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The Old Trafford Stadium at the "Theatre of Dreams" was full of buzz, and the game was drawing to a close. The score displayed on the big screen of the pen "Fun" www.biquge.info was 3:1, with the home team in front and the away team behind.

“…… The game had already entered stoppage time, and the fourth official signalled on the sidelines that there were five minutes of stoppage time for the game, which was not short, but it was far from enough for Wimbledon. They will have to beat Manchester United here to retain their chance of qualifying for next season's European competition. With three rounds to go until the end of the league, they were seven points clear of sixth-placed Manchester City before the game, and now they are ten points away from Manchester City in odd numbers! With three rounds of the league remaining, they have basically announced that they have withdrawn from the race for European qualification early......"

The score occurred in the 71st minute, which means that in the 71st minute, Manchester United, who was playing at home, led Wimbledon Athletic 3:1.

The TV broadcast was sweeping Wimbledon Athletic's bench, and they were looking for a man - Chu Zhongtian.

Fresh off the pitch, he sat on the bench with a towel on his head, still staring at the pitch and frowning.

It was evident that he was very disappointed with the result...... Russell, the head coach standing not far from him, waved his hands helplessly. In fact, when he replaced Chu Zhongtian, he had already given up the game.

The old giants were too strong, and although they took the lead with Chu Zhongtian's opening long-range shot, Wimbledon was soon bombarded by Manchester United and finally lost.

Just as Russell lowered his head, he heard the referee's whistle.

"It's over!!"

"Wimbledon Athletic are out of contention for next season's European competition...... It's a shame that Wimbledon has been working hard for this qualification for a season and it ended up being a season with nothing......"

"I don't think anyone can be more disappointed than Chu...... He is forty-one years old this season, but he still insists on not retiring, for what? Don't you just want to go to Europe with the team? When he was promoted to Wimbledon, he told the media that his ultimate goal was to play in the Champions League, but now he doesn't even qualify for the Europa League...... Although it is surprising that the 41-year-old is still playing in the Premier League, how many more seasons can he last? His contract with Wimbledon expires in one season, and he has hinted that it will be his last season with the club...... But now it seems that his final season is destined to be out of the European arena! ”

After hearing the referee's whistle, Chu Zhongtian stood up from the bench, tied down the towel on his head, threw it aside, and then walked to the sidelines, comforting his teammates who came off the field one by one. Everyone was frustrated by the final defeat against Manchester United and they knew what it meant to lose this game...... Wimbledon Athletic missed out on next season's European competition and were unable to fulfill their long-standing captain's wish before he retired.

The players were comforted by Chu Zhongtian and apologized to him one after another, and some even cried and said sorry, but Chu Zhongtian just patted them on the head and shoulders.

Russell was also doing the same thing as Chu Zhongtian.

Then when there were only the two of them left, Russell and Chu Zhongtian glanced at each other.

"I'm sorry......" Russell smiled wryly and spread his hands.

"The team has worked hard." Chu Zhongtian shook his head. "Failure is not your responsibility alone, our strength is still not strong enough." He pointed behind Russell: "Moyes wants to shake your hand......"

"Oh, ah......" Russell went to comfort his player, forgetting that he should shake hands with the opposing head coach first after the game. He really forgot about it because this defeat hit him too hard.

He turned and stretched out his arms and strode towards Moyes, who had been waiting for him for a long time.

"I'm really sorry, Mr. Moyes......"

"It's okay, I know you're very disappointed after losing this game." David Moyes is also well aware of the outcome of Wimbledon's defeat, and the legend will not be able to lead the Crazy Gang to Europe in the final season of his career, as he said.

After shaking hands with Moyes, Russell turned around and didn't see Chu Zhongtian, and then turned around to see his back in front of the door of the players' tunnel, he was descending the steps step by step with his head down.

He knew that Chu Zhongtian's heart was quite disappointed, but he didn't show it.

It's really unfortunate that a season's hard work has come to an end...... and the club's president, Samuelson, looked at Russell standing at his desk in surprise: "Is this a deliberate idea of yours?" Alai? I hope you'll think about it carefully......"

