Ender's Football

The time came to the end of January. At this time, the cold weather in Germany has not warmed up, but the Bundesliga and Bundesliga Bundesliga have resumed in full swing.The competition of the youth team also started together.

In the U16 Northern League held on Saturday, Ander ushered in his first starting game.

This is also the first home game of the Red Bull U16 after the winter break. Although they are only a youth echelon, they are far from being able to use the spectacular Red Bull Arena not far away, but they can set foot on the youth training center The turf is enough to make people excited.

In the locker room before the game, Schuylman called all their players together. This arrogant man has only led this group of boys for less than a month, and he has taught them a lot in this month.Now, he's teaching the kids something more important: winning.

"I want everyone to have a belief," Scheuerman said, "that even though you're not good enough, you're going to do everything you can to win."

He looked around and glanced at each boy with sharp eyes: "I'm not the kind of head coach who has to force the players to do their best on the court, but I'm a strict person, if I think you're not doing well enough, I'll replace you and replace with your competitor. Do you understand?"

This kind of speech is actually tantamount to intimidation, but this is the starting point of the new team, and the effect of his speech is obviously very good, especially in this game, they used the new 352 formation for the first time. Thanks to the tactical lectures and video analysis classes that Schuylman has been working overtime for a month, every player on the court knows what he should do in this formation, and the whole team operates smoothly and clearly.

Leading the charge in this formation is Ender, who is paired up front with Jeremy, despite being a jerk - even if Scheuerman tries to correct Jeremy's behavior with his broken English, but even if he With his mouth worn out, Jeremy is still playing football happily in his own way, full of desire to perform.

However, Jeremy also brought many benefits to Ender. First, he alone can attract the attention of two defensive players. Second, Jeremy is indeed superb. The ball is like a work of art under his feet. Sometimes he likes to use some tricks, but most of them are successful. Many times, the ball is delivered to Ender's feet very smoothly, and Ender finds a way to return it to him, or directly kicks the ball and shoots a fatal blow.

The two of them didn't have much tacit understanding yet, but Schuylman had already divided the routes for them to intersperse and run for them before the game, so both of them knew which direction they should run, which was enough for them Against opponents in the first round since the winter break——

They took a 2-0 lead in the first half, and Ander and Jeremy each scored a goal. Although the offense in the second half failed to bring goals, it had exhausted the opponent and could no longer organize a very effective offense.

In this round of the Northern League, the Leipzig Red Bull U16 ushered in a perfect start after the winter break.

New coach, new players, a brand new team.

They set out to tell the rest of the northern region with undeniable content that Red Bull's new team, like their first team, would be a force to be reckoned with here.

***

It ushered in an overwhelming victory in the first game, which is a good thing for the entire U16.

The boys cheered happily in the locker room. Jeremy put one arm around Ender, and the other arm around their goalkeeper. Heaven to celebrate.

The others did not give up too much, the boys' laughter filled the locker room, and the laughter even overflowed a little from the crack in the door.

Ender felt that if it wasn't for the fact that they were all underage and the base didn't serve beer for everyone, this group of happy Germans would have to drink a few glasses and maybe open a glass of champagne to express their joy. .

The decibels were a bit loud when they celebrated. Fortunately, it was at their home court. Otherwise, if they celebrated like this in an away game, others might think they were provocative.

"We won!" Jeremy cheered, "Very simply! Did you see the expression on that defender just now, Ender? Hahaha, he is too miserable! First he was teased by me, and then you went around again He laps, and a goal gap opens from him!"

It's a little miserable... But what the two of them said seems a bit wicked.

thought Ender.

He was hurt by Jeremy's arm. Although it was winter, the room was warmed up and it wasn't cold.The boys had just come off the game, everyone was covered in sweat, and most of them hadn't had time to take a shower, and with the warm wind blowing in the room, the smell was hard to describe.

Ender deftly freed Jeremy's arm from his shoulder. He pulled out a towel from his closet, took the clothes and said to Jeremy, "I'm going to take a shower."

"Go, go!" The happy Jeremy didn't care about his escape, he waved his hands casually, and continued to celebrate with the others.

