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Chapter 72 International Players

"He scored in four consecutive games, scored twice, scored a hat trick, and scored seven goals in total... It's unbelievable. This is a 38-year-old veteran!"

In the locker room of Lille Athletic's training base, some people were listening to music, some were playing games, and some were chatting.

Everyone was enjoying the leisure time before the training began.

Lenny Isara was talking to his phone about the news he had just seen.

That was a report about the Premier League.

Or to be more precise, it was the coverage of the Premier League match in which Tyneside beat Wolverhampton 3-0 at home.

Although Vitini scored twice in the game, he was named the best player of the game after the game.

But the focus of the report is still on Wang Lie.

The data that made Isara sigh were listed in the report.

After shaking his head and sighing, Isara touched Fu Xiaofeng beside him: "Fu, do you think Wang changed his age?"

Fu Xiaofeng turned his head to look at his midfield partner with an expression that looked like a black question mark.

"Did he change his age? Although he appears to be thirty-eight, he is actually only thirty-three..."

Fu Xiaofeng's expression turned into that of an old man on the subway looking at his phone:

"What are you talking about, Lenny? Changing the age is always done to a younger age, how can it be changed to an older age? Are you crazy?"

"Or maybe you Chinese must have some 'fountain of youth', and if you drink a sip, you can regain your youth!" Isara was still not giving up and gave another explanation.

Fu Xiaofeng rolled his eyes at him and said, "Do you think I have regained my youth?"

"You don't look like you're 32." Isara looked at Fu Xiaofeng carefully and said, "You Chinese people all look younger than your actual age..."

Fu Xiaofeng nodded and admitted: "That's right, you look just like someone my age."

The 29-year-old Lenny Isara grinned, revealing his big white teeth: "Fortunately, I was born in France. If I was born in Africa, I would not know how old I am now... My grandfather couldn't tell exactly how old he was. I heard several versions of the numbers from my father, uncle, and cousin. It was a mess..."

After complaining about himself, Isara brought the topic back to the news he had just read: "If the king didn't change his age and didn't drink the water from the fountain of youth, then why did he behave so horribly?"

"You ask me, who should I ask?" Fu Xiaofeng spread his hands.

"Ask Wang, aren't you teammates on the national team?"

Isara said it as a matter of course, but Fu Xiaofeng's expression was a little subtle...

He could only perfunctorily say: "Then I can only ask when the national team plays..."

"Don't you have his phone number or something?" Isara was even more puzzled.

"No." Fu Xiaofeng told the truth this time.

Isara was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized: "Oh, the king's personality and temper are indeed difficult to approach..."

He thought that Fu Xiaofeng had no personal relationship with Wang Lie because of Wang Lie's aura of "keep away from strangers".

After all, there is nothing surprising about this happening to Wang Lie.

Fu Xiaofeng did not refute, but followed his partner's words and spread his hands: "So."

Isara frowned again and looked back at the news on his phone: "It's incredible. It's not uncommon for players over 38 to be in such a state for one or two games, but for so many games in a row, every game is like this. I have never heard of anyone who can do it before... I even went to watch the videos of these games. Fu, do you know? I even have an illusion..."

"What illusion?"

"I just think Wang's physical condition in recent games is better than when he first arrived at Tyne, especially in the details of several sprints and power confrontations, which are very obvious... Oh, and physical fitness. A 38-year-old player played a full 90 minutes in the Premier League... Wow, it's really amazing! So I wonder if he has really regained his youth?"

Fu Xiaofeng felt that his partner's talk was nonsense: "Where is the rejuvenation? You have to consider how he was treated in Sofia United in the first half of the season - he didn't play a single game properly, and the training effect was probably not guaranteed. Moreover, before transferring to Tyne, he was punished to train with the youth team. Can the intensity of youth team training be the same as that of the first team? When he goes to Tyne, both training and games will return to normal, and his physical condition will naturally be better than when he first arrived."

"Is that so?" Isara thought thoughtfully.

"Of course. Do you really believe in 'rejuvenation'?" Fu Xiaofeng sneered. "If there really is a 'fountain of youth' in China, I would definitely go and drink from it!"

This way, I won’t be laughed at as the “crown prince for seventy years”… I can also compete again with a younger body.

Fu Xiaofeng muttered to himself.

Fu Xiaofeng, 32 years old this year, was originally the most talented player in Chinese football after Wang Lie. As an attacking midfielder, he became famous at a young age and was once considered Wang Lie's successor.

