On 26 October, FIFA announced the World Footballer of the Year award earlier than ever – European Championship winners French star Ousmane Dembele narrowly beat Gabriel Jesus to claim the award. Patrick Amber struggled with injuries last year, but still finished third. However, he did not attend.

The Coach of the Year award went to AC Milan boss Massimo Romano, a young Italian who won the Champions League without being favored and rose to become one of the world's top managers at a rocket-rate rate. Nicolás Flores also finished third in the managerial awards, behind Fabrizio Romano and France coach Zinedine Zidane.

Lu Ling saw the news report on the TV screen on the wall in his office.

They don't really care much about that. She thought. What they crave most is always a real championship.

Since the beginning of this season, in La Liga, Real Madrid has won all the leagues so far, Barcelona has lost one game and is in second place, in Serie A, AC Milan has replaced Juventus' position as the leader over the years and is currently at the top of the table, and in the Bundesliga, Bayern is the leader.

She got up, poured a glass of wine, and turned to look through the floor-to-ceiling windows at Harrington's training ground.

It was completely dark, no one was moving, only the faint lights flickered.

After nine rounds, QPR is second in the league. And in the European competition, the Portuguese's Paris Saint-Germain has already made QPR suffer defeat. Mensah has suffered a serious injury and is still recuperating after surgery, and the probability of returning this season is half and half, JT is not fully qualified for the main centre-back position, and there have been sporadic voices among fans questioning her decision to let Mario go, Ben's fitness is getting better but his relationship with his teammates and himself is delicate, and Phil ......

And Pat. And Pat.

There were many things to worry about, but she didn't feel too much anxiety at the moment.

It's going to be a tumultuous season.

Talented players are emerging in the Premier League, in the Champions League, in all leagues. Brilliant young coaches keep coming to the front of the stage and competing with the big coaches of the previous era. Romano's AC Milan, Nick's Real Madrid, Jose's PSG, Pepe's Barcelona, Bayern, Juventus, and the Premier League......

And her blue and white legion.

It's a great time.

She took a sip of her wine, feeling it seep into her veins and then burn.

****

On the bus back from Birmingham, the QPR team was in a good mood.

Another big 4-0 victory. Four consecutive away games have passed. In midweek, QPR beat Bolton Wanderers 3-1 in the Carabao Cup to advance to the quarter-finals. And in this just-concluded game, the blue and white team beat Birmingham City. Leon Ferreira opened the scoring in the first half with a volley from outside the box, before Patrick Amber scored twice with a second-half header and free-kick. Phil's red card suspension was cancelled after a QPR appeal and he scored a solo goal at the end of the game.

By the second half of the trip, everyone's attention shifted to Jacob's iPad.

It was Everton against Wolves. Exclamations kept coming, 3:0, 4:0, 5:0......

Lu Ling and Tim turned their heads together.

Phil looked up at the two coaches and shouted, "Holy **! The frogmen have already entered four!"

Jacob simply held the iPad up for everyone to see. A close-up of Pierre Youngkay on the screen, with the French boy flashing past the Wolves player in an all-yellow jersey. Immediately afterward, the camera switches to a long shot. Bruno Ergas, the poison dart frog, received a pass from Pierre, picked one of them, and then pumped the ball in a very exaggerated position.

Lu Ling was half-blocked by Hans, but still saw Bruno's leg swing after the shot. The body of the poison dart frog seemed to fly.

"He's in five!" exclaimed Jacob.

"You're always talking obvious nonsense, Jake. "It's Phil's voice.

"Doesn't that mean that Ergas has the same number of goals as Pat?" said Genk slowly, presumably as he counted.

That's right, Lu Ling thought about it for a while. In the game just now, Pat scored two, bringing the total number of goals scored in the first 10 rounds (in fact only eight) to 12. And Elgas have scored a total of 7 goals before this game......

"How the fuck did the frogman score so many goals?" said Phil, incredulous and somewhat indignant.