Ender quickly took a shower, changed his clothes, and ran to the stands of the Youth Training Center without even having time to say hello to his teammates.

The blond boy was sitting there waiting for him.

Of course Sieghard.

Today is Saturday, there are no classes in the school, and U16 and U19 are playing at home this week, and it just happens to be staggered. Ender made an agreement with Sieghard to watch the game with each other, so as not to miss their mutual love. First home game.

Ender quickly ran up to the stands, and when he got close, he realized that Sigurhard was not alone, and there was a man sitting beside him, talking to Sigurhard.

After seeing the man's side face clearly, Ander immediately stopped his steps, not knowing whether to step forward.

He stopped, but both Sieghard and the man had heard footsteps at this moment, and they both turned around together, with a smile on their similar faces at the same time.

"Come here, Ender." Loel beckoned to him.

"...Uncle Loel." Ender came over obediently and called for someone.

Loel smiled. He sent Sighard here a few weeks ago, and he ran here again today. Obviously, he came for Sighard's first game tomorrow.

"I came a little late," Loel said. "I only got to watch the last 10 minutes of your game. I'm sorry I didn't watch the whole game. You don't blame me, little Ender?"

"Of course not," Ender said.

Loel just laughed, and when his upright handsome face smiled, there was a special sly temperament, which was much more vivid than when there was no expression.

"But even though I only watched it for 10 minutes, it's enough. I just told Seager," Loel half-jokingly said, "'If Ender signed an economic contract with our company, I promise to let him endorse From Europe to China.'”

Ender blinked. He knew that Sieghard's uncle was an agent. He had actually expressed his intention to sign himself once before—but it was in the big tent at the Oktoberfest. Ender didn't know who the other party was. Sincerity is still polite, because Loel didn't mention it again later-unexpectedly, he had already transferred to Leipzig Red Bull at this moment, and Loel once again expressed his thoughts in a joke.

But Ander didn't think about changing his agent at the moment. He hadn't made a name for himself yet, and he always felt that things like endorsements and advertisements were far away from him. Isn't that something only stars on TV can have?How can it be related to him, a little-known player?

Thinking of this, Ender opened his mouth, ready to politely decline a few words.

Unexpectedly, Sieghard was one step ahead of him and blocked Loel's words for him: "He hasn't even passed his 15th birthday, let our little friend go, profiteer."

"Hey!" Loel protested, "Which profiteer made you financially independent? Sig, do you think I am the type of Sherlock?"

He pretended to be very hurt.

"Sherlock?" Ender didn't understand, but he had at least heard the famous "Sherlock Holmes", "Sherlock Holmes?"

With just this sentence, he made both uncle and nephew laugh.

Loel couldn't pretend to be injured anymore, he explained: "It's not Sherlock Holmes, it's a Jewish businessman*."

Ender still didn't quite understand what the uncles and nephews were talking about, but he already understood what they said, and nodded along.

***

Because of Loel's arrival, he took the two boys out for dinner.

They went to a fancy restaurant in the center of Leipzig.

Ever since An Guoqing left Lokomotiv Moscow, Ender had never been to such a place. After entering the door, he sorted out his clothes rather unnaturally—of course, he was wearing the clothes he just changed after the game. The sportswear on the top is also printed with Adidas' clover LOGO.In fact, there is nothing to tidy up. The sportswear is made of quick-drying material, and there is not even a pleat on the clothes. It is just against the background of the Bach in the restaurant and the flowers placed by the revolving door, and the flowers hanging from the roof. Against the backdrop of the crystal chandelier that reflected the broken light, his body made people feel rather out of place.

Ender couldn't help but glanced at Loel and Sieghard beside him.

Loel stood at the front, wearing an expensive-looking luxury suit coat, talking skillfully with the waiter, leading Ander and Sieghard into the store, and it seemed that he was the leader of the dinner .

Sieghard stood on his right. Like Ender, he was also wearing simple sportswear, but compared to Ender's dazed expression, Sigurhard was much calmer, and he didn't seem to be at all concerned. Feeling how out of place he was, after noticing Ender's gaze, he smiled at him to calm the boy's nervousness.

