The Young Lion

In a secluded community in East London, Dean Richards and his wife Samantha lived in one of the apartments. When he came to Millwall, the club community had not yet been built, and he later did not choose the club A free apartment, but saving money, hoping to move to a more upscale community with his wife in the future.

After dinner, Samantha was cleaning the dishes, and Richards sat on the sofa watching TV. He has not been in a good mood lately.

This year he has fewer and fewer opportunities to play in the team. Originally, in recent months, the team has undergone a large rotation, and it was his turn to perform, but because of a dizziness after training, he went to the doctor in the medical department by accident, causing He couldn't even make the bench list.

He regrets it very much now, because those doctors advised him not to compete and wait for the medical report.

He was very dissatisfied, but it was just dizziness. Is this normal? It just shows that he trains too hard.

But no matter how hard other players train, they will be extremely tired afterwards, but he is dizzy, and after two and a half months, he has a physical reaction of vomiting again. Richards does not think there is a big problem. Not uncommon.

When Aldridge knocked on the door of his house with a calm expression, Richards was taken aback. The head coach came to the door in person at this time, and he must be talking about some very important topics. The first thing he thought of was: I will be killed. Sold!

After all, in the position of central defender, his competitors are getting better and better. Helguera is the first choice as a substitute, and then Materazzi. Now he is reduced to compete with that kid Ferdinand.

Are the days in Millwall over?

Samantha poured water for Aldrich, and Aldrich remained silent after sitting down. Take a look at this ordinary small apartment. It's been a long time. He whispered, Dean, can we talk privately?

Richards thought pessimistically: Sure enough, he is going to sell me away!

Samantha probably also thought of this, and suddenly became depressed, and walked back to the bedroom with a slightly worried expression.

Of course they don't want to leave. Richards firmly believes that he will have a bright future if he stays at Millwall. As long as the head coach gives him more opportunities, his performance on the court will definitely reassure everyone, coach. Teammates, fans!

Aldridge still didn't know how to speak, but Richards said in a deep voice: Boss, are you going to sell me away? If it's true, you can tell me, I can bear it.

Aldrich smiled bitterly when he heard the words: As a bystander, I can't even bear it...

There was another long silence,

Aldrich handed him the medical report, and said softly: Dean, these past few months. You feel unwell after training, after the examination. The doctor found that you have a strange disease, and there is no cure for it , the doctor's suggestion is that you temporarily stop training and competition. If you can be cured as soon as possible, then you can return to the field in a healthy manner. If not, I have prepared a new contract for you, and you can stay The club can choose a clerical job, or change to a coach, and at the same time, the club will be responsible for your medical care throughout the whole process, so you don’t have to worry about the cost.”

Richards was stunned on the spot, and then he frantically opened the medical report in his hand. Many of the professional medical terms and examination data contained in it were completely incomprehensible to him, and neither could Aldrich. However, in the final diagnosis, the doctor used The text description is very popular, that is, it is recommended to stop strenuous exercise, because his symptoms all occurred during or after strenuous exercise.

I don't believe it! This is fake! This is the conspiracy of those bastards! This is a persecution of me! They want to destroy me!

Richards roared out of control, and then tore the report in his hand to pieces.

He will be 23 years old in two and a half months, and he is about to embark on the golden age of a player, and this stage is very important to him!

But the sudden blow made him lose his mind directly.

Aldrich got up and hugged Richards who was mad like a wild beast, and said sadly: Dean, don't be like this, calm down, calm down.

Samantha rushed out immediately when she heard the sound outside in the bedroom, but saw Richards crying like a child in Aldrich's arms with tears streaming down his face.

Boss, it's not true! It's not true! I'm not sick, I can play football, I can play football!

Boss, this must be a misdiagnosis. I don't believe it. I'm going to a better hospital for verification. I'm sure I can still play football...

How hard will it be for him not to play football?

That would simply make his life meaningless, and it would also deprive the newly formed family of their most important source of income.

The beautiful life he and his wife had longed for has thus reached another unpredictable turning point.

Aldrich didn't want to believe it was true, but it took Thompson three months to send the report to Aldrich. It was originally a multi-party verification. He communicated with famous professional doctors in the UK and even flew to the hospital himself. I went to the United States to find top experts through peer relations, and made pathological judgments together, but the final conclusion was that this is a rare and strange disease.

There are many kinds of diseases, some of which are immediate, if you have a disease, you can go for a checkup, and you can find the cause immediately, and some are chronic diseases. Richards’ symptoms seem trivial, and even ordinary players don’t take it seriously. It will pass after a short rest, but This does not mean that the body is absolutely healthy. Maybe the disease factor is just latent for a longer period of time, jeopardizing health bit by bit.

Aldrich kept comforting Richards, telling him to calm down and face the change with a positive attitude.

But his words seemed too feeble. As a bystander, he felt pain in his heart, but he couldn't fully understand the pain of the other party, and saying comforting words was actually useless.

