long live football

Throughout June, Karl traveled around Germany, watched many games, met many interesting people, and contributed countless autographs and group photos.

For the adjustment and modification of the team lineup after the opening of the transfer window in July, he also knew it well.

During the three days from June 6th to 24th, he flew to two cities and sat in the stadium to watch the matches between Germany and Sweden and Spain and France in the World Cup round of sixteen.

Portillo's performance in the game amazed the world.

He even almost became the man who changed the fate of Spain-Spain was 1:3 behind the French team in the game. Portillo first volleyed and scored a goal to bring the team hope of reversal, and then scored again One goal, almost equalized the score.It was said to be almost, because the goal was immediately blown off by the referee due to suspicion of offside. Portillo's goal in this game was reduced to one goal, and Spain also lost to France 2:3 and withdrew from the World Cup.

However, despite the defeat of the national team, everyone in Spain applauded Portillo, calling him "the re-shining Spanish star".

Compared with the brilliance of his club teammates, Koch's experience in the national team is much more ordinary, and he has never had a chance to start.

But this is also normal, because in the national team, the No. 3 goalkeeper rarely has the opportunity to play, and their existence is more just in case.

And Karl believes that there is nothing wrong with Koch sitting on the bench now, because the competition between Kahn and Lehmann for the main goalkeeper in the German national team has entered a fierce stage, and even caused a lot of controversy and discussion in China. , German fans are very worried that the struggle between Lehmann and Kahn, Kahn and Klinsmann will indirectly affect the performance of the national team.Koch is now also getting in to stir up the water and there is no benefit. It is better to be careful and keep a low profile. After all, Kahn and Lehmann are both nearly 40 years old. The head coach Klinsmann who likes to promote "Youth Storm" football always pays attention to it. his day.

After the match between Germany and Sweden, Karl took the time to talk to Koch. He asked the other party if he would be frustrated because he never got the chance to play. Koch just shrugged and smiled heartlessly. "They (Kahn and Lehmann) are both turning 37 this year, so I don't think I'll be waiting too long," he said.

This sentence gave Carl an illusion. He felt that at a certain moment, Koch looked like a cheetah waiting for an opportunity. It seemed harmless and ordinary. , They are all polishing their weapons while waiting for the opportunity. On June 6th, the quarter-finals of the World Cup kicked off, and the competition between teams from various countries also entered a fierce stage.

In the match between Germany against Argentina and England against Portugal, Karl chose the former, because he took a fancy to a central defender named Per Mertesacker in the German team, and he wanted to observe the opponent's performance in the competition. And decide whether to make an offer to Hannover 96 after the transfer window opens.

But in the game, Karl also noticed two players of the Argentine team, Leo Messi and Alejandro Mascherano.The former is one of the top three new stars voted by fans of this year's World Cup (the other two are Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and Ecuador's Luis Valencia), but this game was firmly held by the Argentine coach. On the bench, Karl regretted not being able to see the demeanor of this rookie who had just made his mark in La Liga.

As for Mascherano, his sense of position and physical confrontation ability in defense are very strong. He is exactly the kind of defensive player Karl needs. Unfortunately, when the Brazilian club Corinthians bought him last year Spending 1500 million U.S. dollars and adding players with more than 1860 million euros to the defense line is not yet in line with the spending habits of Munich [-].

In the end, the German team eliminated Argentina with a penalty score of 4:2, and the German chariot continued to advance to the semi-finals.

However, Karl's "other country" England was not so lucky. In the English-Portuguese battle, Beckham was exhausted and vomited constantly in the midfield, and then he was stepped on by Portuguese defender Valente and had to replace him. Fulfilling his worries before the game, Rooney stepped on Carvalho's crotch in the 61st minute, and clashed with the Portuguese player who stepped forward to reason, and was sent off by the referee. These two accidents led to England's Bad luck, they ended up not beating Portugal 1:3 in the penalty shootout, and they were also eliminated.

After watching the live broadcast of the game in the hotel room, before Carl had time to send his consolation to everyone, a new round of news explosions began: at the post-match press conference, Beckham announced his resignation as England captain.

