But he didn't know what to do coming so early.

He wanted to compare himself with Gu Ran in everything, so naturally he had to wait for Gu Ran to start training before competing with him.

Since Gu Ran didn't arrive, Kawai Yuichi could only wait foolishly.

After Gu Ran slowly arrived at the training ground, he leisurely changed into his training clothes and sneakers, then simply stretched and prepared for a warm-up run.

Although I have already warmed up and run in the morning, I still need to reawaken my body functions after waking up from a nap.

When Kawai Yuichi saw Gu Ran was about to start warm-up running, he sneered and started running ahead of Gu Ran.

For this warm-up run that does not require much technical skills, Yuichi Kawai is still very confident in himself.

Gu Ran! Today I will show you the strength of the Japanese national champion players——

Yuichi Kawai held his head high and ran more seriously than usual.

Honami was surprised to see the positive changes in Kawai Yuichi, and couldn't help but feel secretly happy for Kawai Yuichi.

However, Honami's gaze was not completely focused on Kawai Yuichi as before, but she looked at Gu Ran from time to time.

Gu Ran was not in a hurry, but patiently completed a whole set of stretching exercises before starting.

At this time, Yuichi Kawai had already run most of the lap.

Kawai Yuichi kept looking back at Gu Ran, his eyes full of disdain.

Gu Ran was not affected by Kawai Yuichi's gaze at all. He steadily increased his speed and the frequency of his legs increased significantly.

Without looking at the distance, just looking at the comparison of the two people's leg strides and frequency of alternation, Gu Ran is much faster than Kawai Yuichi.

Outside the field, Honami's breathing suddenly became rapid.

She knew that this was not Gu Ran's fastest frequency...

It was only a matter of time before Kawai Yuichi was overtaken by Gu Ran.

Sure enough, in less than three minutes, Gu Ran caught up with Kawai Yuichi who had started running earlier.

Yuichi Kawai's speed was not slow, but he made a serious misjudgment in his pace.

He thought he could use high-speed impact to shake off Gu Ran, or even trap Gu Ran, but he didn't expect that this method would backfire on him.

Kawai Yuichi kept looking back to observe the distance between the two people. The more he looked back, the more shocked he was!

Gu Ran's speed was really too fast! And this was actually just Gu Ran's normal speed, not Gu Ran's sprint speed.

Gu Ran never thought about chasing Kawai Yuichi. From beginning to end, Gu Ran just ran according to his own original rhythm.

If we have to say that Gu Ran has a goal, then that goal is himself, and to constantly surpass himself.

But how would Kawai Yuichi know all this?

Kawai Yuichi thought that Gu Ran was going to compete with him, so he accelerated and sprinted even harder, completely ignoring his own physical energy consumption.

It was clearly just a warm-up run, but Kawai Yuichi treated it as a life-and-death battle.

At the beginning, Kawai Yuichi was able to pull a little distance between himself and Gu Ran and continue to maintain the lead.

But this lead did not last long.

Soon, Kawai Yuichi's breathing became disordered, his steps became weak, and his endurance was obviously insufficient.

Gu Ran continued to run at his set pace, and began to speed up when his body began to sweat slightly in the second half, fully awakening his body's motor functions and bringing it to its best condition.

Dopamine begins to be secreted in the body.

Only real runners can experience this kind of refreshing feeling of running.

This is the feeling of satisfaction second only to being in love.

Love requires cooperation from two people, but running can be enjoyable enough by one person.

Soon, Gu Ran surpassed the breathless Kawai Yuichi.

"Impossible! This is impossible! How could I lose…"

Kawai Yuichi's teeth were almost broken, and for the sake of his own face, he chased even harder! Comparing the expressions of the two men, one was full of enjoyment, and the other was full of ferocity - the difference was obvious.

Honami was watching from the sidelines, her heart in her throat.

Honami was afraid that Kawai Yuichi would do something stupid like before and start pulling Gu Ran.

But soon, Honami found that her worries were completely unnecessary - Kawai Yuichi could not catch up with Gu Ran at all, let alone have the chance to pull Gu Ran.

Gu then accelerated very rapidly in the first half, and it looked like he was sprinting.

But this was not Gu Ran's real sprint. It was just that after his body was warmed up and his dopamine was surging, he reached his best competitive state.

