Chapter 20 He Wants to Tie Us Together to Win

Wittini’s father noticed that his son ate breakfast very quickly today, so he had to remind him: “Slow down, slow down, chew your food thoroughly…”

After swallowing his mouthful of food, Vitini said to his father, “Don’t worry, I chewed every bite carefully. I just chewed faster.”

“Why are you in such a hurry today?” Dad was very surprised.

Vitini replied with a hint of dissatisfaction: “I told you last night, Dad. From today on, I have to go to training half an hour earlier every day because I have to train with Wang! But you still forgot…”

He was complaining that his father had breakfast at the same time as usual instead of half an hour earlier.

Dad was stunned for a moment, then he remembered that this really happened, so he said apologetically: “Oh, sorry, I forgot…”

Then he added: “It’s good for you to train with Wang, but be careful not to train too hard. Too much training can easily lead to injury.”

When Vitini heard what his father said, he chuckled.

Dad was curious: “What are you laughing at?”

Vitini smiled and replied: “Yesterday in the locker room, Wang also told me about this. He also suggested that I should not train with him every day to avoid injuries. I asked him why he did not get injured when training like this?”

Dad also became interested after hearing this.

As we all know, when Wang Lie was young, he suffered two consecutive serious injuries of ruptured patellar tendon in his left knee. For a professional player, a serious injury in this position is almost fatal.

Even if he undergoes surgery and the treatment is successful, allowing him to return to the court, but… his left knee, which has undergone two operations, should have some sequelae.

But judging from Wang Lie’s performance, there were no sequelae at all, as if he had never been injured or had undergone those two operations.

Not only did he have no sequelae, but he didn’t even suffer a major injury in his 18-year professional career.

Even if he was injured, they were all simple minor injuries and illnesses, and the longest time he was absent due to injury was no more than one month.

It’s really incredible.

Vitini continued: “Then Wang told me that it was his unique talent.”

Dad was a little disappointed – he thought Wang Lie had some unique method that could greatly reduce the chance of injury. If his son could also learn this method, his future career would definitely be much easier.

I didn’t expect it to be a unique talent…

His son can’t learn this either.

The father was disappointed, but the son did not seem to have such emotions. Instead, he was full of admiration for his idol and was still in an excited mood:

“I said that Wang must have something extraordinary about him! No wonder he can become a world superstar! What is talent? This is it! And it is the best talent! I wish I could have such a talent… But Wang also gave me some advice. As long as I can strictly follow his advice, I think the chance of me getting hurt will be greatly reduced…”

“What did he suggest?” Dad asked.

The son replied: “Maintain a good lifestyle. As a Brazilian, stay away from unhealthy nightlife and alcohol. Relax as soon as possible after training, and keep training even on vacation…”

Dad pondered: “The rest is easy. The first one… almost no Brazilian can escape…”

Vitini said with a serious face: “I can do it! Have you seen how many nightclubs I have been to?”

The father answered truthfully: “Compared to most Brazilians, you have indeed been there less often, but it’s not like you haven’t been there at all.”

Vitini was a little embarrassed: “Please pay more attention to my positive side, Dad!”

Dad laughed, then his expression turned serious: “But son, have you seen Wang go to nightclubs or bars? Except for some necessary social events, not once. Even if he has to go out for social events, he will go to bed at 10:30 at night. If you really want to achieve his achievements, or even surpass him, then you must do like him, can you?”

Vitini was stunned, his expression changing from gloomy to bright, and it was obvious that he was struggling internally…

Dad didn’t rush him to answer, but lowered his head and slowly spread jam on the toast.

But in fact, his son didn’t let him wait long.

Vitini gritted his teeth and said, “I will try my best!”

The father lowered his head and raised the corner of his mouth calmly, then said: “I hope you can do it too, son.”

Vitini poured the last piece of fried egg directly from the plate into his mouth. Without even chewing or swallowing it, he stood up and ran towards the door. Then he grabbed the bag at the door and rushed out.

