Dominating Football with Perfect Ball Control

Chapter 11: 11. Is it really impossible for Chinese young people to gain a foothold in Europe?

Thousands of miles away, across the ocean.

In the capital of a certain Eastern great power, within the East Second Ring Road, at the intersection of Donghuashi Street and Nanhuashi Street.

Inside the Sports Weekly headquarters, within the Sports Media Group Co., Ltd. office building.

The bespectacled editor Xiao Liu was pleading desperately in the editor-in-chief’s office.

”Boss, this news is really important. Not only should it be posted on Weibo, but it can also be published as the headline of the overseas football section of the newspaper, on official accounts, and more. We need to let more people know...”

”Alright, alright.” The bespectacled middle-aged man, over 40, raised his hand to stop the impetuous editor Xiao Liu. ”Do you think this kind of news about overseas players is reliable?”

”Uh...” Xiao Liu was speechless for a moment.

Ever since the National Football Team’s golden generation, with the retirement of key players like Sun Jihai, Li Tie, Fan Zhiyi, and Zheng Zhi, the National Football Team’s overseas players seemed to have become a complete joke.

Whether it was Manchester United’s Dong Fangzhuo, or Shao Jiayi, or Hao Junmin, the overseas journeys of these players all ended in failure.

Every time they gave domestic fans hope, every time it ended in disappointment, leaving only despair.

The story of ”The Boy Who Cried Wolf” is well-known.

Having been deceived so many times, the fans’ enthusiasm had long been exhausted.

Later, when they saw news about young players going overseas, or European teams signing Chinese players... it was all nonsense!

How could these players actually feature in matches?

Even if they joined the first team, could they be starters?

No, they didn’t have that ability!

So what was the point of reporting such news? Besides disappointing fans, it brought no positive emotions.

Even criticism would be fine; criticism meant there was buzz.

Now, with similar news, no one even bothered to criticize it. Why publish it?

The newspaper’s pages, the official accounts’ resources, and Weibo posts all incurred costs.

”Xiao Liu, I advise you to be more pragmatic and first understand the basic principles of journalism. Mario G?tze’s transfer, David Moyes succeeding Ferguson, Arsenal buying Mesut ?zil, Real Madrid buying Gareth Bale for 100 million euros... Why aren’t you focusing on these major news stories, and instead running off to report on Chinese players?”

The editor-in-chief’s words were harsh, but they made sense.

Xiao Liu knew very well that he should do his basic job and let domestic fans enjoy the European transfer gossip.

Overseas players weren’t important at all.

What’s more, this player wasn’t even of Chinese nationality; he was Belgian, so even fewer people would pay attention.

”I... alright, I’ll do a good job reporting on European transfers.”

”That’s right, go ahead. Try to analyze it in depth, differentiate it from other media, and add more of your own understanding and predictions.”

”Understood.”

As Xiao Liu dejectedly left, the flame in his heart still hadn’t been extinguished.

Lance, far away in Europe, was ultimately one of their own compatriots!

A descendant of Yan and Huang with black hair and yellow skin!

His solo battle in the Bundesliga, signing with Bayer Leverkusen’s first team at the age of 16, was already highly unusual.

Xiao Liu’s intuition told him that Lance was definitely not that simple! (T/N: Yes, yes, every other guy has the same intution)

Back then, Yao Ming playing for the Houston Rockets directly led the trend of watching the NBA in China.

How many people got into the NBA during Yao Ming’s era? How many people considered the Rockets their home team?

At the end of last year, Jeremy Lin’s surge with the New York Knicks, averaging nearly a double-double, once again ignited public opinion in China.

Many viewers who had given up on the NBA or had never watched a game before once again turned on their TVs to watch.

Jeremy Lin was a pure American citizen, yet it didn’t prevent him from gaining popularity in China and being wildly sought after by fans.

Lance’s experience overseas was somewhat similar to Jeremy Lin’s.

What if Lance truly delivered outstanding performances and proved himself on the Bundesliga stage?

He didn’t need to become a football god, playing the role of Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi.

He just needed to score a few goals, get stable playing time, and give fans some hope...

He could definitely become a new generation football star!

Just like Shinji Kagawa from Japan, and the rising Son Heung-min from South Korea.

The unwillingness in his heart, and the faint glimmer of hope he held for Chinese football, prevented editor Xiao Liu from completely giving up on this opportunity.

