Team Spirit

Chapter 141 Jersey Retirement! A Huge Signing Fee Paid in Advance to Haaland

Chapter 141 Jersey Retirement! A Huge Signing Fee Paid in Advance to Haaland
“Thank you Dartford, thank you Lu, for giving me the opportunity to stand here,” Alf said at the press conference. “I take full responsibility for everything that happened today.”

"Hereby, I announce that I will officially retire from this day forward!"

There was an uproar at the scene.

So... was the brawl on the court a crime of passion, forcing him to apologize by "retirement," or was the retirement a pre-arranged plan that led to the brutal beating of Keane?
People can't tell the difference anymore.

BBC reporter: "Are you trying to evade your responsibilities in this way? As far as we know, Keane is on his way to the hospital; he may have suffered a severe concussion from what you did!"

Alf: "I have said that I will take full responsibility, and this is not an excuse."

Reporter: "Then why did you retire?"

Alf refused to speak.

He doesn't want to be pitied by the whole world; this has happened far too many times in the past two years.

But Lu Kai couldn't let Alf bear the stigma of injustice, so he proactively revealed Alf's condition: "In fact, we only recently learned about Alf's leg... Every minute of running on the field is torture for him... It's as if a sharp blade is constantly stabbing his knee..."

In closing, Lu Kai declared, "Therefore, Alf is not a deserter, he is the greatest warrior! He is a player worthy of everyone's respect!"

"I would also like to make a statement here. Alf has brought a lot to Dartford, both in terms of matches and in terms of spirit. We will retire the number 21 jersey for the rest of the team."

NBA: ? ? ?
Reporter: "Is it because Alf once wore the number 21 jersey?"

Lu Kai shook his head: "No, it's because Alf's son, Harland Jr., was born on the 21st."

reporter:? ? ?

Reporter: "What does that have to do with anything?"

Lu Kai: "Of course there is a connection, because we are waiting for him to inherit his father's jersey! The story of the Haaland family in the football world has come to an end, but it is not over yet."

"I believe that in a few years, they will come back strong and bring a bit of Haaland's impact to football!"

Lu Kai stood up and shouted, "Haaland!"

"Haaland!"

"Haaland!!!"

Many people at the scene were moved by Dartford's never-give-up spirit and joined in chanting "Haaland!"

Alf was moved to tears and speechless with emotion.

After a long pause, he also made a decision for his son: "In the future, no matter where Dartford is, my son Erling Haaland will bring his talent to the Green Guns!"

Compared to Ferguson's unilateral ban on Beckham at Manchester United in order to continue the Manchester United dynasty and maintain his absolute authority, Dartford's situation was one of perfect harmony between father and son, and loyalty between ruler and subject!
Of course, although Alf is no longer a player in order to alleviate his physical pain, Dartford will immediately hire him as the team's "defense assistant coach" to help the team continue to shine.

When Haaland gets a little older, Alf could apply to coach the youth team and become a youth training coach to give his son some extra coaching.

In short, Lu Kai will not easily let Alf leave before Haaland joins Dartford.

Don't underestimate the significance of the words "Alfred's teaching assistant and disciple".

Ten Hag came here because of his reputation, and was even forced to play football in order to achieve this goal.

Furthermore, the way Alf retired also means that he will not leave football anytime soon.

After watching this press conference, almost no one, except for Manchester United fans, could criticize Alf.

Reds manager Arsène Wenger: "I can't comment on the brawl between the two sides, but Alf is a truly excellent player in my mind!"

Former Alfie Abdullah manager Kevin Keegan: "Alfie Abdullah is a respectable player, a Manchester City legend, and Manchester City will always welcome him home."

Even Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, one of the parties involved, said: "The Alf and Keane affair is a mess, but now it's all settled."

"Football should look forward, and hopefully neither side will live in the hatred of the past."

"Forget this terrible match, forget all of this, let's focus on the next championship!"

This statement was actually meant to comfort Keane.

After all, it was Keane who lost this time, so it would be Keane who would be upset.

When people can't let go of their worries, they are more likely to create trouble.

In addition, this is also a message to Keane: I don't blame you or any of the players for how the game turned out. Let's unite and forget all the unpleasantness.

Ferguson severed all ties with Keane.

This match also taught him a lesson: while Manchester United can afford to be missing anyone, they cannot afford to lose anyone on their path to the championship.

