Chapter 17 The Storm Before the Storm

Almost everyone was confined, including those who hadn't participated in the fight, even those who had tried to break it up. But there was one exception.

Zhang Jun was allowed to go to the team doctor's room for massage therapy because Zheng Jun had tackled his left foot in the match, causing him to limp. Qiu Suhui knew that Zhang Jun had injured his left foot before, so he didn't dare to take it lightly and immediately told him to see the team doctor.

The team doctor's diagnosis was that there was nothing serious, but he needed to rest for three days. Besides massage therapy every day, he was not allowed to do anything else. Zhang Jun would definitely miss the last warm-up match the day after tomorrow.

This really made Qiu Suhui angry. If Zhang Jun was absent from the World Cup due to injury, even a hundred Zheng Juns wouldn't be enough to atone for the crime. Of course, he forgot that it was his own idea that led to Zhang Jun's injury. Besides, even if he knew it now, it wasn't the time for self-blame.

Compared with Qiu Suhui's inner anxiety, Zhang Jun seemed very optimistic after learning that he was fine. After the massage, he even made a phone call to Sophie.

He knew that Sophie was on the sidelines today and must have been frightened by the sight of him falling to the ground injured. He had to call her quickly, otherwise, she would be worried to death!

As soon as the call went through, Sophie was indeed very anxious. She hadn't shown it in front of Li Yan before, but as soon as she saw that it was Zhang Jun's call, she quickly walked into the darkroom. After answering the phone, she immediately asked, "How is it? Is your left foot okay?"

Zhang Jun only felt a burst of warmth in his heart. He smiled and said, "It's nothing serious. The team doctor told me to rest for three days and not participate in any training. He said I was too tired some time ago, and my ankle was overloaded. Now, as long as I rest well and combine it with massage therapy, there won't be any major problems."

"Is it swollen? Is there any bruising? Does it hurt?" Sophie still asked worriedly.

"No, there's nothing, haha," Zhang Jun said with a smile, "I have no problem walking now, just can't use too much force."

"That's good." Sophie finally breathed a sigh of relief and was in the mood to ask about other things. "What's going on with this fight? It looked very sudden. I know there are conflicts in the team, but it shouldn't have reached the point where they could fight in front of reporters, right? Didn't they think about how bad the impact would be if this was exposed by the media?"

Zhang Jun smiled wryly, "Who knows what everyone is thinking?" In fact, he knew that with Xiang Tao and Kru, two dynamite kegs that could explode at any moment, it would be strange if they didn't fight. But it was better not to talk about such internal team matters, and Sophie was a reporter, a profession that was too sensitive.

Sophie also realized that she had fallen into her professional habit and asked questions that shouldn't have been asked in this situation.

Afterward, the two just asked about each other's situations and then said goodbye. They didn't even say a word of sweet talk. In the process of their relationship, they really rarely said anything sweet, their love was really plain. But plain as it was, it was not boring at all, nor would it make people feel bored.

Back in the room, Zhang Jun saw Yang Pan on the phone. Judging from his expression, he knew that it was Yi Lan calling. He smiled, ignoring what the young couple were saying, and lay down on the bed. Qiu Suhui's confinement didn't have much impact on him and Yang Pan. He could just take this opportunity to have a good rest, while Yang Pan could read and listen to music.

Yang Pan said a few more words and hung up the phone before asking Zhang Jun, "How's your left foot?"

Zhang Jun put his hands behind his head, looked at the ceiling, and raised his left foot, "The team doctor said it's fine, let me rest for three days and not do anything except go to them for massage every day."

"Then aren't you going to miss the warm-up match the day after tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I missed it."

Yang Pan looked at Zhang Jun, "It's also good. Who knows what kind of trouble will happen with the current situation. It's good that you're not involved. The less you have to do with these things, the better."

"It's chaotic enough." Zhang Jun was still staring at the ceiling, "This kind of preparation is probably unique among the thirty-two teams. They actually had an internal fight during training camp. It feels really amateur. I don't know what it will be like in China after the media exposes it. I just called Sophie, and even she cares about it. You can imagine the reaction of other reporters."

"What else can it be? A flood of scolding, plus more pessimism, thinking that the Chinese team has no future this time and will go home after the group stage again. I can't imagine how Qiu *zhi* will clean up this mess." Yang Pan murmured while sitting on the bed. "Kaka knows what's going on with us, and his mouth is probably grinning from ear to ear."