He himself is also working hard towards this goal.

Take Wang Lie as your idol and take him as an example, learn to pursue victory and never stop like him... Then when Wang Lie grows old and fades out of the national team, he can take over the banner of "the core of the Chinese national team" and continue to lead the Chinese team forward and create good results in the World Cup like his idol.

When the 2022 World Cup was held in China, Fu Xiaofeng was only seventeen years old and had already become the core of the U17 national team.

Naturally, he will become a member and core of the U19, U20, U21 and U23 national teams in the future.

Then, he will become a national team player without any prefix.

That summer, he witnessed with his own eyes at his doorstep how the Chinese national team, led by Wang Lie, made it to the quarterfinals of the World Cup, making history.

The whole country rejoiced when they reached the quarterfinals that night.

Fu Xiaofeng didn't sleep all night. At first it was because of the partying, but later he couldn't sleep at all.

Whenever he closed his eyes, the scene of Wang Lie scoring the winning goal would appear in his mind.

Then he couldn't help but wonder what it would be like when he became a national team player and participated in the World Cup...

He envisioned that kind of future.

The thought of scoring a goal in the World Cup gave him goose bumps. He even imitated the commentator's voice in his mind and boasted about himself:
"Fu Xiaofeng! Good shot from Fu Xiaofeng! Beautiful!! Fu Xiaofeng scored! He defeated Brazil! Fu Xiaofeng is the hero of the Chinese team's World Cup victory!"

He closed his eyes and imagined himself running on the World Cup field, the wind blowing across his face, the deafening cheers in his ears, the shouts of his teammates, and the praise from his idol:
"Nice shot, Xiaofeng!"

Then he laughed out loud while hugging the quilt in bed.

He also thought that when he becomes a national team player, he will definitely do his best to assist his idol, and then together we will achieve better results than the quarterfinals in the World Cup!
The reality turned out to be extremely cruel.

Four years later, the 21-year-old Fu Xiaofeng participated in the World Cup for the first time. Most of the time he was a substitute and a spectator at the place closest to the stadium.

He watched Wang Lie, who was in a slump, score only one goal in that World Cup, and the Chinese team, which was highly expected, went home after playing three group matches.

The quarterfinal result in the last World Cup seemed like a sweet dream for all Chinese fans, but now they are awake.

At the 2030 World Cup in Spain and Portugal, Fu Xiaofeng was already years old. He had long been the main midfielder of the Chinese national team. The frontcourt attacking combination of him and Wang Lie was even praised by some media and fans as "the strongest in Asia".

Thanks to their efforts, the Chinese team finally made it to the knockout stage again in the World Cup this time.

But he was eliminated in the round of 16...

The 2034 Saudi World Cup should be the last time for -year-old Wang Lie to participate in the World Cup. The -year-old Fu Xiaofeng is more mature. Coupled with the young genius Chi Zhen, this should be the best time for the Chinese team to make history.

They led the Chinese team to the knockout stage in two consecutive World Cups.

But they failed again on the way from the round of 16 to the quarterfinals.

Fu Xiaofeng still remembers that when the referee blew the whistle to end the game, the Brazilian players ran past him excitedly and bumped into him.

The other party was completely immersed in the ecstasy of promotion and did not stop to apologize to him.

He himself was like a wooden man and had no reaction at all.

After the World Cup, he thought Wang Lie should fade out of the national team, and the "Fu Xiaofeng era" of the Chinese team was finally coming!
The result is not.

Brother Wang never mentioned quitting the national team or retiring, even when he had no more football to play in Sofia, he still refused to give in.

If he doesn't say he will retire, who dares to say that the national team will not recruit him?
As long as Brother Wang doesn't retire, Fu Xiaofeng will always be the "crown prince" and will never become the king. His time in the national team will never come.

While Brother Wang is still on long standby, an even more powerful talent, Chi Zhen, has emerged on the Chinese team.

After the failure of the 2035 Asian Cup, the new head coach He Zhenyong took office and directly determined the tactical thinking with Chi Zhen as the core, even at the cost of offending Wang Lie and being cyberbullied by Wang Lie's fans...

As for Fu Xiaofeng, who was originally regarded as "Wang Lie's successor", he was ignored.

In the past, Chinese fans nicknamed him "Prince".

Now this nickname is given to Chi Zhen.

Then he got a new nickname - "Deposed Crown Prince"...

