In November 1999, in a large park in the city of Virton in the southernmost part of Belgium, a boy with yellow skin and dark eyes was sweating profusely and bouncing a football. His technique was not very good and he often dropped the ball, but he kept Practice non-stop.
The road just after it rained was still muddy, staining the boy's shoes and legs. Passers-by around him cast surprised glances at him, but he didn't seem to notice it.
This young man is japanese, named Nagi Mina. He is just 16 years old this year. Just a few months ago, he listened to an agent and traveled all the way to Belgium, hoping to join a team and earn more money. .
But that agent was very irresponsible, he could even be called a liar. After receiving 10,000 yuan from Nagi's family, he brought Nagi to a Belgian second-tier football club called Verton, and signed a half-year contract. The youth training agreement evaporated immediately.
Nagi's family was very difficult. His father passed away very early. He and his elder sister and younger sister were raised by their mother alone. I came out to work to earn money, so I dropped out of school after graduating from junior high school.
Nagi liked football since he was a child. He was a member of the school football team when he was in junior high school, so he wanted to see if he could play professionally. When he was trying out for a certain domestic team, he was fooled by that unscrupulous agent. Not only him, but the whole family was immersed in the dream of going abroad to make a lot of money, so my mother gritted her teeth and borrowed money from everywhere to make up for Nagi's introduction fee and a little living expenses.
It was only when he arrived in Belgium that Nagi realized that his little football skills were nothing to foreign athletes who had been trained since childhood. He could not reach the level of the second team of the Belgian second division team, even though he trained very hard with the team. , but so far has not been affirmed and trusted by the coaching staff, and has not played on the field.
So up to now, he has not earned a penny, and the living expenses on hand are almost completely spent. The team manager made it clear that if Nagi's level has not improved significantly before the winter transfer window, he will no longer be with him. If the contract is renewed, he can only go back to the country in despair.
Nagi felt extremely ashamed every time he thought of the earnest eyes of his family members and the sad scene when he raised money for himself. So he trains hard every day, arrives first in the morning, leaves last at night, and takes football to practice in the park on rest days. What he lacked was not something that hard work could make up for, and he was almost hopeless now.
After stumbling and finishing 500 ball jumps, Nagi wiped his sweat. Suddenly, a white light hit him. He subconsciously raised his right hand to cover it, but the light directly penetrated his arm and entered his mind. He then lost consciousness.
When he woke up again, he saw a middle-aged man squatting next to him, calling him constantly: "Wake up, are you okay, do you need me to call an ambulance?" Hearing this, Nagi quickly sat down from the ground I got up and said, "I'm fine, there's no need to call an ambulance." Just kidding, ambulances abroad are very expensive.
He asked suspiciously: "What's wrong with me?" The middle-aged man replied: "I saw that you passed out suddenly, so I hurried over to check, are you okay?" Nagi waved his hand and felt his physical condition , I just feel a little tired, but I won't go into a coma because of it. Could it be that I'm malnourished because I eat very sparingly recently?
The middle-aged man saw that Nagi had nothing to do and left. Nagi got up and patted the dirt on his body. He still planned to continue training. No matter how successful he was, at least he had tried hard.
When he bounced the ball again, the toe of his right foot touched the football, and a mysterious feeling came over him, as if telling him that the angle of contact with the ball was crooked, and the force was a bit too strong. Sure enough, the ball went sideways and forward.
He stared blankly at the ball slowly rolling away, and was very surprised in his heart. Did he have an illusion from practicing the ball? So he picked up the football and continued to bounce. Every time he touches the football, Nagi can feel whether the starting force is good or bad, as if a sophisticated computer calculates the result in an instant and then feeds it back.
Gradually, Nagi's movements became more and more standard, and the strength and angle became more and more suitable. The ball went up and down on his toes, becoming more and more coherent, and even the height was getting closer and closer. This superb footwork also attracted the attention of the surrounding tourists. They gradually gathered together, wanting to see how many moves Nagi could make.
It was only when Nagi jumped 200 times in a row that he felt his legs a little sore, and he felt that he needed to take a break, so he stopped. At this time, the crowd burst into cheers and applause. The man came out and asked with a smile: "Your skills are really good, are you a professional player?"
After learning that Nagi was a player from Wilton's youth training, he was obviously a little surprised, and praised: "It's really rare for you to have such solid basic skills at this age." Feeling feedback, my ball-juggling skills seem to have improved a lot.
The man handed Nagi a business card. He turned out to be Andre Diest, a scout from Genk Club in Belgium. Genk is a veteran team in the Belgian First Division. The current record is not good, only ranked 14th, and it is still far from the goal of the Europa League. Of course, he would not tell Nagi this information, but just told him that he was very optimistic about him and hoped to see his game.
Hearing this, Nagi couldn't help but smile wryly in his heart. It would be great if he could play, but he still took the business card solemnly, thanked him for his compliment, and then decided to proceed to the next training session. Diest didn't continue to look at him. Training, just smiled and encouraged him, and then left.
Next, Nagi plans to practice dribbling, which is also his weakest point, because he can't grasp the strength well and can't protect the ball. But the situation is different today. After running, every ball will bring him precise feedback, and the adjustment of his feet is also very precise.
This feeling of completely controlling the football made Nagi very excited, so he ran faster and faster, and there seemed to be an invisible line between the football and the toes, always following steadily together. In the end, his running speed was close to that of running without the ball. Nagi's advantage also lies in his speed, far surpassing the rest of the team.
He became more and more excited, and even wanted to play a flower job on a bicycle, but he regretted it as soon as he made the move, and the stiff feeling was clearly fed back to his mind. Sure enough, his left foot tripped over his right foot, causing him to fall hard Go down, it took a long time to recover.
"It seems that we need to keep practicing," Nagi thought silently. He didn't know what happened to his body. Maybe it was related to that mysterious white light, but it didn't seem like a bad thing. It seems that comprehension has been brought up to a higher level, and the sense of the ball that I could not grasp before seems to be no longer a problem.
It wasn't until it was completely dark that Nagi picked up the football and walked slowly towards the dormitory. The dormitory provided by the club is not far from this park, so he will come to this park to practice during his rest time.
When Nagi walked to the bottom of the dormitory, a tall man was hugging a hot girl and kissing him. When he saw him coming, he patted the girl's ass and told her to go back. "Hey, Mina, are you going to practice again?" the man asked. He was Nagi's roommate Renee Delvaux, Verton's backup central defender.
However, Renee is different from Nagi. His family is relatively well-off, so he plays football purely for fun and to pick up girls. He has never understood Nagi's ascetic training mode. Nagi was used to seeing different girls constantly appearing around him, so he just nodded. Renee hugged Nagi and said, "Brother, you can't do this, besides training, you have to relax occasionally."
He said quietly: "I heard that since our company's main winger was injured, Paul Chuck has been performing poorly. As long as you can perform at a super level in tomorrow's training camp, you will have a chance to enter the squad. "
Nagi couldn't help being delighted when he heard the words. Wilton is a small club, and there are only two substitutes at the winger position. He and Paul, because they have not performed well before, have not been able to enter the squad. Now, for some reason, their skills have improved. It seems to be able to fight.
So he lightly punched Rennie in the chest, and said with a smile: "Okay buddy, this message is too timely, I just want to seize this opportunity." Rennie is a very righteous person. Sometimes, the agent disappeared and the language was not good. Thanks to Rennie's care, he was able to gradually adapt to the environment.