Fox in the Penalty Area

"@Everyone, I have decided to go back."

Hu Lai, who had just been sitting in the car and was about to start the car, heard his cell phone ringing, so he picked it up and glanced at it to see what the news was.

As a result, I saw Brother Huan's words in their small group.

He gave up the idea of ​​driving and decided to ask first. But just as he was typing, Chen Xingyi asked first: "Go back? Back to where?"

Zhang Qinghuan: "Go back to China." Wang Guangwei: "???" Chen Xingyi: "???" Xia Xiaoyu: "???" Morikawa Junpei: "Huh?"

So Hu Lai also deleted the half-typed word and changed it to: "***?!"

Zhang Qinghuan continued: "I have reached an agreement with the club today to terminate the contract one year in advance and return to China after this season." Wang Guangwei sent a voice message: "Brother Huan, what's wrong with you? Didn't you just come back from injury? ?」

Chen Xingyi also sent a voice message: "Yes, yes, Sarria even won the game." Morikawa Junpei: "Are you unhappy staying in Sarria, Brother Huan?"

Hu Lai explained for Brother Huan: "That's not true. After Brother Huan came on as a substitute in the last game, the whole team was feeding him the ball and helping him find his form. Brother Huan is still deeply loved!"

Zhang Qinghuan made a face-covering smile and cried expression: "Don't make blind guesses. Everything is fine with me in Sarria."

Xia Xiaoyu asked: "Then why are you leaving? Brother Huan, you and Saria still have a one-year contract. Even if you want to return to China, you should wait until the contract expires and leave the team freely, right? There is no need to terminate the contract one year in advance..."

"Because instead of waiting until next season when the team can no longer play and then considering returning to China, it is better to decide now and directly return to China to play football next season, so as not to waste a year."

Seeing Brother Huan's explanation, the group fell into silence for a while, and no new news came out.

After about a few seconds, Chen Xingyi comforted him with his voice: "That's not the case, Brother Huan. Before you were injured, you were still the main force in Saria..."

Zhang Qinghuan replied: "You said it was before the injury. When you were thirty-four years old, you suffered a serious knee ligament injury. You don't know what this means, do you, little Xingxing?"

Chen Xingyi was speechless. Others were also speechless.

Hu Lai held the phone, thinking that he should say something witty to break the embarrassing silence in the group. But his usually flexible mind became dull at this time, and he couldn't think of any "golden words".

Brother Huan’s text continued:

"Actually, I am very satisfied. After all, I never thought that I would have the opportunity to play abroad, let alone that I would be able to play for eight seasons in one team. If I want to retire, then I can do it in Salvador. Ria can play until the end of the contract, or retire directly. But I still want to play football, so returning to China is the best choice."

"Hu Lai." "I'm here."

"Let's get together when we have time and invite Xue Ming, Peng Weijun and Yan Jing. Don't be in a hurry. Let's finish the Champions League match against Catalonia first."

"good."

"For the guys in the group, let's not get together. It's not convenient for us to be together from all over the world. At the end of the season, everyone has heavy tasks. Let's wait until we return to China to make an appointment. Anyway, we have plenty of time and opportunities."

"No problem." "Okay, Brother Huan." "We'll meet again when we return home!" "Okay, okay."

Then no one in the group spoke anymore, so Hu Lai put down his cell phone, started the car, and started on his way home.

**·

"Hey, why are you so late today?"

Li Qingqing asked strangely when he saw Hu Lai coming back from outside.

In the past, Hu Lai would always go home as soon as possible after training. If anything happened, she would also call her to let her know.

It was the first time today that I was silent and came back half an hour late.

Especially when he saw Hu Lai entering the room with a slight frown on his face and a gloomy look on his face, Li Qingqing was even more surprised: "What's wrong?"

Hu Lai put his backpack aside and sighed to Li Qingqing: "Brother Huan ended his contract a year early. After this season,

It's time to go back to the country. "

He simply gave the phone to Li Qingqing and let her look at it while he went to wash his hands. After washing her hands and coming back, Li Qingqing was still looking at her phone, her expression serious. So he stood next to his wife and looked at her phone with her.

"Did Brother Huan talk to Sister Juan? Oh...Brother Huan must have made this decision after discussing it with Sister Juan." Li Qingqing finished reading the group chat history and asked while returning the phone to Hu Lai , "I was quite happy to see Saria win and Brother Huan come back from injury. But... why did he have to leave? He was so happy in Saria and everyone liked him... .”

"I thought about it for a long time on the way back," Hu Lai said. "I think it was probably because he saw Saria winning without him that Brother Huan made up his mind to return to China. He may know , there is no place for him in this team. In fact, without this injury, Brother Huan also planned to return to China after the expiration of his contract, but this injury has advanced the time for his return to China by a year..."

Li Qingqing asked again: "Have you found your next home after Brother Huan returns to China?" "Probably not?" Hu Lai was not sure either.

"Will Brother Huan return to Flashing Star?"

"That's not the case." Hu Lai was sure. "Flashing Star has been following the youth route for so many years, and the Young Guards have long been formed. At Brother Huan's age, it will be difficult for him to play in the game when he returns. After all, Flashing Star's current The tactics require a lot of running ability and physical fitness.”

"What about the national team? Now that the national team is playing 442, how can there be a place for Brother Huan? Moreover, Brother Huan has hardly played in any games this season. There are still seven rounds of the league left. Even if Brother Huan plays all seven rounds of the league, his condition will be Even physical fitness may not be up to standard. Didn’t Brother Lin say it before? He will only look at status and attitude for this World Cup squad, not names."

