Chapter 286 The Funniest Player in Today's Football
After the game, although the players on both sides had completely different moods, the score result could not be changed.
The routine greetings between the players and coaches of both sides still have to take place.
But Barella, who had suffered a complete defeat both as a team and personally, was in no mood to say hello to anyone in Roma. As soon as the final whistle of referee Massaro blew, he went straight into the player tunnel to sulk about his situation.
Inter Milan's young player Asllani, who was substituted, had made a plan before the game and took the initiative to find Chen Xiaoliang to exchange jerseys after the game.
In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, he had one-on-one consultations with captain Handanovic, midfielder Brozovic and other locker room leaders a few days ago, and received their positive responses.
In today's Serie A, Chen Xiaoliang has almost become a common idol for young players around 20 years old or under 20 years old. On the one hand, it is because of his incredible performance on the field that completely transcends his age. On the other hand, it also embodies the wishes of young players, who hope that they can get opportunities and stand out as soon as possible like Chen Xiaoliang.
But at this moment, Aslani saw the angry expression of Barrera, a boss who was also very important, and had to give up his idea regretfully.
If he went back to the locker room with Chen Xiaoliang's jersey, the hot-tempered Barrera would come over and tear the jersey and himself into pieces.
Just when he was about to miss the opportunity, Lukaku waited in the player tunnel until Chen Xiaoliang came over, then took the initiative to exchange a few words and took off his jersey.
Not only Aslani who was following behind was stunned, but Chen Xiaoliang, the person involved, was also stunned.
In this game, the tension between him and Barella was so high, and he still scored 4 goals. Yet Lukaku openly came to him to exchange jerseys?
Take this back to the locker room later... Barrera sees it, huh?
Chen Xiaoliang changed his mind and recalled the scene where Lukaku and Barrera quarreled on the court during the game.
Could it be that this fat guy wanted to disgust Barrera on purpose?
But no matter what the reason, such a famous star politely and friendly came over to exchange jerseys, so of course he had to accept it. So Chen Xiaoliang also took off his jersey and handed it to Lukaku, and the two hugged each other with one hand.
However, Chen Xiaoliang only found out when he was watching the news the next day that Lukaku later secretly gave the jersey to Asllani in Inter Milan's locker room, fulfilling the wish of this young teammate.
But that is a story for later. That night, Chen Xiaoliang remembered two scenes. One was that Lukaku had almost no smile on his face, and the other was the intriguing and meaningful expressions on Mourinho's faces when he greeted the Belgian striker, who had played for him twice, after the game.
On the way from Meazza through the bustling Milan city to the hotel, in the bus of Roma, some celebrated and some laughed. Chen Xiaoliang, who was sitting at the front, took the initiative to ask Mourinho: "Coach? Are you okay? You don't look very excited."
Mourinho smiled and shook his head: "It's okay, I'm old and maybe a little tired."
Chen Xiaoliang looked back and saw that no one was listening to their conversation, so he asked quietly: "Is it because of Lukaku? Are there any unpleasantness between you and him?"
Mourinho's sleepy eyes suddenly opened, and he looked at Chen Xiaoliang in surprise: "Why do you say that?"
Chen Xiaoliang: "You two have worked together twice, but your communication after the game was very cold. And when I saw you shaking hands with him, you seemed to be hesitant to say something, so..."
Mourinho: "You are interested in him? You never asked me about other players."
Chen Xiaoliang: "Not really, but he is very famous on the Internet now."
Mourinho nodded helplessly: "I know."
He was indeed immersed in his own thoughts. He also knew that his former disciple Lukaku seemed to have become the number one joke in the football world because of his poor performance after joining Chelsea for the second time. He didn't want to say it, or maybe it was because people with his aloof personality had very few people with whom he could sit down and chat and confide in others.
But he thought about it and felt that maybe telling the Red Country kid in front of him what was hidden in his heart might help his career, and might also make him feel better, so he began to speak softly accompanied by his memories.
Although Lukaku currently accounts for more than half of the internet's laughs and is the new generation leader of happy football after Sterling, Mourinho actually discovered from the time he first met him that this black player rarely smiles on the court. Most of the time his eyes are focused and serious. When he first met him, the first word that came to his mind was "bull".
