long live football

Although Germany is the most expensive economy in Europe, it is not a society with relatively equal wealth. A survey released by the German Federal Statistical Office shows that there are more poor people in Germany than in the Czech Republic.

According to EU standards, poverty is defined as a monthly income equal to or lower than 60% of the local median income. In Germany, the standard monthly income (including various subsidies) for a family of four is 1550 euros. poor family.

而在今年（2005）年初,德国《明镜周刊》披露了一份由政府机关列为“最高机密”的调研报告，里面显示德国失业人口已经超过了500万，而且国内陷于贫困的家庭比例由12．6％上升到13．9％,也就是说德国目前有七分之一的家庭生活在贫困线以下。

That's why "Hartz IV Recipe", co-written by two Berlin women, Sigrid Olmello and Nicole Schrier, will dominate the bestseller list for several weeks as soon as it comes out. The reason, because this recipe is written for the poor, the subtitle is "a cookbook to help you through difficult times", which teaches Germans how to use wild vegetables, leftovers and even leftovers (such as watermelon rind, dandelion, daisy ) to make delicious meals.

Although the German government has always provided various subsidies to citizens, for example, families with children who have been unemployed for more than a year can receive unemployment subsidies, child relief funds, and family medical insurance from the government totaling more than 1000 euros per month, but federal statistics According to an authoritative survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics, if a family of three in Germany wants to maintain a normal standard of living, it will cost around 2000 euros a month.

And if all five members of a family are unemployed, and there are three minors and one disabled person among them, one can imagine what life will be like with only more than 1000 euros in government subsidies.

Karl felt this acutely when he walked into Lambert Koch's home.

Koch's mother, a pale woman, opened the door for them, and Koch's two younger sisters, who were probably in elementary school, and a father whose legs were amputated below the knee and who walked on crutches also came. It immediately appeared in Karl's field of vision.

This is a small house located in a remote community, simple but clean, the walls are painted light yellow, the sofa is covered with a blanket (probably to cover up the hole in the sofa), the whole house can be seen at a glance There are no electrical appliances or furniture, but the window sills are full of potted plants, exuding a vibrant atmosphere under the sunlight.

But the most conspicuous thing in the whole house was the bundle of newspapers thrown in a corner—there were four or five of them, one or two of which were in tatters.Each newspaper ball is the size of a normal football, tightly bound with tape, and has crayon graffiti on the outside. From a distance, it really looks like a football.

Carl immediately rang out what Nseleko had told him.

Feeling a scorching gaze cast on him, Karl glanced at Koch, who was staring at him closely with uneasy eyes, and swallowed a lot of words to say.

The Koch family expressed a strong welcome to Karl's arrival, especially his father Wallace Koch, who recognized Karl at a glance: "You are Mr. Alston! Our whole family is a fan of 1860 Munich, I even went to the club to try out when I was a kid!"

Carl couldn't help but glance at his crippled legs.

"An accident caused them." Sitting on the sofa, Wallace Koch patted the empty lower half of his trousers with his right hand, and said very optimistically: "Now I don't feel any pain, if I have money If I wear a prosthesis, I will become like a normal person!"

Carl didn't let his eyes show sympathy, and he asked as calmly as possible: "The responsible party didn't compensate?"

"It's a loss of money, but that money must be left for the children to go to school."

Carl followed Wallace's eyes and saw his three children - a pair of very cute girls, and Lambert Koch, who had been cramped and motionless on the sofa since entering the door.

Koch's mother interjected, laughing, "Lambert said he would stop going to school when he was 18, and then he'd be able to get a real job, and he said he was going to make money for Wallace. Buy the best pair of prosthetics!"

Carl focused his eyes on the fireplace by the wall. There were a dozen report cards on it. The scores were very good, basically 1+.

"Koch, which middle school do you go to?"

Koch's mother said proudly: "At the Altdorf Weber First Grade Gymnasium in Munich."

Even Karl was surprised at the moment, because Koch went to the best liberal arts high school in Munich, even in Bavaria.Compulsory education in Germany is 12-13 years. Senior high school is divided into four grades, namely liberal arts high school, experimental middle school, vocational preparatory and some comprehensive schools including the first three. Among them, liberal arts high school is the best, which can be said to be the gateway to university. The only way of education is also the most difficult test.

But he didn't have a reporter asking why the family didn't let Koch go to college, because let's not talk about Koch's student loan burden after graduating from college for four years. There is only one disabled man and three women in this family. It takes another man to hold up half the sky.

Wallace suddenly remembered: "By the way, Mr. Alston, why did you come to my house?"