After Samantha learned the whole story, tears welled up in her eyes, and Aldridge sat with the young couple all night.

The next day, Aldrich notified Richards' family and arranged for a new medical examination for Richards. In any case, it made him aware of his physical condition, which was always more convincing than other people's narration.

And that afternoon, Aldridge, who had not slept all night, had bloodshot eyes in his eyes. He commanded his team's Premier League action from the sidelines with a sad face.

They are a guest to challenge the relegation team Coventry. The team's form seemed to be affected by Aldridge's malaise. A goal was scored by Coventry in the first half, and a penalty was created in the bombardment in the second half. Larsson made a penalty to help the team get a draw.

In the same game, Manchester United beat Everton with two goals at home and won the victory, narrowing the gap between the two teams to 11 points.

There are seven rounds left in the league, and Millwall will have a direct confrontation with Manchester United after two rounds. Ferguson is unwilling to re-discuss the possibility of the championship, thinking that Millwall will not be able to stand up to the leader in the final stage of the league. pressure. It may also be that the spirit was relaxed and overtaken. After all, in the last few rounds, in addition to the direct confrontation with Manchester United, there were also two contests with the London rivals.

Aldridge responded impatiently to Manchester United's call for reversal: Do Manchester United think they can win the championship? Then continue to fantasize.

The players in the Millwall team are also aware of Aldridge's unusual state.

In the following week, the atmosphere in Millwall's training ground was a bit depressed. Everyone wanted to know where Richards had gone, and why did Aldridge have a clouded face?

At Wembley in midweek, Aldridge sent a substitute to face Norway's Bran as he held a four-goal advantage in the first leg. Bran also began to face up to Millwall's strength, so this second round of the game was a bit dull. Millwall only got a ticket to the semi-finals with a small victory.

Before the start of the weekend league, the draw of the European Cup Winners' Cup came out, and Millwall was finally going to meet a strong opponent in the European arena.

Defending champions: Paris Saint-Germain.

Aldridge didn't have much reaction to this. Anyway, he would touch anyone. If he wanted to win the championship, he had to be fearless of all opponents.

They will welcome the League Cup champions Leicester City at home on the weekend.

Martin O'Neill has a very good record leading the newly promoted Leicester City. He took over the team for half a year last year and led the team to the Super League success. He also scored enough relegation points early in his Premier League debut and helped the club win the League Cup. The young marshal who studied under Brian Clough became a blockbuster.

Aldridge rallied the players on the training ground the day before their meeting with Leicester, with Richards standing beside him in a suit.

The whole team looked at Richards curiously.

Why are you wearing a suit?

After everyone arrived, Aldridge reached out his hand to signal, and Richards took a step forward, facing all his teammates, trying to maintain a calm tone.

Sorry guys, I can't play football with you guys.

Why? Are you going to transfer?

Matela asked bluntly. He and Richards were regular substitute partners before, and the relationship between the two in the team has always been very good.

After all, Richards couldn't control his emotions, tears flashed in his eyes, he choked his head and said: No, I, I have a strange disease, and I won't be able to play football in the future, but I will stay here, and the boss will teach me to be a football player. Coach, that's good too, when I can enter the first team coaching staff, you have to listen to me, hehe, hehehe...

At the end, he squeezed out a smile, but two lines of tears dripped down his chin onto the turf.

All the players were shocked.

Materazzi came out more and more, stepped forward and hugged Richards tightly, Richards finally fell into a loss of control, crying, and all his teammates surrounded him.

Aldridge turned his back and closed his eyes trying to keep the tears from welling up.

The next morning, Millwall held a press conference, and Aldridge announced that Dean Richards would temporarily bid farewell to the green field due to physical reasons.

He did not bluntly say that Richards will retire, but if his strange disease cannot be cured within two to three years, then Richards will have no chance to stand on the top stage.

Once the news was released, it immediately caused shock in English football.

Although Dean Richards was a substitute in Millwall, his performance has attracted the attention of people in the circle, because he is young, and the media even predicted that as long as he can get a stable chance to play in Millwall and continue to improve, then Four or five years later, when Adams's generation of outstanding defenders enters the twilight years of their careers, Richards will be an important candidate for England's new generation of defense.

However, no one thought that this rising central defender with high expectations would come to an end at the age of 23. Although Aldridge used the words temporary farewell in the press conference, but The outside world agreed that Richards has been impossible to become a top player.

In the following period of time, the inside story of Richards leaving the green field due to physical reasons was gradually revealed. When the outside world lamented the envy of talents, they also praised Millwall's humanized management. Chaz's strange ailment was only a sign, no one can be sure that football will affect his health, but Millwall did not risk the health of the players.

Richards has been working as a coach at the club since then, starting with the youth team. After two and a half years, he finally found out his cause and recovered after receiving eight months of treatment in the United States. After recovering, he announced that he would leave the green field forever and has been working as a coach at Millwall. (To be continued..) (m)