They finally sat down in the hall, where the sound of the piano flowed quietly.

Seeing Ender's unnatural expression, Loel smiled at him: "Don't be nervous, little Ender, it's not a big deal here, we'll let Sieghard treat us today."

Ander wasn't actually nervous about coming here - it's not that he hasn't followed An Guoqing to places with higher specifications before, but at that time, they were a family of three wearing formal clothes, and Li Mei would squat down and change into a small suit for him , put on a bow tie, and then attend that occasion.

An Guoqing also taught him the manners of dressing and dining table. He always liked such a place, and thought that it was a natural sense of ritual for everyone to wear formal clothes to attend. People are uncivilized, they are upstarts, and they should not enter this kind of place where music and art are discussed.

This was the first time Ender approached this kind of restaurant wearing sportswear, so of course he felt unnatural.

He decided to say something to ease the feeling.

"Sighard's treat?" He pretended to be surprised, "But..."

Loel answered the words naturally: "He earns enough to buy us a meal. Don't worry, you won't be detained by the restaurant for washing dishes just because he doesn't have enough money."

He even made a "wink" to Ender, which immediately dispelled the sense of height he had just created with a suit coat.

Ender gradually relaxed. He looked at Sieghard, and joked along with Loel's words: "Roommate, you won't be so cruel, and let me be detained by the restaurant to wash dishes?"

Sieghard looked at the two of them helplessly, took out a card from his wallet, and put it on the table: "No."

Ender gave a false cheer.

Loel covered his mouth and laughed, and the smile flowed out from the corners of his brows and eyes unrestrainedly, obviously he got infinite pleasure from teasing his nephew.

"You're much more cheerful than our Sig, little Ender," Loel said. "Do you usually think he's a bit boring?"

"Of course not!" Ender said, in front of the elders, of course he wanted to say good things about Sighard—in fact, he didn't have anything bad to say to him, and he had been roommates with Sighard for almost a month , he felt that there might be no better dormitory than theirs.

Loel continued to laugh.

As if inadvertently, he chatted with Ender about his situation.

"I only knew that you played in Uwensburg's youth team, so did you live in Uwensburg since you were a child, Ender?"

"No," Ander shook his head honestly, "I'm Chinese, I grew up in China."

Loel was a little curious: "But I think your way of playing...well, how should I put it, it is very similar to the children trained by our European youth training. You know, sometimes the training systems in different places will be a little different. I I've seen a lot of young boys from Japan and Korea, and even some from the British Isles, but they don't integrate as quickly as you, as if you were like... grew up here You speak German as well, except for a foreign accent, everything else is perfect, like a German boy."

"I used to... when I was a child, when I was about 8 years old, I played football in Lokomotiv Moscow," Ender thought for a while. He had already told Sieghard about this experience, and he told Sigurhard's uncle also. No big deal, "I lived in Moscow for a while, so I speak Russian."

Loel said "wow": "Your life experience sounds much more exciting than Sieghard's lackluster career."

Ender smiled.

He didn't say that he also lived in Ukraine for a while, and even experienced the air raid sirens in Donetsk and the civil war that engulfed the entire region.

This memory is deeper and heavier than the one in Moscow, and it is a scar that cannot be easily shown to the public.

Loel also inquired about his situation in China, asked him if he could speak Chinese, and when would he usually return to China.

Ander replied truthfully: "My grandma lives in Jiangcheng, so as long as the club and school have holidays, or a little longer, I will go back to China to see her."

Of course Loel didn't know where Jiangcheng was, but he was still interested in inquiring about the situation in that distant foreign country.

"Did you watch Bayern's trip to China last year? The city they went to was Shan—Shanghai, right? I saw photos of the stars on the Internet, and videos of them traveling by boat. The city is so modern it's amazing."

