After the calendar flipped to the January page, Tang En learned of a new piece of news. The news made him very angry, but he could not express it in person.
Evan Doughty found him and informed him that on February 4th and 5th, he would lose his most trusted assistant for two days.
"It's that 'The Football Kid' talent show again, isn't it?" He snorted. He actually wanted to curse out loud the moment he heard Evan tell him about this. But just as he was about to do so, he thought of Mourinho, so he quickly calmed down.
He was not as arrogant as Mourinho. He still clearly knew who the club belonged to. He did not want Evan to think that he had a "rebellious heart." It would not do him any good at all. He did not want to own the whole club. That would not bring him any benefits. Instead, it would give him a headache.
So, he just snorted to express his dissatisfaction.
Evan smiled. "There's no one more suitable than the Chinese Dunn to appear in the final of this show. Because he's … "
Tang En nodded. "Yes, I know. He's a Chinese, and he's also the assistant manager of this team. He's quite popular in China. The audience will also be very happy for a familiar Asian face to appear on such an occasion. This is actually a way to please the Chinese audience and market. "
"I've always said that Tony Twain is a very smart man," Evan said with a grin. He was not the slightest bit unhappy that Tang En had interrupted him.
This was what Tang En liked about Evan more than Abramovich. He was not as rich as the Russian, but it was precisely because of this that he was a little smarter than the Russian.
Tang En knew that people like him were amenable to coaxing but not coercion. It was the same for Mourinho. Evan's grinning face made it impossible for him to be angry. But if he encountered a hardline boss like Abramovich, Tang En would go all the way with the other party. At most, they would just break up. Who was afraid of who these days?
"There's no use in flattering me, Evan …" Tang En waved his hand weakly. He was indeed unhappy with the matter, but it was not to the point of falling out with the club's boss over it. "I think Allan is a little too eager for quick success. Some things are too rushed … I'm afraid he'll suffer in the end."
"I'll pass on your concern to him, Tony. Let's talk about this. Actually, up until now, that talent show can be considered a success. Its ratings are very high, and its influence on society is also not bad. " Of course, what Evan said was the data sent back from China, but Tang En suspected how much of it was exaggerated. He cautiously agreed. "Also, you don't have to worry about taking too long. Allan would go to China with Dunn. Dunn's job was simple. He would come back when he was done. Allan would be in charge of the rest. It's only a matter of two days. It won't delay you much. "He patted Twain on the shoulder.
Twain shrugged and said helplessly, "Well, what can I do even if I don't agree?"
"Thank you for your understanding and support, Tony. Finally, I wish you the best coach in the world. "Evan reached out his hand.
Twain patted his hand. "You said it last year."
"There's no harm in saying it one more time."
Evan went back in satisfaction, while Twain sighed helplessly. He had no choice but to work for someone else. However, Tang En still insisted on not becoming a boss. He knew he was not cut out for it.
※ ※ ※
On February 2nd, at home, Nottingham Forest won 1: 0 against West Ham United. As Manchester United was forced to a draw by Tottenham Hotspur in an away game, the gap between Forest and Manchester United was narrowed. Arsenal, who won the game, took the opportunity to overtake them and return to the top spot in the league.
Halfway through the league tournament, the fight for the league title was approaching its climax.
Dunn packed up briefly and flew back to China again. Who asked him to be a Chinese? Originally, the final climax of the talent show was intended to make Allan the hidden boss. However, Allan had a brainwave and decided to let Dunn, who was more acceptable and familiar to the Chinese, complete the glorious task.
Putting aside the factor of Twain, his choice was indeed good and very suitable.
Although he was an assistant manager, Dunn already had a group of fans in China. These people liked and chased after Dunn, paid attention to him, and collected all news about him. Perhaps this was caused by the distorted environment of China's football — there was no point in worshiping a player, so they might as well worship a manager.
In any case, at present, Dunn was indeed the best foreign football person to give psychological comfort to the vast number of China fans in Chinese football. In a situation where many overseas players had fallen into a slump, only Dunn still firmly appeared in the technical area at the sidelines of the English Premier League every week.
Therefore, from the perspective of currying favor with the China audience and market, Dunn was indeed the best candidate for this trip to China.
