Chapter 102 Don’t lose to those two guys!
"Thank you all for coming, let's finish this glass of water!"
In the sky bar near the Park of Nations, Jadel raised the glass of water in his hand high and shouted loudly.
Su Dong, Ronnie, Pepe and others also raised their glasses and shouted in unison: "Cheers!"
But everyone felt very uncomfortable.
…
It is now the end of August and the transfer market is about to close.
Jardel, who has been involved in transfer rumors since January this year, suddenly announced his intention to transfer in the last few days before the transfer market closed after a quiet summer, and publicly accused head coach Boloni of nepotism.
Jardel's criticism caused an uproar. At the same time, he completed the substantive progress from transfer rumors to transfer in less than two days. Just this afternoon, Sporting Lisbon officially reached an agreement with Premier League Bolton.
All that's left now is Jardel's signature, but that's certainly not a problem.
From last season's double champion to being eliminated on both fronts at the start of the season, Sporting Lisbon's situation is quite bad. Coupled with Jardel's departure, it is undoubtedly adding insult to injury for Sporting Lisbon.
Everyone knows that Jardel is the top offensive force in Sporting Lisbon. It is unacceptable that they sent away their top scorer when the team's offense was weak.
But Sporting Lisbon actually did that.
Firstly, Jardel was determined to leave, and secondly, the club was happy to see it happen.
In this case, Boloni's opinion doesn't matter at all.
Moreover, who can guarantee that Boloni’s so-called retention is sincere?
If it is true, then why is Nicolaj starting every game while Jardel can only be a substitute despite the same poor form and no goals? Who was the European Golden Boot last season?
No one will forget that in the opening match of last season against Porto, Boloni put Jardel on the bench and let Nicolae start, and both of them were new players at the time.
…
Su Dong was also in a bad mood, so he chose a corner to sit down and wanted to be quiet.
In the away game against Inter Milan, he was once again not selected for the squad.
The reason is simple, he is only seventeen years old.
When the team adopts the trident tactics, both wingers must play and only one single striker.
Naturally, Nikulai started, Jardel was on the bench, and Su Dong had no chance.
This is far from what Su Dong had expected.
He trained hard for an entire summer, from Madeira to Lisbon, and the purpose of his crazy training was for the new season.
But now, he can only sit on the bench, which is not what he wants.
"Boy."
Jadel left the crowd, walked up to Su Dong, pulled out the chair opposite him, and sat down with his arms and legs spread.
"Once I'm gone, you'll feel much more relaxed."
Su Dong raised his head, looked at Jia Deer, smiled and said: "Then don't leave, stay and see how I kick you down."
Jadel laughed out loud when he heard this. He actually liked Su Dong quite a bit.
For Ronnie, it was more because of his sister, and he loved Su Dong because of his sister, but for Su Dong, he liked him more.
"Nikola is a very arrogant guy, which is the biggest obstacle for him to integrate into the team. If he continues to be so independent, the starting position will be yours sooner or later."
With Jardel's departure, Nikulai's main position is now secure.
Su Dong is currently the only center qualified to challenge him, but Su Dong is too young and not strong enough.
"But I don't like waiting."
Jadel looked at Su Dong deeply and nodded, "If you don't want to wait, just go and grab it!"
"Maybe it has something to do with the education you received. I always feel that you are too polite and courteous to others. You do a lot but ask for very little. This makes me feel that you will be a very good friend, but it is difficult for you to become an excellent professional player."
"You know, the professional arena is like a primitive jungle where the fittest survive. Anyone who wants to survive in this jungle must fight and snatch like a wolf. If you are too tolerant, you will become someone else's prey, because your opponent will not be polite to you."
“This is what I learned since I was a child!”
Su Dong listened silently. He knew that this was just Jardel's experience, but it might not be without reason.
He also needs to reflect on whether he has been too tolerant.
From childhood to adulthood, the traditional education he received was to be tolerant, to make money through harmony, and to respect teachers and education. This made him lack the wolf nature that is unique to teenagers like Ronnie who grew up on the streets.
Will this kind of tolerance be interpreted by others as being easy to bully?
"When I first arrived in the Portuguese Super League and joined Porto, the then Porto coach was the famous coach Bobby Robson. He asked me a question. He said, do you want to be the most important person in the team?"
"I told him without hesitation, yes."
"Then he asked me, how can I become that person?"
"I was at a loss and couldn't answer because I didn't know."
