The summer of 2002 was actually a spring for Chinese players. Although they achieved the second-last result in the World Cup, considering their own strength and the reality of participating in the World Cup for the first time, this result cannot be considered too embarrassing. The most important thing is that through this World Cup, many Chinese players have experienced a spring of studying abroad.

For Chinese fans, since the Chinese national team cannot achieve good enough results in top competitions, it can also make them happy that Chinese players can perform well in foreign leagues.

When Yang Chen played in Frankfurt, he attracted much attention from Chinese fans. Every time after the Bundesliga, the ratings of sports news at noon the next day must soar because Chinese fans hope to see Yang Chen on TV. If Yang Chen scored a goal in the game, then the next day the TV and newspapers reported him everywhere.

During that time, Yang Chen had become the most popular football player in China and an idol in the minds of countless people. He appeared on TV interview programs, participated in the shooting of TV series, endorsed world famous brands, and participated in the World Cup... This was almost the peak that a Chinese player could reach.

Now after the World Cup, several Chinese players have gone abroad and joined the Premier League.

Li Tie and Li Weifeng joined the Premier League team Everton under the sponsorship of Shenzhen Kejian Group. This immediately made Everton's popularity in China increase greatly, and not only in China, but also among Chinese students in the UK.

"Damn, Li Tie won the best game!" When Chu Zhongtian returned to the apartment from the Duns Bar where he worked, Yang Yang was browsing the news online. When he saw Chu Zhongtian come back, he couldn't wait to announce the news to him.

Chu Zhongtian leaned over and said, "I thought you were disappointed with Chinese football after watching the World Cup."

"Where can it be!" Yang Yang shook his head, "Although he was scolding hard in the stands, I still have to watch the Chinese team's game later..." He turned around and said to Chu Zhongtian, "Who made me a Chinese fan?"

Chu Zhongtian took a look at Yang Yang's laptop screen, which was opened on it. Photos of Li Tie wearing a black suit and holding a champagne are listed. It is really the best on the spot. This champagne is a tradition in the Premier League. Whether it is the best on the spot or the best of the month, the prizes he received are a bottle of champagne. From this we can see that wine is really everywhere in the UK, and the rewards to professional players are all wine. It is not news for English players to drink alcohol.

"The starter came out, and it took ninety minutes for the first time! It's not easy, it's not easy..."

Yang Yang murmured to introduce.

But Chu Zhongtian saw the god.

The same position, different destiny.

The Premier League arena... It's so far away from me.

Can you have such a day?

He straightened up from the computer, turned around and walked out.

Seeing him leave, Yang Yang suddenly asked: "There will be a 'China Derby' on the 31st. Do you see, Da Chu?"

The so-called "China derby" was actually made by the Chinese media themselves, which was the match between Everton where Li Tie was and Manchester City where Sun Jihai was. This was the first time that Chinese players met in the top European leagues, so the excited Chinese media gave this name, mainly to stimulate Chinese fans. In the UK, not many people paid special attention to this game, but normal reports, and those who were interested were all Chinese media. Chinese football in England are just an inconspicuous little role, even though Li Tie just won the first Chinese player in the Premier League.

Chu Zhongtian shook his head: "I had a game that day."

"Huh?" Yang Yang was a little surprised. "Is your game thirty-one?"

Chu Zhongtian nodded.

"I'll go see!" Yang Yang raised his hand.

"Don't you want to watch the Chinese derby?"

"Hi, just come back and watch sports news. Your game has no TV broadcasts, and there is no replay of sports news."

Chu Zhongtian looked at his fellow villager and roommate who never speaks Sichuan dialect: "Thank you, Lao Yang."

"What are you grateful for? We are fellow villagers." Yang Yang waved his hand.

"You learn to speak Sichuan dialect quickly, fellow villager." Chu Zhongtian pointed at Yang Yang, turned around and walked out.

Back in his room, Chu Zhongtian sat on the bed and thought of Li Tie's best thing in this game. Although Li Tie had the opportunity to enter the stage of the top European league with the sponsorship of Kejian Company, no matter what method he used, he was here. When the national treasure-level figure of Japanese football, Chiroki Miura relied on the sponsorship of Japanese companies when he first landed in Genoa Club in Serie A?

