Lin Hai Ting Tao

Chapter 148 Red Card

This story is purely fictitious. Please do not take it personally. Any similarities are purely coincidental!

***

"This is the most anticipated match of this round of the English Premier League, Chelsea versus Arsenal, a fiery London derby! Taylor and Jeff are here to provide commentary for you, the audience. The match is about to begin, and we are broadcasting live from Stamford Bridge. Looking out from the windows behind us, you can clearly see that the stadium is already packed. London police have deployed a large number of officers to ensure the safety of the match."

"The pre-match verbal sparring between the two coaches has heated up this game. Everyone is taking it seriously, including the police, of course."

"So, turning our attention to the game itself, Jeff, what are your thoughts?"

"It's hard to say. Chelsea has the home advantage, and they are undefeated in the league after six rounds, currently sitting at the top of the table with high morale. Arsenal is close behind. The two sides are evenly matched, and I think this game will be intense, with some heated moments."

***

Ke Lu sat on the bench, watching the players on the field. This was his first time playing at Stamford Bridge, and the atmosphere was even more fervent than he had imagined.

The game had been going on for ten minutes, and the score was still 0-0. Mourinho, as usual, presented a confident demeanor to the public, sitting steadily in his coaching seat, legs crossed, chewing gum. Ke Lu admired Mourinho's ability to change his expression faster than flipping a book, but he really couldn't learn it.

On the other side, Arsenal's coach Wenger was also sitting on the bench, without any expression.

The players on both sides were executing their established tactics, with occasional small climaxes, and the singing from the stands at Stamford Bridge never stopped. The fans' singing is the biggest feature of the English league. Enthusiastic fans can sing for the entire ninety minutes. This is the world's greatest choir and the world's most beautiful harmony.

If you want to express football with music, whether it's classical, jazz, pop, or rock, nothing is as appropriate as the loud chorus of tens of thousands of fans.

Now, Chelsea fans were using their continuous singing as a weapon to cheer for Chelsea and boost their morale, while also打击ing Arsenal's.

***

Fifteen minutes into the game, Chelsea launched a threatening attack. Midfield maestro Lampard delivered a long pass, and Drogba, running forward, stretched out his long legs to control the ball. Then, just as Arsenal defender Campbell thought he would continue to dribble, Drogba swung his leg and took a long shot!

The shot came so suddenly that not only Campbell didn't react, but even goalkeeper Stuart Taylor didn't react. He watched helplessly as the ball sailed into the far corner of the goal!

Chelsea took a 1-0 lead!

Stamford Bridge erupted in cheers!

"Goal! GoooooAL! That was beautiful, Didier Drogba! A sudden long shot caught the entire Arsenal team off guard! Chelsea leads 1-0 at home, they did a great job!"

Ke Lu and his other teammates jumped up from the bench, waving their towels and whistling wildly.

Unlike the players' ecstasy, Mourinho remained calmly seated in his chair, not even moving his body, tilting his head and continuing to chew his gum.

Wenger, on the other hand, stood up, walked to the sidelines, and shouted to the field, "Concentrate! Sol, don't give him that kind of chance again! Damn it!"

"There won't be a next time!" Campbell shouted with a displeased expression, "I guarantee he won't have another chance!"

Henry shrugged helplessly in front, feeling that it was too unjust to concede a goal like that. And he hadn't even had a chance to perform yet. From now on, he would be serious.

***

Henry was dribbling the ball on the left, and Ferreira, the Chelsea right-back responsible for defending him, carefully followed the tall Frenchman. He knew how powerful Henry's explosiveness was, and even the slightest negligence could lead to a big mistake.

Seeing that Ferreira was following him closely, Henry didn't have a better option for the moment, so he had to pass the ball to his compatriot Pires, who came up to support him, while he himself moved to the center.

Although Pires is a versatile midfielder, he is best at operating on the left. Pires on the left is the most threatening. He cleverly pulled the ball back, and his long hair fluttered as he moved past the fallen Ferreira.

"Breakthrough!"

Pires, entering the penalty area, didn't rush to pass the ball or shoot. He swung his left foot behind the ball, making a feint that he would cross, and Carvalho, the central defender who came to cover, was fooled. Without saying a word, he jumped up and used his body to block. At this moment, Pires pulled the ball back with his left foot, past another player!

