Madrid, Las Rozas training base.

When Lin Quanlai came to report, the summoned national team teammates had basically arrived.

Outside the training base, there were many Spanish fans who came to cheer on the team.

Because the World Cup was held in South America, many Spanish fans were unable to travel to cheer on the team.

Therefore, they chose to send their blessings in advance before they set out for Spain!

"Lin, come on!"

"Bring back the championship trophy!"

"Don't let the South American guys have the last laugh, Europe is the orthodoxy of football!"

After seeing Lin Quan, fans shouted about his fame and cheered him on with various words.

If it was before, Lin Quan might have met the group photo and autograph requirements of the fans at the scene when he was in a good mood.

But after the 'painful' lesson at Manchester Airport, he didn't dare to sign autographs for fans casually.

Sign one for two, sign two for four......

He found himself underestimating his influence and popularity among the fans!

After coming to the training ground and greeting a few teammates, Lin Quan quickly went to the locker room to change his clothes, and then quickly joined the training.

He glanced at it and saw that there were a few less familiar faces in the team, and at the same time a few more unfamiliar ones.

"Where's the captain?"

Lin Quan poked Xiaofa and asked suspiciously.

Fabregas obviously knew who the captain Lin Quan was talking about, and he asked with some surprise:

"Don't you know? The captain announced his retirement yesterday! ”

"Well, didn't he say he was going to play with us through the World Cup? Why do you want to retire? ”

The captain the two are talking about is not the captain on the field, Casillas, but the veteran captain Puyol.

When he first participated in the World Preliminary Tournament, Puyol once said that he wanted to impact the World Cup in Brazil with his teammates.

Lin Quan has always kept this sentence in mind, but he didn't expect him to announce his retirement in advance.

"Alas, the team's 23-man squad is full, and the general team doesn't want to embarrass the coach, so he took the initiative to quit the national team, and he is already in retirement at the club.

Lin Quan remembers that in the original history, Puyol announced his retirement at the end of La Liga.

And this time, he didn't choose to retire immediately after the end of the league, but waited for a while before retiring.

Obviously, he has the idea of going to the World Cup.

Puyol is a player born in April 1978 and is 36 years old this year.

At this age, it is obviously impossible to become the main force of the team, and even not be able to provide much substantial help to the team.

And Spain's 23-man squad, every spot is incomparably precious.

If he were to occupy a list, he would probably be troublesome for Bosque's formation.

Therefore, his retirement choice is obviously to sacrifice himself to become a global team.

Hearing the news of Puyol's retirement, Lin Quan felt a little sad in his heart.

He didn't have much contact with Puyol, but in the limited time he had, the leader of the dressing room had a great impact on him.

As the soul of Barcelona, Puyol was born with strong mental attributes and leadership temperament.

Even if he's too old to help the team on the pitch, having him in the dressing room can be a big part of comforting and encouraging his team-mates.

Thinking of this, Lin Quan had an idea.

He stopped training and took the initiative to go to Bosque and give him advice.

"Invite Puyol to join the coaching staff on a temporary basis and travel with the team?"

Bosque was confused by Lin Quan's whimsical thoughts, he looked at Lin Quan suspiciously, and asked:

"Lin, didn't you notice that there are only 22 people in the 23-man roster? I gave Puyol a place and he wouldn't come, if you ask him to be an assistant coach, will he agree? ”

Bosque is not a man who doesn't miss his old loves, with whom Puyol has worked for six years and has been his most relied on defender.

In fact, he also hopes to be able to complete Puyol and take him to the World Cup again.

But Puyol himself refused, he did not want to be a burden to the team, and Bosque could not force the other side to participate.

What's more, Puyol's competitive strength has indeed dropped a lot now, and it is difficult to play.

Keeping him on the bench with him all the time could hurt Puyol's self-esteem.

Like Manchester United's captain Gary Neville, he made just four appearances for the Reds in his final season, spending almost all of the rest of his time on the bench.

Alex Ferguson values his influence in the dressing room and wants him to help the team in the dressing room.

But Gary Neville doesn't want to be a mascot because he knows he can't help the Reds right now.

So, he chose to retire.

Puyol's choice is almost the same as Gary Neville's original choice!

