In the early morning, in the riverside park under the Vasco da Gama Bridge in Lisbon, the small football field became lively.
Three young men were playing football in a melee on a field. No matter who got the ball, the other two would attack as a group.
They got into a huddle, and it looked like they were competing, but in reality it was more like playing. Sometimes they would do whatever they could to grab the ball, and even even directly tackled each other from behind.
This made the quiet riverside park burst into bursts of laughter.
I don't know how much time passed, but the three of them, sweating profusely from playing, lay directly on the grass, with their hands behind their heads, looking at the blue sky in a daze, and the joy on their faces slowly disappeared.
"Last night, Hugo kept pestering you to ask about the situation in Valencia. Does he want to leave Newcastle?" Ronnie asked.
"Yeah." Su Dong replied, and after a few seconds of silence, he spoke again, "He had a falling out with Robson."
"Isn't Robson very optimistic about him?" Pepe asked strangely.
Su Dong smiled slightly and said, "Pepe, how high do you think this kind of optimism is worth?"
Pepe was silent.
Yes, on the professional football field, personal emotions are never valuable.
Bobby Robson may have been very optimistic about Hugo Viana, so he was willing to pay a high price for him, but so what?
When Hugo Viana went to Newcastle, when he found that the Portuguese midfielder could not integrate into Newcastle, when he found that the player he was optimistic about could not help his team, then he would not hesitate
Put this player into limbo.
This is Bobby Robson's professional ethics as a head coach, and it is also his way of saving himself.
Head coaches always consider performance as their first priority. If they lose performance, they can only dismiss get out of class.
Being optimistic about a player and giving support and help are all based on the premise that you can keep your coaching position.
Ugo Viana and Bobby Robson may have once regarded each other as the best and the best, but after getting along, in the face of the cruel reality, they could only compromise or even part ways, becoming strangers.
Professional football, especially the four major leagues, will not give anyone mercy and sympathy at all.
"Mendes wants to move to La Liga for him?" Ronnie asked again.
"Yeah." Su Dong nodded. This was what Mendes told him personally. "He has just opened up the situation in La Liga. The one he is more confident about is Valencia, so Hugo asked me about Valencia's situation."
"What do you think?"
Su Dong shook his head, "I don't know, but I think it will be difficult for him to play the main role in Valencia."
"Baraja and Alberda are also the world's top defensive midfielders, and they are Spanish players. When competing with them, Hugo really has no advantage." Ronnie also felt sad.
Hugo Viana was once the target that this group of people looked up to, and he was also the most successful player in the Sporting Lisbon youth academy. He landed in the Premier League with Bobby Robson's high hopes.
Everyone thinks that he will become the second Rui Costa.
But who could have imagined that in just two years, everything would change.
Suddenly, the three of them fell into silence.
"I think you have changed a lot." After a long time, Pepe suddenly broke the silence.
The Brazilian central defender let out a long sigh, "Ricardo was also depressed last night. He couldn't wait for his chance in Barcelona. And Ronnie, you don't look as happy as before. And Su, you are the best among us."
Even though I am doing the best, I still feel like I am carrying a lot of heavy burdens."
Neither Su Dong nor Ronnie took the conversation, but they couldn't help but think about Pepe's words.
They have indeed changed.
In the past, when they were in Lisbon, they could play football without any worries. Apart from eating and sleeping, they could spend the rest of the time playing football and playing games twenty-four hours a day.
But now, they have to consider more. They all have their own survival pressure and face fierce competition.
From the day he left Sporting Lisbon, no, even from the day Su Dong joined Sporting Lisbon, he seemed to have embarked on a path of no return, and could only keep pressing forward until one day, he couldn't move forward anymore.
He is like this, Ronnie is like this, Pepe must be like this too.
All professional players should be like this!
"I met Jose a few days ago." Pepe suddenly laughed.
Jose Semedo, who used to be their best friend, is now loaned to a Portuguese Liga team and his performance is quite satisfactory. After all, he is a player who came out of the Sporting Lisbon youth academy. When he arrives in the Portuguese Liga, it will definitely be a downgrade.
blow.
"He should be the most comfortable among our group now. Apart from training and competition every day, he just picks up girls. I heard that he almost got pregnant. He was so scared that he didn't dare to go out for a week."
Su Dong and Ronnie laughed heartily after hearing this.
Not letting go for a week really scared Jose Semedo.
After the laughter, there was another period of silence.
"A lot of people have left the youth team, Ugo Pina has also left, and Fabio Costa said he won't play football anymore..."
Pepe used a very calm tone to introduce what happened in Sporting Lisbon's youth training camp and the second team.
These are all friends and teammates of Su Dong and Ronnie when they were in Sporting Lisbon. They should all be very familiar names at first, but now they sound so strange.
