Football: A late bloomer, starting with Leicester City

Chapter 343 Coal miner Jones’s dream, the FA Cup quarterfinals are coming!

The days continue to advance steadily, the weather gradually warms up a bit, and the streets of Leicestershire are not as deserted as before.

Everyone knows that England has a very strong fan culture, and the 'indigenous' people living here will pay special attention to the results of local teams.

If the home team's performance is mediocre and they fight to avoid relegation every year, then maybe everyone's real enthusiasm will be at the end of the season.

Because it was a critical period for relegation, whether you can stay in a higher-level league usually depends on the last one or two months.

But if the home team's results are overwhelming, the enthusiasm will slowly show itself once the weather warms up in February.

Because the competition for championships in various events will officially begin during this period.

This kind of fanaticism has nothing to do with whether your job is leisurely or whether your living standard is substantial. Even people at the lowest level will have the opportunity to enjoy hardships.

In some coal mines and ironworks these days, the same scene is happening every day.

Workers use their lunch breaks or intermittent breaks to get together to play poker, relax and chat.

The topics they chatted about occasionally included politics and economics, but more often than not, they talked about the Leicester City team.

For them, Leicester City is a spiritual pillar, enough to support them to move forward better and be full of hope for the future.

"Damn, Chen Yufeng scored another hat-trick on the field. Is he going to poke a hole in the sky of the entire Premier League?" A thin worker huddled in the corner, smiling and throwing down his cards.

"It's been revealed a long time ago. It's not like everyone didn't see his performance last season."

This is an old man, who seems to have been working in the factory for a long time. After he finished playing the cards, he said: "I have been watching football for so many years, and apart from Alan Shearer and Drogba, I have never seen anyone else have such impact." .”

"Even if others have this kind of impact, they don't have this kind of efficiency. Do you understand what I mean?"

"I agree." A manager at the venue who was playing cards with the two men also nodded slightly.

The clothes and faces of the three of them were not too clean, but they showed that they did not care about their own situation, but placed all their expectations on Leicester City.

Essentially, their income is enough to support their families.

On the other hand, if you want to enjoy happiness in the midst of suffering, you have to find something to put your sustenance on, right?

"Is the Golden Boot guaranteed?" the emaciated worker asked curiously: "It seems to me that we have already scored 26 goals."

"Of course, no one is competitive."

The manager nodded slightly, then glanced at the emaciated worker, "You like Chen Yufeng so much. You say it in the factory every day, why don't you go and have a look?"

"Season tickets aren't expensive either. With your income, it's not too expensive to buy one, right?"

"Even if the season ticket is not cost-effective, it is good to watch two games occasionally. Why do you stay in the factory and work every day?"

The old man next to him also turned his attention to the thin worker, as if he was curious about this.

"hey-hey……"

The skinny worker scratched his head, a little embarrassed but wanted to pretend that nothing was wrong. "I won't go. It's good to watch it on TV. The local TV station always broadcasts it for free."

"I'm not afraid of your jokes. My wife just gave birth to her third child. The pressure to support the family is too great. My living expenses are almost non-existent. Fortunately, the factory provides free meals to employees."

"If I don't go, I won't go. I'll wait until next season."

After he finished speaking, he lowered his head and played cards again.

"If we go next season, it's not certain whether Chen Yufeng will still be in Leicester City. Don't you read the transfer rumors and news? Chen Yufeng and his son have always avoided the issue of contract renewal." The old man next to him shook his head as a reminder. .

"what?"

The thin worker squeezed his face and said with a wry smile: "My mobile phone is a little stuck, and I usually don't read much."

Judging from his expression, he was indeed in some difficulty.

Part family, part faith favorite player on the team.

It's hard to decide.

"Click." When the cards were played, the manager inadvertently threw a card on the table. It had the Leicester City team emblem and poster printed on it. The size and hardness were about the same as a bank card.

"I'm going on a business trip in February. You can use this card first. You can go with him. He knows how to use this season ticket."

The manager held the poker and pointed at the old man next to him.

"Me?" The thin man felt a little surprised, but he didn't dare to show it too obviously. After pulling several times, he took the card in his hand.