Cech had already spread his arms, lowering his center of gravity to block the near post.

But Pires passed the ball! A ground ball swept quickly towards the front of the goal. Terry didn't dare to act rashly, so he could only use his body to desperately hold down Henry, not letting this cheetah rush up. As expected, Henry suffered a bit in the physical confrontation and couldn't reach the ball, and Reyes behind him didn't kick the ball in time, so the ball quickly slid past the front of the goal and rolled out of the baseline.

"That was close! Cech must have broken out in a cold sweat just now, his goalmouth was in chaos. This was Arsenal's most threatening attack in thirty minutes, they were completely suppressed by Chelsea!"

As Taylor said, Chelsea had the upper hand in this game, and Arsenal felt like they couldn't use their strength. The main reason was that Vieira, their team's core, captain, and French defensive midfielder, wasn't performing with enough excitement. Vieira's midfield defense and organization of attacks are the key to Arsenal's true strength. This tall defensive midfielder has a genius-like ability to grasp the rhythm of the game.

Chelsea doesn't have such a person in their team, but Mourinho has Makelele responsible for defense and Lampard responsible for offense, which is equivalent to the two combining Vieira's abilities. In addition, Robben and Duff's left and right assaults made Arsenal's defenders somewhat caught off guard.

It seems that Mourinho is playing a 433 formation, with Makelele and Tiago defending in midfield, Lampard attacking, Drogba as the center forward, and Robben and Duff playing as wingers on the left and right. In reality, this formation is even more lethal in the game. The two wingers can retreat to become attacking midfielders, fully utilizing their amazing speed after opening up space, plus Lampard's long-range shots from the middle, making the attack very layered.

And if Vieira is not in form, Arsenal is somewhat dangerous. Wenger can only hope that Henry is in top form. But Chelsea is closely marking Henry, and it seems that he doesn't have many opportunities. And Fabregas didn't come with the team due to a slight injury, which made Wenger very regretful.

When the first half ended, the score was still 1-0, with Chelsea leading at home. In the locker room, Mourinho once again changed his steady image from outside. He shouted and praised the team: "You guys did a great job! Arsenal must be having a headache now. Do as I say in the second half, continue to put pressure on Vieira in the midfield. Judging from his performance in the first half, he's a bit out of form today."

***

Wenger frowned as he looked at his captain: "Are you okay, Patrick? You don't seem to be in form."

Vieira took a sip of water and then shook his head: "No, coach. I'm in good form, I'm fine, I'll perform better in the second half."

Wenger respected the player's own decision. Since the captain said he was fine, then he would believe him.

***

But at the very beginning of the second half, Chelsea dealt Arsenal another fatal blow.

This time, the goal was scored by Robben. After receiving a pass from Lampard, he cut past Lauren, who was defending him, on the left side of the penalty area, and then took a powerful shot. The ball drew an arc past Taylor's hand and flew into the far end of the goal!

Seeing this goal, Mourinho's face finally showed a smile. Chelsea was in good form.

On the other side, Wenger frowned and looked serious. Conceding another goal at the very beginning of the second half was definitely a big blow to the team's morale.

Ke Lu had just returned from celebrating the goal with his teammates when he heard Mourinho say to him: "Go warm up, Ke Lu. Come back when I call you."

Am I going to play? Ke Lu didn't quite react.

Mourinho frowned: "What are you still standing there for?"

Awakened, Ke Lu quickly jumped off the bench and ran to where his teammates were warming up. I'm really going to play! he shouted excitedly in his heart.

***

"Look! Ke Lu Li!" A Chinese reporter in the press box pointed at the group of people warming up on the field and shouted. Not only him, but everyone else noticed that Ke Lu was among them.

"Is Mourinho going to send him on?"

"It's hard to say, there are a lot of people warming up down there. Now that Lampard is playing so well, if he's going to make a substitution, he should replace a defensive midfielder. I just don't think much of Tiago!"

"Lampard can also play as a defensive midfielder, which would free up the attacking midfielder position for Ke Lu."

The British reporters couldn't understand Chinese and didn't understand why a group of Chinese reporters were suddenly so excited.

