Today's South Coast Derby was more exciting than any of the previous games, so the rewards should be good! Light~ A familiar system prompt sounded in Gu Ran's mind: "Congratulations to the host. Since the host has perfectly integrated more than 100 hours of special training results in the derby, the corresponding attribute points have grown."
"Your physical attribute - speed, increases from 77 points to 78 points."
"Your physical attribute - burst, grows from 80 points to 81 points."
"Your technical attribute - ball control, has grown from 72 points to 73 points."
"Your technical attribute - Vision, has grown from 66 points to 67 points."
"Your mental attribute - concentration, grows from 70 points to 71 points."
Oh shit!
I got 5 growth points from this game!
One more growth point than the games against Liverpool and Arsenal!
Moreover, the initial values of "Field of View" and "Concentration" are also displayed for the first time! So cool!
I am one step closer to being promoted to personal A rating! With this performance, I will definitely get the SS-level hidden prize draw!
Light~ Another system prompt sounded in Gu Ran's mind: "This match is the host's first League Cup knockout match. The host completed 9 key clearances, 3 fatal clearances that would lead to goals, the highest running distance of the game - 11.54 kilometers, the longest sprint distance of the game, the most sprints of the game, 1 pass, 2 shots, 1 penalty, 1 goal, and was rated as SS-level performance by the system."
Gu Ran couldn't help but secretly take a breath.
Even though he performed so well, he was still only SS-level! It seems that the threshold for SSS-level is still very high. In addition to performing well yourself, you also need a strong opponent.
Although Portsmouth is a Premier League club with half of its players being internationals, it has few world-class stars.
Kanu was once a world-class talent, but now at the age of 34, he can no longer reach the world-class level.
Although Aaron Mokoina is also very strong, he is still far from being a world-class central defender.
Only opponents like Fabregas, Van Persie, Lampard and Gerrard can be called world-class.
Don’t worry, we will definitely compete against them in official competitions in the future.
According to the rules of the Europa League, as long as you win the championship of the five major league cups, you will automatically qualify for the Europa League next season.
The first round of eliminations is just the beginning! Let’s draw the lottery first! Gu Ran immediately focused his mind and activated the lottery disc in his mind.
I don't ask for anything else, just hope there won't be any more reverse miraculous effects.
stop--
The lottery disc then slowly stopped.
"Congratulations, host."
"The skill selected in this hidden lottery is: Powerful Out-of-Bounds Kick."
"Your power out-of-bounds kick has been increased from +2 to +5, effective immediately."
You...
It is a football-like skill, but it is not very commonly used! There is no technical content in the powerful out-of-bounds ball, it is nothing more than better use of the waist and abdominal core strength.
Forget it, it’s better than having another “charming smile”.
Moreover, SS-level hidden rewards can not only be drawn, but also reorganized and reset.
Just upgrade the powerful throw-in +5 to enhanced powerful throw-in +1, and you can also wash out 4 universal talent points.
No matter how you look at it, it’s not a loss!
Gu Ran then reorganized the "Powerful Out-of-Bounds Kick +5" skill.
The system prompt voice asked: "Host will reallocate the powerful out-of-bounds ball +5 skill, are you sure?"
Sure!
All of a sudden, Gu Ran felt his mind become clear: Powerful Out-of-Bounds Kick +5 is upgraded to Enhanced Powerful Out-of-Bounds Kick +1.
There is a line of flashing system text below the newly advanced enhanced powerful out-of-bounds ball skill: You feel that you can use the strength of your waist and abdomen more freely.
Gu Ran: ...I always feel that this is not a serious system.
First distribute the 5 general talent points that were washed out!
It is better to make up for the shortcomings first and try to get closer to the personal rating of A! Among the currently known attributes, a total of 10 attributes have reached more than 75 points, and there are only 5 more to reach the A rating.
Among the remaining known attributes, ball control 73, imagination 73, teamwork 74, dribbling 70, balance 68 - these are all cost-effective.
Gu Ran thought about it quickly and decided to allocate 2 points to the ball stopping attribute and the remaining 3 points to the balance attribute.
As for imagination and teamwork, there is no rush for now.
After the distribution is completed, the ball stopping attribute is increased to 75 points and the balance attribute is increased to 71 points.
In this way, only 4 attributes are needed to be promoted to A-level.
The talent point gap is only 12 points!
Your personal system rating can be advanced as early as the next competition and at the latest the next competition!
At this time, the players returned to the visiting team's locker room one after another, and the atmosphere in the entire locker room suddenly became hot.
The teammates sang and danced as if they had won the championship!
Half an hour later, the Southampton team, still unsatisfied, boarded the bus and left Fratton Park with the proud attitude of a winner.