Kawai Yuichi's breathing rhythm was completely disrupted by Gu Ran's acceleration in the second half.

Kawai Yuichi chased desperately, and his speed increased in the second half, but he was no match for Gu Ran.

Gu Ran ran so easily, so freely, and so happily.

Gu Ran was still holding back some strength, but Kawai Yuichi was already fighting with all his might.

If Kawai Yuichi hadn't tried his best, he would have been trapped by Gu Ran.

This difference in competitive status is visible to the naked eye.

The more Kawai Yuichi chased, the more shocked he became, the more desperate he became, and the more he realized that he was far inferior to Gu Ran.

...How could this happen? How could this happen! Is the champion of the British National Championship...really that much better than me, the champion of the Japanese National Championship? Kawai Yuichi's mentality was about to explode! When the two warm-up runs were coming to an end, the other U18 players also came to the training ground yawning.

When they saw Gu Ran's warm-up running pace, they all took a deep breath.

To be honest, most of the players in the U18 youth team are not convinced by Gu Ran in their hearts.

Especially after the restaurant incident, most of the players in the U18 youth team wanted to surpass Gu Ran in training to prove that Gu Ran was a fake.

How could Gu Ran, an amateur player without any professional training, rise to the top and become the rising star of Southampton's first team? How could Gu Ran enjoy the favor of the club's top management and enjoy the resources that people envy and envy? But when they saw Gu Ran's training attitude and training ability, their hearts sank: Is he really an amateur grassroots player without any professional training? His competitive state is far better than ours!

With such a pace of warm-up running, would he still have the physical strength for the afternoon training? ——At this time, Coach Dodd came to the training ground.

Coach Dodd was stunned for a moment, then he shouted excitedly: "Oh my God! What did I see? Someone is actually warming up in advance? Let me think, the last time someone warmed up in advance in the afternoon was more than 20 years ago, when I was a teammate of Alan Shearer! Unexpectedly, I saw the scene of warming up in advance in the afternoon again today! Look at Gu Ran! He is obviously a rising star of the first team, but he is still so hardworking! Look at you bastards, you are a bunch of rubbish with no professional attitude! The gap between you and the first team is the gap between you and Gu Ran!"

Coach Dodd talks about Alan Shearer, a star player from Southampton Club, every other sentence he mentions.

The U18 players present all hung their heads.

Before the afternoon training even started, they were scolded.

This is all Gu Ran's fault! Without Gu Ran, these U18s are all the coach's good children. With Gu Ran, these U18s are all the coach's dogs...

The coach is like a scumbag who gets bored easily!

Then I heard Coach Dodd continue to yell, "Okay, everyone gather! Gu, you come too."

When talking about "Gu", Coach Dodd's tone became particularly gentle.

"Yes! Coach!" The U18 players gathered in the queue with depressed faces.

Gu Ran also stopped his warm-up run and lined up with the other players.

After all, it was just a follow-up training, and Gu Ran had no plans to integrate with these U18 players, so when standing in the team, he deliberately chose the most marginal position.

Kawai Yuichi also ran over with an embarrassed and unwilling look on his face to gather and line up.

He also stood on the edge of the team - unlike Gu Ran, Gu Ran did not want to integrate with U18, so he took the initiative to stand on the edge, while Kawai Yuichi was squeezed to the edge of the team.

Kawai Yuichi stood next to Gu Ran and said in a low voice: "Gu Ran, don't be complacent. Our competition has not yet been decided."

Gu Ran smiled faintly and ignored this cheap son.

Coach Dodd looked around and said sternly, "Now, I have a big announcement: We will have an internal training match in 5 days. At that time, all members of the U18 coaching staff will be present to conduct a comprehensive assessment of each of you. Those who meet the assessment criteria will have a pre-season warm-up match with Liverpool's U18 youth team on the 6th day—"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the U18 players present exclaimed.

After the season officially starts, the U18 youth team can play against U18 youth teams of the same level every week. However, Southampton Club is in the English League One, so under normal circumstances, Southampton U18 youth team cannot play against the Premier League-level Liverpool U18.

Liverpool Club is a strong force in the Premier League. Being able to get the opportunity to play against Liverpool U18 youth team will undoubtedly be a huge improvement for Southampton U18 youth team!

If he performs well in the friendly match, he might even be spotted by... Liverpool and bought!

