The next morning, at the Sunderland Training Base, in the meeting room.
There were already seven or eight people busy at work.
This team was clearly very professional, with clear divisions of labor; some were setting up camera positions, others were adjusting lighting, and everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion.
Meanwhile, Director Anderson was talking to a middle-aged man with a wide, slightly chubby face: "Sorry, Coach Zackery will be here soon. You know, with the tight schedule of matches now, he has a lot of things to deal with…"
This middle-aged man was werner, the host and producer of "Ground Football."
"Heh heh, Coach Zackery is a busy man now, it's normal for him to have a lot to do," werner said, seemingly politely, but in reality, his face was already filled with displeasure, and his words carried a hint of sarcasm.
He was the head of the sports channel at the national television station; in the past, which domestic player or Coach didn't beg him for an interview? How could anyone be as unwilling as Zackery?
However, to get a firsthand exclusive interview with Zackery now, he could only endure it for the time being.
Who made Zackery the most popular figure in Chinese football right now!
"Forget it, let's record the opening remarks first. What a hassle, he really thinks he's hot stuff." werner waved his hand and said to his staff.
Of course, he said this in Chinese, and Anderson didn't understand it at all.
Then, werner tidied his clothes slightly and showed a professional smile to the camera: "Hello everyone, this is Ground Football."
"We are currently at the Sunderland Training Base, preparing to interview their Coach, Zackery, who is from our country."
"Everyone must be very curious why a name we've never heard before would appear here and become the Coach of a Premier League team? And lead this club to significant progress."
"We have the same questions. Today, we will take everyone into Sunderland, get closer to Zackery, and understand this somewhat mysterious Coach."
"Although we haven't had close contact, it's foreseeable that today's interview will be very pleasant…"
Before he finished speaking, with a "Bang!", Zackery pushed open the door and walked in.
Actually, he had already heard werner's words while outside the door.
He was busy today and didn't want to come for the interview in the first place, and now he was even more annoyed.
After entering, Zackery's gaze quickly swept around the room, but it lingered on a girl.
Oh, isn't this fanfan, the famous female host of "Ground Football"?
At this time, she was the same age as him, both 25, and at the peak of her beauty; she was truly beautiful.
Tsk tsk, it really is werner; he even brought Fanfan to England for an interview. Could there really be something going on?
Immediately, Zackery had an even worse impression of werner.
At this moment, werner quickly came over to introduce himself: "Hello, Coach Zackery. I am werner. Because I usually like to wear number eight when playing football, you can also call me Old Eight Zhang."
"Oh, Old Eight Zhang, my apologies, I've heard so much about you." Zackery didn't even lift his eyelids, appearing a bit perfunctory.
"Coach Zackery is indeed a man of character." werner's expression remained unchanged, "Only such genuine character can match the passionate sport of football! No wonder both Mourinho and Karanka fell at your feet!"
werner had been in the business for a long time; what kind of person hadn't he seen?
In his experience, a young person with a bit of a temper like Zackery, as long as you follow his lead and then subtly introduce the topic you want to ask about, everything would be resolved.
So, after deliberately complimenting Zackery, werner immediately got to the point: "Coach Zackery, our Chinese fans are very concerned about you and want to know how you, at such a young age, became the Coach of a Premier League club?"
"Well…" Zackery pretended to ponder, "It's because I'm handsome."
"Ah? Haha, Coach Zackery is really humorous." werner's mouth widened, and he let out a few dry laughs.
He never expected that Zackery was actually telling the truth!
Wasn't that why the Sunderland owner promoted Zackery to interim Coach at that time!
Then, werner used his ultimate move, forcefully elevating the topic: "To become a Premier League Coach, you must have sacrificed a lot. For example, aspiring to be a Coach from a young age, diligently studying coaching courses, giving up a lot to become a Coach, enduring countless hardships…"
"Really? Is it that hard?" Zackery raised an eyebrow.