"Thank you, director. Leicester City happens to have a crucial home game against Liverpool at the end of this month. I will definitely go and see it then."

The thin man laughed and said, "I won't go to the away game. It's too far. Especially the Champions League game against Sevilla. Going to Spain is too crazy."

"thanks, thanks."

The old man next to him didn't say anything. He just threw out the poker and said, "No thanks, let's play the cards first, Jones."

…………

On February 2, Leicester City ushered in the 13th round of the Premier League this season.

So far, the gap between them and Chelsea is 2 points. After Chelsea defeated them that day, their subsequent state was not too stable.

A gap of 2 points is undoubtedly very ambiguous.

Not to mention, Chelsea still have one more game. They have played the 25th round of the Premier League match against Burnley ahead of schedule.

No one would wave their hands and say they don't want to compete for the championship in this situation.

After all, as long as they win this game, they will occupy the top spot with a 1-point lead.

This is a good opportunity to take control of the championship!

In the Welsh city of Swansea, at the home stadium of Velvet, the match between Leicester City and Swansea has already started in full swing.

This is a small stadium, with a capacity of just over 20,000.

Therefore, it was easy for him to fill the seats. In addition to more than 10,000 home team fans, thousands of Leicester City fans with season tickets also sat in the north stand of the stadium.

"Leicester city...! Leicester city...!!"

"Chen Yufeng! Chen Yufeng! Chen Yufeng!"

"Fight for the championship! Fight for the championship! We want to rush to the top position!"

Screams rang out, and the expedition team seemed particularly passionate. They paid a lot of money to come to the away game to watch the game. They didn't want the team to return empty-handed.

At least we should take away three points, right?

It would be even better if there was a big win!

In one of the stands of the stadium, Jones, an emaciated coal miner, appeared with the old man playing cards with him.

There was nothing on the old man's expression, he just shouted loudly along with everyone else.

As for Jones, who rarely comes to watch team games, he feels a little restless. This restlessness is not nervousness, but a feeling of excitement, novelty, trembling and other feelings intertwined together.

"Chelsea just drew with Burnley. The gap between us and them is 2 points. If we win this game, we can return to the top spot!"

The old man reminded Jones beside him to pay more attention to this game, "Don't be stunned, let's come together!"

Jones nodded heavily, thanked him in his heart, and shouted along.

He couldn't come by himself. Even if the factory manager gave him a season ticket, he wouldn't have enough travel expenses to come.

But who knows, the old man helped him buy a train ticket to Swansea's away game the next day...

This……

If you don't come again, you'll be a little ignorant, right?

In the past few days, Jones was living in joy every day. He kept thanking the old man and the supervisor, and at the same time started making urgent preparations.

He chose a set of the cleanest and most fashionable jackets. Even though it was a bit cold to wear, he still felt that it was the right thing to wear.

As long as it looks good, it can’t look too shabby when you go to watch a game.

Of course, this feeling is only relative to himself. In the eyes of others, his outfit is still that of a cleaner lower-class person.

But what's the point?

Everyone cheers for their favorite team together, and there is no intersection after the game. Who cares what others wear or what others think.

"Oh——!!"

Not long after, when he saw Chen Yufeng's low shot almost piercing the Swansea net, Jones jumped up excitedly, dancing and exclaiming with the people around him.

"He's too strong, isn't he?"

"You can't even imagine how his body is structured. The strength, speed, and flexibility skills can actually appear in one person!"

"I absolutely love him!"

"Hahahahaha... If I can get his autograph, I will be very excited."

Jones said a lot at this time, and the people around him didn't show any other emotions. They all sighed with him excitedly, and echoes suddenly broke out from all over.

Everyone then looked down and saw that Swansea's strategy for this game was the same as when the weak teams played Leicester City in the previous games. They were still defensive and defensive.

Therefore, even if they stormed for an entire half, Leicester City still failed to achieve any results.

The two sides entered the halftime break with a score of zero to zero.

"We changed sides in the second half and the Swansea goal was right at our feet!"

Jones sighed with the old man next to him, "If our players can score goals, we will see it more clearly!"

"Should Ranieri replace Klose? I have never seen this World Cup historical goal record holder!"

