that he would rush up and fight with Dean - who couldn't hear the tone of Dean's voice like coaxing a child?

But Wang Lie was not angry. Instead, he shouted to Dean's back, "Okay, I'll wait for your pass!"

Not to mention that Goetz was surprised, even Dean almost lost his pace when he heard this...

He even couldn't help but look back at Wang Lie to confirm whether the words just now were said by this old rogue, and saw Wang Lie nodded to him, and his expression seemed to say "It's a deal!"

Neuropathy!
※※※

After several rounds of offense and defense, it is the substitute team's turn to attack.

This time, before Dean got the ball, he began to observe Wang Lie's running position and found that the latter was in the middle of the main team's defense line, stretching horizontally instead of inserting into the gap at the first time.

This is normal. After all, the intention of directly inserting into the gap is too obvious, and the gap that should have existed will disappear.

The main team pressed slightly higher, leaving a lot of space behind them.

He saw these gaps, and Wang Lie must have seen them as well. He should be aiming at those gaps.

Thinking of this, Dean turned around and asked his teammates for the ball.

The football was passed over quickly.

As the football rolled towards him, Dean turned his head again to observe Wang Lie.

Then he found that Wang Lie was also turning his head to look at him, and their eyes met in the air.

Dean clearly read that meaning from Wang Lie's eyes.

He smiled with a crooked mouth.

Don't you want me to pass the ball to you?

Then go pick it up!
He adjusted his posture, and without stopping the ball, he swung his foot and kicked the ball directly into the gap behind the main team's defense line!
At the same time, Wang Lie also rushed out from behind the main central defender Matej Katic and ran towards the landing point of the football!

※※※

This is a beautiful pass!
Even though they were opponents on the field, and even though he didn't have a good impression of Sonny Dean privately, Vitini still had to admit that Dean's non-stop pass was very decisive and his timing was very good - if he had taken the ball a little longer before passing it, Brother Wang would have been offside.

Vitini felt that this time Brother Wang would definitely have a chance to score a goal, as long as he received the ball it would be a one-on-one opportunity!

Then... eh?

wrong!

It’s spread!
Fucking Sonny Dean!
※※※

"Oh, it's too big!" Assistant coach Cesar Varo, who was watching the game on the sidelines, couldn't help but sigh softly.

After Wang Lie broke through the main team's defense line, the football had already flown half the distance on the field.

If you look at the flight path of the football again at this time, you will find that the ball is slightly biased to the outside, so Wang Lie has to speed up and chase it two more steps.

Wang Lie also noticed this. He did not stop and complain with his hands spread out. Instead, he gritted his teeth and chased after him. Then, while running, he swung his right leg, threw away all his gravity, threw his body out, and swept towards the football with all his might.

Bang!
With a kick that was almost like a tackle, he still kicked the football.

However, with the center of gravity completely lost, the quality of the shot cannot be guaranteed...

Goalkeeper Elliot Goetz was stuck in the near corner, raised his arm, looked up and turned to look back.

The football just flew in front of him, then flew high over the crossbar, hit the barbed wire wall behind him, made a crisp sound, and fell down.

"No, it's not big, it's within the normal range." After the attack, head coach McNeill corrected his assistant. "If Wang was a few years younger, he could easily catch up with the ball, shake off the defense and shoot. There's no need to be so embarrassed."

Varro curled his lips: "You said, 'If the king was a few years younger'..."

McNeill sighed, "Yes, it would be great if the king could be a few years younger..."

Varo rolled his eyes at him and said, "Don't just think about good things. Wang still has a nose for the goal, but his body function is no longer enough to support him to make such frequent counter-attacks. He needs to play like a stationary center forward."

※※※

After Wang Lie completed the shot with great difficulty, he lost his balance, rolled on the ground and fell on the grass.

But he still looked up at the goal, wanting to confirm the result of his shot.

What he saw was the football flying over the crossbar and hitting the barbed wire wall behind the goal.

So he lowered his head and buried it in the grass.

But it was only a moment, and he propped himself up and got up from the ground.

Seeing Wang Lie getting up from the ground, Dean was a little panicked.

In fact, after passing the ball, he realized that he should have passed it a little too far.

But he really didn't mean it - it is very difficult to pass the ball without stopping, and no one can guarantee that the pass can be accurate to the millimeter every time.

He did use a lot of force when passing the ball, but if the force was not enough, the ball might have been intercepted by the main team's defender...

He would definitely rather give more lead time, at least to prioritize ensuring the ball can be passed.

But... the result of doing so might be that others might think that he was deliberately exaggerating and making things difficult for Wang Lie.

And it’s really hard to justify myself…

Because before he passed the ball, he really had a selfish desire to make it more difficult for Wang Lie.

