"Lao Hu, Lao Hu, which is the best hot pot restaurant in Jincheng?"
Hu Lai received a WeChat message from Li Chengwu on his mobile phone.
"Any restaurant has delicious food, why do you want to invite me and Lao Wang to dinner?" Hu Lai replied.
"Okay, I'll treat you when we win!"
"Stingy guy, if you don't want to be invited, just say it directly. What are you willing to do with such a promise that can't be completed? How about this? Let Chen Xingyi treat us to a meal after the competition is over!"
"Who is Chen Xingyi?"
"Damn it, Li Chengwu, did you do this on purpose? Isn't this a joke that you can't get past?"
"No, I really don't know who Chen Xingyi is..."
"You don't even know the strongest player in China's high school, how did you survive?"
"Ah, I remembered, the one with the Golden Arrow...oh, he went to your Flash Star?"
"That's right, in Saturday's game your Heihe Polar Stars will face an attacking lineup composed of me, Chen Xingyi, and Zhang Qinghuan. I'm asking if you are afraid?"
"Eh? Didn't the media say that Chen Xingyi will not start?" Li Chengwu discovered a blind spot.
Then he saw Hu Lai withdraw the message just now.
Um?
Li Chengwu's eyes widened.
At first he didn't take it seriously and just asked casually, but when Hu Lai withdrew like this, Li Chengwu immediately thought that Hu Lai must have let the matter slip!
Earned it, earned it!
I didn’t expect that I would unintentionally find out important information about Flashing Star!
Thinking of this, he deliberately pretended to be stupid: "Hey, Hu Lai, why did you withdraw?"
"I don't eat hot pot very much. If you want to eat hot pot, you can go to Dianping and search online. They will be ranked according to the star rating. The more stars, the better..."
Oops, change the subject!
Got it, got it!
"Okay, thank you in advance!"
Li Chengwu found the WeChat ID of head coach Yuan Jiang in his address book: "Director Yuan, Director Yuan, I found out a new situation about the Flashing Star lineup..."
※※※
The stands of the Andong Provincial Sports Center were filled with people. This was the team's second home game this season and the first home game in which both Hu Lai and Wang Guangwei started.
Just now, Flash Star, playing at home, scored a goal in the game and took a 1:0 lead.
The goal was not scored by Hu Lai, who started the game, but by Hu Lai's strike partner, foreign aid Murphy.
Heihe Polaris head coach Yuan Jiang looked back at Li Chengwu who was sitting on the bench, and his expression was not very good.
Li Chengwu naturally noticed the way the head coach looked at him. He leaned back and tried his best to stay within the shadow of his teammates on the side.
Then he turned his attention to Hulay, who was celebrating the goal with his teammates on the court.
This bastard!
He actually tricked me!
Where did Chen Xingyi start? Isn't he still sitting on the bench?!
Fortunately, he had vowed to head coach Yuan that based on his internal reports at Flash Star, Chen Xingyi would definitely start in this game...
Damn it!
This leads to some small errors when the team arranges targeted tactics...
Li Chengwu didn't know if this error caused the team to concede the goal, but he couldn't tell if Director Yuan insisted on putting the blame on his head, he wouldn't have to accept it obediently, okay?
※※※
After Murphy scored, Chen Xingyi and other substitute teammates jumped up from the bench to cheer and celebrate the team's goal.
Then he sat down and looked at the court with some melancholy.
The smile on his face gradually disappeared.
Flashing Star's bench rules are far less numerous than those of Golden Arrow. In other words, even if he plays with his mobile phone on the bench now, he will not incur punishment or rebuke from head coach Zhao Kangming.
He didn't know whether this was a common phenomenon in China League A or a phenomenon unique to Flash Stars.
But now Chen Xingyi has no idea of playing with his mobile phone.
Before he was in Golden Arrow, I heard across half of China that Hu Lai played in the Chinese League One, and Hu Lai scored in the Chinese League One...
But as for Hu Lai's specific games, I actually haven't watched many of them.
Today is the first time he has watched Hu Lai play in the club team at close range.
