Chapter 35: The Burly Sports Science Director
Chen Xiaoliang's decision not to sign a new contract was supported by Gerrard.
In his eyes, Chen Xiaoliang's progress was too fast, and signing a long-term contract too early would only limit his many future possibilities.
Besides, this is his first season, so it is better to wait until the end of the season to evaluate the future direction.
Riise also agreed with the decision, even though it would reduce short-term profits for him and his agency team.
Especially when it comes to the Europa League, the three have surprisingly consistent views.
As the possibility of winning the Scottish Premier League becomes increasingly greater, the effectiveness of the team and its players will still have to be judged in intercontinental competitions!
If we can go far enough in the Europa League, or even create surprises beyond expectations, then our true value will be reflected!
This means that in the next games , Chen Xiaoliang needs to maintain a good enough performance!
As for commercial endorsements, no one expected that he, a rookie, would be able to perform so well in his first season. Therefore, there was no clause on image rights in the contract offered by Tottenham.
Next, Riise will contact Tottenham and Rangers to handle the personal part of the club endorsement. At the same time, he will also look for high-quality contracts for Chen Xiaoliang outside and let him make the final choice.
After bidding farewell to Riise, Chen Xiaoliang plunged into the gym again. For him now, nothing is more important than training hard in exchange for attribute values!
On October 22, Rangers will challenge Standard Liege away the next day. As the first game of the Europa League group stage, although Chen Xiaoliang cannot play, Gerrard still asks him to travel with the team.
He wanted Chen Xiaoliang to fully experience the difference between intercontinental competitions and domestic leagues.
Rangers were placed in Group D, alongside traditional Portuguese powerhouse Benfica and Polish league powerhouse Lech Poznan.
According to Gerrard, Benfica is the team with the most experience in European competitions in recent years and the strongest team in the group, and is almost certain to qualify.
If Rangers want to qualify, they must get all the points in the matches against Standard Liege and Lech Poznan.
There was nothing special about the away game, but after returning to the club after the holiday, Chen Xiaoliang found that his teammates looked at him differently. It was not an unfriendly look, but... a bit vulgar...
At first Chen Xiaoliang didn't understand what was going on. It was not until the team arrived in Liege, the third largest city in Belgium and checked into the hotel for dinner, and Gerrard left for a press conference, that Barisic, Goldson and others quietly sat around Chen Xiaoliang.
"Hey, Chen, I heard that your boss gave you a holiday a while ago." Barisic asked, but he couldn't suppress a smirk on his lips, and the milk that had just entered his mouth leaked down his stubble.
Chen Xiaoliang nodded, wondering what bad things these guys were up to again. Could it be that they thought that I lived with Gerrard and wanted to get close to the head coach through me?
Goldson whispered, "Barisic and I have been discussing who has better football skills, you or Ashley Cole."
As soon as these words were spoken, the teammates who were pretending to eat quietly burst into laughter, stopped pretending, and gathered around.
"Chen, tell me quickly, what is it like to be with a big star?"
"Chen, no wonder Barisic asked you to relax after the game several times, but you refused. It turns out you already have a direction!"
"Fuck it... Get out of here!" Chen Xiaoliang was so angry at these guys that he even cursed in Chinese.
He never cared about gossip, so he never imagined that the woman he met by chance in Las that day turned out to be a famous star in the British Isles, and had close ties with the football circle!
Her marriage to Ashley Cole once fed many gossip magazines!
What’s even more terrible is that the ubiquitous paparazzi actually bribed the owner of the restaurant where they ate that day and obtained a video of the two of them drinking, talking and laughing at the same table!
Fortunately, it was dark and the video quality was very low , but sometimes, the blurrier it is, the easier it is to arouse your imagination...
How could these energetic players miss such fun?
"Old Davis!" Captain Tavernier, who always looked resolute and fair, shouted, "You have played against Ashley Cole in the Premier League and the national team before. Tell me, who is tougher, Chen Meng or Ashley Cole?"
Old Davis, who had been sitting and eating, did not join in their laughter. He always seemed to be unhappy with everyone .
"Both of them are wimps." Old Davis said viciously while chewing the steak in his mouth.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
"Old Davis, at your age, I'm afraid you can't even survive an encirclement!"
At this moment, assistant coach McAllister came over and said, "What are you doing? Making so much noise, be careful of the impact!"
He turned to Chen and said, "Someone is looking for you."
Everyone looked in the direction of McAllister's finger and saw Reese standing outside the restaurant with a blonde woman wearing black-framed glasses. Reese was dragging a large suitcase in his hand.
"What the hell, why did he bring a woman here?"
The group of players behind him who were still not satisfied asked the same question as Chen Xiaoliang.
But since the coach was there, they couldn't make fun of others without restraint.
Chen Xiaoliang walked over, and Reese said excitedly: "Let's go, let's go to the room!"
"What are they doing? Who is she? And why are there three people?" Chen Xiaoliang asked quickly.
"Oh, I was so excited that I forgot to introduce you." Reese raised his hand and gestured to the blonde. "This is Dr. Helena from the German Sports University in Cologne. She will be your personal sports science supervisor and will be responsible for monitoring your physical function status."
Hearing this, Chen Xiaoliang felt relieved and satisfied, thinking that he had found the right person. When Reese signed the contract a few days ago, he said that he would find a professional personal health consultant for him. He didn't expect that it would be implemented so efficiently.
In addition, the German Sports University in Cologne is one of the best sports universities in Europe and even the world. Although the specific cost is not yet known, Riise is paying out of his own pocket.
He stretched out his hand, shook hands with Helena, and said hello politely.
However, this tall female doctor always remained serious and stern.
Chen Xiaoliang took a quick look and discovered that the female doctor seemed to have a strong body hidden inside her sportswear.
As the three of them walked to the room, he secretly asked Reese, "Is this guy a sports student or a sports practitioner? He's the same height as me and so strong. He doesn't look like a doctor."
"She has a PhD in sports rehabilitation and just graduated. Many clubs wanted her, so I recruited her first. She practiced judo in college and even participated in the World University Games! She has also been to the Red Country and has a basic understanding of its culture. She can speak a little Chinese, so I chose her."
"Okay..." Chen Xiaoliang had no choice but to agree. After all, judging from her resume, she was indeed an excellent candidate, although she was very different from the image of a female doctor he had imagined.
The three of them walked into Chen Xiaoliang's room, and Helena began to take out instruments one by one from the huge suitcase.
Not long after, assistant coach McAllister also knocked on the door and entered the room.
After arriving at the hotel just now, Riise introduced the purpose of the trip to him in advance, but as an assistant coach, he had to be present to watch as a third party conducted health checks on the players on his team.
The health of the players is the biggest guarantee for the club's performance.
However, none of the three grown men expected that after Helena installed the equipment, put on work clothes and silicone gloves, the first thing she said to Chen Xiaoliang was:
"Take it off."
