When Hu Lai rushed to the school cafeteria, he saw Mao Xiao waving to him: "Here, Hu Lai!"
As soon as he passed by, Mao Xiao stuffed a stainless steel dinner plate into his hand and pulled him to stand with him in line to eat.
Dongchuan Middle School has a cafeteria, but it is not open on Saturdays and Sundays.
Now because the school football team needs meals, it is temporarily open to provide lunch for the team on Saturdays.
And this meal was not just made by the canteen. Li Ziqiang took out the recipe and asked the canteen to make it according to the recipe.
The nutritional mix is reasonable and definitely not greasy.
In this regard, the school provided the greatest support and cooperated with whatever Li Ziqiang said. It seems that they are really determined to revive the honorary title of Dongchuan Middle School's "Traditionally Strong Football School".
Although it was a middle school football team, Li Ziqiang still showed his professional attitude in the football school.
He can't control what his players usually eat, but at least he has to take care of the meal before the game.
Hu Lai stood in line, looking at the light-colored dishes in the window in front of him, and smacked his lips: "If I had known, I would have eaten more in the morning..."
These dishes are unappetizing at first glance.
Obviously Hu Lai was definitely not the only one who felt this way. Many team members showed frowning expressions after seeing the food provided in the cafeteria.
There are also whispers circulating among the players.
Without even thinking about the specific content, I knew that I was complaining about this seemingly unappetizing meal.
Mao Xiao explained with a smile: "Professional players also seem to be required to eat these things. Although they are not delicious, they are healthy."
In front of the team, where the cafeteria aunt is serving food, head coach Li Ziqiang is repeating his words loudly: "Don't eat too much to avoid indigestion and afternoon sleepiness. Don't be afraid of being hungry. There will be bananas to supplement you during the halftime break."
energy of!"
Mao Xiao continued: "Professional teams usually provide some fruits or snacks during halftime to allow the players to quickly restore energy."
Meng Xi curled his lips next to him: "That's great, our team's dietary standards are already professional standards!"
※※※
The three of them took their plates and found an unoccupied table for four and sat down.
Mao Xiao and Meng Xi sat side by side, while Hu Lai sat opposite Mao Xiao.
Meng Xi looked down at his referee, used chopsticks to pick up the boiled broccoli and said, "I think our coach is overthinking it. No one will eat too much of this stuff."
Hu Lai also stared at the broccoli and said: "Why can't the broccoli be made into dry pot cauliflower? Put some fat on the pork belly, fry it harder, boil out the oil, cut the broccoli into small pieces, and soak it in the oil...
"
"Stop talking, I won't be able to eat anymore!" Meng Xi stretched out his hand to stop Hu Lai.
Hu Lai picked up a piece of boiled broccoli, put it into his mouth, then closed his eyes and chewed it, nodding: "Well, after thinking about the taste of dry-pot cauliflower, this broccoli has an internal flavor!
"
"Is this okay?" Meng Xi frowned.
"If you don't believe me, try it. Think of your favorite thing to eat, try to remember the taste, and then eat what is in front of you." Hu Lai instructed.
Meng Xi dubiously picked up the broccoli, put it into his mouth, closed his eyes and chewed it carefully, and then... spit it out: "It's far from spicy crayfish!"
Mao Xiao frowned as he ate the meal. He also felt that the food did not taste very good. It was really unacceptable to eat food with less oil and less salt. However, he still tried to eat. He just couldn't eat like Hu Lai said.
That way, think about what you like to eat, otherwise you won't be able to finish the meal at all.
He decided to change the topic: "Hey, I heard that our new jerseys will be distributed before this game, and you will know what your number is then. Didn't we conduct a small survey before, asking us to report our favorite numbers?
Number?”
"What's the use? I chose number nine, but I don't believe they can really give me number nine." Hu Lai paused and continued. "If they really dare to give it to me, I really dare to ask for it!"
"What's the matter with your expectant tone?" Meng Xi complained, "I thought I could definitely get the number I liked, so I chose No. 1. As the team's main goalkeeper, I gave No. 1
Isn't it too much? As for you..."
Meng Xi pointed at Hu Lai.
"Don't worry about the number, as long as you have the number, it's good."
※※※
Hu Lai held the new jersey that had just been handed out in his hands, and the plastic bag on the outside had not yet been removed.
The main color of Dongchuan Middle School's jersey and pants is yellow, but there are blue stripes on the collar and the hem edge of the pants.
The color of this jersey reminded Hu Lai of Sichuan Quanxing, a team from another time and space. That team had no impressive results in the history of Chinese professional football. The highest ranking in the top league was only third, but it was
A very popular team.
There is no Sichuan Quanxing team in this time and space, and it is certainly impossible for the designer of this jersey to refer to the Sichuan Quanxing jersey style.
The main color of yellow actually comes from the school emblem of Dongchuan Middle School. Even the uniforms of Dongchuan Middle School are yellow and blue sportswear, which is very different from the uniform blue and white or red and white uniforms of other schools.
He turned the jersey over and revealed the number on the back: 14.
This surprised him a little. He originally thought he would be assigned No. 36, which was the last number in the queue, but he didn't expect it to be No. 14, which was much further ahead.