"Bobby Robson told me that to be the most important person in the team, you need to do three things. First, you need to dare to show your actions publicly so that everyone can see your courage and determination. Most importantly, let them know what you want to do. Only then will people support you and become your followers."
“Second, be kind to your followers, because they are your most important support on the court. When others first come around you, they will definitely not come into contact with you first, but with your followers. They will get their first impression of you and the most intuitive feedback from your followers.”
“Third, be humble and know that at least half of your achievements come from your followers.”
Su Dong looked at Jadel with some surprise. He didn't expect to hear such profound truth from him.
If you think about it carefully, it really makes sense.
"Bobby also told me that if you are not sure whether you have followers, then you should clarify a goal, find something that you think is valuable and should be done, and do it boldly, publicly and unswervingly, and you will soon have a group of followers."
When Jadel said this, he noticed Su Dong's deep thoughts and felt a little envious.
"I haven't read much, so I still only have a limited understanding of these principles, but I have always kept his words in mind and never dared to forget them. Now, I pass these words on to you, hoping that they will be of some help to you."
"I see. Thank you."
Su Dong stood up from his seat, politely extended his right hand, and shook hands with Jadel firmly.
"I wish you all the best in the Premier League."
"You too, don't lose to those two guys!" Jadel laughed.
Which two guys? Do I need to explain this clearly? Su Dong nodded confidently and smiled.
…………
…………
Jardel was gone! Just as suddenly as he had arrived, he was gone again.
Unlike Hugo Viana, Jardel's departure as the European Golden Boot winner did not bring much transfer fee to Sporting Lisbon. Instead, it saved a large amount of salary expenses, greatly alleviating the team's financial pressure.
But at the same time, the team's offensive power was greatly reduced because of his loss.
The sky of Alcochete also became overcast, and everyone inside felt depressed.
But the league's train has started and will not stop because of anyone or any team.
…
This weekend, in the first round of the Portuguese Super League, Sporting Lisbon will challenge Ferreira away.
Bologna once again arranged Nicolae to start, this time changing the formation to a 4-3-3, which is the traditional formation of Sporting Lisbon.
He hopes the team can perform well from this.
But the result was 0 to 4! Sporting Lisbon suffered a complete and utter defeat.
Mauro's hat trick gave Ferreira the best season opener ever, and the team they defeated was a domestic giant like Sporting Lisbon.
…
A week later, in the second round of the Portuguese Super League, Sporting Lisbon faced Braga.
We conceded a goal just 20 minutes into the game and then conceded another goal three minutes later.
Quaresma and Rodrigo Tello then scored a goal each, but Braga midfielder Barroso scored twice.
Before the end of the first half, Sporting Lisbon was temporarily trailing 2-3.
Three minutes into the second half, midfielder Graube scored again.
In the end, Braga defeated Sporting Lisbon 4-2.
…
Before September, Sporting Lisbon was in a mess.
In five games, there was one draw and four losses, including two league games.
Such a report card is definitely a shame for the Green Lions, the defending double champions.
Head coach Boloni has come under heavy criticism, especially after Jardel moved to Bolton, with all the criticism directed at Boloni, who is accused of nepotism.
Nikulai started all five games and played the full game, but his contribution was zero! No goals, no assists! In the post-match press conference, the Morning Post reporter openly questioned Bologna why he trusted Nikulai so much?
Boloni fought back on the spot, asking, "Who else can I trust besides Nikulai?"
"Where's Su Dong?"
"He's only seventeen!"
"In a few days, he'll be eighteen, and that's not what you said last season."
"Yes, but I had no choice at that time. Now, I can't pin my hopes on a teenager who is not even 18 years old and ignore a star like Nikulai who has already proven his worth, right?"
Boloni's answer is well-founded.
Indeed, no one dares to say that Su Dong will definitely perform better than Nikulai when he plays.
However, Su Dong, through his agent Mendes, asked in media reports, "Why didn't he give him even one minute of playing time? Is Su Dong's training performance not worthy of one minute of playing time?"
The Morning Post wrote a commentary, analyzing that this was Boloni's way of being angry and competing with everyone.
He was going to gamble on Nikulai at any cost.
“But is Nikulai worth the stakes he’s put in?”
…
After two weeks of national team match days, the Portuguese Super League ushered in the third round.
Sporting Lisbon will face Santa Clara at home.
As usual, Bologna announced the 18-man roster one day in advance, and the remaining players who were not included in the roster will be arranged to participate in the second team's games.
The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe were once again on the list.
But when head coach Boloni announced the end of the meeting, Su Dong raised his hand to speak.
(End of this chapter)
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