Fox in the Penalty Area

Wearing sunglasses and carrying a huge travel bag on one shoulder, Ismail Kamara walked out of the terminal of Bradford International Airport and looked at the traffic and crowds outside the terminal.

Then fell into a dazed state.

This is……

A roar sounded from above his head, interrupting his thoughts and pulling him out of his trance. Waking up, Kamara looked up and saw a huge plane rising from behind the blue glass dome of the terminal building, heading straight into the sky.

He turned his head again and continued to look at the traffic and crowd in front of him.

The blue sky with white clouds in the distance.

This is where he will live for the next four years.

England, Leeds.

"Hey, buddy, why don't you go?" Behind him, a bald black man in a crumpled Brazilian suit dragged two super large suitcases, walked up and patted Kamala on the shoulder.

Camara turned her head to see him, raised her head slightly and said, "Where's the car? Archie, what about the special car you agreed to pick up?"

The black man called "Archie" grinned and showed his big white teeth: "Car? Of course, it's coming soon, it's coming soon..."

While talking, a taxi stopped in front of the two people, and one person in the driver's seat poked his head out, checked with the two people standing on the side of the road using the photos on his mobile phone, and asked, "Excuse me, is Archie?" Mister Fataki?"

The bald black man nodded quickly in English, "Yes, I am Archie Fataki."

"I'm the taxi you called." The driver got out of the car and opened the door for the two people, opened the trunk at the same time, and stuffed their luggage into the trunk. In this way, the huge travel bag on Kamala's body couldn't fit in yet, so Kamala could only hold it by himself.

"Damn it, it's a taxi?" Camara complained in French.

"What else, buddy? Do you really think that Leeds City will use a Mercedes-Benz to pick you up to the club? Wake up, you are not a French international, Ismail." Fataki and Kamara sat in the back seat.

"I will definitely become a French international in the future!" Camara snorted and said confidently.

"Yes yes yes, you will definitely, and I will definitely become the most successful football agent in the world in the future!" Fataki joked,

Then punched Kamala in the shoulder. "Congratulations buddy. You're now a Premier League player earning £500,000 a year! Haha!"

Hearing this, Kamala also laughed, and then punched Fataki back.

The two young men fought for a while in the back seat of the taxi.

They didn't stop until Fataki got a call.

"Yes, we're already in the car...Okay, let's go straight to the club..."

His childhood friend and current manager, Archie Fataki, six years his senior, was on the phone next to Kamara, who looked out the car window.

The green trees and farmland on the outskirts of the city were quickly thrown behind the car, and the city rushed towards us.

He saw rows of small buildings of two or three floors.

I saw gray brick walls and red tiles, and I saw the Leeds City mark on the wall and some other graffiti.

When the car drove into the city center, he saw modern high-rise buildings and lively shopping malls, as well as pedestrians on bicycles and hurrying by the roadside.

He also saw people wearing Leeds City jerseys playing on a football field that looked like a park next to the street. A child scored a goal, he ran to the sidelines excitedly, then jumped up, turned 180 degrees in the air, swung his hands crossed on his chest, and finally spread his legs apart, standing on the ground. on the turf.

It seemed that there was a faint voice accompanying this shout, but he couldn't hear what it was.

Kamara's eyes in the car followed the boy's eyes, and as the car moved forward, his head turned back, until the last face was almost stuck on the glass window, until it was no longer visible in the field of vision The small court on the street turned back.

He continued to hold his travel bag and looked at this strange city curiously.

Until a behemoth was reflected on the window glass.

That's the Flanders Stadium, home of Leeds City.

"We're here." Archie Fataki patted Kamara, who was looking up in a daze, and opened the car door.

The taxi driver had already got out of the car and helped them get the suitcase out of the trunk.

Kamara was holding a travel bag, standing next to the taxi, ignoring the movement behind him, just staring at the outer wall of the huge Flanders Stadium in a daze.

The Flanders Stadium, which can accommodate 30,000 people, is not considered a large stadium among the twenty teams in the Premier League.

But for Camara, who has only played in the French third team, this is already a very magnificent stadium.

The number of people that can be accommodated is ten times that of Flemish's home stadium.