Mourinho had a deep conversation with Lukaku more than a decade ago about his family and his childhood.
This is a perfectly normal process and courtesy between the head coach of a top club and the potential new star he intends to sign, in order to narrow the distance between them and to make the top club more competitive when signing young people, rather than relying solely on spending money and contracts.
But as they chatted, Mourinho realized that the conversation was not ordinary.
Most of Lukaku's memories start from when he was six years old, because that year, Roger Lukaku, his father, who was once a professional player, lost his job and lost his main source of income. The family began to have regular power outages four times a week, and the furniture was sold off piece by piece until the most important thing for a child who loved football since childhood was sold - the TV.
This prevented him from watching the football games that fascinated him.
He told Mourinho that there was a scene that year that he would never forget, which was their mother pouring cold water into a basin of milk, the only lunch for him and his younger brother Jordan Lukaku, in order to make them feel as full as possible.
Bread, on the other hand, was a luxury item that was only available on credit.
As for taking a bath? After the power went out, I scooped out the hot water from the stove with a cup and washed it down with cold water.
Although he was only 6 years old, whenever Lukaku thought of these scenes, he felt that everything was over, and the goal of life became very simple, that is, to survive and live with his family.
At that time, he said that he was still young and had never complained to his parents, but he always felt ashamed in front of his classmates.
In 2002, when he was 9 years old, Zidane scored a historic goal against Leverkusen in the Champions League final. The next day, the whole class was excitedly discussing the goal. He could only pretend to have seen the goal and join in the discussion. Then he secretly went to the school's computer room, suppressed his trembling body with excitement, and finally witnessed the goal with his own eyes.
Fortunately, when God closed a window for him, he also opened a door.
Despite his poor life, he still possessed a strong physique.
He asked his father, at what age can one become a professional player?
His father told him he was 16.
He replied, then at the age of 16, I must become a professional player and become the best player in Belgian history.
When he joined the youth team for football training, he showed talent far beyond his peers.
But this did not bring him glory and self-esteem. Instead, he was despised and ridiculed by his classmates and parents because of his excessive height, exaggerated weight, dark skin and poor family background.
What he often heard other parents say at that time was:
"Coach, is it true that the black kid didn't lie about his age?"
"Hey, black boy, we need to check your ID and confirm your age."
"How could such a black man be born in Antwerp? Are you sure his identity is legal?"
Lukaku told Mourinho that when he was 12 years old, he was already being laughed at and discriminated against by others all day long for reasons that he could not change or control.
Moreover, when other children were playing, their parents would watch on the sidelines, but because his family didn't have a car, his parents had never shown up at the school's playing field.
Faced with those doubts, he was just a child and could only defend himself alone. He handed his ID card to the parents and watched them sneer and pass it around to each other, like police officers checking illegal population or judges ready to judge at any time.
Over time, the taciturn Lukaku stopped retaliating with words. He had only one thought in his resentful heart, which was to completely destroy the sons of those adults who had questioned him on the football field.
Then after the game, he would enjoy watching his opponents “rolling” home, crying, being carried into the car by their parents because they were bullied by him.
As a descendant of African immigrants, he wants to prove with his actions that he stands on the court based on his strength and lives in Belgium through hard work.
When he was 12 years old, he scored 76 goals in 34 games, wearing the same shoes his father wore when he played football.
Coaches from other teams knew he was a good prospect, but they were still curious and asked him how he did it.
He responded that he treated every game as a final.
Playing in the park, that's the final. Playing after school, that's the final.
Compared to his father who was once a professional player, he prefers to share the joy of scoring goals with his grandfather.
Grandpa couldn't come to watch the game because he was in Congo, where Lukaku's parents are from, but he loves talking about football with his little grandson.
Lukaku would tell his grandfather: "I scored 76 goals in the youth team, we won the league and the big teams were watching me."
Grandpa would also be happy for his progress.
But Lukaku remembers that one time, his grandfather said something different to him:
"Hey, boy, can you help me take care of my daughter? Please."
