Chapter 118: The First Man in the European War
After waking up one night, every city in China begins a busy day.
Some people got up in a hurry, brushed their teeth and washed their faces, rushed to their rental house like the wind, bought a breakfast at the breakfast stall downstairs, and rushed to the bus while eating; some people were urging their slow children to go to school, and some people were leisurely practicing Tai Chi, playing chess, and kicking shuttlecock in the park...
Similar scenes are happening over and over again in every city.
Until a sudden piece of news spread in the air.
"China News Agency Europe reported that in the second round of the UEFA Cup that just ended in the early morning, the Portuguese Super League giants Sporting Lisbon faced the Czech powerhouse Slavia Prague. The 18-year-old Chinese young player Su Dong started the game."
"In the first leg, Sporting Lisbon lost 3-1 to Slavia Prague. But after returning to Lisbon, Chinese youngster Su Dong replaced Romanian star Nicolae in the starting lineup. Just four minutes into the game, he fooled the opponent's defender with a brilliant Marseille turn, and then scored the first goal for Sporting Lisbon with a fierce shot."
"After that, Su Dong continued to perform well, assisting two teammates to score goals, helping Sporting Lisbon to beat Slavia Prague 3-0 at home and 4-3 on aggregate, and successfully advance to the third round of the UEFA Cup."
“After the game, young player Su Dong was not only elected the best player of the game, but also received rave reviews.”
"Former European Ballon d'Or winner and legendary star Luis Suarez publicly stated in an interview with the media that he believes Su Dong is the most promising young rookie in world football and he is optimistic that Su Dong will become the best player in Europe."
"According to the reporter, in this season's Portuguese Super League, young player Su Dong played for Sporting Lisbon and scored five league goals and four assists in the Portuguese Super League. In the UEFA Cup, he also had three goals and two assists. His performance was very outstanding and received unanimous praise from professionals."
"This is also Su Dong's second season in the Portuguese Super League for Sporting Lisbon. Last season, he played five games for Sporting Lisbon, scored five goals and made two assists. He was a key contributor to the team's double championship, including the key goal in the Portuguese Cup final against Porto, which was scored by Su Dong."
"Our reporter in the Iberian Peninsula, Ma Dawei, is contacting Sporting Lisbon to learn about the latest situation of Sudong. He will bring you more detailed reports on Sudong in the near future."
…
As the news spread on television and radio stations, people across the country who saw or heard the news were extremely surprised.
An 18-year-old Chinese player played in the UEFA Cup? Is the news true or false? Why haven't I heard any related reports before?
This is the first Chinese player to play in a European match! In less than half an hour, the number of searches about Su Dong on the domestic Internet skyrocketed, and countless fans were looking for the answer with one question, that is, is the news report true? The answer was soon revealed.
Although many domestic football newspapers only publish supplements for the Champions League matches and pay little attention to the UEFA Cup on Thursday, there are still some reports on the match between Sporting Lisbon and Slavia Prague on the Internet.
Especially on the largest portal website in the country, there are several news reports translated from Portuguese media. The largest cover on the sports homepage is the cover of the Morning Post showing Su Dong celebrating after scoring a goal.
Black hair, yellow skin, you can tell at first glance that he is one of us!
Countless netizens and fans were moved to tears.
China's first European player! Chinese football finally has a genius!
Especially when they saw so many media reports from Portugal and Europe, they really began to believe that this 18-year-old compatriot really has great potential and is really a genius!
This was achieved in the Portuguese Super League and the UEFA Cup, and he received high praise from European media reporters and professionals. He is a genuine talent, not one who was hyped up by youth team matches and more domestic news.
But gradually, more and more people began to wonder about one thing.
That's why no one in China knows Su Dong? This is his second season in the Portuguese Super League. Even before that, he played in the UEFA Cup and even helped Sporting Lisbon win the Portuguese Cup final. But why does no one know him?
Why didn’t the media report this?
As netizens dug deeper and deeper, they gradually learned more.
First, in the first half of the year, there was a report written by Ma Dawei, a reporter from China News Agency, which mentioned Su Dong, who played in the Portuguese Super League. He believed that his outstanding performance should attract domestic attention and his ban should be lifted.
Not only that, Ma Dawei also introduced the reasons for Su Dong's suspension, believing that it was nothing more than a scam by an unscrupulous intermediary.
However, this report fell on deaf ears in the country and few people saw it.
Look at the time. By the way, everyone in the country was looking forward to the upcoming World Cup.
