Chapter 164 Rushing into the Sea
Even the rival Kensington fans showed patience and respect when Sonny Dean came off the pitch.

This is a good thing for everyone in Tyne.

This means that Kensington has lost their fighting spirit and doesn’t think they can win anymore, so they can naturally stop and appreciate the farewell ceremony of the opponent’s players.

Let go of fighting and killing, and pay attention to human relationships and worldly wisdom.

Maybe I can gain Dean’s gratitude and work wholeheartedly for Kensington?

Kensington fans have already placed their hopes on next season.

Hopefully Dean, who performed well in this game, can do the same in Kensington next season.

Then help Kensington qualify for the Champions League next season.

Returning to the Champions League is not just Sofia’s goal.

There are only four Champions League places in the entire Premier League, but the Premier League has six giants known as the “BIG6”.

They are Scots, Sofia United, Clayton Athletic, Hackney Knights, Kensington and Waltham.

There are six major clubs and four places, which means that two of the major clubs will not qualify for the Champions League every season.

Not to mention that a situation like this year’s happens occasionally, where a mid-table team or a relegation team emerges and qualifies for the Champions League, making the already poor families even worse off.

After Sonny Dean left the field, the match between Tyne and Kensington completely lost suspense.

No one’s attention was focused on the game itself.

Whether it is the Tyne fans in the away stands of the Garden Stadium, or the Tyne fans who cannot go to the away game, represented by the Miners Bar, they are now beginning to look forward to what the Champions League next season should be like.

“We should recruit new players, right? It will be hard to face our opponents in the Champions League with the current squad…”

“Of course we need to recruit players. But some people will come and some will leave. I think Biggins and Barreto may leave…”

“why?”

“Because in the past half season, they have not been able to play as the main players in the team. It is obvious that McNeill’s tactics do not need them…”

“That’s hard to say. We will be fighting on multiple fronts next season, so we have to ensure a deeper bench… Besides, no one has stipulated that we can only play one set of tactics. Dean is gone, what if we change to 442 next season?”

“That makes sense, but what if Biggins and Barreto themselves don’t want to stay?”

“Why don’t you want to stay? You can play in the Champions League!”

“So what? For them, playing in the game may be more important than playing in the Champions League…”

“Hey, who will come to Tain then?”

“I hope our midfield can be strengthened. It’s not that Van Ginkel is not good, but I think we need someone with stronger ability to share Wang’s work in the midfield…”

“I hope that Tyne can recruit Lazar Milev. Cohen is a good captain, but he is indeed a little weak… It seems that Stuttgart Unicorn will not qualify for the Champions League next season? Maybe we can give it a try?”

“I think the club’s focus should still be on finding a replacement for Dean. We need an all-around striker on the right who can break through, pass the ball and shoot and score. I think Nicolas Romero from Madrid is a good choice. He is not an absolute starter in Madrid. Maybe he will be willing to come here?”

“Perhaps we could consider signing Stanley Harris? He’s a big fan of Wang. And Sofia United don’t have any Champions League games to play in, plus Heldon, who gave him the chance, has been sacked, so why can’t he come to Tyne?”

“But his position conflicts with Vitini…”

…conversations like this took place in the away stands at the Garden and in pubs big and small across Newcastle.

Tyne fans have already begun to paint a new blueprint for the club.

Some names that they had never dared to think of before now frequently appeared in their mouths.

Of course, these names were quickly denied by themselves, and they used laughter to cover up a kind of inferiority or embarrassment.

※※※

In the 2036th minute, Wang Lie and Van Ginkel were substituted at the same time, ending his entire Premier League career in the 2037- season.

When he left the court, commentator Connor Cowley introduced Wang Lie’s statistics for this season:
“Wang finished his tenth Premier League season, in which he played 28 times for two teams and scored 28 goals. It sounds like an average of one goal per game, but in fact 27 of those goals were scored at Tyne…

“In the first half of the season, many people thought that Wang’s level was not enough to cope with high-level competitions. Unexpectedly, since he moved to Tyne, he seems to have found the second spring of his career… 17 appearances, 27 goals, and 10 assists. Such performance is really amazing even if it is replaced by a player in his prime, not to mention a 38-year-old veteran!”

You wouldn’t know the statistics until you counted them. Once Connor Cowley did, he was shocked.

During the halftime break, he counted Wang Lie’s statistics for the season, and thought he had made a mistake.

Seventeen games, twenty-seven goals!

Average goals per game: 1.58!

What a terrifying goal efficiency!

Such goal efficiency is unmatched even for the 38-year-old Wang Lie. There has never been such performance in Wang Lie’s entire career.

In the 2029-2030 season, when he scored the most goals, he scored a total of 1.12 goals, while he made appearances in all competitions, with an average goal rate of only .

Judging from these data, Wang Lie is completely “growing backwards”!
What’s even more amazing is that the average goal rate per game of 1.58 is the highest in Europe!
Yes, the best in Europe – not just the Premier League, but Europe.