Seeing his son in a hurry to go out on a date with a girl, his father shouted behind him: “Drive slowly on the road, don’t drive fast! Be safe!”

His son didn’t reply to him, he just saw his son waving his hand through the gap before the door closed.

※※※

When Sonny Dean saw the dark crowd outside the gate of the training base in the distance, he was shocked.

At the same time, I was muttering in my heart:
I didn’t go to a bar or nightclub to get drunk yesterday…

Could it be the incident that happened two weeks ago?

wrong!

They already knew about that incident two weeks ago…

Just as Dean was feeling nervous and having all sorts of wild thoughts, his car finally slid to the door.

His arrival also attracted the attention of the people present, but they just glanced at him and then looked away.

At this time, Dean also saw clearly the fans in the dark crowd, they were holding red Chinese flags in their hands.

Well, after all this time, they are here to protect Wang Lie…

Dean breathed a sigh of relief, but he quickly came to his senses: I didn’t do anything wrong, why should I be so cautious?
Then there was the dissatisfaction: the arrival of this Chinese directly raised the level of attention paid to Tyne. Everyone wanted to hold a magnifying glass and stare at Tyne all day long.

Doesn’t this mean that whatever you do will be noticed?
Previously, he had caused an uproar in the city of Newcastle when he was seen hugging two girls and getting drunk in a nightclub.

Now if I add in the traffic brought by Wang Lie, if the same thing happens again, won’t I explode on the spot?

Thinking of this, Sonny Dean became even more annoyed with Wang Lie.

He simply rolled down the window and taunted, “Don’t you know that Wang Lie is always the first one to arrive at the base for training? Now that you’ve seen me, do you still expect to wait for him?! Disperse! Disperse!”

He waved his arms to drive away the fans and reporters standing on the sidewalks on both sides of the road.

But it instead caused everyone to point their cameras and mobile phone lenses at him.

It was so crowded that Dean even had trypophobia…

He quickly closed the car window again and drove into the training base at an accelerated speed.

Forget it, let those stupid birds wait in the cold wind!
※※※

After entering the locker room, Sonny Dean did not see Wang Lie, but saw Wang Lie’s backpack on his locker. So it was obvious that Wang Lie had gone to training early again.

With him was that fool Vitini—for the latter’s bag was also in the closet.

Dean pouted and sat in front of his locker. He didn’t start changing his clothes, but prepared to check his phone for a while.

But just before he lowered his head, he suddenly discovered his blind spot. He raised his head and searched the locker room and found that… Captain Elliot Goetz was not there either.

Not only Goetz, but two other players were also not in the locker room.

They are second captain Charlie Cohen and third captain Matej Katic.

The bags of the three of them were in their respective places, but the people were not there. It was obvious that they did not not come, but came and left.

Dean frowned, having a bad feeling in his heart – would they go crazy like that idiot Vitini and run to train with Wang Lie in advance?
No way? No way?
Although I kept repeating “No way” in my mind, I would add a question mark after each repetition.

The more Dean asked, the more uneasy he felt.

This made him not even bother to check his phone, so he simply asked his teammate Joshua Parker:

“Where did the captain go?”

Parker, who was caught by him, was a little confused. He didn’t expect Dean to care about such insignificant details. In his opinion, since the news of going to Kensington next season was exposed, Dean was actually indifferent to what happened within the team and always acted as if it had nothing to do with him.

Except yesterday. Yesterday, the news that Wang Lie was coming seemed to have stimulated him, making him particularly active in the locker room, and he almost got into a fight with Vitini.

But what about today?

Is it a big deal that the three captains are not in the locker room?

Not at all. It’s not like everyone is in the locker room all the time. Some people are in the room, some are not. Isn’t that normal?

Why should Dean care about this?

Although he didn’t understand, Parker still answered him honestly after being stunned:
“They were all called away by Coach Varro.”

