Su Dong looked at Peipei silently and thought to himself.
After getting along, he felt that Pepe was actually a very good peer off the court.
At the very least, his personality is far less obnoxious than what he appears to be on the court.
"Can you tell me about your hometown?" Su Dong broke the silence and asked softly.
"my hometown?"
Pepe looked at Su Dong strangely, wondering why he was interested in his hometown.
"Yes, I am interested in everything from the football kingdom." Su Dong said with interest.
Pepe shook his head and said with a wry smile: "My hometown is not as interesting as football. It is the most economically backward area in Brazil, just in the northeast, called Maceio. By the way, Rivaldo who plays for Barcelona is also from
here."
After a pause, Pepe seemed to start searching for his own memories in his mind, but soon, he smiled bitterly again.
"Actually, to tell you the truth, I don't know much about it."
"Why?" Su Dong was surprised.
"When I was twelve years old, I left my hometown and went south to play football for Corinthians in Sao Paulo."
Twelve years old again.
Su Dong couldn't help but look back and glanced at the tent behind him. Inside, Ronnie also left Madeira at the age of twelve and went to Lisbon to receive youth training from the Green Lions.
This seems to be an age node in the youth training system.
"In my memory, Maceio, like other Brazilian cities, has charming beaches, there are many five-star hotels there, and there are many hot girls wearing bikinis on the beach."
When he said this, Pepe changed the subject, "But those don't belong to us."
"It's like the mountains and the mountains in Madeira. Can you understand the difference?" Pepe asked with concern.
Su Dong shook his head. He still can't understand it.
"The mountains of Madeira are full of villages like Falcao. They are like slums. Although there are government-built houses, the residents drink alcohol and even take drugs. They are okay. In my hometown of Maceio
There are many gangs in the slums over there, and they fight with each other all day long. In my memory, I can hear gunshots almost every day."
Su Dong could not imagine that kind of childhood, but he absolutely believed that it must be a nightmare that would last a lifetime.
"You know, in Brazil, studying is actually a very luxurious thing. We kids like to play football, and our family only allows us to play football. I often skip classes, climb over the fence, leave school, and go to the streets to compete with those who compete with me.
Children who are five or six years older play football and compete with them, so I have to make myself stronger."
"At the beginning, I played in the community team. They taught me how to play football and how to compete. Gradually, I performed well. When I was twelve years old, I was given a ball by Corinthians from Sao Paulo in the south.
The team took a fancy to me."
"You may not know, but this is actually a very honorable thing for us. My friends even beat gongs and drums to celebrate, because they felt that I might become the first professional player next to them.
He may even be selected for the national team and become a superstar in the future."
When Su Dong heard this, he had a vague feeling that it should be similar to the situation in China where a child is admitted to Tsinghua University and Peking University, and the whole village beats gongs and drums to send him to school.
"At Corinthians, I found that I was not outstanding at all. They had countless kids like me from all over Brazil. We played together and competed together. Compared with them, I was really ordinary.
."
At this time, Pepe changed the subject again and said with a slightly proud smile: "But do you know? Su, we people from the northeastern Maceio have one characteristic, that is, they are hardworking and hardworking. There is a saying in our hometown, only
Only those who endure hardship and stand hard work can be favored by the god of fate."
"My parents have always taught me this way since I was a child, and I have integrated it into my blood, so I am very diligent and practice constantly every day. I will rest when I am tired, and I will continue practicing after I have rested.
Day and night.”
Su Dong has also experienced such days, and is even experiencing them now, so he understands.
"Last summer, Maritimo's scouts were selecting players in Brazil. They had little money and only had one requirement for players, which was to be young and cheap. It was best not to require transfer fees, and the salary subsidies they gave were pitifully small, but they
It promises to give a hope, a hope to play football in Portugal."
"Deco, who currently plays for Porto, is the big brother in our Corinthians youth academy. He also came to the Portuguese Super League in this way. There are many players who come out through this method every year, and some of them do very well.
, like Deco, some were not good, and they went back not long after."
Pepe talks about these past events as if he is talking about a very natural thing, isn't it the survival of the fittest and the survival of the fittest?
But to Su Dong's ears, this was somewhat too cruel.
"I happened to have no contract with Corinthians at the time, and they thought my health was okay, so I came to Maritimo and trained seriously with them to learn how to play in European football."
