legendary midfielder

Chapter 74 Who Is This Young Man?
After saying goodbye to Billim, the relaxed Zhang Xu planned to take the opportunity of coming out to accompany Nicola to travel around the great rivers and mountains of China.

However, he did not expect to receive a phone call that he could not refuse just after buying a ticket to AH Huangshan.

"Hello, Zhang Xu! I am Zhang Xu, the deputy general manager and head coach of Xiangtao Football Club in Hunan Province! Yes, I have the same name as you, but you are much more famous than me, haha!" A hearty voice came from the phone receiver.

Hearing that the other party was also called Zhang Xu, Zhang Xu couldn't help feeling an indescribable intimacy: "Hello, Director Zhang, what can I do for you?"

"It's like this. I heard that you are a football talent from our Hunan Province. I also heard that you are on vacation recently, so I would like to invite you to visit our club and give us some advice. How about it?" Xiangtao team coach Zhang Xu directly made his request without too much polite nonsense.

"Visiting Xiangtao Club?" Zhang Xu was stunned for a moment, and then an idea flashed in his head: he was worried that he didn't have a professional training ground for his own training. If he could use the training ground of Xiangtao Club for his own training, wouldn't that just solve the problem that he couldn't improve himself during the holidays?
So, he immediately agreed: "Okay, Director Zhang, how about I arrive at the club this afternoon?"

"Afternoon?" Zhang Xu, the head coach of the Xiangtao team, was stunned this time. He didn't expect Zhang Xu to agree so simply, but he immediately replied with surprise: "Okay! Great, we will arrange the staff to prepare for you right away!"

"Don't be so polite, you see, we are a family, right?"

"Haha, okay! But I can't let you come over to drink the Northwest Wind, can I? Otherwise, I won't be beaten to death by your 'Rising Sun' fan association?"

After a brief chat, Zhang Xu hung up the phone, turned around and said apologetically to Nicola who was waiting for him, "I'm sorry, dear, we have to go to Xiangzhong City instead!"

"Xiangzhong City? Why?" Nicola asked puzzled.

Zhang Xu briefly explained the invitation from Xiangtao Club and his plan to Nicola, and then said: "I feel that my strength is far from enough, and I want to use this time to improve myself! So I'm sorry that I can't play around with you anymore!"

"Fool, what I like to see most is your demeanor on the court! Besides, at this moment, you can still think about improving yourself. What else can I not understand?" Nicola stroked Zhang Xu's sharp-edged face and said softly.

"Thank you!" Zhang Xu was moved by Nicola's deep affection for him. The corners of his mouth moved for a long time, and finally turned into a thank you full of deep apology.

At 5 o'clock in the afternoon on May 25th, Zhang Xu and Nicola appeared at the gate of Xiangtao Club. Here, Xiangtao head coach Zhang Xu and other coaching staff warmly received Zhang Xu and Nicola.

Dong Fangzhuo is very happy recently. After he joined the Xiangtao Club, he was entrusted with a heavy responsibility by the team and became the team's first striker.

At the same time, the team's record is not bad. After 18 league games, they are now ranked fourth with 1 points. Although the ranking is not very good, the team is only three points away from No.[-]. If the team maintains the current state, it is not very difficult to advance to the Chinese Super League.

The day after tomorrow is the No.11 round of the Chinese League One, so the team is in full swing for the final tactical drill.

Originally, the head coach Zhang Xu was training with the team, but after answering a phone call, he immediately left the training ground with a smile on his face, and took all the team's coaching staff away.

This made Dong Fangzhuo a little confused. Could it be that some important person came over?I haven't heard of it!He looked around at his teammates, who also looked puzzled.

Since he couldn't figure it out, Dong Fangzhuo simply stopped thinking about it and focused his attention on training.

"Okay, brothers, let's train in groups according to the arrangement of the head coach just now!" Captain Dai Qinhua took the initiative to undertake the organization of the team's training when all the coaching staff left the field. He greeted his teammates loudly, and followed the previous arrangement of the head coach.

After a while, Dong Fangzhuo found that the head coach Zhang Xu was back, and all the coaching staff accompanied a very young guy and a western blond beauty, chatting happily, and walked slowly towards the training ground.

Who is this young man?
Everyone stopped training and looked curiously at the young men and women who came over.

"He looks so familiar! I seem to have seen this kid somewhere!" After getting closer, the faces of young men and women gradually became clear. Immediately, a player seemed to remember something. He called out, then lowered his head and tried to remember.

"I also feel familiar! Who is he?"

"It should be someone we are familiar with!"

"Familiar person? Football player? Who is that?"

Everyone started to speculate, while Martinez and other foreign players who were completely unfamiliar with Zhang Xu stared at the astonished Nicola with piggy-eyed faces, almost drooling.

At this time, a scream sounded: "My God, he is Zhang Xu!"