Ferguson will then make appropriate concessions, giving Keane more authority to manage and integrate the team.

But Ferguson's well-intentioned advice not only failed to work, but even backfired.

Because in Keane's view, Ferguson was not biased towards him, which meant he was supporting Alf!

Keane felt betrayed.

"I will never forgive Alf! That coward, the only reason he retired was because he was afraid I would break his knee again!" Keane's voice was extremely fiery, as if it were Alf, not Keane, who was being interviewed while lying in a hospital bed.

In addition, an angry Keane also mentioned Beckham: "In fact, there were big problems with our arrangements for this game."

"If David were here, we would be the ones lifting the League Cup, not that green imposter!"

Ferguson was furious when he heard this.

Manchester United has entered a turbulent period.

If the first half of the season gave the impression that they were invincible and determined to win four championships...

So, starting before the EFL Cup final, they entered a period of dynasty collapse.

Even if all four elements are extinguished, it's not impossible.

Faced with Keane's questioning, Ferguson was not about to back down. He firmly stated, "Manchester United does not belong to any one person, nor can Manchester United do without any one person!"

This also indicates that Manchester United will continue to bench Beckham.

This is clearly a lose-lose situation.

For a time, many Manchester United fans also began to complain about Beckham:
"David ruined everything; he ignited Manchester United at the wrong time."

"I told you long ago that Victoria was a femme fatale, and now it's proven true!"

"That woman is no good; she got David hooked on business activities."

"No matter what, David shouldn't have treated Ferguson like that; he's his football father!"

"The bigger picture is what matters; David has let us down!"

Under Manchester United's rule, Ferguson's authority was unmatched.

Even Beckham's fans wouldn't dare to go head-to-head with Ferguson.

They can only try to shift the blame:

"In fact, if Diego Fran had performed even half as well as Van Nistelrooy, we wouldn't have lost this trophy!"

"Don't even mention that lousy striker, he's rubbish! Players like that should get out of Old Trafford!"

"We made all the profits from the Eastwood deal, but we lost it all on Fran!"

"I don't even know what the point of him playing is!"

Fran is expensive, inexperienced, performs poorly, makes many mistakes, and has mediocre relationships in the locker room; he's practically the perfect scapegoat.

Although it's impossible to divert all the firepower, every little bit helps Beckham.

Soon after, the FA issued its punishment for the match.

Keane has been suspended for six matches, effective in the league and FA Cup.

Alf was given an additional five-match ban, but he has already retired and cannot serve it. Therefore, he has become one of the few players in world football who owes his own football association something.

That's enough to make it worthwhile.

The key to this punishment lies with Lu Kai.

Some believe that his one-on-four attack was an egregious offense, warranting a minimum suspension of ten games!

Half a year is not out of the question!
However, the executive committee, led by Joyce, believed that Lu Kai was mainly trying to mediate the fight and help the referee control the situation, and that the nature of his actions was not malicious.

Therefore, no further punishment is necessary. Their evidence consists of three parts.

Part of it came from the referee's report, who indeed believed that Lu Kai played a significant role in controlling the situation.

Some of them came from the players on both sides involved in the conflict.

In particular, the Manchester United players who were attacked all stated that they were not injured in the fight with Lu Kai.

But based on their testimonies, you might even think that the four of them beat up Lu Kai.

Clearly, Manchester United cannot afford to concede defeat, otherwise they would truly have lost both on and off the field.

If you didn't do it this time, you can do it again next time. If you go to the media to complain, that's really low-class.

Bart: Huh? Let's do it next time?
As the only man who touched Lu Kai's cheek, he was the one who felt the worst.

Beating someone is like hanging a painting.

Lu Kai's over-the-shoulder throw was delivered with tremendous force.

It was evenly distributed across every cell of Bart's body, leaving him completely disoriented.

Moreover, after getting up, Bart realized that his right arm had been dislocated by Lu Kai!

Anyway, if Manchester United clashes with Green Gunner again, he will absolutely not face off against Lu Kai.

This match gave Manchester United, who had lost their dreams, another player.

Finally, Lu Kai's speech after taking down the four warriors of Class 92 played a significant role.

Westerners love this kind of thing.

The fact that Keane and Alf were fighting behind him during his speech added a layer of contrast and created a humorous effect, which led to the video's widespread circulation and significant influence.

His speech was thus seen as a reflection of "the love of peace fostered by English football," greatly reversing the stereotype of English players in the football world.