Even if Jones rarely saw the scene, he had participated in some of the team's championship parades and must have seen many people in person.

But for Klose, a big star, he has never seen it in reality.

This feeling is very strange. People who you would never think would join Leicester City actually appeared in the Leicester City lineup this season and wore Leicester City jerseys.

The reason is, of course, that Leicester City won the championship last season!

They have become a team with hope, and people can believe that if you join here, you will have a chance to win honors!

"It should be possible. It depends on whether Mahrez and Chen Yufeng on the wing can send some passes. Mahrez is not in good condition recently."

The old man who came with Jones shook his head and said, "We can only place our hopes on Chen Yufeng."

"But there is another point. Chen Yufeng's fatigue problem seems to have not been resolved. He fell out after 45 minutes of playing in the last game. I don't know how long he can play in this game."

These words also shocked Jones next to him, and he froze on the spot.

It was his first time to watch a game live this season, and it was an away game. He couldn't be so unlucky, right?

After thinking about it, he still said: "That's really a pity, but if possible, I hope Chen Yufeng scores a goal before going on."

This is considered a small wish of his.

"Beep!" Not long after, the referee blew the whistle to start the second half of the game, and the players from both sides resumed the confrontation and competition.

Jones looked at the field with expectant eyes, looking forward to that scene happening.

Somehow, Chen Yufeng, who seemed to sense the expectations in the north stands of the stadium and seemed to feel that his physical fitness was about to run out, actually played explosively for a period of time in the opening stage of the second half.

He broke through Swansea's left defense twice in succession, messing up their entire left defense zone.

It is a pity that the teammates outflanking in the middle did not find the feeling of shooting for the time being. They wasted the football passed by Chen Yufeng twice in a row and failed to blast the ball into the net.

This also led to the fact that when the game time came to the 56th minute, Chen Yufeng, who received the football again, decided to go it alone.

He found the gap in the opponent's rib defense, moved forward and waved his hand towards Ashraf who was in possession of the ball to ask for the ball.

Ashraf is also a very naughty thief. He pretended not to see it at first. After he intervened, he just covered his head and led towards the opponent's full-back. After attracting a player's marking, he kicked the ball and sent it out.

Chen Yufeng's second forward run happened to be on the football line. "Oh——!!"

Seeing the team's top star receiving the football, the Leicester City expeditionary force, represented by Jones, stood up again and shouted loudly.

This is a dangerous position, a dangerous area where Chen Yufeng has a chance to create a goal!

They need to stand up early and get ready to celebrate!

With all the fans watching, Chen Yufeng dunked the ball with his right foot, then dropped his right shoulder to the right, then stepped with his right foot, making a fake move on the same side.

After deceiving the opponent's defender, he quickly used his left foot to cut inside.

Then, he spotted a gap between the legs of the Swansea centre-back.

A cut-in shot does not have to be a violent volley into the far corner, it can also be a light shake of the ankle, and a surprise kick from the defender's crotch to the ground.

As long as the ball is of good quality, it will be difficult for the goalkeeper to react.

In this way, Chen Yufeng pretended to lead him inside step by step, but he kept glancing at the crotch of the defender from the corner of his eye.

This covert observation went unnoticed.

So when Chen Yufeng swung his arms and raised his left leg to hit the goal, everyone thought he was going to hit the far corner.

Swansea goalkeeper Fabianski took small steps towards the far corner, lowered his center of gravity and stepped on his left foot, preparing to save to the right.

"Bang!" A sound of touching the ball sounded. It was not the muffled sound of a powerful volley as in the impression, but a light sound of touching the ball like a pass.

The next moment, the football escaped from the legs of Swansea defender Norton, and then slid along the turf to the near corner.

Near corner!

Goalkeeper Fabianski saw clearly, but it was too late.

"Whoa!" The sound of hitting the net sounded, and Chen Yufeng opened the bottle for Leicester City again. In the away game, he gave Leicester City the initiative in the game!

Next, it’s not about what strategy you want to adopt, but what strategy we adopt, you have to adopt!

Three points, very close!

After scoring the goal, Chen Yufeng rushed to the Expeditionary Force stand, where he spread his hands and made a dominating celebration.