"From the day we made the choice, there was no choice!" Su Dong said suddenly and coldly.
After hearing this, Ronnie turned his head to look at him, then turned back to look at the sky, showing a thoughtful expression.
Su Dong is right, after you choose, you have no choice.
Hugo Viana chose Newcastle, and the rapid rise of his career was cut off. Whether he can get back on track depends on his own luck and hard work; Quaresma went to Barcelona, and his career was on the rise.
The momentum was also suppressed.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! At present, among the people who have gone out from Sporting Lisbon, Ronnie is barely satisfactory at Manchester United, with mixed blessings. Only Su Dong is doing well in Valencia, but this can mean that
what?
Now that it’s in the spotlight, what’s next?
If we have played well this season, what about next season and the season after that?
They have no choice but to grit their teeth and charge forward!
No matter what is in front of you, you must overcome it and defeat it!
…………
…………
"To be honest, I'm a little jealous of you!"
After returning to the hotel, after taking a shower and changing into dry clothes, Su Dong and Ronnie went to the breakfast room to eat.
The two of them sat near the window, enjoying the delicious breakfast facing the beautiful scenery outside the window.
Ronnie suddenly said this for no reason.
Su Dong was stunned for a moment, then laughed, "Then I'm very happy, because I've been jealous of you since the first time I saw you."
Ronnie couldn't help laughing either.
This smile seemed to melt the iceberg between the two of them and bring them closer together.
"Manchester United is a very special team, Ferguson is also a very special coach, and those players are all top stars in the world. Queiroz is gone. I don't have any friends in this team. I can only do it every day.
Train, keep training.”
"I understand." Su Dong nodded.
He felt the same way when he first landed in Portugal.
"Manchester United fans don't like me very much because I'm completely different from the players they've known before. You know, Beckham never lets the ball stick to his feet, but I'm different. I like to dribble the ball. That's who I am.
The way and habits of playing football, and in order to get rid of my habit of dribbling the ball, Ferguson even asked his teammates to tackle me desperately during training."
There was strong dissatisfaction in Ronnie's tone, and he obviously couldn't understand Ferguson's decision.
"Sometimes I even wonder, what did he like about me in the first place?" Ronnie was very confused.
Su Dong knew that Ronnie was indeed at a very dangerous critical moment at this moment. If he was not careful, he might make the same mistake as Hugo Viana. Even if he could not stay at Manchester United, his future would be ruined.
Careers are in danger.
"Are you afraid?" Su Dong suddenly asked.
Ronnie frowned and looked at Su Dong in disbelief, "Am I afraid? Am I afraid?"
"Then what are you worried about? What are you struggling with?" Su Dong asked back.
"When Ronaldinho was playing in Ligue 1, his style was not liked by the head coach, so he was very depressed. But when he arrived in Barcelona, he met Rijkaard, who told him,
Dribbling the ball confidently and boldly, dribbling the ball in the opponent's key area, if they foul, we will get a free kick opportunity in the frontcourt."
Ronnie thought about Su Dong's words, as if he had grasped something, but also as if he had grasped nothing.
"The key issue is not with others, but with you. What do you think you like and what you are good at? Then find a direction to do it. Maybe Ferguson asked his teammates to tackle you not because he wants you to take less penalty kicks, but because he wants you to take fewer penalties.
Want to help you adapt to the defensive intensity of the Premier League?"
"Have you talked to him about this?"
Ronnie was silent.
Obviously, he did not discuss this issue with Ferguson.
"I still remember, when we were promoted to the first team together, you were younger than me at that time, but you were pestering the coaching staff every day, asking for playing time. But what about now? You are scared!"
Ronnie was speechless.
Su Dong was right, he was indeed a little scared.
Perhaps it was because he gained so much after joining Manchester United that he began to worry about gains and losses.
"Ronnie, you are not the most talented genius I have ever seen. I even think Quaresma is more talented than you, but why are you able to get to where you are today?"
Before Ronnie could answer, Su Dong took the initiative to reveal the answer.
"Because you work harder than anyone else, you treat yourself harder than anyone else, you have speed, explosive power, skills, and strong physical strength in confrontation. I believe that Ferguson will not see the wrong person."
"Not only Ferguson, but also Scolari, he gave you a position in the national team. You are only 18 years old. Although this is just a warm-up match to inspect players, do you think Scolari will be wrong?"
After listening to Su Dong's words, Ronnie fell into deep thought for a long time. When he raised his head again, he seemed to have untied some knots in his heart.
"I see."
Or maybe he knew it all along, but wasn't so sure.
Su Dong's words made him see the direction more clearly.
"Yesterday you invited me, today it's my turn to treat me!" Ronnie said with a smile.