Lukaku was confused and didn't understand what his grandfather meant. He replied: "Mom? We are doing well now."
He was wondering, what was grandpa talking about?
But grandpa said, "No, promise me that you will take good care of my daughter for me."
Little Lukaku patted his chest on the other end of the phone and said, "Okay, grandpa, I promise you."
Five days later, my grandfather passed away, and he finally understood the significance of that phone call.
Mourinho remembered that when talking about this matter that day, Lukaku cried, and his mother who accompanied him to the interview also cried.
Lukaku said he really hopes his grandfather can live another four years so that he can see him join Anderlecht, the biggest club in Belgium, and witness him keep his promise to become a professional player and completely change the family's living conditions.
He eventually achieved his goal, but 11 days late.
On May 24, 2009, the Belgian First Division Championship play-off final, Anderlecht vs. Standard Liege.
Lukaku, 16 years and 11 days old, was sent on in the 63rd minute of the game, playing for the first team for the first time.
In the first full season that followed, the 16-year-old scored 20 goals. From then on, he came into people's attention and Mourinho's attention.
Because everyone compared him to the second Drogba, the nickname of Little Monster gradually spread.
In 2010, Lukaku wore the jersey of his idol Drogba and walked into Stamford Bridge for the first time as a special tourist. However, Mourinho had already left Milan for Madrid by then. Because they were still young, the two did not sign the contract immediately after their first interview.
But he is still very grateful to Mourinho, because that interview put him on the key observation list of Chelsea's scout network, and when visiting Stamford Bridge, he also told reporters that he would definitely join this veteran Premier League team in the future.
Later, he did not break his promise. After scoring 39 goals in a single season at the age of 18, facing invitations from many giants, he officially became a member of the Blues for 16 million pounds .
But unfortunately, the young coach Villas-Boas who was coaching Chelsea at the time was ultimately unable to save himself and had no time to take care of Lukaku who still needed to grow.
After a season on loan at West Bromwich Albion, he returned to Chelsea and was happy to welcome Mourinho back.
But fate played a trick on him. In the European Super Cup at the beginning of the season, facing Bayern, the two sides entered a penalty shootout. In the last penalty shootout, when facing Neuer, he kicked a soft and angleless ground ball, which was easily saved by the German goalkeeper, causing Chelsea to lose the championship.
Mourinho, who left Real Madrid under tremendous pressure at the time, loaned Lukaku to Everton two days later.
Because he couldn't give the young Lukaku too many starting opportunities in the fiercely competitive Premier League.
Many people thought that it was Mourinho’s punishment for Lukaku’s missed penalty, but Lukaku knew in his heart that it was protection from his old friend and current coach.
However, since then, doubts and ridicule have never left this dark-skinned Belgian striker.
In the Belgian national team, where the Walloons and Flemings live separately, speak different languages, and are already plagued by internal strife, Lukaku has become a victim of the struggle.
When he performs well, the media will report: "Romeu Lukaku, Belgian striker".
When the performance is bad or the team loses, the headline will change to: "Romeu Lukaku, Belgian striker of Congolese descent."
At the age of 20, due to his outstanding performance, Robert Martinez, who was the head coach of Everton at the time and is now the head coach of the Belgian national team, bought out the loaned Lukaku for 35 million pounds.
In his last season at Everton, against his former club Chelsea, he dribbled past four players on the left before scoring from a tight angle in the penalty area.
After the end of that season, Chelsea intended to buy him back, and Lukaku was also willing to return to his beloved Stamford Bridge, but after weighing the pros and cons, the Blues finally bought the cheaper Morata, and Mourinho, who came to Manchester United, did not hesitate and signed the young man who he had high hopes for when he was 16 years old.
On the day Manchester United reunited, Lukaku proudly told Mourinho that after joining Everton, no one laughed at him anymore.
When Mourinho said this, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
This surprised Chen Xiaoliang a little. Mourinho, who was aloof, conceited, and always showed his stubbornness to me, rarely sighed or showed the soft side of his heart.
But Chen Xiaoliang knew that the story had reached this point and was entering the part that Mourinho was most concerned about.
