Hu Lai, who returned to the dormitory, finally said goodbye to his enthusiastic new teammates and closed the door. He and Wang Guangwei were the only two people in the dormitory.
Wang Guangwei, who had already sat back on his chair, sighed: "I thought it would be difficult for us to integrate into this team when we first arrived, but I didn't expect... Hu Lai, why are you so awesome!"
Hu Lai glanced at the top of Wang Guangwei's head: "Don't you already know why I am so powerful?"
Wang Guangwei felt Hu Lai's gaze, and he cursed: "Go to hell!"
Hu Lai laughed.
When he finished laughing, Wang Guangwei suddenly turned serious and said, "That's not right."
"What's wrong?"
"It suddenly occurred to me that this may not be a good thing." Wang Guangwei frowned.
"Isn't it a good thing to meet new teammates and get along with everyone?"
"Have you noticed that almost all the people who come to say hello to you know you are those who play with us in the Chinese Super League, have played against us in the league, or know you. But most of them play in Chinese Super League teams.
None of the players came. Except for Song Kun and Wang Zijian, there was...that one..." Wang Guangwei couldn't remember the opponent's name at the moment.
"Gao Ruimin?"
"Yes, yes, that's him. Here comes Gao Ruimin. In this training team, there are twenty-five people playing in the Chinese Super League, and most of them have played in this team before.
Teammates, they can represent this team. But they all seemed to choose to watch from the side... I thought, might it be the scene in the restaurant that stimulated them? It gave them a bad association.
..." Wang Guangwei analyzed.
"What bad associations can there be with this? I was eating there, and they came to greet me. It was not me who took the initiative to attract bees and butterflies." Hu Lai spread his hands.
"You are indeed eating there, but don't you think that just by having a meal, you can attract so many teammates to come to see you, greet you, and chat with you... This actually makes you look like this
As if you are the boss of a team? Everyone comes to worship you, but turns a blind eye to the real veterans... What do you want those veteran players to think?"
Hu Lai was stunned: "Isn't it? That's not the case, is it? How can a training team, which is not even counted as the Olympic team, form gangs and rank based on seniority?"
"Cliques and seniority are indispensable everywhere. Do you think there are no Flash Stars? It's just that you followed me as soon as you came in, so I can barely be considered an 'old team member'." Wang Guangwei held his head high, somewhat
Said proudly.
"Yes, yes, thank you for taking care of me, senior!" Hu Lai quickly handed over his hand. "I am willing to do my best to wash the dishes for you!"
Wang Guangwei was amused by Hu Lai: "Then I also cooked and cooked..."
Then he said seriously: "Let's not talk about it. I'm just worried that some people feel that you have stolen their limelight, so they will be unhappy with you and will deliberately make things difficult for you and exclude you in the following training. After all, we have some training this time.
Thirty-five people came in to compete, but in the end only 23 people could go to South Korea to play in the East Asian Cup. And if they could go to South Korea to play in the East Asian Cup, they would have a great chance of participating in next year's U23 Asian Cup, which is an Olympic qualifier.
!”
He said it very seriously and his tone was very serious, but Hu Lai waved his hand nonchalantly: "Lao Wang, I think you added a little too much. From my experience, no matter in the previous Dongchuan school team,
Still in Flash Star, football is actually very simple - if you have outstanding ability, everyone will admire you, believe in you, accept you, and recognize you. If your ability is mediocre (dialect, meaning bad), then no matter how hard you behave, no matter how hard you act,
That's what being likable is. Let me ask you, if someone doesn't like me, will they find an opportunity to kick my knees and ankles during training and ruin my career?"
Wang Guangwei waved his hands quickly: "What are you thinking! It's not like that! At most, I won't pass the ball to you during training, and no one will pay attention to you after the game..."
"Hey, what's there to worry about?" Hu Lai shook his head, "If you don't pass the ball to me, I don't believe that the head coach is a vegetarian. Just watch them fool around like this? As for ignoring me..."
He looked at Wang Guangwei with a playful smile: "They ignore me, then do you ignore me?"