※※※

Hu Li was sitting in Qiu Suhui's room. Qiu Suhui had called him over. He thought that Little Qiu had called him to discuss how to clean up the mess, but... Qiu Suhui called him just to watch a movie, and it was a movie he had already watched two months ago.

"Haven't we seen this before?" Hu Li pointed at the screen at Coach Tony D'Amato in surprise and asked Qiu Suhui.

"Hehe, let's watch it again, especially pay attention to his speech before the final battle. I think that's the essence of the whole film." Qiu Suhui used "fast forward" to go directly to the part before the final battle.

"But what does this have to do with the situation we're facing now?"

"Of course, it does, but to keep the suspense, I can't tell you now, hehe." Qiu Suhui said with a smug smile.

He had a frosty face in the morning conflict, but in the afternoon he greeted himself with a smile to watch a movie. This face changed...

Hu Li had no way to deal with Qiu Suhui, so he had to bite the bullet and watch it, but his mind was always thinking about how to resolve this conflict. He didn't get into the plot of the movie at all, and naturally didn't see what role that speech would play in resolving the current team conflict.

※※※

Sophie was developing the film in the darkroom converted from the bathroom, while Li Yan was outside writing today's稿 *gao* (article) on his laptop. There was really enough material for today. He was not worried about not having anything to write, but only worried about how to organize these things in the best way.

The brawl in the morning left many reporters on the scene stunned, but only Li Yan did not think it was so incredible or unreasonable. In his opinion, Qiu Suhui was originally a temperamental ambitious person, and it was not surprising what kind of actions he would make. Similarly, those young players who were deeply imprinted with his style could not do anything.

Wasn't fighting too commonplace? It is said that Xiang Tao caused a brawl on the first day he entered the Olympic team, and Qiu Suhui also dealt with it in a low-key manner and saved Xiang Tao. Now there is another dynamite keg Kru Li in the national team. In Li Yan's eyes, Kru is a person who doesn't have much sense of belonging, doesn't have much national honor, and doesn't have much overall situation. His impulsive and irritable personality made him have a bad relationship with fans in Chelsea, so it is natural for him to have conflicts with those "old guys" who like to be ranked according to seniority in the national team.

Xiang Tao, Kru, and An Ke are not fuel-efficient lamps. Coupled with the factional struggle between the old and new players in the team, and the selfish little calculations of individuals, it would be abnormal if a temperamental head coach and a group of temperamental players did not make some trouble together.

Compared with any previous national team, this one is really unreasonable. Who has ever seen a fighting scandal break out before the World Cup? This is too illogical! It shouldn't be! The head coach is too naive! Too stupid! Too incompetent!

I believe that tomorrow there will be many media criticizing Qiu Suhui with this kind of argument.

Although he was not on the same path with Qiu Suhui, Li Yan wanted to express his support this time. Based on his understanding of this head coach, he felt that some things were too coincidental. After being indifferent to reporters for a long time, he suddenly gave the green light and allowed all reporters to enter the venue and observe a teaching match throughout the whole process. Isn't this strange? You must know that he didn't let a single reporter in during the previous two warm-up matches.

Then, when all the reporters arrived, a teaching match was played like a century-old war, a national derby, and it was extremely hot. He didn't adjust it. Then, the actions of both sides became bigger and bigger, and it was a matter of course that two people conflicted, two people escalated into many people, and finally evolved into a chaotic brawl.

Li Yan made a connection and always felt that this conflict and the reporters witnessing it were all arranged by Qiu Suhui. It's just... he must not have thought of Zhang Jun's accidental injury. Was it because too many things had been bothering him recently that he was a little restless? He actually forgot that Zhang Jun's left foot had been injured.

All of this was planned by him, but Li Yan always felt that the current result had exceeded Qiu Suhui's original expectations, especially Zhang Jun's injury was purely an accident. No one had expected it beforehand. Now that Zhang Jun is injured and the situation is unknown—he doesn't know that Zhang Jun is fine yet—how should Qiu Suhui unite a group of players who hate each other even more because of the fight during the World Cup?

