Chapter 212: Eighteenth Birthday, Reporting to the National Team
At first, Lin Feng didn’t know who the first opponent in the warm-up match would be. It was not until he went online to check the discussions of netizens that he found out that the Chinese national football team had made an appointment with Ecuador again.
Brazil and France were opponents that were agreed upon as early as last year. There is an Asian team in each group of these two teams, so they wanted to find an Asian team of similar strength to practice with before the World Cup starts.
The Swiss Football Association contacted us in March this year, and the warm-up match was scheduled after the Brazilian team.
As for Ecuador, it is not known whether it was the Chinese national football team that took the initiative to contact us or the other side.
But no matter what, Lin Feng became a little more serious when he learned that there were four opponents in this World Cup's Prince Studying Campaign.
Although all four opponents are very strong, judging from their strength on paper, the Chinese national team cannot beat any of them.
But the ball is round, and anything can happen on the field.
What's more, although this is just a friendly match, if the Chinese national football team really loses four games in a row, it will be too unpleasant to hear that it gets out.
It is possible that the popularity and tolerance of public opinion that they had worked so hard to accumulate through winning games would be completely wiped out because of this round of four consecutive defeats.
Although fans who understand football know the strength and quality of the four opponents in the national football team's warm-up matches, in China, there are only a few people who really watch and understand football. Most of them are "fans" who follow the media and brag when the team wins and scold when the team loses.
Therefore, in order to maintain the good external environment that the Chinese national football team has finally won, we must try our best in these four games.
Lin Feng was not the only one who thought so. All the main players of the national football team who were called up this time thought so.
……
On the evening of May 5, after a brief farewell to his teammates, Lin Feng flew back to Fürth without stopping.
Since Fürth is just a small city with a population of less than 100,000, it has only one train station and no airport.
Lin Feng must first take a plane to Nuremberg, and then transfer from Nuremberg to Fürth.
Although he could call his family to pick him up on the road, a glance at the time showed that it would probably be early morning by the time he arrived in Nuremberg!
The family must have been asleep by then, so there was no need to wake them up.
Just as Lin Feng expected, when he got home he found that his family had already fallen asleep.
The room was pitch black and Lin Feng had no intention of turning on the light, as he wanted to return to his room in the dark.
But when he turned around to close the door, he accidentally stepped on something. He was a little surprised and wanted to turn on the light to confirm whether he had broken anything.
As a result, as soon as I turned on the switch in the living room, I suddenly heard voices coming from all directions: "Happy Birthday!"
Lin Feng was stunned for a moment before he realized that his family members were not asleep at all. They were clearly waiting for him to celebrate his birthday!
Seeing Lin Feng stunned, his mother pulled his arm and pulled him to sit on the chair.
Dad quickly took out a lighter and lit the candle with the number 18 on it.
The eldest brother took out a firework tube, ready to fire, and aimed it at the roof.
With a click, someone turned off the light and the room became dark again, leaving only the flickering candlelight and the expectant faces under the candlelight.
"Happy birthday to you!"
"Happy birthday to you!"
“Happy birthday to you~”
The moment the lights were turned off, the three of them sang the birthday song at the same time.
"Xiaofeng, make a wish!"
After singing, my mother spoke up to remind me.
"Ok!"
Lin Feng nodded heavily, clasped his hands together, placed them under his chin, closed his eyes and began to make a wish in his heart seriously.
After making a wish, he opened his eyes and blew out the candle with a whoosh.
From today on, he is eighteen years old and an adult!
If there had not been the sudden training camp of the national team, according to Lin Feng's original plan, he would have gone on vacation to Malta with his parents, and after the World Cup, he would go skiing in Switzerland while the weather was good.
Lin Feng felt quite guilty because he had been away from home for a long time this year and had not spent much time with his parents.
I want to use the holiday time to spend as much time with my parents as possible.
But plans cannot keep up with changes. He has to go to training on the 22nd, and he only has two days left at home. In such a short time, he can't go anywhere.
I can only help my mother buy and pick vegetables, and help out as a kitchen helper.
In the afternoon, I go fishing with my dad who loves fishing.
But both of them were good at fishing. They made a lot of baits and changed fishing spots frequently, but they just didn't see any fish.
In such an awkward situation, both of them almost went to the nearby vegetable market to buy a fish to report to their mother.
