On June 22, 2006, the front page of the newspaper, which had recently been occupied by the World Cup, finally changed hands. The phonegate scandal that erupted in Italian football last month has been finalized, with Juventus, AC Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio and several other established powerhouses being indicted and in danger of being forced to relegate. The main promoter, Juventus, was relegated to the foregone conclusion, and the team's last two league titles will be stripped away, and Inter Milan, who finished second this season, unexpectedly won two Serie A trophies just over a month after the end of the season.

As soon as the Italian prosecutor's office verdict came out, it seemed that the Juventus players were forced to label the clearance price for a limited time.

For a while, the transfer applications submitted by the players and the offers of other clubs poured in, drowning the entire Juventus club in an atmosphere of panic.

In a small café in the small German town of Archen, Thuram props his elbows on a transparent glass top and puts his fingers together on his chin. The gold-wire glasses with a unique literary temperament are framed on the bridge of the nose, and the pair of eyes behind the lenses keep turning, looking anxious.

Yan Jing sat across from Thuram with a smile on his face, holding Colombian writer García Márquez's masterpiece "One Hundred Years of Solitude" in his hand, leisurely flipping through this classic literary masterpiece.

Perhaps a literary work like "One Hundred Years of Solitude" doesn't seem to match a burly black footballer, but the book is not owned by Yan Jing, but by the big black Thuram across from him.

Summer afternoons are always a bit drowsy, with snails crawling slowly on the tender green foliage outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, and an army of ants hurrying home with crumbs of bread on the stone platform below the plants.

The sunlight shone on the foliage, on the stone platform, and on the thick paper.

Perhaps afraid of breaking the tranquility of this moment, Yan Jing squinted his eyes and opened his lips lightly, and read the elegant sentences in the book.

"We tend to walk in the eternal journey of life, running in the ups and downs, nirvana in the frustration, sorrow all over the body, pain floating all over the ground......"

Yan Jing used a soft tone, like a breeze under the blue sky, and his voice was so low and magnetic that it made people feel that their ears tasted the mellow aging, and even the lemon slices stuck in the mouth of the cup seemed to be intoxicated, and a few drops of juice fell shyly.

Thuram, who was so familiar with the literature that he pushed his glasses back, whispered the next sentence.

"We are tired, but we can't stop, we are suffering, but we can't avoid it. ”

There are always players in football who have hobbies in their spare time that are very different from their work, and Thuram is known for his love of reading, with One Hundred Years of Solitude being his favourite book.

Unlike players who go clubbing when they have time, Thuram never spends his time drinking, preferring to spend his time delving into literature. At home, he also plays the role of a "housewife", doing housework and taking care of children are trivial matters for him.

In addition, Thuram is also quite passionate about public welfare.

His original dream was not to become a footballer, but to become a priest as a young man. When he grew up and realized that being a priest could not support his family, he shifted his focus to football.

Hearing Thuram's words, Yan Jing put down the book and looked up, he saw the Frenchman smiling wryly and shaking his head.

"Sir, I have to say, you were very prescient. And it was so accurate that it made my scalp tingle. ”

Yan Jing smiled quietly at Thuram.

"Lilian, has our pact bothered you?"

Facing Yan Jing's smile, Thuram sighed helplessly: "If I say no, it is definitely a lie." ”

Lilian Thuram, the French defender who is part of the World Cup-winning team, has also been included in Yan Jing's list of reinforcements.

Initially Zolke did not hold out much hope when he went to contact the Frenchman, as it seemed that Thuram would have no reason to come to Dortmund. Since coming to Juventus in 2001, Thuram has been an unstoppable force in the Bianconeri, whether it is salary, honor or life, Dortmund can not provide him as much as Juventus. At club, he has won the Serie A title with the team, and at the national team, he has also successfully lifted the Hercules Cup.

Thuram's career seemed to be quite complete, so he turned down Dortmund's offer with little hesitation when he first received a call from Zorke.

Soon, however, another call from Dortmund called his mobile phone, only this time the voice on the other side of the phone was very young.

Yan Jing's first words were not much different from what Zolke said, but his last words made Thuram laugh out loud.

"Well, Lilian, I know that compared to Juventus, Dortmund is not attractive enough for you. But if Juventus are relegated to the second division next season, will you choose to join us?"