The old emperor hasn't even abdicated yet, but the new prince is already catching up so aggressively.

So I feel awkward, being caught between the new and old generations.

He neither took over Wang Lie's position nor created new glory for Chinese football together with Wang Lie.

Thinking back on my previous aspirations and ambitions, it seems like a joke.

He couldn't remember when he stopped considering Wang Lie as his idol, role model and goal.

Maybe it was the same period when he no longer regarded creating new glory for Chinese football as his ideal.

What a brilliant future for Chinese football, what a new history for Chinese football...

What does it have to do with him, the deposed crown prince?
If the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up. If Wang Lie retires, there is Chi Zhen. Why should I worry about the future of Chinese football?
That's it, love whoever you want...

Fu Xiaofeng tied his shoelaces, stood up and stomped his feet, the studs hitting the locker room floor with a crisp sound. Then he turned around and said to his partner: "Still watching the news? It's time to go out for training."

Isara then reluctantly put down his phone, put on his training clothes, and stood up to chase Fu Xiaofeng.

※※※

After lining up to shake hands and express gratitude to their opponents on the field one by one, the young players of the Aweka Five-Star Youth Team came to the sidelines together to thank the fans who came to the scene to cheer for them.

Then several young players with obvious oriental faces gathered at a place in the stands.

"Brother Qin! Brother Qin!"

They waved to the man in the stands who also had an oriental face.

As they called out to him, the man walked down from the stands, then climbed over the billboard and came to the young players.

"You played well in today's game! You won 4:0! Awesome!"

He patted the shoulders and backs of the young players one by one, touched their heads and ruffled their hair.

"hey-hey!"

These little players were smiling happily, just like cats being petted.

There were several Chinese fans in the stands who were also very excited:
"Just as the news said, Qin An will come to watch the echelon's game! See, it was right to come to the echelon to wait for him!"

"Qin An really loves Aweika Five Stars! After so many years, he still insists on coming to the echelon to watch the game..."

"Nonsense! This is his mother's home, of course he comes back often."

"Speaking of which, Aweika Five Stars has trained many Chinese players over the years, but only Qin An was able to gain a foothold in the first team. Isn't this input-output ratio too low?"

"Tsk, you can't calculate it that way. Although Qin An is the only one who can gain a foothold in the five-star first-line team, the others can also go to teams with a lower level than the five-star team, or teams in a lower league... After all, it gives those young people who came to Portugal from China to pursue their ideal of professional football a chance to continue..."

"That's right. Yue Hang didn't have a chance to play in Barcelona B team, but Melendez, who went to the Spanish Second Division, got to play. Now he is the main goalkeeper of the Scottish Premier League team. It can be regarded as a 'curve to save the country'..."

"So, you don't have to play in the first team right away. As long as you can stay in Europe, you will have the opportunity to be seen. In this sense, I am very grateful to Avicaf for its support and help to Chinese football. Although it is a Chinese-funded club, the boss is willing to spend real money to support Chinese football and has persisted for nearly 20 years. It is really amazing. Look at the kids in the youth team now. Who knows, maybe one or two of them will enter the national team like Qin An in the future?"

While the fans were discussing, Qin An was also chatting with the young players of the Aweka Five-Star Youth Team.

However, the topic of their conversation had nothing to do with today's youth team competition, nor with Qin An, the brother Qin in front of them.

"Brother Qin, have you watched Uncle Wang's recent game?"

When Qin An heard them mention "Uncle Wang", he laughed: "How could I not have seen it? I am the number one 'Wang fan' in the national team! Haha! I have had a great time during this period!"

Several kids around sixteen or seventeen years old were also very excited. Brother Qin was a fan of Wang, and they, the younger generations in the same club, were naturally influenced by Brother Qin and preferred Wang Lie.

Of course, some people also raised questions: "Uncle Wang is obviously 38 years old, why do I feel that his condition is getting better and better?"

Qin An smiled and said, "That's why I said Brother Wang is an extraordinary person! Most people's condition would indeed decline seriously when they are 38 years old, but Brother Wang is not an ordinary person!"

"Isn't it possible for Uncle Wang to be selected for the national team again this time?"

Qin An answered them in a very affirmative tone: "Nonsense! Of course! If I still can't be selected for the national team with this kind of performance, Coach He really doesn't want to do this job anymore!"

A group of little guys showed an expression that said, "Only Brother Qin would dare to say such a thing"...