The road outside the stadium was lined with excited Southampton fans. The song "There is a young and handsome Oriental man named Gu Ran" resounded through the sky! The entire neighborhood seemed to be occupied by Southampton people! Those football hooligans from the Fratton Brotherhood didn't dare to show up at all!
Gu Ran sat by the window of the bus, happily waving to the crazy fans.
Victory is the most inspiring thing.
Especially the victory achieved by stepping on the corpse of their arch-rival, which made all Southampton fans crazy.
This victory will make Southampton fans happy for at least half a year.
Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night of crazy celebration!
The bus drove slowly through the crowd and it took a full half hour before it finally got onto the highway.
After returning to the Staplewood training base, Coach Adkins held a post-match summary meeting, praised Gu Ran's outstanding performance, and then announced a one-day holiday.
Southampton's next game will be at 3 pm on Saturday, August 14, in the second round of the English League One, when Southampton will face Notts County at home.
Nottingham Forest is a relatively strong opponent, and the match against Nottingham Forest is Southampton’s first home league game this season, so everyone in Southampton attaches great importance to it.
Coach Adkins asked all team members to return on August 12. During the vacation, no one was allowed to drink or go to bars, and excessive indulgence was not allowed.
After the disbandment, the players happily returned home.
Only Chamberlain looked depressed.
He was suspended for three games...
After finishing his meal in the players' restaurant with a high-protein, high-carbohydrate dinner prepared by nutritionist Loina for him after the big game, Gu Ran drove home.
Evelin did invite him to go horseback riding at the manor, but Gu Ran declined.
Firstly, today's game consumed too much physical energy, and Gu Ran really felt deeply tired.
In order to prepare for the home game four days later, Gu Ran needs to conserve his energy.
Secondly, Gu Ran was a little fed up...
Although Hercules is a noble Arabian horse, the novelty of riding it too often will wear off.
This is also human nature.
After returning to the dune villa, Gu Ran had a thorough ice and fire therapy, which greatly relieved his physical fatigue.
That night, Gu Ran went to bed early.
Today’s game was really exciting and Gu Ran slept soundly at night.
The next morning, Gu Ran was woken up on time and got up early to practice.
In the afternoon, I disguised myself again and went to the gym in Winchester to pick up the special training bubble.
In the evening, Gu Ran received a call from MaxxRT and others.
MaxxRT briefly introduced the situation of the last live broadcast to Gu Ran. The highlights of Gu Ran's game have been forwarded crazily on major domestic networks. Gu Ran's popularity in China has greatly increased. Unfortunately, it only stayed on the hot search for half a day, and suddenly there were many negative comments, and then it was pushed down by the entertainment news of domestic celebrities.
Obviously, entertainment stars all have their own internet followers. They need high exposure to maintain their popularity. Only with exposure and popularity can they be considered stars. However, sports stars do not need high exposure. They can be popular as long as they have good results.
Gu Ran smiled. He didn't care about being on the trending searches, and he wasn't interested in competing for traffic with domestic entertainment stars.
On the third day, which was the morning of August 12, Gu Ran arrived at the Staplewood training base in high spirits.
After a whole day of rest and several ice and fire therapies, Gu Ran's physical strength has recovered to 80% to 90%.
The training on that day also focused on recovery training and tactical lessons.
After the afternoon training, personal assistant Rick came running over with a yellow face.
"Hi, Gu!"
"Hey, Rick. What's up?"
"It's nothing serious. I just came to inform you that the official League Cup first-round knockout winning bonus of 22,000 pounds and our club's 200,000 pounds reward have been distributed - you got 50,000 pounds, which has been deposited into your bank account."
Gu Ran was stunned. "50,000 pounds?"
This account is wrong!
Although 40,000 pounds is nothing, the total of 220,000 pounds is divided among the entire team, and each person will only get a maximum of 20,000.
Rick smiled and said, "The bonus is not distributed equally. You have made the greatest contribution, so you should get the largest share. Besides... Chamberlain, that idiot, was suspended for receiving a red card and his bonus was deducted. All his bonus was given to you."
Chamberlain, who was packing his equipment nearby, said: …
Gu Ran smiled and said, "Oh, how embarrassing."
Rick smiled and said, "Gu, you deserve it! Besides, compared to what you've paid, 50,000 pounds isn't that much."
Chamberlain cleared his throat and said, "Gu, if you don't want it, you can give my part back to me."
Gu Ran simply ignored Chamberlain and said, "Okay, then I'll accept it with reluctance. Thank you, Rick."
Chamberlain looked depressed, "Shouldn't you thank me?"
Gu Ran smiled and said, "Yes, yes, thank you to the club's top management for favoring me alone."
Chamberlain: "Hello? Hello!"