After paying the fare, Fataki, who sent the taxi away, turned around and saw his friend, so he bumped him with his shoulder from behind, shaking Kamala while saying to him: "Take a good look, buddy." Son, this will be the stage for you to perform from now on!"

Camara came back to her senses, turned to look at her manager and friend Fataki, raised her head and said, "And I will be the protagonist here!"

As soon as he finished speaking, another taxi came in the distance and stopped right behind him.

Then a person got off the back seat of the taxi, walked around to the driver's seat and asked, "Uncle, you really don't charge money?"

"No this time, next time, next time I will definitely charge you!" Accompanied by a hearty voice, the taxi driver poked his head out from inside, and then handed a piece of paper to the man, "My business card , if you want to use the car, you can call me..."

The other party received a business card: "That's a coincidence, I need to take a taxi to train during this time."

"Then you call me fifteen minutes in advance, and I promise to be on call!"

"Thank you, uncle."

"Why are you being polite? I should thank you, Hu! You did such a big favor for Leeds City last season!"

Hu Lai shook his head: "I am also a player of Leeds City, those are what I should do, uncle."

"Haha, anyway, I thank you on my own behalf, so if you need a car...call me!" The driver uncle pointed to the business card in Hu Lai's hand, and then made another gesture to call.

"Okay, no problem, uncle."

He waved goodbye to the taxi driver, watched the car go around the gate of the training base, and then turned around to go in.

Then he saw two strange faces standing aside and staring blankly at him, and then looked at the suitcases beside them, looking dusty...

It looked like two Leeds City fans who couldn't wait to make a pilgrimage as soon as they got off the plane.

Then he was frightened by himself, and just stood here so stupidly.

so cute...

So Hu Lai smiled at them and asked in English, "Hello, do you want to sign?"

The two people on the opposite side did not respond to his words, but continued to stare blankly at him.

Hu Lai thought to himself that these two fans were quite shy, so cute...

So he took out a notebook and a pen from the backpack he was carrying, skillfully spread out the notebook, and signed his name on two pieces of paper with the pen.

Then he tore off the two pieces of paper with his own name on them from the notebook, and handed them to the two people opposite, still smiling warmly: "Take it, you're welcome."

After stuffing the signature to the other party, he put the pen and notebook back into the backpack, carried them on his back again, and walked towards the gate of the training base.

Kamara and Fataki looked down at the paper in their hands. There were two square characters written on a piece of white paper that they could not understand.

Below the square is a capital H followed by a wavy line.

※※※

"Hi, Hu! How was your holiday?" Charlie Potter greeted Hu Lai at the training base, they were outside the medical examination room, waiting in line for a medical examination.

"It's not bad. It's very fulfilling to fly around the earth. How about you, Charlie, where did you go on vacation?"

"I went to Mallorca...you traveled the world?" Potter was surprised. "You really know how to play, Hu!"

"It's playing, it's suffering..." Hu Lai shook his head and sighed.

"Traveling around the world still suffers?"

"It's not traveling around the world. I went back to China first, then went to Australia from China to participate in the World Cup qualifiers, then went to the United States to sign a contract with Nike, and finally flew back to Leeds from the United States. What do you think I played?" stand.

The teammates who lined up next to him all looked sideways when they heard this.

Charlie Potter's eyes widened: "You...you signed a contract with Nike?!"

Hu Lai also stared wide-eyed: "Don't you know, Charlie?"

"We don't even know." The other teammates who were queuing up for the physical examination also gathered around.

Just some time ago, the Leeds City Club announced that they had changed the jersey sponsor brand from the original Umbro to Nike. Although the club has not announced the specific sponsorship amount, some media speculate that this five-year sponsorship contract will bring a total of 50 million pounds to Leeds City.

For Leeds City, who were still fighting for relegation last season, this sponsorship amount is already very high.

Obviously, Nike values ​​the Chinese market behind Leeds City.

Leaving aside the fact that the team changed sponsors, in the team, there was no single player who could get a separate sponsorship from a sports brand and sign a contract to become a spokesperson.

Even the old Sean Barnett couldn't do it.

Hu Lai is the first Leeds City player to have a personal brand image endorsement contract.

Everyone is envious, but not jealous.