But when he saw Wang Lie try his best to take a shot but the ball flew away, deep down in his heart he did not feel the pleasure of seeing Wang Lie's embarrassment, but felt a little bit of pity.

Especially when I saw Wang Lie lying on the ground with his head buried in the grass.

He saw what it meant to be a hero in his twilight years at such a close distance. Without the interference of TV screens and satellite broadcast signals, it was more impactful and shocking.

The once omnipotent China Wang also had such powerless moments...

Dean didn't have much time to feel nostalgic, because he saw Wang Lie had already climbed up from the ground. Then he realized that Wang Lie might have thought that his pass was meant to make him look bad...

He was a little panicked.

Actually, he didn't need to panic, but he just felt a little guilty, so now he felt guilty. But to his surprise, after Wang Lie stood up, he didn't roar at him like before, but gave him a thumbs up: "Good pass, Dean! Good pass! This ball is my fault, my..."

Dean opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything sarcastic.

In the end, he could only purse his lips and frown, as if he didn't care about Wang Lie's praise at all.

※※※

After the team match, head coach McNeill announced the squad for tomorrow's away game against Sydham.

As expected, Wang Lie was not on the list.

Vitini wanted to stay and practice with Wang Lie, but Wang Lie drove him away: "Don't practice anymore. You have a competition tomorrow. What you need now is to recover and rest."

Vitini was very obedient and did not insist on extra training. When he left the training ground, he said to Wang Lie: "I promise you, Wang. I will help the team win. I will win for those who don't believe in us!"

"Okay, keep going." Wang Lie nodded to him.

※※※

At White Horse Park, the home ground of Sydham, the singing of 30,000 home fans resounded through the sky, but they were not cheering for their own team, but mocking the visiting team Tyne:
"You have nothing but money! You have nothing but money!"

This song was not created by the fans of Sheffield United, but it is widely circulated in the Premier League and everyone can sing it.

When Tyne was acquired by oil capital from the Middle East, it instantly completed a "class leap", transforming from a struggling mid-to-lower-tier team to a wealthy team with plenty of money.

A "wealthy family" in another sense.

Then, like all nouveau riche, Tyne, who had become rich overnight, waved his checkbook around the world to sign people and show off his "money power" to others.

They either poach players directly from their Premier League rivals or snatch players that other Premier League teams are interested in.

Even if they fail to successfully intercept, their bidding will raise the player's value, forcing Premier League teams that could have easily signed the target players to pay a higher price.

Some other players used the transfer rumors about Tyne to put pressure on their clubs and seek higher salaries, which made their clubs, from management to fans, very dissatisfied.

In short, in the first few years when the Middle Eastern bosses took over Tyne, the entire Premier League and even European football were in chaos because of their lack of martial ethics. Although the club's policies and style of doing things have changed since Will Foster became the general manager of Tyne in the past two years, and are not as aggressive as before, how can the inherent impression formed before be so easily reversed?
There is no shortage of wealthy teams in European football, but it is rare to find a young man as unpopular as Tyne.

At that time, Tyne was somewhat of a "public enemy".

Almost everyone shouted for the team to lose in away games. When they lost, the British media reported it extensively and everyone applauded and celebrated. Negative news about Tyne would make the headlines every now and then.

As for this song, it is a reserved program in the competition with Tyne.

Every time there was a game against Tyne, the opposing fans would sing this song in the stands to curse Tyne - it was considered a curse at the time, but now as Tyne's performance has been declining year after year, the song has changed from a curse to sarcasm, mockery and humiliation.

Amid the gloating songs of the Sedham fans, Tyne had just made a substitution.

The one who was replaced was Vitini, who started the game.

The young Brazilian player did not run to the center line to hand over the ball to his teammates, but went off the field near the sideline, trying to buy more time for the team.

With ten minutes left in the game, the score was 2:1, with home team Syedham leading.

Walking from a distance, Vitini had a mixture of frustration and anger on his face. In the stands as he passed by, Cedeham was yelling at him and giving him the middle finger.

"Vettini was substituted. He had to be substituted. If he continued to stay on the field, he might be sent off with a red card - his emotions were already showing signs of getting out of control..." said the commentator.

The guest said: "In fact, Vitini's performance in the first half was very good. His assists helped Van Ginkel score the first goal for Tyne and broke the deadlock. But in the second half, after he got involved in a targeted melee with the Sydham players, his mentality gradually became unbalanced. No one denies that Vitini is a talented genius, but he has this temper..."

While the two were talking, Vitini had already returned to the Tyne bench. Head coach McNeill took the initiative to hug Vitini and patted his back to comfort him.

But obviously he didn't succeed.

