Chapter 61: A heavy blow from the Czech champion
Looking at Helena who was sleeping soundly due to fatigue, Chen Xiaoliang quickly and quietly returned to Gerard's residence next door.
Ouch, my waist is a little sore...
No, my legs are still a little weak...
Fortunately, Gerrard hasn't come back yet, otherwise when he saw me like this, he would have thought I was raped.
He walked back to the room with difficulty, and thought of the small box that he would never even look at - a few boxes of "Siwei Dihuang Pills" given by the sponsor.
This stuff is a good medicine for strengthening the body and replenishing energy that has been passed down in the Red Country for thousands of years. Even the ancient emperors said it was good. He took out a bottle, poured out half a palmful, and drank it with water.
I can only say that I slept very soundly that night.
It was not known what time Gerard came back. Anyway, the next morning, when the two were having breakfast together , Chen Xiaoliang saw that his eyes were slightly red, and it was obvious that he did not get enough rest.
"Boss, what's wrong?"
"Everton wants to buy Paterson, Southampton wants to buy Aribo, and both have already negotiated with their agents. Roma and Fiorentina are also consulting the club about their offer for Hagi.
Chairman Dave has personally been involved in both of these transactions.”
"This is a good thing, Boss. Why do you look troubled? Are you worried about next season?"
"If it's the end of the season, I will definitely help them, because who doesn't want to play in the big leagues?
But it is still more than two months away from June! If they reach a deal now, they will be timid in the next games to ensure that they will not get injured. And now is the time when we need to fight the most!
I told Chairman Dave to keep it confidential, but considering how much he cares about money... you know."
That makes sense... Chen Xiaoliang nodded, but after thinking about it, he felt that there seemed to be no good way to help Gerard solve this dilemma.
After five days of training, Chen Xiaoliang accumulated another 25 hours of training points, but he still decided to keep all the 61 hours of training points and use them as needed in the future.
Prague is still very cold in mid-March, with temperatures around 5 degrees Celsius forcing local residents to wear winter clothes.
In order to create better conditions for the team, the club arranged a special plane from Glasgow to Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.
At the end of winter, the passion of the Europa League has spread throughout the city!
For fans in Prague, continental competitions are the stage they truly desire.
Especially when facing a team that can overturn Leicester City, which has performed well in the Premier League this season, it can further prove the value of Czech football!
After getting off the plane and coming out of the airport, although there were many Gerrard fans waiting at the pick-up gate in advance, the scenes along the way to the hotel still made Chen Xiaoliang feel the city's ambition to defeat Rangers.
But what surprised him even more was that after he checked into the hotel, the staff of Slavia Prague specially brought him a world-famous Czech specialty - a football carved from Bohemian crystal.
It turns out that this Czech champion team had most of its shares bought by the Red Country's Honghe Group in 2019, and became a sister club with the Hongguo Guoan Club also owned by the Honghe Group. Every year, some young people are selected to come and learn football.
This can be considered a special courtesy when meeting compatriots in a foreign country.
Because of this relationship, Chen Xiaoliang's popularity in Prague is surprisingly high, even higher than that of the legendary superstar Gerrard.
Since entering the hotel, staff and other guests have been asking to take photos with him or get his autograph.
Of course, there are also many local girls who love football.
On the Internet, the previous Cheryl rumors had just faded from people's sight, but the intimate hug with track and field goddess Erica at the championship celebration allowed the gossip media to fully use their imagination to make up stories.
The absurdity of the plot and the speed of the car are almost like a third-rate football novel with the title "Defense".
In Europe, football has always had close ties with other sports circles and the entertainment industry. The appearance of famous female stars around a player also indirectly means that his reputation and status are growing day by day.
Barisic and Patterson were obscenely giving scores to the girls who took photos with Chen Xiaoliang based on their sizes.
After a night's rest, Gerrard brought the whole team to Slavia Prague's home field early in the morning for adaptive training.
The original name of this stadium was "Eden Stadium". After the Honghe Group moved in, it was renamed Honghe Stadium.
The huge Chinese characters "Hong He" were the first time that Chen Xiaoliang saw such eye-catching Chinese characters in Europe.
However, compared to the Ibrox Stadium which can seat more than 50,000 people, the Red Bull Arena with a capacity of only 20,000 people seems much more stingy.
Coupled with the limited prestige of the Czech league, Rangers players always train in a very relaxed state of mind.
At 16:00 on March 12, the Europa League quarter-finals kicked off at the Red Star Stadium.
Although the stadium is not big, it is full of fans wearing the red and white jerseys of the home team.
Before the game, the Red Country media came out in full force, some interviewed Slavia Prague's Red Country youth training camp, some asked fans on the streets about their opinions on the game, and some predicted the score.
Of course, the biggest focus is still on Chen Xiaoliang.
Many local fans said they knew Chen Xiaoliang, especially the rumors between him and Cheryl, and his winning shot from the center circle against Leicester.
However, in Prague, they believe that their home team will not give Chen Xiaoliang any chance.
There are even fans of Slavia Prague's city rival Sparta Prague who expressed their hope that Chen Xiaoliang could transfer to them next season.
At this time on the field, the two teams had already completed their line-up for salute.
Chen Xiaoliang continued to play the role of defensive midfielder in the center of the midfield, with his old partners Aribo and Davis in front of him.
Barrage:
[This game should be a big win. Chen Xiaoliang needs to show his offensive ability again, and his value will increase significantly.]
[Seeing that there are Chinese people and Chinese companies holding teams in the European arena, I am really excited! ]
[I don’t know any of the players on the other side, but they all look strong]
[If Leicester City can win, is there still any suspense for this kind of team? 】
[The first few players were just showing off. Slavia Prague eliminated Antwerp 5-3 on aggregate. Their overall attack was very smooth. Rangers may not have an advantage.]
[You are the only one who has watched football, so you understand football]
…
"Beep!" The game begins!
The home team kicks off first!
Slavia Prague played their usual 4-5-1 formation in this game. The three midfielders can retreat to defense at any time and change to 4-3-2-1. They can also push forward in the middle as needed and change to 4-1-4-1 or 4-4-1-1.
The advantage of this formation is that it can respond to the opponent's offensive and defensive rhythm according to the actual situation on the field, but it is a great test of the tacit understanding and cooperation between the players.
They patiently passed the ball back and forth and began to make some moves on the right.
Rangers do not use high pressing, but let the opponent pass the ball back in the backcourt, tighten the fence and wait for the opponent to launch an attack.
Sparta Prague launched several tentative attacks, but each time they lost space, they actively passed the ball back and still firmly controlled the ball.
In the seventh minute, central defender Kudla received the ball and passed it to left central midfielder Provod in front of him.
Before Aribo decided whether to press forward, Provode touched the ball directly, cushioned it with the arch of his foot, and the ball flew behind Goldson!
Zhan Jun: "This ball is not offside!"
Zhang Lu: "This is a beautiful pass. It's so cunning. I was patiently passing the ball to you just now, but suddenly I caught you offside. The two central defenders of Rangers didn't react at all. "
Zhan Jun: "The 25-year-old Czech striker Kuchata has left Goldson behind, this ball is dangerous!
