long live football

The German football columns of major European media are rarely so lively, and they even feel that the newspaper space is not enough.

Munich 1860 became the new Bundesliga champion; Portillo won the Bundesliga Golden Boot; Merkel visited Dortmund to watch the game between the Hornets and the Lions; In the end, I could only return the reservation in disappointment; Merkel broke into the dressing room of Munich 1860 after the game, and all the players almost disappeared in front of the German Chancellor; there were also photos of Karl kissing male fans near Marienplatz in Munich, and more is the top priority.

Most of the media put this news in a prominent place, and in some newspapers it was even the headline of the day.

Fans who didn't know the truth were shocked when they saw the photo, and they started screaming without even reading the news carefully. Some female fans still refused to admit that the photo was real, while others bought big Piles of newspapers were burned, and some of them vowed to find the person who kissed Karl Alston, and then subjected him to a series of inhumane torture.

Most reporters have faithfully restored the whole process. For example, when the kiss happened during the 1860 parade in Munich, a male fan climbed onto the team's tour bus and rushed towards Karl Oston and so on.But there are also some media that only published multiple high-resolution photos, and then deliberately explained it vaguely.

For example, "The Sun", they chose a photo with a very suspicious angle (shooting from the side and rear of the male fan, which just showed the scene of Carl kissing him, but it did not highlight the absolute oppression of the male fan's action figure), and then feared The world is not chaotic and shouted loudly with the headline: "Karl Alston comes out publicly!" ".

The "Sun", which has always been unscrupulous, is notorious in Europe and even the world. If you look at it the other way around, it’s the truth,” but unfortunately, many people actually took the words of the “Sun” seriously this time.

There is a large-scale comprehensive gay website in England, which will update the latest developments of some gay Hollywood stars and celebrities in real time, as well as various types of discussion forums for members to discuss government benefits and all aspects of private life. This website is in Europe is famous and there are often polls for some of the "Most Gay Social Celebrities".

Almost overnight, if not less than overnight, Karl Alston topped the "Most Popular Gay" list and "My Favorite Sexual Fantasy Object" in the Celebrity section.

These two voting activities attracted a total of about 18000 website members. For the time being, no print media has reported the results, but judging from the fact that the website has considerable influence in most of Europe, it is only a matter of time before it is published in newspapers. question.

The Munich 1860 club didn't take it seriously at first. They thought that the head coach of the team was bitten by a crazy male fan. Can't a press conference be held specifically for this, to announce to the public that he is innocent for such an accidental incident?That was a little too existential.

What's more, everyone in the club thinks the truth is obvious. It's not that Carl Alston is hugging his gay boyfriend to make a public display of love.

However, contrary to the club's thinking, the fans paid a lot of attention to this.The gate of the club is surrounded by a large number of media and fans every day. In the last few days of the season, it is customary to hold a general meeting of shareholders to summarize the work of this season and approve the financial approval of the next season. harassment, which annoys them.

Then, before the public opinion was gradually distorted by the "Sun", "Bild" very consciously published a comment: "Same-sex kiss in football, don't make such a fuss".

The commentary started with "Kiss between football king Maradona and Caniggia" and "Liverpool duo Gerrard and Alonso kiss", the former happened in the duo where Maradona was still playing for Boca Juniors He once kissed the opponent for 6 minutes because he assisted Caniggia's goal, so Caniggia's wife was strongly dissatisfied. The latter happened in the "Istanbul Miracle Night" in the Champions League final last year. And Alonso kissed each other with unbearable emotion.

"Physical contact is a way for people to express emotion when they are excited." Bild football columnist Harold Bierman wrote: "In this exciting place on the stadium, the same-sex players have never been intimate. Not a lot: Rubbing each other's hair, high fives, arms around shoulders, throwing teammates to the ground, kissing on the cheek, even kissing on the lips are common... especially after a win, enough physical contact to let off steam from the players A lot of emotion. If you want, I can make a big list of football players who have kissed the lips of the same sex."

"So, as long as the reasons are strong and convincing, same-sex kisses should not receive so much attention from the public. They may just get carried away because of excitement. Humans are emotional animals, and they will be very sensitive when emotional fluctuations are strong. It is easy to do things that you would not normally do, and the excessive hype by fans and the media will spoil the overall situation and bring troubles to the parties involved.”