Eriksson was forced into the palace, and the position of the Three Lions will soon be lost.

Because Rooney was issued a red card indirectly, Ronaldo became a "sinner" among English media fans.

……

"Now, the two of you are teammates again through thick and thin."

Carl stood in the ward and said to the "England Twins" who were lying in front of each other on a bed.

After the match against Portugal yesterday, Beckham took a plane overnight to the Renbok Clinic for an examination, and was finally found to have a ruptured Achilles tendon in his right foot and a strained ligament in his left knee. It will take six weeks to recover. To recover, in order to save time and effort, he chose to stay in Munich to receive treatment with Owen.

Although Karl said a lot of funny words, trying to liven up the atmosphere, Beckham and Irving were still immersed in the haze of the unfinished World Cup, and only responded to Karl's words with helpless smiles.

Aware of the depressed mood of the two, Carl didn't say much. He stood in the quiet room, looked at the two faces that were not old but had vicissitudes, and felt the similarity of fate.

Beckham and Irving were trained and famous in the two greatest teams in England respectively. They once became enemies on the court, but they were friends in private; Shining in the world, let England fans see the hope of the revival of the national team; they were the core of the club, the darlings of the fans, and made great contributions to the team's championship, but were sold to the same team successively: La Liga giants Royal Madrid; their journey in Real Madrid has been a bit rough, one has been sold back to England, and the status of the other is also in jeopardy; in different games of the same World Cup, they also suffered from injuries and lay in a room. In the ward...

Now, even the English media has the same attitude towards them: high expectations before the game, endless regrets and arguments after the game.

"Hey, guys." At lunch, Carl waved a takeaway in one hand and a large stack of newspapers in the other to the two who had been distracted all morning: "In order not to bore you too much, I'll bring you Here's something to relieve boredom."

Beckham moved away a high plaster leg and looked into Carl's hand: "What is it, a new game console?"

"It's just some newspapers and books." Carl put down his things: "Friendly reminder: I have read the reports about you in the newspapers in advance, and there is nothing radical."

"...I don't want to read the newspaper at all, whether it says good things about me or bad things." Beckham covered his face with his hands: "Now I just want to find a safe haven, quiet, secret, unknown, no matter Neither the English nor the Spanish journalists could find me. Otherwise, why do you think I stayed in Munich instead of going to London for treatment?"

Owen nodded in agreement.

"No game consoles, guys, and no computers." Carl slowly took something out of his pocket: "If you don't want to watch TV, I only have one activity that can be called entertainment gone."

"No way!" Beckham yelled, "It's playing cards again? I don't want to be photographed so embarrassingly by reporters again!"

Carl said with a blank expression, "Then you can read. Quiet reading is good for your physical and mental health."

Owen shook the waker: "If he doesn't play, I will play. This time I want you to lose even your underwear-by the way, go and lock the door first, so as to save any daredevil from breaking in."

Carl raised his eyebrows: "Don't talk too much, you don't know who wins and loses." He locked the door, opened the playing cards and began to shuffle them, with a somewhat professional posture.

Beckham pretended to be calm and opened the takeaway box of the Chinese restaurant, and began to eat the Kung Pao chicken set meal he ordered.

Five minutes later, his eyes began to wander.

Fifteen minutes later, he mentally yelled "YES!" as Irving won the first round.

After half an hour, he finally couldn't bear it anymore: "I want to join too!"

Owen and Carl looked at each other and smiled at the same time.

……

Before the World Cup is over, the whole of England has fallen into the madness of public opinion.

The England national team in this World Cup has always been known as "the strongest in 50 years" before the game. Since England won the World Cup for the first and only time in 1966, it has been recognized by the media fans as the most likely to win the cup again. lineup, but did not even break into the top four of the World Cup, and ended his World Cup journey.

This result cannot be accepted by England fans, because before the start of the World Cup, almost 80% of England fans believed that they "will definitely be able to lift the Hercules Cup for the second time!"

