Chapter 7
Although the team doctor said that there was no bruise on the soft tissue on Zhou Liran's face, head coach Ben Valen still asked Zhou Liran not to continue practicing diving in the afternoon, but to practice high jumping on the spot first.
"You're gasping for air in pain. How can I let you continue training like this? I'm not a monster," Ben Valen said, patting Zhou Liran's shoulder. "Your health is more important. You should practice high jump on your own for a few days. Then we'll play a competition on the 9th and arrange your next training based on the result of the competition. What do you think?"
"Sure, coach," Zhou Liran nodded obediently, "I will practice hard."
"Yeah," Ben Valen nodded with a smile, "Keep going."
Since the head coach had said so, Zhou Liran would certainly not rush to get hit in the face by the football, so the whole afternoon, in addition to training with the team, he was practicing how to jump higher: Zhou Liran was actually very familiar with this set of skills. He had been practicing this way with his coach when he first entered the academy at the age of 13. There were three key goals: to increase fat utilization, to increase lower limb stability, and to increase core muscle strength.
Ordinary players like Zhou Liran's football skills are almost finalized when they are fifteen or sixteen years old. If they continue to practice at this age, at most they can gain experience. It is basically impossible to improve further because the players who can improve further are no longer playing in the youth team.
Zhou Liran believed this before, because he had indeed been training all the time, but his skills had not improved at all. He was just calmer than players of the same level and did not have the pressure of major competitions. After so many years of practice there was no improvement, so at first he didn't think he could get any better, but - he actually jumped a few centimeters higher than before.
With all his energy, his jumping height was indeed higher than before.
Zhou Liran was very happy and even ate an extra bowl of the particularly unpalatable nutritious meal in the cafeteria that day.
But when they were training again the next day, head coach Ben Valen touched his chin and approached Zhou Liran, "That's not right. You should have jumped higher yesterday. You haven't stabilized yet, why? This shouldn't be the case..."
At first, Zhou Liran, like the head coach, couldn't figure out the reason. However, after he stood in front of the goal and caught a football that was "acting cute" towards him with his face during a team training match, Zhou Liran understood why: because there was no football hitting his face, he didn't have that sense of urgency in his heart at all.
What's that saying, that suffering and pain are the best internal driving forces? Someone else said that we should be grateful for suffering because it makes you grow?
Zhou Liran thought these words were bullshit in his previous life. Who would want to live in such pain when they can just lie down happily? Who likes suffering and pain?
Just like this nutritious meal in front of you, it’s so unpalatable. If it weren’t for ensuring your physical fitness is in the best condition, who would want to eat this stuff every day?
Zhou Liran poked the plate a few times with the fork, then put it down and covered his face in pain.
Yes, yes, he knows it well, doesn't he? If one wants to get more and obtain better things, then he will have no choice but to endure the suffering and pain that he does not want to endure.
"Endrit? Why don't you eat?"
Zhou Liran raised his head and looked at Coker who was sitting next to him, "Will you train with me this afternoon?"
"ah?"
"You shoot, and I'll catch the ball." Zhou Liran glanced at Coker, who looked embarrassed, and added, "I'll talk to the coach."
"Okay, okay!" Coker nodded immediately and said happily, "I've been wanting to practice with you for a long time. You've been really good at catching the ball these days."
"Don't worry, I will definitely break your goal this afternoon!"
Coker, who made such a promise, never thought that he would not be able to fulfill it. It was not like he had not practiced like this with Zhou Liran before. For an hour, except for the beginning when every ball was caught by Zhou Liran, didn't he only score one or two out of five goals after that? Even if Zhou Liran seems to have come to his senses these days, it is impossible for him not to score a single goal. Zhou Liran is not Cech, so how could he possibly keep him scoreless?
An hour later
Cocker wiped the sweat from his forehead and walked up to Zhou Liran. "You, you really got it? So suddenly? No, you... you, doesn't your face hurt?"
"It hurt quite a bit," Zhou Liran waved his hands, his tone even a little proud, "but I caught the ball, didn't I? And I wasn't hit by the football during those last few high-altitude balls."
Although part of the reason was that Coker's legs were weak at the end and he didn't kick the ball hard or high enough, but, with that kind of height, he really managed to hold the football in his arms by himself!
My face hurts though.
"You don't look like your face hurts."
Zhou Liran was just about to talk to Coker when Coach Ben called Zhou Liran over for a talk. He was very pleased that Zhou Liran insisted on training, but he was very worried about Zhou Liran being hit in the face by the football so often: "Your hands are relieved of force, so it may not hurt that much when the football hits your face, but it will definitely hurt if you keep getting hit like this, and it will be easy to get injured."
"Ritter, you are a football player, and your face is very important to you. And you don't have to be so anxious. If you can't stabilize it, then practice again. There is no need to hurt yourself because of this. What do you think?"
"It's okay, coach. Please believe me. I will protect myself from getting hurt. I will go to the team doctor for a checkup after every training session," Zhou Liran said seriously. "But I want to continue training like this before I get hurt. I still have plenty of time to train, but since I'm the starting goalkeeper, I have to be responsible for the team. Since I have the ability to protect the goal, I don't want to fail to do so just because I didn't work hard enough."
Ben Watt was silent for a few seconds, then stepped forward, hugged the boy in front of him and patted him on the back. "Okay, you have to report to the team doctor every morning and afternoon after training. Do you hear me?"
Zhou Liran nodded vigorously.
In the following days, Zhou Liran felt pain in his face every day, but he was not really injured, he just felt pain, which made the coach, team doctor and players exclaim that it was a miracle.
Because of the game on March 10th, we only trained for one morning on March 9th. Head coach Ben Valen asked tomorrow's starting players to go back and rest early so that they can play with the best energy tomorrow.
"Okay, dismissed." Ben Valen said, then turned to look at Zhou Liran, "Ritter, come with me to the office first."
Zhou Liran followed Ben Valen into the office in confusion, and then received a bonus contract.
"I applied for you. You will get a reward of 100 pounds for every 7 goals you successfully save in the game," Ben Valen lowered his head to sort out the documents in his hand. "Don't think it's too little. This is the best contract I can get for you at the moment. Perform well in the next games and try to keep a few clean sheets. I will help you apply for a better contract."
"What are you still standing there for? Sign it now."
“Thank you, coach.”
"No, go back and rest, and behave well tomorrow."
"Yeah, okay."
Although he had long known that Coach Ben was a relatively good coach, this contract still caught him by surprise. He knew that the team had a goal-scoring bonus, but before this he might have never heard of any save rewards for goalkeepers.
With such mixed feelings, Zhou Liran returned to the locker room to change his jersey. He was startled as soon as he opened the door, because these guys held a glass trophy in their hands and stuffed it directly in front of him: "What are you doing?"
"Endrit! This is the trophy we prepared for you!"
"Yes, that's right, this is a trophy for the great supporters of our team!"
"I am not afraid of the opposing players breaking through me now."
Zhou Liran reached out to take the glass trophy, his mood even more complicated, "Thank you? But I'm just making a final promise, if you...what is engraved on it? For the greatest what?"
"Don't you know this English?" Cocker leaned over and said, "This is for the greatest Iron-masked Superman!"
Zhou Liran stuffed the broken trophy into Coker's arms and said, "Thank you, I don't want it."
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