Chapter 83: Legend among legends!
The journey from Glasgow to Manchester is approximately 350 kilometers, which takes less than three and a half hours by train. The entire Rangers team assembled two days in advance and set out on the journey.
Chen Xiaoliang, wearing protective gear on his ankle, went on the expedition with the team.
In the first leg, Rangers were the only team that won among the four home teams.
The other three games were Dinamo Zagreb 0-1 Villarreal, Ajax 1-2 Roma, and Granada 0-2 Arsenal.
Except for Ajax , which still has a slight chance of a comeback, the other two teams have basically booked a place in the semi-finals.
Rangers' unexpected victory over the veteran in the first round, Pogba's almost suicidal sticking to the ball, coupled with Manchester United's already high popularity, made this second round the focus of unanimous media attention.
In order to reduce the bumpy ride for Chen Xiaoliang and avoid aggravating his injury, and also to prevent paparazzi from photographing his injured ankle during airport security checks, Gerrard chose the relatively longer train journey.
If the six months in the UK made him fully realize the backwardness of the Red Country in football, then this train ride experience made him realize the slow pace of Britain's infrastructure.
A 220-kilometer high-speed railway line 2 project has been planned for 13 years but has not been implemented. This efficiency is really comparable to that of the Red Football Association...
Chen Xiaoliang was scrolling through his phone aimlessly on the train. The message column was full of messages, including Helena's detailed rehabilitation instructions, his parents' care, and Wu Lei and Shen Mengyu's encouragement.
Reese did send him a web link.
When it was opened, there was a list of awards from Turin Sports Daily.
Chen Xiaoliang looked closely—European Golden Boy Award.
The 80-man list includes almost all the young talents playing football in Europe.
At the bottom, the newspaper's editorial analysis lists the five most popular candidates of the year, ranked from first to fifth in terms of popularity:
Barcelona player Pedri, a Spaniard ;
Bellingham, a Dortmund player and Englishman born in June 2003;
Musiala, a German player from Bayern Munich born in February 2003;
Leverkusen player, German, Wirtz, born in May 2003;
Saka is an Arsenal player from England who was born in September 2001 .
However, the cunning Turin Sports Daily specially added a line, saying that this person is also a popular candidate for the top five.
It was written : Glasgow Rangers player and Red Countryman Chen Xiaoliang, born in May 2004;
Then he emphasized again that these six people have one thing in common - they are all midfielders.
Compared with the past when superstars were concentrated on the front line, the development of football to the present has placed emphasis on and training of midfielders, resulting in the emergence of more and more new midfield stars.
Chen Xiaoliang was not very interested in the awards, but he was shocked by these players. These young people, who were one or two years older than him, around 17 or 18 years old, were already the main players of their respective teams in the five major leagues.
The Red Super League is still coming up with many incredible tricks for a U23 spot.
A 23-year-old is called a young player in the Red Country, but in Europe, this age is almost the final limit for determining how high a player can reach.
"How's your recovery going?"
Chen Xiaoliang was in a daze when Gerard came over.
"That's it. There are still two days left. Maybe we can make it in time." After Chen Xiaoliang said this, Gerard nodded without saying anything.
Both of them knew in their hearts that it was impossible to recover in two days, so this was just a phrase of comfort to each other.
"Boss, what's up?"
Chen Xiaoliang could see that there were other things bothering Gerard.
"Someone wants to see you. Although I don't want to, I suggest you don't refuse. Whoever doesn't let this old guy succeed will probably end up in trouble."
Oh my god, who the hell is so scary?
Chen Xiaoliang took Gerrard's mobile phone, which contained a letter received by the club from Manchester United.
He glanced at the letter, which was written in a rather formal manner. The general meaning was that Sir Alex Ferguson would come to visit Tottenham Hotspur's loanee player Chen Xiaoliang after your club checked into the hotel tonight. Please reply whether this was feasible.
"Tottenham accepted the offer, there is no reason for you not to meet him. To be honest, there are so many young people in this world who want to meet this old guy but never have the chance to do so, like me when I was 14."
"Um... Boss, if you mind, then I won't see him."
Gerrard cleared his throat, looked around to make sure no other players were approaching, then lowered his voice and said:
"Don't be silly, you should meet him, he can bring you more than just an invitation to Manchester United, you can ask him a lot of things and he will teach you.
Talking to him for one night might do more good than talking to anyone else in the past year.
There is one thing I haven't told anyone yet, because I don't want the team to lower its competitive spirit before winning the championship. After all, in the eyes of many people, everything about Manchester United and I are irreconcilable.
In fact, after I came to Scotland, I have called this old guy many times to ask for advice.
Believe me, his humility and selflessness are beyond the imagination of ordinary people. You have to know that when I was a player, I don’t know how many times I criticized him to the media as a ruthless, violent, authoritarian and hypocritical tyrant.
Oh my god, I've probably used every negative word I can think of to describe him!
But he never turns me down when I call him.
Meet him tonight and it will benefit you for the rest of your life.
And remember, our goal is to beat Manchester United! Not to beat a 79-year-old retired ambassador of the Manchester United board. "
Listening to Gerard's rapid-fire warnings, Chen Xiaoliang was somewhat surprised, but more delighted:
"Boss, I think there's a phrase that's pretty good for you."
"Which word?"
"Hypocritical tyrant..."
"You kid, fuck..." Gerard pretended to be angry, touched Chen Xiaoliang's head, stood up and saw some players nearby looking at him, so he raised his voice and added:
"Don't forget the tactical requirements I told you!"
"Okay!" Chen Xiaoliang answered loudly, then lowered his voice and said again with a smirk, "Hypocritical tyrant."
Gerrard couldn't help feeling happy that Chen Xiaoliang compared him to Ferguson.
It was already evening when they arrived at the hotel. After everyone checked in, McAllister took Chen Xiaoliang to the presidential suite area on the top floor of the hotel.
He stood at the door of a room and touched his big bald head.
"You are so lucky, kid. I am different from Steven. You should know that the man here is regarded as a god by many Scots. Go ahead, but there is one thing you have to remember. If you agree to go to Manchester United next season, don't tell anyone that I took you to his door. Liverpool fans will eat me up!"
McAllister left and Chen Xiaoliang rang the doorbell.
An old man's voice sounded from inside the door: "Come in, the door is not locked."
The moment he opened the door, Chen Xiaoliang saw a white-haired old man wearing gold-rimmed glasses standing up and walking towards him.
At that moment, his heart and hands were trembling.
