Chapter 12 New coach! Legendary midfielder!
At Bellevue International Airport, Chen Xiaoliang got off the plane, picked up his luggage, and went to the airport pickup gate.
Joao told him that the staff of Glasgow Rangers Club would be waiting for him there with a sign.
There weren't many people on the flight, and there were only a few people standing at the airport entrance.
Sure enough, a man wearing a baseball cap, a short beard, wide-brimmed sunglasses, and casual formal clothes was operating a mobile phone with one hand and holding an A4 paper in the other hand. Written on the paper was the English spelling of Chen Xiaoliang.
He didn't see Chen Xiaoliang come out, his attention was all on the mobile phone screen.
Chen Xiaoliang walked up, greeted the man politely, and bowed.
When you first arrive, you are unfamiliar with the place If you keep a low profile, you can avoid taking detours.
When the man heard the voice, he looked up at Chen Xiaoliang, who was about the same height as him, smiled politely at a very fast speed, and then said, "Let's go, get in the car."
However, just this raising of his head almost made Chen Xiaoliang scream.
He put down the luggage handle, rubbed his eyes, and asked in an unsure tone: "Excuse me, are you Mr. Steven Gerrard?"
The man nodded, seeming a little surprised. In his impression, the Red Country and football had nothing in common.
He waved his hand at Chen Xiaoliang, indicating that he should not mention his name, which was considered as his agreement.
How could Chen Xiaoliang not know this England and Liverpool superstar!
But he never expected that the so-called club staff who came to pick him up at the airport was actually the head coach himself!
It feels like your mother found a blind date for you, and you thought it was an older woman introduced by the gossip girls, but when you went on the date, you found out that it was Liu Yifei!
Although he was excited, Chen Xiaoliang quickly picked up his luggage and followed Gerrard forward happily.
Gerard folded the A4 paper casually a few times and stuffed it into his trouser pocket, then grabbed the luggage bag in Chen Xiaoliang's left hand.
Chen Xiaoliang was about to be polite when Jerad said, “Try to talk less before getting in the car. It will be troublesome if you are recognized.”
Oh oh oh, Chen Xiaoliang nodded quickly, thinking that Gerrard was right, if a big star like him was recognized, there would definitely be a crowd of people asking for his autograph and taking photos with him.
The two walked to the parking lot, put their luggage away, and Chen Xiaoliang sat in the passenger seat.
The car drove to the parking lot toll gate. Gerard paid the fee and was about to step on the accelerator to leave when a loud roar came from the side, scaring Chen Xiaoliang.
"Get lost Rangers! Go back to the second division right now!"
Chen Xiaoliang turned around and saw a fat man in a jeep nearby waving his hands and making various graceful gestures to Gerard, while saying a lot of cordial greetings.
The fat man was wearing a vest with a green four-leaf clover printed on it and four numbers written below: 1888.
Gerard ignored the chattering fat man, shrugged and said to Chen Xiaoliang: "This is why I told you to talk less."
Shit...are the fans here so... individual?
On the plane, he read the information prepared by João in detail and learned that Glasgow, as the fourth largest city in the UK, not only has a developed economy, but also has the UK's oldest derby rivals - Celtic and Rangers.
The former was founded in 1888, and the latter was founded even earlier, in 1872. Both are century-old clubs.
In the more than 120 years of the Scottish Premier League's history, the two teams have monopolized the championship for more than 100 years.
The confrontation between the fans of both sides has long transcended the scope of football and has risen to the realm of family background, religious beliefs, social class, and even ideology.
When the famous Sir Alex Ferguson was young and playing for Rangers, he was put on the bench by the Puritan Rangers club and no longer had a chance to play because he married a Catholic wife, and Catholicism belonged to the Celtic camp.
Although this reason seems absurd, it is enough to prove the hostile relationship between the two clubs.
In the eyes of their respective fans, no matter whether you are a superstar or a government official, as long as you support the opposing club, you are an absolute enemy.
In 2012, Rangers Club was voted down to the lowest league due to bankruptcy and did not return to the Scottish Premier League until the 16-17 season.
During this period, Celtic won almost every Scottish Premier League title, which made it difficult for Rangers fans in this city to raise their heads and have enough qualifications to despise their arch-rivals for a long time.
After retiring, Gerrard has been in charge of Rangers for two years, leading the team to two consecutive Scottish Premier League runner-up titles and reaching the Europa League finals.
This year is his third year as head coach, and it is also a crucial year for him to break the Celtics' monopoly.
After the car got on the highway and the windows were rolled down, Gerard asked Chen Xiaoliang many questions.
“The first day Jose contacted me, he sent me an email with your video attached.
I took a look at it and thought it was pretty good, so I called him back and asked if he could send me the full game video instead of just the steal highlights.
As a result, Jose told me that you only played two training matches for Tottenham, and he gave me all your complete game videos.
To be honest, I was shocked at the time and I even thought I received a scam call.
Then I watched the video over and over again, especially the moment when you scored with a header and the scenes of you fighting with Bale, I had to believe that Jose was serious.
In the end, Jose assured me over and over again on the phone that you are the key person who can help me overthrow the Celtics.
Well, I owed him a favor after all these years, so I just believed him."
When Chen Xiaoliang heard that Mourinho actually praised him so much behind his back, he couldn't help but feel grateful again.
"Favors?" he asked Gerald curiously.
"Jose tried to sign me twice at Chelsea and promised me the highest salary in the Premier League, then he went to Inter Milan and Real Madrid, both trying to sign me from Liverpool.
There was a time when we were close to working together, but in the end I decided to stay at Liverpool."
"Well...Sir, have you ever regretted it?" Chen Xiaoliang asked in a low voice .
Gerard turned and glanced at him.
"Your questions are like those annoying paparazzi. I certainly have no regrets, just like the people in this city, no matter how many championships Celtic wins, Rangers fans will not change their loyalty to their beloved club.
I am a Liverpool native. I have watched Liverpool games since I was a child and joined Liverpool's youth training camp at the age of nine. Maybe I would have achieved greater , but no one can change the position of Liverpool in my heart.
What about you? Are you a Tottenham fan? "
Chen Xiaoliang shook his head slightly. He was a little worried that answering this question honestly after Gerrard's long speech would leave a bad impression on the other party.
So he quickly added: "But I'm definitely not an Everton fan!"
Gerald laughed.
Liverpool and Everton, both located in Merseyside, are a famous pair of rivals in the Premier League.
He praised Chen Xiaoliang: "In addition to loyalty, humor and honesty are also very good qualities. It seems that Jose was right this time."
"Sir, are we going to the club now?"
"No sir, sir, you should call me coach, or like everyone else, call me boss."
"Yes sir... Boss!"
"You are under 17, so you can't rent a house. The club doesn't have a dormitory, and the salary Tottenham gives you is not enough for you to stay in a hotel, so you can stay in my house temporarily and wait for a while to see if there is any other solution."
"Wang Defa?! I'm going to live with a man like this?! I'm still a child!"