Different from the Olympic team games on TV, he found that Hu Lai was more at ease when he returned to the club. It was as if he was back at home. He took off his coat, casually slumped on the sofa, and did whatever he wanted. He was very free.
It is a state where the whole person is relaxed physically and mentally. It is definitely not the kind of "relaxation" that is pretended in front of outsiders.
He has really integrated into this team.
Although Hulay did not score a goal, just listen to the cheers from the stands after he got the ball.
He belongs here.
Chen Xingyi was a little envious.
In the two years since he and Hu Lai had not seen each other, so many things had happened, and Hu Lai had become much more powerful than before, as if he had become a different person.
But he alone seemed to be still treading water.
Before this game, head coach Zhao Kangming had a special chat with him and told him that the running-in with the team has not been completed yet and that he is not familiar enough yet, so don't be anxious, take your time, step by step, and you can always wait for the opportunity.
.
These words are correct, but in the face of Hu Lai's performance, it is really difficult for Chen Xingyi not to be anxious.
He didn't know how long he had to wait or how long he had to take his time.
Is it just like watching your former national finals opponent from the bench in every game, putting yourself further and further behind?
Director Zhao also comforted him, saying that the span from youth team players to first-team players is very long, and the two teams are simply two worlds. Many youth team players eventually become qualified first-team players, and this may require some experience.
many years.
He, Chen Xingyi, is only 20 years old now, and he is already very talented and has successfully entered the first team.
In other words, he has defeated 99% of the young people in Chinese football.
Zhao Kangming said this, of course, hoping that Chen Xingyi could calm down and not be impatient.
Chen Xingyi also admitted that Director Zhao was right, especially what he said about the differences between the youth team and the adult team. Why is it that only playing in the first team is considered a true professional player? Because not all youth team players are
Being able to guarantee that you will be able to play in the first team, even if you are an outstanding performer in the youth team, does not prove that you have the ability to establish yourself in the first team, and it may not even be possible to play as a substitute in the first team.
Put it this way, he is really talented when he can play as a first-team substitute for the Chinese Super League team Golden Arrow at the age of nineteen.
Not to mention that he entered professional football as a student player.
The training I have received since childhood is inherently different from that of professional players, and it is normal for there to be gaps.
He knew that Director Zhao did not lie to him, nor did he talk nonsense to comfort him.
If there was no Hu Lai in this world, Chen Xingyi could accept the comfort from Director Zhao with peace of mind, and really calm down and slowly develop, waiting for the moment when his opportunity comes. It may take a year, it may take
Three years, but everyone around him is like this, and Chen Xingyi doesn't think there is anything wrong with it.
But now, when there is a monster in front of him who only started football training at the age of sixteen and completed the triple jump from the school team to the professional team to the Olympic team in just three years, you want to let Chen Xing
How can Yi accept this reality calmly?
He really wants to ask Director Zhao. What you said makes so much sense, but... "What about Hu Lai?"
Why can Hu Lai ignore these rules? Why doesn't Hu Lai wait for his chance on the bench?
Whenever he thinks about these reasons, it is difficult for Chen Xingyi to calmly accept his fate.
Of course, in the end, Chen Xingyi controlled his emotions and didn't really ask.
※※※
"After Hu Lai came back, the team's offensive performance was really different."
Although the goal was not scored by Hu Lai, assistant coach Chen Mo was still full of praise for Hu Lai's performance.
With him on the court, Flash Star's offensive threat is directly upgraded. Even if he does not score, the opponent must send more troops to defend him and beware of the cold arrows that may appear at any time.
In this way, other players will naturally be given the opportunity to score.
This is how Murphy scored just now - Hu Lai ran to grab the ball, and the Heihe Polaris players thought that the Flash Star offense would definitely pass the ball forward.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Qinghuan passed the football to the back point, where there was an open space.
Murphy came in from behind, leaped forward, and just pushed the football into the North Stars goal.
"Because our offense has a direction." Head coach Zhao Kangming said. "He is on the court, and everyone knows what to do when attacking - first look at Hu Lai, where he is, and how he runs.
No matter whether I am passing the ball or dribbling the ball, I will use his actions as a reference."