All over the country, from the Football Association to the players, from the media to the fans, everyone is fantasizing about the national team making it to the World Cup for the first time, being able to step on Costa Rica, punch Turkey, and even beat the five-star Brazil...
Many of those grand words now seem more like arrogance.
At that time, the country was in a state of impetuousness. Everyone was blinded by the first entry into the World Cup. As a result, in the World Cup, not only was the Chinese team taught a lesson by Brazil, but even Costa Rica and Turkey taught the young Chinese football team a lesson.
As a result, domestic football is now in a state of decline.
Milu was dismissed amid nationwide criticism, and the Football Association once again started the European coaching search.
The cruel lesson made everyone realize that Chinese football is so vulnerable.
But because of this, when they saw reports from European media, when they saw that the 18-year-old Su Dong shined in the League Cup and was elected the best player of the game, they were really moved.
The vast majority of people still dare not hold out hope, but there are also a few who believe that Su Dong will become the hope of Chinese football.
He is only eighteen years old! …………
…………
The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, far away in Lisbon, were not aware of what was happening in the country.
He still gets up early every day, does some simple physical training in his apartment room, then does an hour of yoga with Ronnie and Pepe, and then goes to the Riverside Park downstairs to run and practice ball.
When he came back, he received a call from his parents and learned about the news in the country.
My parents were very emotional on the phone, and my mother even burst into tears while talking.
"It's okay, Dad, Mom, I'm fine here, my coach and teammates trust me, you don't have to worry."
Su Dong still held the mentality of reporting good news but not bad news. When he saw that his parents were a little unconvinced, he simply changed the subject and asked about the money he transferred back every month, whether they had received it, how they spent it, etc.
Sure enough, as soon as the issue came up, the parents' thoughts were diverted.
They are all ordinary citizens who know nothing about investment and financial management, but they also have their own set of life wisdom.
What should they do when they suddenly get a large sum of money? They don’t understand investing in a business, and they don’t dare to take the risk; depositing money in a bank doesn’t earn much interest, and they feel that they are at a disadvantage; as for lending it to others to earn interest, that’s not very reliable, and they always feel that the risk is too high…
In the end, they really couldn't think of a solution, so they made the most conservative decision.
Buy a house!
"Did you really buy them all?" Su Dong was very surprised.
He has sent several months' salary back home, but his parents have used it all to buy a house.
"It's not much, actually. I bought three houses in the city center with full payment. They are all 160 to 170 square meters. But the house prices are too expensive. One square meter costs 1500 to 1600 yuan."
Su Dong smiled bitterly. He could easily imagine that his parents must have invested all their hard-earned savings in order to buy a house, and they must have lived frugally in their daily lives.
"Don't buy so much, we can't live in it." Su Dong hopes that his parents can enjoy life.
"Who said we can't live here?" The mother was not happy to hear that. "Think about it, we live in one house, and you'll need another house when you get married. When you have children and they grow up, you'll need another house when you get married. Three houses is just right."
"What if I have a second child?" Su Dong didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
He is only eighteen years old and doesn't even have a girlfriend, but he is already concerned about the wedding house for his children to grow up in the future?
"Oh, yes, that makes sense. Leaving one set for the child is not enough." The mother suddenly realized, "Lao Su, take out your bank passbook and see if you have enough money to buy another set?"
“It seems almost there.”
"Oh, what shall we do?"
Su Dong was on the phone, listening to the conversation between his parents, and he was very upset.
Mom and Dad, we are not talking about the house. We are talking about you two enjoying life.
"Also, the schools in third-tier cities like ours aren't very good. I heard that some people are going to big cities to buy school district housing. The educational resources in big cities are much better than here. Should we also prepare?"
"Well, our company leaders think so too."
“Then we must implement it quickly.”
"Is the family going to buy a car?"
"Don't buy a car. Why would a worker buy a car? Save some money and quickly arrange a house in the school district."
Su Dong felt both warm and amused.
These are his parents. Everything they do is always for him and his future, and they never think about themselves.
Finally, his mother repeatedly warned him over the phone not to spend money recklessly and to transfer his salary back home as soon as he got it.
"You can spend the money you should spend, but don't waste it on things you shouldn't spend. Send it back home and we'll save it for you. When our family buys a house in a big city, and you get married and have children in a big city in the future, we can go there and enjoy the good life with you."
"Got it." Su Dong agreed without hesitation.
After hanging up the phone, he couldn't help laughing.
In the minds of our parents’ generation, there is a very simple idea that going to a big city means enjoying life.
But what Su Dong didn't know was that just when his parents were worrying about the money to buy a house in a big city, someone suddenly delivered money to their door.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