Hu Lai did not give a positive answer this time because he did not know it himself.

Li Qingqing sighed: "Oh...it would be great if we didn't get injured. If we can't participate in the World Cup held in our country, it will be a lifelong regret..."

Seeing that his wife's mood was also sinking, Hu Lai quickly found a reason to comfort her: "I think Brother Lin will still bring Brother Huan with him. After all, Brother Huan's experience is very important and is also a useful supplement to the team's tactics. Besides, , a tournament system like the World Cup, which involves a large number of games in a short period of time, does not have a fixed main lineup. Moreover, this World Cup implements a five-substitution rule for the first time, and the boundary between the main players and substitutes is not as clear as before. "

Li Qingqing felt that what Hu Lai said made sense, and her mood improved: "That's right!"

But she quickly thought of another question: "What about Sister Juan's physical therapy shop? There are so many chain stores...how will they manage it when they return to China?"

"Is this okay? Originally, Sister Juan stopped taking care of herself after she got pregnant. And when she returns to her country and settles down, and the child is born, she can still run in both directions. Flying to Spain once a month is not a trouble."

"That's good. The career that Sister Juan finally built up should not be given up like this." From a female perspective, Li Qingqing pays more attention to self-improvement and self-reliance.

She was relieved, but she heard Hu Lai next to her suddenly sigh: "Oh... Brother Huan suddenly felt a lot lonely after leaving. When I go to Barcelona to play away games in the future, no one will treat me to dinner..."

Li Qingqing scolded: "So you're so sad because of this... Then don't you think about it. Every time Brother Huan comes to Madrid, don't you have to treat him? And the number of times Brother Huan comes to Madrid is comparable to the number of times you go to Barcelona." many!"

Barcelona's two La Liga teams, Catalonia United and Saria, Hulay can only get Brother Huan's meal by playing Saria away from home. Because when the Madrid Pirates go to play away games against Catalonia United, Saria, who is also in Barcelona, ​​often comes to Madrid to play away games, and Brother Huan is not at home.

The opposite is also true, if Saria comes to Madrid to play the Kings, the Pirates have to go away.

This is an arrangement that is considered from multiple perspectives such as security, attendance, and television broadcasts. Try not to have two major games in one city at the same time.

But...Delhi has more than just two teams.

Valero is located in the northeast of Madrid, and Getafe is in the south of Madrid.

When Saria comes to play these two teams away from home, there is no avoidance principle of "the king does not see the king".

As long as the Madrid Pirates are playing at home at that time, they have to treat Brother Huan to a meal after playing to keep in touch with each other. Especially as more Chinese players come to play in La Liga.

For example, Peng Weijun plays for Valero, and he is also considered a Chinese player in Madrid. Therefore, the number of times Hu Lai invites Huan is definitely more than the number of times Huan invites Hu Lai.

If it's because you can't get Brother Huan's meal, then you shouldn't be sad.

But after Li Qingqing said this, Hu Lai was stunned for a moment, and then said nothing.

Li Qingqing was surprised and confused when he saw that he was silent and did not refute: "What's wrong?" Then he heard Hu Lai say: "Actually, a treat doesn't cost much..."

Li Qingqing knew that her husband was really reluctant to leave Brother Huan. ???

"Oops." Sun Juan suddenly exclaimed softly.

Zhang Qinghuan quickly asked with concern: "What's wrong? Are you feeling uncomfortable?"

When he saw his wife frowning, he thought something was wrong. After all, his wife was pregnant now... She had to pay special attention to her health.

Sun Juan shook her head: "I suddenly remembered that if you told Hu Lai about your departure, would it affect their preparations for the Champions League match against Catalonia? If they are eliminated by then..."

Zhang Qinghuan breathed a sigh of relief: "Well... that won't happen." "Oh? Does that mean Hu Lai and the others won't be eliminated?"

"Not really." Zhang Qinghuan shook his head. "I don't know if they will be eliminated. Football is round and anything can happen. I mean, the current problem of the Pirates has little to do with Hu Lai. It is due to their structural problems. Problem."

In the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals in the middle of last week, Madrid Pirates lost to Catalonia United 0:2 away from home, putting their promotion situation in jeopardy.

In order to prepare for the second round match against Catalonia United, in the 31st round of the league this weekend, Parotti made large-scale adjustments to the team's @starting lineup, which resulted in them losing 0:1 at home. For Turias, who is fighting for relegation.

The point difference with the Madrid Kings, who are first in the league, has also widened to 11 points, almost completely missing the league championship.

If they cannot reverse and eliminate Catalonia United at home, then this season will almost be regarded as "nothing" for the Madrid Pirates.

Sun Juan sighed: "If the Champions League is also eliminated, then the Pirates will not have a championship this season, right? The King's Cup has also been eliminated, and the league is eleven points behind the Kings...one in a single season. There is no championship. This is the first time since Hulay joined the Pirates, right? There was no Champions League last season, but there is still a King's Cup..."

Zhang Qinghuan comforted her: "This is so normal in the football world. How can there be a winning team?" "I understand the truth, but I still feel very sorry..."

Zhang Qinghuan continued to comfort: "Think about it from another perspective. If the Champions League is eliminated, then Hu Lai can return to China after playing in the league. He will not miss most of the national team's training like four years ago. Maybe he can perform better in this World Cup. Okay?"

For the Chinese, compared with the Champions League and the World Cup, the latter is obviously more important.

But this did not comfort Sun Juan. She frowned even more: "What about you? Can you participate in the World Cup?" Zhang Qinghuan was silent.