***

Fifteen minutes passed, and Mourinho made his first substitution decision: Kezman came on to replace Duff, Robben returned to the left attacking midfielder position, and Tiago went to the right to play as the right attacking midfielder. Chelsea changed their formation to 442, with a diamond midfield. At this time, Ke Lu was still warming up.

After another eight minutes, Mourinho called Bridge over, gave him some simple instructions, and then Bridge came on to replace William Gallas, the left-back who was performing poorly. This was his second substitution. Ke Lu was still warming up.

The Chinese reporters were a little discouraged. Could it be that they were just being wishful thinking?

Ke Lu was also a little discouraged. He was still warming up, but his mind was already on the field. Time was running out, with only eighteen minutes left, and he didn't know if he would have a chance to play in this important derby.

***

Unlike Mourinho, who was strengthening his defense, Wenger replaced the veteran Bergkamp, ​​replacing the poorly performing Van Persie, hoping to save Arsenal's defeat with his technique and experience.

Bergkamp's appearance mobilized Arsenal's attack, and the situation on the field immediately improved greatly, with Chelsea's defense frequently becoming strained.

"Henry shoots! Cech saves it! That was close, Henry's second consecutive shot was finally caught by Cech. During this period, Arsenal's offensive was like a tide, and it looks like Chelsea can't hold on anymore. What will Mourinho do? We see that he is still chewing gum, is he advertising for a gum company? Haha! He now has one last substitution spot left, who will he replace?" The question raised by Taylor was probably also the question of many Chelsea fans. Judging from these few minutes, Chelsea's defense has been very difficult, and they don't want the three points they have in hand to become one point.

***

Mourinho looked down at his watch. The game had been going on for seventy-three minutes. He turned to his assistant and said, "Go get Ke Lu."

***

Perizzolo happily saw Ke Lu running to Mourinho's side in the stands, and it looked like he was going to play.

The Chinese reporters were even more excited, because they had been waiting for so long just to see this scene.

***

"You remember, Ke Lu. Don't defend when you get on the field, just attack desperately for me. After getting the ball, use your skills to control the ball more and delay time." Mourinho seized the time to instruct Ke Lu.

Ke Lu nodded, he now felt a burst of nervousness.

"Ke Lu, I heard from Perizzolo that you used to play street soccer, right?" Mourinho suddenly asked this.

Ke Lu didn't understand what the coach meant, he nodded.

"Then okay, go on the field and play like you're playing soccer on the streets. Use your feet to make Arsenal's defenders spin around!" Mourinho smiled at him, and he suddenly understood and was no longer nervous.

"If you understand, then hurry up!" Mourinho slapped Ke Lu hard on the butt, pushing him to the sidelines.

***

"Chelsea substitution. Number 30 Tiago is off, Number 21 Ke Lu Li is on!" Stamford Bridge's live broadcast was introducing this substitution. Although Ke Lu Li had represented Chelsea before, it was in the low-profile English League Cup, so most fans felt a little unfamiliar with this name.

"Chelsea has brought on a very young player, Ke Lu Li. Chinese descent, will not be eighteen years old until April 1 next year. He was discovered by the Chelsea youth team in a bad group. It is said that he is an orphan and used to make a living by gambling on soccer with others. His skills are very good, and due to playing street soccer, his style is a bit wild. He has represented Chelsea in a League Cup game last year, and has recently been transferred from the youth team." Taylor was giving the audience an introduction that was a thousand times more detailed than the live broadcast, and the information was really well collected. "Mourinho's substitution at this time is definitely to put some pressure on Arsenal's attack, thereby relieving the pressure on the defense. Let's take a look at what kind of performance this seventeen-year-old boy will bring us!"

***

Ke Lu's performance after entering the field was normal, controlling the ball, passing, and running, all done the same as in his usual training. This made Perizzolo, who was watching the game in the stands, breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed that this kid really listened to what he said.

Ke Lu quickly showed all the fans in the stadium and the audience in front of the TV his amazing street soccer skills.

Ke Lu started playing as an attacking midfielder, while Lampard went to the right. At that time, Lampard passed the ball horizontally to him from the right. It was a half-high ball that required him to lift his foot to stop it.

Campbell was in front of Ke Lu, planning to rush up the moment he stopped the ball.

