Chapter 107 Greening's 'Bloodline Theory'
Middlesbrough's current head coach Steve McClaren is a very young head coach, only 43 years old this year, but he is already very popular in English football.
McLaren's playing career was not very impressive. He had been playing for the second and third division teams. After retiring due to injury, he began coaching. He served as an assistant coach at Oxford United and Derby County, and worked with Jim Smith to lead Derby County to the Premier League. At this time, Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United took a fancy to him, so he came to Manchester.
In Manchester, McClaren almost became Ferguson's right-hand man. His talent was recognized by the whole of England. In 2000, the English Football Association even invited him to be the head coach of the England national team, which shows his strength and reputation. However, it is rumored that due to Ferguson's jealousy, he failed to take office. In the summer of 2001, McClaren, who wanted to be his own boss, came to Middlesbrough, but for several years, the team performed mediocrely and was always in the middle of the Premier League.
After the training, in an interview with reporters, he smiled and said: "Middlesbrough is a team that is striving for progress. The team has made all preparations. The whole team is very confident about tomorrow's game. Although Wolverhampton has performed very well recently and even defeated Arsenal in the last game, this does not mean that its strength has reached the level of the top teams. You know, everything is possible on the football field." It can be seen that McLaren is very confident about the game, and the young head coach does have the strength to say this. Although Middlesbrough has a mediocre record and is now ranked only 11th in the Premier League, one place lower than Wolverhampton, the team's performance is very stable. Even Manchester United dare not say that they will win at the Riverside Stadium, let alone Wolverhampton.
McLaren's words showed the team's confidence and fighting spirit, but they were a bit official. The Middlesbrough players didn't care so much. When facing the interview with the reporter, they directly shouted the slogan of winning. Some of them were even very arrogant, including Middlesbrough's "bad boy" Greening.
Greening had long brown hair and a scar on his face, which made him look a bit ferocious, and most media described him as "wild and violent". Because Greening's off-field life was very undisciplined, even though he had outstanding skills, he had never been selected for the England national team. Every head coach would not want to have such a player under his command, but after McClaren came to Middlesbrough, he strongly advocated the introduction of this midfielder. Therefore, in Middlesbrough, Greening was an absolute supporter of McClaren.
But he could never change his bad habits. The small movements on the court, the misconduct off the court and the nonsense in front of the media made him unpopular with the fans and the media. He was also a bit racist and always looked down on the non-EU players in the team. Even the outstanding Brazilian veteran Juninho was often excluded and ridiculed by him.
"The boss has already said that we will definitely win tomorrow's game. It's nothing, just a newly promoted team. I am very confident that I will let that newly promoted team know tomorrow that a newly promoted team is a newly promoted team, no matter how well they perform!"
"So, Mr. Greening, Wolverhampton's Alan Wong has been performing very well recently, with an average of 1.89 goals per game. May I ask, in tomorrow's game, has Middlesbrough made any tactical arrangements against him?" The reporter was very smart. Asking McLaren this kind of question would obviously not get any desired results, but this brainless Greening might very well break some big news!
"Alan... Wang? This last name is really strange. I heard that he is half Asian? There will never be any outstanding football players in that football desert area. The reason why he performs well is because he has the other half English blood. However, now that he has met me, it will be very difficult for him to perform well." At the end, Greening pretended to sigh.
In Greening's speech, Wang Li was called a "bastard", while he himself was a "pure-blooded" Englishman. It was impossible for a "bastard" to defeat a "pure-blooded" Englishman.
After hearing Greening's words, the reporters around were shocked. This was a blatant racial discrimination! And it was racial discrimination with a curse!
Within an hour, Greening's "bloodline theory" spread throughout Middlesbrough, and even Wolverhampton, who had just arrived here, knew about it.
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In a hotel next to the Riverside Stadium, Wang Li sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at the Patek Philippe gold watch on his wrist, without saying a word, with no expression on his face.
"Alan, don't pay attention to that uneducated idiot. Eriksson didn't recruit him into the national team because of this." Looking at Wang Li's expression, Miller was a little worried, so he advised him.
"We will have a chance to teach him a lesson tomorrow. As a professional player, the football field is the real battlefield." Kennedy said. He was also very angry about the remarks he heard today. Wang Li had just turned 17 years old. He was afraid that Wang Li would do something impulsive, so he came to take a look.
Harrison, who had just come in from the door, walked quickly to Wang Li, put his hands on his shoulders, and shook him, "Alan, cheer up, you won't be defeated so easily by a few words!"
Wang Li raised his head slightly, a puzzled expression flashed across his face, and he blinked blankly, "Are you talking about me?"
Miller was stunned for a moment, and then he slowly said, "Alan, when did you become as slow as Harry?"
"Am I slow? Fuck, Miller, Pete didn't come to Middlesbrough today, and it seems Alice is at home too..." Harrison said with a wicked smile on his face.
"roll!"
…
In fact, Wang Li was also very angry about Greening’s remarks against him. This was a naked insult and an insult to race!
But when you think about it, he has lived for more than 30 years and is no longer in the age of impulsiveness. Maybe he really has no experience in love, but when it comes to dealing with people, he is very calm. Doing something impulsively now will be of no use at all. Just like Kennedy said, for a professional player, the green field is the real battlefield!
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Wang Li's inaction does not mean that he is cowardly, but rational.
But head coach Dave Jones obviously would not ignore this matter. After learning of Greening's remarks, he immediately held a simple press conference.
"Greening's racist remarks are discrimination against all Asian players. This is a disgrace to English football. These remarks will cause psychological harm to my players and even all Asian players. I will appeal to the English Football Association!"
"Anyone who can say such things is a time bomb hidden in the crowd. Oh, sorry, it seems that Greening is a time bomb. I don't know why McLaren agreed to let such a bad person join the team. Sorry, the word 'human' is a compliment to him. He should be protected by WSPA (World Society for the Protection of Animals)."
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"He's just a clown who likes to attract attention. I never pay attention to his remarks." That night, McLaren immediately hit back at Dave Jones' remarks.
"So what do you think of the remarks made by the team's midfielder Greening?" the reporters immediately asked.
"Greening's words only emphasized the team's confidence in the game. There was no intention of racial discrimination. Instead of quibbling over words here, it is better to focus on tomorrow's game. Maybe Wolverhampton will suffer a Waterloo at the Riverside Stadium soon!"
………...
Regardless of the outcome of this debate, the war of words between the two head coaches, led by Greening, has already ignited the passion of the media and fans, and they are looking forward to tomorrow's game even more!
For both head coaches, whoever wins tomorrow's game will be the final winner!