And his job was really simple. On the day of the recording of the finals, he appeared at the scene at the last minute and then announced a result that no one expected … OVER.
As Twain sent Dunn off, he repeatedly exhorted him, "Come back after you've completed the task. Don't come back two days late like last time. You have to know that the penalty for being late is not just for the players … "
Dunn nodded. "Tang Jing won't be going back this time."
"That's good." Twain snorted through his nose. "Go early and come back early."
※ ※ ※
"9527" Chen Jian was having a "farewell meal" with his companions, who he had been with for more than three months.
Because the fainting incident had made him famous on the show, many viewers had a good impression of the strong young man. But it also made the number he was wearing become his new nickname, and he was often called by his companions to tease and tease him. Of course, this was just one of his nicknames. The Englishman, Kenny Sansom, liked to call him "The Smiler" because his smile left a deep impression on Sansom. Not only that, he was also quite popular among the television audience as a teenager who always liked to wear a smile on his face.
Now, he sat together with the other contestants to drink and eat. This was the last sumptuous dinner they would have together, so they collectively ran back to the restaurant for it.
Of course, there were already less than 13 people sitting next to Chen Jian.
The finals training camp was very cruel. Because the British dominated the training camp, the selection criteria were only football level, not boring tricks like how handsome one was or who could do street dance.
The British coaching staff had formulated a lot of training subjects for these China young footballers. The assessment content was to complete these subjects, with each subject scored separately and a final overall evaluation.
This could ensure the intensity of the competition, make the program more suspenseful, and attract more viewers.
For example, some people could get high marks in the technical subjects, but they would lose in the physical points. Some people had first-class physical fitness, but their skills were slightly inferior. Some people were good at shooting and scoring, some liked to assist their teammates, and some were responsible for defense. Everyone has something they're good at and not good at. If the coaches had not announced the results, no one would know whether they could win the final game.
In three months, they had sent off seven people, and today they had to "send off" another four people.
There were quotation marks because these eliminated people would not leave immediately. The seven people who had been eliminated before would also be invited back to participate in the recording of the final episode of the show.
Before the meal, Kenny Sansom announced the names of the three lucky people who had finally made it to the finals on the training ground.
Wang Yang, Song Hui, and Chen Jian.
Once again, he came to the end.
In fact, after the start of the training camp, Chen Jian was the "hot favorite" to be eliminated. Because he was the only player among the 14 who did not have a professional training background. He was a true, pure amateur player. His most glorious resume was that his high school football team had won the championship of the Sichuan Guangyuan City High School Football Cup.
But it was such an amateur player who went all the way to the finals, became one of the top three, and had the opportunity to get one of the two tickets to the United Kingdom.
What was his secret? It was very simple, just four words: "Hard work makes up for one's lack of talent."
He worked hard on the subjects that he was not as good as others, and spent twice as much time to practice as others. He used his brain to figure out how to improve his performance in the inferior subjects and maintain his advantage in the subjects. For example, his skills and awareness were not as good as those of his professionally trained companions, but his physical fitness was good, and he was fast. Every time there was a physical test and a speed test in the training camp, he was always first. His scores in this event helped him to make it to the top three in the end.
At the same time, his performance in the subjects that he was not good at was steadily improving. Everyone in the training camp saw his progress. Kenny Sansom, in particular, liked this dedicated, hard-working kid.
In addition, Chen Jian also began to practice English hard before he knew the results. The person next to him did not understand. His answer was, "English is also in college. Even if I don't get selected, I don't have to worry about the English test …"
He was optimistic, which was good.
Just like that, he was always not favored by others, but he always became one of the people who stayed in Changsha. Until this time, he had the worst result among the three of them, but he still managed to stay. This was a victory.
Wang Yang and Song Hui were the two people who were favored the most, from the beginning, so it was not surprising that they were selected. Chen Jian was a real dark horse. Coupled with his dark skin, he also had a nickname, "Prince of Dark Horses."
