Chu Zhongtian's first game of his comeback was at home against a legendary team - on March 19, in the thirtieth round of the league, Metz hosted Auxerre (Auxerre).

AJERRE is the king of French football's youth academy and has been a force to be reckoned with in the last decade or so, having won the French league once and the French Cup three times. However, compared to these achievements, their achievements in youth training can become a well-deserved French No.1, and they are the "giants of the giants" in France. From Auxerre, there are many stars who will become world-famous, such as "Manchester United King" Eric . Cantona (eric_cantona) is a star that Accerre has developed.

However, compared to this team, their head coach is the "legend of legends". Guy. Lu's story could have been written into a wonderful novel. He is the longest-serving manager of a team in world football today, having been with the club for almost 40 years since 1961, when he arrived at the age of 22 and was nominated as head coach by Mao (three years in the middle of which he went to Germany in accordance with his family's military tradition, and was the head coach of the infantry team in the army, which gave him valuable experience). It was he who turned what was then a regional amateur team without even a football field into a French top-flight team that had not been relegated since promotion to the first division in 1980, and they also won the French double in 1996, winning both the league title and the French Cup.

Auxerre is known as the "king of youth training" in France, and that is because Auxerre has the earliest, most complete and highest-level academy in France. Lu single-handedly built and managed. For Auxerre, head coach Guy Rouge . Rude is equal to Auxerre, and the occasional game is Guy. Rash. There is no Guy. Rue, Auxerre might still be the amateur team in that town.

An amateur team with neither money nor people, he spent his life to bring it to the first division, and also won the championship, and never relegated, and produced countless excellent players. Such a story is simply a real version of the low-level manager players of the football manager game.

When Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson celebrated his 1,000-game run in charge of Manchester United in the Champions League group stage of Manchester United's 2-1 home win over Lyon on November 23 last year, Guy Ferguson. The French coach has coached Ousterre for more than 2,000 games. This record is currently "unprecedented", and it is estimated that there will be "no one to come" for a long time to come.

Despite the rules of the French Professional Football League, the head coach of any team must not be more than sixty-five years old. This rule was not made with the coaches in mind, but was originally made to prevent many clubs from taking advantage of the loopholes. Because 27 years ago, the review process for professional coaches to obtain coaching qualifications in France was extremely strict and lasted a long time, so that at that time, when many young coaches who did not have qualifications wanted to coach professional teams, but suffered from not obtaining qualifications, they usually invited a retired veteran coach with coaching qualifications to take the position of head coach, but in fact, it was these young people who exercised the rights of head coaches. In order to circumvent this loophole, the professional league has established a rule that the age of a head coach must not exceed 65 years old.

But Guy. Lu is now 66 years old and still sits in the dugout at Al TJERRE, directing the game. And many people think that Guy. Roue will not make the decision to retire after this season, as long as he wants, he can still do it, and the person who dares to challenge the rigid rules of the French professional football league, it is estimated that there is only Guy in the whole of France. A head coach of Lu's weight can do it.

This game, Guy. Lu stood on the sidelines of the pitch and directed the game.

Unlike the personable French coaches of Arsene Wenger and Jacques, Guy . Lu has the appearance of a typical French peasant: five short statures, a bloated face, and a pair of piercing eyes on the garlic nose. It looks like the kind of weird old man that any French family might have, not like the legendary coach who single-handedly created the "king of the academy" Auxerre.

After undergoing surgery for a heart attack in 2001, he is still used to standing on the sidelines and directing the game with great passion, and there is no telling that he is a 66-year-old man who has undergone heart surgery.

But despite Guy. Lu is legendary, but Auxerre's performance this season has not been very good. The team has not been able to squeeze into the top three, and can only hover between tenth and fourth place, and the pressure on the whole team is very high. What will Lu's feelings be.

The same was true for this game, with Auxerre continuing their poor form.

Their goalkeeper Fabien. Kuhl (fabien_cool) made a brilliant save at the end of the first half, saving Chu Zhongtian's sudden long-range shot from outside the box, only to sprain his waist after landing and had to be saved by substitute goalkeeper Sebastian. Hamel (sébastien_hamel) came off as a substitute.

Hamel, who was still coming up, did not get into the groove, and the performance in the second half could be called a "disaster" for himself and Auxerre.

In the fifty-first minute, Chu Zhongtian directly assisted Babakar. Gueye (babacar_gueye) opened the scoring as Metz led Auxerre 1-0 at home!

In the 60th minute, Chu Zhongtian passed the ball to Ribery, and Ribery broke through Reinnie. Boulf (rené_bolf) then crosses, Elf Bush. Toom shoots hard. Although Hamel made a move to fall to the ground and save the ball, the football sneaked under his crotch and rolled into the goal, 2:0!

The stands at the Holy Hill Fortion Stadium were filled with gloating laughter from Metz fans, while Hamel kept shaking his head and muttering to himself, as if to explain his mistake. But no one listened.

