"Daniel, wait for me! Don't walk so fast."
"Hurry up, Oliver. Today's the team's first open practice of the new season—I don't want to miss it."
"Relax, there's still plenty of time. No need to rush."
"You're just too tired to walk anymore, huh? Hey buddy, you really need to lose some weight."
"Come on, as long as French fries and Coke still exist on Earth, I'm not going to lose weight."
Outside Tanathi Park, Dundee United's home ground, fans in the team's yellow jerseys were streaming into the stadium. Among them, a heavyset young man and a short, thin young man walked together, chatting, drawing a few curious glances.
They found a good spot near the front of the field and settled in, watching the players warm up.
"Our team's roster doesn't seem to have changed much," Daniel, the shorter one, remarked.
"I know this best. I'm keeping an eye on every move the team makes." Fat Oliver began to show off his knowledge. "That mixed-race player over there with the braided hair? That's Danny Cardamatri, the striker we just signed from League One side Huddersfield Town. He played for Everton in the Premier League for several seasons, but he's already 31. I wonder how much of a role he can realistically play."
"Can a veteran from League One still compete in the Championship?" Short Daniel asked, expressing his doubts.
"You should also notice that tall guy over there—Steve Banks. He was Hearts' backup goalkeeper last season. His contract has expired, and he's joined us now, probably as our backup goalkeeper as well. He's already 36, though."
"What kind of players are they signing? Veterans nobody else wants? Strikers from League One?" The short man's frustration with Dundee United's signings was clear.
"We're not an oil-rich club like Manchester City. We're just a small team. Haven't we been making similar signings every season?" Fat Oliver replied bluntly.
"But we have to play in the UEFA Cup qualifiers in two days. How are we supposed to compete in the UEFA Cup with these players?" This was the main reason short Daniel was unhappy.
"Maybe the club didn't take the UEFA Cup too seriously. And since we drew Liverpool… well, we basically don't need to worry about the UEFA Cup anymore," Fat Oliver said, a little dejected. "But we've also promoted several young players from the youth team, so hopefully they'll perform well."
"That's Barry Douglas, a highly regarded defender from the youth team; then there's Stuart Armstrong, our talented midfielder; and Ryan Down, a prolific goal scorer…" Fat Oliver continued, clearly proud of his knowledge.
But he was quickly interrupted by short Daniel. "Alright, I know all the people you're talking about, but who's that guy over there? I've never seen him before. Was he promoted from the youth team too, or did we bring him in from another club?"
"Uh..." The fat man looked clearly stumped by the question. After a moment of thought, he said, "I'm not too sure either. Judging by his age, he might be a newly recruited player for the youth team."
"Let me check." Fat Oliver quickly pulled out his phone and started searching for relevant information on the club's official website and fan forums.
Within a few minutes, he found something useful. "Got it! This should be him."
"He's a young player the club just loaned from Championship side Crystal Palace. Born in 1993, he's only 17 this year. His name is… Bruce Lee."
"Bruce Lee…?" Fat Oliver and short Daniel exclaimed simultaneously, both sounding utterly bewildered.
"Wait, is this guy for real? What if he gets angry during a match and suddenly does a spinning kick, knocking out his opponent's teeth?"
"Hold on, I remember now," Daniel said. "I heard at the fan bar a while ago that Old John has a grandson who's a talent in Crystal Palace's youth team and is thinking about transferring to our club."
"Old John? You mean the stadium manager? John Lee?"
"Yes, that's him..."
※※※
After the team finished their routine training on the court, Bruce was about to start the group scrimmage.
"Cheer up! Cheer up!" assistant coach Toby Harrison shouted.
Today was Dundee United's first open training session ahead of the new season, and the coaching staff hoped everyone would perform well and leave the fans who came to watch feeling confident.
Bruce had arrived in Dundee on the 25th, spent the 26th handling the formalities for his loan transfer, and began training with the full team on the 27th—yesterday.
It had to be said that having connections in high places made things easier. Back at Crystal Palace, the most common advice he heard was "be patient" or "you're still young." But at Dundee United, he was able to train with the first team immediately.
Dundee United's preparations for the new season actually began in early July, following their Scottish FA Cup triumph last season, which also earned them a spot in this season's UEFA Cup, starting from the qualifying rounds.
According to the current UEFA coefficient rankings for the Scottish league, Dundee United must begin in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Cup. Only by advancing past the third qualifying round and the subsequent play-offs can they reach the group stage.
The first leg of the third qualifying round is scheduled for July 30th, just two days from now. In the qualifying draw held a few days ago at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Dundee United were handed a remarkable draw: a matchup against Premier League giants Liverpool.
Liverpool is one of only two European powerhouses participating in the qualifying rounds this season, the other being Italian giants Juventus.
Dundee United were incredibly fortunate to score on their first attempt.
Soon, the group competition began, and Bruce was assigned to sit on the sidelines to rest first. He didn't even qualify for the reserve team.
He wasn't surprised. Although he had been allowed to train with the first team as soon as he arrived, he knew that was mostly due to Old John's influence. If he couldn't impress the head coach with his performance, he would soon be demoted to the reserve team—or even the youth team.
After 45 minutes of scrimmage, the coaching staff called for everyone to take a break for more than ten minutes before starting another round.
"Bruce, go to the reserve team and replace Andes. Play as a right winger," assistant coach Harrison called.
Andes Salah was a 23-year-old German who had been scouted by Dundee United from a semi-professional team in Germany and brought back to Scotland. He wasn't particularly talented—otherwise, he wouldn't have ended up playing in a semi-professional league.
He had spent several years in the Dundee United youth academy and had only become a substitute last season. Now, he was being replaced by Bruce, whose expression betrayed his unease—he knew another competitor had arrived.
Bruce had been with the team for only two days and hadn't yet built much chemistry with his teammates. In his first game, he had missed an opportunity to execute a one-two pass because he was too slow to release the ball.
But he understood what he needed to do: showcase his talent and make sure the coach recognized his abilities. Teamwork could be developed over time, but raw talent was far harder to cultivate.
After seven or eight minutes on the pitch, he finally got his chance to shine. The main team pushed forward to attack but failed to get the ball into the penalty area. When the ball was intercepted, the substitute team's right-back quickly passed it to Bruce, who was waiting in midfield.
Unmarked, he received the ball, turned, dribbled, and accelerated—the entire sequence was fluid and effortless.
"You mean he used to play as a defensive midfielder?" Head coach Peter Houston asked his assistant, Toby Harrison, on the sidelines.
"That's what Old John said when he brought him to see me," Harrison replied. "He said the kid used to play as a defensive midfielder in Crystal Palace's youth team, but in the last two months, he suddenly decided he wanted to switch to the wing."
"So Old John told me to try him out both as a defensive midfielder and on the wing."
Bruce had already increased his speed, easily shaking off opponents who tried to follow and stop him, and quickly advanced along the right flank.
The team's first-team left-back, Irishman Sean Dylon, came rushing up to challenge him. Bruce, dribbling at high speed, made only a slight change of direction—a subtle feint—but it was enough to make his opponent hesitate. Seizing the moment, he poked the ball forward with his toe and accelerated past Dylon's side.
Next, the ball drops to the baseline, played low and flat, then passed back to the middle.
A standard low cross.
Unfortunately, Ryan, the striker on the substitute team, was a step too slow. His cross-court shot didn't connect properly and sailed straight into the stands.
While Ryan was still fuming over the missed scoring opportunity, head coach Peter Houston on the sidelines was already applauding.
In the stands, the chubby Oliver and the short Daniel were also watching and talking.
'This guy seems pretty fast.'
'That cross just now was really well executed.'"