Chapter 8: Eating at the Children’s Table

Although they were tied by Drett in the FA Cup match, head coach Sven Heldon, who always emphasizes discipline, did not cancel the post-match rest as a punishment.

He still followed the original plan and gave all the Sofia players who played in this FA Cup match half a day off.

It’s not that he is kind, but the schedule during this period is too tight – the 19th round of the league was played on Tuesday, the FA Cup was played on Saturday, which was yesterday, the League Cup next Tuesday, the 20th round of the league next Saturday, the FA Cup third round make-up match on the Tuesday after next, and then there is another league game on the weekend…

If we start counting from Christmas, the 17th and 18th rounds of the league are also played within a week, and Sofia United has played two games a week for four consecutive weeks.

If he doesn’t give them a holiday, he’s afraid that the team will run out of energy and be more prone to injuries. By then, it might not be as simple as not being able to win a FA Cup match…

Because of this, Wang Lie had time to meet two “guests” in his home one after another.

At noon, after having lunch and taking a nap at home, he drove to Heaton Sports City, the training base of Sofia United.

Generally speaking, he would arrive earlier than other teammates and start warm-up training first.

This is a habit he has developed over the past twenty years, whether at SofaSerie A, Athletic Barcelona or Born.

In the past, when he arrived at the training base, there was no one in the locker room, but today he met the team captain Taylor Murphy here.

The other party was obviously waiting for him.

“Have you decided to leave the team in the winter transfer window, Wang?” Murphy asked straight to the point as soon as he saw Wang Lie.

“Yes.” Wang Lie answered concisely without any hesitation.

“No wonder…” Murphy thought, “No wonder you and the boss…”

Wang Lie interrupted his speculation: “It has nothing to do with that. I would have done it whether I decided to leave the team or not. He not only humiliated me, but also used the interests of the team as a bargaining chip. You were there at the time, and you heard what I said, this was a suicide substitution. In fact, it proves that what I said is correct.”

Murphy smiled bitterly and sighed, “But now the public opinion is saying that it was your willfulness and impulsiveness that caused us to lose…”

“Who do you believe, Taylor?” Wang Lie asked, staring at Murphy.

Murphy looked away: “I’m not here to referee, Wang. I’m here to remind you that the boss won’t let you off easily. Why don’t you bow your head to the boss and apologize?”

Wang Lie snorted, “I didn’t do anything wrong, why should I apologize to him?”

“Many things are not simply about right and wrong, Wang. Think about it calmly. You were just impulsive during yesterday’s game, and now all the media think you are the culprit for our failure to win. If you continue to fight against the boss, then all our failures in the future may be related to you…”

Wang Lie shrugged: “I don’t care, those rumors can’t hurt me.”

“Yes, you have a heart of stone, you have a big heart. But it will make your teammates doubt you. Someone has asked me if you wanted to transfer last summer because the team couldn’t play in the Champions League… You are a legend of this team, even if you want to leave, you shouldn’t leave in disgrace, right?”

Wang Lie was amused. “Ha, if you hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have known I was the legend of this team! So I’m the legend of this team? So I’m not notorious enough? I thought I was a shameless bastard… Now that you mentioned this, then tell me, subbing me in at the last few seconds of the game, subbing me in and out in the second half… Is this the way to treat a team legend?”

Perhaps stimulated by Murphy’s words, Wang Lie became more and more excited as he spoke, his voice became louder and his body language became richer.

“They say I should respect the head coach, but why doesn’t anyone respect me?! I have dedicated everything to this team and created the club’s history, so why has the club never thought of respecting me?! Last season, the team failed to qualify for the Champions League and the media said I became the biggest problem. I am the team’s top scorer, but the top scorer became the biggest problem…ha!”

At this point, Wang Lie even laughed out loud.

“Where was the club at that time? They let the media spread nonsense about ‘scoring hurts the team’ and did nothing! Fine, I said if you think I’m the biggest problem, then I can leave, the team needs to rebuild from me. What did Hall and Heldon, who just took over, tell me? They said the team needed me and I was still an important member of the team. So I stayed. And what’s the result? Why are there rumors in the media now that I want to leave because I want to play in the Champions League… If I wanted to play in the Champions League, I would have left two and a half years ago! Why did I renew my contract with the club?!