"I feel that after going to the Olympic team, Hu Lai plays more confidently."
"That's it, I'm full of confidence. After all, I won the East Asian Cup championship and the top scorer, best player, trinity..." Zhao Kangming added in his heart: He can even beat his teammates in the locker room. Do you think he has it now?
no confidence?
Last season, Hu Lai was still a "younger brother" in the team who needed others to take care of him. He relied on Wang Guangwei's leadership to gradually integrate into the team.
But now he is already a "veteran" in front of the new players who have joined the team.
Especially in front of Chen Xingyi.
Thinking of Chen Xingyi, Zhao Kangming lowered his head and looked at the time.
There are still thirty minutes left before the end of the game.
He thought for a while, since the team's current offensive momentum is good, should he replace Chen Xingyi and let him get familiar with the team's offensive routine with Hu Lai on the court? After all, the future stars will still be based on Hu Lai.
The court is played under preset conditions.
In Zhao Kangming's mind, Chen Xingyi did not come here just to be a spare tire for Hu Lai.
Anyone can be replaced, but Hu Lai plays a very important role in the team and cannot be easily replaced.
He wanted to see what kind of chemical reaction Chen Xingyi, Hu Lai, Zhang Qinghuan, and Qin Lin could produce when they were together.
Thinking of this, Zhao Kangming turned to Chen Mo and said, "Let Chen Xingyi warm up."
※※※
Why is Chen Xingyi so sure that the head coach Zhao Kangming, who has never worked with him before, is really good for him and what he said to him is the truth?
Because although he didn't perform well as a starter in the first game, Director Zhao still used him as a substitute in every subsequent game.
Through this detail, Chen Xingyi can see that Director Zhao really wants to get more in touch with the team, instead of just saying one thing and doing another.
No, assistant coach Chen Mo came to inform him and asked him to warm up.
Chen Xingyi knew that he was going to come on as a substitute again.
He didn't know who he would replace, but he thought that there was a high probability that he would not be able to replace Hu Lai.
This time in front of Hu Lai, he must perform well, there is no way that Hu Lai will look down on him!
With this thought in mind, Chen Xingyi ran to the warm-up area and started to warm up very seriously.
※※※
Five minutes later, Chen Xingyi stood on the sidelines and was about to be replaced.
The fourth official next to him was fiddling with the electronic number plate for substitutions.
Chen Xingyi already knows who he will replace, not Hu Lai, but foreign forward Murphy who scored goals for the team.
Seeing this scene, Chen Hantang, who was sitting in the stadium box, stood up from his chair, walked to the floor-to-ceiling glass window, and stared down at his son's back.
He knew very well that choosing to come to Flash Star on loan from Golden Arrow was an adventure with no future.
It was a somewhat crazy gamble.
If his son couldn't succeed in Flashing Star, even though China was big, he didn't know where he would send his son. Could it be... taking his son abroad to try his luck?
For the sake of his son's professional football career, he quit his job to be his agent, hoping to help pave the way for his son.
As a result, the road was paved, and it seemed that it was getting further and further off...
I thought that coming from the highly competitive Chinese Super League to the Chinese Premier League, with his son’s ability, it would be easy for him to stand out.
Unexpectedly, he came to Flash Star because the transfer deadline was approaching, and his son missed the team's training camp and the opportunity to get used to the new team.
One wrong step, one wrong step.
Up to now, his son is still in the process of getting familiar with the team and the new environment.
That Zhao Kangming was right when he told his son, be patient and wait.
But the question is, if my son only stays at Flash Star for one season, how long can he be patient?
Wait patiently, what if half the season has passed?
Chen Hantang looked down at his watch and found that Zhao Kangming had given his son about twenty-five minutes of playing time in this game.
The last one was twenty minutes, and the last one was fifteen minutes.
Each game has five more minutes of playing time than the previous game.
Zhao Kangming must not want to give up on Xingyi just like that, right?
Seize the opportunity, son!
Chen Hantang stood in the box, looked at his son's back, and said in his heart.
Because your head coach won’t always be so generous…
Especially after Hu Lai has returned to the team, his offensive needs may not be as urgent as before.