The U18 players were immediately full of anticipation! Gu Ran couldn't help but feel a little excited - if he could also participate, then this would be the best training opportunity before officially joining the first team.

"Yoshi! Such a great opportunity, I must participate!" The adopted son next to him clenched his fists.

Coach Dodd pressed his palms and said, "I want to tell you that this friendly match is a rare opportunity. This arrangement was also arranged by my old teammate Alan Shearer. You all know that Alan was once the top scorer in the Premier League and the man with the most goals in the Premier League. He was also the top scorer in the European Cup and the Europa League. He has a very high status in the British football world and all the Premier League giants have to give him face. This time, our friendly match with Liverpool U18 will be played at the youth training stadium of Liverpool's Melwood training base. At that time, Alan will come to the game in person to cheer us on."

"Wow!"

“I can meet the legendary Alan Shearer!”

"Oh my God! This is crazy!"

The players of the U18 youth team are like chicken blood! ——Melwood training base was built in the 1950s. It was not until 2018 that Liverpool Club began to build the new AXA Kirkby training base, which was put into use in the summer of 2020.

After the construction of Kirkby Training Base, Liverpool's training facilities became world-class. Before that, Liverpool's first team and youth training academy were still using the old Melwood Training Base.

But this does not hinder the current level of youth training at Liverpool Club.

Kawai Yuichi raised his hand eagerly, wanting to ask a question.

Coach Dodd ignored him.

Gu Ran didn't raise his hand, but asked directly: "Coach, can I participate in this warm-up match?"

Coach Dodd grinned and said, "Of course! Gu! This is a friendly match. As long as you are under 18 years old, there are no restrictions on other conditions. What's more, this friendly match was specially arranged by our club's top management knowing that you are training with the U18 youth team."

Holy shit…

It turned out to be a warm-up match specially organized for me.

I haven't even officially become a first-team professional player yet, but I can already enjoy such high-level resources... It's really fucking cool.

Gu Ran couldn't help but curl up the corner of his mouth into a smile.

The other U18 players all had extremely complicated feelings.

It turned out that the opportunity they had been dreaming of was just due to Gu Ran.

They were envious and jealous, but also grateful for the favors and benefits that Gu Ran brought.

Kawai Yuichi felt mixed emotions at this moment.

According to Coach Dodd, he also had the opportunity to participate in the Liverpool U18 friendly match, but when he thought that this friendly match was a favor from Gu Ran, he felt very ashamed and angry.

Then I heard Coach Dodd continue: "Well, since we have a friendly match with Liverpool U18 team in 6 days, we have to double our training in the next few days - after all, although it is called a friendly match, it is related to the glory of Southampton Football Club, we can't lose! Everyone has to cheer up for the training these days!"

"Yes! Coach!" the U18 youth team roared with great momentum.

Coach Dodd nodded in satisfaction. "Today's afternoon training is divided into two parts. The first is a 10,000-meter endurance run. After the endurance run, everyone will rest for 30 minutes, and then it will be on-field running training."

"ah……"

"No?"

"I just ran 10,000 meters yesterday!"

"My acid is still accumulating in my thighs!"

The players of the U18 youth team complained bitterly.

Dodd frowned and said, "Those who don't want to meet Alan Shearer and don't want to participate in the friendly match with Liverpool U18 team don't have to train and can just get out."

As soon as these words were spoken, the players present fell silent and could only complain in their hearts.

The one who felt the most miserable was not the players of the U18 youth team, but Yuichi Kawai.

When Yuichi Kawai heard that he had to train for a 10,000-meter endurance run in the afternoon, he felt numb all over.

He had just had a warm-up run with Gu Ran, which consumed a lot of energy. Now he couldn't recover at all!

He hasn't even caught his breath yet. Running another 10,000 meters at this time would simply be a death sentence!

Kawai Yuichi glanced at Gu Ran beside him with a bitter look on his face, but he saw that Gu Ran looked relaxed, even a little... impatient.

This guy... is actually very happy? Is he a monster? No! I can't lose to him! Kawai Yuichi gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and tried to adjust his state.

After the whole team did a simple stretch, Coach Dodd grabbed the timer and gave the order to start -

In professional clubs, every training session has a minimum performance standard. If the standard is not met, the player may be asked to do extra training or be directly demoted to guard the water dispenser.