“I don’t want to talk about conspiracy theories, but it’s not uncommon for a club to pay a PR company to discredit its own players in Europe. Well, even if Sofia didn’t do that, why didn’t they speak up for me when I was being attacked by the media? What do they think of me? A stepping stone for the new head coach to establish his authority! They never think I need to be respected! Now you ask me to apologize to someone who never respected me, so why don’t they come and apologize to me?!”

Faced with Wang Lie’s sudden outburst, Taylor Murphy was also frightened. He opened his mouth slightly, not knowing what to say.

Seeing the captain at a loss, Wang Lie came to his senses and realized that there was no need to get angry at a recognized “good guy”.

So he sighed, shook his head and whispered: “I’m sorry, Taylor… I know this has nothing to do with you. You are just fulfilling your duties as a captain… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have lost my temper with you.”

After saying that, he turned and walked towards his locker to change his clothes.

Behind him, Taylor Murphy also said in an apologetic tone: “I should be the one to say sorry, Wang. I’m sorry that I can’t do anything… I was elected as the captain by everyone, and I know they voted for me just because I’m easy to talk to…”

“Don’t blame yourself, Captain. You did a great job.” Wang Lie comforted Taylor Murphy without turning his head. “This matter has nothing to do with you. You are still willing to stand up. You are a good captain.”

Murphy gave a helpless smile and did not persuade Wang Lie to apologize to the head coach.

Just like Wang Lie said, this matter has nothing to do with him. If it were someone else, they might not do such a unnecessary thing at all.

Since the conflict between Wang Lie and the head coach is irreconcilable, and Wang Lie may leave the team at any time, it seems that there is really no need for him to bow to the head coach…

Murphy also went back to his locker and started changing.

As the training time approached, the first-team players arrived one after another. However, after yesterday’s game, everyone seemed to have not fully recovered from the shock, and they were a little uncomfortable when they saw Wang Lie. I don’t know how many people really think that Wang Lie ruined the victory that should have been won…

Wang Lie didn’t care what others thought. He had already changed his clothes and was ready to go out to warm up.

Then he was stopped.

Second assistant coach Danilo Lindsay pushed open the door of the locker room and waved to Wang Lie who was walking out: “Wang, come here.”

He didn’t say what the matter was, and Wang Lie didn’t ask, so he just followed him out naturally.

But as soon as they left, the atmosphere in the locker room became heated.

The team members who had just spoken in low voices were discussing in groups:

“Hey, guess who’s looking for the king?”

“Who else could it be? It must be the boss! Danilo is just here to pass on a message…”

“That’s definitely not a good thing!”

“I think the king will have to leave this winter, alas!”

“It’s good for him to leave. It’s a relief for him and for us. It’s good for both sides.”

“That’s what I said, but leaving in such an unpleasant way is really unnecessary…”

“What should we do? The boss is very strong-willed, and the king is not willing to give in.”

“I now think what those people on the Internet said is right. Character determines destiny. Perhaps it is precisely because of Wang’s character that he is always surrounded by controversy…”

Listening to the heated discussion in the locker room, captain Tyler Murphy just tied his shoelaces silently and did not participate.

He knew that the situation was irreversible and that it was useless to say anything now. He was even more unwilling to talk about an old teammate behind his back.

※※※

Wang Lie looked at head coach Sven Helden and club general manager Jonathan Hall and sneered, “It looks like you are going to announce an important decision?”

His words, both in content and tone, did not sound very polite. This was not because he had just obtained the new plug-in, but because after many rounds of confrontation with the club and the head coach, he no longer had the patience to play along with them.

If you have something to say, say it now. If you have to fart, fart now. Don’t delay my training.

Helden still had a blank expression on his face and didn’t say anything.