With great disappointment and anger, England fans began to look for scapegoats.

Although Irving and Beckham, who retired due to injuries, disappointed the fans, they did not receive any criticism. After all, injuries are irresistible factors, and Beckham also resigned as captain of his national team in time after the game. Bearing some punishment for England's World Cup defeat.

National team coach Eriksson was forced to resign almost a few days after Beckham resigned as captain. The media called him "a guy who brought shame to England with an annual salary of 600 million euros."

Next up is Rooney.

The red card Rooney, once again changed the fate of English football with the way off the field.

In the European Cup in 2004, England met Portugal. As a result, when England led Portugal 1-0, Rooney was injured and ended up. disuse.

In 2006, the same encounter happened again - in the 61st minute of the English-Portuguese war, Rooney and Carvalho got entangled in the midfield. During the fierce fight, the latter accidentally fell to the ground and Rooney stepped on his crotch. The pained expression on Vallo's face attracted not only the referee, but also his teammates.The Portuguese players, especially Cristiano Ronaldo, came forward to protest to the referee. Rooney had been obediently standing by and received the penalty. After seeing this scene, he couldn't help pushing Ronaldo, but was counted by the referee and punished. A red card sent off.

After Rooney left the field, the England team lost someone who could dominate the game in the frontcourt. In the final penalty shootout, the "Golden Expeditions" once again beat the "Three Lions" back to their hometown.

But compared to no one to blame in 04, this time the English media finally found the best target for their anger.

Cristiano Ronaldo.

In the words of the Daily Mail, it was the man who "put pressure on the referee during the game, got Wayne Rooney sent off, and then destroyed England's last hope in the penalty shoot-out."

Any sane person knows that you can't blame a team's failure on "opponents who are too conscientious", but most English people are carried away with anger. Encouraging Manchester United to deal with Ronaldo as soon as possible.

In the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, Ahn Jung-hwan became the "Italy Public Enemy" because he eliminated Italy with a header. He was purged by his club Italy Perugia. Worked with Ahn Jung Hwan" and fired him.

Using the "Ahn Jung-hwan incident" as a precedent, countless English media and fans demanded that Manchester United purge Ronaldo, and even many celebrities came out to speak: former England captain and current BBC commentator Alan Shearer, legendary Arsenal striker Ian Wright , Tottenham coach Martin Joel, and Liverpool captain Gerrard have successively made remarks similar to "Ronaldo hit Rooney in the game, I despise him".

The "Sun" even dug up important information from an England international who did not want to be named. Rooney said angrily in the national team locker room, "I will never play with him again!", this " It is self-evident who "he" refers to.

"Rooney is the treasure of England and the indispensable core of Manchester United. If he and Ronaldo can't get along in the end, Ferguson had better get rid of the Portuguese as soon as possible!" - this sentence was repeated throughout England.

……

Ronaldo tried to defend himself after the game.

"I didn't frame Rooney!" When he was interviewed by the media, he repeated over and over again: "He fouled Carvalho. As a Portuguese player, I had to go forward and appeal to the referee, so I did it. What I should have done - but I didn't expect the referee to give him a red card! I don't want Rooney to be sent off!"

But it didn't work. The anger of the English people couldn't be smoothed out with just a few words of justification. Some extreme fans besieged Ronaldo's residence in Manchester and threw bricks into it.The media also guarded the door day and night, whether it was Ronaldo himself or his family members, as soon as they appeared, they flocked to interview them.

Carl made a phone call to Ronaldo, but he didn't answer the first time. Although he answered the second time, his tone was very bad, and after a short chat, he hung up the phone before Carl could get to the point.

'Did he think I called to find fault? ' Carl thought helplessly, 'I have to let him know that not every Englishman speaks with emotion. '

Carl felt he should say something.

So he deliberately tidied himself up in a decent manner, without a hat or sunglasses, and just appeared in the cafe with the most traffic in the city center.

One of the semi-finals of the World Cup will be held at the Allianz Arena, so at this time Munich brings together journalists from all over the world, and the "Sun" will never miss such excitement.

