Chapter 38 Locker Room Boss
Although the Portuguese Super League's winter break is two weeks, in reality, the players only have one week off.
Just after Christmas, the team started training.
This week's training camp is crucial for all teams because it is a rare time to recharge in the middle of the season.
For the Premier League, which has no winter break, there have always been complaints about the difficult schedule.
On the morning when the team resumed training, Sudong, Ronnie and the other two arrived in Alcochete in Pontes' car.
On the way, Pontes told Su Dong that he had officially received the notice from the club, and that he and Nare would continue to be responsible for the intensive training of Su Dong and Ronnie, and they would focus on tracking the training situation of the two.
This is definitely good news for Su Dong, who is unfamiliar with the place.
Ronnie also had a very good impression of this fellow from Madeira Island, so naturally he had no objection.
After arriving in Alcochete, the four went their separate ways.
Ronnie and Semedo took Sudong for a walk around Alcochete, because during his last physical examination, Sudong didn't have time to walk around properly, so he couldn't tell which was the first team and which was the youth team.
The second team and the youth team train and compete in the north, while the south is the exclusive area for the first team. There is only a barbed wire fence separating the two, but they seem like two different worlds.
For example, Semedo, when he was in the second team and the youth team, he usually only needed to attend training in the afternoon.
But if you train with the first team it’s different, you have to have two training sessions a day.
The times are 9:30 am and 4:30 pm respectively.
Although Su Dong and Ronnie were arranged to train with the first team, the game was still with the second team, so they went directly to the second team and reported to head coach Jean James.
…
"Although you spend most of your time training with the first team, I will temporarily transfer you back to the second team during some important training sessions, such as some tactical drills and running-in training, which is very important."
As soon as they met, Jean James gave a warning to Su Dong and Ronnie, the two players who were selected to the first team.
After entering the first team, many players are very resistant to the training and games of the second team or youth team. This is also a normal phenomenon. People go to high places and water flows to low places. It is a good thing for players to be ambitious.
But it is not easy for young players to get into the first-team roster.
Even a player as strong as Quaresma still occasionally returns to the second team to participate in games.
The reason is simple, he needs to rely on competition to maintain his form.
If a player fails to play in the first team for a long time, even the most talented player will eventually fall.
Su Dong was not opposed to this at all because he had previously played for a third-tier team like Sporting CP.
"Su, I believe you should also know something about the team from Ronnie. Our second team is full of young players, and there are also many young players in the first team. The atmosphere in the team is very good, the competition is fierce, but the team is very united, especially when the team is performing well this season."
Su Dong nodded, but was skeptical about this statement.
Because there have been rumors that Jardel will leave the team during the winter break, and his transfer target is the four major leagues.
Perhaps seeing the doubts on Su Dong's face, Yames smiled and said, "I know you must have seen some news reports, but what I can tell you is that before the club made an official announcement, Jardel was still a player of Sporting Lisbon. He is a smart man and he knows how to abide by the team's rules."
Su Dong understood.
Yesterday, Mendes told him personally that every professional team has rules, some of which are universal, while others are unique to each team.
For example, many people know that anything that happens in the locker room cannot be disclosed to the outside world.
This is an iron rule. Whoever violates it will be excluded from the locker room.
Another point is that every player should try his best to maintain the unity of the locker room in front of outsiders.
Many players like to reveal explosive information about the locker room to the media or fans, which is actually very offensive.
"Since the first team's training hasn't started yet, you should go and take a look at the second team first," suggested James.
…
Accompanied by Ronnie and Semedo, two experienced players, Su Dong went straight to the second team's rest area.
Before I even walked in, I could hear the sound of playing from far away.
"Hello everyone, I'm back!"
As soon as Jose Semedo walked into the rest area, he immediately opened his arms and greeted everyone with a smile.
"Hey, Jose, you're almost late." Someone was the first to greet him.
Watching the two of them open their arms and hug each other warmly, Su Dong looked at Ronnie in some surprise, then at Semedo.
When Su Dong's gaze returned to Ronnie, the Madeira boy shrugged his shoulders with an expression that said I don't care.
I never realized that Jose Semedo is more popular in the locker room than Ronaldo.
Is Rooney not the star player of the second team? Is he a talented new star that Sporting Lisbon values very much?
This is a mistake Su Dong made subconsciously.
The best player may not always be the most popular player in the locker room.