Survival in a professional club is very cruel. Every day is a test and every item has standards, which are more direct than the tests and standards in the workplace.

This is professionalism.

Gu Ran was in great physical condition and ran at the front of the team right from the start.

Those young players who were angrily scolded by Gu Ran during lunch were naturally unwilling to be outdone. They stretched out their long legs and accelerated to chase after him.

This is their best chance to prove they are no worse than the first-team prospects.

Also inspired by the upcoming friendly match, the entire U18 youth team was very excited.

Gu Ran didn't care about their pursuit at all, he just ran in an orderly manner according to his own pace.

The 10,000-meter training run is not about passion, but about the allocation of physical energy.

In the first lap, Gu Ran was overtaken by four youth team players and fell into fifth place.

In the second lap, Gu Ran was overtaken by two youth team players and fell into eighth place.

However, by the fifth lap, those players who had sprinted too hard at the beginning could no longer hold on and their speed slowed down.

Gu Ran continued to maintain a steady pace and easily completed the overtaking.

As for Yuichi Kawai... he exerted too much effort during the warm-up run and lacked physical strength, so he naturally fell behind the team.

This is also the worst performance of Yuichi Kawai since he came to Southampton for trial.

Kawai Yuichi regretted wasting all his energy on getting close to Gu Ran.

What he didn't understand was, why was Gu Ran fine even after running for warm-up? How strong was Gu Ran's stamina?

"Kawai! What are you doing?" Coach Dodd stood on the sidelines and yelled at Kawai Yuichi: "Did you not eat enough at noon? With your current level, you still want to stay in our Southampton club? Speed ​​up! If your result in the 10,000-meter run is not up to standard, then just pack up and get out!"

Coach Dodd’s words were merciless.

Yuichi Kawai didn't dare to retort. He could only try hard to concentrate, grit his teeth and continue running desperately.

Whether it is a warm-up run or a 10,000-meter physical training, there is actually no technical content. It all depends on the intensity of your physical fitness.

In the British professional league, physical fitness is definitely the most important factor of all.

As it concerns whether he will stay in the trial and whether he can participate in the Liverpool U18 friendly match, Yuichi Kawai dare not relax at all.

"Yuichi..." Honami stood on the sidelines, looking a little anxious.

She was more worried than Yuichi Kawai. If Yuichi Kawai's performance did not meet the standards, they would have to leave Southampton.

Honami didn't want to leave.

At least, I don’t want to leave now…

Five minutes later, Kawai Yuichi's speed slowed down again.

Kawai Yuichi's face was full of pain, he held his waist with both hands, and tried hard to hold on.

In his current condition, let alone meeting the performance target, it is even a question whether he can finish the race.

At this time, Gu Ran overtook him from the right and completed the lap.

There is no need to say more about the gap between the two.

When passing by Kawai Yuichi, Gu Ran sneered: "So this is all you are capable of."

ha……

Mocking the daily life is much more enjoyable than I thought! Gu Ran felt even more relieved.

Kawai Yuichi was completely furious! "Impossible! There is absolutely no way I will lose to you!"

Kawai Yuichi roared, and his originally slowed down speed exploded again, and he chased Gu Ran desperately!

After only following for half a circle, Kawai Yuichi couldn't keep up again.

Gu Ran maintained a steady pace throughout the whole process, but Kawai Yuichi could only rely on his anger to sustain him for a certain distance.

In fact, physical fitness is not Kawai Yuichi's weakness. After all, he can't be compared with Gu Ran, who is a supernatural being.

If he wasn't so competitive with Gu Ran, he would have no problem running 10,000 meters at his own pace.

Yuichi Kawai’s real weakness is his mentality.

With Yuichi Kawai's mentality, he is not suitable to be a professional player at all.

Even if he has good footwork skills and is talented in front of the goal, he cannot become a true professional player without a good competitive mentality.

From this point of view alone, Yuichi Kawai is definitely not qualified to stay in Southampton Club.

…

I recently moved to a new home, from one province to another. I am unfamiliar with the place and there are a lot of things to do. I have to go through all the procedures for my child's household registration, school registration, furniture and appliances. So I haven't updated much recently, and I don't have a fixed time for meals. Sometimes I don't have lunch until 8pm. It will take another month or so to completely stabilize. Thank you for your encouragement and support. Once I stabilize, the update volume and quality will definitely increase.

(End of this chapter)