A tall and strong man stood up across the table, holding a beer glass in his hand. "No matter which of the three of you can go to the United Kingdom, I have nothing to say. In these three months, we are all brothers. "This person spoke Mandarin with a northeast accent. He was number seven, Zhao Rui from Dalian. "Since we are brothers, I am happy who can go to the United Kingdom. Anyway, you will be representing us, the Chinese. But I still have to say something … "He looked at Chen Jian, who was still looking at everyone with a smile.
"9527." This was Chen Jian's most accepted nickname internally. "I admire you!" Zhao Rui gave a thumbs up with his other hand. "When it comes to skills and standards, I don't necessarily admire anyone." This Zhao Rui was indeed qualified to say this. He was from Dalian Shide Youth Team, and his level was really good. Even compared to Song Hui and Wang Yang, he was only about the same. He was really unlucky to be eliminated — on the most critical day of the assessment, he had a cold and a high fever, and his performance was a mess. He hid in the bathroom and cried. When he came out, he said with red eyes, "Wasn't it just eliminated? What's the big deal? "
"But I admire you! 9527！ I really admire you! You are a man! Pure! "Zhao Rui drank a little too much and was a little excited. "F * ck … I was defeated when I had a cold and a fever, and you can actually pass the assessment. Ten thousand people! They can't even compare to you, who had a fever and diarrhea … Just for this, I admire you! "
Chen Jian was still smiling. He didn't know how to deal with such enthusiastic companions, and this kind of naked praise made him feel a little embarrassed. In fact, he knew how much he was worth …
"Forget it! Let's not talk nonsense, let's … drink! "
Chen Jian stood up, clinked glasses with Zhao Rui, and slowly poured the glass of wine. He won another compliment from Zhao Rui. "Good! Honest! Honest! I like it! "He also drank.
Next, some other people in turn clinked glasses to congratulate the three lucky people. Chen Jian was a little confused after being forced to drink a lot. In fact, even if he wasn't forced to drink, he was also confused.
He could actually enter the final three and have a chance to compete for one of the two places. Am I not dreaming? My level … my level is not at such a high level, right? Although I did work harder than others, … go to England … Can I really do it? I won't embarrass the people of China when I go out, right?
Previously, some people said that this talent show was still a talent show after all, and the commercial nature of it did not count. Even if they could go to England in the end, the English clubs did not expect to rely on this to select a genius. Therefore, the biggest possibility was that they would complete the contract, let the two lucky people from China train there for a year, and then go back to where they came from. At most, it would be considered as seeing what real professional football was, broadening their horizons, and enriching their life experience. Do you really expect to rely on this to play professional football? Hey, bro, wake up, it's daybreak.
But who among those who could sit here did not really want to use this opportunity to become famous and play the professional football of their dreams? Even a player like Chen Jian, who came from an amateur background, had such thoughts, let alone those who came from professional teams.
But when such an opportunity was really placed in front of them, they would still be a little afraid … Afraid that their level could not keep up with the requirements of others, and that they would return after a year with their tails between their legs …
"Hey, what are you foolishly laughing about? 9527！ Come, cheers! Kid, you're lucky, lucky … "Another person came up and clinked glasses.
Yes, this was also one way of saying it. Some people speculated why Chen Jian, who was obviously not strong, stayed behind every time, and even persisted until the end to get a ticket to the final. Could there be some inside story?
It was a pity that there was no inside story. Therefore, the "luck theory" became active and quite popular. The audience who supported the other players thought that Chen Jian's luck was really too good … It should be known that the last match to decide who would be in the top three turned out to be a penalty shootout with a greater element of luck!
The vast majority of people thought that the winner decided by the penalty shootout did not rely on their skills, awareness, or anything else, but pure luck. The audience would think so, and naturally, some of his fellow competitors would also think so.
Chen Jian did not care about this person's last two sentences of nagging. He raised his glass and clinked glasses with the other person.
Everyone drank to their heart's content. Song Hui, Wang Yang, and Chen Jian drank because they made it to the final. As for a few others, perhaps they wanted to drown their sorrows in alcohol, or perhaps they were really happy for them, or perhaps … they had other thoughts, but these were not important.
Anyway, there would not be any assessment during the program tomorrow, so there was nothing to worry about even if they had a hangover.
This was a farewell meal. After today, when the program recording ended tomorrow, all the answers and suspense would be revealed.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
