Chapter Seventy-Two: The Pursuit of Victory
In the live broadcast room, Yu Liang, who was thinking about how to answer this question, didn't notice the smiles on the faces of Verbeck and Xiao Ke.
"I guess I can't give you a comprehensive answer to this question. But I can tell you that our football is gradually getting better! I believe that in the future, I will become a force to be reckoned with in world football! β
Regarding the general environment of Chinese football, although Yu Liang does not know much about the world, through the actions of Hua Xiansheng of the Whirlwind Club, coupled with some reports in the media, he also understands the dark side of Chinese football.
However, what he can be sure of is that the environment of Chinese football is gradually getting better.
The booming league, coupled with the fact that more and more talented players are staying overseas, has contributed to the progress of Chinese football.
βOKοΌ I think so too, after all, you have a huge population base and you are rising rapidly, as was demonstrated by last year's World Junior Championships! So can you tell me about your own football? When did you first get involved in football? β
Although before recording the show, Verbeck gave Yu Liang a piece of paper.
There were a lot of questions on that piece of paper, but he wasn't going to follow the questions on that paper.
"When I was very young, when I was six years old, my dad bought me a soccer ball and he took me to play it whenever he could, and that's how I got to love football! Then with his great support, he embarked on the path of professional football! β
When it comes to his football story, he can't do without his father.
Thinking about his father's hard work over the years in order to support him on the path of his career, Yu Liang's nose was a little sour.
"You are a very lucky child. As far as I know, many parents in China are reluctant to send their children to play football, is there such a fact? β
Verbeek's words made Yu Liang smile bitterly.
Although he is now on the path of professional football, it has not been all smooth sailing. Although he had the strong support of his father, his mother and relatives and friends in the family also gave him a lot of resistance.
Around him, such things happened a lot.
His best friend at the Whirlwind Club, Zhang Ke has also experienced such a thing.
For the vast majority of Chinese parents, reading is the way to go. Only when he is admitted to the university will he be able to mix in society in the future, just like his little Zhu Rui.
"Yes! But I think they will gradually change their minds, and there will definitely be more people of my age who will go on the path of professional football in the future! β
Although Yu Liang does not understand the thoughts of most parents, he firmly believes that with their achievements in the World Youth Championships, the whole society's perception of football will change, so that more people will embark on the road of football.
"As you know, your performance at the World Junior Championships, you got the attention of Manchester United and you were invited to try! But we've heard that you were told to join Manchester United after a day of tryout, so how did you impress Ferguson? β
"Attitude! It was so difficult for us to get a trial offer from Manchester United, so I probably showed certain qualities in training that impressed Ferguson! β
Thinking that his skills are not good enough, his physical fitness is not excellent, and the only thing that can impress Ferguson is his attitude towards the game and the two assists he gave in the trial!
In the following interviews, both Verbeek and Schock asked a lot of questions.
There was even some little gossip about football, including life, but none of the questions had anything to do with the questions on the paper.
The more than half-hour interview was soon coming to an end, driven by Verbeck's humor, the whole interview process was rigorous and funny, and the humor revealed professionalism.
In this way, it is not difficult to imagine why the ratings of this show are so high!
"Ah, by the way, Yu Liang, one last question! What do you think about their head coach Rudy insisting you are an executioner and should not be on the football pitch after the game against Ham? β
"I hate bad fouls! All I can say is sorry for Putra's injury! Because I was treated too much injustice in the game! If I shouldn't be inside the football stadium, then Rudy shouldn't be in this world! β
The Football Association has given a clear answer to Rudy's post-match appeal and will not impose an additional ban on him.
By the time Yu Liang finished the TV interview, the first half of the match between Antwerp and Tubis, who were far away, was nearing the end.
Although Yu Liang was absent from this game, the visiting Antwerp still showed super offensive ability.
With goals from Di Gregorio and Kevin Jensen, they are now 2-0 up at home.
After leaving the TV station, Yu Liang ate a little food in the restaurant outside to fill his stomach, and then went back to the apartment.
When I turned on the TV and found the live broadcast of the match between Tubis and Antwerp, the second half had just begun.
Tubis, who was wearing a red and yellow jersey, immediately attacked.
Looking at the solid defense of his teammates in the backfield, Yu Liang went directly to take a shower.
βGooooooooalβ¦β¦β
But when he came out of the bathroom, he heard the narrator yelling hoarsely.
