The strongest blade in football

Chapter 12 Arrival in Cologne
The bus drove for two hours, and when it was about to enter Cologne, the private cars that were driving ahead disappeared.

Wang Nuo is not surprised at all. Cologne is a "big" city with a population five times that of Liege, so it is worth visiting.

Whether it's going to the Rhine River Bend to drink beer, go to the Perfume Museum, or visit the Cologne Cathedral, it's much better than staying in a hotel with the team.

In short, all private cars are gone.

More than ten kilometers to the west of the center of Cologne, there is a large stretch of stadiums, and Cologne's home stadium, Rhein Energy Stadium, is surrounded in the middle.

A renovation a few years ago turned it into a great stadium with brand new facilities and it was one of the host stadiums for the World Cup in Germany with a capacity of 5.

However, that was not the destination of Wang Nuo's trip.

The location of the U19 friendly match with Cologne was arranged at the branch training base of the Cologne club, north of a town called Huerth.

The team was greeted immediately upon arrival.

It is said that Witte Ante's father was once a high-level executive of the Cologne club and had a close relationship with Overat in the player era.

And Overat is the current head of the Cologne club's board of directors, and Witteant himself is also one of the official members of the Cologne club.

Wang Nuo speculated that the friendly match between the team echelon and Cologne, in addition to the close distance, also has the influence of this layer of relationship.

The staff of the Cologne club took the team to visit the training base in Cologne and provided a sumptuous lunch.

After lunch, another training field was set aside for the standard Liege U19 to train, and the etiquette was extremely thoughtful.

I heard that even the hotel they stayed in was booked by Club Cologne and the room fee was paid in advance.

In the afternoon, Witt Ante arranged court adaptation training.

This field looks similar to the 800-seat standard field of the standard Liege youth training base, but it looks a little old.

The grandstand on the stone steps, the dirt warm-up track, the paint on the covered coach and bench seats are seriously peeled off, exposing the brown rust inside.

Although he came to Cologne for a friendly match, Witte Ante still restricted the players from going out at night.

Everyone must stay in the hotel obediently.

This group of little wolf cubs, let them out, who knows what they will do?
If you stay in the bar until the early morning or even stay out at night, you will know the result of the next day's game without playing.

Witt Ante used to be a professional player, he knew how restless the blood flowing in these boys was, and giving them a fulcrum could turn the world around.

As an echelon coach, his job is to get the players used to venting their energy on the court instead of off the court.

The habits formed by the youth teams have a profound impact on their careers.

June [-]th was a sunny day with a moderate temperature. The sea breeze blowing from the far northwest had not left much moisture, and it was dry and pleasant.

In the locker room, Vetteant gathered the players who had changed their jerseys and were about to play, and surrounded them.

Witt Ante stood in the middle of the circle, shouting at the players.

"Look, just because it's a friendly, it doesn't mean you can relax, you're not here to travel, you have the Standard Liege crest on your shirts, the results are recorded, you're doing it for the club. To fight, we must strive to win with all our strength, understand?

The players nodded.

Vetteant looked around at the expressions of his disciples and saw serious faces. This was exactly the effect he wanted, but it wasn't enough, so he added some more weight.

"I will measure your strength through the game. Who will be the main force in the new season, who will be reduced to the substitute, and who will not be able to play, are all up to you. This game is one of the considerations. Your performance is related to the new season. own position!"

"Understood!" Witt Ante asked again.

"Understood!" the players shouted.

"We are—!" Witt Ante's voice was louder than the players.

"Red Devils Standard Liege, fight! Fight!" This time, the sound burst out, almost breaking the roof.

Everyone's hands were stacked together, including Wang Nuo's.

The backs and palms of his hands were covered with sweat, he could smell the body odor of his teammates, and he could hear the suppressed panting. Witteant put his hand on the top and pressed down hard.

"Remember my tactics and play smart football!"

Vetteant glanced at Wang Nuo, and then turned his gaze to other people's faces.

"Okay, let's go!"

The door of the locker room was pushed open, and there was no player tunnel on this field. As soon as the Standard Liege players appeared, the audience immediately burst into loud cheers.

The group of relatives and friends who disappeared yesterday appeared neatly on the opposite stone steps stand.

Coupled with the local fans in Cologne, the stands that can accommodate hundreds of people seem a bit crowded.

Although it was a friendly match, the strong stadium atmosphere did not lose to some low-level leagues.

Before the game started, there was no one sitting in the stands. They waved to the players and shouted the names of the players they knew.

Among the players who played, there were their younger brothers, sons, nephews, buddies, boyfriends—they were all their closest relatives.

This kind of game is much more exciting than cheering for unrelated players. Although they also like stars, in comparison, today's game is more exciting.

The players were excited too, with fire in their eyes, and with their family and friends in the stands, there was no reason not to show their best in front of them.

Vetteant doesn't even need to mobilize in the locker room, everyone on the team will do their best, and the young boys who have just grown up are at the age where they are keen to prove themselves.

Wang Nuo had no relatives to cheer for him, but he was also infected by the atmosphere of the scene, so that he could hear his own heartbeat.

The last time he saw so many spectators was the year before last, which was the final of the U17 competition in Brussels. In that game, his breakthrough caused a foul and won a penalty, and the team finally won.

Stepping onto the flat football field, Wang Nuo leaned over and grabbed a piece of grass and held it in his mouth.

This is Wang Nuo's habit of playing games all the time.

Through this grass, he can blend in with the ground under his feet.

He will run faster, jump higher, and never fall on this field—Wang Nuo always gives himself such psychological hints.

Standard Liege played a 433 formation, which was exactly the same as the previous two training games.

Wang Nuo was placed at the right winger position, and Iser and Langte formed a central defender partner.

The lost right back Olivier, goalkeeper Morris, and mechanical dancing genius Lebia all appeared on the stage.

The limit of substitutions in this game is 11, which means that if the first half does not play well, Witt Ante can change to another lineup after the intermission.

The players who stay on the court understand that their next performance determines the playing time of this game-the head coach can change at any point in time!

The referee for this warm-up match was a bald man who looked a bit like Vinnie Jones, the villain who got a yellow card in three seconds.

Sure enough, before the game started, he told the players with practical actions that his whistle would be very loose.

He turned a blind eye and even laughed when someone from Cologne made a provocative remark during the pre-match handshake.

"Hey, can you sing the second line of the national anthem?"

(This sentence is mocking the Belgians for being unpatriotic. The French-speaking and Flemish-speaking areas are facing each other. There was anarchy in Belgium for a while)
Provoked by the opponent's players, Wang Nuo's Belgian teammates immediately responded.

They declined the ensuing handshake and walked straight to their own half of the court.

The fans on the sidelines noticed this sudden situation and immediately became restless.

They couldn't figure out what was going on, but that didn't stop them from making loud noises and boos.

Wang Nuo looked at the back of his teammates leaving, and at the contemptuous smile of the provocative Cologne player. Amidst the boos, he seemed to feel that this ordinary warm-up match had a tinge of gunpowder.

At this time, the referee who looked like Vinnie Jones finally blew the whistle to start the game.

Wang Nuo heard his muttering, "This f/m/ is like a football game."

　The World Cup qualifiers are starting, I'm behind 0 to 1, I'm going to watch the game! !
　　Although the national football team is really sad!

　　But I still have to shout out, come on, the national football team!The national football team must win! ! !
　　
　
(End of this chapter)