Fifth Update.
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Early in the morning, Qin Xiong jogged along the park path. He wore ordinary sportswear and even put a hood over his head to cover his forehead. He did not want to be recognized by passers-by. He needed to focus more on adjusting his state of mind.
After returning to London yesterday, he slept in his apartment. He left Sylvia behind. It was not that he did not care about her feelings, but that he did not distinguish between them. In his apartment, Sylvia was the mistress.
At the same time, Sylvia also urged him to go to bed and rest. She would take care of the rest.
She went out alone to buy daily necessities and clean the room. Although the weather in London was obviously unpleasant, she was always in a good mood.
She also tidied up the kitchen and was ready to be a "housewife" around Christmas.
Qin Xiong slept for more than 12 hours. He woke up early in the morning and did not disturb Sylvia. He went out for a jog alone.
The journey to and from Asia was tiring. He needed to rest and recover his stamina. He also needed to adjust his physical state.
The good news was that Arsenal's game was the last to start in the weekend league.
This would give Qin Xiong more time to adjust.
In Asia, he was sometimes surrounded by stars. But when he returned to London, he returned to the role of an ordinary star player.
This was normal. He did not feel disappointed.
In Arsenal, Henry, Vieira, Pires, Campbell and so on, which one was not more famous than him?
Fleet Street was not even interested in reporting the news that he won the Asian Footballer of the Year.
Instead, on the front page of the tabloids, there was gossip about Qin Xiong holding Sylvia's hand and returning to London.
Fleet Street did not care whether Qin Xiong was the African Footballer of the Year or the Asian Footballer of the Year. They cared more about whether Qin Xiong was gay … Obviously, the latter would bring more news.
When Qin Xiong finished jogging and returned to the apartment, he was surprised to see that Sylvia had already prepared breakfast. She was wearing a nightgown and her blonde hair was draped over her shoulders. She jogged in front of Qin Xiong and took the initiative to give him a kiss. Then, she pushed Qin Xiong's back and said, "Go take a shower and come down for breakfast."
Qin Xiong walked up the stairs and suddenly turned back to Sylvia and said, "You really look like a housewife now."
Sylvia put her hands on her hips and deliberately put on a stern face as she said, "Listen to me and go take a shower! Hahahaha … "
After saying that, she let out a pleasant laugh.
Qin Xiong smiled and went upstairs to take a shower. He was in a particularly good mood.
No matter how bad the weather in London was, he felt that this was the beginning of a beautiful day.
After breakfast, Qin Xiong was going to train. He asked Sylvia to clean up a guest room and buy some daily necessities for Georgia. He was going to let the little guy come here for Christmas a week later.
.....
Qin Xiong, who had returned to the club for training, was first pulled into a corner by Fàbregas for questioning.
"What did you do back in Asia?"
"To receive an award."
"What award?"
"The Asian Footballer of the Year."
"Oh, I see. The newspaper said that you came back to London with your girlfriend. Is that true? "
"Well, yes, we're living together now."
Fàbregas breathed a sigh of relief.
He did not care about the previous question at all. The professional players in European football probably did not care who the Asian Footballer of the Year was. The weight of that award was so light that it was insignificant and had no influence at all in European football.
Qin Xiong stared at Fàbregas with a strange look in his eyes. His expression made Qin Xiong feel inexplicable.
"You seem to have suddenly become very relaxed. Why?"
Fàbregas hesitated for a moment and replied with evasive eyes, "I'm happy for you. You have a girlfriend."
"I've always had a girlfriend. I said that a long time ago."
"Who knows if it's true or not! Robin said that you didn't have any scandals with any beautiful women in Amsterdam. Coupled with the previous report on Fleet Street, I wondered if you were gay. Since you're not, that's great! "
Qin Xiong was actually speechless!
It had to be said that even if the world was becoming more open and tolerant, and there was more space for homosexuals to survive, in professional football, once a male player was identified as gay, there was basically only one choice: retirement.
In other words, at the same time that he came out of the closet, he basically said goodbye to the professional game.
Because in a group of thriving males, his teammates could not tolerate such an existence.