”Editor-in-chief, at least let me post a Weibo, right? It’s not too much, is it?”

”Sigh... You really are persistent. Alright, alright, post it!”

”Editor-in-chief, you’re too kind!!”

Xiao Liu’s eyes lit up again, and he hurried back to his workstation to edit the Weibo post, completely disregarding that it was already 9:35 PM.

If he insisted on writing this Weibo post, he might miss the last train of Subway Line 6, making it impossible for him to take the subway back to his rented room in Tongzhou.

But Xiao Liu didn’t care. As long as more people noticed Lance and paid attention to this 16-year-old child struggling alone overseas, that was enough.

With the fullest enthusiasm, he wrote a Weibo post that was destined to be seen by few:

”[Sports Weekly · Weibo Express News] #BundesligaNewStar# 16-year-old Belgian-Chinese genius Lance Shaw bursts onto the scene! According to official news from Bayer Leverkusen, this former Bayern Munich youth player has officially signed with the Werkself’s first team, becoming the youngest player ever signed by the club. In yesterday’s friendly match against SC Freiburg, Lance came on as a substitute in the 68th minute and immediately performed a solo wonder — dribbling past three players + a rainbow flick + a volleyed shot into the goal, helping the team secure a 3-2 last-minute victory!”

”It is reported that Lance’s signing was personally handled by the team of football agent Jorge Mendes, and the contract includes a clause for salary increases triggered by appearances. His silky ball control and calm decision-making have already impressed the coaching staff, earning him the nickname ’Eastern Ronaldinho.’ Sports Weekly’s correspondent in Europe will continue to track this rising star! #BelgianChineseGenius##LeverkusenWonderkid#”

20 minutes after posting—

12 likes, 3 bot comments, 5 reposts

”Sigh...” Xiao Liu sighed softly, looking out at the night. ”When will I finally make a breakthrough?”

...

2013 was not a major year for football; there were no exciting football tournaments.

Fans were already eager for transfer window gossip, and finally, the Bundesliga battles reignited!

Among the major European leagues, the Bundesliga started relatively early.

Others generally started in late August, but the Bundesliga had already completed its opening match on August 10.

The most excited, of course, were Bayern Munich fans.

They had just achieved the treble, winning the Bundesliga title, DFB-Pokal, and Champions League last season!

In the UEFA Super Cup, Bayern Munich defeated Chelsea 2-2, winning the penalty shootout to lift the trophy and claim the quadruple!

The only minor regret was the DFL-Supercup, where Bayern Munich lost 2-4 to Borussia Dortmund, falling short of the sextuple by one trophy.

But Bayern fans were not worried, because the new season’s coach was Pep Guardiola!

The first person to achieve the sextuple!

Under his leadership, the already glorious Bayern Munich would surely achieve a double grand slam!

The Bayern dynasty was established!

In the opening match against Borussia M?nchengladbach, Bayern Munich easily defeated their opponent 3-1, getting off to a winning start!

Guardiola’s Bayern had set sail!

At this moment, at Bayer Leverkusen’s home stadium.

Compared to Bayern Munich’s dominance, Bayer Leverkusen seemed much more low-key.

They hadn’t made many new signings recently; the only transfer news on their official website was the addition of 16-year-old Lance.

This summer, Bayer Leverkusen had completed their transfer operations back in June.

Son Heung-min joined from Hamburger SV for 10 million euros;

Emre Can was signed from Bayern Munich for 5.3 million euros;

Robbie Kruse, a versatile target man, was signed from TSG Hoffenheim for 1.5 million;

16-year-old Lance was signed for free;

That was it.

Bayer Leverkusen did, however, sell their attacking core, André Schürrle, for 22 million euros...

These moves led Bayer Leverkusen fans to be somewhat pessimistic about the team’s performance in the new season.

In the first round’s opening match, Bayer Leverkusen vs. SC Freiburg, Lance did not appear in the squad list, and the team ultimately managed a narrow 2-1 victory over SC Freiburg, starting their Bundesliga campaign.

He had thought it would be difficult to get playing time, but surprisingly, in the second round of the Bundesliga, in the away match between VfB Stuttgart and Bayer Leverkusen, Lance actually saw his name on the squad list!

”So fast? Have I already made a breakthrough!” The young man’s heart began to beat restlessly!