As soon as he heard this tone, Yu Liang knew that Antwerp had conceded the ball.
Sitting on the couch, I saw that the players of Tubis had gathered to celebrate the goal.
Although Tubis is relegated, there is no hope of winning the championship. But the third stage of the league has only just begun, and who wouldn't want to fight for a place in the promotion play-offs.
After the game resumed, Tubis continued to attack frantically, wanting to strike while the iron was hot.
In the face of Tubis's frantic attack, Van Ake immediately made adjustments, strengthening the team's interception ability in midfield, while recovering the defense and waiting for opportunities to counterattack.
In the 63rd minute of the game, the goal of Tubis, who had been unable to attack for a long time, was broken by Antwerp again.
After Feljans broke the ball at the back, it was directly distributed to Dries on the wing.
Dries drove the ball some distance before handing it to Di Gregorio in the middle.
Under Di Gregorio's needle-like pass, Tubis's defense collapsed, and Ogun, who was in an offside position, received the ball and pushed it into the net, 3-1!
After scoring the third goal, Antwerp's defence was more solid. In the face of Antwerp's solid defence, the players of Tubis continued to attack for more than ten minutes, one by one like deflated balls, listless.
Seeing the state of the Tubis player, Yu Liang directly turned off the TV and returned to the room to get ready for sleep.
He didn't have to think about the result to know, the victory was already theirs.
After a 3-1 win over Tubis, Antwerp made it two wins in a row in the third stage of the league.
Also on a two-game winning streak are Mons, Wasland, Havenley and Mechelen, who have been in second place on the overall standings.
Needless to say, the strength of the Mons team has been the team at the top of the overall standings since the beginning of this season. In the 23rd round, they defeated the top team Lum 4-0 away to close the gap between the two teams. In the 24 rounds, they won a narrow home win over Shexton Souda, overtaking the losing team of Rum, and jumped to the top of the overall standings. At the same time, it also ranked at the top of the third stage of the league standings with the advantage of goal difference.
The strength of Wasland and Havenley is comparable to that of Antwerp. Wasland won 3-2 in both rounds. As for Havenley, in the two rounds, they defeated their opponents with scores of 3-1 and 2-1, respectively.
As for Mechelen, although the first two stages were poor, they also showed super attacking ability in these two games. Against underdogs Deniz and Ronse, they scored a total of seven goals in the two games, but at the same time they also conceded three goals and had a goal difference of four.
Similarly, after two rounds, Antwerp have only four clean sheets.
However, in the second division, if the number of points is the same, the number of wins is first compared, then the goal difference again, and then the total number of goals.
With all the wins equal, Antwerp are narrowly left third in the third stage of the league standings with only six goals.
This is definitely not good news for them who want to secure a promotion play-off spot.
So in order to get rid of the rivals and open the distance between them, Antwerp played two crazy games in the next two home games.
In the match against Diesel, after a 1-1 draw in the first half, Antwerp scored four goals in a row in the eleven minutes from the 52nd to the 63rd of the second half, and finally defeated the visiting Diesel with a score of 5-1.
In this game, Yu Liang, who came back from the ban, showed super dominance. Defensively, he contributed 8 steals and 5 interceptions. On the offensive end, he instigated three goals for the team, including two direct assists. He made 50 of his 56 passes in the game, a whopping 89 per cent of the passes, including seven long balls.
Yu Liang, who shined in the game, successfully covered up the shine of King Dong, who scored a hat trick, and became the best in the game.
Although Yu Liang and Dong Wang continued their hot form and scored all three goals of the team in the 26th round against Oben, due to the laxity in the final moments of the game, the Oben team seized the opportunity to win two consecutive cities and rewrote the score to 3-2.
However, the laxity at the back of the team could not overshadow Yu Liang's excellent performance, and he once again became the best player of the game after contributing to the pass.
Although they helped the team to four consecutive wins, they did not open up the gap with their opponents.
After four rounds, Kortrijk also won four in a row, just biting behind Antwerp.
"Leading the standings is the biggest incentive and reward for us, and we will continue to work hard for that."
In the post-match interview, Yu Liang frowned when he heard that Kortrijk, who was a guest in this round, won by a small goal. However, for the next direct confrontation between the two, he still showed a strong sense of confidence.
"No matter who the opponent is, they can't stop us from pursuing victory!"