Chapter 92 Our goal is…

The father repeatedly looked up at his son, Vitini, who was sitting opposite him, trying to find some clues on his face.

His son was eating his breakfast attentively with a calm expression, and everything seemed normal.

But in his father’s eyes, such a normal son is the biggest abnormality!
He couldn’t help it and asked, “Vitini, didn’t you check your phone after you got up?”

“Yes.” The son nodded and replied.

“then you……”

After swallowing the fried egg in his mouth, Vitini looked up and said to his father, “Dad, do you think I should be very angry, cursing non-stop, and throwing things in my room?”

“Uh… aren’t you angry?”

“Angry, of course I’m angry… No, not angry, but furious!” Vitini clenched the knife and fork with both hands, so hard that the knife and fork were shaking slightly.

The father glanced at the tip of the knife and fork with some concern, trying to remind his son not to hurt himself.

But before he could say anything, Vitini continued, “But Dad, Wang told me not to let anger affect my mind, not to be controlled by anger, but to control anger. Just like his free kick against the Scouse, I put my anger into the football, and then he put his anger into that shot, and it ended up being a very beautiful elevator free kick.

“So what Wang said is right, control your anger and turn it into strength. I saw those words online after I woke up today. I was very angry, but I also decided to turn all my anger into strength to help the team win the next nine rounds! Use victory to smash their faces!”

Listening to his son’s long speech, the father’s mouth never closed.

When he finished, Dad sighed in his heart:

My son has really grown up…

Then he smiled again: “It’s good that you think so, Vitini. There will be no national team games until the end of the season, so just focus on club games.”

“Yeah!” Vitini nodded vigorously and continued to eat.

※※※

Kofi Rossiter is in his office getting ready for training.

Hurlingham FC lost to Bournemouth Athletic in the league yesterday, and his team has suffered five consecutive defeats in the Premier League.

He is under a lot of pressure now.

So he canceled the team’s routine rest time the day after the game.

He wants the team to feel the pressure he is under!
Just then, his cell phone on the table rang.

Rost glanced over and saw that it was a call from the club’s general manager Kyle Irosted.

An alarm suddenly sounded in his heart, and a very bad premonition lingered in his mind.

This made him not answer the phone for a while, and when he came to his senses, the call had been hung up.

He looked at the name of the caller and hesitated whether to call back.

But before he could make a decision in his mind, the phone rang again.

It was Kyle Irosted again.

This time, Rost did not hesitate, but answered directly: “Hello?”

“Coffey, can you come to my office now? There’s something I want to tell you.”

Kofi Rossiter’s heart sank…

※※※

Kofi Rossiter looked back at the club’s general manager’s office which had been closed.

From the time he went in to the time he came out, it probably took no more than three minutes.

As soon as he entered, he was informed by Kyle Irosted that from now on, he would no longer be the head coach of Hurlingham FC.

After that, Irosde extended his hand to him, thanking him for his contribution to the club, especially for leading the team back to the Premier League. But now the team is in trouble and needs to find a solution…

So their solution is to fire themselves.

Faced with the club’s decision, Rossiter did not defend himself or protest passionately.

He calmly shook Irosted’s hand, accepted the decision, and turned to leave.

Just as he was about to open the door and leave, he was stopped by Irost, who asked him a question:
“Kofi, if you were willing to accept Wang’s joining, would we be the team competing for the Champions League qualification now?”

Rost didn’t answer the question, he just opened the door and walked out.

When he turned around to close the door, he could still see Irosted staring at him through the crack in the door.

His hand did not stop, and he closed the door completely, so that Irosted’s face could no longer be seen.

Then he raised his hand, placed it on his head, and scratched his sparse hair.

He couldn’t answer Irosde’s final question, just as he couldn’t answer why there was such a huge contrast in his team’s performance between the first and second half of the season.

It seems that all the changes started from that game…

Before meeting Tyne, the Hurlingham FC he led was ranked ninth in the league, a newly promoted team that could even compete for European qualification… What an amazing achievement!

At that time, he was in high spirits and felt that he had just defeated a major evil force in football.

Is there no one in this world who can say no to Wang Lie?
I can do it!

As a result, after losing 1:4 to Tyne, all his luck seemed to have left him.

After Wang Lie made his debut at Tyne, he played eight league games, winning seven and losing one.

His own Hurlingham FC also played eight league games during the same period, losing seven and winning one.