Gu Ran turned around and asked, "Hey? Chamberlain, what are you doing here?"
Chamberlain: ...
Rick said, "Oh, by the way, Gu, there is one more thing. At noon today, the draw for the second round of the League Cup knockout match was completed. We drew Cardiff City. We will face Cardiff City at home at 7:45 pm on Tuesday, August 24."
Gu Ran nodded, "Okay, I understand, thank you Rick."
"You're welcome, Gu. If there's nothing else, I'll leave first."
"Well, you go ahead and do your work. I'll practice for a while longer."
——For two consecutive days, Gu Ran has been carrying out recovery training step by step.
During these two days, Gu Ran exchanged 2 talent points by picking up white training bubbles.
In addition, the three skills of "back-to-the-basket pass", "enhanced powerful out-of-bounds ball", and "backcourt straight pass" were each used for free once.
Back-to-the-basket passing and receiving increased by +2, enhanced powerful out-of-bounds ball increased by +2, and straight pass from the backcourt increased by +3.
Gu Ran did not retain the two talent points he exchanged, but directly added them to the "Balance" attribute, raising the balance attribute from 71 points to 73 points.
Saturday, August 14th!
In the second round of the English League One, Southampton will host Notts County at home! Southampton players do not have to gather at Staplewood Training Base, but can drive directly to St. Mary's Stadium.
Coach Adkins requires players to arrive before 9 a.m.
Today's training will be held at St. Mary's Stadium.
This is Southampton's first league home game of the new season, and everyone in the club attaches great importance to it.
At noon, the club's top three players arrived at the home team restaurant at St. Mary's Stadium in advance to cheer for the players.
The club was very happy with the crushing result in the last South Coast Derby, and the top management asked the players to keep up the good work and get a good start at home for the Southampton fans.
At 2 pm, the long-awaited fans poured into St. Mary's Stadium.
In less than half an hour, St. Mary's Stadium, which can accommodate 32,384 people, was full!
Almost the entire stadium was filled with red and white Saints flags! Southampton's four stands are named after the four districts of Southampton.
The main stand on the east side is called the Itchen Stand, facing the Itchen River.
The west stand is the Kingsland Stand.
The south stand is the stand of St. Mary's Cathedral, which is also the symbol of Southampton and the largest church in the entire southern region of England. The south stand is also the stand for Saints diehard fans.
——Southampton also has many fan organizations, the most famous of which are the official "Saints Supporters", the official drummer organization "The Blast", the official fan organization "The 1885", the official youth fan organization "The Vitality", and the fans' spontaneous organization "The Southampton faithful".
Of course, Gu Ran’s “Global Support Meeting” is also indispensable.
These famous fan organizations were divided into squares and sat in the stands of St. Mary's Cathedral on the south side.
So, the game hasn't started yet, and the fans are just entering the stadium, but the passion in the south stands is about to overturn the entire stadium.
Although Gu Ran’s global fan club was established very recently, its members are all beauties in miniskirts, which is really eye-catching.
The north stand is the Northam Stand, which is also the stand for visiting fans.
There were not many Nottingham County fans coming to watch the game today, only over 3,000.
Speaking of which, Notts County is also one of the twelve original member clubs of the league. Although Notts County has not had many highlights in its history and has always been just a small club, among the small clubs, Notts County is definitely one of the most famous.
In addition to the four major stands in the east, south, west and north of St. Mary's Stadium, there are also several VIP boxes named after famous stars in the team's history: Terry Paine Box, Mick, Channon Box, Bobby Stokes Box, etc.
At this moment, several VIP boxes were already filled with celebrities who wanted to witness Gu Ran's wonderful performance in person.
In Bobby Stokes' box, there were two mysterious guests from China...
Southampton's local news media, television media, and online media had already occupied advantageous positions early on, and reporters from other mainstream domestic media were also present. This game was not only a feast for the fans, but also a feast for media professionals.
Eight Southampton executives came and sat in the first row of the main stand, chatting and laughing.
Scouts from various clubs also arrived at the scouting area early - Chelsea's Emenalo, Liverpool's Edwards, Manchester City's Pratt, the three big guys gathered together again.
The three of them were smiling on the surface, but they were actually thinking MMP in their hearts.
For today's match, the famous bookmaker William Hill also gave the pre-match odds: home win 1.67, draw 3.60, loss 5.00.
Judging from the handicap odds, William Hill is still very optimistic that Southampton can easily win at home.
After all, Nottingham Forest's recent form has been unstable, while Southampton is in hot form under the leadership of Gu Ran.
William Hill has already learned in advance through internal channels that Gu Ran will continue to make his debut today.
Playing at home, with the whole team in great shape and Gu Ran starting, there won't be much suspense in this game.