In the end, Everton beat Wolves 7-0. It was the biggest score in the Premier League so far this season. Bruno Ergas scored five goals alone, becoming the sixth player in Premier League history to reach that record.

Pierre Junkai is a Real Madrid player. Lu Ling turned his head and thought. Toni Kroos has recently been injured and the French boy could be recalled for the winter. But that's Real Madrid! there's always someone to fill in. However, it would be a good thing for QPR if Pierre was actually recalled in January. The 18-year-old has already proven that he can be at the heart of the midfield as a Premier League title contender.

Thinking of this, Lu Ling turned his head again and glanced at Benjamin. Benjamin bowed his head. From just now to now, Ben hasn't been too involved in the heckling of his teammates. Maybe he's also thinking about the Frenchman who is in a similar position to him, but has overshadowed him a bit so far this season.

"They were on fire. Tim said.

Lu Ling had already turned his head again and answered, agreeing with the teaching assistant's words. After a season of hibernation after Ninick's departure, Everton is back in contention for the Premier League.

Tim lowered his voice and asked a question. "If you had a choice, would you choose Ben or Pierre?"

This question didn't make Lu Ling think about it for too long. "Ben. ”

Tim gave a slightly playful smile. "Even though I know it won't be for personal reasons, I want to ask why. ”

"Bielsa says I'm a pragmatist, and in that case, I probably do. He is a homegrown player, and for that alone, I have to choose him. To be fair, Pierre's talent is above this, it's just that this one doesn't overshadow the rest. No matter how long I'm going to stay in a team, I'm going to build a team with a long-term perspective. I had to give myself a choice. ”

Tim thought for a moment. "Reasonable. It's just that Ben is an Englishman, but he is often out of the team. ”

"He's a guy who finds a solution. Otherwise, why did he choose this path?" Lu Ling smiled at Tim. Ben works the training ground and in the gym. Phil's verbal provocation and Leon's occasional sarcasm had no effect on him. His fitness is getting better and better, and everyone is watching. He was only twenty years old. It's hard to predict what this player will become in the future. She remembered the dark-haired boy who had gotten up from the grass at Craven Farm and was unhurriedly styled his hair. At least it won't be worse than that.

"Do you think he's losing interest? You know what I'm talking about. Tim replied.

"You should have asked him directly. ”

"At least he's been going to your office a lot less lately. ”

She laughed, "At least we can assume he's lost." ”

Tim didn't say a word, and looked back.

Benjamin put on his headphones at some point, and when he met the eyes cast by the teaching assistant, he immediately smiled humbly and politely, and then turned his gaze to talk to Gonzalo next to him.

Tim recalls how he looked at twenty years old, oh, definitely much simpler than this boy.

****

Perhaps spurred on by Everton's 7-0 thrashing of Wolves, the duo scored four more goals in the second half, despite repeated warnings from the coaching staff at half-time against Olympiacos in the Champions League group stage against Olympiacos. As a result, QPR won 6:0 in the fourth round of the Champions League group stage. And, six goals were scored by five different players. In addition to Patrick's brace again, Leon, Phil, Glenn and starting Brill Embolo all scored.

QPR is currently second in the group with nine points, while Paris Saint-Germain, who have won all of them, are in first place. None of them wanted to finish second in the group. Fortunately, after that, I went to the Parc des Princes and had a direct conversation with Jose Mourinho. The last two big wins also came at the right time, and Lu Ling paid attention to the state of the players in the dressing room and on the training ground, which was not quite the same as the frivolity at the beginning of the season. Although she has a hard time putting into words that difference.

And in the 11th round of the Premier League on November 7, QPR created an even more shocking score.

Sky Sports' show ends on Saturday night after the game. The guests who had been in the TV box at the new Queen's Park left and went downstairs to the edge of the pitch.

Here, the QPR boss was featured in Sky Sports' sideline interview.

Henry asked first. "Christine, the last three games have been scored in the ...... I can't count it, it should be 19 goals, and how is the team's form activated?"