To put it bluntly, even in a team like Sporting Lisbon, geniuses are always very rare.
A genius like Ronnie is indeed invincible on the court, but he is not sociable off the court because he is still very arrogant in his bones, and he trains as if he is risking his life. It is difficult for anyone make friends with such a person.
Jose Semedo, on the other hand, has the cheerfulness and optimism unique to black people. He smiles at everyone he sees, hugs everyone, and hangs out in the locker room as comfortably and naturally as a fish entering the sea.
When Su Dong realized this, he found that he really had to change some of his views.
Perhaps, every team needs a talent like Ronaldo, but also a role like Semedo.
"Come here, Sue, let me introduce you, this is Ugo Pina."
Semedo quickly pulled an old friend and came to Su Dong.
Su Dong is not unfamiliar with this name. It is said that Jose Semedo often goes out with him to pick up girls.
"Hi, Hugo, hello, I'm Su Dong." Su Dong quickly stretched out his hand.
"I've heard of you, Su. Jose often tells me about you. I'm glad you came to Sporting Lisbon." Ugo Pina was also very friendly to Sudon, obviously because of Semedo.
"Ugo, Sudong's transfer fee has tied your record, so don't show off anymore." Semedo laughed.
Ugo Pina had obviously heard it too, and shrugged, "I was only fifteen."
What this means is that I now have more than 300,000 euros.
Su Dong didn't care about it and just laughed.
"Su, let me introduce you, this is Jose Fonte, our main central defender."
Semedo pulled Su Dong to a tall player and said, "Jose, he is Su Dong. He is about the same height as you, but much faster and has better footwork than you. You probably can't defend him."
There was not much expression on Fonte's face. He stretched out his hand and shook hands with Su Dong symbolically, saying provocatively: "If there is a chance, let's compete on the training ground."
After saying this, he deliberately glanced at Semedo.
The Cape Verdean shrugged, "I can't defend Sudong anyway."
After following Jose Semedo around the rest area, Su Dong discovered that Sporting Lisbon is really full of talented people.
So far, he has not seen the three talents Quaresma, Marcelino and Viana enter the first team, nor has he met the two forwards Gisvi and Laurenzo who play in the same position as him, but the second team still has a lot of talents.
Fabio Costa, who claimed to take over the youth team's top spot after Ronaldo joined the first team, and Andres Cruz, who was once the second strongest man in the sports tower and was very strong, and Miguel Paixão, the midfielder who took over Viana, and Ugo Pina, who held the youth team transfer fee record so far...
These people are very young, but they all look extraordinary.
For example, Andres Cruz, when he walked in from Sudong, was seen practicing with dumbbells.
Fabio Costa was practicing the ball like a juggler, which dazzled Su Dong.
However, he soon discovered that as soon as Jose Semedo, Ugo Pina, Miguel Paichon and others got together, they immediately started talking about women, and their topics were nothing more than who had picked up a new beauty. They all talked enthusiastically, just like a group of roosters with overflowing male hormones.
After Su Dong got to know a group of people, he sat back next to Ronnie.
He was beginning to understand now why Ronnie seemed so out of place.
It is estimated that it will be difficult for him to integrate into these people in the future.
At least, he hasn't met a girl who makes his heart beat so far.
Or maybe it is not easy to impress a picky Virgo man.
…
…
After staying in the second team for a while, Su Dong followed Ronnie away.
The two walked side by side through the barbed wire and came to the first team's locker room.
The captain of the team is veteran Pedro Barbosa. This midfielder has been playing for the team since 1995 and has made great contributions to the team. He is the kind of big shot who will retire from the team and enter the management in the future.
Barbosa obviously knew Su Dong for a long time, not to mention the talented young player Ronnie from the youth training camp. He had also arranged everything for them long ago, and took the two of them into the locker room to introduce them to the other players.
Su Dong was very nervous and excited along the way.
A few months ago, he was just in the stands, watching the players of Sporting Lisbon's first team playing. He was so envious at that time, and yet this group of people were so far away from him.
Who would have thought that a few months later, he would join the first team of Sporting Lisbon and get the precious opportunity to train with them.
Today, he is still a long way from playing for the first team. For Su Dong, being able to train with these European stars is already a very valuable thing.
Because of this, he followed Barbosa nervously all the way into the locker room.
For him, this is not just a door, but also a brand new future.