But Ke Lu raised his right foot slightly but didn't stop the ball, but let the ball fly past his right foot. Just when people thought he had made a mistake in stopping the ball, the ball fell down, but he used the tip of his left foot to flick it upwards, and the incoming ball was beautifully and gently picked up!

Then, his right foot landed on the ground, his left foot lifted up, and the outside of his foot naturally tapped the jumping ball again, and the ball flew past Campbell's right hand side, and at the same time, he exerted force and rounded to the other side!

Nutmeg!

And at this time, Campbell had not yet reacted!

Ke Lu then straightened the ball with his left foot, followed by a cold shot!

Goalkeeper Taylor tried his best to pounce and only managed to push the ball out of the crossbar.

And at this time, the audience had just had time to exclaim.

"That was beautiful! We just said in the front that he came from playing street soccer, and he immediately performed amazing skills for us!"

***

"Great job! Ke Lu, that's how it should be!" Perizzolo was very excited in the stands. What fascinated him was that Ke Lu could use his street soccer skills from time to time in intense professional games. They were flashy but also practical, because there were often unexpected effects. For example, Campbell was completely fooled just now.

Even Mourinho was a little excited. It wasn't that he hadn't seen Ke Lu's dazzling technical movements, but seeing him do them so casually in a formal game and causing such a big sensation still made him, the bystander, very excited.

Manchester United has Cristiano Ronaldo, Arsenal has Francesc Fabregas, and we Chelsea have Ke Lu Li!

***

Ke Lu didn't care how people looked at him, because of Mourinho's words, he was now really enjoying the fun of playing street soccer, not the Premier League.

The ball was passed over, but Lauren was also pressing up. Ke Lu cleverly moved the ball to the left with his left foot and then pulled it back, so casually avoiding Lauren's outstretched foot.

There was a burst of cheers in the stands. They originally thought that Arsenal would launch a strong attack, but after Mourinho replaced Ke Lu, he instead regained the disadvantage in the midfield and turned the remaining fifteen minutes into a "soccer skills appreciation time".

Then Ke Lu tapped the ball that he had pulled behind him to the right side of his body with the tip of his left foot, once again dodging Lauren's continuous interception. Lauren's flexibility was also very good, and he swept towards Ke Lu while lying on the ground! This was an obvious foul, and the referee was about to blow his whistle. But Ke Lu tapped the ball with the tip of his right foot, and his body jumped up. At the same time, he turned around, his left foot jumped down to touch the ground, and his left foot stepped on the ball again, and then using the momentum, he pulled the ball back, dodging Lauren's deliberate injury-causing action.

The Chelsea fans in Stamford Bridge were going crazy. When had they ever seen such a performance on the Premier League stage? That number 21 called "Ke Lu" was simply showing off, yes, he was showing off! Deliberately showing off his dazzling skills!

Not only the fans, but even the players on the field were impressed by Ke Lu's superb soccer skills. The Chelsea players were just watching him perform alone on the sidelines.

Ke Lu didn't immediately break through or pass the ball. He stepped on the ball and beckoned to Lauren, who had just climbed up. This was a provocative gesture he often used when playing street soccer: Come on, try again if you have the ability.

Lauren was angered by this action. He rushed towards Ke Lu like a panther. And at this moment, Ke Lu slid his right foot that was stepping on the ball downwards gently, and then stepped down hard, and the ball was squeezed and jumped up, just as Lauren was flying over, he picked it up with his right foot again, and the ball flew over Lauren, and Ke Lu also jumped up to dodge this flying tackle!

The Chelsea fans shouted frantically. As mutually hostile fans, they would always use every opportunity to ridicule and strike at the opposing fans. This was commonplace in the Premier League, and Arsenal fans responded with boos.

Ke Lu, who had passed Lauren, passed the ball to Drogba, whose shot was slightly higher than the crossbar, which made many people regret it.

"I think you will be overjoyed to have watched this game, you have seen a soccer performance!" Taylor shouted excitedly, "Ke Lu is treating Lauren like a child, he is having a lot of fun! Don't blink when he gets the ball, maybe you will miss a beautiful action?!"

***

Mourinho smiled happily. He had been observing this player recommended to him by Perizzolo for a year. It was not easy to maintain that original street soccer skill under an increasingly mature attack. With him, Chelsea's tactics will be more diverse and changeable in the future.

