Chapter 10: New Arrival
Calle Duquesa de Loreto, Don José Apartment.
Ronnie returned to his apartment, took a nice bath, and felt refreshed.
My roommate Semedo is out hanging out again.
In Lisbon, as long as you post the name of Sporting Lisbon players, there will always be a bunch of beautiful women queuing up, waiting to come to your door.
This is definitely a good opportunity for young girls to achieve success overnight.
Every year, countless girls appear on the front pages of Portugal's major newspapers because they hook up with professional players. As for their future development, it all depends on their abilities.
Some girls can never get rid of the halo of being a certain player’s girlfriend and can only appear by relying on their boyfriends or husbands, while some girls can quickly make a name for themselves and even step on their boyfriends to get to the top in a matter of minutes.
There are too many things like this.
Ronnie had seen through this a long time ago, so he didn't like to go out. Otherwise, with his status and appearance, the girls chasing him would line up from the Marquis of Pombal Square to the Alvalade Stadium.
Now, he is more focused on playing football.
Especially after his two arch-rivals were promoted to the first team, he became more anxious.
If that incident hadn't happened, causing him to miss the season preparations, he would probably be in the first team.
But where are the ifs in the world?
After sighing, Ronnie didn't dwell on this matter too much. He quickly called Lionel Pontes to mainly discuss some matters regarding Su Dong.
After not seeing each other for a week, Ronnie was a little surprised by Su Dong's progress.
"Is it really at the level of our U16 age group?" Pontes was surprised.
Ronnie hummed on the phone, "It's not comprehensive enough, but I feel like I can stand firm."
Pontes on the other end of the phone was obviously silent for a while, and then he said in admiration, "What rapid progress!"
Who says it’s not?
More than a month ago, this guy was just a kid who couldn't even stand in an amateur team.
"I think the most important thing is that he has been training really hard during this period," said Ronnie.
Pontes on the other end of the phone also hummed, because he had been watching all the way.
Didn't Ronnie completely transform himself in just over a year?
He still clearly remembers that when Ronaldo first came to the team, his performance was not very good, but he threatened to defeat the super talents Ricardo Quaresma and Edgar Marcelino in the team.
This sentence has always been the laughing stock of the whole team.
But times have changed, and now, the three are known as the three best talents in Sporting Lisbon's youth team. Looking back, who doesn't admire Ronaldo's bold words back then?
The reason behind Ronnie's rise is precisely his almost crazy training.
Pontes, a native of Madeira Island, witnessed all of this with his own eyes.
Will Su Dong be the next Ronnie?
Pontes hasn't seen him, so he's not sure, but he seems to be a young player who was delayed by poor youth training.
After reporting on Su Dong's situation, Ronnie put forward his own ideas, but Pontes opposed him to do so.
"Honestly, going to the gym to train at the age of sixteen is too risky."
"But that's how I trained," Ronnie said as a matter of course.
"Just because you are a monster doesn't mean others are monsters too." Pontes cursed with a smile.
In fact, he had always been against Ronnie overtraining in the gym, but this guy was too competitive.
After catching up with Quaresma and Marcelino, the kid directly set his sights on Andres Cruz.
Who is this?
Sporting Lisbon youth training camp, the top man of the sports tower.
As a result, Ronnie really caught up with him.
Many people in the team now talk about his "great achievement" of staying in the gym until two in the morning before being kicked out by security, which was achieved during that period of time.
"You have fast-twitch muscle fibers of African descent, but Sudong does not. It was very risky for you to play like this. If you are not careful, you may leave irreparable hidden dangers. Sudong can't do this." Pontes analyzed.
"What should we do then?"
"It's very simple. Start with some basic exercises, such as sit-ups, push-ups, squats, etc., and weight training. When running and playing football, gradually add weight to your body, step by step."
Pontes's suggestion was scientific and somewhat conservative, but Ronnie accepted it.
He values his friend Su Dong very much, and he thinks any hidden danger that may cause Su Dong to be injured should be avoided.
Back then, he treated himself more recklessly and impulsively without careful consideration.
"Okay, I see. This also saves some money on gym expenses," Ronnie said with a smile.
…
After hanging up the phone with Pontes, Ronnie received a call from Su Dong.
This was what he had told Su Dong before, in order to facilitate communication.
The purpose of Su Dong's call was to invite him and Jose Semedo to dinner.
"What? Signed the contract and became rich?" Ronnie joked with a smile on the phone.
Su Dong laughed, "I got a signing fee of 100 euros."
When he got the money, the first thing he thought of was to treat Ronnie to a meal and also to Jose Semedo.