"...Many people believe that the Chinese team's second World Cup journey has been overshadowed by this fight. But I personally think this may not be a bad thing. Rather than keep the conflict suppressed and become a time bomb in the team, which may explode at any time in the World Cup, it is better to expose it in advance. There are still about ten days before the World Cup. Qiu Suhui and his national team still have time. Think about how he once only used three months to train a group of young people who didn't even have much 甲A *Jia A* (Chinese League A) experience into an Olympic team that could enter the top eight. I think we should all be more tolerant and believe in him, believe in the national team."

※※※

In the subsequent training, Zhang Jun did not appear on the training ground as expected. Some reporters inquired worriedly, and finally breathed a sigh of relief after learning that there was nothing serious. In the eyes of more and more people, no matter which team Zhang Jun plays for, no matter whether he is destroying his future by leaving Milan, at least in the Chinese team, he is the well-deserved no.1 on the front line and no one can replace him. "Demon Blade" Uncle is too old, it is okay to play as a substitute. Wu Shangshan, who plays in the 比甲 *Bi Jia* (Belgian First Division A), has too little experience. He has no problem playing when the team is going smoothly, but once the team is in adversity, he often follows suit. Li Jie, who plays in China, has distinct characteristics, which is aerial bombardment. Some people even praise him as "Su Maozhen the Second", but his foot skills are much worse, and he also faces the problem of insufficient experience.

Only Zhang Jun, who is increasingly experienced, technically comprehensive, and young and strong, has the ability to have stable performance no matter how well or badly the Chinese team plays.

The Chinese team can be without Zheng Jun, without Kru Li, and even without Yang Pan, but there are three people who are absolutely indispensable: Zhang Jun, Li Yongle, and An Ke. These three people form the central axis of the Chinese team. They are the backbone of the Chinese team, and their performance is directly related to the performance of the entire team.

Li Yongle and An Ke rarely make people worry about them. Only Zhang Jun, because he has suffered a serious injury, always makes people feel worried. Moreover, many fans will be frightened as soon as they see his left foot being violated, and think of the keywords "retirement", "finished", and "being abandoned".

In fact, Zhang Jun just stays in the massage room often, chatting with the team doctors to pass the time while receiving a massage.

When Yang Pan returned to the room drenched by the rain like a drowned chicken, he was already lying comfortably on the bed reading a book.

"Tsk tsk, it's great to be injured, you don't have to be beaten by the rain and wind outside." Yang Pan said to Zhang Jun while wiping his hair with a dry towel.

Zhang Jun threw the book aside and stretched out his arms: "It's boring to rest for too long. Is it raining outside?"

Yang Pan nodded: "Not much, but it keeps going, it's annoying."

"Then your game tomorrow is going to be played in the rain?" Zhang Jun turned his head and looked out the window. As expected, everything within sight was wet. He was so engrossed in reading just now that he didn't notice what was happening outside at all.

"I don't know, maybe. But even if the weather is good, I don't think the game will be good. The atmosphere during training today was very wrong. Everyone looked at each other unpleasantly. Once, a too big action during a scramble caused another argument."

"Then Qiu *zhi* didn't say anything?"

"He just blew his whistle to suspend training, and then fined the two who caused the conflict to run laps—ten kilometers, I guess they are still running now."

"That's all?" Zhang Jun was very strange, "After the fight, he just confined us, neither punished us nor held a meeting to criticize us, as if nothing had happened, and continued training the next day. What do you think Qiu *zhi* is thinking?"

Yang Pan shook his head, "Who knows. Anyway, I think we can't just look at the surface of Qiu *zhi* anymore. Maybe he wants us to lose the game tomorrow more than win it."

Zhang Jun was even more strange: "How could that be?"

Yang Pan smiled: "You'll know then." He picked up his change of clothes and went to take a shower. Zhang Jun turned his head and looked at the drizzling rain outside the window, lost in thought.

※※※

The warm-up match the next day was indeed played in the rain. Qiu Suhui still allowed all reporters to watch the whole process. No matter how well or badly the team played, these reporters would be witnesses.

Zhang Jun didn't even go to this game. He was in his room, sitting by the window reading a book. The room was a little dark, so he turned on the desk lamp, but didn't turn it on to the strongest light. The dim light gave people a feeling of being isolated from the world.

Zhang Jun was in this feeling now.

Zhang Lintao's novel, which had been serialized intermittently on the Internet for two years, was finally successfully published. He sent a copy to Zhang Jun, Li Yongle, Yang Pan, and An Ke. Zhang Jun was reading this novel recently.