He was still a little happy.
Meng Xi's confused voice came from the side: "You can still laugh, Hu Lai?"
"Ah?" Hu Lai was confused and didn't understand why Meng Xi said that.
"This is No. 14. For our Chinese football, it is a cursed number." Meng Xi said seriously. "2001 was the closest we were to the World Cup finals, and the result was at the most critical moment.
In the game, Wang Xiaojun scored an own goal, which caused us to lose that crucial battle and ultimately missed the World Cup finals. And Wang Xiaojun was wearing the No. 14 jersey at the time! If you want to say that it was just this time, forget it, three
The Asian Cup final next year was held at our own home court. What was the result? We lost the championship because of a handball goal by the Japanese team. That was the closest we came to the Asian Cup championship, and Sato Koichi scored the goal with his hand.
It's the number 14 jersey he's wearing! Look, twice."
Meng Xi raised two fingers with an exaggerated expression and an even more exaggerated tone: "But do you think this is the end? No! In 2005, the Chinese team once again competed in the World Cup, and this time we simply fell on the road to the top ten.
On the road. Just fourteen minutes into the game, Zhao Kangming was sent off. That was our main central defender! The third fourteenth!"
Meng Xi's raised fingers became three.
"And that day happened to be April 14th! Things can only be three, but look at these four fourteens! Later, some people said that the number fourteen was cursed, and that as long as Chinese football has anything to do with it, nothing good will happen.
…”
Hu Lai then remembered that he had searched a lot of football information about this world on the Internet the day he first traveled through the world, and had seen the so-called "Fourteen Curses", but he just didn't think of it.
There are many differences in football between this world and the one he used to live in, but some parts feel familiar.
For example, in that world, no matter how poor the level of the Chinese team was, they had at least participated in one World Cup finals match, and that was the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. In this world, the 2002 World Cup was indeed held in Japan and South Korea, and the Chinese team finally
But they hated it and failed to participate in the top ten. And until now, in 2019, the Chinese team has not participated in a World Cup finals.
Rumors about China's bid to host the World Cup come out from time to time in this world, but every time it comes out, they are ridiculed. You haven't even participated in the World Cup finals, how can you have the nerve to host the World Cup? None of the previous host countries has
Have you participated in at least one World Cup finals?
As for the 2004 Asian Cup, both worlds are the same. It was indeed held in China, and the Chinese team did not win the championship in the end. They lost to Japan in the finals. At the same time, there was also a player in the finals.
Controversial goal.
It's just that in the previous world, Hu Lai remembered that the player who scored the second goal for the Japanese team with his hands was named Koji Nakata, and the jersey number he wore was not No. 14, but No. 6. Here, it became the number 6.
Koichi Sato wearing jersey No. 14.
In the 2005 World Cup qualifiers, the Chinese teams in both worlds did not participate in the top ten, but the reasons for not participating were different. In that world, it was because they were playing black and had never played against the West Asians, but here they were.
He lost to his opponent cleanly and missed the top ten games.
So in the history of Chinese football in that world, it was just an ordinary number, but in this world, it turned into a cursed number...
"Hu Lai, don't listen to Meng Xi's nonsense. This is just a superstition." Mao Xiao came out to comfort Hu Lai. He was afraid that Meng Xi's words were too exaggerated and scared Hu Lai.
Meng Xi was unhappy: "Who is talking nonsense? This is a recognized fact. Since what happened in 2005, which other main player in the major Chinese Super League clubs would choose No. 14? Of course those players would not talk about it.
They took the initiative to admit this, but they all voted with their feet. They didn’t say it with their mouths, but their bodies were very honest! Besides, fourteen is not an auspicious number in the first place. Damn it..."
Faced with the facts, Mao Xiao had to admit: "The number 14 is indeed given to young players or substitute players by default. Few people will take the initiative to choose this number..."
"There are also people who don't believe in evil." Meng Xi hummed. "But their performance after wearing No. 14 was not satisfactory. Do you want me to give you those examples?"
"Okay, Meng Xi." Mao Xiao stopped his good friend in a serious tone, and at the same time signaled to him with his eyes not to rub salt into Hu Lai's wounds.
Being assigned this number that no one wants is already depressing enough, and if you have to listen to these curses and legends from him, why not go to the funeral of other relatives and comfort them with "Don't be sad, you will be with him sooner or later anyway"
Is it the same as "Reunion"?
Meng Xi made a face and closed his mouth.
Hu Lai knew Mao Xiao's good intentions, but he actually didn't care about this so-called cursed number.
He just searched the football knowledge he had learned after coming to this world, and found that in the history of football in this world, No. 14 is just an ordinary number in world football. There are indeed some stars who have worn it, but this
There is no shortage of such stars in the world. After all, football players who are only slightly famous can be called "stars", nothing more.
So people in this world may not understand the specialness of No. 14.
These are the numbers of Johan Cruyff and Thierry Henry!
Hu Lai removed the plastic outer packaging, took the jersey out, then shook it open so that the number was facing him.
Some hands placed this number in front of him, as if a bridge connected the two worlds.
Those names he was familiar with, those classic scenes, those legends and legends... all gathered on this number, reminding him of the world he came from.