January 19 is the penultimate matchday of the 22nd round of the Premier League, and on this day, only one match will be played. Premier League giants Chelsea host Birmingham City.

In terms of strength, Chelsea are better than Birmingham, and it is at home, so there is no suspense in this game itself. The result was the same, and in the end Chelsea relied on Icelandic striker Gudjohnsen (eidur_gudjohnsen) to score in the first half 25 minutes to emerge victorious.

It wasn't a win worth writing about, but it did attract a lot of media attention. When the game was over, many Chelsea fans were asked the question when they were interviewed in the mixed area: 'What do you think about the upcoming FA Cup game?' ”

"FA Cup?" The Chelsea stars who were asked were stunned for a moment, then remembered that they seemed to have drawn an amateur team to play against them?

And most of them laughed, "I think we're pretty lucky." ”

Only a few people are serious when facing the camera: "No matter who the opponent is, we will take it seriously......"

"Even against an amateur team?" The reporter asked badly.

Asked Lampard was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "Yes! ”

Then he hurried away, apparently not interested in the subject. He was anxious to take a shower in the locker room and then change his clothes and go home.

The captain of the team, John. Terry (john_terry) was retained by reporters. He is only 21 years old and has just taken over the captain's armband from French veteran Desailly this season.

The reporter asked directly: "John, do you know Terry. Eames? ”

Terry squinted at the reporter who asked the question, recalling the name in his head to see if it was someone he once knew. Then he shook his head: "No, I don't know. ”

"Well then, you know Kevin. Cooper? ”

This time Terry shook his head very dryly: "I don't know." ”

"Joe. What about Shirin? Andy. Sullivan? Gavin. Borger? ”

Terry kept shaking his head. "I don't know any of them."

"What about Chu?"

The strange pronunciation made Terry frown, "Who's that?" ”

The journalist was pleased with Terry's reaction, laughing and laughing: "They are your opponents in the FA Cup on Sunday. ”

Hearing the reporter's words, Terry knew that he was being teased by the reporter. The young Terry laughed a little embarrassedly, as the captain of the team, he didn't know anything about the opponent in the next game, and it was not nice to say...... "So can you talk about the next game?" Chelsea's promotion isn't a problem, is it? ”

Terry had made a mistake before, but now he seemed much more cautious, he frowned and shook his head, "I don't agree with that. I know that team, they just beat Wimbledon and I think they should have something strong......

In fact, Terry didn't know the team at all, but the name was heard in the media. In the past few days, the media has begun to heat up the Wimbledon, although he doesn't see it much, but he can still hear others say "Wimbledon" and "Wimbledon Athletic".

"Good luck then, John!" The reporter caught a glimpse of Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri walking by, so he tapped John Terry on the shoulder and signaled that he could go.

Terry, who was racking his brains to make up words, breathed a sigh of relief and fled the mixing zone as if flying.

"I think I need an Italian translator......" The journalist joked as Ranieri walked towards the mixed zone, and his counterparts around him laughed too. In fact, Ranieri is following his English translator.

Ranieri stopped when he saw the British reporter smiling at him, intending to give a brief interview, and wait for more questions to be answered in the post-match press conference.

"Hello." The Italian coach is a good man, and he also knows how to greet the British reporters who have just laughed at him in half-baked English, even though his English may not be understood by the British...... "Hello, Mr. Ranieri." I have just one question - can you briefly talk about your opponents in the FA Cup? ”

After listening to the translator's words, Ranieri smiled and nodded in Italian and said, "No problem." I think I'd be happy to comment on this team. They're an amazing team and it's not easy to get to this point as an amateur team. We have to take them seriously, yes. It's not going to be an easy game. ”

With that, Ranieri looked at the reporters with a smile and waited for an interpreter.

After listening to the words paraphrased by the translator. A group of British reporters looked at each other, and Ranieri said a lot, but it seemed that there was nothing substantial...... The reporter who asked the question held out his hand to Ranieri: "It's a pleasure for you to be interviewed by me, good luck, Mr. Ranieri!" ”

And then sent the old Italian man away.

"Whew...... It's hard to talk to an Italian. The reporter looked at Ranieri's back and exhaled. I found that what I said and what he said were not the same thing at all. ”

"Maybe he's deliberately hiding the point? Maybe he doesn't want us to know their hole cards...... "Some reporters have different opinions.

"Okay, do you need to hide any hole cards to play an amateur team?"

"Maybe it's the habitual nonsense of the Italians? When an Italian told me it was a pasta with tomato sauce, I had to pick the noodles and look at the bottom for myself. ”

"Haha!" A group of Britons brazenly played the joke of the Italians.

In fact, not only the British, but also many parts of Europe do not look down on the Italians. And the Italians can hardly make much of a good impression other than noodles and football.

The disdain for Wimbledon by the Chelsea players and coaches was nothing more than a pre-match episode.

In fact, almost no one in the media has spoken out against Chelsea's performance as underdogs, because if they were to take their place at Chelsea, their performance would have been the same as that of "seafood" (Chelsea's nickname, but in a slightly pejorative sense, as they were called because their results fluctuated like the price of seafood). In addition, the seafood hotels and restaurants in the Chelsea resort are famous).

