"Ding~"
In the bar of the hotel where Leeds United stayed, three beer bottles came together.
Sitting on the sofa is Leeds United head coach Lee George, as well as two of the team's players, Robin van Persie and Alan Smith.
Because the weather was too hot, the team's afternoon training ended early. Because there was a friendly match against Waller Vickers the next day, there was no training scheduled in the evening.
Li, who was too bored in the room, was about to go out for a walk, but saw two Smiths in the corridor who were about to go out.
I originally thought that these two brothers were going out to have fun, but it turned out that these two people actually invited George Li to have a drink at the small bar of the hotel.
George Li asked Casper, who lived with him, if he would go with him, but Casper refused him.
Then the three of them went to the bar, ordered a few bottles of beer, and started chatting while drinking.
"You two didn't go out to play. You didn't pretend to buy me a drink just because you saw me." George Li took a sip of wine and started joking about the two players.
"Coach, you are the best at pretending. Why didn't you tell us in advance that the training place was the Netherlands." Smith began to say without even drinking.
"Yes, boss, you are really bad. Alan and I have already visited Amsterdam and we want to go back to England." Van Persie also added.
"Otherwise, I will arrange for you to go back early."
"Okay, I will train seriously when I return to the UK, coach." Smith followed George Li's words.
"Then don't think about being your main player next season."
"No, boss, please don't... I love the Netherlands the most."
George Lee and Smith were chatting there, and Van Persie took another sip of wine and interrupted their conversation.
"Boss, I heard Coach Kidd say that I might appear on the right wing next season, right?"
"Yes."
"Why, I remember we were in the Netherlands last year..."
George Li knew what Van Persie was going to say. With Van Persie's rebellious character, it was not easy to take the initiative to speak to him.
When persuading Van Persie to join last year, Lee George promised Van Persie to serve as the main forward.
Although Van Persie sometimes appeared on the right wing last season, it was always when someone on the right side of the team was injured and absent. Now it was brought up before the season. Van Persie believed that this was a distrust of the head coach in him. You should give the forward position to others and let yourself compete with Romedal for the main spot.
"Robin, I'm glad you asked that. At least you didn't keep these words to yourself."
George Li picked up the bottle and prepared to touch it with Van Persie.
Van Persie looked at his head coach, hesitated, and then touched him.
"Thank you, boss."
"Robin, who do you think will be the forward of the team after I put you on the right?"
"No..." After Van Persie spoke, he did not finish his words, but looked to the side, his best friend Alan Smith.
After Smith saw Van Persie's eyes, he looked at George Lee, hoping to get an answer from Lee.
It's no wonder that Van Persie thinks this way. The player who scored the most goals in the club last year was Smith, so Van Persie thought that the head coach would move Smith to the forward position and let himself make way for him.
Van Persie is a very proud person. He does not think that he is worse than others. If he had not encountered injuries last year, he firmly believes that he would not have scored fewer goals than Smith.
But Smith is his best friend, and he has been helping him integrate into the team since he came to the team. Now facing the competition between Smith and himself, he didn't know what to do for a while, so he took this opportunity to drink and asked The head coach raised his own questions.
"He, no." George Lee denied Van Persie's view, "Alan will still be the team's main midfielder this season. I need his impact in the midfield."
"Then why did the team add so many midfielders?"
"One is that the team needs to play in the Europa League this season, and I also hope to make some gains in the domestic league. The other is Davis, oh, I'm talking about Edgar Davis, I almost forgot that we have Two Davises. He is older, and I hope to prepare in advance and find a successor."
"So if I play on the right, the one who plays up front is..."
"Yes, it's Kevin Davis."
"Wow~" It was Smith who called out. It was obvious that he knew what Davis was like.
"What the hell are you talking about?" George Lee scolded Smith, then turned to Van Persie and said, "So, the responsibility for scoring goals this season still has to be on you. Not only will I not reduce your proportion in the offense, We will even give you extra weight to give you more tactical leanings."
"Wow~, boss, you are partial." It was Smith again.
But this time, George Lee was too lazy to pay attention to Smith, but told Van Persie again.
"I originally wanted to try it in the Ajax game, but now it seems that just saying it to you may not be able to dispel your doubts. Why don't I arrange for you to try your new style of play on the right in the second half of the game tomorrow? ,How about it?"
"Okay, I'm looking forward to it."
This time, it was Van Persie who took the initiative to clink glasses with George Lee.
"Robin, sometimes I regret having you too soon, you know?"
"Coach, why? I feel that I am very happy in Leeds. I have a coach who understands me, a tactical style of play that I like, strong teammates who can cooperate with me, and good brothers who can always take me out to play. , I never even thought about leaving, really."
"Now that's what you said, Robin. When we meet other better teams in the Europa League and even the Champions League, you find more powerful players who can be your teammates, and you find more powerful coaches. If it allows you to perform better, will you still stay in Leeds?"
"this......"
“If you hadn’t come to Leeds, where would you have gone?”
"Arsenal, after all, that's the team my father loves."
"Do you still want to go now?"
"I don't want to, at least not now."
"Yes, I think we will surpass Arsenal one day in the future, but by then you will become an excellent striker, so when Bayern, Milan, Juventus, or even Real Madrid and Barcelona invite you, will you still refuse them? "
"Uh~" Van Persie hesitated.
George Li was also waiting for Van Persie's answer, but he forgot that there was someone beside him.
"I will, I just want to stay at Leeds United. No matter whether I can play in the Europa League or the Champions League, or even if I am relegated, I just want to stay in Leeds." Smith, who had been listening to the two chatting for a long time, spoke.
"Did Ferdinand and Woodgate say that back then?" George Li asked Smith.
"I don't know if they said it or not, but I do what I say, and I believe Leeds United will win with me, right?"
"I'll try my best, Alan." George Li drank the last sip of wine and prepared to get up.
"Boss, where are you going without a drink?"
George Li waved his hand to indicate that he would stop drinking.
"Chris said he wanted to go out for a walk, and I have to go back and get my key card, otherwise neither of us can get in."
^^^
The next day, during the second half of a friendly match against Waller-Vickers.
Van Persie was replaced in the second half and played as a forward for 15 minutes. Then Lee George replaced Kevin Davis, allowing Van Persie to appear on the right wing.
In the 78th minute, Van Persie received a pass from Davis in front of the penalty area on the right. He took two steps inside and kicked a long shot with his left foot. It went into the far corner of the goal and scored his first goal of the game. Two goals.
The score on the court was 7 to 1.
Van Persie didn't celebrate much after scoring. He just scratched his head. He didn't feel the tactical changes or tactical inclinations mentioned by the coach last night. I don’t know if the head coach was lying to me because he drank too much. I didn’t know that the head coach would get drunk after just one beer.
George Lee spread his hands towards Jordi Cruyff in the distance.
He said, Brother, please give me some strength, I won’t be able to train anything with your team.
Cruyff Jr. also spread his hands towards George Lee.
He said, "Brother, I really have no choice. The team's strength is just this, so I will try my best."
The final score between the two sides was 9 to 1, and Li George could only put his thoughts on training into the next game against Ajax.