Gary Jeb even found Carl's traces earlier than the German local media. He immediately held up the camera and took the position opposite Carl, and asked with a friendly smile, "May I have a short interview?"

"No problem." Carl put down his coffee cup and nodded at him.

accepted?Actually agreed so simply? !Gary Jeb was taken aback for a moment, but then realized he was lucky!He caught Karl Alston's rare moment of good mood and managed to get an interview!

The excited "Sun" reporter quickly asked several questions, all of which were answered by Carl.

After hesitating for a while, Gary Jeb asked the other party: "What do you think of Rooney's red card in the World Cup?" Based on Auston's experience and personality, Gary Jeb thought that the other party would answer this question. He avoided talking about it, just like what Ferguson did now, but after waiting for only a few seconds, he heard the answer from the other party.

"The red card was not Ronaldo's fault, he just did what he was supposed to do."

Gary Jeb blinked: "What did you say?" Karl Alston made a statement?And to support Ronaldo? !This is big news!

He quietly turned on the recorder.

Karl did not take back what he said before, but continued downward: "In any game, whether it is a national team event or a club event, it is the duty of the players on the field to stand up for teammates. In the game between England and Portugal, Ronaldo represented Portugal, his teammate was Carvalho, and Rooney was just his opponent at the time, so he defended Carvalho and appealed to the referee for Rooney's foul, I don't think so There is something heinous about this behavior."

"But Rooney is his teammate at the club!" Gary Jeb retorted: "This is a naked betrayal of his teammates!"

"They had different stances at the time. It was correct to fight for the country in national team games and for the club in club games." Seeing Gary Jeb's speechless expression, Carl said lightly: " I believe that if Rooney was fouled by his opponents back in the Premier League, Ronaldo would not hesitate to argue with the referee for him."

Gary Jeb rolled his eyes: "Do you think Rooney deserved his red card?"

Carl glanced at the recording pen in the opponent's hand: "Rooney is undoubtedly a great player and has a bright future. He will become the well-deserved core of Manchester United and the future of English football. It's just that sometimes, I sincerely hope that he can manage a little bit. His own temper, especially in the game, if I remember correctly, last season in the Champions League against Villarreal, he was given a red card for sarcastically applauding the referee."

Gary Jeb scratched his nose in embarrassment, and continued to ask: "So, what's your evaluation of Ronaldo?"

"Ronaldo, he has a bit of a flamboyant personality, competitive, and unwilling to admit defeat." Karl glanced at the other side deliberately: "But he, like Rooney, is one of the best players I have ever seen. Their professionalism It’s admirable. You can dislike him, but don’t smear him at will, let alone ignore his growth and dedication. Sometimes people should be calmer, less incitement and advocacy. Perhaps Ronaldo and Rooney can find out more accurately Get your own position."

Gary Jeb left with a tape recorder, and the next day he brought a headline to The Sun.

When people are full of hostility in their hearts, they see hostility everywhere.

But after people's rationality gradually returns, more diverse voices will gradually be expressed.

Former England coach Bobby Robson became the first celebrity to ask the public to correctly view Rooney's problems: "From the moment Rooney lost control on the court and deliberately fouled, he was destined to be punished by the referee. The media and Fans have been discussing the issue of red cards or yellow cards, but have you ever thought that if Rooney could strictly abide by the discipline on the pitch, all these things would not have happened. Young and inexperienced are not excuses for making mistakes, if Rooney has to change and grow if he wants to be the future of English football."

The "Sun" article was successively reprinted by "Mirror", "Observer" and "The Times". Ferguson's phone call from far away Scotland rang violently in his apartment in Munich.

"Thank you for speaking up for that kid. If you have the chance, help me untie him." The Manchester United coach warned: "But don't try to poach someone from me!"

"If you think I can dig it, I can't dig it." Karl said with infinite aggrievedness.

Ferguson hung up the phone contentedly.

Carl raised his eyebrows and thought: Give me money, give me a chance, I'll be blamed if I don't dig.