Who would have their heart set on an amateur team from the ninth tier?

As long as they play normally, this team won't have any chances.

And in Wimbledon, there is also such a sentiment - anyway, we have exceeded the task, we can still draw Chelsea in this round, all the wishes have been fulfilled, what are we doing so desperately? It doesn't matter if you play a game against Chelsea and then win or lose. I'm happy to be able to play at Stamford Bridge once!

That's what most of the "mad" players think.

During training, Eames couldn't tell his players: 'Our goal is to beat Chelsea!' "It won't boost morale, but it will make the players feel panicked, thinking that the coach has given them impossible tasks, putting too much pressure on them, and some players who are not mentally good may go out of their way directly.

Amateur players tend to have little ambition and go with the flow. To be in the fourth round of the FA Cup is already remarkable for them, and now they have drawn another Chelsea, which has almost taken away the last ounce of fighting spirit from these players.

In fact, Eames initially hoped that the team could draw a League Two team, so that he could also encourage the team to move forward one round.

As soon as the Chelsea results came out, he knew there wasn't going to be anything straight anymore.

Therefore, he pays attention to observation in his usual training and games, in addition to Chu Zhongtian, he also needs some players who have not completely lost their fighting spirit to help, otherwise it will not work by Chu Zhongtian alone.

During the training, he found several people who possessed this ability. For example, Andy. Sullivan and Steve. Gibson, as well as ...... Joe. Schilling.

At the beginning, the kid who shouted that even if he overfulfilled the task even if he exceeded the task in the fourth round, it didn't matter if he won or lost in the fourth round, after knowing the results of the draw, he behaved very actively in training. He knows Schilling has come out of the Chelsea youth squad, so maybe he wants to show his quality in front of his former club?

Whatever the reason, as long as he has the fighting spirit, that's fine.

These will be the forces he will be able to rely on in the game.

At the end of the session, Eames stopped Joe. Xi Lin and Chu Zhongtian.

"Stay and practice for half an hour. After each training session, the two of you stayed for half an hour to shoot until the day of the game. ”

The news he announced surprised everyone a little, but Chu Zhongtian and Xi Lin had no objections.

Joe. Schilling was originally a striker, and it is not uncommon to practice shooting, but why does Chu also practice shooting? Some players are starting to think about the manager's intentions and what is he doing it for?

Kevin. Cooper thought of the late stages of last season, when he was brought in by Eames to teach Chu Zhongtian to shoot, and when the team's attack couldn't open up, he wanted to use the back of the back to shoot long-range shots. It's just that at that time, it was in the nature of grinding guns, and it didn't play a role in the end.

And this time is different, it is also additional practice, but in the previous half of the season, Eames emphasized letting Chu Zhongtian do shooting practice. This additional training is just a consolidation.

It seems that the owner was deliberately letting Chudo shoot in the match against Chelsea...... Does the owner want to win against Chelsea?

Kevin. Cooper was taken aback by his own thoughts.

Then he turned his head to look at Chu Zhongtian. Although he is a captain, Chu Zhongtian is the core of the team. The young man was listening carefully to his boss about the precautions for practicing shooting. Judging from his expression, he seems to have some kind of tacit understanding with his boss.

Could it be that this young man is also serious about wanting to win against Chelsea?

That's a super team! Their goal is to win the Premier League and the Champions Cup, which is very different from us...... Want to win against such a team?

Kevin. Cooper left the team preoccupied, and he may have rethought his previous mentality. What exactly is he going to do with this game?

Does it have to be won or does it matter?

That's a real problem.

Everyone left, and Chu Zhongtian and Xi Lin stayed on the field for shooting training. In fact, the main thing is to train Chu Zhongtian, and Eames knew that Shilin had guided Chu Zhongtian, so he deliberately left him behind.

After Eames had said all that had to be said, he stepped aside to supervise the training of the two of them. Chu Zhongtian's main practice is long-range shooting, which is an area twenty to thirty meters away from the goal.

After more than half a season and three months of practice in the summer vacation, Chu Zhongtian's shooting is now decent. It's not that there is no bullet in the bullet, and a hundred steps through the Yang...... It's just a lot better than it was at the beginning. However, in normal games, he didn't have many chances to go up and shoot, and he didn't actually review it much.

Joe. Shi Lin couldn't help but give him a thumbs up when he saw Chu Zhongtian slam the football into the goal from twenty-five meters away.

"That's right, Chu. Now, if anyone bets with you that you score a goal and he runs naked, I will definitely press your side! ”

Chu Zhongtian smiled at him: "Thank you for this, dead jeep." I now yell in my heart before every shot: 'This goal will go in!' ’”

Joe. Shirin laughed when he heard him say this.

'Just to say to you, you're going to score against Chelsea! Ha! ”

"Well, if I can really score, I'm going to hug you!"

"As a word, I won't run!"

The two men waved their arms at each other and high-fived.

