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Chapter 248 A Heartwarming Scene

Lille's home stadium, Aske City Stadium, has a capacity of 50,000 and is now almost full.

Fans from both sides entered the stadium one after another—mainly the home team, Atlético Lille, whose dark red home jerseys almost covered the entire stands.

The Tyne fans, wearing white away jerseys, were mainly concentrated on the second tier of the North Stand.

Not many people.

Vitini stood on the pitch and looked up to see that the railings between the stands were covered with panels bearing the Champions League logo.

The stadium is surrounded by a dense array of Champions League logos, making it the most eye-catching feature of the stadium.

Champions League!

Champions League!

He clenched his fists in excitement.

The competition he had always dreamed of was now finally in his midst!
Honestly, why did he choose to join Tyne in the first place?

Aside from the fact that the other party gave so much, what touched me the most was the sentence, "Our goal is to qualify for the Champions League next season."

As a result, this "next season" was delayed for four seasons...

It took the club four whole years to finally fulfill the promise he made before joining the club.

As a Brazilian player, he had two wishes since childhood.

One of them, of course, is winning the World Cup as a player for the Brazilian national team.

Another one is winning the Champions League.

Everyone knows that the World Cup is the most influential football tournament in the world.

But the Champions League is the most prestigious football competition.

If a player can win both the World Cup and the Champions League, then his career will have few regrets.

After a long journey, he is finally standing on the Champions League stage.

How could he not be excited?
"Stop looking, Vitini, get warmed up!"

Assistant coach Cesar Varo noticed that Vitini was lost in thought for a long time, so he spoke up to remind him.

Awakened, Vitini quickly turned around and ran back to continue warming up.

※※※

After the players finished warming up and returned to their respective locker rooms, the Lille Atlético fans in the stadium began setting up their TIFO.

First, there was a banner, hung at the very bottom of the stands, with the words written in dark red paint on a white cloth:

Welcome to the Champions League!

Clearly, this was said by Lille fans to Tyne.

"Ha, I didn't expect Atlético Lille to give Tyne such a warm welcome!" Liu Zhong, standing in the media section, laughed when he saw the huge banner. "Looks like the two sides are on very friendly terms..."

After saying that, he took out his phone, took a picture of the slogan, and posted it on Weibo with the caption:

"A heartwarming scene."

It wasn't just Chinese journalists like Liu Zhong who felt heartened; Tyne fans who came to watch the game in person also felt touched.

Upon seeing the banner, some of them cheered and applauded, welcoming the actions of the Lille Atlético fans.

After the banner was displayed, steel cables from the ceiling were lowered down and secured to the TIFO, which was rolled up and placed at the bottom of the stands, using buckles. Then, pulleys were used to lift and unfold the rolled-up TIFO little by little.

As the TIFO was lifted, its contents were gradually revealed:

A helmeted and armored warrior appears on the canvas, with a dark red cloak bearing the Lille Atlético de Lille crest draped over his breastplate, clearly representing the Lille Atlético de Lille team.

This Lille Atlético warrior, holding a shield in his left hand and a sword in his right, with bloodstains still visible on his weapons, shield, and armor, looked imposing and menacing.

Jon Berg, seeing the slowly unfolding TIFO, said, "Well done. But not as good as ours, ha!"

Because the club's first-ever Champions League match was not at home, Tyne fans will have to wait until the second group stage match to be able to display their TIFO at home.

TIFO is currently in full swing of production.

The specific design was chosen through an online vote by Tyne fans.

So Jon Berg has already seen that picture.

A giant ship named "Taine FC" sails out to sea, with a starry sky in front of it composed of the logos of the other 31 Champions League teams participating this season.

This symbolizes that Tyne now has a place in the Champions League.

Jon Berg, like most Tyne fans, voted for this image.

This TIFO was also shown to all of Europe to let them know, "We, Tyne, have arrived!"

While Jon Berg was still imagining what kind of discussion Tyne's home TIFO would generate, Lille's TIFO had already been completely set up in the south stand opposite him.

Only then did he notice that beneath the imposing feet of the Lille Arena warriors lay a blood-soaked enemy. The enemy's armor and dark blue cloak were tattered, but the Tyne team crest on the cloak was still visible...

It turns out that the one being trampled underfoot by the imposing Lille Arena warriors was Tyne!

"FUCK!"

Harry Collins, who was standing next to Jon Berger, started yelling.

Not only him, but other Tyne fans around him also booed and cursed, and many people gave TIFO the middle finger.

They were as happy about that slogan before, and now they are just as angry.

Because they felt they had been completely fooled by Lille's fans.

Jon Berger also joined in, yelling, "You son of a bitch, Frenchman!"

Harry Collins was hurling his insults when he heard Berg yelling. He turned around and saw Mr. Berg's face was flushed. He quickly said, "Mr. Berg, sir, please calm down. Leave it to me!"

After saying that, he continued to hurl insults at the Lille fans:
"Eat my [expletive], you French bastard!"

The Lille fans, who outnumbered the others, were not to be outdone, and they responded to the Taine fans with beautiful French.