The team’s ranking has dropped from ninth to eleventh, just one point away from being overtaken by twelfth-placed Cedarham.

Why can’t we stop failing?

He won a game in the middle, and he felt that the situation was finally getting better and he and his team were about to turn the tide.

Who would have thought that Herlingham FC would suffer five consecutive defeats afterwards!

Irosde also said that in fact, before this, the club had wanted to fire him, but considering that he had led the team to successfully win promotion to the Super League, they wanted to give him a chance to prove himself.

But he didn’t catch it.

Who could he blame?
Blame Wang Lie?
Although it seems that the situation really took a turn for the better after that.

But Wang Lie could only allow himself to lose one game, not seven.

Blame myself for misjudging Wang Lie?

Did his comments on Wang Lie cause dissatisfaction among the players on the team?

Blame the club for not giving me more opportunities? Blame the club for not firmly supporting me?

Or was it that even God couldn’t stand his criticism of Wang Lie? Because after he criticized Wang Lie and said he should consider leaving the stage, Wang Lie returned to the center of the stage with ten goals…

Isn’t this really God’s arrangement?
Thinking of this, Rost raised his head and looked up.

But he saw nothing except the ceiling of the office building.

So he withdrew his gaze and walked towards his office.

※※※

“…After we lost to the Scouse, the morale and mentality of the whole team suffered a huge blow. Under such circumstances, I was still able to lead the team to remain undefeated. We only lost the game in this round of the league, but that was also caused by the increase in injuries in our team…So the current ranking and points cannot prove my failure, on the contrary, it proves my success!”

Sven Helden spoke to the club’s general manager Jonathan Hall and owner John Buckle, his tone revealing a strong sense of confidence.

“Indeed, the team’s recent injury situation is not optimistic. Forward Harris and center back Vitali are both injured…” Hall added to the boss Baker.

After he finished explaining, Helden continued, “I admit that I have an unshirkable responsibility for the defeat to the Scouse. But I am working hard to get the team back on track. Which team can remain unbeaten for three consecutive games after such a defeat? Losing to Brighton White Mountain was just an accident. We had an overall advantage in many statistics, including the number of shots, the number of shots on target, the ball possession rate, the half-time possession rate, the pass success rate, etc. All the data support us winning the game, but our luck was too bad…”

Hall whispered to his boss, “Yes, after the game, the media all thought we were the winner…”

Helden continued passionately: “It’s a pity, Mr. Baker, football is like this. Sometimes you give 200% effort and do your best, but you may not win. Because the element of luck in football games cannot be ignored… But the victory or defeat of a game is not that important. What is important is the trend. Now the team has shown signs of recovery. We are on the right track. As long as we continue like this, this great team of Sofia will definitely return to the Champions League! When you chose me, wasn’t it because my ‘long-termism’ was very consistent with the club?”

Hall whispered, “We really should give the head coach more patience and not repeat the previous mistakes of frequently changing coaches…”

After listening to what the two men said, club owner John Buckle fell into deep thought.

While he was thinking, neither Hall nor Helden spoke.

But the two of them were communicating silently with their eyes.

Helden raised his eyebrows: You know, Jonathan, Sofia has entered our era…

Hall narrowed his eyes: Yes, I know, so don’t worry…

The two of them didn’t exchange glances for long before Baker made his decision.

He looked at Helden. “You make a lot of sense, Sven. ‘Long-termism’, yes, the club needs to stick to something… but.”

He paused here deliberately. Helden’s heart skipped a beat, and Hall turned to look at his boss.

Buckle paused, stared at Helden and asked, “But football can’t just be told with words, right? For example, if you say we have remained unbeaten for three games after losing to the Scouse, it sounds pretty good, but if you say we haven’t won in three games, doesn’t it feel different?”

Heldon was a little embarrassed. He had indeed played a little word game just now, saying “three consecutive draws” as “three rounds of unbeaten”. Unexpectedly, his little trick was easily seen through by the boss, who pointed it out directly without mercy.

He could only keep a straight face and expressionless expression.

After giving Helden a little warning, Buckle continued, “So in the next game, you have to prove what you said. As for how to prove it, I believe you know.”

Heldon knew that he had escaped for the time being, because the club owner gave him a chance to prove himself instead of firing him immediately…

He heaved a sigh of relief in his heart, but on the surface he still maintained his dignity, trying his best to maintain the professionalism of a football coach: “Of course, Mr. Baker. I will use victory to prove that I am the most suitable head coach for Sofia United. I can assure you now that we will win the next home game against Portel FC! If we lose, you can fire me immediately without waiting until the end of the season!”