Thuram was not an impolite person, but he still couldn't help but laugh after hearing Yan Jing's words.

Juventus relegated next season? Look at the current Serie A standings, Juventus is sitting on the top spot!

Not to mention relegation, even the Champions League qualification has been obtained in advance, this assumption is too funny, right?

"Do you want to make a bet with me, Lilian. If Juventus are relegated, you will join Borussia Dortmund next season. ”

It could be that he doesn't pay attention to Italian football at all...... Thuram couldn't help but laugh, and replied with a casual smile when he heard the other party's still serious tone.

"Well, that's a fun bet. ”

When the phone door was first reported to Sport, Thuram had a vague smell that something was wrong, but he still didn't think that Juventus might be relegated.

Hi, can you imagine the 2006/07 Serie A season without Juventus?

But he didn't expect the phonegate incident to get bigger and bigger, not only the team, but also government agencies, the Italian mafia and other parties were also involved. The phone gate is like a bottomless black hole, and no one knows if there will be any more exciting news to be released to the world tomorrow.

When Thuram saw Juventus' relegation in the newspaper this morning, he couldn't laugh as easily as he had then.

Thuram thought Yan Jing was joking, and he signed his name on the contract with the theme of "Juventus relegated to Dortmund" without even notifying his agent.

Now Thuram's situation is the same as that of Figo back then, and the liquidated damages of 100 million euros in the contract really make it difficult for him to ride the tiger.

His agent, Dimiani, called him in the morning to inform him that Arsene Wenger and Rijkaard's side wanted to bring him there. Thuram, who was full of the contract with Dortmund, did not give Dimiani any reaction, and did not even dare to sue his agent about the contract itself.

It was at this point in time that Yan Jing received a call from Thuram, who wanted to meet him in the afternoon.

Usually players bring their agents with them in this kind of scene, after all, agents are better than them and are not easy to be fooled, but Thuram is only one this time.

And when Yan Jing first arrived in Archen, he also saw on his mobile phone that Thuram's agent said that Barcelona was interested in his employer, and I am afraid that he did not know about the deposit of this contract at all.

"Isn't your agent coming?"

Thuram shook his head in embarrassment in response to Yan Jing's question, and he replied in not very fluent English.

"No, I haven't even told him about it...... I didn't know how to say it and tell him I had signed such a contract. ”

Yan Jing's expression was natural: "Actually, it would be better to inform him as soon as possible...... This saves him a lot of energy. ”

Thuram didn't answer, Yan Jing was not in a hurry, he glanced at the Frenchman, then picked up the book and continued reading, leaving the other party alone to think quietly.

A mouthful of untouched liquid in the beautiful porcelain cup on the table was already cold, and the wall clock in the café ticked to pull the clock forward.

I don't know how long, even the snails on the leaves had crawled to the finish line, and then Thuram finally broke the silence.

"I decided to fulfill my contract and call Dimi in the evening and tell him that I would be joining Borussia Dortmund next season. ”

Thuram's words brought Yan Jing back to his senses, and he looked into Thuram's eyes, knowing that the Frenchman had figured it out.

Yan Jing stood up and handed the book back to Thuram.

"Lilian, you know what, the team is going to build you a small library on the base. Whether it's Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude or Goethe's Faust, I'm sure you'll be able to enjoy reading it. ”

Thuram shook his head and smiled and hugged Yan Jing, which was regarded as resignation.

"We must not waste a day, we must be determined to grasp and hold on to what is possible, and if we are determined, we will not let it run away, and we must carry it out. ”

Yan Jing smiled and patted Thuram's shoulder: "I think your arrival will definitely let those bastards know what knowledge is power, Lilian." ”

As soon as he figured it out, the expression on Thuram's face relaxed, and he sat back in his seat and took a sip of cold coffee from his porcelain cup, curiously saying what he had been wondering about.

"Frankly, there's one thing I still don't understand. Yan, how did you know that Juventus would be relegated?

But at that time, even "Milan Sport" should not have known about Juventus's phonegate incident...... If it was really known by those crazy reporters, wouldn't it be exposed immediately, how could those guys hide such a powerful news for months?

"Sport Newspaper Milan, their little secrets, I have no interest in snooping. ”

Yan Jing raised his eyebrows and smiled meaninglessly.

"You know, I don't have a good relationship with them. ”