Because of Hu Lai's low-key response, the matter between Lin Zhiyuan and him quickly settled down.
After all, it was just a conversation between two young people, and one was a Chinese League One player and the other was a Chinese Super League youth team player.
Such a thing by itself does not deserve much coverage and publicity.
Everyone still pays more attention to the performance on the field.
After the game against Youjiang Honglian, the Chinese League One has ushered in a rare one-match-a-week relaxation period.
There was no game in midweek, but it was not until April 15th, Saturday, that they welcomed Ningtian Yongan at home.
This team was a Chinese Super League team last season, but was relegated in the end. They will play in the Chinese Super League this season.
Although they are a relegated team, the skinny camel is bigger than the horse. Yongan still wants to return to the Chinese Super League as soon as possible, so their personnel loss this season is not serious, and they are still considered a strong team in the Chinese Super League.
In the end, Shining Star was tied by their opponents at home. The two teams fought to a score of 0:0, with neither team scoring a goal.
Hu Lai was closely guarded by the opponent in this game, and Chen Xingyi's condition was not as good as in the previous game. He was replaced in the 70th minute.
However, because of their outstanding performance in previous games, neither Chen Hantang, Chen Xingyi, nor even Zhao Kangming felt anxious or dissatisfied.
Chen Xingyi's performance in the previous three games has proven his ability. If he performs normally, he can fully meet the team's requirements.
After such a performance, Zhao Kangming felt confident and knew that he was not wrong in his bet.
Chen Xingyi also has the confidence and patience to face the occasional normal ups and downs.
After playing the league match with Ningtian Yongan, Flash Stars ushered in the fourth round of the Football Association Cup in mid-week.
Starting from this round, all Chinese Super League teams will enter the venue, and the Football Association Cup will implement a comprehensive and disorderly mixed draw. In each round, each game will be played against both sides, and the home and away games will be decided by draw.
As a result, various unexpected situations are particularly prone to occur, but it also means that weaker teams may not necessarily encounter stronger Chinese Super League teams.
For example, Flash Star was particularly lucky this time. In the fourth round of the Football Association Cup, they drew the Hercynian Elite from the Chinese Second Division. Of course, this time they need to go to an away game and cannot sit back and relax at home.
"Hu Lai, why didn't you go see Director Zhao this time?" Wang Guangwei asked after returning to the rental house after training. The two people did not go back to their bedrooms immediately, but sat in the living room chatting.
"Why should I go to Director Zhao?" Hu Lai wondered.
"Didn't you say that not only the last FA Cup game, but also every FA Cup game in the future, you will participate in? If you don't ask Zhao for guidance, what if he doesn't put you on the roster?"
Hu Lai was stunned.
Wang Guangwei's eyes widened: "Have you forgotten?"
Hu Lai quickly shook his head: "I haven't forgotten, of course I remember!"
But in fact, of course he had forgotten about it. He was just telling those nonsense in order to make full use of the effect of [Lingxi Card]. Since it was nonsense, of course he would forget it after saying it. Anyway, he had already played in the Football Association Cup.
When the effect of [Lingxi Card] is reached, then why should we worry about the FA Cup?
But of course he couldn't tell Wang Guangwei such a reason. This was not a question of whether the character was broken or not. The main thing was that Wang Guangwei didn't believe him even if he said it...
Thinking of this, he explained: "I believe that with the importance that Director Zhao attaches to me, he will take the initiative to put me on the roster without me reminding him at all. Otherwise, I will take the initiative to find him every time, then you
What do you want Director Zhao to think? 'Am I, Zhao Kangming, such a forgetful person? Do you just not believe me that much?'"
Hu Lai imitated Coach Zhao's tone and said, then spread his hands: "You see how embarrassing it is? Lao Wang, how can we players embarrass the head coach?"
Wang Guangwei thought for a while and accepted Hu Lai's explanation.
Then the next day, when Zhao Kangming announced the squad for the away game in the FA Cup, there was no Hu Lai or Wang Guangwei, but Chen Xingyi...
"This..." Facing Wang Guangwei's questioning gaze, Hu Lai twitched the corner of his mouth, then frowned and said sadly, "I didn't expect Director Zhao to be forgetful sometimes. It seems that Director Zhao is really old... Sigh
, Director Zhao only..."
He forgot how old Director Zhao was.
It was Wang Guangwei who reminded him: "Forty-seven years old."
Hu Lai exclaimed: "What? Director Zhao is only forty-seven years old? Look at his white hair at the temples. I believe you when you say he is fifty-seven! Director Zhao has worked so hard for our team. He is aging fast! His memory is also poor."
It’s not as good as it used to be…”
"Hu Lai, you just forgot what you said?" No matter how realistic Hu Lai's acting was, Wang Guangwei could see through the essence at a glance. "Or maybe it was just something you said casually, and you didn't take it seriously after you said it.