Carl glanced at Lambert Koch.

Lambert looked up and looked at him again with that wolf-like gaze, but this time, there was something pleading in his gaze.

"A player from the club's youth team recommended Koch to try out, and I will drop him home after the end." After Karl nodded to Wallace, he stood up and prepared to leave.

Wallace was a little puzzled: "Didn't Lambert be rejected by Munich 1860?" Then he immediately became excited: "Mr. Alston, how is this kid doing this time? He can enter the youth training camp." in?"

Carl said with a smile as he left, "I still need to go back and discuss this with other coaches."

Wallace happily hit Lambert with his cane: "Hurry up and see Mr. Alston!"

Karl declined, but came out the door with Lambert Koch.

Downstairs, standing on the empty road, Lambert Koch hesitated for a while with his head down, suddenly mustered up the courage, looked up at Carl and said loudly: "Thank you for everything you have done for me today, Auston Sir, I won’t buy tickets in the future, and I will never appear in the stadium again!”

A question popped into Carl's mind: "Do you love football?"

Lambert Koch looked at Carl suspiciously: "What do you want to ask?"

"Answer my question, how much do you love football?"

Lambert Koch replied without hesitation: "Football is the most important thing to me besides my family."

"Would you give up everything for it?"

"Correct."

"Even if you can change yourself?"

Lambert Koch nodded very simply.

"Okay then." Carl smiled and said, "I think I can give you a chance."

Lambert Koch froze.

……

On the second day, there was a new member in the Munich 1860 youth training camp.

The moment Lambert Koch appeared on the training ground wearing a youth team jersey, countless youth players who knew him widened their eyes.

What surprised them even more was that the Lambert Koch who appeared in the youth training camp was not at all the "devil kid" that many people imagined. Walking into the field after the coaches, he was polite like a well-mannered boy.

Carl introduced to everyone: "Lambert Koch has become a temporary member of the youth team from today. In the next three months, he and you will become partners in training and competition."

Under Koch's nervous smile, there were sparse applause on the training ground.

Many people secretly breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts: Huh, it turned out to be temporary.

Yes, temporary players.

Karl made an agreement for Koch: If the opponent is determined to become a professional player, Karl can give him a chance to receive three months of formal training in the Munich 1860 youth training camp. He will also participate in all the games and assessments he participated in. If Koch meets the club's requirements by then, the team will provide him with a formal contract with a weekly salary. If the coaches are satisfied, he will leave.

Regardless of whether Koch finally meets the requirements of Munich 1860, he must agree to Carl's request-never mix with gangs, do not take the initiative to fight with others, do not steal or commit any other crimes.

Lambert Koch accepted the deal without hesitation.

To be honest, he looked at Carl at that time, as if he was grabbing some life-saving straw.

……

No.20 five rounds of the Bundesliga, Munich 1860 easily won Karlsruhe 1:0 at home.

In the No.20 six-round match, 1860 Munich played against Frankfurt, which is currently ranked fourth in the rankings. The whole game was very beautiful. It is a pity that Portillo scored for the team in the 78th minute of the second half. Unfortunately, the key goal was judged offside by the referee, and the goal was invalid. In the end, 1860 Munich lost with a score of 1:2.

26场联赛战罢，德乙联赛积分榜上前五支球队形成了一副十分有趣的形势：领头羊杜伊斯堡积分52、榜眼科隆积分51、探花慕尼黑1860积分50、第四位法兰克福积分47、第五位菲尔特积分42。

In addition to the slightly disparity in points between No.5 Fürth and the previous ones, the point difference between No.1 and No.5 is only five points, which means that before the end of this season, no one is sure that the top three will be promoted to Who are the Bundesliga teams, and it is possible that after a round of the league, the second, third, and fourth places in the standings will undergo some changes.

At such a delicate moment, Munich 1860 ushered in a crucial battle.

Tomorrow, they will face Cologne at home.If they win, Munich 1860 will go one step further and become the second in the standings, and they will be 2 points away from Cologne in one fell swoop; if they draw, the stalemate of points will continue; Being pursued by Frankfort behind, he even lost his position in the top three.

It was also at this time that Karl realized that he was so close to the second place in the Bundesliga Bundesliga, that he could even reach Duisburg with his hand...

So he attaches great importance to the game against Cologne.

The sky outside the window was gradually getting dark, and other managers in the club had also gone home from get off work, only the lights in the head coach's office were always on.

Rubbing his sore shoulders, he stood up from behind his desk. When Carl was finishing his notes and preparing to leave for home, his phone rang suddenly.

The calling number shows... Mourinho? !