"I don't have extraordinary skills, and I'm not as good as Deco. I'm stupid and my brain is slow. My only advantage is that I'm physically stronger. So they told me that if I want to stay, I have to give full play to myself."
My strengths allow everyone to see my advantages, so I have to give my best every time I play, because I don’t know that after this game, there will be another one.”
When Su Dong heard this, he suddenly felt that he might have misunderstood Peipei.
Of course, this is not to say that Pepe on the court is not annoying, but Pepe off the court is the most real Pepe.
On the court, he is just a tool struggling to survive and gain a foothold.
"Where is your family?" Su Dong asked.
Pepe smiled, "Actually, I'm better than Ronnie. My father doesn't drink and no one in the family takes drugs. But our family is very poor and they are waiting for me to send money back every month, so I have to
I have to stay because I don’t know how I and my family will continue to live if I am forced to return to Brazil.”
At the end of the story, Pepe looked worried and sad.
He has no special skills and can only play football.
If he can't play football, what else can he do?
"Maridimo still hasn't informed you about the contract renewal?" Su Dong asked with concern.
This is also the reason why Pepe comes out to work part-time.
Pepe shook his head, "I heard that they are considering the possibility of selling us?"
"What's the meaning?"
"It's very simple. I came for free last year, and the salary they gave me was pitiful. If they sell me now, even though the transfer fee may only be several hundred thousand euros, they will get all the money for nothing.
"
Su Dong understood, "What if it can't be sold?"
Pepe smiled sadly, "Then just renew the contract. When they tell me how much they will pay, I can only accept it. Otherwise, what else can I do? Here, at least there are games to play. If you play well, you will become famous.
Only then can you have a bargaining chip, right?"
This is the most realistic professional football.
There is no kindness at all, no tenderness at all, just all kinds of profit calculations.
"Actually, you don't have to feel sorry for me, really." Peipei smiled freely, "Most of the people who came out with me only stayed for two months, and the longest only stayed for half a year. I am relatively lucky.
, not only stayed, but also played a few games."
Su Dong was also amused by him. If that's true, then Pepe is indeed a lucky person.
Suddenly, Pepe took a deep breath, stood up, walked forward, and came to the guardrail of the observation deck, overlooking Funchal in the south, and roared as if he had exhausted all his strength.
The echo lingered for a long time.
"Don't worry, Su, we Maceio people have never been defeated so easily. I will continue to persevere until the day I succeed, because I have always known that playing football is not only my love for football, but also for
Let my family no longer be poor!"
Su Dong came to his side, and listening to his sonorous and powerful voice, it seemed as if he was speaking to Su Dong, but also seemed to be speaking to himself to encourage himself.
"Believe me, Pepe, you are a player with great strength and potential. You will definitely succeed."
Su Dong's words are not false.
He and Pepe have competed on the court and also practiced in private. It is difficult to judge how strong they are. However, according to the feedback from the Road to King system, every time Su Dong and Pepe faced each other, the system gave 500 penalties.
The reward for the king's value is quite high.
Based on this, it can be predicted that Pepe's strength and potential are definitely not simple.
After hearing this, Pepe turned back to look at Su Dong, grinned, and laughed, "You too, Su, you and Ronnie are both younger than me, but they have already played in Sporting Lisbon and performed well.
You have more prospects than me, and more importantly, if you work harder and harder than me, you will definitely succeed!"
"Then in the future, when we all succeed, you can invite us to go back to your hometown, stay in those five-star hotels, hang out with those hot beauties on the beach, and eat the best food in Brazil." Su
Dong suggested.
"No problem." Pepe agreed readily, "However, I guess you will succeed earlier than me, so let's go to China first."
Su Dong laughed and nodded.
He feels that compared with Ronnie and Pepe, he is luckier.
At least he could study in China and didn't live in a slum where there was fighting all day long. There were no messy things in his childhood, which made him feel warm.
For the first time, he felt proud of his motherland from the bottom of his heart!
…………
…………
Early the next morning, the three of them watched the sunrise at the highest peak, had breakfast at a nearby hotel, and then descended the mountain along the same route.
After arriving in Santana, the three of them walked west along the north coast, south from San Vicente, and entered the mountains again.
When they arrived at Tabua, it was still a little early, so the three of them skipped the car and continued walking eastwards.
When they returned to Funchal, Nuno Cruz happened to have returned from Lisbon.
After hearing the experiences of the three people, the personal trainer was speechless.
