Volume 1: Playing football with me will break your legs Chapter 18 Player Stories
"Today's training ends here, let's disband!"
Assistant coach Cox blew the final whistle, and more than 20 players clapped their hands and left the training ground one after another.
Li Polo let out a breath and dragged his slightly tired body towards the locker room.
A strong arm suddenly hugged his neck, and he was caught off guard by the sudden force that almost crushed him!
"Damn it! Don't come so close to me suddenly, it could kill me!"
Li Polo didn't even need to turn his head to know that the owner of this arm must be that damn Akinfenwa!
He is not bragging, in the entire team, the only one who can exert such pressure on him is this bear weighing more than 200 pounds!
Akinfenwa laughed:
"Little guy, weighted marching can exercise your core strength! Don't you want to become stronger?"
Li Polo sneered:
"I'm here to play football, not wrestle, man!"
Akinfenwa smiled and shook his head:
"Little guy, who told you that football players don't need upper body strength? Take Wayne Rooney, for example, he's an amateur boxer!"
Rooney?
This name is not unfamiliar at all, he is the current captain of Manchester United!
Li Polo was stunned for a moment:
"You're right, I need to increase my resistance."
Seeing how he was willing to accept advice, Akinfenwa was very pleased:
"Then come with me to the gym. I can provide you with professional guidance. Of course, it's free this time!"
Li Polo couldn't help but rolled his eyes:
"Fuck! I see. You just can't find anyone to talk to, right?"
As a young player, I was bullied by the old guy again!
…
Like the specifications of the club, the gym at New Wimbledon is quite simple, with no high-tech products and basically only mechanical assistive devices.
Akinfenwa whistled, picked up a pair of dumbbells from the rack, and swung them with ease.
Li Polo glanced at the "30KG" on the dumbbell and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.
This pair of dumbbells weighs 120 kilograms, almost the weight of an adult, but in Akinfenwa's hands, swinging them is as easy as swinging a branch - besides, they have been training for nearly 6 hours today, and everyone's physical energy has been almost exhausted.
Looking at his arms that were thicker than his thighs, Li Polo had no doubt that if this strong man wanted to, he could easily strangle him to death with his arms...
Li Polo did not dare to compete with Akinfenwa. He picked up two 20KG dumbbells and started practicing at his own pace.
A few minutes later, Akinfenwa dropped the dumbbells and, without even taking a breath, lay down under the barbell not far away:
"The warm-up is over. I'll show you my true strength!"
Li Polo looked at his posture and couldn't help but roll his eyes:
"OK, OK, you've said many times that you can bench press 200 kg (average male 50-60 kg), but you don't have to show it to me now. Can't we do some recovery training first? It's also important to combine work and rest!"
Akinfenwa ignored him and continued training on his own, muttering:
"You want to rest ? You are so young, and you rested all day yesterday. Now you can't do it anymore?"
Li Polo put down his dumbbells and stretched his arms:
"Come on, we just trained all day, and we're not tired at all...that's not normal, right?"
Akinfenwa lifted the barbell in the air with all his strength, his arms barely moving:
"Ha, I thought you were like me, full of energy when you heard that you were going to play against a strong team like Manchester United!"
Li Polo found a bench and sat down:
"This news is indeed exciting, but so what? I am not a child anymore. I will not dream that I can be selected by Manchester United after one game and fly to the sky."
Akinfenwa glanced at him, somewhat surprised at his calmness:
"I thought a kid your age would be a little bit hot-blooded!"
Li Polo shrugged his shoulders:
"I know myself well. Two weeks ago, I was an amateur player who only received one training session a week. Even if I have become a professional player now, I am still too far away from Manchester United's level."
Akinfenwa put down the barbell and slowly sat up:
"Yeah, it's a long way off, but... one has to have some hope, right?"
Li Polo lowered his eyes slightly and nodded without comment:
"I also hope that I can go to a bigger team, but I am very satisfied now, really."
A month ago, when he was working as a waiter in a supermarket, he only earned 240 pounds for working 40 hours a week, plus Clapton's "appearance fee" of 20 pounds per game, which only made 260 yuan.
Now in New Wimbledon, the basic weekly salary has reached 300 yuan. If you add appearance fees, goal bonuses, clean sheet bonuses and winning bonuses, it can reach at least 350 yuan!
A full 90 yuan more than before! A 35% increase!
They can also enjoy up to six weeks of "summer paid vacation" and can receive their wages on time even if they are injured. This treatment is much better than that of waiters!
What’s even more valuable is that the club provides food and accommodation, which saves a lot of expenses invisibly!
As a member of the lower-class foreign population, what else could he be dissatisfied with?
Perhaps because he felt the conversation was a little heavy, Akinfenwa laughed and changed the subject:
"Boy, do you want to hear my story?"
Li Polo didn't really want to discuss the philosophy of life, so he took the opportunity to express his agreement.
The fat man coughed and spoke slowly:
"I am of English and Nigerian descent. I started football training at the age of five, but my weight increased too quickly, which directly affected my speed. As you know, the most popular players in England in recent years are those who can run and rush, so no professional club accepted me until I was 18 years old."
"Once, my agent contacted me to go to Watford for a trial. The result of the trial was terrible. The Hornets didn't fancy me at all. But a few days later, my agent told me that another club that was watching at the time wanted to sign a contract with me. That club is called Arantas. Have you heard of it?"
Li Polo shook his head matter-of-factly.
He is only somewhat familiar with the "Yellow Bees" Watford. After all, it is not a mainstream team in the Premier League. It has been floating between the Premier League and the Championship for more than ten years and has never been able to stay in the top league for a long time.
Akinfenwa was not surprised:
"It's normal because it's in Lithuania, where there are only 10 clubs in the top league, 36 rounds per season, that is, playing each opponent four times, and the wages there are very low, only 400 pounds a month, which is equivalent to 100 yuan a week."
Li Polo opened his mouth. Even though that was more than ten years ago, this number did surprise him a little.
Akinfenwa smiled and explained:
"Very low, right? But I had no other choice at the time. I had to support myself. More importantly, I really loved football. If I really didn't play football, I didn't know what to do."
"So I left the UK for the first time. Alesta was still quite strong at the time and could participate in the UEFA Cup that year. I was a bit lucky because the main striker was injured and I got the chance to play after only a few days of training. But as soon as I came on the court, I heard the fans imitate the sound of gorillas, and some people publicly shouted "Fuck that nigger!" I was so angry that I almost went on strike and returned home..."
Racial and religious discrimination is nothing new on the court. Li Polo did not comfort him, but just listened to him continue to tell the story in silence:
"But I didn't do that because I needed the job. So I played the whole season and won the domestic cup, then returned to England, but still no professional team was willing to sign me. I played in the amateur league for three years before I became a member of a professional team for the first time. League Two, League One, Championship, then League One, League Two again, until now, I am 32 years old, but I am not satisfied. I want to score 200 goals, I want to play a top league game, or even... the Champions League!"
Champions League?
Li Polo couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, somewhat surprised at the delusion of this middle-aged strong man.
With Akinfenwa's level, he probably won't even be able to play in the English League One relegation team, let alone play in the Champions League!
Sensing his doubts, Akinfenwa did not feel unhappy at all, but just laughed:
"Although I am also a newcomer to this team, I have perfectly inherited the traditions of the Crazy Gang!"
He stood up and patted Li Polo on the shoulder:
"Let's start practicing more. We've been talking too much!"
