With the guidance of "experts", Zheng Zhi's trial training at Charlton was a great success.
After the 30-minute trial match, many players came up to say hello to the Far East captain, as if they regarded him as a future teammate.
At the press conference after the trial match, Charlton coach Reid made it clear that he was very satisfied with Zheng Zhi's trial and that the upcoming Doha Asian Games will be his final test.
Unsurprisingly, Wang Xiaodong, who offered advice to Zheng Zhi from the sidelines, also became the darling of reporters.
They gathered around and pointed their microphones at Wang Xiaodong.
"Dong, is Zheng your friend? Why did you come all the way from London this year?"
"Dong, is Tottenham also interested in Zheng?"
"Dong, a few days ago, British international Theo Walcott said that you introduced his girlfriend Melanie. Is this true?"
"Dong, someone saw you in a couple with a certain girl today. Is she your girlfriend?"
"Dong, Allen or Gareth, who do you like more among these two?"
Faced with increasingly unreliable questions from reporters, Wang Xiaodong wanted to raise his fist and smash the camera pointed at him to pieces.
But he quickly gave up, because there were too many cameras here, and he couldn't hit them with one person.
Thinking of this, Wang Xiaodong pulled Zheng Zhi beside him and said, "Brother Zheng, do we want to do it together?"
Zheng Zhi: "???"
The news that Wang Xiaodong went to Charlton to watch the trial training of his compatriots even overshadowed the Charlton club itself. The English media, which sees wind and rain, are really good at this kind of facts.
With a wave of his hand, an article about Tottenham's winter window signing "plan" was published in the newspaper. Looking at the decent analysis, even Tottenham officials had trouble distinguishing the truth from the false.
After getting rid of the annoying reporters, agent Gao Qi and Zheng Zhi treated Wang Xiaodong to a meal at a Chinese restaurant in London.
"Xiaodong, I didn't expect that you would be so generous today that you would come over to watch your Brother Zheng's trial training. For this, let's toast you first!"
The two of them did not regard Wang Xiaodong as an underage child at all. He was able to fight in the Premier League alone. This courage alone was not something that a 17-year-old boy in China could achieve.
What's more, the two of them still "wanted" Wang Xiaodong.
Judging from his age, Gao Qi could have been Wang Xiaodong's uncle, but since Zheng Zhi and Gao Qi were the same generation, Wang Xiaodong certainly couldn't be shorter.
"Here, cheers!" Wang Xiaodong was also unambiguous. Liquor with dozens of degrees of alcohol was like boiled water. He drank the glass and drank it.
Seeing Wang Xiaodong's alright appearance, Gao Qi looked at the wine glass in his hand, gritted his teeth, and poured it all into his mouth.
"Brother Gao, you have a good drinker, you have a good drinker!" Seeing that the other party was also bored, Wang Xiaodong immediately gave him a thumbs up and took the opportunity to pour the other party another drink.
"Oh no, no, no. At my age, I can't compare with you young people. I can't drink anymore..." Gao Qi quickly begged for mercy.
With just one glass of wine, Gao Qi was defeated and all the clichés he had prepared before were swallowed back into his stomach.
Before he was completely drunk, Gao Qi resisted his dizziness, stepped over all the preparations and said directly: "Xiaodong, what do you think of your brother Zheng's performance? Is it possible to succeed in the trial training?"
Speaking of which, this is not the first time Zheng Zhi has gone abroad for trial training.
As early as 2004, Zheng Zhi went to Southampton and Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga for trial training, but in the end he was unsuccessful.
Now Zheng Zhi has reached his golden age and has won all the honors he can get in the Chinese Super League. If he doesn't go abroad to become the best, he will stop here in his life.
Therefore, for Zheng Zhi himself, being able to play in the four major European leagues is the most important thing. But this involves the issue of the transfer of some Chinese players overseas. It is not only a game between agents, players and football associations and clubs. Zheng Zhi must also be careful not to be "sold" by foreign agents.
Most of the foreign agents of players studying abroad are managed by Schlappner's son. After this black-hearted businessman moved domestic players to Europe, he not only took advantage of the clubs, but also took advantage of the players. caused conflicts between players and clubs.
Therefore, sometimes even if the Premier League club wants to take in Zheng Zhi, they are really unable to do anything at the price given by the agent.
Wang Xiaodong didn't understand this and didn't care.
After hearing Gao Qi's question, Wang Xiaodong helped Zheng Zhi analyze the current situation from a football player's perspective.
"Foreigners' emotional expressions are very intuitive. If you think you are good, then you are good. If you think you are not, you won't be as secretive as in China."
"Charlton are really short of someone in Zheng's position recently. I just listened to their fans talking privately on the sidelines. If Zheng can maintain his current form, there will be no problem in Charlton."
"Haha, with your words from Xiaodong, your brother Zheng feels much better, and this big stone can fall to the ground. Xiao Zheng, why are you standing there in a daze? Give Xiaodong a toast!"
After being stabbed by Gao Qi in the arm, Zheng Zhi quickly picked up the wine glass and drank it up like Wang Xiaodong did before.
Wang Xiaodong is also cool and unrestrained. After two drinks in a row, his eyes are getting brighter and brighter.
Looking at Zheng Zhi who kept swallowing saliva, Gao Qi became contemptuous.
Why are you so stupid? You just drink whatever he wants?
You are both from the Northeast, why do you still want to have a tough fight with him?
"Brother Zheng has a good capacity for drinking. Come on, fill up another glass, fill up another glass."
Gao Qi couldn't drink anymore, so Zheng Zhi could only be pushed down in front of Wang Xiaodong and help him block the drink.
"Xiaodong, do you think it's possible for your brother Zheng to go to Tottenham?" Gao Qi asked half-jokingly while Wang Xiaodong was pouring wine.