Since they outnumbered each other, all you could hear in the stadium was French profanity.

Even so, Tyne's fans, who were outnumbered, did not give up and continued to hurl insults.

The police at the scene were on high alert, surrounding the Tyne fans to prevent them from getting into physical altercations with the Lille Atlético fans in the adjacent stands.

The fans from both sides were spitting at each other across two rows of police officers.

The atmosphere at the scene had already become heated even before the competition started.

※※※

Liu Zhong, standing in the media section, was speechless when he saw the enormous TIFO.

I can't believe he posted a Weibo post and got proven wrong in less than five minutes...

He asked Guo Xuequan, "Why did Tyne feel like they were surrounded by enemies in Europe during their first Champions League appearance?"

Guo Xuequan said, "Isn't this normal? Lille's key midfielder, Isala, was poached by Tyne..."

"Normal personnel movement shouldn't be like this, right?" Liu Zhong still couldn't quite understand.

"This brings us to that guy Lawrence Dadomo. Before the season, he loudly proclaimed that Wang Lie and Tyne would trample all of Europe under their feet, which really attracted a lot of haters to Tyne. Look at Lille's TIFO, wasn't it aimed at that 'trampling under their feet' statement? He said Tyne would trample Europe under their feet, so Lille's fans drew an image of Lille trampling Tyne under their feet."

Liu Zhong curled his lip: "You can actually believe that..." "It's not necessarily believing, but anyway, once you encounter someone, they're your enemy. Finding a reason to kick you while you're down, attack you, and undermine your morale and confidence is a normal phenomenon on the field. Look at Tyne's fans, they couldn't hold back, could they?" Guo Xuequan pointed to the stands where Tyne's fans were gathered.

Although they were a bit far away, you could still see the Tyne fans waving their arms. As for what the gesture at the very tip of their arms was, it was undoubtedly the internationally recognized friendly greeting...

Liu Zhong turned his head and looked at TIFO again, where the entire painting was now fully revealed.

Only then did he understand why the earliest banner, "Welcome to the Champions League," was written in red paint—he initially thought it was because Lille's home jersey was red—now he understood, it was because the words were written in the blood of the "Tyrne Warriors"!
Good heavens, Tyne hasn't even played their first Champions League match yet, and Tyne fans are already experiencing the cruelty of the Champions League...

※※※

The Tyne players, making their final preparations for the game in the locker room, were unaware that a battle between the two sets of fans had already begun in the stands.

At this moment, they all stood up from their seats, each putting their hands on the shoulders of the two people next to them, forming a circle in the somewhat rudimentary visiting team's locker room.

Even the entire coaching staff, medical team, and team management team, including head coach McNeil and assistant coach Varro, were among them.

There were so many people that the circle had to be arranged in two rows.

And standing in the circle is Wang Lie.

"I don't want to emphasize how important this match is to us, to Tyne FC, and to Tyne's fans. Because you've already seen it at the airport—which team gets such a grand send-off for a Champions League away game? In the past day or two, people have been using this to mock our fans as uncultured 'country bumpkins'..."

Wang Lie is speaking to the team.

"They're right! We were indeed country bumpkins when we first participated in the Champions League. But so what? Does football competition determine who comes from a more noble background? Are those wealthy and powerful families in big cities necessarily better than us? Let alone in the Champions League, even in the Premier League, we were undoubtedly country bumpkins, but did that prevent us from eventually qualifying for the Champions League? No! So country bumpkins can be better than nobles!"

Although sometimes Wang Lie's remarks sound arrogant, like "outrageous talk".

But he speaks with facts, and that's very persuasive...

For example, when he uses the Champions League qualification as an example now, many people's eyes light up.

They all recalled how they had snatched a Champions League spot from among the Big Six clubs like Sofia, Kensington, and Waltham last season, and immediately believed what Wang Lie had said:

Yes, we weren't a powerhouse in the league, we were a relegation-threatened team, a "mercenary" with a bad reputation. But in the end, we were the ones who qualified for the Champions League!
Therefore, the ridicule and criticism from the outside world today cannot hurt us at all.

What's wrong with being a country bumpkin?
Even a country bumpkin's sickle can chop off your head!

"Lille Atlético de Lille certainly has more experience in the Champions League than we do, but that doesn't mean they're stronger. Experience belongs to the past; can a team today inherit Champions League experience from ten years ago? Their greater European experience is meaningless and doesn't prove anything!"
"Once we step onto the field, we are completely equal to them. This match is between us and them, not between us and their past ghosts. No matter how experienced they are, their match against us is only ninety minutes long, and they can only field eleven players, just like us, not a few more... All conditions are the same. What will determine the outcome of this match is not past experience, but performance in this match."

"Besides, what good is their experience compared to ours? Their vast experience doesn't include how to deal with us, since they've never fought us before! Guys, let's go and give these country bumpkins a shock! Let's refresh their experience and broaden their horizons!"

※※※

Unlike the enthusiastic atmosphere in the away team's locker room, the atmosphere in the home team's locker room was relatively calm and normal.

