Tang En was not from Ningbo or Zhejiang. Before he transmigrated, he had only been to three places in China — his hometown, a small town in southern Sichuan; the place where he went to university was Beijing, the capital of China; and the place where he worked after graduating from university in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan.
Although Shanghai, Nanjing, and Hangzhou were all part of China, it was like a different world to him. They spoke a language that he did not understand at all, the food was not to his taste, and the customs and culture were worlds apart. He never thought that he would one day have the idea of traveling there.
But now, thanks to his soul possession, he got the opportunity to "travel with public funds" and came to a place that was previously just a name to him — Ningbo, Zhejiang Province.
Of course, he did not really come for a vacation. In fact, this time in China, he did not have the quirky and likable Shania with him. Instead, he had a large group of men with him.
Yes, they were all members of the Nottingham Forest Football Club.
A year ago, the Nottingham Forest Football Club won a large piece of land in Clifton, southwest of Nottingham, to build a new stadium. The city government gave them strong support and allowed them to buy the land at a lower price. Of course, there was no free lunch in the world. In return, they had to do something for the Nottingham city government.
Now, it was time to repay the government.
In essence, Nottingham Forest's trip was a trip to make money, a move by businessmen in pursuit of profits. But the publicity aspect was a little higher.
In fact, this was a cultural trip between the city of Nottingham in England and Ningbo in China. The friendly Nottingham Cultural Publicity Week would be fully launched with the visit of the European champion, Nottingham Forest. The Chinese in Ningbo did not have to go to the United Kingdom on the other side of the continent to enjoy the most authentic English culture and British customs.
The relationship between Nottingham and Ningbo dates back to 2005. In that year, the two cities signed a contract and officially became sister cities. As a gift, the University of Nottingham, which was quite famous in the United Kingdom, cooperated with the Ningbo Municipal Government to clone the entire university to Ningbo and build a completely independent University of Nottingham in Ningbo. From the teachers to the teaching materials, all of them used the configuration of the University of Nottingham. After students successfully graduated, they could obtain a University of Nottingham diploma.
With these connections, it was no surprise that Nottingham Forest's visit to China was set in the city of Ningbo.
This was the result of the cooperation between the club and the municipal government. Without this relationship, Allan Adams would not care about the sister cities. He would be more willing to set the venue for the visit to China in Beijing or Shanghai. But since he had taken someone else's land, he naturally had to pay a price. Fortunately, the losses here could be made up for elsewhere — the Japanese's fanatical pursuit of Beckham was enough to make Allan wake up with a smile even in his dreams; Southeast Asia and Hong Kong had always been the Premier League's largest audience in Asia. The status of the Premier League teams there was simply incomparable to that of other leagues.
※ ※ ※
Before coming to Ningbo, Nottingham Forest's opponent for the game had long been announced. On the day of the announcement, the name of the opponent surprised Twain — the China Olympic Team.
This was also Allen's masterpiece.
Considering that the influence of the game in Ningbo was too small, he decided to find an opponent with enough influence for Nottingham Forest. Now that the whole of China was crazy about the Beijing Olympic Games to be held in August, what more convenient way to promote themselves than to take advantage of the Olympic Games?
Therefore, he got in touch with China's Aide and the China Football Association, hoping to arrange a warm-up game — to the industry insiders, it was a "warm-up game." To the ordinary fans, it was a "commercial game." The opponent of the game was the China Olympic Team.
Wasn't the China Olympic Team currently intensely preparing for the Olympic Games? They needed a high-level opponent to be their warm-up object. What team was more suitable than the UEFA Champions League champions?
For the Football Association, this was a very tempting plan. First of all, they did not have to pay out of their own pocket to hire those high-level foreign teams to play a warm-up game. Second, Nottingham Forest was indeed at a high level. Now that the world knew about this team, it was very beneficial for the China Olympic Team to play against them. Third, the UEFA Champions League champion, Nottingham Forest, and the Olympic host's Olympic team would also be very helpful in promoting the Olympic Games around the world. Ever since the torch relay, some Western countries' opposition to the Olympic Games had never stopped. In fact, it was getting more and more intense. This competition should be able to send a completely opposite message. As long as it was under the premise of the Olympic Games, anything could be done.