"Karl Oston was attacked and kissed by a male fan during the team's championship parade. There is no doubt that he didn't push away immediately after being kissed by the fans. The two even kissed for nearly a minute. At this point, some fans once wondered, "Did Oston be frightened by this sudden attack and forget to respond?" Regarding this, the author interviewed Oston by phone, but Oston himself did not hide it. Confessed bluntly, 'Although I was forced at the beginning, I took the initiative myself. The reason? I was too excited, too excited, you know, we just won the league championship.' "

"To be honest, this matter is so simple from beginning to end. I don't understand why some newspapers use sensational headlines and specially selected photos to construct some false stories. A certain tabloid has recently become a feudal guard. The Taoist priests, yelling to the world in outrage, 'Two men kissed! Two men kissed!' acted as if they were still implementing the moral standards of 100 years ago."

"But the reader has only to think about which newspaper puts a picture of a naked girl on the third page every week, and he will naturally know what the real purpose of this tabloid is." Harold Bierman's The last sentence was directed at The Sun.

The "Sun" was completely upset that it was ridiculed by colleagues with the same huge circulation.They bought a video taken by fans with mobile phones on the day of the Munich 1860 championship, and then took screenshots one by one, saying with certainty: "Although the picture is blurred due to pixel problems, everyone can see that it is Karl. Auston dominated the kiss, he was skilled and skilled, and the male fan under his control looked fascinated and looked like he was about to faint, swear to God, this is really not like the first time a man kissed a man scene."

The "Sun" also published a reward notice, they offered [-] pounds, hoping that the male fan would bravely stand up for an interview and talk about his feelings after kissing Alston.

However, in view of the fact that his public identity may cause him to be torn to pieces by the fans, the male fan did not dare to show up from the beginning to the end.

In the end, the "Sun" had to pray sourly: "Anthea Cranstone had better have seen the news. If she is really Auston's real girlfriend, she can't be silent..."

……

Kissing back male fans, as Karl himself said, is a product of passion.

How could he expect that he would be attacked by someone?Although he didn't show it on the surface, he was indeed very happy and excited at the time, and his whole body was shrouded in a dizzy mood.

Even if he was given a squirrel at that time, he must have hugged it tightly in his arms and loved it.

What's more, he has never hated intimacy with the same sex.

At that time, he just thought 'wait until I kiss you so that you lose your vigilance, but I want you to taste the consequences of attacking me suddenly'.

However, if he could have known in advance the series of troubles that have occurred since then, Carl thinks his performance at the time must have been more restrained.

Every friend is trying to blow up his phone, Ronaldo, Mourinho, Beckham, Van Nistelrooy... and what they do is to repeat Carl's "behavior of forgetting love" a hundred times, and add Lots of exclamation points.

This made Karl think directly with fear: After the World Cup opens, these guys will come to Munich one by one (the opening ceremony of the World Cup is held at the Allianz Arena), and he will not experience these experiences again by then, will he?

The more embarrassing thing was the call from Ferguson. He is an elder. Although Karl often has sex with the other party, he discussed with Ferguson his experience of kissing with the same sex... Fortunately, Ferguson did not call mainly for this matter. Well, the old Scotchman is here to complain to Karl.

Manchester United have only won one pathetic League Cup this season and have missed the Premier League title for three consecutive years.Ferguson kept attacking and cursing Mourinho on the phone, but Karl could tell that it was more of sympathy, but because of Ferguson's current status and the hostility between Manchester United and Chelsea , He is not allowed to take the initiative to express his favor to the other party.

What if Mourinho took the initiative to visit Ferguson's mansion and bring him a bottle of fine Barolo wine?

That, Karl thought, might start a great friendship.

……

Mendez's phone call was not impatient at all, and he spoke in a tone of voice, like an old fox pretending to be reserved.

"Congratulations, you brought out the best team in Germany this season."

"Thank you." Carl probed calmly: "Although I think you will go to the Three Treasures Hall for nothing."

"I'm really sad when you say that..." Mendes sighed heavily on purpose: "A Bundesliga champion, you already have the chips to challenge in any league and any club. Several clubs are very interested in you , their boss even called me specifically to talk about you."

"I have no plans to leave Munich yet, you know that."

"Yes, I know. Your team is on the rise, and you're going to win more titles—if your team isn't emptied this summer. I'm in a career known for being greedy, but I don’t know how to kill chickens to get eggs, now you can win a few more championships in the Bundesliga, which is better than going to a wealthy family to stir up trouble.”