On the other side, the expression on Wenger's face became more and more ugly. Where did this Ke Lu, who was wantonly teasing Arsenal's defense on the field, come from? With England's soccer style, how could such a technically flashy player appear?!

"Patrick, you are responsible for that kid!"

Vieira nodded, indicating that he knew.

***

When Ke Lu got the ball again, he found that his opponent had been replaced by Vieira, the best defensive midfielder in the world. He wanted to nutmeg Vieira, but he didn't expect Vieira to take the lead and poke the ball away. He lost in the first contest.

This time, the Arsenal fans let out a huge cheer, and Vieira finally took a breath for them.

Ke Lu was obviously angered by this cheer, and he only singled out Vieira when he got the ball. But...

The second time, he still failed.

The third time, he still failed...

After the third failure, Ke Lu still tirelessly singled out Vieira. This time, the two people's battlefield was transferred to the right side. After Ke Lu received a high ball from Lampard, he naturally picked it over Vieira, who was rushing up, with his right foot. This picking of the ball was purely instinctive after seeing Vieira rush up, but Ke Lu's playfulness was aroused again, and he wanted to play for a while longer.

Vieira also reacted quickly and immediately rushed back to try to block the position and separate the ball and the person. But Ke Lu moved a step, and this time he stretched out his left leg and picked the ball back in the air!

Vieira rushed up again, and Ke Lu picked it up with his right leg again, and the ball returned to the left. This was already the third consecutive time!

But Ke Lu wasn't finished, Vieira was persistent, and he naturally didn't want to stop the game first.

Vieira rushed up for the fourth time, and Ke Lu picked it up with his left foot again, and the ball returned to the right.

The cheers of the Chelsea fans became louder and louder with the four picks, and some people even counted the number of picks. Vieira had the upper hand in the first three contests, and now it was Ke Lu's turn to tease Vieira.

Just when Ke Lu was about to swing his leg to pick the ball for the fifth time, Vieira took the lead, but he wasn't going for the ball, but kicked Ke Lu's swinging right leg, kicking Ke Lu head over heels.

The referee's whistle sounded, and there was also an ear-piercing boo from Stamford Bridge. But Vieira was obviously still angry, and he rushed up and roared at Ke Lu, who was still lying on the ground: "You motherfucker, stop showing off in front of me! You Chinese guy! Just because you dyed your hair yellow doesn't mean you're a British guy, does it?"

The furious Vieira wanted to scold again, but was grabbed by his teammates and dragged away.

The referee also rushed over, and the Chelsea fans shouted: "Red card! Red card!" reminding the referee.

"Vieira is too impulsive! We can hear what he is shouting on the sidelines, and there will be a good show to watch. The players on both sides were originally hostile to each other, and Vieira's excitement is so serious..."

And Perizzolo in the stands looked at Ke Lu lying on the ground, and suddenly there was a very bad premonition in his heart, and this feeling was very, very familiar.

The players on both sides really rushed together, and the poor referee was caught in the middle and could only remind everyone not to be impulsive with urgent and sharp whistles.

The two sides already had some pushing and shoving movements, but it looked more like they were persuading each other. If there were no accidents, it would soon subside, but Vieira would definitely be sent off with a red card. But at this moment, Ke Lu, who was lying on the sidelines and was not noticed for a while, got up from the ground, then circled around and ran behind Vieira, and kicked the other party's waist: "Who the fuck are you calling me? Nigger!"

It was already slowing down, and now it was completely messed up. Ke Lu, who had penetrated deep into the enemy's territory, naturally became the target of the siege. Lauren, who had been teased by him just now, finally found a chance to take revenge, and he slapped Ke Lu in the face: "Who are you calling a nigger, kid?!"

Most of the Chelsea players were appealing to the referee, hoping to give Vieira a red card. Seeing their teammates being beaten, they immediately threw down the referee and rushed into the crowd, kicking black feet and attacking under the guise of persuasion.

"It's really a good show..." Taylor sighed in the live broadcast room.

***

Perizzolo covered his face with his hands and dared not look at everything that was happening on the field. To be honest, he had seen too many such scenes. The bad premonition finally came true, and Ke Lu's old problem had relapsed! He could already imagine that he would be able to see this stinky kid in the youth team again tomorrow.