In the entire European football world, no player who has played more than ten games can achieve Wang Lie’s goal efficiency.

Not to mention reaching it, there’s no one even close.

The player with the highest average goal rate per game this season is Arthur Elorne of Madrid FC. Due to an injury at the end of the season, the English center forward has played in 0.93 games so far and scored 1 goals, with an average goal rate of , which is less than .

As for Clayton Athletic’s main striker Ramon van Dijk, who has already secured the Premier League Golden Boot this season, his average goal efficiency per game is 0.77.

But this is already the goal rate of top shooters, top forwards and top stars.

Finally, Connor Cowley said:

“After such an amazing performance, Wang seems to have endless fuel in the tank… I wonder what kind of performance he will show in the next season when he will fight on multiple fronts… Anyway, I am looking forward to it! I believe everyone is looking forward to it too. Perhaps we are witnessing a ‘miracle’ in world football!”

He could only describe Wang Lie as a “miracle”.

Because he couldn’t find a more appropriate word.

※※※

Just six minutes after Wang Lie was substituted, in the 94th minute of the game, the referee blew the whistle to end the game.

The game finally ended in which neither side had any desire to continue fighting.

As the final whistle sounded, the Garden was filled with a mixture of boos and cheers.

Wang Lie also ran onto the field with his teammates to celebrate their victory, and also to celebrate that they had finally qualified for next season’s Champions League.

The TV camera followed him all the time, telling everyone through the language of the camera that this was the key figure and the number one contributor to Tyne’s qualification for the Champions League.

Countless TV commentators around the world have praised Wang Lie, but none of them could say it better or more affectionately than Wang Lie’s compatriot Luo Jin.

“Game over! Game over! The 2036-2037 Premier League season came to an end with these three crisp whistles! What a good show! What a good show! At the beginning of this season, I think even the most optimistic and arrogant Wang Lie fans would not have thought that there would be such an ending…

“When Wang Lie was stuck in a quagmire and didn’t get any trust or playing time, many of us thought his Premier League career, or even his overseas career, had come to an end. I know that Wang Lie has a nickname, ‘The King of Comebacks’, and there have been many good stories in his career about him scoring the winning goal at the last minute of the game. But I think this season Wang Lie has completed the most amazing comeback in his career!

“From scoring one goal in eleven appearances in the first half of the season, to scoring twenty-seven goals in seventeen appearances in the second half! A 38-year-old veteran even handed in his best half-season answer sheet! In this half season, people have always asked, ‘Is his current form a flash in the pan? A last gasp?’ ‘How long can he continue to perform like this?’… It seems that Wang Lie’s true colors will be revealed next season, and it seems that after Wang Lie’s true colors are revealed, their sarcasm, attacks and criticisms of Wang Lie will all be justified…

“I also know that many of Wang Lie’s fans seem to be really worried about this happening. But I want to say: No one can guarantee that they will always win in the future, so should we ignore today’s efforts and hard work for the possible failure in the future? Can tomorrow’s failure erase the sweat and laughter of yesterday and today?

“Similarly, yesterday’s failure cannot be a reason or excuse for our depression. No one can win all the time. Even Wang Lie, in his brilliant career, has experienced all kinds of failures and pains. But the Wang Lie we see in every game is still the ‘warrior’ who always pursues victory and tries his best for every possible goal opportunity.” As Luo Jin told the story, Wang Lie on the field smiled happily. He hugged every teammate and coach he met. During this process, the camera followed him all the time.

There is absolutely no intention of cutting it out.

It seems that Wang Lie is the only protagonist in this game.

No one had any objections, and everyone just wanted to see more of Wang Lie.

At least at this moment, Zhou Hong and her grandson Wang Ziqi and granddaughter Wang Zilin, who were in front of the TV, didn’t want the camera to turn away.

“…Wang Lie was smiling happily. If you only look at him now, it seems that you can’t remember his situation in the first half of the season, nor how much pressure he was under at that time. It is even more unexpected that Wang Lie has not given up under such heavy pressure…

“My friends, I am not singing about suffering. But that is life.

“Life isn’t always easy. If it were, we humans wouldn’t be able to grow or progress. When we succeed, we’re often envied, and when we don’t achieve our goals, we’re ridiculed and attacked.

“Unfortunately, that’s how people are. Everyone faces unexpected pain and suffering along the way, but it’s during those tough times that you shouldn’t let yourself get defeated.

“Never give up, never be defeated. (Note 1)

“Just like Wang Lie: he lost games, he fell into the abyss, he was criticized by the whole world, but he never thought of giving up, and he was never defeated – if he had given up in early January this year, perhaps we would not see this scene today.”

Zhao Zhou posted this sentence in his Pili Pili dynamics:

“Never give up, never get defeated!”

And it was accompanied by a photo of Wang Lie.

As soon as it was posted, the comment section was filled with Wang Lie’s fans, who left messages to vent their emotions.