“Ah? Didn’t you go training with Wang?” Dean didn’t expect the answer to be so ordinary, so he lost his mind for a moment and said what was in his heart.

“Training with Wang?” Parker felt that Dean’s reaction today was particularly abnormal. He couldn’t help but lower his voice and leaned forward to ask, “Are you still drunk, Sonny?”

Dean was furious when he heard this, and couldn’t help but raise his voice in rebuttal: “I told you! I didn’t go to the nightclub last night!”

This shout attracted the attention of teammates who were still in the locker room.

When they looked at Dean, they were surprised at first, then suddenly realized. Some of them even had an amusing smile on their faces, as if to say:
Yes, yes, yes, you said you didn’t go, so you didn’t go. Everyone understands, and those who understand understand.

The anger in Dean’s heart did not subside after he yelled. Instead, it seemed to grow stronger, blocking his heart and making him feel very uncomfortable.

However, he did not yell at his teammates to explain. Instead, he took a deep breath, put on his headphones, and ignored everything that happened in the outside world.

Fuck! Whatever you want!
※※※

“I called you three here because I have something to tell you.”

In the head coach’s office, McNeil asked the three people standing in front of him, Elliot Goetz, Charlie Cohen and Matej Katic:
“Do you think Wang is a qualified leader? You know, he never served as captain when he was at Sofia United.”

The three of them looked at each other. Did the head coach specifically ask the assistant coach to call them here just for this matter?
Seeing that the three of them did not speak immediately, McNeill added in order to avoid their guessing: “I plan to make him the fourth captain, so I want to ask you what you think of him first.”

After hearing the explanation given by the head coach, Cohen and Katic suddenly understood, no wonder.

They even further speculated that the head coach might have discussed the matter with Wang Lie in advance and then asked for their opinions.

But in fact, there is no need to be so troublesome. He is just the fourth captain. As the head coach, he can directly announce it in front of the whole team.

Could these three people possibly object to the head coach adding another captain?
That was totally the opposite – logically speaking, the captains of the three of them were all decided by the head coach…

Second captain Charlie Cohen said: “I think there is no problem. Although Wang has never served as captain in the Sofia League, he has always been the captain of the Chinese national team. There is definitely no problem in being the captain.”

The third captain Matej Katic also gave a fair evaluation of his former opponent: “I had a fight with him during the La Liga game, although we had a very unpleasant quarrel at that time. But if you look at this matter from the perspective of Wang’s teammate at the time, you will definitely feel very happy, because Wang was standing up for his teammates at the time. In fact, the matter had nothing to do with him, and he could have ignored it completely, because he was not the captain at the time.”

Both captains expressed their support for Wang Lie to serve as the team’s fourth captain, and McNeill naturally turned his attention to the first captain Elliot Goetz.

But to his surprise, when he looked over, Goetz was frowning and looking troubled.

Unlike Tyne and Sofia United, the captain of Tyne has always been chosen by the head coach rather than by a vote of the players.

But before McNeill came to coach the team, Elliot Goetz was actually already the captain of Tyne.

He did not designate this captain. Of course, McNeill also agreed to let Goetz continue to be the captain without changing the candidate.

Elliot Goetz is the longest serving player in the current Tyne team. He is also a native of Newcastle. No one is more qualified to be the captain than him.

Everyone in Tyne’s “mercenaries” was convinced that he was the captain.

A person who is respected by everyone should not be so coy about such a trivial issue.

If he was worried that Wang Lie would snatch his captain’s armband and authority… he was the fourth captain. Even if he had to wear the captain’s armband, he would be the fourth in line. He could only wear the captain’s arm when Goetz, Cohen and Katic were not on the field.

Fighting for authority is even more ridiculous. The four captains actually have the same authority, and anyone can exercise the power of captain.