"You see, your brother Zheng is not young this year. If you don't come out to play, no club will want him in two years."
"He is not in a hurry now. I am anxious for him, and the fans are also anxious for him!"
At this moment, Gao Qi is like a parent who is looking for ways to help his children. As long as he can get some connections, he is not shameless at all.
Zheng Zhi is like the "unsatisfactory child" next to his parents. Under the "scolding" of his parents, he looks at "other people's children" helplessly.
Wang Xiaodong didn't care. He didn't like playing tricks, so he still analyzed it for Zheng Zhi from a football perspective.
"I remember that Brother Zheng played as a defensive midfielder like me, right?"
"The Premier League now lacks a midfielder like Vieira. Those who win the midfield win the world. This will become the mainstream of the future development of the Premier League."
"And this position does not require Brother Zheng to be outstanding in every skill, as long as he has no obvious shortcomings."
"The most important thing is that our Asian players are not superior to foreigners in other aspects. The only thing we can show off is attitude."
"As long as you have a correct attitude, you will at least be like those South Korean players. It won't be a problem to become a semi-main player!"
Wang Xiaodong did not answer Gao Qi's words directly, but his first sentence was equivalent to helping Tottenham veto Zheng Zhi.
Zheng Zhi is a right back and became Lee Tie's successor after Lee Tie was injured.
Zheng Zhi also played very well in the defensive midfield position. Sometimes the coach would even play him as a defender, and his defense and assist skills were also good.
What Wang Xiaodong said just now can be regarded as helping Zheng Zhi guide a development direction for himself.
After hearing Wang Xiaodong's summary, Zheng Zhi couldn't help but ask: "Xiaodong, what do you think I need now, Brother Zheng?"
After Wang Xiaodong and Zheng Zhi had another drink, they shook their heads: "Brother Zheng, I watched you for a while during your trial training today. Your basic skills are completely adaptable to the Premier League!"
Hearing Wang Xiaodong say this, Zheng Zhi's eyes began to light up.
"Oh? How do you say this?"
"Nothing to say." Wang Xiaodong spread his hands, "I just compared you with myself. Brother Zheng, your basic skills are much better than mine."
Hearing Wang Xiaodong's answer, Zheng Zhi was stunned for a moment, and then said with a wry smile: "Xiaodong, stop making fun of you, Brother Zheng. Your level is obvious to all, but you don't know that you are the idol of all young fans in China. , you can check out Huang Jianxiang’s blog, there are a lot of female fans sending selfies for you, it’s like a dating corner.”
Wang Xiaodong naturally knew what happened to Huang Jianxiang's blog. After all, the fans of his blog were all transferred from Huang Jianxiang's side.
A few days ago, I posted a saxophone audio clip to a blog. Although it was only a beginner's level, more than half of the replies below were female fans. The content of their replies was also very simple, just an online emoticon of two eyes turning into heart shapes.
"It's true." Wang Xiaodong said calmly, "Not only Brother Zheng, but also Brother Li, Brother Sun and Xiao Dong. I have watched their games and training. They are indeed better than me in basic skills. After all, you guys I’ve been practicing this since I was a kid, so I’m just a half-way monk at best.”
Seeing Wang Xiaodong analyzing himself like this, Gao Qi and Zheng Zhi also looked at each other awkwardly.
"In that case, Xiaodong, according to your understanding, what do you think your Brother Zheng still lacks now?"
"Personality!" Wang Xiaodong stretched out his second finger, "And confidence."
"Personality? Confidence?"
"Yes, in the Premier League, you can have no skills, but you can't survive without personality and confidence!" Wang Xiaodong explained.
"I don't know how domestic football is taught, but when Brother Zheng kicked the ball today, he passed it back several times when he had a through ball. When it was time to break through, he protected the ball. He even had a few chances to hit the goal. Zheng But I didn’t even take off my feet.”
"In the Premier League, you can't always play step-by-step. If you are more aggressive, the coach will scold you, but if you really create goals, you will become the team's biggest contributor!"
"Playing football is not about being a high-precision robot according to the coach's words. Even if you often walk on the field, as long as you can create goals, then you are successful."
Speaking of this, Wang Xiaodong shook his head and sighed when looking at the two people who still had confused faces.
"Brother Zheng, you may not understand what I'm saying. If you really have the opportunity to play in the Premier League, I think you will understand it soon."
"Any tactic is to pave the way for the final goal and victory. Even if you do nothing and play the whole game according to the coach's arrangements, the coach and fans will not think that you are hardworking and uncomplaining. On the contrary, they will complain about you playing in a certain place." Why didn't he help the team attack?"
"For example, just look at Ronaldo at Manchester United."
"When that kid first came to Manchester United, he did all kinds of embroidery and wasted opportunities. The fans also scolded him."
"But now, he is gradually finding a way of playing that suits him and is slowly becoming a main player for Manchester United."
"He is starting every game now, and it is said that he and Rooney are going to win the Premier League Golden Boot!"
"So to put it bluntly, as long as Brother Zheng thinks more when playing football and makes strategies that are conducive to the team's offense, little Charlton will be more than enough for you."
After Wang Xiaodong finished speaking, he picked up the wine glass in front of him and drained it.
On the plane back home, looking at the white clouds outside the window, Zheng Zhi's mind was filled with what Wang Xiaodong had said to him.
After looking at many previously puzzling things from another angle, the blocked road became inexplicably smoother.
At this moment, Zheng Zhi became extremely confident.
I am confident that I can succeed in the trial training, and I am also confident that I can lead the national team to win the Asian Games championship.
It has been more than ten years since he started playing football in Jianye, Liaoning, and Zheng Zhi has a new understanding of football for the first time.