After parting ways with him, Vitini walked to the bench and picked up a bottle of water to drink. But he twisted the cap and it didn't come off, which seemed to be the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Vitini suddenly smashed the water bottle in his hand to the ground.

With a bang, water splashed everywhere, not only splashing his face, but also causing his teammates nearby to dodge.

"Tsk, what Vitini did... that was unnecessary." Fernando Clemente, who was watching the live broadcast on the sofa, blamed Vitini for his impulsiveness.

Wang Lie beside him spoke up for his little fanboy: "He's young, that's normal. When I was young, I had a worse temper than him."

Clement laughed: "No wonder you are his idol, the power of role models..."

Wang Lie didn't care about his agent's teasing: "Vettini wants to win too much, so he is anxious. But those who are not anxious are worse than him. To put it bluntly, they are indifferent to failure."

"Are you talking about Dean?"

Sonny Dean was brought on fifteen minutes ago, when Sydham had just equalised the score and were looking to take advantage of the situation and press forward.

McNeill chose to replace Dean, trying to use his speed and personal skills to counterattack.

However, Dean's performance was very average after he came on the court. He tried to dribble past the defense three times, but failed once. He also had a shot that didn't hit the goal frame at all. Apart from that, there was no performance, and the technical statistics were basically blank.

Wang Lie shook his head: "No, it's not just Dean. There are also the 'silent majority' in the team. They are not as active as Vitini, nor do they put the team first like Goetz, but they don't openly oppose me like Dean. They are so ordinary in the locker room that I can't even call out all their names. But they are the foundation and backbone of this team, and the main reason why Tyne is called a 'mercenary'."

"It sounds troublesome, Wang. Do you think this team can really carry out your ambitions?" Clement asked with a frown.

"It's not a problem, actually." Wang Lie leaned forward, resting his chin on his right hand on his knees, staring at the TV broadcast and saying, "The 'silent majority' are actually a group of 'fence-sitters' who will help whoever wins. They just don't see hope now, so they tend to lie down when they encounter setbacks. As long as I can clearly let them see the hope of victory, they can become a force I can rely on."

The TV broadcast gave close-ups of several Tyne players in turn.

Captain and goalkeeper Elliot Goetz clapped his hands vigorously and yelled to encourage his teammates.

Central defender Matej Katic pointed at the players of Cederham, reminding his teammates to be careful in marking.

Striker Sonny Dean looked up at the singing Sydham fans, then looked away, lowered his head and paced in front of the camera.

There were other Tyne players, their mouths open to breathe heavily, with almost blank expressions on their sweaty faces.

With ten minutes left in the game, they were only one goal behind.

But just looking at their expressions, I thought the injury time had already started counting down, and they were still trailing by at least two goals...

This scene looked very familiar to Wang Lie - in the 0th round of the league, Sofia United played against Tyne at home. When he scored in the 0th minute to break the : score, he saw the same expression on the faces of most of the Tyne players.

At a loss.

There was still time in the game, but they didn't seem to think they could score a goal to equalize the score, as if they were particularly easily persuaded by difficulties:

Well, we got killed by China Wang... As expected of China Wang, we tried our best but still couldn't stop him... What can I say? This is football... Losing a game is not the end of the world, life must go on, right?

Wang Lie seemed to have the ability to read their minds and could hear their thoughts.

But there is no such thing as "mind reading"! They themselves have written their inner thoughts on their expressions!
Wang Lie retracted his forward leaning body, leaned back and relaxed on the soft sofa cushion, and said to Clement:

"So it's very simple, Fernando. When I come on the field and lead them to win a game, these 'fence-sitters' will lean towards me a little bit. If we win a few more games, they will lean towards me a little more. If we keep winning, they will completely lean towards me. Then even if I say I want to play in the Champions League, they will follow me to compete for the Champions League qualification without a doubt."

Clement, who had known Wang Lie for many years, was already immune to this guy's bold words. He was not shocked by his words, but frowned and said, "I don't want to say this, but I still have to remind you, Wang. You will be 38 years old on the 17th of next month..."

Wang Lie didn't care: "Age is not a problem, Fernando. As long as I can score goals, age is not a problem."

Seeing Wang Lie was so stubborn, Clement could only change the subject, "By the way, I finally found a house for you that can definitely meet all your requirements. It's in Northumberland. Except that the rent is much more expensive than other houses, it has no disadvantages."

"This is not a disadvantage. It can be solved with money. It is much better than living in a hotel all the time. When can I move in?" Wang Lie asked.

"Wait a few more days. After we move all your things in Manchester, you can move in, so as not to affect your daily routine."

"Okay, I'll leave it to you."

Wang Lie continued to watch the game, even though judging from the situation, the outcome of the game was no longer in doubt.

But he waited until the final whistle before turning off the TV, and his agent Clement also left.

(End of this chapter)