At this time, if Puyol is invited back as a coach, will the other party agree?

"I think so, the old captain has always wanted to participate in this World Cup with us, and now it seems that he is not able to play as a player, but participating in the World Cup as a coach as part of the team can be regarded as a wish of his!"

"And the veteran captains have a lot of experience in the tournament, not only to provide substantial help in defensive training, but also to provide us young players with valuable game experience, which is also good for the team!"

Bosque held his chin and looked at Lin Quan for a long time, and said in his heart that your style of play is not at all like the genius of an 18-year-old player, and you still need others to provide you with experience?

It's like making up a little bit of a reason, I don't want to expose you!

"Well, the team does lack a guard coach, if you can convince Carles, then I'll give him this position!"

Bosque couldn't withstand Lin Quan's soft grinding bubbles, so he pinched his nose and believed the reason that the other party had made up.

After getting Bosque's consent, Lin Quan left happily.

Looking at Lin Quan's back, and then at the assistant beside him, Bosque hesitated and asked:

"Tony, do you think we're spoiling this kid too much?"

"Spoiling? Who is it? Lin? ”

"Hmm!"

"Hehe, I don't think it counts!"

Tony couldn't help but roll his eyes, he was tempted to tell Bosque that there was an interesting way to say about Spain.

The general idea is that with the configuration of the Spanish lineup, let alone Bosque, even if the dog is in the coach's seat, it can win.

Before Lin Quan joined, although Spain was strong, there were serious problems on the offensive end.

But his accession made up for Spain's shortcomings and allowed Spain to have its own nuclear warheads.

This kind of player, not to mention being favored and spoiled, is not too much to hold him carefully in the palm of his hand.

Not to mention far away, let's talk about Spain's neighbor Portugal, what is Ronaldo's status in the Portuguese team?

What is Lin Quan's status in the Spanish team?

As far as his current treatment in the team is concerned, Tony feels that it has nothing to do with the word 'spoiled' that Bosque said.

In Tony's opinion, Bosque is not spoiled enough for Lin Quan!

Otherwise, the vice-captain or something, you have to give one high and low!

Soon Xavi and others are going to retire from the national team, and the Spanish national team needs to establish the core of the next generation as soon as possible.

And the only one who can take on this responsibility is Lin Quan.

Therefore, even if he is not given the position of captain of the national team now, the vice-captain or something has to be put on the agenda as soon as possible.

But looking at Bosque's arrangement, there seems to be no such plan in a short period of time, which makes Tony feel that he seems to be deliberately suppressing Lin Quan and not giving him the treatment he deserves.

As for the reason for this, it is probably that he doesn't want to be promoted too quickly and affect Lin Quan's mentality.

After all, many young players who became famous at a young age, after becoming famous, are always prone to self-aggrandizement and then destroy themselves.

……

After talking to Bosque, Lin Quan immediately called Puyol.

"Lin, what's the matter?"

Puyol was surprised by Lin Quan's sudden call.

"Captain, come back, we need you!"

Lin Quan didn't ink either, and sent an invitation to Pujol straight to the point.

Since the 23-man squad of the national team is not yet full, Puyol still has the possibility of seizing the last chance to board the ship.

On the other end of the phone, after Puyol heard Lin Quan's words, he smiled bitterly:

"I'm too old to contribute to the team, and bringing me with me will only make me a burden to the team, which is too unseemly for an old guy like me."

Pujol said very sadly, and when he heard Puyol's words, the words 'heroic twilight' came to Lin Quan's mind.

Sure enough, Bosque guessed correctly, a direct invitation would not work, and if he really had to be brought in and not allowed to play, Puyol would only be more injured.

Out of consideration for maintaining Puyol's self-esteem, Lin Quan did not directly send out an invitation, but took a detour:

"Captain, what are you going to do when you retire?"

Lin Quan's jumping topic made Puyol silent for a while, and he didn't really think about what he was going to do.

When he decided to leave Barcelona, he was going to pan for gold in the lower leagues.

Although he can't continue to play in the big five leagues at his current level, he should still be fine playing in leagues like the Middle East or the North American Major Leagues.

With his reputation as a world champion captain, he can get a big contract in these lower leagues and play his last few years to make money and continue to enjoy the life of football.

