Popovich was surprised when he received a notice from Assistant Coach Porter asking him to include Chen Yingxiong in the weekend's youth team league roster.
You know, Yingxiong has only been training with the team for two weeks.
Plus the language barrier, there is no way he can have any tacit understanding with his teammates. If he is asked to play like this, what can he show?
Of course, he knew what this request was for.
Advocaat wanted to see Chen Yingxiong's ability so as to judge whether the player signed by his predecessor had the ability to stay in the team. If he was not strong enough... he would be rented out. It would be enough for the two-year contract to expire and not be renewed, and Chen Yingxiong would naturally leave.
He felt it was completely unfair to use a competition to test Chen Yingxiong's ability so early.
To be honest, Popovich didn't have a very good impression of Porter because of his "sneer".
He even suspected that the idea came from the assistant coach. He actually wronged Porter with this assumption. Porter doubted Chen Yingxiong's ability, but it was the head coach Advocaat who came up with the idea.
"I can't agree with this." Popovich shook his head and shrugged. "He has only been with the team for less than three weeks and has very little time to train with his teammates. As a centre, he is very dependent on the midfield and requires a high level of coordination with his teammates!"
Porter did not comment on Popovich's words.
"If his ability is as great as you say, then I think he can completely solve the game by himself, and it shouldn't be a problem for him to score a goal alone, right?"
Popovich took Porter's words as a mockery of him, and his face immediately fell.
He originally wanted to refuse directly, but then he thought...if Chen Yingxiong could really slap this old man in the face during the game, he really wanted to see it...
After two weeks of training, Popovich felt that he had a better understanding of Chen Yingxiong's heading ability. At the youth team level, his heading ability could be considered outstanding.
The Zenit youth team is the first in the first group of the Russian Youth League for under-18s. The team's defence has performed very well and could even represent the highest level in this group of youth leagues.
But during training, they were still often hit on the head by Chen Yingxiong.
This should be able to illustrate Chen Yingxiong's heading ability.
Thinking of this, Popovich nodded. "Okay, I will send him to play in the youth team league on the weekend, but I have the final say on the playing time."
As the director of youth training, he was not weak at all when it came to talking to the assistant coach.
He had the final say on all matters concerning the youth team and that was an authority he was unwilling to let go…
When Chen Yingxiong learned from head coach Popovich that he would play in the league game this weekend, he was first surprised, and then happy.
I'm going to play in the game?!
Chen Yingxiong, who has only been with the team for less than three weeks, did not expect his first official match to come so soon. He originally thought that he would have to practice with his teammates...
Although he wanted to participate in the competition, the translator and language teacher that the club promised to find for him had not arrived yet, and the communication was not smooth. The tacit understanding between him and his teammates had been a big problem.
Although he has a pretty good relationship with his teammates now.
As a newcomer, he did not keep a low profile, on the contrary... He was very high-profile.
He was very active in the locker room. He could not speak Russian, so he spoke English and used gestures. The most important thing was that Chen Yingxiong always had a smile on his face. He spoke loudly, was enthusiastic, and was not at all distant. This made him very likeable.
He didn't mind if you joked with him, and he also joked with others. He was a very easy-going person.
Although he abused his teammates before he joined the team and abused them again during training, he was smart and solved the problem by buying each teammate a bottle of liquor.
This kid is good at winning people over... This is Popovich's feeling as a bystander. Sometimes he really doesn't look like an 18-year-old...
"Uh, I have a request, Coach..." Chen Yingxiong said to Popovich happily.
"Well, go ahead."
"Then could you please inform everyone...I will treat you to dinner tonight!"
Popovich was stunned.
"A treat? Why?"
"Hehe, let's celebrate being selected for the weekend league roster!" said Chen Yingxiong.
"If you're selected, you'll treat me? Then you'll have to treat me every day in the future?" Popovich was amused. This reason...
"No, this is the first time. The first time is very important and very memorable. I want to treat everyone to a meal to commemorate it!"
Popovich glanced at him - he didn't think Chen Yingxiong was really just commemorating his first time being selected for the roster.
This was his first appearance for the team. Before this, he and his teammates didn't have enough tacit understanding on the court. He was the type of player who relied a lot on the cooperation of his teammates. If he didn't have a good relationship with the players and was isolated in the game, he wouldn't be able to show anything…
Popovich felt that Chen Yingxiong must have made this decision for this reason. But what surprised him was that he hadn't told him the reason he was being put on the team. How did Chen Yingxiong know that he had to perform well in the game?
Did he only see the youth team as a springboard from the beginning? Or did he think of every game as much as possible - to score as many goals as possible and perform well?