Russell nodded, "I thought about it all night. The team has been in the Premier League for six seasons, the first two were relegations, and the next two seasons have been hovering in the middle and lower reaches of the league, and these two seasons have finally moved up to the middle of the table. I thought about it for a long time and felt that I was only so capable as a manager, and if Wimbledon wanted to develop more, I would probably not be able to do anything about it......"

Samuelson lowered his head again and looked at the resignation report on the case.

After yesterday's loss, to be honest, he was just a little disappointed, and he didn't expect Russell to resign voluntarily...... Although the team has always made it a goal to go to Europe, he is not the president of the club and he thinks it would be nice to keep the team in the Premier League consistently.

Unexpectedly, Russell planned to resign because he was not able to accomplish this goal!

He still likes Russell as the head coach, he is a pure Wimbled, and Samuelson has a crush on him.

He intends to convince Russell, who he always thinks is impulsive.

"I don't think it's necessary, we have next season...... The club's board also had no complaints about yesterday's defeat in this game......"

Wimbledon has many more "next seasons", but Chu only has one "next season".

Russell said in his heart.

This was a big part of what confirmed his resignation – he found that after so many years in charge, the team's progress was limited.

This team wants to aim higher, and they can't take them to that point...... Russell shook his head and interrupted Samuelson's words, "Please agree to my request, Eric. ”

Samuelson said: "But you still have two years left on your contract with the team......

"I gave up on my own initiative." Russell shrugged.

The two-year contract is a total of five million pounds a year, and Russell said to give it up.

Samuelson had nothing more to say, he lowered his head and looked at the resignation report again: "Okay...... I agree with your request......"

Next season will be Chu Zhongtian's last season with the team, and Russell is also resigning. The team seems to be entering a new era...... Chu Zhongtian saw the news on the TV news that Russell will resign after the end of the season, he was stunned for half a minute, and then grabbed his mobile phone to call him.

"What do you think, bastard?" He couldn't wait to question Russell.

"That's what I thought, Chu." Russell's voice was understated.

"Did losing a game knock you like this?"

"Wrong, Chu, it's the failure of two seasons, this season and the next." Russell corrected.

"I don't care, take back your decision right away!"

"It can't be, Chu. I'm a person who never changes the decisions I've made. ”

"Reason, reason for your resignation." Chu Zhongtian had already recovered from the initial shock and anger.

"I don't think I can take this team any further, Chu. Six seasons into the Premier League, our best result is no more than seventh in the league. Wimbledon under my leadership seems to have reached a bottleneck that I can't break through. ”

Russell's voice on the other end of the line was a little frustrated.

"I'm sorry, Chu ......"

Chu Zhongtian did not respond to Russell's apology, but suddenly said, "Okay, I've decided too!" ”

Russell was a little unresponsive: "Decide what?" ”

"Leave that alone, Alai."

Chu Zhongtian hung up the phone.

The TV program is also analyzing the news of Russell's resignation.

“…… Alai. Russell was apparently struck by the defeat against Manchester United the day before yesterday, and it is said that he took the initiative to resign, and the club's president, Samuelson, did not agree at first, but then reluctantly accepted his resignation after Russell's repeated insistence...... Russell has been the team's head coach since accepting the team in the middle of the 2016-17 season, except to take a half-season off in the middle of the 18-19 season due to personal matters. He's been in charge of this team for eight and a half seasons, and this team has been branded with his mark......"

It seems that it is really time for a change of dynasty...... ※※※ Samuelson rubbed his temples and said in his heart What is the matter, have they discussed it?

"Have you drunk too much, Chu?" He asked Chu Zhongtian on the other end of the phone.

"What do I drink early in the morning?" Chu Zhongtian asked rhetorically.

"And what are you doing here?"

"I'm seriously announcing my decision, Eric."

"Did you decide to retire a season early?"

Samuelson thought it was all incredible! It's just that he lost to Manchester United, and he didn't take it too seriously, but he didn't expect it to cause such a chain reaction...... One wants to resign early, and the other wants to retire early.

What's going on?

"Yes, retire a season early. Of course, I have additional requirements...... I know Alai just announced his resignation at the end of the season, right? ”

"Ah, yes......" Samuelson didn't know what Chu Zhongtian meant by saying this, he could only reflexively respond.