Everyone knows that in Mourinho's tactical philosophy, a tough central defender, an indomitable waist, a winger who is as fast as the wind, and a bridgehead center forward who is as strong as an iron tower and as strong as an ox are four indispensable conditions.
If he meets these four conditions, he can win everything.
The perfect template for this type of center forward is naturally Drogba.
In the summer after leading Manchester United to win the Europa League and the treble, everything seemed to become even better after Mourinho signed Lukaku for a Belgian record-breaking 85 million euros.
Scoring goals, advancing, scoring goals, and even pressing high up the pitch, the Little Beast was once regarded by Old Trafford fans as a key figure in the Red Devils' revival.
But the high-spirited Mourinho made a decision to let Lukaku gain weight.
Lukaku, who was grateful and had trained hard since childhood, did not hesitate at all and resolutely implemented Mourinho's decision.
Since then, he sacrificed his speed and especially his explosive power, which he was proud of when he was young, in exchange for a lot of weight and super upper body strength.
That season, Manchester United finished second in the league, which Mourinho later called "the greatest achievement of his career." Lukaku, who had not yet fully gained weight, also experienced a very dream World Cup, scoring 4 goals and winning the World Cup Bronze Boot.
Everything seemed to indicate that he was on the right track.
But no one expected, especially Mourinho, that the weight his beloved disciple had worked hard to gain in the gym would become the source of all his pain in his subsequent career.
Although he has gained weight, Lukaku has not changed the football habits he developed since his youth.
It seems incongruous and even funny no matter how you look at it that a 200-pound center frequently appears on the wing to get the ball and dribble past opponents.
Starting from his second season at Manchester United, derogatory words such as "bald head, beer belly, professional winger Lukaku" began to spread widely as his goals declined and Manchester United's performance worsened.
The mighty killing god actually began to "transform" into the comedian in professional football.
Tiehanhan, Lu Yuanwai, the forward who likes to click, give it and you will get it…
Various nicknames and jokes followed one after another.
Many people said that he was unprofessional and neglected training, which led to his out-of-shape figure and weight gain.
But Lukaku never explained that Mourinho, who was caught up in internal and external troubles and on the verge of being sacked at the time, was too busy to take care of himself and did not think of standing up for his disciple.
However, Lukaku still stubbornly believes that Mourinho is right. After training every day, he still goes to the gym to lift weights, sweating profusely, trying to maintain his muscle explosiveness after gaining a lot of weight.
Mourinho said this and told Chen Xiaoliang that among all the players he had seen in his coaching career, there were three who trained the hardest, namely Ronaldo, Lukaku and Chen Xiaoliang in front of him.
But unlike the other two players who practiced according to their own preferences and judgment, Lukaku practiced completely according to the coach's requirements.
This is highly related to his childhood experiences, and he has complete faith in the coaches who truly care about him and help change his life.
Mourinho never said that sentence, but Chen Xiaoliang could hear that this rebellious head coach regretted his wrong decision at that time.
Lukaku is Lukaku, he is not Drogba.
After gaining weight, Lukaku lost not only his speed and explosive power, but also his movements became deformed and he was ridiculed by the outside world. His knees and ankles could not bear the strain, resulting in a significant increase in injuries.
He stood up again and again, trying his best but looking so clumsy because of his weight, which made the Internet around the world laugh again and again.
However, Lukaku did not give up because he believed that Mourinho would help him find himself again.
Unfortunately, Mourinho couldn't wait for that day.
After a series of consecutive defeats in the league and the complete loss of control in the locker room, an official announcement from the Manchester United board of directors completely dismissed the madman, and Manchester United also welcomed a new head coach.
Solskjaer, who was a flexible forward during his career, did not treat Lukaku badly, but the two who met by chance had no emotional foundation.
Manchester United improved in the second half of that season, but Lukaku had a hard time.
After Solskjaer reused Rashford, Greenwood and other young forwards who were more capable of running, Lukaku seemed to have become a target. Whenever the team's performance was not good, he would be ridiculed by the fans, and he also hated it. He hated that no one in the club came out to protect him, and when transfer rumors were rife, no one came forward to refute them.