"Of course I understand..."
"Then it's over!" Hu Lai slapped him. "Don't worry about such things."
Then he picked up his phone and someone sent him a WeChat message.
It was from Li Qingqing: "They say you are Guan Xinyan's backup! [bad laugh]"
Hu Lai had a question mark: "Who is Guan Xinyan?"
※※※
The next day was the first training session of the Chinese Olympic team and the women's national team at the Hongmaple Ridge training base, which attracted a lot of media coverage and attention.
For the convenience of media friends, the interview time of the Olympic Games and the women's national team has also been separated. The women's football team conducts interviews before training, and the media is allowed to shoot in the first fifteen minutes of training.
The interview time for the National Olympics is after the training ends, and the media is allowed to shoot fifteen minutes before the end of the training.
These media first went to the women's football training ground to interview players of the women's national team.
Li Qingqing was naturally the focus of reporters' pursuit. She stood on the sidelines in training clothes and was interviewed by reporters. All reporters aimed their weapons at her and stretched out the microphone in front of her.
Ask her about the East Asian Cup and her outlook for the Women's World Cup next summer.
Li Qingqing’s answer was quite satisfactory, similar to the answer you often see on TV:
"...We are about to play in a big game...hopefully we can win...the important thing is the performance of the team..."
Although the specific content is different, the general structure is the same.
When it comes to the East Asian Cup and World Cup, Li Qingqing expressed the hope that the team can achieve good results. The important thing is the team, they are a collective. What? You said the fans are very concerned about my performance? Sorry, I don't care about my personal performance.
.
This kind of answer is quite satisfactory. The most important advantage is that it is "safe". It will not get into trouble because of saying the wrong thing, and it will not give people the idea of taking her answer out of context and distorting it.
But the downside is that it's boring.
"Now I can understand why everyone says that Li Qingqing is popular and has a good relationship with everyone... It's really hard to offend anyone." Zhang Chao, an intern reporter at Goal.com
Looking at Li Qingqing who was being interviewed by a reporter from CCTV Sports Channel outside the crowd, he shook his head and sighed. "It's just too boring and has no personality. The answer would be the same for anyone else."
"Boring?" an obviously older reporter next to him snorted, "As long as Li Qingqing appears in the camera, any answer is interesting. Do you think the audience and fans care about what Li Qingqing answered? No,
They just want to see the beauty of the 'Flower of Women's Football'."
Li Qingqing's every smile in front of the camera was eye-catching, and many reporters watching the interview with them had smiles on their faces involuntarily.
You must know that there is actually nothing happy about Li Qingqing's answer. They just watched from the side and did not listen to what Li Qingqing said at all. They were all so happy.
Zhang Chao withdrew his gaze from the smiling reporters and said to the old reporter beside him: "Teacher Fang, of course I know how attractive Li Qingqing is. I just feel...a bit regretful that such a beautiful player is
Like a puppet with no thoughts of its own..."
The old reporter Fang Daming glanced at the trainee reporter he brought with him: "Stop trying to make a big news. Just relying on media interviews, you can tell that you have a rough idea! Do you know that people have no ideas? They just don't care.
I’m just telling you! The so-called personality and thoughts are just a persona that has been carefully designed and deliberately displayed in front of you, a reporter! Everyone is just acting, so what are you doing seriously?"
Zhang Chao, who was scolded by the old reporter, did not dare to speak anymore.
※※※
After the media filmed the last fifteen minutes of the Olympic team's training, without the reporters mentioning the interview, Ran Jiachang, the team leader of the Olympic team, had already asked Shi Wuyuan to nominate two people for interviews.
The first person whose name was called was Guo Junfu, the main midfielder of the Olympic team and the most eye-catching talented player besides Guan Xinyan.
He plays for the Chinese Super League Shangdu Shenwei. As a U23 player, he made 22 starts in the Chinese Super League last season.
Of course, because of the existence of the U23 policy, it is meaningless to only look at the number of league appearances of a U23 player. After all, the policy requires that every team must have at least one U23 player starting in every game.