After a pause, Mendes said briskly, "I just want you to know that if you want to leave one day, I can always find you another home."

"Thank you." Carl finally spoke out after a long time. He said sincerely, "Thank you for your understanding. I'm a little... moved."

Mendes became suspicious: "Really, or are you mocking me?"

"Of course it's true."

"Really? I touched you?" Mendes repeated again.

Carl was entertained by his attitude: "Don't doubt me, Jorge, I won't lie to you like this yet."

"So." Mendes said solemnly: "Have you considered giving me a kiss? Just like you gave that fan?"

"...Look, Jorge, I knew something was up with you."

"I've seen that photo in newspapers in every country!" Mendes finally got to the point: "If you really wanted to kiss someone in public, wouldn't you find a woman?"

"It seems that I took the initiative." Carl muttered with a little guilt: "Maradona even kissed Caniggia for 6 minutes. Besides, I was too excited for a while. Except for the "Sun" , and there is no media that swears by my sexuality."

"Do you think that as soon as the "Bild" report came out, other media would follow suit so obediently? Especially since you haven't been found out that you have a girlfriend for three years? Isn't it because I contributed to it? After showing off his "monstrous power", Mendes threatened: "Anyway, next time you want to kiss someone in front of the camera, you have to let me know in advance."

"There won't be a next time." Carl said slowly: "I didn't expect it to cause such a big discussion among the public. From today onwards, I will carefully examine my topic. But I really think You called today because you wanted to get me a girlfriend—you know, the way to cover up an affair is to create another, bigger affair."

"No, you don't need that." Mendes said seriously: "You are different from others. The fans prefer you to be single, so it's good to keep it like this."

……

Although some Bundesliga teams still arranged their training plans until June after the end of the season, the Munich 6 club gave the players a holiday early.

If the club does not arrange any collective activities in the summer, the players' vacation time will last from early May to mid-July before starting pre-match preparations.The holiday lasted for more than 5 months, which is really a long enough period of time.

Karl held a meeting before the holiday. He wished the players a happy holiday, but at the same time, he also asked them to be prepared to receive notifications from the club's China trip at any time.

Yes, anytime.Because the Munich 1860 club has not yet decided whether to go to China this summer, the board members have been arguing about this in several meetings.

In the past few days, 1860 Munich has received invitations from several Chinese Super League teams (Beijing Guoan, Shanghai Shenhua, etc.) In addition to the Golden Throat Group, there are several companies that want to sign cooperation agreements with the Lions, such as Hongta Group, the main sponsor of Real Madrid's China tour in 03, and Hangzhou Wahaha Group.

This is a good opportunity to promote the club 1860 Munich and the Bundesliga.All European teams that intend to expand their international influence attach great importance to their image in Asia. Japan, South Korea, China Hong Kong, China Macau, Singapore and other countries are their main Asian destinations. In recent years, due to the rapid development of China's economy, European giants have also begun to pay more and more attention to the Chinese market. Many giant clubs, including Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Barcelona, ​​have already visited China. Among them, Manchester United's trip to China after winning the Triple Crown in July 1999 set off a wave of Chinese business. The new climax of football games.However, the round of profits is still the most successful for Real Madrid. In 7, not only did Real Madrid earn millions of euros from a short trip to China, but superstars such as Figo, Beckham, and Ronaldo also had rich wallets due to continuous endorsement contracts, and the biggest income was undoubtedly Beckham Tom, because Gillette razors attach great importance to the Chinese market, their personal contract with Beckham up to 2003 million euros was signed in China.

In 03, the income from Real Madrid’s trip to China made other European teams covet China’s fat meat. In the summer of 05 alone, 9 European teams came to China to make money. , Tired of being a "fat sheep" and various other reasons, these teams have encountered Waterloo (even Real Madrid, which has been in China for the second time), and they are neither popular nor popular.

It was the predicament encountered by those European teams last year that made Club Munich 1860 still hesitant despite the inherent advantages of being invited by the Chinese Super League team, sponsoring sponsors, and Shao Jiayi and Karl also have huge popularity in China.

Among those Chinese fans who like the Lions, how many of them are willing to buy tickets to watch the game?How many people are willing to buy genuine jerseys?