Head coach Youssef Chapchet is reminding the players not to underestimate their opponents:
"...Don't think that Tyne is a rookie team with no Champions League experience. Many of their players do not have Champions League experience, but some key players such as Wang and Pisano have participated in the Champions League and even won the title. If we're talking about Champions League winning experience, they are actually more experienced than us."

Chapchett even chuckled as he said this.

"So don't judge Tyne like a newcomer. This team is in excellent form in the league right now, so we need to be prepared for a tough battle at home. In particular, don't underestimate Wang, don't consider his age. Age is meaningless; just look at his most authentic performance. His most authentic performance is that he has scored ten goals in the first five league games this season... If you include national team matches, he has already scored twelve goals. Is this the performance a 38-year-old should be giving? So we need to give 120% effort to deal with him in the game—100% isn't enough."

Fu Xiaofeng had previously reminded everyone not to underestimate Wang Lie.

These words basically became the "main theme" of Lille's preparations during this period, and head coach Youssef Chapchet also asked everyone not to underestimate Wang Lie.

"If we concede a goal during the match, don't panic, just execute our tactics. Focus on pressuring their left flank. The left-wing pairing of Vitini and Nova is too young, which is something we can exploit. Create opportunities there, pressure them, force them to make mistakes, or force them to focus more on defense..."

"From the way their coach has arranged the personnel on the left flank, we can tell that they don't want to play conservatively away from home. The left flank will be a key corridor for their attack, so we'll counter that and cripple their left flank!"

※※※

With ten minutes to go before the start of the match, the players from both sides came out of the locker room and met in the players' tunnel.

Although the fans from both sides were fighting fiercely outside, the atmosphere was very well created.

But to be honest, the players on both sides didn't actually have any deep-seated hatred for each other.

So when they met in the players' tunnel, the atmosphere was very friendly, and they greeted each other.

Tain has two players who came from Atlético Lille – right-back Jacob Barnabas and defensive midfielder Lenny Isara, who joined the team this season.

Isala, in particular, still has quite a few familiar faces at Lille.

As soon as they arrived, they greeted and chatted with their former teammates one by one.

Isara walked up to Fu Xiaofeng, grinned at him, and said, "Fu, you're trying to scare me again. Playing football with Wang doesn't require burning yourself out. Look, I'm still standing right in front of you, perfectly fine."

He spread out his hands, letting Fu Xiaofeng take a good look at himself to see if he was missing any arms or legs.

Fu Xiaofeng wanted to roll his eyes at him: "Lenny, you're just still in your 'honeymoon period'..."

Isara laughed heartily: "I'm increasingly glad that I didn't choose the Scorsese, but instead chose Tyne."

"Why?" Fu Xiaofeng asked curiously.

He was genuinely curious: who could spend time with Wang Lie and not regret it?

Yes, of course.

But based on his understanding of Isara, he felt that Isara shouldn't be that kind of person. He didn't idolize Wang Lie, nor was he a hot-blooded, immature teenager.

“Because it’s interesting,” Isara said to Fu Xiaofeng. “Playing alongside Wang, you always get to see things you’d never seen before…”

As they were talking, Fu Xiaofeng suddenly caught a glimpse of Wang Lie out of the corner of his eye, who was walking towards him.

He instinctively wanted to dodge.

Logically speaking, as a teammate on the national team and the host of this match, he should have taken the initiative to greet Wang Lie.

But he just didn't want to do it.

It's as if getting involved with Wang Lie is never a good thing...

So he awkwardly struck up a conversation with Isara: "Haha, I'm glad you like it. By the way, are you getting used to life in Newcastle? The food and the weather there are terrible..."

She tried to avoid interacting with Wang Lie by saying, "I'm busy right now."

But Wang Lie walked straight up to them and stood there.

Although he didn't say anything, he automatically became the center of attention wherever he went.

So he just stood there, without saying a word, which was enough to make Isara stop talking to Fu Xiaofeng and turn to look at Wang Lie.

He wasn't curious why Wang Lie would come to find Fu Xiaofeng—they were teammates on the national team, so wasn't it normal for them to greet each other before the game?

So when he saw Wang Lie arrive, he tactfully stepped aside.

Fu Xiaofeng knew he couldn't avoid it, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and greet him: "Brother Wang..."

Wang Lie asked him, "Why didn't you play in the last league match? Were you injured?"

In the Ligue 1 match preceding this Champions League game, the one in which Fu Xiaofeng had just returned from the national team, he was not even included in Lille's matchday squad.

Fu Xiaofeng joked, "Would you believe me if I said I was injured, Brother Wang?"

Wang Lie didn't believe it. He nodded and said, "I will go all out in this match, and I hope you will too."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Fu Xiaofeng was left speechless, watching his retreating figure—damn, he'd been tricked by Brother Wang again!

Seeing him leave, Isara waved to Fu Xiaofeng and returned to his own group.

After Wang Lie stopped at the very front of the line, the players from both sides, who had been exchanging pleasantries and greetings, returned to their respective teams.

The two teams stood in distinct lines in the players' tunnel, waiting to enter the game.

(End of this chapter)