But in addition to starting, there are still many things that can be seen from this player's performance. For example, the playing time - the U23 policy also stipulates that at least one U23 player must play for more than 60 minutes to meet the standard.
So if the U23 player always plays more than 60 minutes, does it mean that he is not a beneficiary of the U23 policy, but actually earned the qualification to play based on his strength?
Guo Junfu is such a person.
He made 22 starts in the Chinese Super League last season, ten of which played the full game, and played more than 60 minutes twenty times.
This kind of performance is enough to prove his status in the Shangdu Shenwei team.
Like Guan Xinyan, he is also a target of key training by the club.
He is also the core midfielder of the Olympic team.
He came out to be interviewed on behalf of the team, and everyone had no objections.
In addition to Guo Junfu, the other person whose name was called out for the interview was Wang Guangwei.
If Guo Junfu is a veteran player who was originally on the Olympic team and a representative of the Chinese Super League players, then Wang Guangwei is naturally a representative of the Chinese League One players and those players who were selected for the Olympic training team for the first time.
Why is Wang Guangwei the representative?
Shi Wuyin may have considered that Wang Guangwei performed well in the Chinese League One last season, and his level and ability are also very convincing. Coupled with his calm personality, he will not make any mistakes when facing reporters.
This was indeed the case when these two people were interviewed, and their behavior was quite satisfactory.
Say something about the team coming first and going all out.
But that's enough. The reporters took pictures of what they wanted, edited it into news, and broadcast it. The task was accomplished.
But just as Guo Junfu and Wang Guangwei finished the interview, someone raised their hands: "Team Leader Ran, Team Leader Ran, can you find another person to be interviewed?"
Fang Daming glared hard at Zhang Chao who raised his hand next to him - he knew this guy was dishonest!
The question just now was asked by Zhang Chao.
Ran Jiachang didn't seem to take it seriously, but looked at the young reporter and smiled and said, "Okay, who else do you want to interview?"
"Hu Lai!" Zhang Chao pointed at the figure on the court and said loudly.
"Why do you want to interview him?" Ran Jiachang asked.
"As the youngest player in this U22 training team and the best-performing young man in the Chinese League One last season, I think I am not the only one interested in him, right?" Zhang Chao said this.
Don't forget to drag everyone else down.
Fang Daming felt that this boy simply needed to be dealt with.
But other reporters echoed Zhang Chao: "Yes, yes! We also want to interview Hu Lai and hear what he, the youngest U22 player, has to say!"
Seeing that so many reporters were interested in Hu Lai, Ran Jiachang winked at head coach Shi Wuyuan.
Guo Junfu, who was about to leave, stopped after seeing this scene.
These reporters actually asked to interview Hu Lai?
Yesterday, Guo Junfu was surprised when he saw in the restaurant that all the players from China League One took the initiative to say hello and get acquainted with him.
It's even more exaggerated today. So many media reporters actually asked to interview him? Even if he scored 11 goals in the Chinese League last season, it's a bit exaggerated, right?
You know, not even Guan Xinyan is treated like this...
What kind of magic power does this kid have?
He decided to stand nearby and listen.
※※※
Hu Lai was quickly summoned and stood in front of the media cameras for an interview.
Although he is a newcomer to the national team, Hu Lai did not show any timidity in the face of these long-range attacks. He even had a smile on his face, looking very sophisticated.
After all, he is a professional player who has scored eleven goals in half a season. It is not like he has never seen media interviews before.
Even before he entered professional football, when he was playing on the Dongchuan Middle School football team, he had already had the experience of being interviewed by reporters.
Therefore, the current scene cannot scare him.
"I would like to ask Hu Lai, as the youngest player in the team, he was selected into the U22 national team at the age of 19. What is it like?"
What experience?
When Hu Lai heard this question, he suspected that the reporter who asked the question was from Zhihu...
He blinked: "If you didn't tell me, I would have forgotten that I am the youngest here, ha!"
Then he thought about what Wang Guangwei was worried about last night, and added: "The big brothers here take good care of me. When I first came here, even though I didn't know the road, there were enthusiastic teammates who took me to report and eat. Everyone also greeted me warmly... When I came in, I found that everyone here is talented and well-spoken. I really like being there..."