The Football Association agreed to the proposal in principle, but they also had their own requirements …
The China Football Association wanted to participate in the share of the game's revenue.
Allan and the head of Aide looked at each other after hearing the proposal. Allan did not quite understand this approach, but Aide was indeed a professional company that often operated foreign teams to come to China for commercial games. They told Allan that if they wanted to deal with the China Football Association, they would often encounter this kind of thing that you foreigners would find inconceivable. And to be honest, the request was not really too much …
Allan only then recalled what Twain said about "China's national conditions." He had been going back and forth from England to China for half a year. He thought that his understanding of China should be similar to Twain's. Now that he thought about it, he realized that he was still far from Tony Twain …
Allan Adams agreed to the Football Association's proposal. After agreeing on the specific share ratio, the Football Association, Aide and Nottingham Forest jointly announced that Nottingham Forest's visit to China would be against the China Olympic team.
As soon as the news came out, it immediately attracted the attention of the media and fans all over China. The media covered the upcoming game, introducing Nottingham Forest, promoting Nottingham Forest, and reporting on Nottingham Forest. The fans also expressed a strong interest in the game. In addition, China's state-level television station bought the live broadcast rights of the game.
These were what Allan wanted to see most. The China Olympic team's battle plan was very successful.
Twain had no objection to this opponent. Not only that, but he felt that playing against the China Olympic team might be the best choice. If they played against a local team in Zhejiang, Twain would find it boring. Playing against those league teams that were put together temporarily would not play the role of training. There was still some competitive value in playing against a China Olympic team that had been training together for a long time.
Yes, Allan only considered the economic effect, while Twain cared about the competitive value. The two words were spelled the same in Chinese pinyin, but they were completely unrelated. In professional football clubs, they were almost completely opposite.
※ ※ ※
When they got off the plane, the Nottingham Forest star players received a very warm welcome. The light rain could not stop the fans who came to the airport to wait, and beautiful young girls lined up under the airport gangway to offer flowers. The warm and beautiful Ningbo girls made the Nottingham Forest players happy. Except for a few big star players who were still a little reserved and had to maintain their personal image, the younger ones were just short of hugging each other and taking intimate photos.
Twain did not care about them. In his view, it showed that his team was in good shape.
Taking the wreaths presented by the young girls, the team walked to the airport bus parked outside the terminal. Along the way, there was naturally a warm welcome from the fans who rushed over after hearing the news. From the poster portraits held up by the fans, it was very intuitive to know who was the most popular player in the team.
Before coming to China, the Nottingham Forest players had nothing to do and made a bet together — who would be the most popular player in China? Of course, this bet excluded Beckham from the beginning …
Now the answer was revealed. Apart from Beckham, the most popular person was George Wood. Van der Vaart was the runner-up by a narrow margin.
"Blockhead! Blockhead! " The enthusiastic Chinese fans held up posters and big-head caricatures of George Wood and shouted his Chinese nickname.
In the face of such a warm welcome for him, George Wood still looked calm and almost did not smile. But everything he did only attracted higher decibel screams and more people's pursuit.
"Look! This is a star player! What a character! "
"Blockhead is so cool!!"
"But I think he's cute — ah, Blockhead! I love you! "
…
Ribéry gritted his teeth when he saw this scene and said, "There's no justice in this world. How can a zombie face be so popular …"
Fortunately, someone soon comforted his "injured little heart." "Ribéry! Ribéry! Look over here, look over here! "Someone shouted in English.
He hurriedly turned his head happily, but he saw an awkward scene:
A Chinese fan held up a sign, and two fans next to him pointed to the sign, which read in French: "How much do you want to stay in Nottingham?!"
It was obviously a mockery of the news that he refused to renew his contract with the club and wanted to go to Real Madrid with a bid of one hundred and fifty thousand pounds some time ago.
He could only pretend not to see it and cast his eyes to the gray sky.
※ ※ ※
"Is this China!" On the way from the airport to the hotel, CITIC Ningbo International Hotel, the Nottingham Forest teammates looked curiously at the scenery outside the window.