Who knew if the comrade's eyes hid other disgusting meanings when he took a shower.
The meaning of a hug also seemed to change …
Qin Xiong was focused on training. It looked like he was still in good condition. After all, he played for 60 minutes in the league last week.
Wenger's mood looked a little heavy. He emphasized defense in training.
He could not help but be nervous.
The team had a brilliant record of 56 league games undefeated.
It was only two games away from AC Milan's record.
The more it was like this, the more fragile the team's psychological state might be!
Because too much emphasis was placed on winning and losing.
And the game this weekend was the London Derby. The opponent was Chelsea, who was also in the limelight.
Even with Arsenal's amazing performance this season, Chelsea was only one point behind Arsenal in the standings!
This was an advantage with no guarantee.
The league game this weekend was a battle of six points.
If they won, naturally everyone would be happy.
But what if they lost?!
If they lost the game this weekend, Wenger could not imagine the huge negative impact the team's condition would suffer.
Breaking the record was so close, but falling short.
Losing at home!
Directly overtaking the competitor's points!
The encouragement to Chelsea and the blow to Arsenal, under the circumstances, Wenger could not imagine that if Arsenal lost the league game this weekend, they might lose the entire season!
So, he had to emphasize the team's defense.
Even if they could not win, they had to ensure that they did not lose!
.....
On December 13th, the English Premier League's top game that was watched by all of England arrived as scheduled at Highbury.
Mourinho led the new generation of Chelsea to Highbury.
Although Wenger would not take the initiative to cause trouble for other teams, especially for arguments or psychological warfare between managers, the media was unwilling to be left out. They would put one sharp question after another in front of Wenger, and after Wenger made a response, they would portray it as Wenger taking the initiative to provoke them.
For example, when asked about Chelsea's management methods and large investments, Wenger would of course criticize Chelsea for doing so as to violate the rules of football, and analyze from a long-term perspective whether the club's lifeline was healthy or fragile.
There was no doubt that Chelsea's life was very fragile. There was only one foundation that kept Chelsea's life together: Abramovich.
With Abramovich, Chelsea grew strong and matured.
If Abramovich left, Chelsea would not be able to maintain the status quo, let alone develop.
Every time Wenger evaluated Chelsea, he would be met with a stronger counterattack from Mourinho.
The Professor was obviously not Magical Bird's opponent when it came to talking.
Mourinho was not particularly sure who he was talking to, but his reactions were always too exaggerated. Whether it was when he was giving instructions on the field or in front of the media, his performance subverted the outside world's perception of a manager.
He was a star coach and the focus of attention on Fleet Street, because he had always been surrounded by controversy and topics.
This made him more famous, and it also made him take on more pressure to reduce the pressure on Chelsea, so that the team could concentrate more on the field and strive for glory that was above all else!
However, when the Premier League's top game arrived, Wenger and Mourinho tacitly did not start a tit-for-tat war of words.
Arsenal had pressure, and so did Chelsea.
If Chelsea lost the game at Highbury, Chelsea's confidence would be greatly damaged!
They were originally chasing after Arsenal. If they lost in a direct confrontation, the confidence that had been raised to the point where they thought they were on par with their opponents might disappear!
Mourinho and Arsène Wenger would boast about themselves, but neither would declare victory with certainty.
The risk was too great.
When the two sides stood in the players' tunnel, Arsenal's players, led by Vieira, looked calm, while Chelsea's players, led by Terry, were also full of confidence.
Qin Xiong glanced at Chelsea's lineup. He played against Chelsea in the Champions League last season. Although Chelsea changed a lot in the summer, with the players changing frequently, almost half of the team's main force changing, Qin Xiong was no stranger to them.
Ferreira, Carvalho, Robben, they were all players he had played against.
Only the African striker Drogba and the midfielder Tiago were unfamiliar to him.
When he looked at Robben, Robben also happened to look at him. The two men's eyes met, and Qin Xiong habitually nodded to Robben as a greeting.
Robben subconsciously returned a smile.
After the smile, he withdrew his gaze, feeling very strange.
Because before this, he was looking forward to this game with great excitement!
It was time for the geniuses to show off their skills!
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