Levi, a football enthusiast and Manchester native, found himself in a predicament as he boarded a flight from Manchester to Paris for the World Cup. Due to the frenzy surrounding the event, all flights were fully booked, leaving Levi with a late arrival time that threatened to make him miss the opening match.
Despite the challenges, Levi felt reassured by the support of seasoned individuals like David Pace and Steve Bruce from New Manchester United. Alongside assistance from Andy Walsh and Mark David, Levi embarked on his journey to France with confidence, armed with a notebook listing potential players to scout.
As Levi settled into his economy seat, his mind wandered to the match already underway in Paris, envisioning scenarios where Brazil triumphed against Scotland, a result that would either validate or jeopardize his substantial bet.
A fellow passenger, a stylishly dressed young woman with captivating features, caught Levi's eye as she took the seat beside him. Though she wore dark glasses, her polite smile and oriental charm intrigued him.
As the plane took off, Levi observed the woman flipping through a movie magazine, her rhythmic page-turning drawing his curiosity. Their conversation sparked when she noticed Levi's interest in an article featuring Keanu Reeves, prompting them to discuss the actor's career trajectory and Hollywood dynamics.
Their chat expanded to encompass other aspects of cinema, from renowned directors like Michael Bay to favorite films and actors. Levi shared his admiration for Nicolas Cage and Bay's work, while the woman, Eva Snow, revealed her preference for movies over football, a sentiment that amused Levi given his Manchester United T-shirt.
Their banter continued, punctuated by laughter and camaraderie, making the flight time fly by unnoticed. Levi and Eva's exchange transcended the typical small talk, forging a connection that felt genuine and refreshing.
As the plane prepared to land in Paris, Levi and Eva parted ways with a promise to keep in touch, their chance encounter leaving a lasting impression on both. Little did Levi know, Eva wasted no time in contacting someone upon disembarking, hinting at a potential continuation of their story beyond the confines of the flight.
The small town of Lauli is small and has a small population. Although there is an amateur team and there have been national players like Henry, the town's football is still very backward.
But in such a small town, looking for a player is undoubtedly a needle hunter.
Fortunately, Levi was not stupid. He directly hit a taxi and heard that there was only a backward football field in the town, so he simply took a taxi and came here to wait.
The team in Lauriy is an unorganized amateur team. It is just a group of players who like to play together to form an amateur team and participate in the low-level amateur league in France. So their stadium It is also very broken, it is a stadium that can only accommodate 2,500 people, even without protective measures, you can enter it casually.
When Levi walked into the stadium, he saw that some people were already playing on the ball. They were all a group of children playing football. The oldest of them was ten years old, and the youngest was six or seven years old. Football training, but when the ball is between you and me, it brings them a burst of cheerful laughter.
At around 5 pm, several young people in their twenties started wearing football and kicking football into the stadium. They obviously didn't care about Levi, who was sitting in the shade, because the stadium was open to the outside world. Yes, anyone can come in.
Gradually, there were more people on the field, and they were divided into two groups to play practice games.
These people are very casual. They play street football on weekdays. Except for some of the most basic football rules, there is nothing. There is no referee, no head coach, and no tactics. Whoever is assigned to play What position.
Levi has been staring at the players carefully, he has not been able to see the familiar face from these dozen people.
"Distressed is I wrong? He is not here?" Levi couldn't help doubting himself.
But now that it's all here, let's just watch a game.
Like most amateur games, this ball was played fiercely, with scarce technical and tactical content. Both sides of the game played very messy, without any organization. Even the goalkeeper would rush out of his own half to participate in the attack, while others People laugh at this behavior.
Sometimes, the joy of pure football is more vivid in this kind of street football.
When the game was halfway through, a dark-skinned figure came in from outside the stadium. It might not be as high as 1.60 meters, but it looked very young and fast. When I ran to the field, I took off one piece It should be a uniform worn by part-time workers, without rest, just practice dribbling on the sidelines.
From the moment the boy entered the stadium, Levi's attention was focused on him, because after he carefully looked at it, he confirmed that this person was the player he was looking for.
"I can't do it, Patrice, you come!" There are weak players on the pitch asking for a substitution.
The black boy appeared on the field, but did not appear on the left in Levi's consciousness, but stood in the middle of the midfield.
Because there is no tactics at the game, let alone the central defender forward, even the goalkeeper often rushes out of the penalty zone, so the players in the midfield are often pushed to the side.
The speed of black teenagers is very fast. Compared with those amateur players, his basic skills are very solid. He should have been trained in football for many years. However, he has seen countless stars and matches in Levi's eyes, he didn't look great.
No wonder Paris Saint-Germain would despise him!
Of course, he seems to be standing out amongst these amateur players.
If nothing else, his amazing speed and explosive power will be enough to become a weapon.
I remember that there was a saying in Zhou Xingchi's movie "Kung Fu" that martial arts in the world is unbreakable, but only unbreakable!
If you are facing an experienced, well-positioned defender, fast speed may not be cheap, but in a group of amateur players, fast speed is almost everything.
Although the black boy is a midfielder, in fact, he often pulls to the side and uses his own speed advantage to hit the opponent's defense, but after that, it is tragedy. The pass is either abnormally erratic or there is no teammate. Followed up, wasted again and again.
"What's his name?" Levi came to the player who replaced him and asked casually in English.
"Patric Evra, what's the matter?" The man apparently did not expect to meet a foreigner. He made a mistake and answered in English, but he did not speak slowly.
"Nothing, I just think he is fast and in good physical condition, just ask." Levi answered with a smile.
"That's right, his speed is the fastest here."
"If I read correctly, should he have received regular football training? His basic skills are OK."
The man nodded and looked at the stadium. "Yes, he was training in the Paris Saint-Germain Junior Team, but the big club looked down on him, so he came back and would come and play with us when he was free ball."
Indeed, Evra is 17 years old. Except for his fast speed, there are few other conspicuous places. If Levi did not know his future achievements, I am afraid no one would care.
According to the memory of Levi's later generations, Evra will transfer to the semi-professional club Marsala of Group C of Group B of Italy this year, but he will not be reused there. After another year, he will transfer to Serie Monza. Similarly, he did not get a chance to play. It wasn't until he returned to participate in the French team's Nice B team that he was transformed into a left-back, which began to show his true strength.
Because of his outstanding performance in the French league, Evra was fancy by Manchester United's Ferguson, joined Manchester United, and quickly became the main force on the left side of the club, and then became a well-known first-class left-back in football.
Such a future world-class left wing king is still at the point where he can only play with amateur teams, but I believe it is precisely because of the setbacks he has suffered in recent years that have contributed to his subsequent success.
Levi couldn't help thinking of Barak at this time. If he were a few years earlier, he might be able to include the future top star of Germany in the New Manchester United lineup.
The players on the field played for more than half an hour and were tired, and began to yell for a break.
A lot of players came down to drink water to rest, but only Evra walked to the pitch alone, and he practiced kicking the ball in the stands and watching other people's reactions. Obviously, he was used to this kind of training.
"Hello, Patrice Evra!" Levi stepped forward and said hello.
"Hello!" Evra looked a little shyly at the stranger who suddenly came over to say hello, "Is that you?"
"My name is Levi and I am from Manchester. I want to know if you are interested in playing in Manchester?" Levi asked with a smile.
"Manchester?" Evra was startled. "Are you a scout for Manchester United?"
Levi froze, and soon realized that she was speech sick.