Chapter 4 Being carried back to the lounge by teammates
The player who received the red card and was sent to the locker room had been constantly boosting Lin Nan's emotional value.
He was truly wronged, truly wronged!
Only Lin Nan knew that he hadn't been kicked at all; a yellow card would have been sufficient.
After all, a tackle with studs showing is an extremely dangerous move.
In this kind of campus football, everyone's protection is actually very different from that in a professional League.
If that kick had truly connected, it would have meant at least half a year of sick leave.
Lin Nan felt no guilt, no guilt for faking the fall.
This was a game, and that move, if it had landed on anyone, would have resulted in a serious injury.
The opponent was also so diligently contributing emotional points that he was simply overjoyed and had no room for guilt.
To fully commit to the act, with a one-goal lead and an 11-on-10 advantage, Lin Nan spent the rest of the time merely attracting the opponent's defense.
What puzzled everyone was that the players marking him all had dark faces and refused to acknowledge him.
As soon as someone approached, Lin Nan's mouth would chatter incessantly.
Things like, will you get spanked if you lose when you go back?
Your jerseys are ugly!
Why do I smell body odor…
The players defending him wished they could just beat him up.
Given the rules of the field, they could only endure it or ignore Lin Nan.
They longed for the first half to end quickly so they wouldn't have to see this hateful guy anymore.
Football is a sport for 11 players; he was marked tightly, but his teammates became active.
From being behind to leading by one goal.
The team members now had confidence, and their ball control error rate decreased.
They launched two counterattacks, but lacked a bit of luck with the final shot.
Their defense also didn't show any major flaws, and they finally endured until the halftime whistle.
Lin Nan walked with his head down towards the locker room, wanting to try and communicate with the system to understand its functions.
After only a few steps, he felt footsteps behind him and was about to turn his head to see what was happening.
His body felt light as he was directly lifted by two people.
One was Gento, who had scored the goal, and the other was Joshua, to whom he had given his first assist.
"What are you doing? Put me down!"
"We can't do that, you're the hero. I'm sorry, I resented you before because you didn't pass the ball."
Gento was straightforward; he felt very guilty about his previous actions.
"You rest well, I didn't control my strength well before, and I wasted such a good opportunity."
Joshua felt very upset about wasting such a good opportunity.
Lin Nan quickly understood the little thoughts of these two kids; while they were apologizing, they mostly wanted him to give them assists.
Everyone wanted to perform well, especially with scouts present.
On the field, if you can score goals and perform well, you have a chance for a trial.
That's AC Milan Youth Academy, the dream of every young football player in Milan.
Once you become a professional player, money will pour in like snowflakes.
"Haha, no big deal, there's still another half. I'm being marked tightly, but as long as I get a chance to get the ball, you guys just wait for assists."
As soon as Lin Nan spoke, he felt a pause beneath him, and the two looked up at him blankly.
He then realized that the term 'feeding the pie' (Feeding cake - wèibǐng, meaning 'giving an assist') was a term from Great Xia, and they wouldn't understand it at all.
This was still a popular internet term in Great Xia in 2023, and it was 2010 now, how would these foreigners understand it?
He scratched his head and gave an awkward smile, then began to explain to them.
"We love pizza, and in my Great Xia, pizza is called 'bing' (pie). So 'feeding the bing' means I'm feeding you the ball, letting you shoot!"
He didn't know if these two foreigners would understand, and if they didn't, there was nothing he could do.
After listening, the two burst into laughter.
Joshua: "Haha, you Great Xia people are too creative! I like this saying."
Gento: "Yeah, I love pizza the most, give me more in the second half."
The three walked into the tunnel and towards the locker room with laughter.
As soon as the three entered the locker room, the coach led everyone in a round of applause for Lin Nan.
The system's voice kept ringing in his mind, and Lin Nan, feeling a little shy, kept bowing to everyone, thanking them for their recognition.
Coach: "Alright, everyone, quickly rest. In the second half, we will focus on defensive counterattacks."
"The situation is now favorable for us, we have one more player than the opponent…"
The coach was outlining tactics on the blackboard, while Lin Nan was organizing the information of his original body.
Lin Nan, 16 years old, born in Chinatown in the eighth district of Milan.
He had both parents and a twelve-year-old money-loving younger sister.
His parents ran a small supermarket in Chinatown, and the family's life was relatively stable.
However, his father, Lin Hai, did not allow his siblings to join Italian nationality.
After their birth, they all received their identity cards as Great Xia citizens at the embassy.
Although he was born and grew up in Milan, he had never returned to Great Xia.
At home, his father only allowed him and his sister to speak Chinese, and in life, they had to respect elders, not forget their roots, and stand tall.
Lin Hai often said, "We must earn the foreigners' money and learn their excellent things.
When you grow up, use the knowledge you've learned to go back and build our homeland.
We Great Xia people are all unyielding men; we cannot bend our backs or kneel."
His original body played football because Lin Hai forced him to.
Because he didn't want to play football, he was often beaten by Lin Hai; fearing the beatings, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and start practicing football at the age of 5.
However, his original body was also quite capable; his fundamentals were solid, and his speed was very good.
It was just his metabolism, which allowed him to eat a lot without gaining weight, that made him look like a bamboo pole.
Several times, Lin Hai used his connections to send him to youth academies, but as soon as he arrived, the coaches would shake their heads upon seeing his scrawny physique.
Lin Hai didn't give up and continued to supervise his training with a feather duster in hand.
Lin Hai attached great importance to this Milan High School football match.
Before leaving home today, he also reminded him, "Perform well. Although the match is amateur, there will still be scouts. Your dad has only one wish: I hope you can become a professional player."
His original body completely misunderstood Lin Hai's intentions.
He always harbored resentment but lacked the strength to resist, and died from suppressed emotions.
That's how Lin Nan had the opportunity to transmigrate.
After organizing the memories of his original body, he finally understood Lin Hai's intentions.
When he was sixteen, at the Wulihe Stadium, he witnessed the Great Xia football's Golden Generation in that World Cup qualifying group match.
He couldn't forget the entire population of Great Xia, the whole nation celebrating.
Taking to the streets, waving red flags, celebrating, and cheering!
The law enforcement officers maintaining order also joined in, celebrating together.
Regardless of men, women, or children, they all welcomed the football spectacle.
It was also from that time that he gradually embarked on the path of professional football.
At the age of twenty, he witnessed the birth of the Platinum Generation with his teammates.
This group of players could have played in two World Cups, creating the glory of Great Xia football.
But they were forced by circumstances to disappear from the stage of history, becoming the most regrettable generation.