It served as excellent publicity for the Premier League – at least that's what Joyce said.

Therefore, Lu Kai was ultimately ruled to have committed a normal foul, and the red card was justified, but no further punishment was imposed.

He simply won't be able to play in the team's first match in the EFL Cup next season.

However, the brawl did occur, and both teams were fined.

Manchester United initiated the incident, and their actions were far more egregious, resulting in a £50,000 fine.

Dartford, £30,000.

Alf knew that this matter was caused by him and that he would have to pay for it out of his own pocket.

However, Lu Kai said that although the team was in debt for tens of millions and was in financial straits, they could not let the players lose their passion. This boxing class would be paid for by Mr. Lu!

Moreover, the money wasn't drawn from the £100,000 official reward for winning the EFL Cup; it was taken directly from the team's account.

Alf was unwilling to let the team bear this loss.

Finally, Lu Kai said, "Then consider this £30,000 as the signing fee for your son to sign a professional contract with the team in advance! It's being paid to you more than ten years ahead of time!"

Alf was moved to tears once again.

After all, who can guarantee that their son will get a professional contract in the future?
At least Alf cannot guarantee that.

What if his son turns out to be a useless youth trainee who is only 1.65 meters tall, slow, bad at dribbling, unable to shoot, and lacks physical strength? Who would want him then?

Ashley Young: Every sentence mentions me, yet every sentence seems to refer to me???
Dartford probably wouldn't want a player like that, right?

Therefore, Alf believed that this "signing fee" was more of a statement from Lu Kai.

Little did they know... this was actually a signing fee.

At the very least, it can be a form of moral blackmail!
If Haaland doesn't join Dartford in the future, he and his father will be criticized by fans.

Besides Manchester United fans, many more people were heartbroken after the match.

That's Lianxiang's place.

They practically gritted their teeth and transferred the £400,000 prize money to Dartford.

So far, they have spent one million pounds on the EFL Cup alone!

Total expenditures far exceeded two million pounds.

This has become a typical example of a failed business investment this year.

What should have been a 5 million RMB deal has turned into over 20 million, and it's still not going away; there's even a possibility it will continue to rise.

Is there no problem here?
The Lianxiang Group launched an internal anti-corruption investigation, but they found nothing in this particular case; however, they uncovered a whole host of other problems.

Due to the egregious impact, the authorities eventually dispatched an investigation team.

I'm really going to have to go through a lot this time!
This has also, to some extent, curbed the trend of spending huge sums of money on low-quality marketing in China.

However, Dartford's victory also spurred many groups that were truly capable of profiting from it.

Several domestic sports and beverage brands have set their sights on the Green Gun.

I want to make a proper investment.

There are actually quite a few domestic companies that are capable of sponsoring foreign companies, but no one wants to be like Lenovo, giving away money to foreigners for nothing.

……

After defeating Manchester United, Dartford played with increasing confidence and found their form ahead of schedule.

In February, they played seven matches, winning four, drawing two, and losing one, with four of the victories being resounding wins! Three of those matches saw a goal difference of three or more! They were absolutely dominant!

Not only were they efficient at scoring points, but Green Gun also briefly topped the League Two standings for a round!

However, they were quickly caught up.

In the FA Cup, Dartford were also lucky in the round of 16, drawing a League One team.

Coincidentally, the other party thought so too.

Dartford ultimately secured a narrow 2-1 victory thanks to goals from Madeira and Toure.

Advancing to the quarterfinals!

In the UEFA Cup, Dartford will face Schalke 04 in the round of 16!

This is a long-established German powerhouse. Last season, they finished fifth in the Bundesliga and also won the German Cup, earning Ballack the nickname "Four-Time Runner-Up".

They are currently ranked seventh in the Bundesliga.

However, the Bundesliga at this stage is hardly competitive.

Schalke 04's biggest challenge this season has been their lack of attacking firepower.

One to one!

Ashley Young scored to help Dartford equalize.

When this player starts scoring, it means that Green Gun's form is truly red-hot.

However, the only downside was that Ribery was forced to leave the game due to injury less than fifteen minutes after coming on as a substitute.

The French were ultimately quick to throw the ball.

If Alfred hadn't had a substitution left, this match would have been in serious trouble.

March 2, 2003, Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Veltins-Arena.

Fifty thousand blue miners stood ready to meet the challenge from Dartford.

There are two famous "miners" in Europe.