Chapter 31: The Iberian Story
It is destined to be a busy summer for those players who will be able to reach the World Cup finals. (Baidu search 4G Chinese network update faster)
Busy, but also enough to make people excited, full of expectations for the future.
With the exception of the European leagues, leagues on all continents have to make way for the quadrennial event. They don't need a month, they need two months.
Because a month before the start of the World Cup, the 32 national teams participating in the World Cup finals have already called up the players that the manager thinks he needs. The managers of the 32 national teams need to make the players who don't usually play together or train together in a month's time, and have a certain tacit understanding of how to cooperate with each other tactically.
The manager needs to crumple the players with different personalities without losing their character on the football pitch.
Before leaving for the Chinese national team training base in Beijing again, Lei Yi said to his mother: "Help me pack all the things in the house!" After this World Cup, I'm going to go to a new club. ”
"Has the club already contacted you, Tsubasa? Where are we going? ”
Facing his mother's question, Lei Yi looked a little embarrassed and said, "I don't know yet." However, there will definitely be! When the time comes, I might just go straight to the city where my new club is! If it was a place where I could communicate in Portuguese, I could go and find a house first! You...... You can take advantage of my training camp to go out with my dad or something. The last time I won against Ecuador, the national team gave me a lot of bonuses! ”
In this way, Lei Yi boarded a plane from Sao Paulo, Brazil to Beijing.
Again.
At the same time, a large number of players have boarded flights to their national team's training base. What awaits them will be closed training for up to a month, or even longer.
As early as when all the top 32 of this Mexico World Cup were decided, FIFA had already conducted a group stage draw for this World Cup.
Unfortunately, the Chinese team won the lottery this time, which makes people think it is a "ten-day tour of the World Cup".
They are in the same group as seeded Portugal, Spain in Europe, and Honduras in CONCACACA.
It is precisely because of this that on the plane to Beijing, Thunder Wing has already begun to watch the three teams of Portugal, Spain and Honduras play in the World Cup qualifiers.
Obviously, these three teams were extremely new to him until the results of the group draw came out.
He has never met a player from any of these three teams on the football pitch.
And he doesn't know anything about the styles of these three teams.
What's more...... Putting aside the opponent he was facing long before the battle and running to study the opponent he would still encounter was something that Lei Yi would not do. Although, he really attaches importance to this competition. But the two are actually not contradictory to Lei Yi.
……
"Spain didn't get seeded this time, but I don't think we know better than the Portuguese what a tough opponent Spain is. Players who were immature four years ago and could only play as substitutes have been outstanding in the league this year. Among the most notable are Spain's second striker Javier and their midfielder Enzo Guti. ”
This is the national team training base for the Portuguese team, and the head coach is telling the more than 20 Portuguese players who have been called up and come here about what they will encounter in the group stage, their old rivals Spain.
When people see Portugal in the World Cup, it's hard not to think of their Iberian derby, Spain. And vice versa.
If you ask Spain and Portugal who their biggest rivals are in the group stage of the World Cup, it can only be each other, of course.
And of course this will undoubtedly be the focus of the group stage.
When the manager mentioned Javier, Spain's second striker, the young man with black hair and green eyes sitting at the front of the table clearly had a twinkle in his eyes. This is not surprising, as this dark-haired, green-eyed boy is really often compared to Javier.
The reason is simple, he and the Spanish team's second striker are each other's golden boys for Portugal and Spain.
In world football, people seem to like to call the golden boys those players who are still very young, but who have already developed great strength, who have the trust of the club and who make the fans crazy.
In fact, Italy's Torino Sport newspaper selects a European golden boy every year.
Players under the age of 21 who play for European clubs are eligible to be selected.
And this award is extremely high, and it can even be called "European Youth Footballer of the Year".
And Javier, the Spanish golden boy, happens to be the winner of this year's European Golden Boy Award.
The Portuguese, however, were not convinced by this result, as they also had their own golden boy, Tigos. Of course, he was the boy with black hair and green eyes.
Javier is twenty years old and Tigos is nineteen.
