The Road to a Football God

On the night of August 12, at the entrance of Sheffield United's training base.

A bus with the team logo slowly drove over, and on the bus were Sheffield players and coaching staff members with a decadent look, just like a defeated army.

They were surrounded by more than 200 angry fans of the city, who immediately surrounded them when they saw them coming.

"All the main players played like this, Kevin, what are you doing?"

"Are we going back to English League One this season? Kevin, give us an explanation! Otherwise, go home!"

"If you don't have the ability, get out of that position earlier!"

"Dismiss! Dismiss!!"

"..."

They pointed at the team bus indignantly, venting their dissatisfaction.

Many people even threw their water bottles and hot dogs at the bus, and a noisy "crackling" sounded.

Many people on the bus quickly drew up the curtains, not daring or not having the face to face these angry fans.

After a slow drive, the bus finally entered the parking lot of the training base, and the fans were blocked outside by the police.

The players got off the bus one after another, and no one had any communication. They drove their own cars from the parking lot and rushed home.

The members of the coaching staff came down immediately, and some of them stood with their hands on their hips or bowed their heads, and they wanted to discuss something, but they couldn't speak.

After a long time, it was finally the head coach Kevin who broke the silence. He looked heavy: "I am over 50 years old. I have been in this industry for so many years, and I am really tired.

"Last year was the most ambitious year of my life, but everyone saw the final result. I put everything into it, but the result was not satisfactory. The team was messed up by me."

After a pause, he lowered his head and confessed everything, "Yes, as you think, there is no performance requirement in my contract. The team unilaterally fired me and needs to pay me liquidated damages.

"I'm staying in this position. It's not that I want to fight the players to the end, nor that I want to save face for myself. I just want to get the money to spend my old age.

"But you can see that the board is still wasting time with me. They want to wait until I lose face and take the initiative to terminate the contract."

"I'll go to the board." A voice sounded, and everyone turned to see that it was Gary Speed ​​who took over the conversation.

At this time, he shouldn't be so anxious, because everyone has already assumed that he is the successor.

But he still said it. This is the first time he has talked to Kevin about this topic face to face.

"Give me a week or two, I am sure I can convince them."

Gary Speed ​​looked directly at Kevin, the old man he hated very much, "but please agree to my two requests."

"What?"

Kevin's face was flat, and his mood could not be seen. "I don't have much to fight with you. As long as I can, I will try my best to agree. "

"Add the 442 formation training to daily training. "

Gary Speed ​​stated the first request seriously, and the meaning was obvious. He wanted to change the formation after he took office.

He was not worried about Kevin's training level. Coaches who came out of the British professional system were definitely familiar with the traditional 4-4-2 formation.

"Okay, what else?" Kevin still had a blank expression on his face and nodded to agree to this request.

"In the next game, use Maher and Gilbert."

Gary Speed ​​stated the second request, which attracted the attention of the people around him. "The team will definitely use them later. I want them to adapt to the professional league as soon as possible and accumulate experience in the Championship."

Kevin turned his head away, thought for a while, and finally took a deep breath and said: "I agree to all your requests, and please keep your promise to me."

"Definitely. "

Gary Speed ​​left a word and turned away.

The remaining assistant coaches looked at Kevin with mixed feelings. They hadn't figured out where to go.

......

On August 13, there was one day left before the second round of the Championship League, away game against Cardiff City.

In the morning, in the gym of the training base.

Maher arrived early and started lifting weights after drinking a glass of water.

Gilbert didn't come with him to train strength. He wanted to do some physical training today.

"Maher! Maher!"

Just a few minutes into the training, Maher heard a hurried voice coming from outside the door, from far to near, accompanied by the sound of brisk running.

Gilbert ran in quickly, with excitement on his face.

"Yes..."

Maher didn't hold much hope, but looking at his expression, he still had a guess in his heart, "Are we selected for the big list? "

This morning was the day for the roster announcement. The players needed to get ready in the morning, set off at noon, and practice on the away field after arriving at the destination in the evening.

He didn't pay attention to it, mainly because he didn't believe Kevin could suddenly change his mind.

"The roster?"

Gilbert was extremely excited and a little incoherent, "Starting! What roster! You're in the starting lineup!"

"Me?"

Maher pointed at himself, then opened his mouth, walked quickly to Gilbert, clenched his hands subconsciously, and trembled in his voice: "Really?"

He actually saw the answer from the other person's face, and this expression couldn't be faked.

Two minutes later, the two ran to the locker room of the team's training base and saw the roster for today's game at the door.

"Starting lineup... center Evans, right winger Ward, left winger Maher. "

When Maher saw his name, he suddenly felt a little unreal, as if the list in front of him was twisted, everything was suddenly broken, and then reassembled.

Suddenly, he became the team's starting player?

Skip the substitute career and directly usher in the starting lineup?

"Although I didn't start, it was my first time to experience the English Championship on the field."

Gilbert next to him smiled happily, both for Maher and for himself, "Come on, if you can get a goal in the English Championship, everything will be different."

"The way the coaching staff of this team does things is really unpredictable. "

Maher said calmly, but he was already so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth, and his calves were trembling slightly.

He had been looking forward to this day for a long time.

......

At one o'clock in the afternoon, Maher packed up and got on the team bus, heading to Cardiff, where Cardiff City is located.

Along the way, he was excited and didn't close his eyes for a moment.

The street scenes and buildings that passed by quickly on the roadside seemed to have turned into cheering and clapping fans, encouraging him and celebrating him.

The first time is always beautiful.

At about 4:30, they arrived Destination, check in at the hotel and eat something first.

At 7 o'clock in the evening, Maher and his teammates came to the Cardiff City Stadium for warm-up training.

This was the first time he walked into the grass inside the stadium. The grass was soft under his feet and the air was filled with the smell of water mist.

The light of dozens of headlights shone on his face, making him feel as if he was in another world, but he subconsciously straightened his back and raised his chest.

He was finally going to stand on this field!

This was destined to be a sleepless night. Countless thoughts burst out of his mind, making him laugh from time to time and take deep breaths nervously from time to time.