"Shanghai is of course very good. I went to watch Bayern's China tour, and the enthusiasm of the fans was unbelievable," Ander said, "But of course, I am from Jiangcheng, and I love my hometown more. There are more than 1000 million people, 10 times that of Munich (Loel exclaimed when he heard this), she is located on the Yangtze River, and the scenery is also very beautiful. You can cross the Yangtze River by boat for only 30 euro cents. "

He is quite proud when he mentions his motherland and hometown.

It was a very rare emotion, and Sieghard had rarely seen Ender show such undisguised pride.

Loel began to talk to them about opening up a football market in the far eastern land.

Ender was a little surprised: "So you still thought about this?"

"Of course, why not?" Loel said, "Although I am not a Beckenbauer-like figure, but as a practitioner, I also know that the Bundesliga needs more attention. Our league already has Japan. There are Koreans and Americans, but there is still a Chinese missing.”

Of course, he prepared these words to Ender: "I am not the chairman of the league, and I am not a member of the club, but I know that one day they will be like me, eagerly looking forward to your shining on the field. Believe me, Ender, when you are successful, your business value is immeasurable."

At this moment, Ender finally understood why Loel was so interested in him, and he was a little at a loss for being drawn such a big picture all of a sudden.

It was Sieghard who interrupted his uncle again.

"Do you know why I called him Sherlock?" He said to Ender, "Don't take him too seriously, there are other agents, after all, they want to take a cut of your transfer fee."

Loel didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Hey, Sig!"

Sieghard shrugged: "Don't worry about it, uncle, I'm just stating the general facts of your industry."

So the next dinner time turned into Loel's "Sighard's Tucao Conference".

In the end, the whole meal ended with the chatter of Loel smiling.Sieghard was responsible for being the center of conversation between the two of them, taking over all the tasks of eliminating food and swiping the checkout.

***

On Sunday, Sieghard set off early, and Ander had breakfast. After finishing the morning training with the U16 coaching staff on the training ground, he asked for leave to go to the home court of the Youth Training Center to watch the U19's Contest.

Fortunately, the tolerant and kind assistant coach took over today, and Schuylman didn't come to the training ground. Otherwise, Ender suspected that he might be radiated by Schuylman's death sight for a week, and then the other party would give him the next week's training day. Increase the dose.

He and Loel met at the entrance of the Red Bull Youth Training Center, and the two walked into the stadium together, and soon came to the auditorium.

There is no need to buy tickets for the youth team games, and there are not many people watching them, but there are still many diehard fans who choose to watch the games live when they are free. Most of them will watch the games of the second team, because these boys are usually the closest In the first team, occasionally there will be a talented boy who will shine in the high-level league in a few years. The U19 game audience will be a little smaller than the second team. At the U15 and U16 levels, the audience is basically only the relatives and friends of the young players, some coaches and scouts from other teams, and a few sporadic local fans.

Today is the first game after the winter break, so there are a little more fans than usual, and some fan organizations even brought their flags, but Ender took a look quietly and found that the flag should be It was made by the fans for the first team, because it even said: "The division of the Bundesliga" which is obviously a slogan for the first team.

"You have to get ready." Loel said suddenly.

"Huh?" Ender looked back at him with some doubts, not understanding what Loel meant.

The man smiled: "Be prepared to be boycotted by some fans in the future."

Ender frowned.

He actually knows that the Leipzig Red Bull team has been equated with "foreign capital" by some worried fans since its birth, but that is a matter for the first team, and young people like them with relatively few audiences The team doesn't matter much.

Loel didn't continue talking, he seemed to just sigh casually, and began to fold his arms, waiting for the whistle of the game to sound.

Although it is only a match for the youth team, the organizer is also very formal and professional. Before the start, the players on both sides line up to enter the field in turn. Generally speaking, when a football match enters the field, the first team is the team. The captain, then the goalkeeper.In some teams, the goalkeeper is the captain, who stands first, and the order after that is more random.

But today, after the opening music sounded, when Red Bull's U19 players filed in in a long line, Ander and Loel did not see Sieghard, who should have stood second in the team.Instead, there was another player in the goalkeeper's uniform. The other player was making the sign of the cross on his chest and was fiddling with his gloves after the drawing. The expression on his face was tense and he looked a little nervous.