The two are close in age and both are strikers on the field.
It's just that Xavier is a second striker. Tigos, on the other hand, is a left winger.
But that's enough for the media to always put them side by side.
It is precisely because they are often compared that there is a competitive relationship between the Portuguese and Spanish golden boys.
It is conceivable what kind of journey the World Cup group stage meeting between Portugal and Spain will catalyze this rivalry between the two.
When it comes to the Spanish team, of course, it is impossible not to talk about the story of the two second-generation stars in the Spanish team, Milan Pique and Barcelona Manchester United, as well as the relationship between Enzo Guti and Real Madrid Atletico Madrid......
"Two suits?"
"Bring it."
"Chargers and adapters?"
"Bring it."
"And your usual shampoo, shower gel, and aftershave?"
"I've brought it, I've brought my mom. You don't need to be like that, I'm so nervous every time I leave to go to the national team training base. You know, it's right in Madrid. ”
Saying these words was a young man with light blonde hair. He looked very relaxed, which was completely different from the nervousness of the middle-aged woman next to him.
"Oh." The woman exhaled, "Let me ask you one last question." Did you bring your passport with you? ”
The young man with light blonde hair looked at the middle-aged woman, the smile deepened, and then as if he was going to play a "secret game" with his mother, he took out his carry-on bag, put his hand in it, and then jerked out his passport.
"Looks like I haven't forgotten it."
As he spoke, he smiled at the same time as the middle-aged woman. The middle-aged woman's name is Romina and she is Argentine. She has been with her own father for many years. However, the two never chose to get married. And this man with light blonde hair is the main defender of the Spanish team, Enzo Guti.
"Your father said he's been busy lately and the team won't let him come back early to have a meal with his son. The team said there were a couple of summer transfers that needed to be ...... with him in advance.
"Mom." As the Argentine woman said these words, Enzo Guti interrupted her and smiled: "I know he doesn't want to come and have a meal with me before I go to the national team." What other team hasn't had a holiday until now? But it's okay, don't lie to me for him. ”
As early as Enzo Guti's voice, his father, José Guti, known as the Golden Wolf, was very excited to tell the media that he hoped that his son could become a player like him. And, preferably, left-handed.
Guti's hopes for his son have fulfilled them, and when Enzo Guti was young, the close relationship between father and son was the envy of many stars. But since when has the relationship between father and son become so close to freezing?
That was perhaps when Enzo Guti was 14 years old.
He chose to leave Real Madrid's academy and go to Real Madrid's local derby, Atletico Madrid's academy.
Everyone knows how much Jose Guti wants his son to inherit his mantle and play for Real Madrid and become a good player that Real Madrid fans will love. And anyone who knows José Guti will know how hard the father worked to instill his deep love and loyalty to the Spanish club when Enzo was still a child.
But what happened to Enzo Guti when he was 14 years old that made him choose to go to Atletico Madrid, and he was almost a stranger to his father?
Some say it's because José Guti asks for his son as if he were asking for himself. He asked his son not to play for any other team that would allow him to play a full season, even if he could only play ten minutes a season at Real Madrid. He demanded that his son obey unconditionally whatever Real Madrid demanded of him at all times. He demanded that his son give up his own qiē for the sake of Real Madrid's honor.
But such a requirement is too strict for a child.
After a long period of repression, Enzo finally developed the rebellious mentality that a teenager would have, and went to Real Madrid's local derby team in a fit of rage. And he stayed for nine years.
Many people agree with this statement.
Thankfully, Enzo has done well at the club and he has developed into a good player that his team-mates can trust and the club can rely on. He also became a member of the Spanish national team.
Enzo has repeatedly expressed his feelings for his father in front of the cameras on television and in the media, and reiterated that although the club he plays for is not the same as the one his father loves so much, he will always be his father's son, and no one can change that.
However, it seems that everyone underestimates the loyalty and persistence of the Golden Wolf to Real Madrid.
Jose Guti said that when Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid meet, he will always only sit in the area where the Real Madrid fans are.
This is obviously a good expression of his position on the relationship between father and son.