On the other hand, General Manager Hall had a friendly smile on his face and spoke beautifully: “I am here in the hope that things can be resolved before they get any worse. You are the symbol of our club, Wang. I remember the first important thing I did when I took office was to attend the unveiling ceremony of your signed footprints on the outer wall of the Red Stone Stadium. That was definitely one of the best memories of my career. You are the pride of the club, and the club is proud of you, and I hope this wonderful experience can come to a perfect end…”

Wang Lie didn’t want to listen to his rambling and asked directly: “So what do you need me to do?”

His directness made the smile on Hall’s face freeze for a moment, but it soon returned to normal and he said in a sincere tone: “The club hopes that you can apologize to the coaching staff in front of the whole team at the training ground later… Not to the head coach alone, but to the entire coaching staff including the assistant coach… Don’t worry, this is just an apology within the team, not open to the public…”

He added two supplementary explanations in succession. As a general manager of a club, he could do this. He had already lowered himself enough and his attitude seemed impeccable.

But Wang Lie still didn’t appreciate it. He answered decisively and firmly, “Impossible. I didn’t do anything wrong. Why should I apologize? Not to mention in front of the whole team, even in this room, in private, even if it’s just him and me, I won’t apologize to him.” As he said this, he kept staring at Helden, and an angry expression finally flashed across the Swede’s expressionless face.

Seeing the change in Helden’s expression, Wang Lie suddenly teased in a joking tone: “Of course, if our head coach is willing to apologize to me for his two humiliating substitutions, then I can consider it.”

This time, the expression on Helden’s face was more vivid. He was furious: “I’ve already said that I could have kept the substitution, but you prepared for the whole game, and I thought it was a respect for you to replace you! I don’t want you to be disappointed!”

“Ha! So I should thank you?” Wang Lie laughed. “Mr. Hall, you heard it. Our always correct head coach calls charity respect.”

Then he looked at Helden again: “You don’t even have the courage to admit that you were using me to gain authority. Yesterday you just hid behind Demos and didn’t dare to answer my words. What? Are you afraid that after the game, the media will say that you and I had an argument on the sidelines?”

“I really don’t want to argue with you on the sidelines because the game was still going on. I put the overall situation first and always put the interests of the team first. Is there any problem with that?” Helden asked.

Wang Lie gave him a thumbs up and said, “No problem. How could you have a problem, Mr. Helden? The reason we couldn’t win the game was because the players didn’t understand your tactics correctly, they didn’t work hard enough in training, it was the opponent’s home whistle, it was an unwarranted foul… In short, it has absolutely nothing to do with your tactics or substitutions.”

Seeing that the tension was getting stronger and stronger, General Manager Hall quickly stepped out to smooth things over: “Alright, gentlemen, let’s not talk about the past anymore, let’s look forward. I hope you can shake hands and make peace. Unity is the most important thing.”

Helden also put away his anger, regained his composure, and showed his magnanimity: “As long as Wang fully realizes his mistakes, I can ignore everything that happened on the sidelines of the game yesterday.”

He also specifically emphasized that it happened on the sidelines of the game.

Wang Lie sneered: “Did I not explain it clearly enough? Or did you not understand? Then let me repeat it again: I will not apologize to you, Mr. Sven Helden, whether on the training ground or in this office. You should apologize to me, and apologize sincerely.”

Helden’s magnanimity disappeared again. He roared, “Then from today on, you will not be allowed to use any first-team resources, including training equipment and restaurants! Until you fully realize your mistake!”

Wang Lie was not frightened by this decision at all. He curled his lips and said, “It’s just a transfer to the reserve team…”

“No, not the reserve team. You can only train with the youth team.” Helden’s tone was as cold as his eyes.

“It doesn’t matter.”

Wang Lie shrugged, turned around and said goodbye.

“Eh? King! King…don’t be impulsive…”

Behind him, Jonathan Hall shouted anxiously, but he breathed a sigh of relief in his heart:

God bless you, it’s not my fault, the club really tried their best! If there are any consequences, the responsibility is definitely not on the club!
※※※

When Wang Lie pushed the door and walked into the locker room, the originally bustling locker room suddenly became quiet and everyone looked at him.

I watched him walk to his locker, take off his training clothes, and change back into the clothes he wore when he came.