'I quit a season early because I was going to take his place and be the manager.

Samuelson felt that this world was simply too mysterious...... ...... Wimbledon Athletic has been like taking medicine for a week, with frequent breaking news. Following Russell's announcement of his resignation at the end of the season the day before yesterday, today we received an even more explosive news – just thirty minutes ago...... Our correspondent confirmed the news that Wimbledon legend and their captain, 41-year-old Chu, announced his retirement a season early! ”

There was a crunch of wine glasses falling to the floor, and more chairs falling to the floor.

The people at the bar stared at the TV in amazement, their hands still holding their glasses...... Others stood up, with upside-down chairs lying behind them.

"What's wrong with you, Chu?" This time, it was Russell's turn to call and question Chu Zhongtian.

"As you can see, Alai. I retired early! ”

"How can you do that? Didn't you say you were going to fulfill the rest of the contract? Don't you keep saying that you're not old? ”

"Of course I'm not old, so guess what I'm going to do when I retire?"

Chu Zhongtian didn't wait for Russell to speak, and laughed: "Head coach, ha!" The position of the coach of the crazy gang, if you don't sit, I'll sit! ”

Russell was silent for a moment when he heard the news, but he didn't expect to calm down and accept this reality: "A long time ago, I thought you would become a head coach after retiring. And now it is. ”

“…… You don't have anything else to say? ”

"By the way, good luck, Chu."

Hanging up the phone with Russell, Emily leaned in: "Are you really going to be the head coach?" ”

Chu Zhongtian pouted and said, "Do you think I deliberately said this to anger Alai?" It doesn't have much to do with him, I just want to be the manager and help the team I love. ”

Emily smiled.

※※※Samuelson is going crazy with busy. Russell and Chu Zhongtian both made a surprise attack on him, and he was now preparing for a farewell ceremony for Chu Zhongtian. As one of the greatest, most successful and legendary stars in the team's history, his farewell must be a little grand.

But it's a pity that after Chu's transfer to Wimbledon, the team was not able to win a major championship trophy. You can't put out a row of trophies like he did when he said goodbye at Real Madrid, it's really fascinating...... Wimbledon is a small club that doesn't have that much glory to show off.

So I can only try to make it as grand as possible...... But no matter how grand it is, it seems that compared to a club like Real Madrid, Wimbledon is not classy.

Chu Zhongtian came to Samuelson: "I heard that you are preparing for my farewell ceremony?" ”

Samuelson admitted: "yes......"

Chu Zhongtian waved his hand: "Hey, don't prepare, just let me say a few words to everyone before the last home game." ”

"How can this be?" Samuelson didn't say yes - how could it be so simple and shabby when the greatest legend in the club's history retired?

"It really can. I'm just changing my role, and everyone will still be able to see me when the team is playing next season, which is not a farewell at all......" Chu Zhongtian urged Samuelson. Instead of spending all your energy on this, you should think about the team's transfer budget for next season or something.

Samuelson finally accepted Chu Zhongtian's suggestion, and a large part of the reason was that he really couldn't think of what kind of farewell he wanted to be grand enough to be worthy of a player of Chu Zhongtian's status.

As soon as the news spread that Chu Zhongtian was going to retire a season early, the number of fans who came outside the team's training base during training every day increased significantly.

They all came to see Chu Zhongtian.

Within the team, everyone was also very excited about Chu Zhongtian's reaction to retiring early.

However, Chu Zhongtian was very calm and comforted his teammates.

"I'm late enough to retire at the age of forty-one, so I can't say it's 'early' to retire now, guys? Besides, we'll be together next season, so you don't have to be sad and play the last three games as usual. ”

Russell watched him say goodbye to his teammates and didn't speak.

In fact, he was very happy that Chu Zhongtian could replace him as the head coach of the team. He has long felt that Chu Zhongtian is more suitable for coaching this team than himself, because his temperament is similar to the "mad gang spirit", maybe he and the mad gang can combine to break this bottleneck...... ※※※ Wimbledon Athletic's last home game, the "mad gang stadium" was squeezed out, in addition to the package tickets that had been purchased in advance by the members, there were originally some loose tickets that were intended to be sold a few days before the game, but they were sold out within a day when Chu Zhongtian decided to retire. Now there are no extra tickets at all.

