Chapter 5 Feeding Bread to Joshua
Before Lin Nan's rebirth, Chinese football, in the words of netizens, was described as:
"Rotten to the core; out of 1.4 billion people, they can't even pick 23 to play football."
"Watching the national team is worse than watching village football."
"No money, no playing football."
"Become a professional player, you get money, beautiful women, and sea cucumbers for every meal!"
"Football is a rich man's game, even if you have talent."
...
Scandals kept breaking out, and more and more people ended up in jail.
Former national players from the golden generation, full of dreams, began to train young football talents.
As a professional player, driven by his love for football, he always wanted to lead Chinese football to the world stage.
But in the end, due to injuries, he retired early and ended up as an assistant Head Coach in Jia A to make a living.
Before his rebirth, he had just finished watching a friendly match at home against Syria.
The newly reformed Chinese national team lost 0-1 at home.
He was quite frustrated watching that match and couldn't help but drink some wine to drown his sorrows.
Unexpectedly, picking up a bar of soap led him to a direct waltz back to Milan in 2010.
Not only did he have a young body, but he also had the chance to realize his football dream.
As for revitalizing Chinese football and leading it to the world, he decided to put that dream aside for now.
His power alone couldn't clear away years of accumulated sludge.
Lin Hai was just like him; Lin Hai pushing his son so hard was also hoping his son could fulfill the dreams of several generations.
While he was lost in thought, Joshua nudged him, pulling him back to reality.
Joshua gestured with his eyes, telling him to look at the Head Coach.
He then realized that he had zoned out and hadn't heard a word the Head Coach said.
He looked at the Head Coach with some guilt, originally expecting the Head Coach to yell at him.
The chubby Head Coach looked at him kindly and repeated himself.
"Lin Nan, is something wrong with your foot?"
"No, nothing at all."
"That's good. In the second half, just play normally. The opponent will mark you closely, so protect yourself."
Lin Nan nodded after hearing that.
But he thought to himself, 'The Head Coach wasn't this kind before; it seems I've made him proud this time.'
There was still time before the second half, and the players were massaging each other, relaxing their muscles.
After the halftime break, a chubby old man with white hair left the stands and walked towards a nearby grove of trees.
He took out a Nokia N73 and dialed a number.
The phone rang for a long time before finally connecting.
"Old Edward, what is it?"
"Allegri, I found a football genius. He's excellent, two goals and one assist in just over ten minutes on the field."
"Oh? What kind of match?"
"Milan High School Football Competition. I want to bring him for you to see."
"An amateur match? It would be more suitable to take him to the youth academy."
"No, he's more suited for you. Trust me."
There was a long silence on the other end of the phone, and Old Edward grew a bit anxious.
"Don't you trust my judgment? He's definitely suitable for you."
"Alright, bring him here at ten o'clock the day after tomorrow. I hope it's as you say, don't waste my trust in you."
"Good, I hope you can still be so calm then."
Edward was a bit angry and hung up the phone first.
Listening to the beeping sound from the phone, Allegri was a bit stunned.
That old man is still so impatient.
Allegri didn't pay attention to the call at all. He looked at the training plan in his hand, his brows furrowed.
He had only signed the contract in the summer to become the Head Coach of AC Milan.
Their first friendly match, a 0-2 loss to Varese, who had just been promoted to Serie B, had drawn media criticism.
Allegri was under immense pressure and was considering which players to sign before the summer transfer window closed.
Edward's call didn't catch his attention.
All his thoughts were on how to build a team with a solid defense and fighting spirit.
As a local Head Coach, he currently had no fame or achievements.
If it weren't for the strong backing of the big boss, he would have been sacked long ago.
The second half was about to begin. Old Edward found a better spot in the stadium to watch and sat down.
Players from both teams emerged from the tunnel, stretching their bodies, ready for the second half's contest.
In the second half, the teams switched sides, and Holy Heart High School had the kickoff this time.
Gento stood at the centerline. At the referee's whistle, he passed the ball to Lin Nan.
Lin Nan received the ball and grinned as he watched the opposing players rush towards him.
He waved to Gento and Joshua, signaling them to push forward.
He stepped on the ball, smiling as he looked at the opposing players.
"Here come the brothers. Which one of you has body odor?"
Hearing his words, the opposing players' faces darkened even more, and they sped up.
As the opposing player approached to tackle the ball, Lin Nan suddenly accelerated.
With a flick of his heel, the ball was sent to the right.
He ran to the left, regained control of the ball, and began to dribble directly.
Seeing him dribble, all the Royal players rushed forward.
Lin Nan was like a sprite dancing across the field, toying with the opposing tacklers.
One, two, three...
After dribbling past five players, as the sixth rushed in for a tackle, the ball flew out.
A graceful arc soared, and the ball flew towards the opponent's penalty area.
The landing spot of the ball was perfectly for Joshua, who was rushing forward head-down.
Joshua had received his hint and made a mindless forward run.
His movement drew the attention of the opposing defenders, who all moved to intercept.
But most of them were intensely pressing Lin Nan, leaving the remaining defenders struggling to mark both Joshua and Gento.
Seeing the ball fall towards Joshua, by the time they wanted to cover, they had already missed the first opportunity.
Joshua rushed into the small penalty area, facing the goalkeeper directly.
Before he could make any move, the ball directly hit his head and flew into the goal.
4:2.
At the start of the second half, in less than 3 minutes, Lin Nan dribbled past five players, delivered a beautiful long pass, and Joshua scored with a header.
All the teachers and students of Holy Heart High School cheered.
The cheerleaders on the sidelines rhythmically waved their pom-poms, celebrating the goal.
A bewildered Joshua, seeing the ball in the net, only then realized what had just happened.
He stood up, ran to the corner flag, and began to celebrate.
His teammates also rushed over, ruffling his buzz cut, congratulating him.
Joshua caught sight of Lin Nan running towards him and immediately rushed over, picking him up in a hug.
"The 'pie' was delicious, let's keep going!"
Except for Gento, all the players were stunned.
The referee blew his whistle, and everyone returned to their positions, waiting for the restart.
Already playing with a numerical disadvantage, Royal High School no longer dared to press high.
At least four players were marking Lin Nan, which created more attacking opportunities for Holy Heart.
With the victory secured, the second half largely became garbage time.
Lin Nan feigned receiving the ball every time, drawing fire.
From time to time, he would also verbally attack, infuriating the Royal players, who gritted their teeth.