Popovich didn't delve into it further. He announced the decision publicly after training.
"Your dinner is taken care of, boys!" He pointed at Chen Yingxiong and said, "Our Chinese hero is going to treat you to...his hometown food!"
"Oh?! Is this true? Coach!" someone shouted, his excitement evident in words.
In St. Petersburg, just like everywhere else in Europe Chinese food was becoming more and more popular among young people. One could say that this was the natural side-effect of a globalised economy. After being improved to fit local tastes, Chinese food had become the favourite of many Russians when they want to eat something else.
Chen Yingxiong did not expect the head coach to suggest going out for Chinese food... He actually knew nothing about the local Chinese restaurants, and he looked at Popovich for help.
Popovich patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I won't take you to high-end hotels like the Beijing Hotel or the Hong Kong Hotel, haha!"
…
The hall is lined with red columns, red lanterns are hung high, the lucky boy on the poster is looking at you with a smile, and even the bar is decorated with traditional Chinese eaves and beams. It is a bit kitsch, but it still attracted Russians who were curious about cultural novelties.
Although this decoration style is no longer popular in China, Chen Yingxiong's eyes still warmed up when he saw these traditional Chinese elements - he missed home again. For more than half a month... no, it should be said that for more than a month, he had not eaten a single Chinese meal. At first, he thought Western food was fresh and delicious, but after eating more, he found that he still liked Chinese food the most... especially the home-cooked meals cooked by his mother. In that way at least, he was no different than any other boy.
Twice-cooked beef, beef stewed with potatoes, vermicelli with minced meat, lung slices, pig intestines...even the homemade kimchi was delicious.
Just thinking about it made him drool.
But now, looking at the "Chinese food" on the table, he didn't drool at all.
Not everyone would choose to go out for dinner at night, many of them would go back to their homes. But today, all the players of the Zenit Youth Team gathered in this Chinese restaurant called "Ruilongju" to enjoy Chinese food.
His teammates thought the Chinese food here was delicious, but Chen Yingxiong really couldn't get used to this obviously modified "Chinese food" - it was too sour and sweet.
He raised his chopsticks and tasted each dish, but when he found that all the dishes were like this, he gave up.
Most of the time he just drank beer - Popovich didn't come with them, and it was a place full of young people, and with him as a coach, people couldn't have fun, so he tactfully went home to eat. Thus, the teammates were eating happily.
Well...anyway, his teammates were happy and his goal was achieved.
Popovich actually guessed correctly. Chen Yingxiong's dinner was not to commemorate the first time he was selected for the roster... He was just using this excuse to enhance the feelings among the players and to build a good relationship with everyone - the relationship was already good before, but it was always possible to improve it.
We had a good relationship before, but at least there was no conflict of interest. Now it was different. What if everyone just wanted to show off during the game and didn't pass the ball to him? As the saying goes, if you eat someone's food, you will be soft-hearted. If I treat them to a meal, at least they won't make things difficult for me during the game, right? It shouldn't be too difficult to ask them to pass the ball to me, right?
Chen Yingxiong had such a plan, but his teammates might not know it.
Anyway, they were treated to a Chinese meal and could drink as much as they wanted, so everyone was very happy.
The restaurant table is indeed a place where you can enhance your relationship. Soon, a drunk teammate pulled Chen Yingxiong to chat.
Although Chen Yingxiong could not understand the other party's Russian at all, he could guess the general meaning of the other party's words based on the other party's facial expressions and then make the correct response...
"I'm telling you, Yingxiong... We were already showing mercy by not choosing the 'Beijing Hotel'!" The drunk man was the team's main centre-back, Krotkov. When Chen Yingxiong showed off his prowess in the air many times, he was always a poor supporting role.
But now he was drunk and didn't remember any of those grudges.
Looking at the way he hugged Chen Yingxiong, it was as if the two of them were best friends who had known each other for ten years.
Chen Yingxiong didn't understand what Krotkov said, he could only smile foolishly along.
At this time someone came to rescue him.
"Are you Chinese?" A Mandarin voice with a distinct northeastern accent sounded behind Chen Yingxiong. Chen Yingxiong, who had not heard Chinese for a long time, felt like he had heard heavenly music. He turned around and saw a middle-aged man standing behind his seat. He had yellow skin, and black hair, and wore metal-framed glasses.
"Ah...ah, I, I am, of course I am! You, you too?" Perhaps it was because he hadn't spoken Chinese to anyone for too long, Chen Yingxiong actually stuttered a little.
The man laughed. "I am the owner of this restaurant. The owner of a Chinese restaurant is of course Chinese!"