The name was indeed what Zhang Lintao told him—"Do You Care If I Play Soccer", telling the story of their high school. Of course, the protagonist in it was not Zhang Jun, but Li Yongle. Zhang Jun was portrayed as a major opponent of Li Yongle. In order to avoid some unnecessary troubles, all the characters in the novel except Zhang Lintao himself used pseudonyms, but those details and those games still made people who had experienced it feel a familiar and kind feeling.

This was a pure novel that could not be more pure. There was not much dramatic conflict, but it made Zhang Jun very nostalgic. Because reading this book made him go back to the past. No matter how glorious he is now, he always feels that the three years of high school were the best time of his life.

The weather outside was very gloomy, and the orange-yellow light of the desk lamp was shining on the pages of the book. Zhang Jun felt that the events in the novel were like a dusk that evoked countless beautiful memories for him.

The flying dust, the silhouette-like figures, the happy laughter and cheers, and the unfulfilled kiss...

※※※

Yang Pan told Zhang Jun the result of the match when he came back.

As Yang Pan had expected, the Chinese team "accidentally" lost to a Dutch second-tier team. The team's performance was also very poor. They couldn't cooperate and always made inexplicable mistakes. Some people even didn't work hard.

Zhang Jun was dumbfounded when he heard this. It seemed that the situation was worse than he thought.

Qiu Suhui's face had not looked good from beginning to end. By the end of the match, it was as cloudy as the weather in the Netherlands. The Chinese team lost 0:2 to a Dutch league second-tier team. This was really embarrassing, and even more embarrassing was what the players showed on the court.

No fighting spirit, no enterprising spirit, no teamwork. With such a three-no team, how much expectation from the Chinese people can you expect them to bear in the World Cup?

The fighting incident had already caused domestic fans to scold the national team's quality. Now, if they see the relevant reports of the match, they are afraid that the greatest sorrow is more than death, and they are too lazy to scold and waste their saliva and energy.

Yang Pan also told Zhang Jun that they waited for Qiu *zhi* in the locker room for more than half an hour after the match, but he did not show up. Later, Coach Hu brought them back. They did not see Qiu *zhi* on the car back. According to Sophie, Qiu *zhi* did not attend the post-match press conference either. So where did he go?

※※※

In the training the next day, Zhang Jun was still not allowed to go to the training ground. Qiu Suhui also unexpectedly did not appear on the training ground. All the training was completed under the leadership of Hu Li.

It was also on this day that the national football players, who had always been arrogant, conceited, and supercilious, felt a crisis and a panic for the first time since the conflict. The absence of the head coach would definitely not be a coincidence. Everyone knew what this meant. Moreover, the reporters' performance was also obviously cold. Few people would take the initiative to ask for an interview. They would rather block Zhang Jun in the massage room than waste the space on those "three-no" players.

Not to mention the fans, they didn't see a single fan by the training ground all day today. There used to be no less than thirty every day.

Some teammates also learned about the domestic reaction through friends and family. Not to mention the unanimous condemnation by the media, many fans also expressed their disappointment with this team on the Internet and in reality, believing that it was a shame for such a national team to participate in the World Cup, it was a disgrace for them to represent China, they were not worthy of being called national players, they were not worthy of being called professional players, and the national team should simply be disbanded.

In this conflict, there was not much condemnation of Qiu Suhui, almost all of it was directed at those "three-no" players.

The Chinese domestic anger storm was felt by all the national football players who were far away in the Netherlands.

Even if they cared about commercial value, sponsorship contracts, match bonuses, and high-salary renewals...sometimes, they had to let these things go aside. The World Cup is a battlefield related to national honor, and it is no longer a simple football match. The Chinese people have a strong sense of patriotism and national self-esteem. They can allow you to lose the match, but they can never allow you to lose in a cowardly manner, to lose in an embarrassing manner, to surrender before the battle begins, to give up on yourself, and to give up on yourself.

This is still the old saying: are they planning to die standing up, or live kneeling down? No, perhaps for the Chinese team, it should be "are they planning to die standing up, or die kneeling down".

They will definitely not choose the latter, because anyone with a normal mind and spirit would think that it is really embarrassing.