Moreover, Hongta Group and other sponsors proposed that if Munich 1860 wants to conduct a China tour, it must bring all the stars in the team and the head coach Karl Oston.This will inevitably affect the team's pre-season preparations, and for the players, if they come to China, they have to endure a long flight, back and forth twice jet lag, and sacrifice their personal vacation time by the way-if the profit is not enough , the Chinese guild seems to be outweighted.

Profit and loss all need to be carefully considered by the club, and the board of directors only shows its strong presence in winter and summer every year: the team's summer activities, the new season's budget, the salary increase of coaches and players, transfer affairs, etc.

……

Carl arranged a simple vacation plan for himself: to visit relatives and friends in London and stay for a few days; to go back to Germany to watch the World Cup and inspect the players; to enjoy a few days of sunshine on the beach in South America, and Mendes will help him then Introduce a few people... In the end, it is to return to Munich and prepare for the new season.

Just before Carl was about to book a plane ticket, he got a call from Laurie.

Laurie asked him to go back to town.

Wilkeschen is a small town on the outskirts of Munich. The industry here is very developed. There are large shoe companies like Hanwei in Germany, and there are also small auto parts factories like Laurie's.It is also where Carl Alston grew up and is now home to Laurie and his second wife, Clara.

In order to welcome Karl's arrival, Clara specially made a table of delicacies.

However, none of the three of them enjoyed the sumptuous dinner, because before dessert was served, Laurie couldn't help asking Carl: "I've read all the reports in the newspapers, and I can't believe it, you and a man Kissing? And in front of tens of thousands of people?"

Carl put down the knife and fork, touched the corner of his mouth with a napkin, put on the most serious expression he could make, and said, "That was an accident."

Laurie looked relieved.

Clara also stopped eating, and she looked nervously at the father and son.

"But." Carl continued, "I have to admit to you that my sexuality... is different."

After the air was silent for a while, Laurie pushed away the chair, stood up and left.

Carl looked down at the gleaming dinner plate in front of him.

Clara looked at him for a while, and said softly, hesitantly: "He actually made some mental preparations before you came, but I didn't expect you to be so frank..."

"I just don't want to lie." Carl looked back at her and said, "It's not good for me or for you to tell a lie that will be exposed sooner or later."

"I know." After sitting awkwardly for a few minutes, Clara stood up and went to the kitchen, and then put an apple pie in front of Carl: "Have some dessert, I baked it for you. About Laurie ..." She hesitated, and said intermittently: "I believe he will figure it out in the end. After all, you know, we didn't even expect you to have a decent job and a stable relationship..."

She looked directly at Carl and asked as if she had taken a lot of courage: "You will find a stable partner in the end, right? Laurie, even if he is more open, I don't think he can accept that you often change lovers ..."

"I'm not in the habit of being promiscuous," Carl said at last.

Clara's expression looked a little... not sure.

"Well, not anymore." Carl raised his right hand: "I swear to God."

Clara smiled at him.

……

After eating dessert, Carl left the town immediately. Before he left, he went to say goodbye to Laurie, but Laurie refused to see him, only a heavy "um" came from the study.

Clara gave him a hug instead, and reassured him, "Laurie will figure it out. It may take a few days, but when he does, I'll call you."

For a moment Carl hesitated to ask "Are you considering having a baby with Laurie?", but the question was too abrupt for him to ask.

On the way back to Munich, he drove the car very slowly, thinking about things while driving.

When he got to the main road fast into the city, he found that the car was out of gas, so he stopped to find a gas station.

While the crew was filling up the car, Carl found a store and wanted to buy a bottle of soda or something.

He spotted a man in front of the store.

Wearing a cream sweater and dark jeans, the man with disheveled black hair and an unshaven beard was sitting on the floor to the right of the store door munching on a loaf of bread.Bread crumbs were sprinkled on his clothes, but he didn't care at all, he lowered his head and ate happily.From Carl's point of view, you can see his greasy hair top, double chin, and swimming ring that even a loose sweater can't hide.

It looks like a "brave" who is about to walk across Germany without a wallet, or more bluntly, a homeless person.

Carl glanced at the man when he entered the store, feeling a little familiar, but when he was looking for water in the store, the more he thought about it, the more suspicious he became.

'That's impossible. ' Carl told himself as he checked out, 'it's just a bit of a head and jaw, there's no way Alan can be so sloppy and messy.I must be delusional. '

But even if he warned himself like this, when he saw the man still sitting there when he left the store, Carl still hesitated and asked, "Sorry?"

The tramp on the ground looked up.

Carl saw a familiar face.