Besides, Goetz was not that kind of person—McNeill knew Goetz well:
He is the kind of person who always puts the interests of the team first and doesn’t care too much about personal gains and losses.

He had absolutely no reason to waver on this decision.

Not only McNeill, but Goetz’s two teammates also noticed their captain’s abnormality and cast puzzled looks at him.

But under the watchful eyes of the head coach and assistant coaches, they couldn’t say anything. No matter how confused or anxious they were, they had to keep it to themselves.

“Elliott, what do you think?” McNeill didn’t let Goetz hesitate any longer, he asked directly.

But Goetz gave an answer that was beyond his expectation:
“I want to give the captain’s armband to Wang, he is more suitable to be the captain than me.”

McNeill: “Huh?”

Valor: “Ah?”

Cohen and Katic: “Huh?”

After the four people in the room realized that they had said “Huh?” at the same time, they looked at each other at the same time, and finally turned their eyes to Goetz.

Vice Captain Cohen was a little excited and asked first: “Elliot, did you not listen carefully to the boss’s question just now? He said that he proposed Wang to be the fourth captain, the fourth captain…”

McNeill also admitted: “Yes, I am talking about the fourth captain, Elliot. We are just adding a captain, and it does not affect the ranking of the three of you…”

But Goetz shook his head and repeated his words firmly: “I heard you clearly, Boss. What I said is to give my captain’s armband to Wang. He is the one who can really lead us forward.”

After hearing what Goetz said, Charlie Cohen, who had wanted to continue persuading him, suddenly shut up, and Katic also looked thoughtful.

The changes of the two players aroused the curiosity of head coach McNeill. He always felt that something must have happened within the team…

But, what is it?

He asked bluntly: “Why, Elliot, tell you why you do it.”

When he said this, his tone was a little stiff and his expression became serious.

When a team’s recognized captain no longer wants to do his job, that’s when the team is in big trouble.

At this moment, many thoughts popped up in McNeill’s mind, some of which were even very bad.

For example, Goetz and Wang Lie had a very intense argument in the locker room, Wang Lie directly asked Goetz to step down, or Goetz complained to himself as the head coach in order to step down…

Goetz spoke, but his tone and expression were hesitant: “Well, actually… Wang came to the team early yesterday afternoon…”

McNeill nodded and interrupted his nonsense: “I know, he called us yesterday, but we forgot to inform you.”

Goetz turned and looked at the other two captains.

So it was the coaching staff that forgot?
But whether I really forgot it or just pretended to forget it, it doesn’t matter now.

So Goetz told the head coach everything that happened in the locker room yesterday afternoon, including how Vitini and Dean had a conflict, and what he said when Wang Lie suddenly appeared…

McNeill and assistant coach Valo were stunned.

Varo suddenly realized: “No wonder I felt the atmosphere in the team was a little strange during training yesterday afternoon…”

Captain Goetz explained sheepishly: “Because everyone has not yet recovered from the shock of his words.”

McNeill pondered.

Goetz continued, “Wang touched me deeply at the time. Especially the words ‘I will pull all of you forward and will not stop until we reach our goal’ and ‘I will tie all of you together and make you a whole, and then we will rush forward together and win together’. I was the captain, so why couldn’t I say such words?
“Last night, the way Wang said those words in the locker room kept appearing in my mind. In fact, I had already thought about giving the captaincy to him, but I was still hesitant. Just now, you happened to ask about this matter, and what Charlie and Ma Jie said also made sense, so I finally made up my mind – I want to give the captain’s armband to Wang. I think he is fully capable of doing it… No, I should say that he can definitely do better than me.”

After Goetz finished speaking, he stood there and looked at McNeill.

He has explained everything clearly, and now it is up to the head coach to make the decision.

McNeill didn’t let him wait too long. He nodded and said, “I have to ask the king and get his opinion.”

Goetz smiled and said, “He’ll agree if he really wants to tie us together to win like he says.”

(End of this chapter)