It is not important to use the method to go out. What is important is to be able to stand firm after going out. He doesn’t know if Li Tie and Sun Jihai can finally stand firm. He actually hopes that they stand firm. Just as Yang Yang said, they are all Chinese, and they always hope that the players of their country can perform well.

Chu Zhongtian suddenly thought that these things were too far away from him... He stood up from the bed, got up to take a shower.

※※ Chu Zhongtian has studied the team's future schedule and his course schedule this semester, and found that he would definitely not be able to participate in some matches on the match day. He could still participate in those matches held on weekends, but there would be no way to participate in the mid-week matches.

Coach Eames will definitely be troubled by the lack of a capable midfielder, and Chu Zhongtian has no intention of skipping class to play. In his heart, playing football at Wimbledon is just a way to regain the happiness of football, a good part-time job that can satisfy his love for football and make some money. He does not intend to play football as a professional one.

Just like the gap between himself and Li Tie and Sun Jihai. Although many people disdain Li Tie's skills and think that Chinese players are just like this, despite this, Chu Zhongtian now has no way to compare with Li Tie and Sun Jihai who are "not so". By making money from playing football to repay the kindness of their parents' raising, such a thing is simply a daydream. Chu Zhongtian is not an idiot, so he will not have such fantasy.

The professional football journey was cut off when his entry certificate was detained in that football school, which made him unable to transfer to other football schools.

August 31 is the fifth round of the league, that day is Saturday. September 2 is Monday, and Wimbledon Art School officially starts. From that day on, Chu Zhongtian will become more busy than he does during the summer vacation. Tuesday, September 3 is the sixth round of the league, but Chu Zhongtian will definitely not be able to participate in that game. The game time is in the afternoon, when Chu Zhongtian was in school. It was so inappropriate that he skipped classes just one day after school... So when Emily asked him if he would go to the sixth round of the league, he refused. Emily was a little disappointed. She planned to skip classes to watch the game.

"I think you can consider using football as a profession, Chu." At the Duns Bar where Chu Zhongtian works, Emily ordered a glass of Guinness stout beer as usual, and lay in front of the bartender Chu Zhongtian chatted with the bartender.

There are not many opportunities like this. When school starts, Chu Zhongtian's time to work at the Duns Bar will decrease, and Emily doesn't have much time to spend here all day.

"Professional football?" Chu Zhongtian thought of the news that Li Tie won the best on the spot that day, and grinned. "I don't think I have a professional level anymore."

"No, you have it!" Emily sat up, looked at the bartender in front of her, and turned the railway firm. "Did you hear it on the scene on the day the club was established?"

"What?"

"Our oath." Emily raised her head.

Chu Zhongtian remembered that that afternoon, at Kings Ranch, he heard more than 4,000 Wimbledon fans shouting desperately: "...go to the place where you should go! Go to the top league! Go back to the place where you should go, Southwest London!!"

"Back to where you should go..." Emily murmured. "Back to the top league... you are Wimbledon's main defensive midfielder, Chu."

"When the team is able to return to the top league, I won't need me anymore." Chu Zhongtian shrugged. He was not intentionally pretentious, he felt that the truth was the case. There are many such situations in reality. Those players who follow the team to play in low-level leagues are the main players of the team and have made great contributions to the team's upgrade. But once the team is promoted to the top league, they will be sold off by the club immediately. Because their strength is not enough to cope with higher-level top leagues, they are like fish in low-level leagues. Once they reach the top league, they will immediately appear clumsy and cannot keep up with the pace.

Emily also understood the meaning behind Chu Zhongtian's words. She thought for a while and said, "Professional players are not only players who participate in the top league."

What she said makes sense, but was refuted by Chu Zhongtian: "If you can't participate in the top league, what's the point of being a professional player?"

Emily didn't expect that Chu Zhongtian would refute it with such a reason. She pouted and felt that Chu Zhongtian's idea was too wrong. "The meaning of professional players is to take football as their profession, and being able to make money is the meaning. Not all professional players can participate in the top league, so do those professional players who cannot participate in the top league have no meaning of existence?" She also fought back without showing any weakness.

Chu Zhongtian shook his head: "They are them, I am me. For me, if I can't play in the best league, it doesn't make sense."