Not only under Zhao Zhou’s Pili Pili updates, but in countless corners of cyberspace, Wang Lie’s fans are excitedly expressing their love for Wang Lie.

Perhaps apart from Wang Lie himself, no one understands Luo Jin’s words better than Wang Lie’s fans.

Because they and Wang Lie shared the pressure, criticism and contempt.

How frustrated, unhappy and angry they were in the first half of the season.

How happy and enjoyable they will be in the second half of the season.

Today was a day when Wang Lie’s fans were completely proud of themselves. Many of them even went to provoke Chi Zhen’s fans…

In fact, over the past half season, the voices of Chi Zhen’s fans have become increasingly quiet.

Especially after Wang Lie helped Tain defeat Sofo United 9:0, Chi Zhen’s fans almost disappeared.

After all, even their idol Chi Zhen expressed his admiration for Wang Lie during an interview: “No one can perform like him at Wang Lie’s age. He is a legend, an eternal legend.”

Their idol has said so, what else can fans say?
Although there are some stubborn people who say that Chi Zhen dare not offend Wang Lie, so he can only flatter him against his will…but these people are a minority, and they will be beaten to death as soon as they show their head.

Of course, not all of Wang Lie’s fans have such a firm attitude.

They themselves were also frightened by Wang Lie’s performance – you know, in the first half of the season, many of them even couldn’t help but give up.

She also complained about why Wang Lie didn’t give up and why he insisted on doing so.

Now they know, this may be the reason why they can only be Wang Lie’s fans, and Wang Lie is Wang Lie…

Precisely because of this experience, they were more deeply touched by Luo Jin’s words.

Because they know how difficult it is to persevere, not give up, and not be defeated.

They were just caught up in the aftermath of the online violence against Wang Lie, but many people couldn’t stand it. But what about Wang Lie, who was always at the center of the online violence?
How strong a heart does one need to have to withstand such pressure?
※※※

All Tyne players were in a carnival mood after the game.

Even Sonny Dean was celebrating with everyone.

Even though this result actually had little to do with him, he could not enjoy the fruits of victory.

But this was the first time that his beloved team from childhood had played in the Champions League and even if he was not a Tyne player, he would have been happy for Tyne’s success.

Not to mention his contribution to this achievement.

Head coach Sam McNeill also hurriedly shook hands with Kensington head coach Giacomo Faye, and couldn’t wait to join the team’s wild celebration.

Finally they arrived in front of the away supporters’ stand and celebrated with the Tyne fans waiting there.

The home fans of Kensington have left one after another, and their season is over.

All the Tyne fans who travelled with the team stayed behind, singing, cheering, waiting for the team to arrive.

When the team arrived at their place, Wang Lie, as the captain, led everyone to interact with the Tyne fans in the stands by singing the “Viking War Cry”.

He led the players in high-fiving, and the fans in the stands cheered according to the rhythm of the players’ high-fiving.

By the end, the applause was as dense as thunder and turned into a final battle roar.

The players and fans ended the interactive ceremony with applause.

But no one turned around and left.

The Tyne fans in the stands continued to shout the names of the Tyne players, giving them thumbs up and applauding them.

The players also applauded on the field.

The official broadcast has ended, and the team photographer is holding a camera and recording the event nearby.

After every game, the Tyne Club will release a “micro-documentary” of more than ten minutes, and all the footage comes from the club’s team photographer.

In the footage, Tyne fans in the first row of the stands suddenly took out a large banner and rolled it up so that the content inside could not be seen.

One of the fan leaders shouted to the players: “We have prepared such a banner, but we didn’t put it up before because we wanted to show it to you after the game is over and we are sure we will qualify for the Champions League next season!”

As he said this, he directed everyone to raise the banner.

As more than 20 Tyne fans in the first row raised their arms, the banner that had been rolled up naturally fell down, revealing the text inside:

“We will go to the Champions League, just like the River Tyne will flow into the sea!”

The fan leader pointed to the banner held up by the crowd and said:

“This is what the king once said, and you guys kept your word! Next season, let Tyne go to the sea!”

Then he turned slightly to Wang Lie and said, “Wang! Please take us to the sea!”

Thousands of Tyne fans behind him shouted in unison: “Please take us to the sea! King!!!”

The sound created by so many people shouting together was like the sound of waves rushing into the sea. In the rumbling echo, under the gaze of thousands of people, Wang Lie raised his left hand wearing the captain’s armband and clenched it into a fist.

This is his answer.

※※※

Note 1: These three paragraphs are from the famous Japanese religious figure and writer Daisaku Ikeda. When Italian football star Roberto Baggio was criticized by Sacchi for being responsible for Italy’s loss in the 1994 World Cup, he quoted these words to express his attitude.

PS, there should be an illustration of Wang Lie raising his fist to the fans at the end, but I really don’t have time to draw it. This one was drawn in the early hours of this morning…

(End of this chapter)