This scene frightened many people.

Although he knew it had nothing to do with him, Captain Taylor Murphy couldn’t help but stand up and ask him: “What’s going on, Wang?”

Wang Lie continued to pack his personal belongings, and joked to Murphy, “Nothing, Captain. I just have to sit at the kids’ table from now on.”

Murphy didn’t fully understand Wang Lie’s Chinese-style joke: “Huh?”

But some people have understood.

Stanley Harris exclaimed: “You were demoted to the youth team?”

His shout caused a commotion in the locker room again.

Wang Lie didn’t answer him, but put on his bag and said to everyone, “Goodbye, guys. I’m sorry to cause you some trouble, but don’t worry, the trouble will disappear soon.”

After saying this, he walked out of the locker room without stopping.

Behind him, someone was calling his name, and someone was hesitant to speak, but he ignored them.

After he left completely, the noisy scene in the locker room did not end, but became even more lively.

Some people find it incredible, some find it hard to understand, some complain in a low voice, and some sigh that character really determines destiny…

Captain Taylor Murphy had to stand up and remind them loudly: “Okay, okay! It’s time for training! You should know what the consequences will be if you are late for training!”

These words really worked. Everyone put their confused moods aside and prepared to go to the training ground.

Head coach Sven Helden is almost paranoid about discipline, and no one wants to get into trouble in the area that he cares about most.

Didn’t you see that he drove the team’s top star and club legend to the youth team?

※※※

“Breaking news: Wang Lie is banned from entering Sofia United’s first team training!”

“The team reporter has confirmed that Wang appeared at the youth team’s training ground!”

“The legend has ended? The king’s journey in Sofu League has come to an end!”

“The war between Helden and the King is over, Helden has won a great victory!”

“…At the end of the training, countless reporters and fans gathered at the entrance of Heaton Sports City, hoping to get confirmation from Wang…But when Wang’s car drove out of the Sports City, he did not stop at all, nor did he open the window to interact with reporters and fans, but left directly. However, according to the on-site footage, everyone can still clearly see that Wang’s expression is serious…”

Sam McNeill looked at the shaking image on his mobile phone screen. The crowded crowd was interfering with the photographer.

However, there are still a few frames of stable and clear images, and it can be seen that Wang Lie’s face is not looking good.

The fact that he rarely met the fans’ requests for photos and autographs also indirectly confirmed how bad his mood was.

“When I first played with him at Sofia United, I never imagined that this would be the ending for him there…” McNeill sighed.

Cesar Varo, who was watching his phone screen nearby, commented: “It looks like he has been abandoned by the world.”

“That sounds really sad. But it’s good news for us.”

“Do you still hold to your opinion of him?” asked Varro.

McNeil nodded: “Yes. His rich experience and top mental qualities are very important to our team that is in deep trouble. We need him.”

“He hasn’t played any serious games for half a season, so it’s hard to say what his condition is like. What we need is immediate combat capability…”

“He is ready to fight. Did you see his performance after he came on as a substitute in the FA Cup match yesterday? He can still help the team tactically. The controversy over his refusal to be substituted on the sidelines blurred the real focus. It was definitely a mistake for Helden to replace him. A player like Wang, as long as he is on the court, can deter the enemy’s defense. Drettin’s defenders are definitely not as relaxed as those people on the Internet say.” McNeill said confidently.

“But his agent has been in contact with big clubs that can play in the Champions League. We are still fighting to avoid relegation, how can we convince him to come?”

“So I said this is a tragedy for Wang, but a great benefit for us.” McNeill pointed at Wang Lie, who was surrounded by countless cameras and mobile phones on the phone screen. “Unless Wang is ready to return to China, as long as he still wants to stay in Europe, he will find that only Tyne really needs him. He is no longer qualified to be picky.”

After saying that, he began to look for Wang Lie’s number in his phone’s address book, then dialed it and put it to his ear.

“Now is the time to give him a call and catch up.”

But not long after, he frowned and put down the phone.

Varro asked him, “What’s wrong?”

He sighed helplessly: “Busy.”

※※※

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(End of this chapter)