Fortunately, they met a kind-hearted fishing friend who gave them a few fish, which finally made the two of them feel less embarrassed.
"It must be because of the bad weather today. The air pressure is a bit low. When the air pressure is low, the fish are unwilling to bite, so we can't catch any fish!"
On the way back, seeing that his father was in a low mood, Lin Fen began to analyze the situation and tried to find excuses for their failure.
After hearing Lin Feng's analysis, Father Lin nodded in agreement: "The air pressure is indeed a bit low, but since the guy who gave me the fish just now was able to catch the fish, this is not the main reason. I think there are other reasons!"
"Oh? What is it?"
Lin Feng asked with interest.
Father Lin said faintly: "The fish don't get along!"
"I often come here to fish. Normally, the fish should be well fed with bait, so they shouldn't be so disrespectful. But you are different. You are a stranger and have never been here to feed fish before. So the fish are wary of you and don't want to take the bait."
Lin Feng was speechless. I told you you were fat and you're still panting?
I don't want to expose you, old man, but before I went fishing with you, didn't you also catch nothing nine times out of ten?
……
Good times are always short, and soon it was the day to report to the national football team on the 22nd. Since the national football team's training camp was in Germany this time, and they had to play 4 games in Germany and France, it took almost half a month.
So after discussing, Lin Feng's parents decided that they should just go out as a family to cheer for Lin Feng!
So they set off with Lin Feng, and after arriving in Aachen, they found a hotel close to the national football team's training base and settled down.
As for Lin Feng, after saying goodbye to his parents temporarily, he went to the training location to report.
Unlike Lin Feng, most of the national team players in the base arrived in Germany directly from China on a chartered flight, along with Zhu Guanghu and other members of the coaching team.
Speaking of which, the treatment of the national football team has also been upgraded.
Lin Feng remembered that last year when the Chinese national football team went abroad to participate in competitions, they all took ordinary business class tickets and there was no such thing as a chartered flight.
I didn’t expect that after winning more games last year, the General Administration of Sports improved the treatment of the national football team, and now we can even take connecting flights.
Compared with commercial flights, connecting flights can reduce waiting and transfer time, allowing players to have more time to rest, recharge their energy and maintain their best condition.
When Guangzhou Evergrande emerged later, Boss Xu liked to use his private jet as the team's charter plane. On the one hand, it was a symbol of reward from the leader to his subordinates, so as to motivate the team and boost morale.
Secondly, doing so can indeed reduce the team's consumption and allow the team to be in better condition to play well away games.
But what’s interesting is that Lin Feng remembered that Evergrande’s first chartered flight ended in a 2:4 loss in an away game in West Asia. Obviously, Boss Xu’s charter flight did not seem to be effective.
When Lin Feng arrived at the training base, he happened to meet Zheng Zhi who had rushed over from the UK.
Zheng Zhi did not return to China immediately after the end of the Premier League, but stayed at the team's training base to practice on his own.
Charlton's situation this season is not good. At the end of the league, Charlton ranked 13th in the Premier League, not far from the relegation zone.
Considering that the meritorious coach Kubishley, who has coached the team for 15 years, also announced his resignation after the end of the season, influenced by his impression, Charlton will definitely have a large number of personnel changes during this summer transfer window.
Many key players may jump ship and leave, and the personnel changes and the adaptation and running-in period caused by the team's change of new coach will make Charlton's situation even more difficult next season.
Zheng Zhi even had a hunch that the team was very likely to be relegated.
He just joined the team last year, and he didn't expect to fall to the Championship after only two years in the Premier League.
Although there is only one letter difference between the Premier League and the Championship, the gap between the two is huge.
The broadcasting revenue share of the Premier League is much higher than that of the Championship. Even small clubs can get a large sum of money. In addition, the sale of players to big clubs and peripheral products purchased by hardcore fans, ticket revenue on match days, and some sponsorship contracts can basically cover their expenses.
But once they fall into the Championship, their income will drop sharply, and they will not be able to afford such a large expenditure. Most of the existing lineup will be lost, and those who stay will definitely face salary cuts.
Therefore, for Zheng Zhi, if the team is relegated, not only will his income be affected, but his commercial value, media exposure and the effect of the intensity of the game on the training of his own abilities will also be greatly reduced.
"Brother Zheng!"
Hearing Lin Feng's words, Zheng Zhi looked up. When he saw that it was Lin Feng, he put away his sad expression and put on a smiling face.