Lu Ling looked at Henry and said with a smile: "I remember that our state has not been bad since this season. ”

The Arsenal legend shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

Lu Ling gradually turned his gaze to the camera, "Middlesbrough is a worthy opponent, but I am also proud of our players. ”

After she finished speaking, Sky Sports' live broadcast car was already in place, and the holographic broadcast screen they had set up outside the sideline flashed directly the goals generated in the game.

In the 3rd minute, Sorin Miturescu, who started the game, scored a direct free kick. Patrick conceded the ball to the Romanian, and Sorin scored his first goal of the season with perfect footwork.

Since the live broadcast was on the sidelines, the QPR home fans who were so excited after the game that they did not leave close to this side immediately let out cheers and screams after seeing the goal appear on the screen. At first, the Sky Sports staff also signaled them to be quieter, but then they simply ignored it.

After the deadlock was broken, Middlesbrough were a little overwhelmed and wanted to press forward, but the strong front of the QPR kept them from pressing completely.

Patrick doubled the lead in the 14th minute when he latched on to Benjamin's through ball, snuff past a defender on the edge of the box and slotted home with ease.

And that's not all. Patrick roamed down the left flank, swapped positions with Sorin and delivered a pinpointed, fast left-footed cross. Phil leaps up and heads the ball in from close range. It was in the 19th minute.

Lu Ling looked at Phil's figure, and he returned to normal little by little after that night. She didn't think she had changed anything, time was always the best cure for everything.

"At this point, I think we should adjust our strategy. It's not a good thing to rush too hard, and in the Champions League, Leon's calf was a little sore, so I put him on the bench this time. Lu Ling half-turned around and looked at the holographic video and explained.

"So for the next 15 minutes, you didn't score?" quipped Jamie Redknapp.

Lu Ling smiled a little helplessly and a little proudly. The energy in this team is enormous. The screen also gave the 36th minute, QPR's fourth goal of the game - Benjamin launched a dazzling quick pass, so that QPR hit the opponent's half in just a few seconds, the end of this counterattack was Patrick, Genk's pick pass to the top star of QPR to form a single knife, Patrick naturally scored easily.

"That's what we want to show in training, the movement on the counter-attack," she said. Genk was fantastic and unfortunately he didn't score today. As for Phil's movement, it was just right to block the path of the opposing central defenders. ”

Towards the end of the first half, QPR scored the fifth goal. Patrick Amber's solo performance. He scored a hat-trick in the second half of the season. He used his own stunt to steal Pele's "kick-and-kick wall", deliberately knocking the ball on the opponent's ankle, and then bounced back to his feet and burst into the penalty area. Then in the box, Patrick got past the goalkeeper and sent the ball into the empty net from a tight angle.

When the goal was played on the holographic screen, the nearest QPR fan sang the song loudly, which was new to them this season:

pat patty patty patty patty patty amber

he’s fast** he’s good**……

Lu Ling smiled and said, "I hope you don't broadcast this song live." ”

"It's been broadcast, Christine, your fans are loud enough. Simon Thomas, the host, smiled narrowly, seeming to enjoy the atmosphere, while the director on the other side was busy turning up the volume of the equipment.

'At half-time, Leon wanted to play. Lu Ling continued to laugh, she swore she wanted to make herself look less complacent, but it was a little difficult, "It just so happened that Genk had a little muscle problem, so I replaced him." ”

"The second half went on for 20 minutes and yes, Leon Ferreira only took so much time to complete the hat-trick as well. Simon Thomas continued. The three goals appeared on the holographic screen.

León had just 50 seconds into the pitch before the score was 6-0, and he pounced on the goal with hunger, Benjamin sent it straight over the top, and with a suitable spin, the Uruguayan striker paused slightly, barely slowed down, and pumped the ball into the net.

In the 11th minute of the second half, Leon put the ball in the net from a corner, and then, on 65 minutes, León's right-footed curling shot gave him a hat-trick and made it 8-0.