Hall stared at Helden with wide eyes.

Buckle chuckled and said, “Very good. I like your confidence. I will go to the Red Rock Stadium to watch the next game. I hope you can keep your promise.”

※※※

After the boss left, the two people in the general manager’s office continued to stare at each other without saying a word.

After another minute, Jonathan Hall seemed to be sure that the boss had really left the building. He roared at Helden: “Are you crazy?! Are you crazy? Why did you promise the boss that you would be fired if you didn’t win the next game?! This matter has already passed, why do you have to make it more dramatic?!”

Facing Hall’s roar, Helden seemed very calm, but unlike the calmness he had just pretended to show in front of his boss Buckle, he was really calm now:

“Calm down, Jonathan, don’t make a fuss like a kid. Let me ask you, how many points are we ahead of fifth-place Waltham now?”

“Three points, what’s wrong?”

“So if we lose the next round, the team will lose the fourth place in the league. If we still want to go to the Champions League next season, we must win the next game. We can’t accept any result except victory. In this case, I promise the boss that we will win the next game. Is there any problem?”

Hall opened his mouth slightly but said nothing, because he found that what Heldon said was right, there was nothing wrong with it…

If they lose the next game again, the situation will be very serious for Sofia United.

So he stopped complaining about Helden making the decision without consulting him—Helden really had no way out—and started to care about another thing:
“Can we really beat Portal at home?”

“Believe me, Jonathan. We will definitely win. The team has hit rock bottom and should bounce back.” Helden encouraged the general manager.

“Okay…” Since the head coach made the promise, Jonathan Hall, a general manager who came from an American football background and did not know much about football techniques and tactics, could only choose to believe Helden, who was obviously more professional than himself.

After all, after cooperating with him to drive away Wang Lie, the two of them were already in the same boat.

The crisis of being fired was temporarily resolved, and Hall had time to chat with Heldon about the latest hot topics: “Sven, do you think Wang really has a chance to win the Champions League qualification?”

Heldon answered decisively: “No.”

“Ah? Are you so sure?”

Heldon thought the American was a bit stupid: “Who do you think they’re going to squeeze out?”

Hall finally came to his senses: “We?”

Helden spread his hands and said, “If he can qualify for the Champions League, it means we will lose the qualification for the Champions League. So we must never let this happen. And it is actually very difficult. Although they are only seven points behind us, a seven-point difference at this stage of the league is already a huge lead – Tyne can’t guarantee that they can win every game. In addition, for a relegation team, they lack the experience of competing for European qualification. The pressure will increase as time goes by, and the whole team will collapse.”

After listening to Helden’s well-reasoned analysis, Hall breathed a sigh of relief: “That’s good… If Wang really gets the Champions League qualification in the end, both of us will become a joke… Oh no, it’s okay if we just become a joke…”

“I won’t let that happen.” Helden said with a serious expression and tone. “They will play against us in the 35th round. Although they may have fallen behind before that, I will give them a fatal blow. The Champions League is not a place for relegation teams to go.”

He said this with full confidence, as if he wanted to pass this confidence to Jonathan Hall.

※※※

Matej Katic was blocked by reporters at the entrance of the training base.

Generally speaking, if reporters want to conduct normal interviews and obtain information from the club, there is a routine press conference in the middle of the week.

If reporters all run to the outside of the training base to surround the players, there must be some big news that suddenly happened.

For example, when the internal strife scandal broke out in Tyne, reporters blocked the players outside the training base, trying to get some inside information.

And this time, they appeared at the gate of the base again, of course, because of what Vitini said after the game yesterday.

Seeing the reporters, Katic was forced to slow down, then lowered the window and complained to the reporters: “I’m not the first player to come to training. Haven’t you got confirmation from others?”

If it wasn’t confirmed, it would be incredible – is everyone so tight-lipped? Besides, Wang Lie doesn’t seem to be the type to deny this goal…

If it was confirmed, Katic would be even more confused – since you all know it, why are you still blocking me?
The reporters quickly explained: “Wang has already told us personally that Tyne’s goal this season is to qualify for the Champions League!”

“Isn’t that the end?” Katic prepared to start again.

“No, Katic! Katic! We want to hear your opinion on this goal… What do you think of this goal?”