It's very attractive for a lot of players his age.

However, Puyol has only played for the Red and Blue in his life and he does not want to betray his beliefs.

Although playing in the lower leagues in the last few years could have helped him earn an extra one, two thousand or even tens of millions of euros, for Puyol, faith and loyalty to the Red and Blue cannot be measured in monetary terms.

So, after thinking about it for a long time, he finally decided to retire and gave up the idea of going to the lower leagues to pan for gold.

But after retiring, you have to find something to do for yourself, right?

For players who retire, most of them will continue to work in football, except that they rarely leave football.

For example, he changed careers to become a coach, went to a TV station as a commentator and commentator, and signed a contract with the club he used to play for to become the club's administrator and manager.

After deciding to retire, Puyol took into account the huge contribution he has made to the team.

Barcelona are ready to invite him as assistant sporting director so that he can continue to play for Barcelona.

The job doesn't pay much, but the benefit is that he can stay at Barca, which may be very attractive to Puyol.

However, this position is susceptible to political influence.

Almost all of the previous sports directors are the henchmen of the club president, so once a son of heaven and a courtier, as long as the club president is replaced, this position will inevitably be purged.

And Barcelona's current sporting director is Subisareta, who was promoted by Rosell, as Rosell's henchman, he cannot be trusted by the newly elected club president, so it is only a matter of time before he is purged.

If Puyol accepts Barca's offer, he will most likely be forced to resign in January next year.

Barcelona FC may not be aware of this, but it still gave him such an embarrassing position, which is very confusing, I don't know if it is intentional or accidental.

Puyol did not hide it and told the invitation from Barcelona's side.

Lin Quan thought seriously for a while and persuaded:

"Should the captain consider changing careers to become a coach? Not only will he be able to continue his football-related work, but he may one day be able to return to Camp Nou as a coach like many legends! ”

Lin Quan's words made Puyol very moved, and there was a living example in front of him - Guardiola!

Pep Guardiola, who played for Barcelona for more than a decade as a player, returned to Camp Nou as a coach.

And his return directly established Barcelona's Dream Three Dynasty, won 2 Champions League trophies for Barcelona, and forcibly raised Barcelona's team, which is far inferior to Real Madrid in terms of heritage and strength, to a level with Real Madrid.

Pep Guardiola's successful transformation is a huge incentive and stimulus for many retired players.

They can't help but want to imitate him!

Puyol is no exception!

"Well, I'll think about it!"

"That's right, captain, our national team is currently lacking an experienced defensive coach, do you want to think about it?"

As if fearing that Puyol would refuse if he couldn't save face, Lin Quan added:

"Didn't you say you wanted to win this World Cup with us, captain? Since you can't win the cup as a player, it's better to participate as a coach! ”

Puyol was stunned for a moment, and suddenly realized that this might be the real purpose of Lin Quan's call.

This guy has turned so many corners, just to say this?

He was a little moved, sniffled, and did not hesitate: "No problem, I can report at any time!" ”

After Puyol's refusal again, Bosque quickly recruited another man into the team.

At this point, the 2014 Brazil World Cup Spain's 23-man squad has been released.

Goalkeepers: Casillas (Real Madrid), Reina (Napoli), David De Gea (Manchester United)

Defenders: Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Ramos (Real Madrid), Xavi Martinez (Bayern Munich), Albiol (Napoli), Juanfran (Atletico Madrid)

Midfielders: Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Xavi (Barcelona), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona), Alonso (Real Madrid), Koke (Atletico Madrid), David Silva (Manchester City), Juan Mata (Manchester United).

Forwards: Lin Quan (Manchester City), Pedro (Barcelona), David Villa (Atletico Madrid), Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid), Torres (Chelsea).

It is worth mentioning that Diego Costa, the Atletico Madrid striker who was originally a dual citizen of Brazil and Spain, finally chose to join the Spanish national team.

The move sparked a huge controversy, with Brazil's fans seeing him as a traitor, believing that he had shamelessly betrayed his country in order to hug Spain's thigh.

On the other hand, the Spanish fans did not welcome him as well as in history, after all, they already have Lin Quan.

As a result, Diego Costa became a rat in the bellows, angry at both ends!

(End of chapter)