After the berserk Ke Lu and Vieira, Lauren and others were pulled away, the situation was quickly brought under control. The referee showed Vieira, Lauren, and Ke Lu each a red card, and they were all directly sent off!

The boos over Stamford Bridge had not stopped since Vieira's foul, and now it was getting louder and louder.

Ke Lu didn't say a word and took the lead in turning around and walking towards the player tunnel. Being sent off had become commonplace for him. He had been sent off with a red card ten times in the youth team, and he was a complete "bad boy".

The remaining five minutes of the game were dull. After Arsenal was sent off two players, it was impossible to tie the score. Chelsea was also in no mood to fight. A good London derby was ruined by this brawl at the last moment.

***

After the game, England's major and minor newspapers spent a lot of ink reporting on this intense and fiery derby. The final fight naturally became the most attractive key point, and the reporters described the whole process of the fight to the readers in vivid detail with suppressed excitement. It was not like writing a soccer report, but a boxing championship. It made people's blood boil, and they couldn't wait to go down and show off their skills.

Ke Lu's skills were of course also mentioned, but everything in that game was covered up by the brilliance of the fight. Many people even compared this fight with the group fight between Manchester United and Arsenal in the first half of the 0405 season.

After investigation and evidence collection, the Football Association issued a penalty: Chelsea player Ke Lu Li was banned for six games, Arsenal player Vieira was banned for five games, and Lauren was banned for four games.

Wenger was shouting that he would appeal to this result, because the banned players were two of the team's main players. Mourinho, on the other hand, said that he accepted the penalty, after all, Ke Lu was not an important player for Chelsea at the moment.

Perizzolo thought he would really see the bad boy in the youth team again, but in fact he was wrong. Ke Lu continued to stay in Chelsea's first team, and he heard that Mourinho was already considering giving him a real professional player contract.

In fact, Mourinho attached great importance to this young attacking midfielder with a strange technical style. This can be seen from Mourinho's defense of his behavior after the game: "I think this fight was caused by Vieira's deliberate provocation. I don't think my players can remain calm after being subjected to this kind of personal attack. Thanks to advanced television broadcasting technology, we all clearly heard what Vieira was shouting. In fact, it is well known that Vieira has a bad temper, and I am not surprised... Nigger? Oh, sorry, I didn't hear Ke Lu shout that, and I don't think my players shouted that either."

***

Zhang Jun turned off the TV. Due to the Italian league, he had just watched a recording of the London derby, not a live broadcast.

"I have to say, his superb skills and violent temper surprised me." Zhang Jun said to Yang Pan beside him.

"Don't you think he looks like someone?" Yang Pan said.

"Who?"

"Ren Yu Di." Yang Pan said. "I'm not talking about appearance, I'm referring to the style of playing soccer. Of course, Ren Yu Di's temper is not as violent as his."

Zhang Jun was stunned, he had almost forgotten. If it wasn't for Yang Pan's reminder, he really didn't know when he would think of Ren Yu Di again.

Yang Pan didn't notice the change in Zhang Jun's expression and continued: "With such excellent skills as an attacking midfielder, it's no wonder the Chinese media is going crazy for him. How long has it been since Chinese soccer has produced an attacking midfielder who is good at skills?"

"But he is British..." Zhang Jun murmured.

"Idiot, didn't you say you can choose your nationality?"

"The problem is... he grew up in England, how much does he remember about things before he was three years old? Why should people be asked to choose Chinese nationality and give up British nationality? There can be many people in China who like to run abroad, so how can those reporters think that he will definitely join Chinese nationality?" Zhang Jun was not optimistic about the reporters' proposal. If his strength can be selected for the national team, then who wouldn't want to be in a high-level team like England, at least there is a chance to win the World Cup or the European Championship.

"This..." Yang Pan thought for a while and also felt that everyone was being too wishful thinking. Ke Lu Li probably couldn't even understand Chinese. Judging from his behavior, he was more like a British person than a Chinese person.

Is it really going to watch him become a member of the England team in the future? Yang Pan looked at Ke Lu, who was kicking Vieira in the newspaper. He was really an interesting person, it was a pity that he couldn't become a teammate.