Just three minutes later, Franck Ribery broke the ball up front and passed it to Toom, who suddenly got up on his feet outside the box and Hamel couldn't react to it, watching the ball graze the post and into the goal.

In just 12 minutes, Metz scored three goals in a row, and the former Ligue 1 double champions didn't even have the power to fight back. Metz fans couldn't imagine that they could beat AJ Auxerre so easily on their home turf – with 27 minutes to go, they were now three goals ahead, could they still lose?

"Maybe Guy. It's really time for Lu to consider retiring......" The commentator in charge of commenting the game looked at the helpless head coach of Auxerre who was standing on the sidelines and sighed.

More than two months later, Auxerre, who had been beaten by Metz and had no way to fight back, won the French Cup. Lu announced his official retirement. Facing the media, the sixty-six-year-old man said: "I decided to stop. I've been thinking about it for weeks, and now it's time for me to get out of the circle. I wanted to stop [my job] before the team went down, all directions were green, we had a successful season and I thought it was the right time to choose to quit at this time. ”

Time is like water, and time is merciless. In the great legend also has a curtain call.

Today's Guy. Lu stared at the players on both sides running on the field, his face expressionless, no one knew what was in his mind.

I wonder if the idea of retirement is getting stronger and stronger in my mind after seeing my team being beaten by Metz without fighting back?

※※※ The match ended with Metz beating Auxerre 3:0.

After the game, Guy. Lu took the initiative to go to let. In front of Fernández, he shook hands with him, and then asked him, "Who is your number thirty?" ”

Fernández was not surprised that someone would come to him to ask him about Chu Zhongtian's condition. Luc's question didn't surprise him. You know, Guy. Lu's vision of people is very accurate, he can see Chu Zhongtian's talent, and he decided to rent him from Chelsea, so Guy has cultivated countless excellent players. How could Lu not see it?

"It's a Chinese player named Chu Zhongtian. Mr. Guyiru. Fernández politely replied to Guy Murphy. Lu's question.

Even if he is a coach who has produced well-known stars such as Zinedine Zidane, in Guy. Lu also has to be respectful in front of him.

Guy. Lu whispered Chu Zhongtian's name a few times, and then asked, "How did you find him, Fernandez?" ”

'He used to play in an amateur team in England and then made a name for himself in the FA Cup with Chelsea, and my scouts handed me footage of his game......

Guy. Lu shook his head lightly: "It's a pity...... Maybe I should ask our scouts to pay more attention across the Channel. Then he hugged Fernandez, "He's going to be promising, you picked up a big bargain, Fernandez." ”

With that, he turned and left the court.

He didn't seem to care about the team's defeat, he cared more about the Metz No. 30 who directed a victory.

Fernandez looked back at Guy. Lu's back, with a wry smile: What did I pick up cheap? This is the Chelsea guys! But...... After watching Chu Zhongtian's performance after his comeback in this game, it is indeed time to ask Chelsea about the price...... Chu Zhongtian didn't know that he was favored by the most prestigious head coach in France, and he just thanked the fans for their support with his teammates on the field. Because of his outstanding performance in this game, many fans in the stands after the game were chanting his surname: "Chu! Clear! Clear!! ”

After staying here for most of the season, I was finally fully accepted by the people here, but unfortunately, I couldn't stay in this team for long...... At the end of the season, he will be back at Chelsea and it is not known where he will be on loan next season. He now suddenly regrets that he knew he should have turned down Chelsea in favour of a move to Metz...... At least in Metz, he and Ribery have become good friends, there is a group of supportive fans, and there are some coaches who have carefully cultivated him, where he can have a stable environment, hone himself without pressure, and constantly improve.

And none of these things exist at Chelsea. Yes, Chelsea are big clubs. Yes, Chelsea have a world reputation. Yes, there are a lot of big stars here, and if you can be teammates with them, you will have a bright face. But how does this help you in your career?

Although he won the game with Auxerre, Chu Zhongtian was not happy about it, and he had begun to calmly think about whether the decision to sign with Chelsea was correct, and how he would go in the future.

※※※ Two days later, Fernández presented a letter to the president of the Metz club, Carlo Fernandes. Molinari (carlo_molinari) has suggested that they should buy out Chelsea loanee Joon-cheon Chu this summer transfer window in the interest of the team.

'I don't think Chelsea will value him but he's got quality and talent, he's a perfect fit for us and if your team wants to make a difference next season, he's and Frank are indispensable players.'

Molinari believes that Chu Zhongtian does have talent, but at the moment he is more interested in renewing the contract of the famous French coach. Their contract expires at the end of June this year, and before that the two sides have had some negotiations, Fernandes does not care about the treatment, he just hopes that Mr. Chairman can write the annual financial guarantee to the team into the contract, because for the team to perform well, it must be willing to invest, otherwise it will have to fight for relegation every year. Molinari felt that the team's finances could not guarantee too much transfer fee for Fernandez, and he signed the famous French youth coach in the hope of allowing him to tap his own potential and see what good seedlings in Metz's youth army can be cultivated, which can not only bring good results to the team, but also make a lot of money when selling players.