"Nonsense! You don't even know the head coach Zhang Xu. I think you drank too much last night!" Immediately another voice said mockingly.

"Oh, it's not our head coach Zhang Xu, it's the Zhang Xu who plays in League One!" The voice quickly explained.

"Hey, it's really him! Why did he come to our club?"

"Maybe the club invited him over!"

"Why did you ask him to come over? Give us a demonstration? No need, we just have Brother Dong Fangzhuo here!" Some players immediately felt envious and jealous.

"zhangxu? Who is he?" Martinez and the others finally put away their piggies and curiously asked the translator beside them.

The translator quickly explained Zhang Xu's situation to them.

"It's just a League One player, it's no big deal!" Martinez didn't think there was anything special about this player named Zhang Xu.

"Okay, let's stop talking, they are here!" Seeing that the head coach Zhang Xu and Zhang Xu were getting very close, captain Dai Qinhua quickly stopped the team members from discussing.

Coming to the front, the head coach Zhang Xu gathered the team, and then pointed to Zhang Xu and said loudly: "Brothers, I don't think there is any need to introduce this one. Yes, he is Zhang Xu. Of course, he is not Zhang Xu, but he is currently in the League One. Oh, it should be said that it is Zhang Xu who plays for the English Championship team Sheffield United! Let us welcome him with warm applause!"

"Papa papa!" Although the team members were envious of Zhang Xu, they still responded with warm applause.

"Thank you! I'm Zhang Xu, nice to meet you all!" Zhang Xu grinned at the team and bowed politely to express his thanks.

Zhang Xu's bow made many players feel embarrassed. Just now they were guessing this or that, but they didn't expect the other party to be so polite and low-key.

Dong Fangzhuo was the first to step forward, patted Zhang Xu on the shoulder, and said with a big smile, "Speaking of which, we are destined. You have stayed in the Belgian second division, and I have also stayed there, but you are in the White Star team, and I am in Antwerp. Haha, no matter what, it is always a fate!"

"Indeed, Brother Dong, you are my senior! In Antwerp, many fans still remember you!" Zhang Xu said modestly.

"Haha, that's all in the past, look at my current figure, I'm no longer the Dong Fangzhuo of the past!" Dong Fangzhuo patted his slightly obese stomach and laughed at himself.

Then, Dong Fangzhuo took Zhang Xu and introduced the team members one by one in turn. When introducing Martinez and other foreign players, Zhang Xu said hello directly in Spanish: "Hi, hello, I'm Zhang Xu, nice to meet you!"

"Wow, aren't you playing in League One? How can you speak Spanish?" Martinez yelled in surprise. He didn't expect a Chinese player to be able to speak Spanish fluently. This surprised him, but he felt a special kindness in his heart.

"Hehe, I've been studying for a while!" Zhang Xu replied.

"Wow, your Spanish is so good! It's really good!" Martinez gave Zhang Xu a thumbs up.

After introducing his teammates, Dong Fangzhuo asked curiously: "Zhang Xu, what's the matter with you coming to our team?"

"Hehe, it's okay. Director Zhang saw that I am also a member of Hunan Province, so he invited me to come over and communicate with everyone. I also want to learn something from everyone, so I am very happy to come here. I hope you guys will give me your advice!" Zhang Xu said to all the players with a smile on his face.

"Haha, where is it? You must have been exposed to the most advanced football concepts in Europe. How can we teach you?" At this time, seeing Zhang Xu's low-key and modesty, the players also corrected their mentality.

Seeing Zhang Xu quickly get along with his players, the head coach Zhang Xu is naturally happy to see the result.

Just now, Zhang Xu had proposed to him the idea of ​​participating in training with his own team to keep in shape, which surprised the head coach Zhang Xu. On the one hand, he admired Zhang Xu's strict self-discipline spirit, and on the other hand, he was also happy that the team had such a strong player as a training partner.

So he immediately agreed, and then brought Zhang Xu to the training ground to meet the team for the first time.

"Okay, brothers! You will have a lot of opportunities to talk together in the future. Zhang Xu will accompany you here for nearly a month and a half. Would you like to?" The head coach Zhang Xu said loudly after Zhang Xu and the team got acquainted.

"real or fake?"

"Of course I do!"

"Welcome, Zhang Xu!".
Hearing that Zhang Xu did not take a vacation and temporarily joined his team to maintain his condition, all the players were surprised and admired, and shouted to express their welcome to Zhang Xu.

"Thank you everyone!" Zhang Xu bent down again to express his gratitude.

"Okay, you guys continue to train! Zhang Xu came to our team, he is a guest after all, we have to express our feelings! Dai Qinhua, Dong Fangzhuo, and all the team members will meet at the hotel where we had dinner together in the evening. Let's give Zhang Xu a good reception!"

"Understood, boss!" Dai Qinhua and Dong Fangzhuo smiled at each other and agreed in unison.

(End of this chapter)