…”
Hu Lai said angrily: "Who said I said it casually? Let me tell you, Lao Wang, I will go to Director Zhao soon and ask him to add me to the list! I am serious about playing in the FA Cup!"
"The list has been announced, what's the use of looking for it again?" Wang Guangwei snorted. "In hindsight, that's nice to say..."
Hu Lai stood up and left: "It depends on man-made things!"
He really went to find Zhao Kangming.
※※※
Zhao Kangming, who was sitting in the office, looked at Hu Lai with interest: "I have considered that the next two consecutive weeks will be double matches, and this FA Cup match is an away game. There is really no need for you to travel so far.
, just to play a few dozen minutes of the game. So I didn’t put you in the squad... What, do you really plan to fulfill your promise and play in every FA Cup?"
Hu Lai smiled flatteringly: "Look what you said, Director Zhao. A gentleman's words are hard to follow. Since I said it, I must do it. Otherwise, won't I be looked down upon by people like Wang Guangwei?"
Zhao Kangming asked with a smile: "Are you looked down upon by Wang Guangwei?"
"No, Director Zhao. How could Lao Wang look down on me?" Hu Lai shook his head like a rattle.
Zhao Kangming didn't care about these details. He smiled and shook his head: "If you came to me before the big list was announced, it would be no problem to add you in. But it doesn't work now. I have already announced the list. In order to add you in,
Who do you think I should adjust out? Although some people don’t care about the FA Cup, most of the players I selected for the FA Cup squad are eager for this game..."
"Chen Xingyi." Hu Lai suddenly said, interrupting Director Zhao's words.
"ah?"
"Director Zhao, you can adjust Chen Xingyi out and put me in. The position will be the same and it will have no impact on the lineup. Moreover, Chen Xingyi also started in the league, which can just give him a rest..." Hu Lai
said.
Zhao Kangming smiled: "Speaking of Hu Lai, no matter how good your relationship with Chen Xingyi is, you can't point your fingers at him alone!"
After laughing, he shook his head and said firmly: "Chen Xingyi needs to play more games with the team now, he can't rest."
Seeing that Chen Xingyi could not be taken out of the roster, Hu Lai frowned and felt embarrassed. Apart from Chen Xingyi, it was really hard for him to replace anyone else...
Seeing that Hu Lai was really embarrassed about not being able to play in the FA Cup, Zhao Kangming shook his head and said: "Well, that's it for this game, Hu Lai. But I promise you, in every subsequent FA Cup game, I will
You will be put into the squad. Whether you start or come on as a substitute depends on the situation. What do you think?"
Hu Lai was overjoyed when he heard the promise given by Zhao Kangming: "I think it works! Zhao is a wise guide!"
"Stop flattering me and get out now!" Zhao Kangming rolled up his sleeves.
Hu Lai turned around and ran out.
Looking at Hu Lai's back, Zhao Kangming shook his head helplessly. This kid was full of energy.
He remembered that after the last league game, Hu Lai specifically mentioned to him about targeted training in physical fitness.
It seems that Hu Lai is not satisfied with his physical fitness, even though everyone thinks his physical fitness is already very good.
But obviously he hopes to reach the upper limit of his physical fitness and recovery speed.
Be self-motivated, know what you are not doing well enough, and be willing to put in sweat and effort...
In fact, such young players are by no means just fools. Wang Guangwei and Chen Xingyi are also like this, and they work very hard in training.
By the way, there is also Zhang Qinghuan. That kid’s attitude in training is nothing to say. He seems to want to make up for the three years he lost.
These young people are really different from those in earlier years.
They have their own pursuit of football, not just using it as a tool to make money. They have clear plans for their careers, rather than just following the crowd.
Then they are willing to train hard to achieve their goals and withstand some interference and temptation from the outside world...
He thought of Qin Lin, who was planning to retire.
If the new era after Da Qin retires is created by these young people, I think he won't have any regrets and reluctance, right?
No, there will definitely still be.
Zhao Kangming frowned.
He will definitely regret why young people like Hu Lai and others were not around him when he was fighting.
After all, in the Chinese football world at that time, there were too few "professional" professional players like Qin Lin...so that "professional" became the advantage of Qin Lin, a professional player.
※※※
"Did Director Zhao really say that?" Wang Guangwei looked at Hu Lai with wide eyes.
Hu Lai said triumphantly: "I told you, Director Zhao must have forgotten. He has promised me now that he will let me be included in the squad whenever there is a Football Association Cup match in the future!"
Then he ignored Wang Guangwei who was deep in thought, turned around and said to Chen Xingyi: "Little Xingxing, I can't accompany you this time, you have to be angry. Don't make the media say that without me, you can't even play ball."
Can’t get in!”
Chen Xingyi retorted: "Without me, you can't score, right?"
