(Wishing everyone a Happy Chinese New Year, the spirit of a dragon and a horse, and all the best.)
Xing Baohua initially thought the foreign player issue would be a bit troublesome, but Wei Laisong's handling of the situation at the Sports Bureau reassured him considerably.
They even hired sports reporters to hype it up in advance, advocating that foreign players would bring new changes to domestic football, and that the country's first promising young player was about to set foot on the soil. What were his outstanding qualities?
He only ever worked at one club, and even scored three goals there.
The results are obvious, and some people don't understand. What's the point of bringing them here if they have no results? What if they play poorly? Are they expected to pay for tickets to watch a joke?
Batistuta was the first player to be publicly announced to join the Milan Workers' Football Club, followed by the announcement of the "Melancholy Prince," Baggio, and the Milan Prince, Maldini.
The meaning is clear: the young player named Batistuta is on equal footing with the two players who have already gained some fame.
During this period, television broadcasts mainly featured the Italian league, such as AC Milan, the Rossoneri derby, Juventus, Fiorentina, and Napoli. These teams had a significant fan base in the country.
Sometimes when you go out on the street, you can see a lot of people wearing red and black striped jerseys.
Although Batistuta lacked experience, he and the King of Football came from the same place.
When he disembarked in the capital, Wei Laisong called on many media outlets to report on him, and he personally greeted him at the airport to create a buzz.
After holding a small ceremony, they didn't even leave the airport; they boarded the boss's private jet and flew directly to central Shandong.
On the plane, Wei Laisong told the kid that the big boss had sent his private jet to pick him up, and that he should play well and not let the boss down.
Before Bati could go to the Noodle Country to become a god, he was trafficked back to his home country.
It's a magical country where players not only win honors but also receive high salaries. Batistuta is just taking advantage of his youth; they pay him well, and he'll play for a couple of years, adapt, and then transfer to another club.
Upon arriving at the Luzhong training base, Wei Laisong specially took him to see the rice field that had already been dug and was under construction.
I showed him the planning map; it was a very beautiful building.
Just three kilometers from the stadium, Wei Laisong said, "See that piece of land? The boss bought it himself and will build you a villa."
Barty was shocked.
He opened his mouth in surprise and exclaimed, "Oh my God!"
Surprised, he turned to Wei Laisong and asked, "Boss, are you going to build me a castle? This piece of land is big enough to build three castles."
"What are you thinking? It's just a two-story villa. They're building villas everywhere else, and apartment buildings on the other side. It's not just you living here; Baggio, Maldini, and some other top domestic players will also be there. Batistuta, to be honest, you're really lucky. If you can score more goals on the field, maybe the boss will be so happy that he'll give you a Pegasus sports car."
"By the way, do you know Tianma sports cars? That's a brand my boss and I created together. The top-of-the-line model is the Middle Eastern luxury version, handcrafted from pure gold."
Well, Wei Laisong found it very difficult to talk about the future and make grand promises to this little kid.
Fortunately, they instilled something in him, which was to score goals like crazy during the game.
Batistuta had an acclimatization training session, and quite a few media and fans came to watch.
What's so different about this foreigner's football playing style?
The foreign coach, Mr. Shi, gave Batty some warm-up exercises, but even though there were some minor scrimmages today, he didn't let him participate.
Let him show off his basic skills first.
The younger version of Batistuta has significantly better basic skills than his teammates. He can receive the ball, especially with his first touch, which is just okay.
Because most players can perform similarly well in training.
But a match is a different story. When you're in a fixed position to receive the ball, you can move a few meters to the left, right, forward, or backward without any problem. But in a match, there will definitely be someone marking you, and you'll be interfered with when you receive the ball. If you can receive the ball well and hold onto it, then you've mastered the basics.
Batistuta is very tall, just a bit thin.
The team also has several big men with imposing physiques. If they were to engage in a physical confrontation, Batistuta would likely be at a disadvantage if these big men were specifically assigned to guard him.
Don't underestimate them; they're someone who was born to compete.
Breakthrough, bombardment.
That's their strength.
I thought it was just a way to show off my basic skills, nothing special. I thought I could do it too.
Finally, Sunday arrived, and the foreign players made their first appearance on the field. The newly expanded stadium was already packed with people.
The stadium, with over 20,000 people, was indeed crowded.
This time, the city, the province, and even the CCTV sports channel are broadcasting it live.
This is a B-level match, which usually doesn't attract many viewers. It's usually just a local or provincial sports channel that does a live broadcast. It only gets attention because it's the first time a foreign player has come.
Grandpa Shi knew some of this guy's characteristics through his usual training, so he specially played a 5-2-3 formation today.
Batistuta was positioned further forward, and the left and right full-backs fed him the ball.
Same old tactics: cross from the byline, through ball down the middle.
Batty can fire indefinitely.
Today's opponent is Tianjin Port Second Team.
At Luzhong's home stadium, the rice team hasn't yet formed a loyal fan base; most people come just to watch the excitement.
There was no unified cheering or flag waving at the start; the game began with the referee's whistle...
Five minutes have passed, and Batistuta still hasn't gotten the ball once.
I saw him reach out for the ball, but no ball came through.
Grandpa Shi looked grim, and Wei Laisong, who was with Xing Baohua on the podium, looked even uglier. Unlimited firing rights were something he had demanded; he wanted to see how capable Batistuta was personally.
Whether or not we can turn the tide.
In the tenth minute, after finally getting the ball, a player from the Tianjin Port Second Team made a flying tackle. The ball went out, and the player went out with it.
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