Of course Ronnie would not refuse, he agreed with a smile and also told Pontes about his suggestion.
The two agreed that after dinner tomorrow night, they would go to the mall to prepare these instruments.
I believe that by that time, the 100 euros will be almost spent.
…
…
Although the new season has begun, Su Dong and Ronnie still go to Edward VII Park for training at five in the morning every day.
Although Ronnie was very arrogant and did not tell Su Dong directly, it was not difficult to guess which team he was in.
They have the best youth training in Portugal and are also rebuilding their stadium. The only team in Lisbon is Sporting CP.
Neither Benfica nor Valerence have one. Sporting Lisbon has built a new training base in Alcochete, which is said to be officially opened in 2002.
Like most professional players, Ronnie's academic performance was very poor, so he left school after completing the compulsory education required by UEFA and the Portuguese Football Association.
However, due to taking a week off during the season, Ronnie missed the precious pre-season training time and was not called up to the first team. So he is still training with the youth team, with only one training session a day, in the afternoon.
Sporting Clube de Portugal , where Su Dong is located , is an adult team, but a semi-professional team. Many players on the team are part-time and they all have their own jobs. So unlike professional teams, Sporting Clube de Portugal only has one training session every afternoon, and the rest of the time is arranged by the players themselves.
Therefore, Su Dong and Ronnie can stay in Edward VII Park to train all morning and noon .
It was not until after three in the afternoon that the two went their separate ways.
Ronnie took the subway north from the Marquis of Pombal Square to the Alvalade Stadium, while Sudong jogged two kilometers back to the team to report and participate in the team's afternoon training session.
…
Although Sporting CP has many part-time players, in fact, all of these players are from professional player youth training camps, and some even come from youth training camps such as Benfica and Belarence.
Such players have very solid basic skills and good techniques and strength.
Su Dong had just arrived and was not brave enough to act overconfidently, so Gorba took him to the simple locker room of the first team.
During the annual transfer period, teams like Sporting CP always transfer some players in and out, and this year is no exception.
The players on the team have also gotten used to it.
But his teammates were more curious about Su Dong because he was only sixteen years old.
Entering the first team at the age of 16, even for a third-tier team like Sporting CP, is something worth noting.
The team captain Marco Mateello introduced Su Dong to his teammates. It seems that he has a high status in the locker room.
The 33-year-old Matelo is a goalkeeper who came from the youth training camp of Belerence. However, when he was only 23 years old, he played nine Portuguese Super League games for Belerence. It was said that it was because the main goalkeeper of the first team was injured. After that, he moved to many low-level league teams until he joined Sporting CP.
This resume is already very impressive in this semi-professional team.
In addition to being the team's captain, Matelos also works part-time on team management affairs and is said to be studying for a coaching certificate, so he is one of the few players in the team who has signed a full-time contract and has received the club's top salary of 400 euros a week.
Perhaps salary is not everything, but a comparison can show the predicament of Sporting CP.
Ronaldo's weekly salary at Sporting Lisbon is 300 euros, plus appearance fees and bonuses, which is almost the same as Mateello's without any bonuses.
But Ronnie said that once he enters the first team, as long as he performs well, it is entirely possible that there will be another zero added to the end of his next contract.
"Su performed very well in the pre-season assessment and is a young player that the team will focus on training in the future. Everyone will try their best to help him and hope that the team can have a better performance in the new season."
Matelo holds a high position in the team, and his words were echoed by everyone.
Su Dong was not familiar with anyone and was a newcomer. After introducing himself, he chose a locker in the corner and started packing his things while listening to the conversation in the locker room.
The new season of the Portuguese Super League is about to start, and the first round is the focus match, with Sporting Lisbon facing Porto at home.
Last season, neither team performed well, so they were upset by the dark horse team Boavista, which won the first Portuguese Super League championship in the club's history, which also made the traditional top three feel ashamed.
"Benfica still looks indifferent and lacks ambition. Porto has last season's top scorer Peña and they are expected to make an effort this season. There is also Sporting Lisbon. Bologna spent a lot of money to bring in fellow Romanian Nicolae and is said to be working on Jardel. I believe this opening game will be very exciting."
Jardel, a famous European striker, currently plays for Galatasaray in Turkey, but has been pursued by many giants including Inter Milan. It is reported that Sporting Lisbon wants to use three players, Belgian winger Mponza, Croatian striker Spehar and Czech midfielder Horvath, as bonus points to introduce this Portuguese Super League scoring champion.
Ronnie had mentioned this matter to Su Dong before.
For the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, Pena, Jardel, Mpunsa the Great...
These well-known names are all people in the clouds that are out of reach.