The Chinese fans who were waiting to get Qin An's autograph and take photos in the distance noticed that Qin An was still chatting with the young players of the youth team, and they also became curious:

"What are they talking about? They look so happy..."

"I think he's talking about the game we just played. We won 4:0. It was really a good game..."

"Now we have more young players emerging, Chinese football is getting better and better!"

※※※

Yue Hang saw the football being passed from the side to the front of the goal.

He immediately yelled, "Mine!"

At the same time, he rushed out of the goal, jumped towards the ball, raised his hands high, and picked up the ball in the air in the dense crowd in front of the goal.

After landing, he bumped into someone next to him, but he didn't pay attention to that. Instead, he rushed out of the crowd, swung his arms, and threw the football to the front court:
"Go away!"

The one who received the ball in front of him was his teammate Zeng Pu.

After receiving the hand-thrown pass from Yue Hang, he dribbled forward and counterattacked.

However, they soon lost the chance to counterattack due to close interference from the opponent's defender.

In the end, he could only barely create a throw-in to keep the ball.

"oops!"

Seeing Zeng Pu wasting the opportunity to counterattack, Yue Hang couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

Zeng Pu in the frontcourt also gave Yue Hang a thumbs up embarrassedly, indicating that Yue Hang had made a good pass.

Seeing this, Yue Hang had to comfort and encourage him.

"It's okay! It's okay!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs in his native tongue.

Then he put his hands on his hips, stood on the penalty area line, and continued to watch the training match like a spectator.

He felt that with Zeng Pu's performance, he would not be able to make the starting lineup for the weekend game.

Alas, just before this, he boasted to me that he would join me in the national team...

At that time, Brother Wang was not in good shape and had no games to play, so he could still dream.

With Brother Wang in such a godlike state right now, Zeng Pu can hardly even dream...

He shook his head.

He shook his head for his teammate Zeng Pu and also for his teammate Chi Zhen, whom he had known since the national youth team.

Brother Wang is in such good shape, he will definitely play a core role in the Chinese team when he returns.

Although Coach He supports Chi Zhen, facing Brother Wang who has scored nine goals in the last six games, I'm afraid Coach He can't keep him on the bench anymore, right?

Fortunately, I am the goalkeeper!
Yue Hang thought with some relief in his heart.

At least he doesn't have to worry about competition in the national team.

Although he is only 25 years old, he has already secured his position as the main goalkeeper of the national team with his own strength.

After all, he is the only goalkeeper in the Chinese team who can play as a main player in a European club.

And it’s not just a low-level league, it’s Scotland’s top league – the Scottish Premier League.

Although it is not one of the top five leagues, the level of the Scottish Premier League is definitely not low.

Being able to become a main player here is definitely not as easy as others imagine.

Especially the goalkeeper position.

In the entire Asian football world, only China, Japan and Australia have goalkeepers who can play as starters in European teams.

Players in other positions may not be selected for the national team even if they play in Europe.

For example, forward.

Zeng Pu, a forward who is one year older than himself, was not selected for the national team.

However, the position of goalkeeper is extremely special. As long as you can play abroad and become a main player in Europe, you will definitely be selected for the national team.

This is also one of the reasons why Yue Hang was unable to play in Barcelona's Athletic B team and would rather go to the Spanish Second Division team Melendez than return to China to play in the Chinese Super League.

Although at that time many Chinese Super League teams were interested in him as a talented goalkeeper.

He knew that if he wanted to have a bigger career, he had to stay in Europe. It was easy to return to China to play football, but it was difficult to leave.

The facts now prove that he was right to stay in Europe.

So some time ago, Brother Wang was almost desperate, but he still insisted on not returning to China. Many people didn’t understand why he was so stubborn, but Yue Hang understood Brother Wang.

As the reform of Chinese football deepens, the level of the domestic league has also made great progress and improvement, and a lot of talents have been cultivated.

But compared with the mainstream European leagues, there is still a big gap.

Otherwise, why would those outstanding talents cultivated through domestic youth training and leagues rush to play football in Europe?
Because they also know where the level of football is higher.

The same is true for football in China's neighboring country, Japan.

The Japanese national team is very strong and many Japanese players play in Europe, but that does not mean that the level of the Japanese domestic league can be compared with that of Europe.

Those Japanese players who study abroad generally do not choose to return to Japan to play football unless they are desperate and no team in Europe wants them.

Although the gap between Asian football and European football is not as big as it was 20 years ago, it is still big.

(End of this chapter)