The fans also gave him the warmest applause and cheers.

"Yeah————!!"

Jones was engulfed in the shouts of everyone in the area. He reacted belatedly and jumped up and waved in celebration.

He stood on tiptoes just to get a clearer view of Chen Yufeng directly below.

Combined with the football in the goal and seeing Chen Yufeng's arms spread out, Jones certainly knew what he saw at the scene.

"We will return to the top of the list, Mr. Chen Yufeng!" Jones showed a happy smile. Chen Yufeng, the corkscrew, is well-deserved.

Crazy personal abilities, amazing creativity and imagination!

Solid shooting!

Astute and extraordinary ability!

All the words that praise the striker will not be inappropriate when used on him.

"Are you happy? You didn't come here in vain!" The old man next to Jones also shouted with a red face. He turned to ask Jones.

"Of course, I feel like I'm going to ascend to heaven, hahahaha!"

Jones laughed, "When you said he was too tired recently and might be off the field, I thought my jacket was in vain, but now, I feel like I wore it right and it was worth it!"

"What's more exciting than seeing your favorite player score a goal live?"

"He is God! The 27th goal in the Premier League!"

…………

After this goal, Chen Yufeng was replaced in the 65th minute of the game.

His body had not yet recovered enough to survive the entire game. Ranieri knew this, so he chose to substitute at the right time.

From Ranieri's perspective, he certainly would not have thought about what kind of devil's contract Chen Yufeng was playing in private. He just felt that Chen Yufeng's body was warning him that this player had played too many games recently.

This even made him feel a little guilty.

There is no way, the greater the ability, the greater the responsibility...

Any team with Chen Yufeng will have the confidence to compete for the championship on some fronts. At this time, Chen Yufeng will not be able to rest.

He must shoulder the offensive burden for the team, and he can even help the team create more than half of the goals every season.

Not to mention, his importance in such opening moments.

There are many three-pointers that would not be possible without Chen Yufeng's personal ability.

This makes Ranieri feel a little dazed sometimes. It is obvious that Chen Yufeng joined the team last season and had not played in the Premier League before that.

After this season, why do you feel that he is at the level of Melo, who has been killing everyone in modern football for many years?

You have to continue to wash away people's worldview with superstar-level performances...

The rest of the game became exciting.

As Chen Yufeng's goal killed Swansea's hope of keeping the tie, they began to attack aggressively.

What happened after that was Leicester City's normal rhythm.

In the 71st minute of the game, Mahrez, who has been average recently, received the football during the counterattack, broke through Swansea defender Hope one-on-one, and kicked the ball into the net.

Two to zero!

Leicester City basically sealed the victory!

This was not over yet. When the game came to the 86th minute, Leicester City got a set kick on the right.

Mahrez once again stood in front of the football, wanting to use his left foot to pocket the ball into the penalty area to help his teammates complete the grab.

"Oh!"

This pass was very fast and the arc was very wide. The football quickly passed over everyone's heads and headed towards the goal.

Goalkeeper Fabianski had been paying attention to the situation in the middle and wanted to make a save prediction in advance. He did not expect that the football would turn towards the goal.

By the time he found out that everyone was on top, it was already too late.

"Whoa!" A sound hit the net, and Mahrez's free kick penetrated Fabianski's goal again.

Three to zero!

Mahrez scored twice!

After the goal was scored, Mahrez did not run to the sidelines to celebrate, but rushed to the bench and hugged Chen Yufeng.

This is just a small gesture, but everyone can see what it expresses.

Mahrez is expressing his gratitude to Chen Yufeng, because without the latter's opening of the bottle, he would not have been able to take advantage of the chaos and score two goals to regain his confidence!

For a shooter, regaining self-confidence is a very important thing!

Otherwise, this person is likely to never recover, immersed in the feeling of failure, and become accustomed to failure!

"Click!" Some media on the sidelines recorded the scene and reported on their mobile phones after the referee blew the whistle to end the game.

Some reports have to be published in a hurry, and there is not so much time for you to return to the editorial office and edit them slowly.

Many reporters edited the document from the scene and sent it directly when the referee blew the whistle.