Of course, there are still many shameless people in this world. They don't care about national honor or national self-esteem. Fortunately, these national football players are not too shameless, and they still have a little shame. Because they also began to feel a trace of uneasiness in the face of this situation. This is what Qiu Suhui wants to seize and utilize.

He wants to magnify and externalize the uneasiness in the players' hearts, make them worry about their future, and then obediently listen to him. He will let those people know that only he can let them live like warriors, not deserters, after returning home.

This kind of deliberate absence from training is a way. No one knows where the head coach has gone at this critical moment. What follows is a variety of guesses. People always have a worry about things they don't know, because they often don't know what the already bad things will turn into.

※※※

When Qiu Suhui appeared in front of everyone again, he still did not give anyone a good look, including Hu Li. Hu Li knew that he had entered the role.

The players didn't know, so they were even more panic-stricken.

Qiu Suhui did not arrange training. He just asked everyone to go to the meeting room. Four days after the conflict, he finally planned to resolve it.

In the meeting room, after everyone arrived, Qiu Suhui threw a thick stack of newspapers and magazines on the table with a livid face. The heavy newspapers made a muffled sound.

"Take a look for yourselves. These are the newspapers and magazines published in China these days. Take a look for yourselves, what is written on them."

There was no need to look carefully. They only needed to glance at the front page headlines, which were very eye-catching.

"The Most Embarrassing Chinese Team in History!"

"Preparation Keywords: Brawl, Conflict."

"What Can We Expect from Such a Team?"

"Fan Survey: More Than Half Are Not Optimistic About the Team's Future, 5% of Fans Even Suggest Dissolving the National Team and Letting the North Korean Team Replace It."

"The Chinese Team Destroys Its Own Great Wall and Has Been Identified by Many Foreign Media to Go Home Early."

"No Fighting Spirit, No Enterprising Spirit, No Teamwork, Abolish the Three-No National Team!"

"A Brawl Occurred on the Training Ground, and Foreign Reporters Said They Couldn't Understand It."

"They Are Not Qualified to Represent China!"

…

These words swept through their hearts like a storm. As long as they were not stupid, they knew that due to their poor performance, they had hurt the hearts of countless tolerant fans in China. They had already been abandoned by everyone.

"Today's training task—read the newspapers, everyone has to read them." Qiu Suhui said with a livid face, "Turn off your mobile phones and everything else, even setting them to vibrate is not allowed."

Someone moved their lips, seeming to have something to say but not daring to say it. Then everyone took out their mobile phones and turned them off directly.

"Start reading now!" he shouted, but no one reacted. He took out a whistle from his pocket, put it in his mouth, and blew it hard. Training begins!

The players picked up the newspapers in front of them as if they had just woken up from a dream and buried their heads in reading them. Qiu Suhui did not leave either, sitting at the front and watching the players below. He wanted to supervise here to ensure that they were reading the newspapers and not chatting or texting.

For a while, there was no other sound in the room except for the occasional rustling of newspapers. This should be the quietest and most honest time since the national team gathered.

Zhang Jun was also reading. He also saw the photos taken by Sophie. It was the moment when Kru was strangling Zhou Tao's neck. The two's mutual hatred was captured so timely and accurately. They were glaring at each other, and the hot air exhaled from their noses could spray onto each other's faces. Kru was staring with wide eyes, while Zhou Tao's face was flushed.

So, Kru had the upper hand at that time.

Those news reports only described the incident, but the commentators' articles and netizens' comments in the following pages were very unkind. Zhang Jun could see words with a strong personal emotional tendency everywhere.

Zhang Jun had always believed that domestic sports media always had inaccurate and exaggerated phenomena in their reports, but this time, Zhang Jun believed that the media did not exaggerate at all. Because if he was still just a fan, he would use more vicious tones and vocabulary than the media.

During the preparation for the World Cup, other teams were troubled by their opponents, while the Chinese team was troubled by their own family affairs. Zhang Jun really didn't know what kind of performance they would have in this World Cup and how far they could go.

Until lunch, Qiu Suhui did not let the players do anything else. After reading one newspaper, they read other newspapers and magazines, and then went to eat together.

During the meal, the usual loud noises and casual chatting were much less. Everyone buried their heads in eating, with a worried look on their faces.

Qiu Suhui did not know what they were thinking, but he knew that his plan had been initially successful. In the past, the players only guessed about the domestic situation. Now he let them see it clearly. No matter how much they read, they would always have some ideas in their minds.