"Haha." Hu Lai looked at him and sneered.
Chen Xingyi also realized that Hu Lai could score goals with or without him... He decided not to dwell on the topic of Hu Lai's advantages.
"My dad is here to pick me up, I'm leaving first!"
※※※
On the afternoon of Wednesday, April 19, Chen Xingyi scored the go-ahead goal in the fourth round of the FA Cup when Star Stars challenged Hercynian Elite away from home, helping Star Star eliminate the home team 2:1 away from home.
Narrowly reaching the fifth round of the FA Cup.
But there was nothing special about this game, just an ordinary FA Cup match.
The Haixi Elites may have known that they were in bad luck when they were drawn to the Flash Star.
He was very calm even after losing the game.
Chen Xingyi's wonderful performance in the game can only make his fans happy, but in fact it can't make any waves in the media.
Because in Chinese football today, the protagonist belongs to an amateur team.
"The game is over! It's incredible! The Juxing City football team from Dongtai unexpectedly eliminated the Chinese League One team Lingnan Nanhai in the fifth round of the Football Association Cup!"
The Dongtai Sports Center, which can only accommodate 20,000 people, was filled with cheers. The home team players hugged each other passionately on the court and celebrated their victory.
"Unbelievable, unbelievable... Dongtai Juxing City is just an amateur team. It is not easy to reach the fifth round. This time they met Lingnan Nanhai, a strong team in the Chinese League One. Everyone thought they were destined to lose.
.Unexpectedly, the tenacious Juxing City eventually dragged the game into a penalty shootout! And in the penalty shootout, they defeated Lingnan Nanhai, who had despised them before the game!"
Luo Kai sat on the turf in pain. He played the entire game and scored a goal, which was the only goal scored by the South China Sea team.
If it were another game, this performance would definitely not be bad.
But when the opponent in this game is an amateur team, such a performance is really difficult to call it good...
His goal in the opening 13 minutes helped the Nanhai team take the lead. Originally, this game should have developed smoothly like this. The Nanhai team would have scored and finally won with a very disparate score.
The results of it?
After taking the lead, the Nanhai team was arrogant and underestimated the opponent, thinking that the opponent was a soft persimmon that they could manipulate at will.
Not to mention wasting opportunities by changing tricks, after the opponent equalized the score in the second half, the whole team immediately panicked.
They can no longer organize a decent attack and can no longer threaten Juxing City's goal.
In the final 90 minutes, the match ended in a 1:1 tie.
According to the rules of the Football Association Cup, if there is a draw during regular time, there will be no overtime, but penalty kicks will be exchanged directly.
This rule is set up to make the Football Association Cup competition full of surprises and create upsets.
This time, China League One Nanhai became a victim of this rule.
An upset has appeared!
In the penalty kick shootout, Juxing City, an amateur team, performed steadily amidst the cheers of more than 10,000 fans. The Nanhai team was completely panicked. They only took four penalty kicks and missed two of the goals.
, in the end, they didn't even take the fifth penalty kick, and were eliminated by an amateur team.
Luo Kai made his second appearance on behalf of the Nanhai team in the penalty shootout. He kicked in, but he still couldn't change the team's fate of being eliminated...
He attaches great importance to the FA Cup, because when he has not been able to get a stable starting opportunity in the league, the FA Cup has naturally become a game where he can start.
So he was very serious in the FA Cup match, went all out and scored goals.
But such an outstanding performance has now come to an abrupt end.
At this moment, the frustrated Luo Kai felt someone put his hand on his shoulder. He looked back and saw that it was the team's head coach Pan Hongwei. He was squatting next to him and putting an arm on his shoulder.
"Coach Pan, I'm sorry..." Luo Kai saw the coach and apologized quickly.
"Many people should be responsible for the failure of this game, including me, but you don't need to apologize, Luo Kai." The old coach shook his head and said, "There is no need to play the Football Association Cup, and there is still a league. Just treat it as the Dongtai Conference.
Star City helped us make a multiple-choice question, and now we can devote all our energy to the league and strive for successful promotion."
When he said these words, he was looking at the Star City players who were celebrating in the distance.
"This is football. You wouldn't have thought that a Chinese League One team would fall at the feet of an amateur team. Just like no one would have thought that a man who had been disabled for three years could use his speed to eat our defender alive, and then
Use a world-class assist to kill our dream of reaching the Super League at our own home court..." Pan Hongwei murmured.
Luo Kai knew which game he was talking about. The person who received this world-class assist and scored the goal in that game was named Hu Lai.
"Coach Pan, I will do my best to help the team advance to the next level!" Luo Kai breathed heavily and made a promise.
When Pan Hongwei heard what he said, he smiled, raised his hand and patted his shoulder gently, then stood up and walked towards the other players.
Luo Kai also got up from the ground, turned around and walked down the court without looking back.