[Leicester City defeated Swansea 1-! Reached the top spot with a point advantage! Chen Yufeng broke the deadlock and Mahrez found his shooting touch! 】

Get to the top of the list!

Although there are still 13 rounds of the league, Leicester City still has a long way to go if they want to stabilize this result. They will continue to compete with Chelsea.

However, the second half of the climb to the summit is always very inspiring!

During the exit session after the game, all Leicester City fans raised their hands in the air and sang their latest song.

The melody is still the same, but the lyrics have been slightly changed.

"We are number one! We are the kings of England! Everyone, give in, the defending champion is coming...!"

"We will successfully defend the title, and we will tell everyone that last season was not an accident. Chen Yufeng and Mahrez will make you suffer. Having them, we will never envy any team...!"

Jones followed behind everyone, singing with his face flushed. Being immersed in this atmosphere, he left all the bad things behind, and he was only left with a feeling of excitement and joy.

When this moment comes, everyone will feel the charm of football and what this sport means to them.

This is the power of faith and a culture firmly engraved in their bones.

"Next time I come here, I will discuss it with my wife when I get home and ask her to pay my travel expenses!" Jones made a good wish.

…………

On February 2, Leicester City’s third away game this month arrived.

This is the fifth round of the FA Cup. They came to the home court of the British Championship team Millwall to face this dark horse team.

If the fifth round of the FA Cup is played in a table format, then this is equivalent to 16 going to 8.

A team that makes it past the fifth round is equivalent to entering the quarterfinals and truly entering the championship ranks.

This is a very crucial game, and Leicester City must pay attention to it and attack with all its strength.

As a British Championship team, Millwall may be somewhat behind Leicester City in terms of strength, but having made it this far, which one is better?

Before the game started, Mr. Ranieri was also on the bus talking to the players about the final schedule.

"The FA Cup divisions have been announced, and we are in the top half with teams like Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham, and Fulham."

"If we can win this game and reach the quarterfinals, our opponent will most likely be Tottenham Hotspur."

"If it reaches the semi-finals, then I think there is a high probability that it will be one of Manchester United and Chelsea."

"It's a very competitive half and it's very difficult to get to the final."

Ranieri's face was heavy, but there was desire deep in his eyes, "But once they enter the final, the teams in the top half will definitely have a psychological advantage over the teams in the bottom half."

"Because this is a team that has come out of head-to-head battles between first, second, and third place in the league."

"We must work hard for this game. We must overcome the obstacle of Millwall and then fight towards Tottenham and Chelsea until we enter the final!"

"Up until now, I have only one goal, and that is to win an FA Cup championship for the club! Come on, kids!"

The car suddenly became noisy, and the players cheered and cheered.

Not long after, a simple warm-up was completed on the court, and after Chen Yufeng gave the final mobilization in the locker room, the players all stepped onto the court to prepare for this 16-to-8 game.

This is a game that you don’t need to be overly nervous about, but it is a game that must be taken seriously.

In a world where modern football is highly professional and digitized, how did the dark horse emerge?

In addition to their extremely strong fighting spirit, another very important reason is that the previous strong teams did not pay attention to this team.

"Beep!"

The game starts soon. Whether Millwall continues its miracle journey or Leicester City roars towards the championship, there will be a result in ninety minutes.

In the north stand of the stadium, the expedition team from Leicestershire sat here and cheered loudly for the team.

Jones also appeared in the corner with the old man from the factory again, but judging from Jones's expression, he did not get the support of his wife.

"Don't worry, I lent you this money. When I get my salary next month, I will definitely pay it back!" Jones' tone was firm, but his expression was a bit awkward.

"It's okay Jones, don't worry when the child is older, I will retire soon and my pension will not be spent all."

The old man smiled and said: "It turns out that the supervisor watched the game with me. He was on a business trip and I was quite bored. It was like finding a friend to watch the game with me."

"No, no, no..." Jones wanted to refuse, but was interrupted by the old man's hand: "If you still want to watch Chen Yufeng's game, stop talking. Let's all watch the game in a friendly manner."

At a certain moment, Jones suddenly felt that the old man's back became majestic. He even wanted to ask, do you need me to do anything (the kind of risk-taking)?

(End of this chapter)