“What do you think? That’s the Champions League. Is there anyone who doesn’t like the Champions League?” Katic answered this stupid question with a rhetorical question.

“But would the Champions League goal be too ambitious for Tyne?”

“That’s right. We just achieved our relegation goal not long ago, and now our goal has become the Champions League. Isn’t this a bit too big a leap?”

“Do you really believe you can go to the Champions League?”

Katic answered all the reporters’ questions in one sentence:

“Whether it works or not, we’ll know when the season ends, right?”

After saying this, he rolled up the car window and told the reporters in this way that he would no longer accept any interviews and he was leaving.

So the reporters had no choice but to let him go.

“Why do I feel that Katic is resentful when answering questions?” Guo Xuequan frowned as he looked at the back of Katic’s car.

Liu Zhong guessed: “He doesn’t like the goal proposed by Wang Lie? That’s normal. He came to Tyne to retire. If he wanted to play in the Champions League, didn’t he stay in Madrid? But now he has to follow the team. How can he not feel resentful? And the relationship between him and Wang Lie must not be very good. After all, they were sworn enemies back then…”

Guo Xuequan did not speak, but looked down at the screen of his mobile phone. On it was a memo recording the attitudes of all the Tyne players who had been interviewed before towards the Champions League goal.

Some people, like Vitini, are firmly supportive and even excited and impatient.

This is not surprising, after all, the Brazilian boy is the number one “Wang fan” in the Tyne team.

But it was surprising that Sonny Dean, who had been rumored to be in internal conflict with Wang Lie, also expressed his support – what does it have to do with him whether Tyne will participate in the Champions League next season? He will not be in Tyne next season, so shouldn’t he hope that Tyne will not participate in the Champions League? After all, his future club is currently ranked lower than Tyne in the league…

Some people are ambiguous about this, as if they are afraid of saying something wrong and being caught.

But so far, no Tyne player has expressed doubt about this goal.

Is Katich the first?

If most of Tyne’s players have never participated in the Champions League and still have aspirations for this top-level competition, then Katic must be sick of playing in the Champions League. He should be the Tyne player who has the least interest in the Champions League, right?

He seemed to have reason to do so.

But…if we were to ask who in the Tyne team could understand Wang Lie’s ambitions, then Katic would be the most likely one. After all, he was once the world’s number one central defender, and he was the one who had climbed to the top of the mountain and seen the scenery there.

The process of climbing is very hard and dangerous, which can make people feel lazy and want to sit down and rest, or even give up. It’s true…but the scenery up there is so beautiful!
Thinking of this, Guo Xuequan put a question mark behind Katic’s name.

※※※

After changing his equipment in the locker room and coming to the training ground, Katic found Wang Lie and complained to him: “You made such a big scene!”

Wang Lie smiled and asked him, “Were you also blocked by those reporters?”

Katic asked him back: “Is there anyone in our team who hasn’t been blocked by them?”

“They seem to be trying to understand everyone’s opinion on our team’s Champions League goal.” Wang Lie asked him, “What do you think, Ma Jie?”

“What? You raised the bar so high, and now you remember to consult your teammates?” Katic teased.

Wang Lie shook his head: “No, I’m just curious. I want to hear what the former world’s No. 1 central defender thinks about still being able to play in the Champions League.”

Katic sighed: “I originally came to Tain to retire…”

Wang Lie was amused: “Then you shouldn’t have come to the Premier League. The Premier League is not a place to retire.”

“You know what, Wang? Last night, several of my former teammates in Madrid contacted me. One was to ask me to confirm whether Vitini was talking about the ‘Champions League’, the second was to ask me if the Champions League goal was proposed by you, and the third was to ask me what I thought about it.”

Wang Lie looked at him and asked, “What did you say?”

Katic looked at him and said: “I’m telling you, if I meet them in the Champions League, I won’t show any mercy.”

Wang Lie was stunned at first, then he burst into laughter, even attracting the attention of other teammates.

This also attracted the curiosity of head coach McNeill, who had just walked into the training ground. As he walked in, he asked, “Wang, what are you laughing at?”

Wang Lie smiled and shook his head: “Nothing, Boss. I just thought of something happy!”

McNeill also smiled: “It is indeed very happy to win the league championship. But let’s forget about that game…”

He turned to the whole team and said loudly, raising his voice:
“Because we have to qualify for the Champions League next! For this goal, each of us has to do our best! The good days are over, guys!”

(End of this chapter)