After eating, Qiu Suhui said to the players: "Lunch break for one hour, come to the meeting room at two o'clock in the afternoon, we will continue."

Everyone went back to their rooms in a fog to rest, but they were only allowed to read the newspapers and didn't say anything, and then they were asked to come again in the afternoon. Was the training time for this day delayed like this?

What is Qiu *zhi* thinking? What does he want to do? No one knows.

※※※

After the afternoon lunch break, everyone gathered in the meeting room again. The newspapers they had read in the morning were still scattered on the table, and those front-page headlines were still very glaring.

But Qiu Suhui did not ask everyone to continue reading the newspapers, but turned on the projector: "We will watch a movie this afternoon." He raised the remote control in his hand.

Watch a movie?!

The players looked at each other, not knowing what Qiu *zhi* meant. Now they themselves knew that the team was not united, so could watching a movie together solve this problem?

Qiu Suhui ignored the surprised looks of everyone and pressed the play button.

Li Yongle and Yang Pan were both surprised to find that this was the movie Qiu *zhi* had borrowed from Li Yongle, *Any Given Sunday*.

"This movie is about American football, which is橄榄球 *gan lan qiu* (rugby). But you don't have to understand rugby to watch it. Everyone has to watch it carefully for me." After saying that, Qiu Suhui turned off all the lights in the meeting room, drew the curtains, and then sat in the back, quietly waiting for the movie to begin.

This was a movie with a star-studded cast from the director to the actors, and it was also a very passionate and realistic sports movie.

The film tells the story of a team in the league that had won many championships, but was now facing internal and external troubles—the Sharks. A rather funny beginning, in a league match, they first lost their captain, quarterback Jack Rooney, and then the first substitute quarterback was just replaced on the field and was immediately injured and taken off the field.

At that time, the team doctor had just carried the captain onto the small ambulance when he heard that another one was injured. He said in surprise: "Did he fall from the bench?"

The live commentator even used history to explain how ridiculous this scene was: "Two quarterbacks have been injured and taken off the field in a row. I haven't seen this kind of thing since 1988. Oh, maybe it was in 1978."

The protagonist of the movie, Coach Tony D'Amato, threw his headset on the ground in anger. Then the second substitute, who was also the last quarterback, Willie Beaman, was nervous as soon as he came on the field and actually vomited in front of the TV broadcast and the live audience.

Seeing this, someone made a slight laugh.

But Willie Beaman showed his power in the second half, and a long pass helped the team to overtake the score. It was just that in the end, the team had a disagreement on whether to defend or attack, and was seized by the opponent, turning defeat into victory. The Sharks also ushered in their four-game losing streak. This was a considerable blow to a team that regarded the championship as its goal.

The quarterback in rugby is somewhat similar to the midfielder in football. They are also the initiators of the attack, the brains on the field, and the tactical core of the team. They need outstanding long-pass skills and can find the best passing route in a complicated situation and kill with one blow. When necessary, they can also personally score a touchdown.

Willie Beaman, a twenty-six-year-old talented player, was given a chance by this accidental appearance. In the next few games, he performed well. In the absence of two quarterbacks due to injury, he helped the team to win consecutive victories and enter the playoffs. However, vomiting also became his symbol. Every time he vomited, his opponent would definitely be unlucky.

The team was moving towards the playoffs step by step, but there were also many problems. The team's young and beautiful female owner, Christina, was determined to sell the team and then build a new team in Los Angeles, and often interfered with the head coach's work, even though D'Amato was her "Uncle Tony".

The team's main defensive player "Shark" had a concussion, but the highly respected old team doctor changed the diagnosis result under Christina's threat, and let him continue to work for the team, even if he would die on the field one day.

A reporter who had always been biased against D'Amato was always thinking about ridiculing D'Amato and creating conflicts and news.

The team's main scorer, Julian Washington, complained to D'Amato that Willie never passed the ball to him. He had a contract with the sponsor. As long as he ran out two thousand yards with the ball, he could get a bonus of ten million. But Willie didn't pass the ball to him, and he couldn't get the ball, so he couldn't count the numbers. He wanted D'Amato to give him an explanation, but the young assistant coach supported Willie. The two had a dispute in D'Amato's office, which made D'Amato very headache.