※※※When Chu Zhongtian walked into the Wimble bar, he saw Xu Xiaodi sitting in front of the bar towards the door at a glance.

This reporter has been running this way since he interviewed him a few times. Although many other Chinese media interviewed Chu Zhongtian later, Chu Zhongtian still felt that Xu Xiaodi had the best personality, and he didn't mind that he often went to the bar where he worked to get close to him.

Seeing Chu Zhongtian coming, Xu Xiaodi stood up excitedly and waved to him: "Good evening, Xiao Chu!" ”

"Mr. Xu, are you here again?" Chu Zhongtian greeted him while tying his apron.

"Hey, I have good news for you!" Xu Xiaodi's body followed Chu Zhongtian in a half circle, and he leaned over and said to Chu Zhongtian, who was already standing behind the bar.

"Am I famous again?" Chu Zhongtian lowered his head and was busy, and replied casually.

"I'll tell you, you're famous this time!" This sentence has become Xu Xiaodi's mantra in the past few days, and Chu Zhongtian has heard it I don't know how many times.

"Hey, no, but it's pretty much the same. You're going to be more famous this time than last time, Xiao Chu. Xu Xiaodi shook the beer in the cup, then pointed at Chu Zhongtian and said, "I just received the news." The sports stations of local satellite TV stations in China have decided to broadcast the FA Cup match you participated in! Do you know what that means? He got excited and opened his arms. It is conservatively estimated that at least 100 million people across the country will tune in to watch this game! 100 million people! Can you imagine, Chu? ”

Chu Zhongtian raised his head and looked at him.

"Now satellite TV everywhere is building momentum for this game! Do you know how they advertise it? Xu Xiaodi coughed, and then imitated the tone of the promotional video on TV and said: "Can the Prince of Dark Horses create a miracle?" The amazing Chinese students will fight again in the FA Cup! This time they face even stronger opponents! This is the most popular dragon slaying legend in the history of the English FA Cup! ”

"Your back is in the TV promo...... I really want to see what that looks like......" In the end, Xu Xiaodi reminisced alone.

Chu Zhongtian was in a daze on the side.

100 million people want to watch their own game? It seems that Mr. Xu is really right, this time he will be more famous than last time. My dad can watch the game live, but what will my mom think?

Will more people know themselves because of this competition, and still be an ordinary international student?

Chu Zhongtian felt as if he was being pushed onto a big ship by the hands of fate.

Xu Xiaodi talked happily there alone for a long time, and found that Chu Zhongtian didn't talk, but was stunned on the side.

He suddenly reacted, if he said this, would it give Chu Zhongtian too much psychological pressure?

"Hey, Xiao Chu......"

Chu Zhongtian came back to his senses and turned his gaze to him: "Huh? What's the matter, Mr. Xu? ”

"Hehe, don't take what I just said to heart and don't think about anything but the game. Although pressure is motivation, it's not necessarily a good thing to have too much pressure......"

Chu Zhongtian looked at Xu Xiaodi strangely.

"Uh...... Aren't you nervous? Xu Xiaodi also noticed that Chu Zhongtian's eyes were wrong.

"Nervous about what?" Chu Zhongtian asked rhetorically.

"100 million people......"

"So what......" Chu Zhongtian shrugged, he really didn't care about the number of viewers. No matter how many people watch, I will also kick my own.

"You're not afraid that if you don't play well......"

"I think I'm going to be okay personally." Chu Zhongtian said.

Seeing his serious expression, Xu Xiaodi smiled: "Are you so confident? ”

"Maybe I'll think about a little mess before the game, but when it comes to the game, I don't think about it. And the more people, the better I feel. Chu Zhongtian replied.

After hearing what he said, Xu Xiaodi sighed: "You are a person who is born with a big scene......

Chu Zhongtian laughed: "When I was a child, my father said that I was 'crazy people'. When there are many people, they are excited, and they don't know what their last name is. ”

Xu Xiaodi breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this: "It seems that I am worried about nothing." It's good that you won't be nervous, I'm worried that I'll make you nervous, and then I'll play out of order...... I'm a sinner for the fans across the country. ”

Chu Zhongtian burst out laughing.

Compared with the 100 million fans, he cares more about his parents.

If the live broadcast of this game can make my mother change her mind about playing football...... Maybe it's a good thing.

"Thank you for telling me the news, I think it's really good news."

I hope my dad knows the news...... It shouldn't be difficult for him to know, right? If you really want to think about what Mr. Xu said, local satellite TV stations all over the country are building momentum for this game, he must know it...... "Lao Chu! Planning to watch Sunday's game, right? When a colleague from the unit saw Chu Zuosheng sitting at his desk reading a newspaper, he asked.

"Hehe, of course I'm going to see it!" Chu Zuosheng raised his head and replied.

"Watch your son compete, your son is really good!" Colleagues gave him a thumbs up.

"Thank you!"

Chu Zuosheng thanked his colleagues and turned his gaze back to the newspaper, which was a large photo of his son on the top, and a line of eye-catching headlines below - Chengdu students compete in the FA Cup, everyone cheers together on Sunday!

(To be continued)