"Didn't I tell Lao Zhu not to send anyone to pick me up? Why did you send you? Really!"
Lin Feng came empty-handed, without any luggage or anything, and it really looked like he had come out specifically to pick someone up.
Although it was Zheng Zhi who misunderstood, Lin Feng did not intend to explain to him:
"Brother Zheng, you are a senior member of our team, you deserve this treatment!"
As he said this, he reached out to help Zheng Zhi with the luggage. Zheng Zhi wanted to refuse, but he couldn't persuade the other party, so he had to let him go.
"Xiao Lin, I've watched most of your Serie A games. You played really well. I saw you guys were so far behind Juventus in the first half that I thought you guys had no chance. I didn't expect you guys to make a stunning comeback in the second half. So how do you feel about winning the Serie A championship?"
Lin Feng smiled and said, "That's just the way it is. To be honest, our victory was somewhat unfair. If Juventus hadn't been involved in the Calciopoli scandal, their final performance would definitely not have been so bad. We probably still wouldn't have had a chance to win the championship. Rather than saying that we fought for this championship, it would be better to say that we picked it up!"
Zheng Zhi patted him on the shoulder and said, "I don't agree with what you said. How could this be picked up? AC Milan was ranked ahead of you before. If they really picked up the championship by luck, it would be them. How could it be your turn? So for this championship, I think 30% depends on luck and 70% depends on hard work. Only those who work hard can win!"
After hearing what Zheng Zhi said, Lin Feng also laughed:
"Captain, you are so good at comforting people. I almost want to sing!"
Zheng Zhi also laughed: "I am telling the truth!"
The two of them walked into the training base talking and laughing. They were basically the last ones to arrive.
Before them, everyone had given up.
When everyone saw Lin Feng and Zheng Zhi appear together, they looked a little surprised and walked up to greet them.
These two players are not ordinary. One is the main defensive midfielder of the national football team, and the other is the main attacking midfielder of the national football team.
Whether it is a forward or a defender, if you want to play more easily in the game, you have to get along well with these two people.
Fortunately, all the people in the team are familiar faces. Except for Zou Jie, Yan Song, Wang Yun, and Jiang Kun, who are not often seen, Lin Feng has worked with the others more than once.
After greeting his old teammates one by one, everyone said some congratulations to Lin Feng, congratulating him on winning the Serie A championship.
Lin Feng also returned the gifts one by one. When he met a forward, he praised him for his rapid improvement in shooting skills; when he met a defender, he praised him for his strong body, saying that even aliens would not be able to do anything to him.
When I meet someone who has just gotten married, I praise the bride for her good taste in choosing a man like our eldest brother who is handsome, young, rich and capable; when I meet someone who has children, I praise the child for inheriting the excellent genes of our eldest brother and his wife, and the child will definitely be better than them in the future!
In short, Lin Feng spoke differently to different people and flattered them all. The slight sense of unfamiliarity among his teammates who had not seen each other for a long time disappeared without a trace in an instant. He became friends with his teammates in an instant, and the team was filled with laughter.
When head coach Zhu Guanghu saw Lin Feng coming, he walked towards him, carefully observing everything he did along the way, and couldn't help but turn his head and said to the assistant coach:
"This kid is full of nonsense, what a bullshit!"
The assistant coach nodded in agreement. It was indeed a boast. Who else could be so boastful?
Zhu Guanghu suddenly said:
"This kid is not only strong, but also good at building good relationships with his teammates. What do you think? Why don't we give him the position of captain and give it a try?"
The assistant coach was stunned. What?
Let a young man who is only eighteen years old be the captain?
Coach, did you get kicked in the head by a donkey?
How dare you think about it!
"Don't get me wrong, I didn't say to make him the captain, I said to make him the vice-captain!"
The assistant coach continued to shake his head, almost shaking it like a rattle to express his strong opposition.
"Coach, you are crazy. Vice-captain Zhao Junzhe is already dissatisfied with his current position, and you take away his vice-captain position. How can he obey you? If he doesn't dare to cause trouble for you, can't he cause trouble for Lin Fen? I think you are just messing around!"
Zhu Guanghu waved his hands repeatedly: "What are you thinking? I didn't say I wanted to snatch Zhao Junzhe's position as vice-captain. I said that on top of the existing position, I would add another vice-captain for Lin Feng!"
(End of this chapter)