Willie Beaman, a black guy who looked okay, had become a star because of his continuous outstanding performance. He went on TV talk shows, appeared on magazine covers, shot commercials, released rap records, attended celebrity dinners, and even had an interest in his boss Christina, so he broke up with his black girlfriend who had been dating him for many years. Sudden success made him lose himself. He always thought that the team's win was his own credit, and that other teammates, especially the defensive players, were useless.

At the same time, Captain Jack Rooney was actively preparing to make a comeback. He felt Willie's threat, but he would still help Willie in many ways, reminding him of his responsibilities as a quarterback and to have a good relationship with his teammates.

"You should try to say that line 'Everyone come and be a star'." Rooney's wife complained to her husband.

But Rooney shrugged, looking at Willie who was surrounded by children: "No, sacrifice, teamwork, that's the most important thing."

Willie did not understand the captain's intentions.

"Leading a team to win is not the most important thing. The important thing is that you want your teammates to believe in you and follow you willingly."

"Hey, Captain, just ask one more question, how old are you?" This was Willie Beaman's reply.

As a player, he was indeed very good, but as a quarterback who wanted to lead the entire team, he was not qualified enough. Why? Because he was just playing by himself and never considered the feelings of his teammates. Now someone listened to him, that was because they wanted to win. Once they lost the game, the conflict would break out.

D'Amato realized this problem, and he called Willie to his house for dinner, but the two had a big fight. Because D'Amato always wanted Willie to follow his way, to learn from Captain Rooney, and to respect those old players. Willie ridiculed D'Amato as an old stubborn, and it was because he always clung to the past that he had been in such a miserable situation now. His wife divorced him, and his children also went to the west with their mother.

"Listen, kid. I want you to listen carefully, because one day you will find that this is the most real truth you have heard. Football, the meaning of football is not just winning, because you are part of this whole, whether you are a coach or a star player, one hundred great athletes, they all are, and you are now too. I hope you cherish it, because if you lose them, you will never come back." D'Amato warned Willie like this.

But Willie didn't listen at all. He ranted at D'Amato, anyway, it was someone else's fault. He sacrificed too much, but no one gave him a chance to prove himself. Now that he had finally made it, he was put back on the bench by D'Amato, because Captain Rooney, who had recovered from his injury in the夺标 *duo biao* (championship) final, would be the starter.

"You keep talking, Willie. You always blame others, but never mention yourself. Look, this is what a leader must do, sacrifice, he needs to sacrifice some playing time, because he leads the team with an example, not fear or self-pity."

These words angered Willie. He stood up and pointed at D'Amato's nose and questioned: "Who do you think you are talking to? My playing career is already halfway through, and now you want me to sit on the bench and sacrifice for Captain Rooney's glory, fuck you coach! I don't believe your great principles, because you are scared, old man, scared of winning with my way, then your faith in this life will be over?" Willie turned to leave.

D'Amato stood up and chased after him: "You are not a showy外围 *wai wei* (outside) player, or a receiver, or even Julian Washington! You are a damn quarterback! Do you know what that means? That's the center of the whole team, kid! It's also the target of being scolded after losing the game, the target of everyone's attention, their leader. Only when they understand this will they support you, and they are willing to fight for you, even at the risk of breaking their noses, ribs, and even ankles. They believe in you, and you give them confidence. This is what a...quarterback should be."

"...Whatever, I 'Steam Engine' Willie will play my way as long as I have the chance to play. I don't care, when the time comes, my value will skyrocket. I don't care if you sell me or trade me. Wherever I go, my value will only be ten times higher than here!" Willie turned and left, ignoring the head coach.

"You are very, very young." D'Amato looked at Willie's back and said to himself, "And very, very fucking...stupid!"

In the evening, Willie went to a party held by "Shark" at his home. Willie ridiculed his teammates in person, and said that if our defense was better, we would already be the first in the league.

These words angered "Shark". He cut Willie's new car into two halves with a chainsaw, which also marked their breakup. "Find a taxi! Get out of my house!"

Objectively speaking, Willie was a genius. He was good at making his own judgments based on the situation on the field and changing the established plan without authorization, and the tactics he formulated temporarily could often help the team win.

But he could not become a leader, he was different from Captain Rooney. This great star captain used his personality charm to infect everyone. Whether it was heaven or hell, they were willing to follow him