At 2:10 pm, the referee team entered the venue to inspect the competition venue.
Immediately afterwards, players from both sides entered the field for adaptive warm-up.
The Notts County players, as the visiting team, were the first to enter the field.
The logo of this ancient Notts County club is two magpies stepping on a football.
So Nottingham Forest is also known as the Magpies - in the UK, there is another Magpies team with a larger number of fans, and that is Newcastle United.
The difference is that there is only one magpie on the Newcastle United logo.
According to the British, one magpie is unlucky, while two magpies are the most auspicious.
However, looking at the performances of the two Magpies teams, this statement seems to be the other way around.
Newcastle United are very strong. Although they are the team most fond of infighting in the Premier League, their results are really much better than Nottingham County, and they also have the largest number of local fans in the whole of the UK.
In contrast, Notts County is more like a ball-blind filter.
Notts County players wore black and white striped jerseys, which were designed based on the black and white features of the magpies.
The same is true for Newcastle United's jerseys, the two teams' jerseys are very similar.
In addition, the jerseys of Serie A giants Juventus are also black and white striped. Because the Nottingham County club is so small and not well-known, many fans think that Juventus' black and white jerseys came first, or that Newcastle United's black and white jerseys came first.
But in fact, Newcastle United and Juventus are deliberately imitating the jersey style of the real magpies, Notts County.
When Notts County Football Club was founded in 1862, it wore the black and white magpie jerseys. Newcastle United Football Club was founded in 1892 and Juventus was founded in 1897. Newcastle United used the jerseys, even though they had no magpies or mangroves at home, but they called themselves the Magpies. Juventus was embarrassed to call themselves the Magpies anymore, so their jerseys were designed based on zebras, and they were called the Zebras.
The problem is... zebras don't even fucking exist in Europe.
After all the Nottingham Forest players came on the field to warm up, the Southampton players began to enter the field.
The more than 26,000 Southampton fans at the scene were instantly excited.
Almost every Southampton fan was shouting Gu Ran’s name in Chinese!
Gu Ran applauded and thanked the fans again and again, then concentrated on the warm-up training.
Every time Gu Ran touched the ball during training, the fans would scream.
Female fans in the stands kept fainting due to excessive excitement.
It can be seen how high Gu Ran's status is in the hearts of Southampton fans.
In the VIP box, the two mysterious guests from China had extremely surprised expressions, as if they had not expected that Chinese players could have such a high influence on British football fields.
"Is this kid's popularity perhaps even higher than Ji Hai's?"
"It seems... probably... he is definitely not as strong as Ji Hai, but he is more handsome than Ji Hai."
"Are all players with big scores more handsome than Ji Hai?"
“…”
At 3:00 p.m., the second round of the Premier League match between Southampton and Notts County officially began at home.
The domestic Ran Live broadcast also accesses the network signal and broadcasts live simultaneously.
Because it was the weekend, and with the spread of Gu Ran's previous game highlights, the number of people in the live broadcast room instantly exceeded 200,000! Various barrages were overwhelming, and it was impossible to see the scene of the game without turning off the barrage.
Fortunately, the Ran Live team replaced the server in time and withstood the pressure of the instantaneous barrage explosion.
At the beginning of the new season, Southampton is currently ranked first in the English League One standings with a goal difference advantage, while Notts County lost to Charlton in the first round and is currently ranked 18th in the standings.
In this match, Southampton changed its 442 style and boldly started a 4231 offensive formation.
Center forward Gurley was rested, and veteran Connolly started at the front.
The left winger is Holmes, the right winger is Schneiderlin, and the attacking midfielder is Lallana.
The two defensive midfielders are Dixon and Pulis - Lambert and Hammond are rested.
Gu Ran is still the left back, and Fonte is the right back - Richardson is resting.
The two central defenders are Martin and Savile - Walton and Jaidi are also rested.
The goalkeeper is still Davis who has performed brilliantly recently.
It can be said that Southampton uses a semi-main configuration.
On the other hand, Nottingham Forest fielded a standard 442 formation. There were almost no big names in their team, not even any national team players.
According to military intelligence before the game, Nottingham Forest's basic tactic was short pass penetration, and their defensive approach was a mixture of man-to-man and zone defense. Their mentality during the game was to defend cautiously and look for opportunities to counterattack.
From the start of the game, Nottingham Forest played very cautiously and the team rarely advanced beyond half court.
This made Southampton's defense feel almost no pressure.
After a few attempts, Southampton found that Nottingham Forest played a little timidly, so they immediately resorted to physical confrontation and pressed high throughout the field.
Gu Ran also ran all over the court right from the start, constantly switching positions with Dixon, moving freely and actively invading and confronting.
…
(End of this chapter)