Emily was a little annoyed when she heard him say this: “Would I say you are very confident, or do you overestimate yourself?”

"Anyway, I can't play in the professional league. Just talk about it casually. Bragging doesn't cost much." Chu Zhongtian shrugged. Just try to get enough of talking. Do you really want to play in the professional league? This is not what daydreaming is.

Hearing him say this, Emily couldn't help laughing.

Looking at Emily who was trembling with laughter, Chu Zhongtian suddenly blurted out: "Has anyone ever told you, Emily? You look pretty when you smile."

He had no idea why he said such words, but was just impulsive. After saying that, he regretted it a little, and quickly lowered his head and wiped the cup in his hand, but he wiped it all the time and there.

Emily was a little surprised, but she didn't expect Chu Zhongtian to say that. But soon her smile appeared on her face again.

"You are the first one, Chu."

※※※"August 31!" Yang Yang suddenly yelled in his room, frightening Chu Zhongtian who was washing in the bathroom.

It's nine o'clock in the morning on August 31st. He had just returned from outside for a while and had to work at the Duns Bar. After lunch, he went directly to King's Ranch.

Chu Zhongtian was startled by Yang Yang's roar and ran out with a toothbrush in his mouth full of foam, seeing which Yang Yang sang.

Unexpectedly, Yang Yang smiled at him: "What is the specific time for the game, Da Chu?"

Chu Zhongtian swallowed all the toothpaste foam in his mouth: "Take the ball at 4:30 in the afternoon."

“Where is it?”

"Kings Ranch Stadium... I said you don't know where you are, right?"

Yang Yang shook his head in confusion.

"You walk west along Kingston Road and walk all the way to Jack Goodchild Lane. Take the public bus, Route 131." Chu Zhongtian pulled a piece of paper and wrote it on it, saying to Yang Yang while writing.

Yang Yang looked at the notes handed over by Chu Zhongtian, then nodded: "I can't find me and search for the map."

"Then how do you go?" he asked again.

Chu Zhongtian said: "I will go directly from the Duns Bar."

He didn't say that he was running because there was no need to say anything. He didn't think it was a very amazing thing, and it was meaningless to say it.

Yang Yang stopped asking, and Chu Zhongtian also returned to the bathroom to continue washing. After a brief breakfast, he was going to the Duns Bar. However, before going to the bar, he had to buy a football first.

After practicing the ball control for a whole afternoon that day, he found that he fell in love with that feeling and realized how distressing it was to not have enough time - he only practiced once and was paused because he wanted to make way for the team's training and game.

He wanted to practice every morning, afternoon and evening, but he didn't have that much time. And even if he had time, Russell didn't have this time.

He thought of a solution. When he was a child, he liked to watch "Football Young Players". He watched the characters in it playing football, whether they were going to school or after school. So he thought that dribbling like this would improve his ball control ability, making dribbling like walking and running, and making football completely obey his own command, so controlling the ball is no longer a problem.

※※※Colin John was very surprised when he saw Chu Zhongtian running to the bar door with a football under his feet. He pointed to the football: "What's going on, Chu?"

"I used it to practice ball control." Chu Zhongtian explained.

"Are you going to pour wine for Old Bente and others while picking the ball?"

Chu Zhongtian was amused by the boss's statement, "If I could do that, it would be a pity that I can't."

"Why are you thinking about doing ball control practice?"

"Well... I want to improve my level." Chu Zhongtian brought the football behind the bar and started changing clothes and working.

"Your level is already very high. If you go to the Sunday League, you will definitely become the number one star there." Boss John said, but the level he refers to must be Chu Zhongtian's defensive level.

“My ball possession is not particularly good, so…”

Boss John nodded and said he understood. "But that's how you came here with the ball from where you live?"

Chu Zhongtian nodded.

Boss John glared at him: "You are like this, do you still have the strength to compete in the afternoon?"

"Uh..." Chu Zhongtian didn't know how to defend himself.

At this time, a familiar voice sounded at the door: "You don't have to worry about this, Uncle John."

The two of them turned around and saw Emily standing at the door, looking at them with a smile.

"What did you say? Emily? He is just trying to do this now. What should I do when it comes to the competition? If I lose my strength and get cramps..."
To be continued...