Chen Yingxiong was very excited to meet his compatriots in a foreign land. He quickly stood up and shook hands with him. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you. My name is Ren Tianhua, and I'm from Harbin. What's yours?"
"Chen Yingxiong, from Chengdu."
After introducing himself, Ren Tianhua looked at the players of the Zenit Youth Team who were eating heartily. "I heard from the waiter that a lot of people came, and I was worried that they couldn't take care of them, so I came to take a look. Unexpectedly, I saw a compatriot in the crowd. To be honest, there are quite a lot of Chinese compatriots coming here, but they are all repeat customers."
Chen Yingxiong scratched his head. "I just came to St. Petersburg three weeks ago... Today is my first time... This is my first time in the city in more than two weeks."
"Oh? What are you doing here? Going to college?"
"Uh, no... I came here to play football."
Ren Tianhua was stunned for a moment.
He was not unfamiliar with football, and he was also well aware that there was a professional football team in St. Petersburg. But for a moment he could not connect this professional football team with a Chinese national.
"Play football?" he asked.
Chen Yingxiong nodded.
"Professionaly?"
Chen Yingxiong continued to nod. His contract was indeed professional, although the various benefits were only slightly better than those of the general youth team... It was also because he could not go anywhere in the past few weeks and could only carry it in the dormitory with no place to spend money. So he kept his salary for himself and remitted the rest to his family to help pay off the debt. After all, his father borrowed for his sake in the first place, how could he turn a blind eye to it and only care about himself?
Ren Tianhua laughed. "That's a rare guest!" He pulled Chen Yingxiong out, and the two of them stood in front of the bar and chatted. Chen Yingxiong was indeed a rare guest. His restaurant received many Chinese guests, most of whom were tourists, and there were also Chinese students studying in St. Petersburg. But it was the first time he recieved a professional player from China.
"Being able to sign a contract with a professional team, you must be very good!" Ren Tianhua asked.
"Hehe, not bad!" No matter how humble Chen Yingxiong sounds, even a fool can see that he is not humble at all.
"Ha! Play well! Bring glory to us Chinese! Did you hear me? Work hard! Don't let those old Russians look down on us Chinese! Haha! Great! Really great, I didn't expect to meet a Chinese professional player today..." Ren Tianhua laughed. "So, all your consumption here today... is free!"
Chen Yingxiong was surprised. He hadn't said anything, but the boss was so enthusiastic. How could he feel comfortable? The Northeasterners were really as enthusiastic and generous as the legend said...
Seeing what he was about to say, Ren Tianhua raised his hand to stop him. "Don't say anything, it's all fate! This order is free, I'm the boss. I have the final say! Oh, by the way..." He suddenly slapped his forehead. "I said, you are not used to this dish, right?"
Chen Yingxiong shook his head. "How could that be? I'm used to it, I'm used to it..." People have waived the bill for me, how can I still have the nerve to say that the food is not to my taste?
Unexpectedly, the boss glared at me and said, "Don't lie to me. How can a Sichuanese get used to eating dishes that are all sweet and sour? Let me tell you..." He looked around and lowered his voice, "Those dishes are made for the Russians. They like the taste. But for the Chinese living here. I cook authentic Chinese food! Just wait, I'll make it for you!"
After saying that, without waiting for Chen Yingxiong to say anything, he ran to the kitchen at the back.
Looking at this enthusiastic old man from Northeast China, Chen Yingxiong smiled. No matter what, Chinese was still pleasant to the ear, and the compatriots from the motherland were still so kind!
In the end, Ren Tianhua really waived the bill for Chen Yingxiong. You know, a youth team of any sport ate a lot but he just paid for it all with a wave of his hand.
Before leaving, he pulled Chen Yingxiong aside and said, "If you want to eat hometown food, come to my place! It's guaranteed to be authentic! I have a chef from Sichuan, and I can tell you that the Sichuan cuisine here is amazing!" He gave a thumbs up and raised an eyebrow at Chen Yingxiong.
Chen Yingxiong was amused by this enthusiastic boss from Northeast China. He nodded vigorously. "Okay!"
Indeed, the food the boss served him was authentic Chinese. His Russian teammates said they couldn't eat it after taking a bite because it was too spicy. So Chen Yingxiong ate all the dishes by himself, and he enjoyed it very much.
In addition to the delicious food, he was also very touched by the enthusiastic boss. He felt very warm to meet compatriots in a strange country, and such enthusiastic and cheerful compatriots at that!
I originally just wanted to improve my relations with my teammates, but I didn't expect it would also relieve my homesickness...
Chen Yingxiong felt that his decision to treat everyone to a meal was absolutely the right one.