This modern stadium with a total capacity of 45,000 people was built by Chu Zhongtian's construction company, and after spending three years to build, it was named "Crazy Gang Stadium". Rather than following the example of other clubs selling their own stadium naming rights, they want their stadium names to be passed on to future generations like 'Old Trafford', 'Stamford Bridge', 'White Hart Lane' and 'Anfield'.

A large number of Wimbledon fans crowded in to witness Chu Zhongtian's last home game as a player.

Samuelson complied with Chu Zhongtian's wishes and did not make a big show of farewell ceremonies, but welcomed him in a line before the start of the game, and spoke to everyone through the microphone in the center circle.

Chu Zhongtian was not like the other retired players, with tears in his eyes and a choked voice several times, making a farewell ceremony particularly sad.

He held the microphone in his hand, stood in the center circle, and waved to everyone.

"Thank you all for coming, ha! I'm greeting you weeks in advance, and I hope you'll come from all over the country, even from all over the world......," he said with a smile, and there was no sadness or reluctance on his face to retire.

Some people laughed, like John and the others.

"For me, today is the last day of my career as a player, so it should be sad, right? But I didn't feel that way, I was in a really good mood all day. I don't want to reminisce about what happened twenty-three years ago when I first stepped foot in King's Ranch for the auditions, because nostalgia means I'm old, but I haven't. I'm only forty-one years old, I have half of my life left, and I still have many, many things to do. I don't want to tell you what happened in the past, I just want to tell you what the future will be...... I'm sure many people already know that our team's head coach Alai. Russell will also be stepping down from his duties after today's game-"

Chu Zhongtian pointed to Russell, who was standing with the Wimbledon players on the sidelines.

"Thank you Alli for all your 22 seasons at Wimbledon...... He left halfway through, but he eventually returned to the Berserks. Thank you, Alai. ”

It wasn't at all like his farewell ceremony, he was like a master of ceremonies.

"Alli is gone, as his successor, I will become the head coach of the team...... it is not a secret, it has long been reported and volume in the news, everyone knows that although Chu Zhongtian retired as a player, he will not leave Wimbledon Athletic, but will continue to fight as a head coach.

At first, everyone thought that Chu Zhongtian would become a pure club director after retiring, but who would have thought that he would choose to become a head coach...... However, when old fans think about the half season of 2019, they all feel that it is not an incredible thing for Chu Zhongtian to be the head coach.

"Is it still what I said after we made it to the super? I said that this is not the ultimate goal of the team, our ultimate goal is to participate in the Champions League, and the mad gang is going to go wild in Europe! Now that I'm retired, some media say it's a pity to know that I haven't been able to accomplish such a goal until I retire. Is it really a pity? I don't think so. ”

'Our goal remains the same and I'm still working towards it, but in a different role, on the pitch and then in the dugout. I'm still saying the same thing - Wimbledon is going to the Champions League! I'm going wild in Europe! In 1988 we won the FA Cup, but unfortunately for well-known reasons we were not able to play in Europe. Until now, the FA has refused to give us back the trophy...... But it doesn't matter, what is lost, we will take it back ourselves! What is an FA Cup winner? We're looking for more trophies! The Crazy Gang will never stop moving forward! Crazy Gang, want a champion! ”

"This is not my farewell declaration, this is my inaugural speech. Thank you, thank you! ”

Chu Zhongtian handed the microphone to the real emcee next to him, Mr. Samuelson, the president of the club, and then walked to the sidelines very chicly, ready to play.

The Crazy Gang stadium erupted in thunderous applause.

"That's a good point!" Boss John slapped hard and praised the people around him.

※※※On May 15, 2025, the final round of the 2024-2025 season ended, and the Premier League season came to an end. On this day, the professional player Chu Zhongtian disappeared, and coach Chu Zhongtian appeared on the scene and led his crazy gang to move forward.

But that's another story......

End of book