"Sun! Sun! " The teammates greeted Sun Jihai enthusiastically, wanting him to be a tour guide and introduce the scenery along the way that was full of China's Jiangnan flavor. "What's that? And that … Ah, that's beautiful too! "
This put Sun Jihai in a difficult position. Although he was from China, he was not from Ningbo or even Jiangnan. He knew nothing about Ningbo and Jiangnan.
If he really wanted to explain to his teammates, he had to start with the fact that China was a very, very big country, so big that these foreign teammates did not even dare to think about it. This way, the topic would get out of hand. It could not be explained clearly in a few sentences.
"Ha … Actually, I know nothing about Ningbo. I rarely come here …" He could only laugh dryly as he spoke of his predicament.
The teammates were very disappointed. It was not easy to have a China teammate. They thought they could drag him out to go shopping and spend money when they arrived at the hotel. A free local tour guide would be great!
Dunn glanced at Tang En, and Tang En hurriedly glared. "Don't look at me. Although I am … I know nothing about Ningbo." He almost spilled the beans. Fortunately, Kerslake, who was sitting in front, was busy taking pictures of the scenery along the road with a digital camera.
There were basically not many people sitting quietly in the car. Everyone was holding a digital camera or a digital camera and looking out the window. Tang En did not do so. He was not interested in what was going on outside. Anyway, he was not here to travel.
But when he tilted his head, he saw a tall billboard on the roadside of the airport. The background was red, and the dark lines were Nottingham Forest and the China Olympic players. The advertising slogan on it was a bit interesting. It was written in both Chinese and English: "A warm welcome to the UEFA Champions League and English Premier League Champion, Nottingham Forest Football Club, to visit our city for a game!"
He smiled. It really had "China characteristics." It was really cordial to see this scene …
There were several similar billboards on the roadside. In addition to these directly promoting the Forest team, there were also signs from sponsors related to Nottingham Forest, as well as advertisements from Aide. It could be seen that Allan had put in a lot of effort. Although the game had not yet started, the publicity war was played beautifully. Seeing such a billboard, he, as the Forest team's manager, also felt a sense of accomplishment and pride.
The world outside the window was drizzling, but it did not affect the image of Ningbo in the hearts of these foreign guests. Because this dynamic Jiangnan style painting appeared more interesting in the hazy rain and fog, adding to the mysterious impression that many foreigners had of China. It seemed real and illusory, like a dream.
※ ※ ※
After arriving at the CITIC Ningbo International Hotel where they were staying, a press conference was held in the hotel. All the team members changed their clothes in the room and attended, which was considered as a formal introduction of the team to the China community.
Tony Twain became the protagonist at the press conference because his love for Chinese culture was no longer news. In China, even the fans knew it.
Throughout the press conference, he communicated with the media and fan representatives in fluent Mandarin. Every time, he would win the applause of everyone present. Everyone applauded and cheered for his fluent Mandarin and his familiarity with China.
Twain was a little regretful about this. If he had gone to Chengdu, Sichuan for the game, he could have greeted everyone in fluent Sichuanese …
"… I love China. I love the culture and the hospitable people here. I am deeply honored and proud to lead the team to play in Ningbo! I also hope to introduce the best side of China to my players. I believe this trip to Ningbo, China, will be a great experience for my players! "
His last remark brought him a great deal of applause.
Evan Doughty, who was sitting in the back, smiled and applauded. He turned his face to Allan Adams next to him and said, "You're still worried that he'll give you trouble. But look at his performance. It's perfect! "
Allan also nodded. "Indeed, I have to admit that he did better than I thought. He's really a born orator … "
The press conference ended there. Next, the players went back to their respective rooms to rest for a while. Then they would collectively take a bus to the banquet — a welcome dinner hosted by the Ningbo Municipal Government.
While some reporters and hardcore fans were still lingering outside the hotel lobby, Allan had already found Twain. "Tony, are you free now?"
Twain knew that Allan must have something to talk to him about, but he did not know what it was. Could it be the matter with Ribéry some time ago?
He nodded. "I'm free. What's the matter, Allan? "
"Go to my room. I have something to talk to you about."
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.