He seemed to have returned to the time when he was young and his ID card was checked by a group of adults. Now, he himself was just like that ID card, being turned over, questioned, and ridiculed at will.
Everyone knows what happened later. Inter Milan bought him for 80 million euros, the highest fee in the team's history, and he also described his two years at Manchester United as "shit."
After that, his contact with Mourinho was very, very rare.
One is stubbornly unwilling to admit his mistake, while the other is unwilling to forgive easily.
But Lukaku never gave up the idea of proving himself.
After helping Inter Milan regain the Serie A title and regaining his form, he was not satisfied with the comfortable Serie A and chose to return to the Premier League and Stamford Bridge to fulfill his dream where he began.
But looking back now, it seems that Inter Milan’s championship journey that year was more like a short dream.
Ridicule, jokes, and nicknames accompany him more than ever before.
And as he is about to turn thirty, he seems to have let it go.
Mourinho may never again have the chance to sit down with him and have a heart-to-heart talk like he did when he was 16, with his mother by his side.
But Mourinho, who is also about to enter another important age - 60, read Lukaku's autobiography carefully more than once in his residence when no one was around after he published it.
After that day, his memory of Lukaku, in addition to the content of the conversation when he was 16 years old, also included this self-narration:
“I want to make another phone call to Grandpa.
Don't talk about the team.
No talk of the Premier League.
No talk of the Champions League.
No talk of the World Cup.
That's not really what I wanted to say.
I just wish he was there for me to see the life I have now.
I can let him know.”
'Grandpa, did you see that?
Your daughter is doing well.
We no longer live in an apartment with rats.
No more sleeping on the floor.
No more watered-down milk.
No more unaffordable electricity bills.
We are fine now, really fine.
They will never check my ID again.
Because they all know my name.'"
At this time, the bus stopped.
Mourinho involuntarily touched his chin with his left hand, and his story ended.
The Roma players in the car were still laughing and celebrating because they had beautifully defeated Inter Milan.
They and the two people sitting in the front row seemed to be in two different worlds.
But compared to Mourinho, who felt a little relieved and comforted after saying these things, Chen Xiaoliang always felt a little blocked and depressed in his heart.
As the captain, he was still the second to get off the car behind Mourinho, and then stood by the door, high-fiving every teammate and coach who got off the car, thanking them for their contribution to another game, regardless of whether they played or not.
He walked into the hotel at the end of the line only after the last person got off the bus.
He was not feeling sad for Lukaku or anyone else, and he knew that Mourinho was not speaking entirely for Lukaku.
It’s just that everyone has experienced regret and even remorseful choices in the course of life, but they never have the chance to make up for it.
Mourinho probably hoped that Lukaku could stick to his own style at that time, so that he might be better at that time, Manchester United might not have lost consecutive games that season, and the master and apprentice would not have become strangers.
He also blamed himself for not letting Lukaku be himself, but insisting on making him the second Drogba.
The ones who ultimately benefited were Chen Xiaoliang, Cesco, Kwa and other young people who came later.
Mourinho will no longer ask them to gain weight deliberately for his tactical preferences, but will choose to let them maximize their innate characteristics within the tactical framework.
He would often order Chen Xiaoliang and his classmates to stop and rest when they were practicing with great concentration.
The conceited madman did not admit a single mistake, but he was using actions to make up for his past choice.
That night, Chen Xiaoliang thought for a long time before falling asleep, and Mourinho, who was resting alone in another room, also couldn't fall asleep for a long time.
He didn't expect that when he was almost old enough to be the grandfather of his players, and when he had fewer and fewer friends due to competition, games and confrontations, he would meet a close friend to whom he could open up to.
The next day, the team gathered at the airport, and instead of returning to Rome, they flew directly to Salzburg.
There, they will play in the third round of the Champions League group stage and face Salzburg Red Bull, which once trained Haaland, Mane, Naby Keita, Upamecano, Haidara, Minamino Takumi, Hwang Hee-chan, Sabitzer, Daka, and Cesco.