The two sides have been at odds before, and this time Fernandes made concessions, asking club president Molinari to buy Chu Zhongtian and increase the salary package for Ribery to keep "Ferrari Berry". If he was able to meet these two requirements, he renewed his contract with the club.

Molinari is willing to apply to Chelsea Football Club to buy Chu Zhongtian, but he has little interest in keeping Ribery.

"Metz FC can only survive by selling off talented players who have made a name for themselves, Mr. Fernandez. Franck Ribery is very popular at the moment and there are a lot of teams that want to buy him and I don't think we can keep him...... Players always want to be paid more, and Metz is a small club that can't satisfy him. ”

Molinari is quite truthful, and Fernandez also knows that although Ribery calls him the "Godfather of Football", he believes that the charm of the "Godfather" is definitely not comparable to "money". If the club offers Ribery a contract ten times better than he did in Metz, then even if he goes out himself, Ribery will definitely not be able to keep him.

'But we'll ask Chelsea FC about the price of Chu's transfer.'

In the end, the two sides still did not negotiate any contract renewal, and Fernandez felt that if Chu and Ribery could not stay, it would be interesting for him to stay in Metz. He doesn't have to worry about finding a team to coach anyway, his contract with Metz expires at the end of the season, and a number of teams have been contacting him lately in the hope that he will be in charge next season. It can be said that many teams in France are at his disposal, and there are still teams abroad looking for him.

The reason why he can stay in Metz is just because he wants to train Chu and Ribery, just like Zidane, and now he feels a sense of accomplishment when he sees him calling the wind and rain in world football.

But will the two of them still be able to play at the Holy Hill Fortion next season?

Molinari did not deceive Fernandes, and the day after they spoke to Fernandes, Metz sent a fax to Chelsea asking if they would be willing to sell their ownership. Because Chu Zhongtian is not a member of the Chelsea youth team, he is nominally a player in the senior Chelsea team, so the fax was handed to the team's head coach Jose Mourinho.

The Portuguese took one look at the unfamiliar name and then asked his assistant, the Scotsman Steve, with some surprise. Clark: "A Chinese? ”

Clarke knew who it was, but without the fax, he probably forgot that there was such a number one person on his team. Ranieri had been a pat on the head when he bought Chu Zhongtian, but he left Stamford Bridge at the end of the season after making the decision himself, and he didn't even have a chance to say a word to the player he personally asked to come in, pat him on the shoulder and encourage him. The new Jose Mourinho doesn't care about such an amateur player and doesn't have time to look at the performance of every player on loan. So Chu Zhongtian fell into the embarrassing situation of "uncle doesn't hurt, grandma doesn't love".

"A Chinese player who used to play amateur football was bought by your ex because of his outstanding performance in the FA Cup last season. Because he couldn't apply for a labor certification, he was loaned out and currently plays for the French club Metz. ”

He gave Mourinho a general overview of Chu Zhongtian's situation.

Mourinho stared at the player's name and then said to Clark: "Is there any video of his game or a report of the game?" ”

Steve. As soon as Clarke heard that Gao Mourinho wanted a match report and video, he looked embarrassed: "No ......"

Jose Mourinho was a little surprised, thinking that every player who was loaned out of Chelsea would be followed by the club.

Clarke also knew what Mourinho was surprised about, and he said with some embarrassment: "Chu is the player Ranieri wants for himself, and the club is not interested in him, so he doesn't pay too much attention to him...... After all, he is already twenty years old, but he is still playing amateur football, from the ninth league to the top league, it is unlikely that he will be able to make such a big leap at once. Even if he can play in the future, it will certainly not meet Chelsea's requirements. ”

Mourinho doesn't trust what people say, preferring to believe what he sees with his own eyes.

"Anyway, let's get some footage of his game. Didn't you say he was outstanding in the FA Cup? Let's take the video of his performance, and since he's playing in Ligue 1, there's a replay of the game or something, and find a way to get some. ”

He doesn't value Chu Zhongtian very much, he just thinks that since the other club wants to buy people from his own team, then he has to know what kind of ability this player who can be favored by a French team to fall to the ground, in case he accidentally sells the wrong person, it will be too late to regret it later.

Clark nodded.

Two days later, he got a few tapes of Chu Zhongtian's games for the manager who is more famous than the player, starting with his FA Cup game against Chelsea and helping Metz against Paris Saint-Germain, draw with Lyon and win over Auxerre.

After watching it, Mourinho said to Clark: "From today onwards, send someone to collect his game reports from time to time, and I will observe and observe." Tell the Frenchman that for the time being they only want to go on loan and if they want to go on loan next season, I'm fine. ”

(To be continued)