'Our players are passionate and I'm happy to see that. Lu Ling didn't have much to say, at that time, Myburgh's players had already been beaten stupid.

Later in the game, she made the most of three substitutions to rest her key players. Coming up, the Brazilian veteran Marcelo, who played in the left midfield position, scored his maiden goal, and he made a quick kick to the wall with Embolo, burst in from the left side of the penalty area, and pulled the ball in from a tight angle to complete the ninth goal of the game for QPR.

'I only remember one time when we had a game where both men scored a hat-trick. Henry said.

'I remember that game, Arsenal against Southampton. Lu Ling recalled, "In 2003 or 2004. "I don't remember the year.

"Then you must also know that the 9:0 score in a single game has only appeared once in the Premier League before. The host said.

'Yes, we are proud to have equalled a Premier League record. But the most important thing now is to keep that going forward. 'So tomorrow Liverpool better do us a favor and get rid of Chelsea. Of course, the QPR boss wouldn't say that in front of the cameras, unless she's crazy.

After finishing the show, Lu Ling went back to the locker room again. She thought most of the players had left, but the truth was that she heard singing and heckling outside the dressing room. She pushed the door, and it turned out that they were about to take a group photo.

"Boss, come here, we're waiting for you. Jacob shouted.

"This must be a picture. Phil beckoned to her.

Both were wearing only white panties. No, no, it's not just these two who wear only panties. And for God's sake, it's already November, and the heating in the locker room isn't too big, and Lu Ling is really afraid that they will catch a cold. Before she could speak, Gonzalo came out of the shower in a daze. This Spanish kid is special, he's not just wearing panties - he's only a fucking T-shirt and nothing underneath. As soon as he saw the manager, he quickly covered his key parts and ran to his locker, muttering in Spanish, "Why didn't anyone tell me she's back?" Phil yelled again, "She's not interested." Hurry up and put on your pants to take a picture. It was as if he understood Gonzalo's words.

Lu Ling saw that everyone was laughing, but in fact, she was there herself. In the midst of laughter and chaos, Alice took two photos. One has a manager, one doesn't. However, the photos that the players put on social media afterwards did not choose the one with the manager. Lu Ling was extremely satisfied with this. The only thing that bothered her was that she didn't know what to write on the ball that Pat brought home.

It was almost over, Lu Ling went to the rest room of the coaching staff, and on this cold Saturday evening, she was sweating like the players because of her excitement. She took a shower and changed her clothes. It made her body feel a lot more comfortable. Her brain is still stuck at 9-0, stuck on every wonderful goal. The hair dryer in the lounge broke down, and she went to the locker room nearby. One by one, the players left. They greeted her as they left, still smiling. Lu Ling also smiled and said to them, "See you the day after tomorrow." Then she poked into the shower, but there was no one. She headed inside. If it weren't for the court, if it weren't for the fact that her hair was too long to dry, she wouldn't be too lazy to blow.

She shook the hair dryer in her hand in the mirror. The warm breeze made her sleepy. She closed her eyes. His wrist was still shaking. She counted one, two, three, four, five, not knowing when she would be able to dry it. Fifty percent of the time, she thought, and put on a beanie.

Suddenly, a powerful arm behind her wrapped around her waist. The smell of orange in her nose was stronger. The whole club is damn with this scented shower gel and shampoo. The man scraped her skin with the stubble of his chin. Itchy. Lu Ling took away the hair dryer, didn't open his eyes, and said lazily, "Pat, don't do this, we'll talk about it." ”

"so hot" Patrick's hoarse voice quickly slipped in Lu Ling's ears. Images flashed through her mind from the shower room on Loftus Road. She guessed he was thinking about that, too, and she could feel it. He hugged her tighter, pressing her whole body into his arms.

Lu Ling opened her eyes and was about to push him away, she saw in the mirror that at the door, Benjamin was standing there wrapped in a bath towel. 166 Reading Network