His answer drew laughter from reporters.
Zhang Chao was especially excited. Sure enough, this Hu Lai was the most interesting!
He speaks nicely and interestingly, he is just a talent...
Hu Lai's style is indeed completely different from that of the two players who were interviewed before. When Guo Junfu heard Hu Lai's answer to the reporter's question, he didn't know what to say.
It’s not that Hu Lai is the only one in the team who knows how to joke.
But Hu Lai is indeed the only one who dares to be so naughty in front of reporters... Others always have to estimate their own image to some extent, and some are worried about saying the wrong thing and getting into trouble.
Then the reporters asked some more questions, including about the East Asian Cup.
Hu Lai seems a little more serious in this regard, but he still has his own style: "I will strive to participate in the East Asian Cup. I hope that both myself and the team will perform well!"
He did not say that the team is a priority, but that he hopes both individuals and the team will perform well.
Zhang Chao keenly noticed this difference from others.
Thinking of this, he raised his hand and asked Hu Lai: "Hu Lai, you were selected into the U22 training team when you were nineteen years old. When you were eighteen, you were able to score eleven goals in the Chinese League One. This is only the first season of your career. What are your prospects for your future?"
Fang Daming, who originally thought Zhang Chao was messing around, couldn't help but nodded when he heard him ask such a question. This was not a "foolish" question, and he did not waste this interview opportunity.
"Looking forward to the future..."
But what surprised the reporters was that when faced with this question, Hu Lai did not act as cleverly as before, but was thoughtful. Then he asked Zhang Chao who asked the question: "Well, can you say whatever you want?
?”
Zhang Chao shook his head: "Of course, you have to tell the truth, Hu Lai. This is truth or dare!"
Hearing what he said, Hu Lai smiled.
Other reporters also looked at him, expecting him to say something sincere.
Hu Lai thought of the time and space when he came. In the last game of the top 12 of the Asian qualifying rounds of the World Cup in Russia, Zheng Zhi received a red card for himself with a chasing foul in front of the penalty area, but at the same time he also earned a red card for the Chinese team.
I still have the slightest hope of going to Russia, even if it is just a theoretical hope.
That was the last contribution made by Zheng Zhi, the Chinese captain, to Chinese football's bid for the World Cup.
Although this contribution was meaningless in the end, the Chinese team once again failed to qualify for the World Cup finals.
He also thought about this time and space when Qin Lin choked up and said sorry to the Chinese fans after retiring from the national team.
The images of the two of them overlapped, and those people in the history of Chinese football in the two time and space overlapped.
In that time and space, although the Chinese team entered the World Cup finals once, it seemed that all the good luck in the second half of Chinese football's life was spent once. After that, Chinese football was worse than the previous year.
In this time and space, the Chinese team has never entered the World Cup finals, and everyone is still waiting hard.
The fans will grow gray and the players will spend their entire lives.
Four years are reincarnation, round after round, thirty years, forty years, sixty years, time just slips away ruthlessly.
Looking back again, a full period has passed.
Chinese football is still on the road.
Chinese football is always on the road.
Chinese football starts all over again.
Chinese football starts from scratch again and again.
Chinese football is no longer worthy of representing this country. It is far from the image of this increasingly powerful country, and even later became a joke and scandal in this country...
Thinking of this, Hu Lai faced the camera and microphone and said: "Looking forward to the future, I have a dream. I dream that one day I can wear the Chinese team's jersey and win the World Cup!"
Zhang Chao was stunned, Fang Daming beside him was stunned, and the reporters surrounding Hu Lai were stunned.
The head coach of the National Olympic team, Shi Wuyuan, was stunned, and the manager of the National Olympic team, Ran Jiachang, was stunned.
Wang Guangwei was stunned, and Guo Junfu, who was standing nearby and wanted to hear what Hu Lai had to say, was also stunned.
They seemed to have heard some great declaration, but also seemed to have heard a huge joke...