Lying on the hotel bed, Qin Xiong thought about what happened today.
The joining ceremony was much better than he had imagined.
He did wonder if his arrival would be rejected by the Liverpool fans because he used to play for Arsenal and beat Liverpool at Anfield.
In the end, the spectacular sight of a sea of people at Anfield made him understand that his worries were completely unnecessary.
The Red Army fans saw China Capital as their savior and also saw Qin Xiong's arrival as a spirit-boosting medicine, which made the fans have higher expectations for the new season and more confidence.
The Times interview was very formal, just like an official interview.
But the Echo interview was more like Tony Barrett helping Qin Xiong better understand the current situation of Liverpool so that Qin Xiong could integrate into Liverpool.
Although the club had now been bought by China Capital, in England, the emotional belonging of the football club was the local fans. The biggest market and survival foundation were also the local fans. If foreign capital came and acted recklessly, it was bound to end in a lose-lose situation.
Therefore, Qin Xiong had to have a deep understanding of what Liverpool needed now, especially to be accepted by the fans so that it would be easier for him to integrate into the team.
This was different from the situation when he joined Arsenal. Arsenal's situation was not complicated. They were an undefeated team in the 0304 season. Everything was thriving and the team was moving forward steadily.
In any case, Qin Xiong was very grateful to Tony Barrett for the interview.
The next day, Qin Xiong woke up early in the morning. After tidying up and eating breakfast, he took a taxi to the Melwood Training Ground.
Early in the morning, there were also fans wandering outside the training ground. When they saw Qin Xiong get out of the taxi and walk towards the training ground, they burst into cheers.
Now, they could not wait to see Qin Xiong join the Liverpool team for training.
Qin Xiong waved to the fans and then walked into the Melwood Training Ground.
Qin Xiong politely knocked on the door when he reached the First Team changing room. He pushed the door open and found that there was no one inside.
He walked in and found the No. 7 player's wardrobe. A brand new name tag had been pasted on it. It was Qin Xiong.
While he was changing his clothes, someone walked in. Qin Xiong saw the person and greeted him, "Good morning, Stephen."
Captain Gerard was a little surprised to see Qin Xiong arrive so early. He walked over to Qin Xiong and took the initiative to reach out his hand. "I used to read reports that you were a model player in training. I didn't expect you to live up to your reputation."
Qin Xiong was an old acquaintance of his. He and Gerard were old rivals during their days in the Premier League. He went to Real Madrid and also met him in the Champions League for two consecutive seasons.
"Haha, I just can't sleep. I'm a little excited and want to familiarize myself with the new environment and get to know my new teammates."
Gerard laughed and said, "Don't worry, Anfield doesn't have so much intrigue. It's not like the Bernabéu where the locker room is restless all day long. We only have happiness and unhappiness. It's that simple. Our teammates are easy to get along with."
Qin Xiong originally planned to go to the gym to warm up first, but since Gerard had arrived early, he waited for Gerard to change his clothes. The two men left the gym together and went to the training ground.
Since his teammates and the coaching staff had not arrived yet, Qin Xiong proposed to play a passing game with Gerard.
The two men began to pass the ball from five meters apart. There was only one rule: to ensure that the ball did not fall to the ground.
This would strengthen the ball.
Qin Xiong picked up the ball with the tip of his foot and kicked the ball to Gerard. The latter stopped the ball with his thigh and did not wait for the ball to fall to the ground before gently kicking it to Qin Xiong.
The two men went back and forth. Because the speed of the ball was not fast, the strength was very light, and the passing was accurate, the football never fell to the ground. The two men used their thighs, shoulders, foreheads, calves, and even Qin Xiong would use his heels to stop the ball. They were like jugglers who carried out an aerial relay pass to each other.
The distance gradually widened, from five meters to ten meters, and then to fifteen meters. It was not until twenty meters that the two men made a mistake. The football finally landed at Qin Xiong's feet.
Gerard smiled and raised his hand to apologize. His passing power was a little too strong, making it difficult for Qin Xiong to control. Although Qin Xiong stopped the ball perfectly, he could not connect the movements to keep the football in the air.
Outside the training base, the fans who saw Qin Xiong and Gerard pass the ball to each other on the training ground were particularly excited. It was as if they had seen a free football performance. They even applauded.
Gerard and Qin Xiong played for about ten minutes. Mascherano and Torres came to the training ground and directly joined the two men's passing game.
The four men narrowed the distance and became a four-corner passing game. Mascherano, who had the weakest ball control skills, was always the one who made mistakes, which made him very depressed.
However, during the passing game, he could also feel that the ball that Qin Xiong passed to him was the most comfortable.
At nine o 'clock in the morning, the First Team players and coaches gathered on the training ground.
Benítez briefly introduced Qin Xiong and began the training.
As Qin Xiong trained under the guidance and supervision of his personal coaching team before his transfer, his physical fitness and physical condition were completely fine. He did not fail to keep up with the pace because he missed a few days of pre-season training in the middle of the transfer.
The most recent period of training was the physical reserve stage. Qin Xiong's various indicators in the team were outstanding.
He ran neck and neck with Torres in the sprint, was on par with Gerard in the strength test, and was evenly matched with Kuyt in the endurance competition.
This stage of training always made the players feel carefree, as if they were completely released and infinitely stretched their physical limits.
After the morning training, the players ate together in the restaurant at the Melwood Training Ground.
By this time, Qin Xiong was able to get along well with many of his teammates on the team.
In Liverpool, Qin Xiong and his former junior, Babel, had gone on different paths after knowing each other for less than a month in the Ajax Youth Team, but meeting again in Liverpool allowed the two to have a lot to talk about.
The afternoon training made Qin Xiong sweat all the time. At dusk, Benítez let the players relax and play a little football game.
Qin Xiong sat to rest at this time. To his surprise, Alonso took the initiative to come over and sit down next to him.
"Harvey, we meet again."
Qin Xiong's "we meet again" naturally referred to the two meeting in Liverpool after the Champions League game six months ago.
Alonso smiled gently and said, "I thought I should be the one to say this to you when I went to Bernabéu."
Qin Xiong associated it with Real Madrid's recent attack on Alonso in the transfer market.
He looked serious and said, "Stay in Liverpool, okay?"
Alonso turned his head and stared at Qin Xiong. After a long time, he said in a deep voice, "Then let's have dinner together tonight?"
Qin Xiong was quite surprised. Anyway, he was now alone, so he nodded and said, "Okay!"
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