Because on the one hand, Hu Lai's personal ability is there. After last season, everyone knows it very well. He has become the team's top scorer in half a season. If such a performance can still make his teammates who get along day and night unconvinced. Then these people must have been collectively demoted by mysterious forces.

On the other hand, Hu Lai is backed by the huge Chinese market, and it is only natural that it is favored by such an international brand as Nike.

Therefore, people's ability to enjoy such special treatment is determined by their own strength and good background. There is nothing to be jealous of, and there is no way to be jealous. Your personal strength can be improved, but you cannot choose your origin...

"Hey, Hu. Can you tell me how much Nike pays you a year?" Charlie Potter asked in a low voice.

Before Hu Lai could answer, Captain Lorenzo pulled him away: "Don't inquire about such privacy issues."

Hu Lai also smiled and said nothing.

"Okay...but you must treat us to dinner!" Charlie Potter rolled his eyes and found another reason to eat. "And it has to be red pepper..."

"I seem to have heard someone say 'red pepper' just now?" The door of the medical examination room was opened, and a teammate who had undergone the physical examination came out, and at the same time came out the voice of Ms. Mia Schmidt, the club's nutritionist.

Charlie Potter, who was pestering Holly, changed his face when he heard this.

Then Ms. Schmidt came out from inside, stood in front of all the players with her hands on her hips, and said to them very seriously: "I know that at the end of last season, you went to a Chinese restaurant collectively. I understand that you succeeded in relegation. Joy afterwards, but the physical requirements cannot be relaxed, so I have already suggested to your head coach, Mr. Clark, to increase the amount of physical training for you in the new season."

The players let out a howl.

Facing a group of mourning players, Ms. Schmidt snorted coldly: "Guys, remember that there is no free banquet in the world, and every free gift you get has already been marked with a price! In order to satisfy The desire for tongue, how much you eat, how much you have to pay in training!"

Ms. Schmidt returned to the medical examination room, and the medical examination continued.

After Charlie Potter entered, he took off his shirt, and the skinfold thickness measurement had already been done in front of him. Hu Lai, who was getting dressed, saw a new tattoo on Potter's waist at a glance. He was taken aback: "You new tattooed?"

After noticing his gaze, Potter was rather proud. While accepting the skinfold thickness measurement, he showed off to Hu Lai: "Of course! How about it, is it cool?"

"Where did you see these... words?" Hu Lai stared straight at the new tattoo.

"It's Matt. Matt showed me the photos he took when he went to China to find you. I think the words on it are really cool. I was fascinated by the mysterious oriental culture at once, and then I got tattoos. The master tattooed it on my body. How is it, Hu? I feel that I have been blessed by the oriental secret art, and maybe I can perform as well as you in the new season!" Potter was full of expectations.

Holly looked down from Charlie Potter's smug face and back to the new tattoo on his side.

Looking at the eight Chinese characters "the internal organic hemp air conditioner is open", he showed an approving expression: "It's really good. It's a pity that not many people can see your tattoo in this place... Unless you take off your clothes to celebrate after scoring a goal, but in that case Will get a yellow card..."

"That's okay, Hu, what's a yellow card for being cool and handsome?" Charlie Potter made a gesture of showing off his muscles.

Team medical team leader Tom Middle patted him on the back: "The skinfold thickness is 8.1, Charlie, your body fat percentage is a bit high..."

Seeing that Middle recorded this number on the computer, Potter was very concerned: "No, please, quickly change it to 7.2..."

Then he pointed to Hu Lai and said, "Then how much is he?"

"7.3." Middle said.

Potter quickly glanced at the numbers measured by Hu Lai before, and said happily as if he had discovered a new world: "Aha! Hu is also fat!"

Middle glanced at him and said flatly: "Hu's goal is to gain weight, and your goal is to lose fat."

Holly shrugged at Potter.

The latter's face hurts.

※※※

PS, ask for a monthly pass on the last day of February.

In addition, this book has started a crowdfunding monthly ticket activity. To put it simply, everyone accumulates a reward of 1,500 starting coins, and a monthly ticket can be automatically cast. And now is the event period, so one monthly pass becomes two monthly passes, which is very worthwhile!