He obtained his professional coaching license not long after graduating and was then directly pushed into the Coach position, so he indeed didn't feel it was that hard.
And Zackery was actually quite annoyed by werner's line of questioning.
As a man of character, he truly disliked such official, value-laden conversations.
Isn't it better for people to communicate more sincerely?! Even during an interview, it's the same.
If two people could chat casually like friends, Zackery might even cooperate a bit more.
But werner, who clearly had been in the system for too long, was full of bad habits that couldn't be changed.
"Uh… yes, generally that's how it is. Becoming a Coach in a top League is indeed not that easy," werner could only say now.
"Really? I don't believe it."
"…"
werner felt beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
In his long interviewing career, he had never encountered an interviewee so out of sync.
But werner was, after all, well-trained and experienced. If this channel wasn't working, he immediately switched channels: "Coach Zackery, why don't you talk about your work here? Can you tell us about the players in the club? What are their hobbies normally?"
"Hmm…" Zackery frowned, "Can I not say?"
"Oh, okay, that does involve personal privacy. Then, can you tell us about your daily training routine at the club?"
"No."
"I understand. That's team confidential, not to be publicly discussed. Then, when playing against Manchester City, we saw you talked a lot with Guardiola. Can you reveal what you talked about?"
"No."
"Oh." werner sighed lightly; he was a bit at a loss as to how to continue the interview.
Then, Zackery suddenly turned the tables and asked werner: "You're Old Eight Zhang, right?"
"Hmm, yes." werner was instantly a little happy.
The other party initiated the conversation, which meant they could get closer, and this interview still had a chance!
Then he heard Zackery ask: "How did you come up with the idea for the Ground Football program?"
werner replied: "I'm a football fan myself, and I liked playing football in college. After graduating, I always dreamed of creating a football program that belonged to the Chinese people."
"So, has your dream come true now?"
"Yes, it has come true."
Zackery continued to ask: "Then you must be very happy, right? Is there anything you want to say?"
werner clenched his fists: "I want to thank CCTV, thank CNTV, thank the leaders of the television station for giving me this opportunity for accelerated growth, and I also want to thank… Huh, something seems a bit off?"
Zackery stood up: "Okay, time is almost up. Today's interview ends here. Thank you for your great cooperation in this interview. Goodbye!"
Then he opened the door and walked straight out.
Everyone: "…"
Every member of the Ground Football crew stared at each other with wide eyes, and Anderson also quickly chased after him: "Coach Zackery, Coach Zackery…"
werner, on the other hand, looked helplessly at his subordinates and said: "What do you all think of this person?"
No one dared to speak.
But fanfan's eyes were sparkling: "Of course, I'm staring at him. He's even more handsome in person than on TV…"
"I mean, what's your opinion of this person!" werner roared!
"Uh… actually, his way of speaking is quite cute." fanfan tilted her head, recalling, and couldn't help but smile, "His expression when he speaks is really charming…"
"Don't be such a fangirl, alright!!!" werner roared again.
"Then I have no other opinion." fanfan pouted, "Otherwise, next time I'll try interviewing him? I feel that your interviewing style today, Director Zhang, was too rigid, and perhaps someone like him doesn't like that."
"Oh?" werner finally heard some valuable information and perked up, "How so?"
fanfan said seriously: "Think about it, he's still considered a rookie Coach, but he doesn't back down even when facing world-renowned coaches like Mourinho, and even confronts them directly. This shows that he himself is not a traditional person. Your interview just now… might not have suited his taste, and once he felt resistant, he wouldn't cooperate later."
"That seems to make some sense." werner rubbed his chubby face, "Damn it, I'll arrange another meeting with their Director, and next time I'll let you do a solo interview. We can't let this exclusive be snatched by other local TV stations!"
Then, he looked up at the sky, and a hint of sadness actually appeared on his face:
"I never want to deal with a guy like that again!"
....
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